Tuesday, November 12, 2013

The Church (part two)

Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against…the spiritual forces of evil (Ephesians 6:11-12).

Jesus gave us the Church for the same reason kids attend school and soldiers go through Basic Training.  We live in a dangerous world, and in church God prepares us to meet the enemy.  That enemy is Satan.  The devil can’t hurt God, of course—Lucifer has no more power than any angel in God’s celestial army.  So to strike at God, the Dark One goes after us, sort of like terrorists who think they can force a government to negotiate with them by holding civilians at gunpoint. 

God offers us round the clock protection.  But we don’t appreciate the danger that we’re really in; we are prone to act carelessly, and that’s when the devil takes his shots at us.  So Jesus uses the Church to educate us about the devil’s tactics.  Every week, worshipers learn to tell the difference between right and wrong, becoming alert to their weaknesses that the Dark One is eager to exploit.  Each verse of the Bible is like a silver bullet, able to wound Satan and drive him back into the shadows.  We stockpile that ammunition as we hear the word of God and commit it to memory. 

In church, the Lord equips you with full combat gear.  Ephesians 6:14-17 speaks of the belt of truth which enables you to spot deception and avoid it; the body armor of righteousness which protects your heart from being wounded by evil; boots that are ready to move towards others in love when the peace of God makes it safe to approach; the shield of faith which gives you courage when evil is taking rapid-fire shots at you; and the helmet of salvation which protects your mind from being crushed by doubts. 

The devil wins through half-truths, lies, and misinformation.  To keep others from being tricked into his service, we need to know the truth and how to share it with confidence.  This is part of the training that Christ offers through His Church.  He said, If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free (John 8:31-32).  The words of Jesus are life and freedom and peace, everything the devil wants to steal from us.  The Church is both classroom and armory; when you take advantage of it, God will provide everything needed to confront evil and prevail.

Blog Top Sites
Blog Directory & Search engine
Blog Directory