â Today's Promise: âFor we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.â Ephesians 6:12
 Words of Encouragement
What is my defense?
My Dear Brothers,
What and who are you going to believe?
Previously we have discussed the whole armour of God, predominantly most of us will be using the Shield of Faith - Godâs promises and words to us personally and in general about our circumstances. Praise, worship are tools of attack they also serve to uplift the spirit, Speaking and reading Godâs word feed the Spirit, increase knowledge and faith.
âFor we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.â
If you think your fight is with people alone, then you will have war with people - you will become stressed and overwhelmed. You will fight people and miss the root issues which we should be addressing like unforgiveness, bitterness, cynicism, gossiping, lying, etc.
Know the power you hold.
Jesus makes a lot of powerful promises:
â He promises we can ask for anything in His name, and he will do it (John 14:13-14).
â He promises to never turn away anyone who turns to Him (John 6:37).
â He promises to have compassion for us, even despite our shortcomings (Mark 2:17).
The first step towards these promises is faith (via trust), and true faith demonstrates itself through action. God has given us practices that build our faith and continually align us with him to experience his protection, provision, and power. Here is a quick list of some of the biggest, most accessible tools we can all leverage at any moment to fight back:
1. Repentance: This word comes with a lot of baggage, but it simply means to turn back towards God, to change direction. Any time you notice something in you that is not honoring God, you can simply choose to turn back to him. This pushes back evil in major ways.
2. Prayer: Whether you pray regularly or not, God always wants to hear from us. The enemy wants us to depend on ourselves or others, but power only comes from God. Talk to Him. Cry out to Him. Ask Him for help. Believe that He wants to show up for you.
3. Worship: This is another word that gets lost in translation, but worship is simply ascribing worth to God, and itâs a powerful weapon. When we focus on God and praise Him for who he is, the enemy goes running, for real. Singing to God or even speaking statements like, âGod, I believe you are goodâ when everything seems terrible can begin to turn your situation towards the full life Jesus promises (again John 10:10).
4. Fast: Fasting is a powerful practice that enables us remember to rely on God. You can fast from food as Jesus modeled. Itâs also cleansing to fast from any influences that distract us from God like social media, Netflix, the news, etc. When we temporarily remove ourselves from the other things in life we tend to rely on, we start to hear God more and become more like Him.
5. Read and Hear: One of the best ways to fight the enemyâs lies is to know Godâs truth. Start with reading the Bible as often as you can. Memorize verses that are meaningful to you or challenge you. Ask God to help you hear His voice all throughout your day. Then weâll begin to recognize what is true and what is not (Joshua 1:8-9).
God wants us to experience his power. He gives us tools to not only protect us but draw us back to Him. Whenever you sense something dark happening in or around you, use them! They are more powerful than cliches, I promise. I want to highlight a specific part when Jesusâ followers return. According to Luke 10:17-20,âThe 72 returned with joy, saying, âLord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!â And He said to them, âI saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.ââ
Pray against the forces of spiritual darkness in your own life, your family, our church community, our neighborhoods, cities, nation, and world.
Pray for those non-Christian friends and neighbors in your life, that Jesus would deliver them from the kingdom of darkness and bring them into the kingdom of light.
Pray for Jesus to return soon and bring his victory to its final culmination.
~ Tad RESTORED in Australia
If you haven't already done so, please take a moment to read my testimony and then my wife's encouragement.