Thursday, Apr 24, 2008

TWG - April 24, 2008

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TWG - April 24, 2008
To Listen to Today’s Reading http://timewithgod.mypodcast.com
Genesis 37; Ezekiel 42; Matthew 4

Today is April 24, this is time with God, I’m Pastor Dennis - I’ve been waiting here for you. Welcome to our life transforming community. We are doing something of eternal significance. We are redeeming the time. That is one of the basic premises of TWG. We believe that what we do every day is so important that we must do the important things each day. That is why we read the word every Day

Some days are filled with activity, some are not. Yesterday was a fairly quiet day at the office. I got my discovery class done, published our Radio Podcast to the internet, put Sunday Morning messages on the internet, worked on Bible Study and fielded a few phone calls. It was a day of work, slave, work. Jayn was there raking the amphitheater. Thank you Jayn! You are my hero! I hope you are as blessed as I am. Then last night Susan and I went to Growth Group. There were a lot of people gone. Phil had a cold. Wayne is sick. Jim & Irene couldn’t make it. And of course Gene and Mary stayed home. That left Carl & Sonja, Cathy and Bill & Helen. We had a good time talking about worship and the church. I put a picture of Me and Sherry on the blog at www.timewithgod.mypodcast.com. From their open house.

This week’s theme verse is Ephesians 6:10-13 Finally, be strong in the Lord and 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. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

Identifying the enemy is key to winning the battle against him. Policemen are trained not to allow innocent civilians to get in the line of their fire. Guerilla warfare is a huge problem for conventional soldiers. If the enemy dresses as civilians, how do you know which ones are there to blow you up and which ones are common villagers? I imagine after a while you might begin to imagine that everyone is carrying a gun! It must be tough. In our spiritual battle, we must learn to identify the enemy. Our struggle is NOT against “flesh and blood.” People are not the enemy. We should not attack them. They could be witting or unwitting pawns of the enemy, but we classify them as “victims” of deception who need to be rescued rather than combatants we need to battle. The real enemy is insidious and unseen. The enemy of our soul is Satan and his hordes. Behind the scenes, the demons are lurking and plotting. They are using the 7 schemes of the Devil to attack us. Satan is the one who is responsible for motivating persecution, stirring up hatred against Christians around the world and spreading lies. He is also responsible for tempting you, harassing you emotionally and depressing you. We need to take up arms against HIM if we are to win the spiritual battle. That requires a completely different set of weapons than if we were battling other people. Our weapons are spiritual. To win this battle will require lots of prayer, lots of positive spiritual focus on whatever is good, whatever is true and whatever is right, and lots of dependence on somebody bigger than you and I – God. Let’s do it!

Dear Lord. I need you. There is a battle raging and I need spiritual weapons to fight it. Right now I place my dependence on you. You are my refuge. You are my protection. I will trust in you. I know that apart from you I can do nothing, but I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I confess that I have been fighting the enemy in the flesh – seeing people as the problem, seeing circumstances as the obstacles, even thinking that human solutions like rest, recreation, exercise, nutrition or medication will solve my spiritual problems. I know they are good for me, but I also know they are not enough. I need a spiritual solution to my spiritual problem. To this I am committed. I want your mighty weapons on my side!

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