Bazooka

On June 23, 2017   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

2 Corinthians 10: 4

For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.

Why is Paul talking to us about weapons of warfare after the death and resurrection of Jesus? Jesus has already won, hasn’t he? He marched in to Hades and took the keys of death and hell away from the devil. So why is Paul talking about warfare? Isn’t it done?

Well, I guess we have only to look around us to see that the war is not over. Yes, Jesus has won. He defeated the powers of hell for all time but that is almost useless if we don’t enforce it. Think of it this way. Perhaps there is a law on the books in your community. How effective is that law if it is not enforced? It is as though it doesn’t exist. You see, God gave the earth to us, therefore, we have authority in this realm. Jesus won the victory over sin, death, hell and the grave in his own flesh. He has given us this victory to employ in the earthly realm as well as in our own lives.

You have ultimate authority in your life, God does not. You can choose to go to hell if you want. Many are making that choice. God won’t stop you because He has given that right of choice, that authority to you. He has delegated His power in that area. Therefore, if Jesus’ victory is to be experienced, we must enforce it in our own lives. Failure to do so allows the devil run around free messing in people’s lives.

The Amplified version of today’s verse says that the weapons of our warfare are not physical. What are they then? They must be spiritual, wouldn’t you say? Also, I noted that he wrote about the weapons – plural. There must be more than one then. We all know about prayer and obviously that is a weapon straight from God’s arsenal. There really are many more though. Paul wanted us to be mindful of their existence, what they are and how to use them.

Don’t sit around on the couch expecting your salvation prayer to solve all of your problems. This is a process and that was only the beginning. Paul also told us to “work out your salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2: 12). We have a role to play. God gives us the tools and the weapons but it is up to us to utilize them for our lives. As for me, I am choosing a spiritual bazooka. What spiritual weapon do you want?

For more about spiritual warfare and the weapons of our warfare, visit our webpage and go to the Daily Devotional page (https://iveyministries.org/word-of-the-day/). Search “spiritual warfare”.

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The Surprising Arsenal

On September 10, 2015   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Romans 12: 21

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Last week my mom called and told me that she had employed my spiritual warfare tactic of sowing into a ministry when the devil is putting up road blocks. She put today’s scripture into effect. Overcome evil with good.

The devil really, really hates it when he is trying to bother you and you write a check to God’s work. It is one of my favorite tactics and I will say that I enjoy doing it. We have learned by now that trying to get back at someone or trading blows with them is not going to yield the fruit we want. In fact, there is no spiritual weapon or spiritual warfare tactic for striking back at our enemies. Jesus said to pray for them (Matthew 5: 44).  

The weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses (2 Corinthians 10: 4). Besides prayer, the weapons of our warfare are love, peace, joy, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5: 22). Now, if you choke on that a bit, I don’t blame you but ultimately we need to figure out what works and abandon that which doesn’t. The Apostle Paul knew more about fighting these battles than most of us ever will so when he says overcome evil with good he must have known what he was talking about. I believe an extension of what he was saying is that we will never overcome evil with evil. In order to overcome at all we must fight with the weapons of our warfare, namely that which is good.

I also believe Paul is telling us that we never have to be overcome by evil. The reason is that we have a savior. Besides just having the loving grace of Jesus, we also have his victory which has crushed ultimate evil. Jesus is good. He dwells in goodness and kindness. Therefore, the weapons of our warfare are good. Jesus defeated the devil by doing a good thing, really a great thing. He gave in order to conquer. Certainly that is not how most people strategize for battle. That is why giving is such a powerful weapon. It imitates Christ. That is also why it bothers Satan so much. It is a reminder of how he was defeated.  

Let this revelation sink into you. Our God is a good God and His overcoming is in His goodness. Overcome evil every time. It has no hold over you. Let goodness and righteousness be your banner.

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