Who You Messin With?

1 Peter 5:8 Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Part of the believer's walk is in learning we are in a battle with an adversary who hates God and us!! The Apostle Paul was a vibrant part of the kingdom's work and had to fight this spiritual battle on a moment-by-moment basis. Listen to what Paul wrote to the church at Thessalonica in 2 Thessalonians 3:1-5 Finally, dear brothers and sisters, we ask you to pray for us. Pray that the Lord’s message will spread rapidly and be honored wherever it goes, just as when it came to you.2 Pray, too, that we will be rescued from wicked and evil people, for not everyone is a believer.3 But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you against the evil one. 4 And we are confident in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things we commanded you.5 May the Lord lead your hearts into a full understanding and expression of the love of God and the patient endurance that comes from Christ. Paul's solution should be ours as well. Prayer is the key!!

So many times our prayers are centered around things that have already happened and God is faithful to bring us through those needs. But God is also faithful in protecting us from the arrows of the devil. James 4:7"Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." To submit or surrender to God is followed by resisting the devil and the end result is the devil not just leaving us, but fleeing from us. Sometimes the only thing I can get out of my mouth in a prayer of protection is Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. But that is enough. Why? Because Jesus said this in Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” Keep in mind Jesus shared this with His disciples when He commissioned them, and us, to take this gospel to the world, knowing that the enemy would come up against us. The moment we commit to sharing the gospel per the Great Commission is the moment we are in a spiritual battle. Our only hope in this battle is the power of God and it is readily available if we will use it. The very name Jesus is a strong tower for us. In Proverbs 18:10 the bible says 10 The name of the Lord is a strong fortress; the godly run to him and are safe.

The Apostle Paul pretty well summarizes everything in his letter to the Romans and in Romans 8:37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. 38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. Who You Messin With? With Jesus as our strength, our fortress, our victor, does it really matter? NO! John 10:10"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

God is available and ready to minister and fight your battles for you. Jeremiah 29:13 And you will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

The Pilgrimage Continues...

David Warren