Spiritual Warfare Archives - My Manna

The Sword of the Spirit!

My Manna — Mon, 25 Oct 2021 17:00:00 +0000

There are two mistakes people make about the devil.

One-
They get into demonology!

Always studying, wondering, and talking about demons!
-causing fear in the hearts of believers

Their focus gets on Satan rather than on the Lord Jesus!!
The Bible says we’re to resist the devil.
It doesn’t say we’re to chase after him.

On the other hand-
There are those who are flippant about the devil.

They have nicknames for him and think he’s unrealistic.
The truth is that we have a powerful adversary who is the devil.

Peter likens him unto a roaring lion!
A believer recognizes that he has an enemy.
He is ready to resist that enemy.
Then he clings to the power of the Lord Jesus Christ to overcome this great adversary.

Is the lion prowling around your life?
Take up the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God.
And break free from his jaws of destruction.

(PR)

The post The Sword of the Spirit! appeared first on My Manna.

Darts of the devil

MyManna — Fri, 21 Oct 2016 23:00:37 +0000

In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one (Eph 6:16).

In Ephesians 6:13, Paul characterizes satan as “the evil one” who attacks believers with flaming missiles.
The Greek word translated “evil one” literally means “bad,” “vile,” or “wretched.” All are apt descriptions of the archenemy of our souls, who seeks to maim and destroy us spiritually.
The term “flaming missiles” pictures one of the Roman weapons of Paul’s day: arrows that had pitch-soaked cotton material affixed to their tips. In battle they were set on fire and shot at the enemy. As the arrow hit its target, flaming pitch spread onto clothing and other flammable surfaces. Under such attacks a Roman soldier without a shield was in a perilous situation indeed.
Satan’s flaming arrows come in many forms:
Solicitations to impurity, selfishness, doubt, fear, disappointment, greed, vanity, covetousness, and the like. But whatever the specific form, all are seducing temptations aimed at eliciting ungodly responses.
Your God-given faith, based on the Word of God, protects you from such attacks when you elevate God’s will above Satan’s in your life.
When tempted by satan, Jesus responded by saying in effect, “I will not violate my Father’s will by yielding to your devious schemes. In His own time He will feed Me, anoint Me as Messiah, and give Me the kingdoms of the world. I will not elevate your will and timing above His” Matt. 4:1-11.
Jesus could have created food. He is the Messiah and the sovereign Lord over the kingdoms of the world. But He trusted the Father and yielded to His will, even though it meant personal discomfort and, eventually, the cross. When satan saw that Jesus’ trust in the Father was unshakable, he left Him v. 11.
That’s the power of faith.
I pray you will show similar strength in times of testing. Satan will flee from you if you “resist him, firm in your faith”.1 Pet. 5:9.
Memorize James 4:7 and Ephesians 6:17 as a reminder of the importance of resisting satan and use them as your sword and a shield.

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The Back

MyManna — Sun, 09 Oct 2016 23:00:02 +0000

“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.” Ephesians 6:10.
Historian Shelby Foote tells of a soldier who was wounded at the battle of Shiloh during the American Civil War and was ordered to go to the rear.
The fighting was fierce and within minutes he returned to his commanding officer.
“Captain, give me a gun!” he shouted. “This fight ain’t got any rear!”
In Ephesians, Paul describes the armor that we should put on daily.
Have you ever noticed that every part of the body is covered except for one?
The back!

The Lord didn’t want us to run away and turn our back toward our enemy.
It would leave us vulnerable, with no armor to protect us against his attack!
And just as a dog would when he senses fear, if we run from the enemy-
– he will relentlessly chase us until we are broken.
But if we take courage and stand strong in the power of God’s might-
– then the battle will be the Lord’s,
And He has already won the victory!
The battle is raging!
It’s time to take up our armor and face the enemy head-on!
There’s no turning back!
We’re in this together!

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It's a rattlesnake!

MyManna — Wed, 25 May 2016 22:30:35 +0000

“Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ…” (2 Corinthians 10:4-5).
Picture this!
You come home from a long day of work.
You walk into your living room.
Plop down on your couch in exhaustion.
And there in the corner of the room-
– your eyes are drawn to something moving.
It’s a rattlesnake!
Do you say to yourself, “Oh, I’m too tired to worry about that now, I’ll deal with it later?”
Of course not!
You’d jump up right away-
– find a bat or something of the like,
– alert your family,
– call the neighbours,
– call the fire department and who knows what else!
It’s a life-threatening situation!
In the same way-
– we need to consider it an emergency when a negative thought enters our minds!
We immediately need to jump up-
– put our armour on,
– alert others,
– ask for help if needed,
– take cover in the promises of God!
When those unrighteous thoughts enter our minds-
– we must deal with them immediately,
– lest they linger and fester and before we know it,
– poison our entirety.
Sadly this is a battle that continuously rages on.
We must renew our minds daily-
– and even hourly in order to remain in a place of peace.
Let’s not wait ’till the enemy has us in his grip!
Let’s put him in his place at the first sign of attack!

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Make sure it's not a trap!

MyManna — Fri, 20 May 2016 22:00:35 +0000

“Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: therefore be wise as serpents, and harmless as doves” (Matthew 10:16).
Nature provides us with an illustration-
– that closely parallels the insidious tactics employed by our adversary.
According to scientists-
Artic polar bears feed almost entirely on seals.
To enjoy such a meal-
– they sometimes resort to a cunning bit of trickery.
If the hole through which the seal gets his food is near the edge of the ice-
– the polar bear will take a deep breath and swim under water to its exact location.
Remaining below the surface-
– he will then make a tiny scratching sound, imitating a fish.
When the charmed seal hears this, he dives in for a quick supper, only to find himself suddenly entrapped in the huge, hungry embrace of his predator.
God has sent us forth as sheep among the wolves.
There are so many theories disguising themselves as godly.
We’re hungry for that meal.
But we must be wise enough to make sure it’s not a trap!
Keep reading and studying the Word of God!
Pray and ask Him to reveal His truth.
The enemy loves to tempt us with a ‘treat’ so he can devour us!
Don’t take anyone’s word but God’s!

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The devil by default!

MyManna — Sat, 15 Aug 2015 16:00:23 +0000

“He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).
As a guest on Larry King Live a few years ago-
Billy Graham was asked to comment on the rash of violence on high school campuses as well as other problems in our culture.
He said, “One thing that is being missed by many people is the devil is at work.”
The devil is at work!
When you get down to it, it is the only logical and plausible explanation for the madness that humanity is capable of.
Just as surely as there is a God in heaven who loves you-
– there is a devil from hell who hates you.
Jesus said, speaking of Satan, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10).
There is our choice in life, really:
God or the devil.
A lot of people say they don’t choose either.
But in reality-
– by not choosing God,
– they choose the devil by default!
There are no other choices.
One of Satan’s most brilliant strategies is to convince people he does not exist-
– when all the while, he is manipulating their lives.
Humanity is basically bad.
And it is the devil who works through the fallen nature of human beings-
– getting them to do the evil things that he does.
God gives us a choice in life.
We are not forced to choose Him.
Nor are we forced to choose the devil.
But God has given us something called free will.
We can choose sin-
– which leads to death.
Or
we can choose obedience to God-
– which leads to righteousness!
(PR)

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Special attack of Satan

MyManna — Thu, 18 Jun 2015 16:00:49 +0000

“Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days” (Daniel 10:12,13).
We have a teaching here on prayer.
And we are shown the direct hindrance from Satan.
Daniel had fasted and prayed 21 days-
– and had a very hard time in prayer.
It was-
– not because Daniel was not a good man,
– nor because his prayer was not right;
– but it was because of a special attack of Satan!
The Lord sent a messenger to tell Daniel that his prayer was answered the moment Daniel began to pray.
But an evil angel met the good angel and wrestled with him, hindering him.
There was a conflict in the heavens.
And Daniel seemed to go through an agony on earth the same as that which was going on in the heavens.
“We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers…against wicked spirits in high places” (Eph. 6:12).
Satan delayed the answer three full weeks.
Daniel nearly succumbed.
Satan would have been glad to kill him.
But God will not suffer anything to come above that we “are able to bear.”
Many a Christian’s prayer is hindered by Satan.
But you need not fear when your prayers and faith pile up-
– for after a while they will be like a flood,
– and will not only sweep the answer through,
– but will also bring some new accompanying blessing.
Hell does its worst with the saints.
The rarest souls have been tested with high pressures and temperatures.
But Heaven will not desert them.
(PR)

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The Sword of the Spirit!

MyManna — Tue, 10 Feb 2015 16:00:52 +0000

There are two mistakes people make about the devil.
One-
They get into demonology!
Always studying, wondering, and talking about demons!
-causing fear in the hearts of believers
Their focus gets on Satan rather than on the Lord Jesus!!
The Bible says we’re to resist the devil.
It doesn’t say we’re to chase after him.
On the other hand-
There are those who are flippant about the devil.
They have nicknames for him and think he’s unrealistic.
The truth is that we have a powerful adversary who is the devil.
Peter likens him unto a roaring lion!
A believer recognizes that he has an enemy.
He is ready to resist that enemy.
Then he clings to the power of the Lord Jesus Christ to overcome this great adversary.
Is the lion prowling around your life?
Take up the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God.
And break free from his jaws of destruction.
(PR)

The post The Sword of the Spirit! appeared first on My Manna.