Finally, be strong in the Lord in His mighty power. 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 rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Notice all these phrases:
Be strong. Be spiritually powerful, tough, resilient in the Lord. Be empowered through your union with God. Draw strength from Him.
Put on. This is a command to commit to action. It is something that we must do. We're never told to take off.
Full armor of God. Every time it is mentioned it is the full or whole armor. Without putting on the full armor of God we won't be fully equipped for battle.
Here are some of the devil's schemes: pride - lies - fear - discouragement - anger - complaining - gossip - regret - greed - self-pity - laziness - unfaithfulness - worry - anxiety; just to name a few.
Too long have we just got comfortable in our church pews and comfortable building churches that we forgot that we're meant to cause a righteous ruckus with holy indignation that hates mediocrity and self-absorption. We go to church not for our sake but to give the enemy a break.
Our battle isn't with the theology of another. Our battle isn't with an atheist, a homosexual, or a satanist. It is with the one who is behind all of it playing the puppeteer. Our battle is with:
The rulers. A person (in this case a spirit) exercising dominion.
The authorities. The power or right to give orders, make decisions, and enforce obedience.
The powers. The capability of doing or accomplishing something.
The forces. The capacity or active power to cause change.
This is not as cartoonist portray it as the fat angel and seductive devil on our shoulders. There is a spiritual battle that we are fighting. There is no spectating. Let me say this there are no innocent bystanders. I don't believe there is a demon behind every rock but I do believe that we have overlooked the reality of the conflict. We have become disengaged from the warfare we are called to fight in.
We are soldiers who fight the good fight.
We are soldiers who don't get caught in the nonsense.
We are soldiers who raze hell.
Don't just sit around in church, pick a fight.
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