"For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against
principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of
this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Ephesians 6:12"
In a battle, it is imperative to identify your
enemy. If you are not aware of the point of your attack, you are
vulnerable. Paul had many enemi
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"Go
and consecrate the people. Tell them to consecrate themselves tomorrow,
for this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says, ‘There are among
you, Israel, things set apart. You will not be able to stand against
your enemies until you remove what is set apart.’”—Joshua 7:13
He
will be like a refiner and purifier of silver; He will purify the sons
of Levi and refine them like gold and silver. Then they will present
offerings to the Lord in righteousness.—Malachi 3:3
The
quality of our worship is not based on our activities but on our
character. Churches can mistakenly assume that the better the music, the
more impressive the building, and the m
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But a Samaritan on his journey came up to him, and when he saw [the man], he had compassion.—Luke 10:33
If anyone could understand the temptation
to let busyness distract Him from the Father's activity, Jesus certainly
could! He told a parable that clearly illustrated this danger: A
certain Jewish man was on his way to Jericho when he was brutally
attacked by th
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"I
have been very zealous for the Lord God of Hosts,” he replied, "but the
Israelites have abandoned Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and
killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they’re
looking for me to take my life.”—1 Kings 19:14
Kingdom
work can be challenging! You can give everything you have to God's
service and come away exhausted. This is what happened to Elij
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In
that same hour He rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, "I praise You,
Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things
from the wise and the learned and have revealed them to infants. Yes,
Father, because this was Your good pleasure.”—Luke 10:21
One hindrance to hearing a word from God
may be our own wisdom. Wisdom, like success, can delude us to think we
should take the role of teacher rather than student. Our knowledge lulls
us into thinking we have
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"He disarmed the rulers and authorities and disgraced them publicly; He triumphed over them by Him.—Colossians 2:15"
Christians
are not called to defeat Satan. God has already done that in Christ!
Nor is it our mandate to "bind” Satan. Jesus has already set limits on
the extent and duration of Satan's freedom. Satan, "our ancient foe,”
was decisively and completely defeated by Christ's sacrifice on the
cross and in His r
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"But
he replied to his father, ‘Look, I have been slaving many years for
you, and I have never disobeyed your orders, yet you never gave me a
young goat so I could celebrate with my friends.—Luke 15:29"
God
is concerned with bringing people from death to life. His heart
rejoices over each person who returns to Him from a time of rebelli
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"He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.—1 Thessalonians 5:24"
God
never calls us to do anything without faithfully keeping His word and
enabling us to do it. We are not always faithful to do what God tells
us, but He remains faithful and stands by His word to fulfill what He
has promised (Isa. 46:11).
When the
children of Israel reached the Red Sea, they might
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