The Battle Of Wills

Our father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, forgive us our debts, as we also have forgotten our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. -Matthew 6:9

Every parent experiences the battle of wills; The parents will against the child’s will especially when children are very young and discover the amazing concept called choice. But the battle of wills doesn’t only take place during childhood. It is a human battle between equals, between authorities and subordinates, and between mankind and God.

Indeed, the first skirmish in the battle of wills took place in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve had to choose God’s will or theirs. Sadly, they chose their will instead of God’s.

When Jesus taught His disciples to pray that God‘s will would be done “on earth as it is in heaven,” He was saying to pray for God‘s kingdom to come using different words. God’s kingdom is in the realm in which God rules. When God‘s will is done on earth, each kingdom has precedence . So the best way to establish God‘s rule on earth is to obey God‘s will. His rule and his will are the same.

God‘s will is always done in heaven. It is done on earth when we submit to Him – as Jesus did in the Garden of Gethsemane.

You are a sinner by birth, by nature, by practice and by choice.

John Blanchard

Prayer Is Necessary For Battling Spiritual Warfare

A key dimension to successfully battle spiritual warfare is immersing the situation in prayer. After listing the “Armor Of God” in Ephesians 6, Paul tells us in verse 18: “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the Saints.’ We don’t battle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against rulers of darkness of this age, and against spiritual hosts.

Of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:13). Our enemies aren’t one we can fight in our own strength and with our own earthly weapons. It is for this reason that we are to “put on“ our spiritual armor everyday. Our armor is only useful if we put it on!

Prayer makes it possible for the Warrior to wear the armor and wield “the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God” (Ephesians 6:17). As we continue to persist and stay focused in prayer, we begin to see the power of God in our life and are equipped for victory. If we try to fight the spiritual battles in our lives in thee ergo of our flesh, we will never, ever be victorious.

God wants the attention of our heart and mind so that He can provide us with His strength as we engage in spiritual warfare This happens as we put on the armor of God each day. And this is the only way we will have victory as we battle our spiritual enemies,

An Active Defense

Purity

Jesus gives us advice in Mark 14:38, “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.

Keeping ourselves free from sin is not passive. It takes effort on our part. We have to actively avoid sin. Jesus tells us to do two things:

1. “Watch,” be on the lookout, We need to watch our actions, our thought patterns and our mouths. We need to watch who we let into our lives and what influence they have in our lives. And watch out for the little by little degrading of our purity.

2. “Pray” This second thing Jesus tells us to be active about prayer. Life goes better when we are in constant communication with God, our Savior, and the Holy , as if we are walking and talking with them. It empowers us to live better cleaner and purer lives.

The world is getting to a scary place these days. And if we don’t stay close to the One who created us. We can find ourselves in turmoil, lacking faith and having no hope at all.

God Bless You!

Spiritual Disorder Leads To Physical Chaos

If we could lol back at the layers of the Bible and really see what is taking place from God’s perspective, we would see at the core of every physical problem described in the Bible there was a problem with the spiritual condition of the people. As people moved farther away from God, choas increased.

If our generation continues to move farther away from God, chaos will also continue to increase. I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of the chaos. I can’t stop madmen to shoot hundreds of people enjoying a weekend out, but I can choose to use my voice to reach people with the hope of Jesus. Many people who find themselves bound in shackles of sin are not usually people you and I want to associate with regularly. However, if we don’t speak up and talk to them about Jesus, Who will? My sin, your sin, and their sin affect us all whether we like it or not.

Christian Persecution Today

Christian persecution is defined as any hostility, experienced from the world, be of one identification with Jesus Christ. That can cause hostile feelings, attitudes, word or actions.

But what does the Bible mean by the word “persecution?” In Matthew 5:19-12 Jesus says in the Beatitudes that persecution is a blessing Not one that many of us ever desire..

Jesus also defines the word for us in Luke 6:22 using four verbs. He says, “Blessed are you when man hate you when they insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man.” Not that it is Jesus in you who is the reason for and the target of persecution.

In Romans 8:17, the Apostle Paul tells us “Now if we are chili, then we are heirs of God a d co-heirs with Christ if indeed we share in His suffering (hatred, exclusion. insults, and rejection) we become heirs who will share in His glory. The four verbs above can be experienced in varying degrees of intensity.

Unfortunately, many Christians today operate under the assumption that persecution is a part of the Church’s past. The truth is that there are members of the body of Christ who currently face severe persecution and restrictions because of their faith of Jesus. Every day of every year, and on every continent, men and women face persecution because of their beliefs.

Examples Of Persecution Christians Face Today:

  • Physical and verbal abuse
  • Imprisonment
  • Kidnappings
  • Bribes
  • Deportation
  • Destruction of property
  • Fines
  • Torture
  • Murder