Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Spiritual Battles

The more I read the more I learn. The less I read the more I depend on others opinions. This is very true when it comes to understanding the Holy Scriptures and church life.

Church life can be crazy sometimes there are soooooo many opinions about everything. What you should do and what you should not do. How you should act and how you should __________(fill in the blank).
One topic I hear a lot of opinions about is spiritual warfare. It seems some church goers want to be fighting all the time. "Im just fighting the Devil" (church lady voice). "Im in a Spiritual battle right now." What do we mean when we say these things? Are we in a MMA fight, octagon cage with a demon or worse the devil himself. And if that is the case why in the world would you want to be there. I like to fight but dang not on those terms. And yes I do believe there is an enemy of our soul that wants nothing more than to take me out. And I do know we wrestle not against flesh, well you know the rest.
The less I read the more I depend on others opinions. So this is what I read the other day...
You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. (Ephesians 2:2 NLT)
Well that's interesting.
The devil works in the heart of those who refuse to obey God. With the help of the Spirit this is what I see in this Holy Scripture.
The battle I face most of the time is simply obeying God. And when I choose not to, it's as if I'm inviting the spirit of darkness into the octagon ring of my heart. "spiritual warfare"
My warfare happens everyday. It's the battle against my jacked up desires. It's the battle against my selfishness. It's the battle against my lack of compassion and so on. And yes the enemy of my soul plays a role in helping me see things. But I have a good plan to defeat this and win. I strap on two gloves for the battle. One is called obedience the other endurance. Maybe the battle you are facing is to be obedient or disobedient?
Maybe your battle can be won with just being obedient to God every day!

Ding, Ding, Ding... Round 1.