The good armor (2)

Thank you for joining me in this new blog series. Spiritual warfare, oh my goodness, such an important topic.

There are different ways to arm oneself in the battle between good and evil. Some people opt for aggression, others for cynicism, and still others for campaigning. Defense, attack, or run away, it is all possible.

The Bible also speaks of armor that we can reach for. His weapons are of a completely different order, a spiritual order.

You can find the basic text for this series in Ephesians 6:10-13. It will help you to read it regularly, as a reminder that 1) there is a spiritual battle, 2) God gives us weapons, 3) we do not fight against people and 4) we can stand firm (yeah!).

If we continue reading in Ephesians 6, we come to verse 14, which is a strong appeal: Stand ready, the Good News translation says. In other translations: Stand firm! Be prepared! The message is clear: get off the couch!

The first weapon God gives us is TRUTH, to wear as a belt. We must gird ourselves with truth. To gird means to encircle or bind with a belt or band, to surround; enclose; hem in, frame, encircle, encompass.

We live in a world where the opposite will happen if we are not careful, we are surrounded (girded) by lies. I hear it almost daily in conversations ... who speaks the truth? How do I know if this is true? Why do people lie under oath? etc. etc. In order to have a somewhat clear understanding of the thousand things that come our way each day, it is crucial that we are enclosed by the truth, that we have embraced truth.

When we are encircled (girded) by truth, we look to the outside as through a filter. A truth filter. And you know what, Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. Apart from Him, apart from the truth, we cannot stand in battle. If you believe in Him, He will give you the Spirit of Truth, who comes to live in you and will be with you always. 👉 He gives truth counsel.

PS: In my book Spirit of Truth I go deeper into the root cause of deception, which is twisted truth. I believe it is a must-read for such a time as this. Kindle and paperback are available on Amazon.

The good armor (1)

That we are engaged in a spiritual battle on a global scale is quite clear. Rulers, authorities, and powers of darkness are fighting for dominion. We sure can feel that on a personal level as well.

How are we supposed to fight against all the disturbing and contradictory messages, news items, and opinions we are bombarded with each day? How do we stand firm and keep on standing? As a Christian, how do we stay positive and hopeful within our realm of influence?

We all struggle with this, to some degree. I have decided to write a series of short blogs about the spiritual armor as described in the Bible. Yes, we are called to be peacemakers, but that does not mean we can neglect to arm ourselves for this spiritual battle.

No one wants a battle, no one wants opposition, no one wants war. But hiding our heads in the sand is not the right answer. 👉 The Bible prepares us so we can stand firm in a time like this. Ephesians 6 is all about that. You may have read that chapter a hundred times, maybe never. Either way, I hope you will receive encouragement, insight, and revelation from the upcoming blog posts. The basic text for this series is Ephesians 6:10-13, I broke it down into pieces:

• Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.
• Put on all of God's armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.
• For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against the evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.
• Therefore, put on every piece of God's armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil.
• Then after the battle you will still be standing firm.

I hope you will join me in this series. Feel free to share the posts!

Eerie feeling?

I don't like it when it happens, but from time to time I have that eerie feeling come over me, that feeling that we can't be sure of anything anymore. 

Anyone with me? Or is it just my imagination?

What was wrong yesterday, is right tomorrow. What used to be normal is now regarded as weird and what was logical is now unexplainable. Talking about confusion...

I was pondering about that this morning and the thought came to me that God is not a God of confusion, He is a God of order, of peace, and of love. I really felt He wanted me to write a blog about the 'surelies' as we can find them in the Bible. You know, where someone, or even God Himself, starts a sentence with SURELY....

'Remind the people about My surelies...' So, okay, here we go. I hope this post will be an encouragement to you.

• Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever (Psalm 23:6)
• Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me (Psalm 54:4)
• There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off (Proverbs 23:18)
• Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation.” (Isaiah 12:2)
• Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear (Isaiah 59:1)
• 👉And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”(Matthew 28:20)

Well, if that does not get you excited, I don't know what will. God's Word is our treasure, true riches at hand. And the most beautiful thing is that everything may change around us, but the Word of the Lord remains forever.

It is written: “‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will acknowledge God.’” (Romans 14:11).