Just some quick thoughts on the armor of God and how to put it on. Hope it helps. I've always read it, and wondered "What the heck is Paul talking about?" How can I put this armor on?
The Belt of Truth - To me, this means not only telling the truth. But also we have to BELIEVE the truth. Much of our Christian walk is not what we do, but what we believe.
We have to believe that Jesus Christ is who He said He is. We have to believe that God's word is true and from Him. We have to stand in this truth. We have to live this truth.
The Breastplate/body armor of Righteousness - This one is self explanatory. Be righteous. Obey God's commandments. Christ told us to (paraphrasing it) love God with all of our being, and love each other. I think this also means that we need to avoid sin, and when we sin repent it to God through Jesus Christ ASAP. The only way we can have rightesousness before God is through His son and what He did.
The Boots/shoes of the Peace that comes from the Gospel - I think that this goes with the two commandments Christ gave us, but also, if we believe the Gospel, we will have peace in our hearts. This peace will help us be a witness for Jesus just through our actions and behaviors. Our faith in the Gospel will also take us where God needs us to go. Remember, Jesus Christ died for our sins. He rose again from the dead. He is God in human flesh. Fully God, fully man and He took our sin away.
The Shield of Faith - If we have faith that Christ destroyed the works of the devil, and have faith that the devil and demons are subject to His authority, their attacks against us will not succeed. They have many attacks, but Russ Dizdar has a great look at this. He often says that some of these attacks are that we don't feel like going to church. Or we feel that God doesn't love us. Those are some of the attacks. We have to have faith that God does love us. Even if we can't feel Him, or His love at a moment, He can't stop loving us. Or else He wouldn't have sent Christ. As Chuck Missler says: "God loves you so much, He can't take His eyes off of you."
The Helmet of Salvation - Here's what I think. Once we become saved through Jesus Christ, we become filled with the Holy Spirit. He doesn't leave. Yes, we can quench the Holy Spirit through sin and that sin needs to be repented of right away. But, because we are filled with His Spirit, we cannot become posessed by an evil spirit.
The Sword of Truth - Read the Bible. If possible, memorize the Bible. I am horrible here as far as verbatim memorization, but I can remember key phrases that lead me to the right scripture. I can also remember the "story" very well. In any event, this "sword" will help us be convicted of our own sin, and can help us attack the sin of others. It can also be used against the enemy, though he probably knows our Bibles better than we do. Satan twists scripture, but we can fight back by remembering what God really said. Clearly God's pure word is a better weapon than Satan's.
Also, just bringing this up because Chris White suggested it on his podcast.
If anyone out there is suffereing from sleep paralysis, it can be stopped. I myself have woken up and felt evil in my room. I felt it holding me down or attacking me. But because of my relationship with Jesus Christ I was able to ask Him to help me. And guess what, as soon as I thought "Jesus Christ" or "Jesus help me" the attack stopped.
I will be honest. Each of my (5 I think) sleep paralysis episodes were after I came to Christ. The first time, my call to Jesus, or prayer to God to stp it in Jesus' name stopped it.
The second time it didn't stop right away, and that may be because I didn't ask Christ for help, or because I had unconfessed sin in my life. I think I also was trying to make myself move on my own though. It took a while, but it did stop eventually though.
My third episode was a similar story, but it was less paralysis than seeing a shadow being in my room. This wan't really an attack, but I prayed and it went away.
My fourth episode, I had a dream that someone was outside my house, and as soon as I saw him, I knew he was demon or posessed. So I opened the door and was going to go fight him, and I was going to say "Jesus" or rebuke him in Christ's name in the dream, but I couldn't speak. So I just thought "Jesus, the blood of Jesus." I awoke instantly and as I awoke, I could feel paralysis that broke within seconds. This dream happened just as I started emailing with Gaz Parker, and just before he encouraged me to start this blog.
My fifth (I know, this is getting ridiculous) I awoke and felt pressing on my chest. It was very light though, and as soon as I felt it, I just prayed "Jesus help me" and it stopped immediately.
I can confidently tell you that if it happens again, I will report it here, and also tell you how Jesus stopped it for me.
You can also go to www.stopsleepparalysis.org/ where they can give you alot better help and stories than I can give.
Update, armor of God 9-19-11
Here's something I just got from gotquestions.org. great thought on the armor...go put it on!
Armor of God
Ephesians 6:13-18 gives a description of the spiritual armor God gives us. We are to stand firm with the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, the sword of the Spirit, and by praying in the Spirit. What do these pieces of spiritual armor represent in spiritual warfare? We are to speak the truth against Satan’s lies. We are to rest in the fact that we are declared righteous because of Christ’s sacrifice for us. We are to proclaim the gospel no matter how much resistance we receive. We are not to waver in our faith, no matter how strongly we are attacked. Our ultimate defense is the assurance we have of our salvation, an assurance that no spiritual force can take away. Our offensive weapon is the Word of God, not our own opinions and feelings. We are to follow Jesus’ example in recognizing that some spiritual victories are only possible through prayer.
Ephesians 6:13–18 (ESV)
13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, the Gospel of Peace.
Showing posts with label Spiritual Warfare. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Spiritual Warfare. Show all posts
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Sunday, October 24, 2010
"Senseless" Suffering
Starvation goes unchecked throughout the world. Natural disasters oocur, hurricanes, fires, earthquakes. War goes unchecked in many places. Genocide and ethnic cleansing; The Shoah (Holocaust), Darfur, Rwanda. Senseless killings are occuring on the border with Mexico. People all over the world, those who believe in God and those who don't, are undergoing some form of suffering. I don't have all the answers, but this is my best attempt to answer it.
How can a loving, sovereign, and omnipotent God allow these things to occur? If God loved us, wouldn't He reach down and put an end to our suffering? This is at least one of the things that drove Bart Ehrman from his faith in God. These are truly troubling issues, and there is no simple answer to these questions. On the surface, and from our limited human perspective it may indeed seem hateful of God to allow the multitude of horrors that have plagued humanity. I do not think God is malevolent for allowing these things, but in fact I think if you look at the larger picture, we can see how God can allow us (believers and non believers) to undergo short term suffering in our fleshly bodies so that we may ultimately escape eternal suffering in hell.
First and foremost we have to realize that our human perspective is limited. Not only is it limited, but we are at a huge disadvantage in terms of spiritual things. We have to acknowledge also, that God is beyond what we can sense and tangibly measure. That is, when looking into the Bible, and things of God, we have to ackowledge that God is supernatural, beyond us and probably beyond anything than we can imagine. But, God, in His goodness has made Himself known to us, through His word the Bible, and His Son Jesus. Bart Ehrman seems to have come to the conclusion that the the Bible and things of God have to be explainable in purely limited human terms. He seems to have completely disgarded the spiritual reality of the world. In other words, we can't understand from our human viewpoint why a loving, all powerful God would allow suffering. But if this would have been considered in the context of a spiritual war, a "cosmic soap opera" as some atheists disrespectfully call it, suffering makes a whole lot more sense. And I would submit that it is by the grace of God, and His intervention that the suffering and condition of the world is not worse. Suffering is just part of the cosmic war.
I think if you look at Noah's world and you see that things were incredibly bad because people were exceedingly bad. If you factor in the book of Enoch, things look even worse. In short, Noah's world, to me, seems to be what the world would be like if God were to allow the devil free reign to do as he pleased. Revelation also shows that when God allows the devil full reign again, it only takes Satan less than 7 years to get to a point where almost all flesh is destroyed. To sum up, God keeps Satan in check, and keeps us from undergoing the absolute worst suffering.
To get a better view of the spiritual war, take a look at this http://ichthys.com/Satanic-Rebellion-Home-Page.htm. This is not to be given greater weight than scripture, but it does, to me, provide a somewhat logical view of why God would allow suffering. The summary is this. Satan rebelled, and thinks he can ultimately outsmart and defeat God. God could have destroyed Satan that instant, but instead chose to be demonstrate mercy and allow Satan's rebellion to reach its full and complete potential. He created man as a last chance offer to allow Satan to repent, but Satan chose to continue rebelling. God allowed Satan's rebellion to impact humanity. The reasons God did this, according to Luginbill, seem to be to show all creation that He is ultimately merciful and worthy of being God. Perhaps by showing us how bad it could be by allowing Satan's full evil to run its course. Perhaps for reasons I cannot explain or properly convey. My understanding is limited, but in the end God knew it all beforehand, and is allowing His freewill-driven creation to rebell or repent to ultimately show that He is good. Given the fact that God provided a way for us fallen humans to be restored to realtionship with Him through Christ proves to me His goodness. We get an escape from eternal suffering, but have to endure short term suffering here.
We either choose to join Him, through Christ, or we remain aligned with Satan willingly by rejecting God and His peace offering of salvation.
Some scripture that gives further evidence as to why God would allow suffering. Romans 1:21 - Romans 2. In short, we humans rejected the truth about God or made up our own ideas of what God was like, so He let us pursue those foolish desires. These foolish ideas often involve people pursuing their own desires at the expense of others. This happens today. We have our own ideas of what God is like today, and do not seek the truth of His word so He lets us live in our foolishness. But for any who repent there is a chance He will help us in our suffering and use our suffering to help us grow for our eternal good. Romans 8:17 - 18; 8:35 - 37.
So how can genocide and the rest be explained? Why does God allow people to starve, or allow millions to die for no apparent reason?
My thoughts are that some of these genocides are moves by Satan to try and destroy either humanity, or a select group of people for unknown reasons. The Holocaust I can sort of explain from what I've learned listening to Russ Dizdar, and thinking about the Satanic rebellion. The purpose was multifold. 1) If Satan could eliminate all of the Jews before the fulfillment of Bible prophecy occurred, He could prove God to be a liar. That failed, and actually helped fulfill prophecy (I believe) by allowing Israel to return to her homeland from the diaspora. That does not mean Jews had to die to allow Israel to be restored, but God used that evil time to allow the Jews to return home. 2) Some say it was a Luciferian blood sacrifice to open spiritual doors and allow demonic power to grow. I don't know how I feel about that, but I couldn't rule it out. Especially given the fact that UFOs were just starting to appear in the form of foo fighters, and later Roswell. That's another topic for another day. The Nazis were THE ultimate Occult government, and so may have tried to appease their gods (Satan really) to allow them to grow stronger. Even if the sacrifice theory is true, Satan's purpose was undoubtedly to destroy God's people. 3) Some may say it was God punishing Israel and the Jews for past disobedience. I don't know that I support this theory, and I am not qualified to form an opinion on this. I think that it's a bit harsh, and probably short sighted to say that's the only reason. For more perspectives, Jewish perspectives see www.jpost.com/Opinion/columnists/article.aspx?id=172521. Do your own research and pray it out with God.
What about other genocides? The Rape of Nanking? Darfur? others? My thoughts are again, that Satan's armies gained control of certain governments here and there, and used those governmental powers to cause mass slaughter. They hate humanity, and any chance to engage in mass slaughter of humans, Satan and the demons will take. It happened in the Mayan culture when the Mayans became consumed with mass sacrifices. It continues today in genocide and probably in the form of abortion, which I think is another way "They" want to eliminate target groups of people. Perhaps abortion is a topic for another day, but it probably is a form of genocide presented as a "choice."
Though genocide and the Nazi Holocaust can be explained as the fault of demons or Satan, that perhaps gives Satan too much credit, and removes the blame from the human perpetrators. While it is nice to have an invisile scapegoat to blame every evil thing on, Satan doesn't deserve all of the credit. I would be very comfortable in saying that while the Holocaust had very occult origins, and no doubt could have been a plot on Satan’s part to make God into a liar. But I don't think that can be the sole cause. Without willing human participants the devil’s plans wouldn’t have gone far. And if these genocides didn't fit into or fulfill some part of God’s ultimate plan, it wouldn’t have been allowed in the first place.
My guess is that allowing such evil to occur justifies that God is good and shows that Satan is evil. Perhaps God allowed (allows) Satan greater reign to show that Satan is not fit to rule. Perhaps when Satan is allowed greater latitude and control, all he can do is foment genocide and famine. This is my thought based on what I understand from the Satanic Rebellion and Dr. Heiser's Divine Council. The only Biblical way I can justify this, is again to refer to Revelation when Satan is allowed pretty much full control the world literally goes to hell. Perhaps the suffering we seee on smaller scales is just a foretaste of what is to come.
From a different view, genocide seems to have its roots in the teaching of evolution and eugenics, which are Satanic in origin due to their rejection of God, and the deifying of self and humanity to an extant. Each time one “race” decrees another inferior, they usually try to justify it with scientific reasoning. After all, if it can be proven scientifically, it has to be right. (that's sarcasm folks) Eugenics basically offers a great way for evil people to justify dehumanizing a group of people they have never liked. In Rwanda the Tutsis were viewed as superior to the Hutus by the Belgians, based on eugenic reasons and the result is that Tutsis dehumanized the Hutus. In Nanking, the Japanese thought themselves superior to the Chinese.
Whenever one group of people finds a way to justify themselves as superior to another group, especially if they can justify it with junk science, they will automatically dehumanize another “inferior” group. All of the perpetrators of genocide that I have investigated have for one reason or another been able to label one group as inferior.
Any time a society rejects God, and deifies a leader or science instead, they will eventually find a way to discriminate against a selected group. The book of Romans (from earlier) comes into play again, in that we are turned over to our lusts. Every time we reject God and pursue our own ideas of utopia, and an ideal for a standard human it ends in death. Suffering is the end result of rejecting God's standard of humanity, that is we are ALL created in God's image and not one race is better than another. All are equal in God's eyes.
“Senseless” suffering happens in the world, and it’s not because God doesn’t love us or He refuses to get involved. It seems to me, it’s because God removes His involvement and puts us at the mercy of our own lusts. Or when God lifts His protection and allows Satan to destroy. So, suffering happens because people abuse each other and allows Satan to destroy. Whether this is because of our own motivation, or inspired by the devil, the end result is the same. In the end, those who perpetrate the abuse still have to answer to God.
This weeks post is very difficult for me to write, and I hope that my poor attempt can still shed some light, and perhaps show that God is not malevolent or aloof. I feel as though I can write a book about it, and it would never be long enough, or sufficient enough to explain to those who doubt God’s power and goodness. What I threw out here are my ideas based on my own understanding, the writings of other Christians, and what I can remember from the Bible. I hope that i have at least been able to make some sense out of senseless suffering.
Next week, I will jump into the rest of Ehrman's attacks on Biblical reasons for suffering, and after that, there has been a request to address either Chi, or these absurd magnetic rings that allegedly grant eternal life. Sadly, I almost bought the rings myself.
How can a loving, sovereign, and omnipotent God allow these things to occur? If God loved us, wouldn't He reach down and put an end to our suffering? This is at least one of the things that drove Bart Ehrman from his faith in God. These are truly troubling issues, and there is no simple answer to these questions. On the surface, and from our limited human perspective it may indeed seem hateful of God to allow the multitude of horrors that have plagued humanity. I do not think God is malevolent for allowing these things, but in fact I think if you look at the larger picture, we can see how God can allow us (believers and non believers) to undergo short term suffering in our fleshly bodies so that we may ultimately escape eternal suffering in hell.
First and foremost we have to realize that our human perspective is limited. Not only is it limited, but we are at a huge disadvantage in terms of spiritual things. We have to acknowledge also, that God is beyond what we can sense and tangibly measure. That is, when looking into the Bible, and things of God, we have to ackowledge that God is supernatural, beyond us and probably beyond anything than we can imagine. But, God, in His goodness has made Himself known to us, through His word the Bible, and His Son Jesus. Bart Ehrman seems to have come to the conclusion that the the Bible and things of God have to be explainable in purely limited human terms. He seems to have completely disgarded the spiritual reality of the world. In other words, we can't understand from our human viewpoint why a loving, all powerful God would allow suffering. But if this would have been considered in the context of a spiritual war, a "cosmic soap opera" as some atheists disrespectfully call it, suffering makes a whole lot more sense. And I would submit that it is by the grace of God, and His intervention that the suffering and condition of the world is not worse. Suffering is just part of the cosmic war.
I think if you look at Noah's world and you see that things were incredibly bad because people were exceedingly bad. If you factor in the book of Enoch, things look even worse. In short, Noah's world, to me, seems to be what the world would be like if God were to allow the devil free reign to do as he pleased. Revelation also shows that when God allows the devil full reign again, it only takes Satan less than 7 years to get to a point where almost all flesh is destroyed. To sum up, God keeps Satan in check, and keeps us from undergoing the absolute worst suffering.
To get a better view of the spiritual war, take a look at this http://ichthys.com/Satanic-Rebellion-Home-Page.htm. This is not to be given greater weight than scripture, but it does, to me, provide a somewhat logical view of why God would allow suffering. The summary is this. Satan rebelled, and thinks he can ultimately outsmart and defeat God. God could have destroyed Satan that instant, but instead chose to be demonstrate mercy and allow Satan's rebellion to reach its full and complete potential. He created man as a last chance offer to allow Satan to repent, but Satan chose to continue rebelling. God allowed Satan's rebellion to impact humanity. The reasons God did this, according to Luginbill, seem to be to show all creation that He is ultimately merciful and worthy of being God. Perhaps by showing us how bad it could be by allowing Satan's full evil to run its course. Perhaps for reasons I cannot explain or properly convey. My understanding is limited, but in the end God knew it all beforehand, and is allowing His freewill-driven creation to rebell or repent to ultimately show that He is good. Given the fact that God provided a way for us fallen humans to be restored to realtionship with Him through Christ proves to me His goodness. We get an escape from eternal suffering, but have to endure short term suffering here.
We either choose to join Him, through Christ, or we remain aligned with Satan willingly by rejecting God and His peace offering of salvation.
Some scripture that gives further evidence as to why God would allow suffering. Romans 1:21 - Romans 2. In short, we humans rejected the truth about God or made up our own ideas of what God was like, so He let us pursue those foolish desires. These foolish ideas often involve people pursuing their own desires at the expense of others. This happens today. We have our own ideas of what God is like today, and do not seek the truth of His word so He lets us live in our foolishness. But for any who repent there is a chance He will help us in our suffering and use our suffering to help us grow for our eternal good. Romans 8:17 - 18; 8:35 - 37.
So how can genocide and the rest be explained? Why does God allow people to starve, or allow millions to die for no apparent reason?
My thoughts are that some of these genocides are moves by Satan to try and destroy either humanity, or a select group of people for unknown reasons. The Holocaust I can sort of explain from what I've learned listening to Russ Dizdar, and thinking about the Satanic rebellion. The purpose was multifold. 1) If Satan could eliminate all of the Jews before the fulfillment of Bible prophecy occurred, He could prove God to be a liar. That failed, and actually helped fulfill prophecy (I believe) by allowing Israel to return to her homeland from the diaspora. That does not mean Jews had to die to allow Israel to be restored, but God used that evil time to allow the Jews to return home. 2) Some say it was a Luciferian blood sacrifice to open spiritual doors and allow demonic power to grow. I don't know how I feel about that, but I couldn't rule it out. Especially given the fact that UFOs were just starting to appear in the form of foo fighters, and later Roswell. That's another topic for another day. The Nazis were THE ultimate Occult government, and so may have tried to appease their gods (Satan really) to allow them to grow stronger. Even if the sacrifice theory is true, Satan's purpose was undoubtedly to destroy God's people. 3) Some may say it was God punishing Israel and the Jews for past disobedience. I don't know that I support this theory, and I am not qualified to form an opinion on this. I think that it's a bit harsh, and probably short sighted to say that's the only reason. For more perspectives, Jewish perspectives see www.jpost.com/Opinion/columnists/article.aspx?id=172521. Do your own research and pray it out with God.
What about other genocides? The Rape of Nanking? Darfur? others? My thoughts are again, that Satan's armies gained control of certain governments here and there, and used those governmental powers to cause mass slaughter. They hate humanity, and any chance to engage in mass slaughter of humans, Satan and the demons will take. It happened in the Mayan culture when the Mayans became consumed with mass sacrifices. It continues today in genocide and probably in the form of abortion, which I think is another way "They" want to eliminate target groups of people. Perhaps abortion is a topic for another day, but it probably is a form of genocide presented as a "choice."
Though genocide and the Nazi Holocaust can be explained as the fault of demons or Satan, that perhaps gives Satan too much credit, and removes the blame from the human perpetrators. While it is nice to have an invisile scapegoat to blame every evil thing on, Satan doesn't deserve all of the credit. I would be very comfortable in saying that while the Holocaust had very occult origins, and no doubt could have been a plot on Satan’s part to make God into a liar. But I don't think that can be the sole cause. Without willing human participants the devil’s plans wouldn’t have gone far. And if these genocides didn't fit into or fulfill some part of God’s ultimate plan, it wouldn’t have been allowed in the first place.
My guess is that allowing such evil to occur justifies that God is good and shows that Satan is evil. Perhaps God allowed (allows) Satan greater reign to show that Satan is not fit to rule. Perhaps when Satan is allowed greater latitude and control, all he can do is foment genocide and famine. This is my thought based on what I understand from the Satanic Rebellion and Dr. Heiser's Divine Council. The only Biblical way I can justify this, is again to refer to Revelation when Satan is allowed pretty much full control the world literally goes to hell. Perhaps the suffering we seee on smaller scales is just a foretaste of what is to come.
From a different view, genocide seems to have its roots in the teaching of evolution and eugenics, which are Satanic in origin due to their rejection of God, and the deifying of self and humanity to an extant. Each time one “race” decrees another inferior, they usually try to justify it with scientific reasoning. After all, if it can be proven scientifically, it has to be right. (that's sarcasm folks) Eugenics basically offers a great way for evil people to justify dehumanizing a group of people they have never liked. In Rwanda the Tutsis were viewed as superior to the Hutus by the Belgians, based on eugenic reasons and the result is that Tutsis dehumanized the Hutus. In Nanking, the Japanese thought themselves superior to the Chinese.
Whenever one group of people finds a way to justify themselves as superior to another group, especially if they can justify it with junk science, they will automatically dehumanize another “inferior” group. All of the perpetrators of genocide that I have investigated have for one reason or another been able to label one group as inferior.
Any time a society rejects God, and deifies a leader or science instead, they will eventually find a way to discriminate against a selected group. The book of Romans (from earlier) comes into play again, in that we are turned over to our lusts. Every time we reject God and pursue our own ideas of utopia, and an ideal for a standard human it ends in death. Suffering is the end result of rejecting God's standard of humanity, that is we are ALL created in God's image and not one race is better than another. All are equal in God's eyes.
“Senseless” suffering happens in the world, and it’s not because God doesn’t love us or He refuses to get involved. It seems to me, it’s because God removes His involvement and puts us at the mercy of our own lusts. Or when God lifts His protection and allows Satan to destroy. So, suffering happens because people abuse each other and allows Satan to destroy. Whether this is because of our own motivation, or inspired by the devil, the end result is the same. In the end, those who perpetrate the abuse still have to answer to God.
This weeks post is very difficult for me to write, and I hope that my poor attempt can still shed some light, and perhaps show that God is not malevolent or aloof. I feel as though I can write a book about it, and it would never be long enough, or sufficient enough to explain to those who doubt God’s power and goodness. What I threw out here are my ideas based on my own understanding, the writings of other Christians, and what I can remember from the Bible. I hope that i have at least been able to make some sense out of senseless suffering.
Next week, I will jump into the rest of Ehrman's attacks on Biblical reasons for suffering, and after that, there has been a request to address either Chi, or these absurd magnetic rings that allegedly grant eternal life. Sadly, I almost bought the rings myself.
Friday, October 1, 2010
Consult the Book of Armaments!
This week is named after a kind of dumb Monty Python joke…I guess I am hoping to take something bad and make it good. Or perhaps I want to take something that sounded catchy and put it to a good use. So, this is a good look at a bunch of armaments that Christians should have in their arsenal in the war against Satan for the souls of mankind.
First, here's the most important thing you need. The Bible in just about any language. Bible in Arabic. The Bible in Japanese. The Bible in Chinese. And way more.
http://www.biblegateway.com/versions/
if you are a Christian, stop looking for your best life now, or the prosperity that is found at the megachurch. I’m not saying that megachurches can’t have good teaching on occasion, but there probably is alot of "itching ears" doctrine. How else could the pastor afford that sportscar?
Once you become a Christian, the enemy starts fighting against you as opposed to luring you away. As soon as I came to Christ, not long after I was attacked in my sleep with sleep paralysis, and my urge to sin intensified exponentially. I was likely under attack in the weakest parts of my armor.
Starting with Ephesians 6:10 and going on through verse 17. This emphasizes that we are indeed at war with Satan. The actual pieces of the armor are also here as well. For the life of me, I have not been able to memorize these, but in the midst of a spiritual attack about a month ago, I started to remember these and it was like God was telling them to me. I would say it was the Holy Spirit speaking to my heart and telling me what to do.
Here are the pieces of armor, I will just give what they are, go ahead and dig through Ephesians on your own to learn more in-depth about this armor. I would also check some of the commentaries on Blue Letter Bible to see what else is said.
The Belt of Truth
The Breastplate/body armor of Righteousness
The Boots/shoes of the Peace that comes from the Gospel
The Shield of Faith
The Helmet of Salvation
And
The Sword of Truth, which is the word of God, aka the Bible.
Some other good scriptures:
1 Peter 3:22 – tells us that ALL spiritual entities are subject to the authority of Christ.
Galatians 4:3 and 4:9 – tell us that we were once slaves to the spiritual powers of this world, aka Satan. Once Christ came and performed His work, and we believed, we are no longer subject to those powers.
Lastly, here are some websites and related Podcast ministries that helped me when I was wandering from the Lord spiritually. These sites inspired me to question the road I was on, and got me back to reading – and BELIEVING! – the Bible. It also opened my eyes to the fact that there is a lot of bad stuff going on in the world, and that we Christians need to stand up against it.
This site helps convict me of sin in my life and really helps me see sin for what it is - an ugly and disrespectful act of rebellion on my part against the God who loves me. The second one helped to illustrate that God gave us free will, yet knew everything in advance. It also shows why he is allowing evil to reign as long as it has.
http://www.whatifimpretending.com/
http://www.ichthys.com/Satanic-Rebellion-Home-Page.htm
Some good ol’ Fashioned Preachin’. What better way to sharpen your sword, apart from reading the Bible? Listen to sermons! Chuck Swindoll, and Chuck Missler each have a regular Podcast on itunes, which are: easy to get, free, and short. Search the Itunes store for “Insight For Living,” and either Chuck Missler or “66/40”. I was going to make a joke about how two of my favorite Podcasts are by a Chuck, but I won’t.
Next, here are some wonderful current events sources that look at things from a Christian, and sometime endtimes worldview. I don’t always agree with everything they say, but THEY STIMULATE CRITICAL THINKING! And from a Biblical world view.
http://www.futurequake.com – also has a great Podcast in itunes, and probably podomatic!
http://www.olivetreeviews.org/ - also has a great Podcast in itunes, and probably podomatic!
http://www.realityzone.com/currentperiod.html
http://peeringintodarkness.com/ - also has a great Podcast in itunes, and probably podomatic! (see also View From The Bunker)
http://michaelsheiser.com/UFOReligions/
http://michaelsheiser.com/PaleoBabble/
and here are some warnings about the New Age and how it’s infiltrating the Church and
http://cumbey.blogspot.com/
http://herescope.blogspot.com/
Also look for Gaz Parker's "New Age Deception"
A great ministry, really in touch with spiritual warfare. Russ Dizdar scared the Hell out of me, literally, by measuring the UFOs and fallen finite spirits against the Almighty and infinite God. Really, what comparison could there be?
http://www.shatterthedarkness.net/ - also has a great Podcast in itunes, and probably podomatic! (see Preemption Broadcast)
More Current events, but more of what is happening on the supernatural front. What kinds of trends are going on. I guess, intel on what the enemy may be up to. Also a special interest in Bible prophecy and how it may or may not be playing out in real time. These would be the watchmen on the wall, warning us ahead of time of an enemy attack. They are not prophets, but see scary stuff and let the Body of Christ know about it. Sadly, most of the people behind the wall are asleep.
Use discernment with some of these though. While what they teach may be interesting or potentially even true, we also need to realize that the enemy could be using some of the topics as a distraction. Of course, we could also use it as a witnessing tool. So tread carefully.
http://lamarzulli.wordpress.com/ - also has a great Podcast in itunes, and probably podomatic! (see Acceleration Radio, updated sporadically in itunes)
http://ministerfortson.com/ - also has a great Podcast in itunes, and probably podomatic! (see the Omega Hour.)
http://www.fulfilledprophecy.com/
http://www.lookupfellowship.com/
http://www.raidersnewsnetwork.com/
Great all around resources for those who need to know about Christ, but have a worldview you’re not familiar with. How else could you witness to: Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Catholics, New Agers, 2012ers, Psychics, etc?
http://conspiracyclothes.com/nowheretorun/
http://www.bereanbeacon.org/index.php
http://dvdtract.com/
First, here's the most important thing you need. The Bible in just about any language. Bible in Arabic. The Bible in Japanese. The Bible in Chinese. And way more.
http://www.biblegateway.com/versions/
if you are a Christian, stop looking for your best life now, or the prosperity that is found at the megachurch. I’m not saying that megachurches can’t have good teaching on occasion, but there probably is alot of "itching ears" doctrine. How else could the pastor afford that sportscar?
Once you become a Christian, the enemy starts fighting against you as opposed to luring you away. As soon as I came to Christ, not long after I was attacked in my sleep with sleep paralysis, and my urge to sin intensified exponentially. I was likely under attack in the weakest parts of my armor.
Starting with Ephesians 6:10 and going on through verse 17. This emphasizes that we are indeed at war with Satan. The actual pieces of the armor are also here as well. For the life of me, I have not been able to memorize these, but in the midst of a spiritual attack about a month ago, I started to remember these and it was like God was telling them to me. I would say it was the Holy Spirit speaking to my heart and telling me what to do.
Here are the pieces of armor, I will just give what they are, go ahead and dig through Ephesians on your own to learn more in-depth about this armor. I would also check some of the commentaries on Blue Letter Bible to see what else is said.
The Belt of Truth
The Breastplate/body armor of Righteousness
The Boots/shoes of the Peace that comes from the Gospel
The Shield of Faith
The Helmet of Salvation
And
The Sword of Truth, which is the word of God, aka the Bible.
Some other good scriptures:
1 Peter 3:22 – tells us that ALL spiritual entities are subject to the authority of Christ.
Galatians 4:3 and 4:9 – tell us that we were once slaves to the spiritual powers of this world, aka Satan. Once Christ came and performed His work, and we believed, we are no longer subject to those powers.
Lastly, here are some websites and related Podcast ministries that helped me when I was wandering from the Lord spiritually. These sites inspired me to question the road I was on, and got me back to reading – and BELIEVING! – the Bible. It also opened my eyes to the fact that there is a lot of bad stuff going on in the world, and that we Christians need to stand up against it.
This site helps convict me of sin in my life and really helps me see sin for what it is - an ugly and disrespectful act of rebellion on my part against the God who loves me. The second one helped to illustrate that God gave us free will, yet knew everything in advance. It also shows why he is allowing evil to reign as long as it has.
http://www.whatifimpretending.com/
http://www.ichthys.com/Satanic-Rebellion-Home-Page.htm
Some good ol’ Fashioned Preachin’. What better way to sharpen your sword, apart from reading the Bible? Listen to sermons! Chuck Swindoll, and Chuck Missler each have a regular Podcast on itunes, which are: easy to get, free, and short. Search the Itunes store for “Insight For Living,” and either Chuck Missler or “66/40”. I was going to make a joke about how two of my favorite Podcasts are by a Chuck, but I won’t.
Next, here are some wonderful current events sources that look at things from a Christian, and sometime endtimes worldview. I don’t always agree with everything they say, but THEY STIMULATE CRITICAL THINKING! And from a Biblical world view.
http://www.futurequake.com – also has a great Podcast in itunes, and probably podomatic!
http://www.olivetreeviews.org/ - also has a great Podcast in itunes, and probably podomatic!
http://www.realityzone.com/currentperiod.html
http://peeringintodarkness.com/ - also has a great Podcast in itunes, and probably podomatic! (see also View From The Bunker)
http://michaelsheiser.com/UFOReligions/
http://michaelsheiser.com/PaleoBabble/
and here are some warnings about the New Age and how it’s infiltrating the Church and
http://cumbey.blogspot.com/
http://herescope.blogspot.com/
Also look for Gaz Parker's "New Age Deception"
A great ministry, really in touch with spiritual warfare. Russ Dizdar scared the Hell out of me, literally, by measuring the UFOs and fallen finite spirits against the Almighty and infinite God. Really, what comparison could there be?
http://www.shatterthedarkness.net/ - also has a great Podcast in itunes, and probably podomatic! (see Preemption Broadcast)
More Current events, but more of what is happening on the supernatural front. What kinds of trends are going on. I guess, intel on what the enemy may be up to. Also a special interest in Bible prophecy and how it may or may not be playing out in real time. These would be the watchmen on the wall, warning us ahead of time of an enemy attack. They are not prophets, but see scary stuff and let the Body of Christ know about it. Sadly, most of the people behind the wall are asleep.
Use discernment with some of these though. While what they teach may be interesting or potentially even true, we also need to realize that the enemy could be using some of the topics as a distraction. Of course, we could also use it as a witnessing tool. So tread carefully.
http://lamarzulli.wordpress.com/ - also has a great Podcast in itunes, and probably podomatic! (see Acceleration Radio, updated sporadically in itunes)
http://ministerfortson.com/ - also has a great Podcast in itunes, and probably podomatic! (see the Omega Hour.)
http://www.fulfilledprophecy.com/
http://www.lookupfellowship.com/
http://www.raidersnewsnetwork.com/
Great all around resources for those who need to know about Christ, but have a worldview you’re not familiar with. How else could you witness to: Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Catholics, New Agers, 2012ers, Psychics, etc?
http://conspiracyclothes.com/nowheretorun/
http://www.bereanbeacon.org/index.php
http://dvdtract.com/
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