HOW TO STAND STRONG [DEVOTION] - 3 April 2009

#1 · April 3, 2009, 3:31 am

Quote from Forum Archives on April 3, 2009, 3:31 am
Posted by: feedtheflock_admin <feedtheflock_admin@...>
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HOW TO STAND STRONG IN THE FACE OF THE ENEMY

The Bible is full of questions&#8230 questions from the eternal God to you and me.

And He&#8217s not asking those questions because He doesn&#8217t know the answer. He&#8217s asking because He wants to lead us along a pathway of discovery. He wants to stimulate us to work out the answers.

One of those questions is found in the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes. Ecclesiastes was written by a pretty smart guy by the name of Solomon. In fact, Solomon was one of the wisest men to ever walk the face of the earth. And through the words of Solomon, God asks a pointed question:

But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up. Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; but how can one be warm alone? Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken (Ecclesiastes 4:10-12).

Did you catch God&#8217s question there? It&#8217s found in verse 11: &#8220How can one be warm alone?&#8221 The purpose of this question is to reemphasize our need for companionship and fellowship.

And in these verses, God helps us discover several reasons why we need to pursue fellowship and companionship. One of which is that we are in a battle zone!

Many Christians walk around dazed and confused, saying, &#8220I don&#8217t understand what&#8217s happening to me; it&#8217s almost like I&#8217m under attack or something.&#8221

Friend, we are under attack! We&#8217re in a battle. And we really do have an enemy.

This enemy is the adversary of your soul. He wants to destroy your family and your spiritual life. He wants to rob, steal, and kill. (How else does a minor argument with your spouse over who left the peanut butter out escalate to &#8220I want a divorce!&#8221 ten minutes later?)

The atmosphere we live in today isn&#8217t just natural. As believers, we have an adversary. And if we&#8217re ignorant of it, he will manipulate us and steal from us. Read these verses from Ephesians 6 in the Living Bible:

Put on all of God&#8217s armor so that you will be able to stand safe against all the strategies and tricks of Satan. For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against persons without bodies, the evil rulers of the unseen world, those mighty satanic beings and great evil princes of darkness who rule this world and against huge numbers of wicked spirits in the spirit world (v. 11-12).

In this great epic spiritual battle we&#8217re engaged in, God has made it so that we are dependent upon one another. Let me give you one example from the Bible that shows why this is so important.

In Judges 18, there is a story about a group of people who &#8220had no ties with anyone&#8221 (v. 7). As the chapter records, an enemy came in and killed them all. The Bible tells us the reason they were destroyed was because they had no ties with anyone. There was no one close enough to deliver them.

Friend, you and I need to have ties. We need friendship and companionship. When we assume the posture of, &#8220Hey, if the devil fights you, he&#8217s got to fight me&#8230and if the devil fights me, he&#8217s got to fight you,&#8221 we&#8217re getting somewhere!

The amazing thing that happens when we as Christians bind ourselves together is that we bring a third Person into the bundle (Ecclesiastes 4:12). And who is this third cord?

It&#8217s Jesus.

Our decision to be unified brings the presence of the Lord in the time of battle. And the devil hates that.

In Matthew 18:20, Jesus says, &#8220For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.&#8221 When we gather&#8230when we have fellowship and friendship with one another in His name&#8230when we bind our lives together&#8230when we decide to fight for one another&#8230Jesus is right in the mix, strengthening us! That&#8217s a cord that won&#8217t be broken by the enemy!

Today, I want to challenge and encourage you not to be an island to yourself. Tie yourself in to other Christians who&#8217ll share life and the battle with you. Because none of us is strong enough to go it alone!

From: [email protected]

QUOTES:

The rainbow of God's promises is always above the trials and storms of life. -- Charles Shepson

Aloneness can lead to loneliness. God's preventative for loneliness is intimacy--meaningful, open, sharing relationships with one another. In Christ we have the capacity for the fulfilling sense of belonging which comes from intimate fellow-ship with God and with other believers. -- Neil T. Anderson

Every manifestation of God is full of beauty. The beauty of God, blossoming in the daisy, blazing in the starry heavens -- brings you back to my text, "O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness." [Psalm 96:9] All the beauty of flowers, in form and colour and perfume, are of God. All the beauty of the seasons--spring and summer and autumn and winter; all that is beautiful in human beings physically, mentally, spiritually, and all that is beautiful in the interrelation between people is of God. God is a God of glory. God is a God of love. But he is also the God of beauty. -- G. Campbell Morgan

For more visit http://www.surrender.nl/scom and www.freewebs.com/scoministry

For comments or issues concerning your Christian Life. Email to: [email protected]

Help spread God&#8217s word, please forward the devotion to as many friends and relatives as possible and encourage them to subscribe free of charge. If this was forwarded to you, you can subscribe by sending a blank email to the following address:

[email protected]
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Posted by: feedtheflock_admin <feedtheflock_admin@...>

Join the forum, introduce a topic that affects your spiritual life and freely discuss with members on: http://www.freewebs.com/scoministry/apps/forums/

Previous devotions can be accessed at https://welovegod.org/groups/feedtheflock/

HOW TO STAND STRONG IN THE FACE OF THE ENEMY

The Bible is full of questions&#8230 questions from the eternal God to you and me.

And He&#8217s not asking those questions because He doesn&#8217t know the answer. He&#8217s asking because He wants to lead us along a pathway of discovery. He wants to stimulate us to work out the answers.

One of those questions is found in the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes. Ecclesiastes was written by a pretty smart guy by the name of Solomon. In fact, Solomon was one of the wisest men to ever walk the face of the earth. And through the words of Solomon, God asks a pointed question:

But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up. Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; but how can one be warm alone? Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken (Ecclesiastes 4:10-12).

Did you catch God&#8217s question there? It&#8217s found in verse 11: &#8220How can one be warm alone?&#8221 The purpose of this question is to reemphasize our need for companionship and fellowship.

And in these verses, God helps us discover several reasons why we need to pursue fellowship and companionship. One of which is that we are in a battle zone!

Many Christians walk around dazed and confused, saying, &#8220I don&#8217t understand what&#8217s happening to me; it&#8217s almost like I&#8217m under attack or something.&#8221

Friend, we are under attack! We&#8217re in a battle. And we really do have an enemy.

This enemy is the adversary of your soul. He wants to destroy your family and your spiritual life. He wants to rob, steal, and kill. (How else does a minor argument with your spouse over who left the peanut butter out escalate to &#8220I want a divorce!&#8221 ten minutes later?)

The atmosphere we live in today isn&#8217t just natural. As believers, we have an adversary. And if we&#8217re ignorant of it, he will manipulate us and steal from us. Read these verses from Ephesians 6 in the Living Bible:

Put on all of God&#8217s armor so that you will be able to stand safe against all the strategies and tricks of Satan. For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against persons without bodies, the evil rulers of the unseen world, those mighty satanic beings and great evil princes of darkness who rule this world and against huge numbers of wicked spirits in the spirit world (v. 11-12).

In this great epic spiritual battle we&#8217re engaged in, God has made it so that we are dependent upon one another. Let me give you one example from the Bible that shows why this is so important.

In Judges 18, there is a story about a group of people who &#8220had no ties with anyone&#8221 (v. 7). As the chapter records, an enemy came in and killed them all. The Bible tells us the reason they were destroyed was because they had no ties with anyone. There was no one close enough to deliver them.

Friend, you and I need to have ties. We need friendship and companionship. When we assume the posture of, &#8220Hey, if the devil fights you, he&#8217s got to fight me&#8230and if the devil fights me, he&#8217s got to fight you,&#8221 we&#8217re getting somewhere!

The amazing thing that happens when we as Christians bind ourselves together is that we bring a third Person into the bundle (Ecclesiastes 4:12). And who is this third cord?

It&#8217s Jesus.

Our decision to be unified brings the presence of the Lord in the time of battle. And the devil hates that.

In Matthew 18:20, Jesus says, &#8220For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.&#8221 When we gather&#8230when we have fellowship and friendship with one another in His name&#8230when we bind our lives together&#8230when we decide to fight for one another&#8230Jesus is right in the mix, strengthening us! That&#8217s a cord that won&#8217t be broken by the enemy!

Today, I want to challenge and encourage you not to be an island to yourself. Tie yourself in to other Christians who&#8217ll share life and the battle with you. Because none of us is strong enough to go it alone!

From: [email protected]

QUOTES:

The rainbow of God's promises is always above the trials and storms of life. -- Charles Shepson

Aloneness can lead to loneliness. God's preventative for loneliness is intimacy--meaningful, open, sharing relationships with one another. In Christ we have the capacity for the fulfilling sense of belonging which comes from intimate fellow-ship with God and with other believers. -- Neil T. Anderson

Every manifestation of God is full of beauty. The beauty of God, blossoming in the daisy, blazing in the starry heavens -- brings you back to my text, "O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness." [Psalm 96:9] All the beauty of flowers, in form and colour and perfume, are of God. All the beauty of the seasons--spring and summer and autumn and winter; all that is beautiful in human beings physically, mentally, spiritually, and all that is beautiful in the interrelation between people is of God. God is a God of glory. God is a God of love. But he is also the God of beauty. -- G. Campbell Morgan

For more visit http://www.surrender.nl/scom and http://www.freewebs.com/scoministry

For comments or issues concerning your Christian Life. Email to: [email protected]

Help spread God&#8217s word, please forward the devotion to as many friends and relatives as possible and encourage them to subscribe free of charge. If this was forwarded to you, you can subscribe by sending a blank email to the following address:

[email protected]

  ---------------------------------------------------------------------  To unsubscribe, e-mail: [email protected]  For additional commands, e-mail: [email protected]