“Our Daily Bread” http://odb.org/
The Daily Devotions of Greg Laurie
http://www.harvest.org/devotional/daily-devotions/home.ht
“Homily Grits Devotional” http://www.homilygrits.com/
Deuteronomy 20:3-4… And he shall say to them, ‘Hear, O Israel: Today you are on the verge of battle with your enemies. Do not let your heart faint, do not be afraid, and do not tremble or be terrified because of them; 4 for the Lord your God is He who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.’ (NKJV)
The Bible is filled with scripture reminding us that with the Lord on our side, we have nothing to fear… Here is scripture from the Old Testament, in…Psalm 118:6… The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me? (NKJV) And here is scripture from the New Testament, reminding us that God’s children have nothing to fear, in…Romans 8:31… What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? (NKJV)
God promises to never leave nor forsake His children… We see scripture verifying this in the Old Testament, in…Deuteronomy 31:6… Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.” (NKJV)
And again in the New Testament, we find this scripture in…Hebrews 13:5-6… Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” 6 So we may boldly say: “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” (NKJV)
With all these promises from the Lord, that His children should have no fear…why do we find so many Christians today living in doubt, or fear, from the trials of life that we all have to go through…
The answer for me is simple… Fear is caused by our enemy… Throughout the Bible, there were constant battles against one’s enemies… Nations had leaders that were always trying to overpower other nations…to control the land, the people, and their property… But the key for God’s chosen people, to always winning their battles, was found when they allowed God to take control… So many of the battles in the Bible, against enemies that far outnumbered God’s chosen people…were won because God was on their side…
Today, unless we are in the military…we don’t have to be prepared to fight physicals battles… But Christians still have to go out into the world, and be prepared to face the struggles of life, day in and day out… The working world can be dog eat dog… Today’s economy has many people out of work… Jobs can be hard to find…and when one does find a job…if they are a professed Christian (which should always be the case), they will face the usual persecution…condemnation…ridicule…and scorn that is to be expected from those that are still living in the world with Satan in charge of their lives…
Fear for the Christian comes from Satan, and from the unknown… When we as Christians walk out of our houses without God’s protection, we are headed into Satan’s territory where we will be no match for his cunning ability to produce fear or anxiety in our lives… But when we submit to the Lord, and allow the full power of the Holy Spirit to control our heart, mind, and soul…with God behind us, we should be able to maneuver around Satan’s minefield of pitfalls and temptations without fear…
Only God knows for sure what lies ahead of His children in the hours, days, months, or years (God willing) ahead in our lives… But if we “put on the Lord Jesus Christ”, before we step out into the world…we can rest in God’s promise of protection from our flesh and from Satan’s attacks… The Apostle Paul writes this, in…
Romans 13:12-14… The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts. (NKJV)
The Apostle Paul liked to use the word “armor”, when writing about spiritual protection for the Christian… I must take the opportunity to again write about “The whole “armor” of God”, that he writes about in…Ephesians 6:10-20… Here is the link for this possible life changing scripture… http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=eph6:10-20&version=NKJV
For those not familiar with God’s armor…it is a 6 piece set of spiritual armor, that if put on by the Christian over time, will protect them from Satan’s attacks…Ephesians 6:11… Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. (NKJV)
I will finish with the Apostle James’ scripture on keeping Satan in check…James 4:7-8a… Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. (NKJV) There is nothing but truth and hope found in God’s Word…
I for one…find great comfort and great peace in my life…because God’s promises to be able to live without fear or anxiety have proven to be the case in my own daily walk in life… The key for me, is to be walking in the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18-20), with all 6 pieces of God’s spiritual armor all firmly held in place; by what I call the glue of constant prayer…1 Thessalonians 5:16-18… Praise the Lord for His grace, His mercy, and His kept promises !!
Heavenly Father, I pray that others could experience this full protective spiritual armor You promise Your children…by putting on the Lord Jesus Christ each and every morning, before stepping out into Satan’s world… I pray for this fullness of Christ for all of Your children…in Jesus’ most precious name and for His sake…Amen…
Written by bruce r mills
P.S. Here is a 10 day personal study of my own life; and how God’s whole 6 piece set of spiritual armor, and the full power of the Holy Spirit combined…can make the Christian complete in Christ…
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