Ephesians 6:12
King James Version
12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood,
but against principalities,
against powers,
against the rulers of the darkness of this world,
against spiritual wickedness in high places.
How are believers, and non-believers, being attacked?
Where are our areas of vulnerability?
How do we counter demonic attacks?
Believers, and non-believers are being attacked every moment.
Whether people acknowledge it or not, the fact remains we are all in spiritual battle.
With the perpetrator being CHRIST's enemy.
Many don't believe the latter exists but he sure does.
When you have been in the thick of battle as long as this workman has been, you can't deny the enemy's methods, and existence.
Half the battle is won, if you acknowledge Satan exists.
The rest of victory belong to the born again, through JESUS.
Proof the enemy exists?
The LORD saw Satan fall from the sky.
Luke 10:18
King James Version
18 And he said unto them,
I beheld Satan as lightning
fall from heaven.
Satan's days being short, you can expect MASSIVE attack.
Revelation 12:12
King James Version
12 Therefore rejoice, ye heavens,
and ye that dwell in them.
Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea!
for the devil is come down unto you,
having great wrath,
because he knoweth that he
hath but a short time.
Here are his areas of attack, which the HOLY SPIRIT led me to today.
FOOD
FACE
FORM
FASHION
FAMILY
FINANCE
FORNICATION
FUTURE
Of course, this is but a small sampling of such.
Many we've addressed through various blogs, and books.
As counterpart to these areas of vulnerability, we searched Scripture for verses that conform to GOD's will.
In place of man's will, and desire.
So, let's begin:
FOOD
Many are into food, gluttony, and vanity.
Food shows, and competitions, are rampant.
Chefs are in great demand.
Restaurants, and cafes, have boomed.
Tourism and the hospitality industry is super active all over the world.
Online food delivery is at an all-time high.
Many are fixated, and preoccupied, with food.
But what did Moses say in the Old Testament?
Deuteronomy 8:2-3
King James Version
2 And thou shalt remember all the way
which the Lord thy God led thee
these forty years in the wilderness,
to humble thee,
and to prove thee,
to know what was in thine heart,
whether thou wouldest
keep his commandments,
or no.
3 And he humbled thee,
and suffered thee to hunger,
and fed thee with manna,
which thou knewest not,
neither did thy fathers know;
that he might make thee know
that man doth not live by bread only,
but by every word that proceedeth
out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live.
Deuteronomy 8:16
King James Version
16 Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna,
which thy fathers knew not,
that he might humble thee,
and that he might prove thee,
to do thee good at thy latter end;
In consonance with those verses, JESUS declared this:
John 6:35
King James Version
35 And Jesus said unto them,
I am the bread of life:
he that cometh to me shall never hunger;
and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.
Food was meant to nourish, so we may not perish.
It was not meant to be the main focus of our existence.
We must eat to live, and not live to eat.
Beyond food is JESUS, the BREAD of LIFE.
And GOD, the LIVING WATERS.
As born again, we put food in its proper place, and perspective.
Proverbs 15:17
King James Version
17 Better is a dinner of herbs where love is,
than a stalled ox and hatred therewith.
FACE
Many are beholden to their own beauty, both men, and women.
They aim to attract, distract, and destruct.
If you're an adult, you already know the pitfalls.
And yet look at how our LORD JESUS CHRIST showed up:
Isaiah 53:2-4
King James Version
2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant,
and as a root out of a dry ground:
he hath no form nor comeliness;
and when we shall see him,
there is no beauty that we should desire him.
3 He is despised and rejected of men;
a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief:
and we hid as it were our faces from him;
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he hath borne our griefs,
and carried our sorrows:
yet we did esteem him stricken,
smitten of God, and afflicted.
Look at what GOD declared:
1 Samuel 16:7
King James Version
7 But the Lord said unto Samuel,
Look not on his countenance,
or on the height of his stature;
because I have refused him:
for the Lord seeth not as man seeth;
for man looketh on the outward appearance,
but the Lord looketh on the heart.
King Solomon had this to say:
Ecclesiastes 1:2
King James Version
2 Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher,
vanity of vanities;
all is vanity.
FORM
As with face, many are beholden to their form, and figure.
Aiming to be the fittest, fairest, and most desirable.
With many having the intent of enticing, seducing, and destroying.
Much as many would not admit to.
Why "destroying"?
Because man has no idea the pitfalls of flesh.
Through woman, Satan has tempted man to sin.
The reverse is also true.
Flesh is not acceptable in the kingdom of GOD.
Romans 3:20
King James Version
20 Therefore by the deeds of the law
there shall no flesh be justified in his sight:
for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
1 Corinthians 1:29-30
King James Version
29 That no flesh glory in his presence.
30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus,
who of God is made unto us wisdom,
and righteousness,
and sanctification,
and redemption:
1 Corinthians 15:50
King James Version
50 Now this I say, brethren,
that flesh and blood
cannot inherit the kingdom of God;
neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
FASHION
It's been big business as far back as we can remember.
Fashion is flimsy, fleeting, and flitting.
It can cause you to lose many a dime, as you go for trends.
Does fashion matter so much, really?
All I care about is comfortable, durable, decent wear to keep me protected from sun, rain, and bugs.
Doesn't make sense to dress seductively.
We'll attract a different kind of bug.
A pest of a perverse sort.
Now, why would a true born again ever focus on fashion?
Why would we need accoutrements, or accessories?
A born again delights in being simple, fully-focused on the LORD.
I look to my DEAREST LORD JESUS at the cross, and grieve at how they have treated my LORD.
Matthew 27:35
King James Version
35 And they crucified him,
and parted his garments,
casting lots:
that it might be fulfilled
which was spoken by the prophet,
They parted my garments among them,
and upon my vesture did they cast lots.
John 19:23-24
King James Version
23 Then the soldiers,
when they had crucified Jesus,
took his garments,
and made four parts,
to every soldier a part;
and also his coat:
now the coat was without seam,
woven from the top throughout.
24 They said therefore among themselves,
Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it,
whose it shall be:
that the scripture might be fulfilled,
which saith,
They parted my raiment among them,
and for my vesture they did cast lots.
These things therefore the soldiers did.
A born again looks to JESUS for everything.
He set the path and pattern for our lives.
He lived the life we must live.
In complete OBEDIENCE to GOD, always loving the FATHER.
In JESUS is truth, glory, life, light, love, wisdom, and salvation.
How can I follow anyone else, but the LORD?
FAMILY
How are families being attacked?
Through confusion, adultery, fornication.
Confusion in genders.
Adultery in parents.
Fornication in the youth.
How to combat attacks on the family?
Moses tells us how:
Deuteronomy 11:1
King James Version
11 Therefore thou shalt love the Lord thy God,
and keep his charge,
and his statutes,
and his judgments,
and his commandments,
alway.
Deuteronomy 11:19-21
King James Version
19 And ye shall teach them your children,
speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house,
and when thou walkest by the way,
when thou liest down,
and when thou risest up.
20 And thou shalt write them
upon the door posts of thine house,
and upon thy gates:
21 That your days may be multiplied,
and the days of your children,
in the land which the Lord sware unto your fathers
to give them, as the days of heaven
upon the earth.
JESUS tells us how:
Mark 12:28-31
King James Version
28 And one of the scribes came,
and having heard them reasoning together,
and perceiving that he had answered them well,
asked him,
Which is the first commandment of all?
29 And Jesus answered him,
The first of all the commandments is,
Hear, O Israel;
The Lord our God is one Lord:
30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God
with all thy heart,
and with all thy soul,
and with all thy mind,
and with all thy strength:
this is the first commandment.
31 And the second is like, namely this,
Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
There is none other commandment
greater than these.
John 13:34
King James Version
34 A new commandment I give unto you,
That ye love one another; as I have loved you,
that ye also love one another.
FINANCE
When we say "finance", we are referring to money.
We all know how the world is beholden to it.
We also know the wide gap between rich and poor.
What did Moses say, in behalf of the LORD?
Deuteronomy 15:7-11
King James Version
7 If there be among you a poor man
of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates
in thy land which the Lord thy God giveth thee,
thou shalt not harden thine heart,
nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother:
8 But thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him,
and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need,
in that which he wanteth.
9 Beware that there be not a thought
in thy wicked heart, saying,
The seventh year,
the year of release, is at hand;
and thine eye be evil against thy poor brother,
and thou givest him nought;
and he cry unto the Lord against thee,
and it be sin unto thee.
10 Thou shalt surely give him,
and thine heart shall not be grieved
when thou givest unto him:
because that for this thing the Lord thy God
shall bless thee in all thy works,
and in all that thou puttest thine hand unto.
11 For the poor shall never cease out of the land:
therefore I command thee, saying,
Thou shalt open thine hand wide
unto thy brother,
to thy poor,
and to thy needy,
in thy land.
JESUS was also clear:
Matthew 6:24-34
King James Version
24 No man can serve two masters:
for either he will hate the one, and love the other;
or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other.
Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
25 Therefore I say unto you,
Take no thought for your life,
what ye shall eat,
or what ye shall drink;
nor yet for your body,
what ye shall put on.
Is not the life more than meat,
and the body than raiment?
26 Behold the fowls of the air:
for they sow not,
neither do they reap,
nor gather into barns;
yet your heavenly Father feedeth them.
Are ye not much better than they?
27 Which of you by taking thought
can add one cubit unto his stature?
28 And why take ye thought for raiment?
Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow;
they toil not, neither do they spin:
29 And yet I say unto you,
That even Solomon in all his glory
was not arrayed like one of these.
30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field,
which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven,
shall he not much more clothe you,
O ye of little faith?
31 Therefore take no thought, saying,
What shall we eat?
or, What shall we drink?
or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:)
for your heavenly Father knoweth
that ye have need of all these things.
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God,
and his righteousness;
and all these things shall be added unto you.
34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow:
for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself.
Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
FORNICATION
Wickedness has always prevailed in the world.
Many think nothing of committing fornication.
Many are not even aware they do.
But everything you see in this world, through couplehood, culture, and cinema promote fornication.
Susceptible are unmarried couples, and married people with other partners.
Surely not a sterling example we give the very young.
It is the young we need to protect from such abhorrent practices.
It is our duty to protect them from harm, by our doing no harm first.
Marriage is sacred.
What does the Bible say about the body, and fornication?
1 Corinthians 6:13
King James Version
13 Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats:
but God shall destroy both it and them.
Now the body is not for fornication,
but for the Lord;
and the Lord for the body.
1 Corinthians 6:15
King James Version
15 Know ye not that your bodies
are the members of Christ?
shall I then take the members of Christ,
and make them the members of an harlot?
God forbid.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20
King James Version
19 What?
know ye not that your body
is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you,
which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
20 For ye are bought with a price:
therefore glorify God in your body,
and in your spirit, which are God's.
FUTURE
Many are afraid of the future.
Many don't know what to expect.
Many don't even know if one will exist.
Many are lost, and anxious.
Many have misguided fears.
Many are purposely kept in the dark.
Many don't care, either.
But know these:
John 1:17
King James Version
17 For the law was given by Moses,
but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
In JESUS is PEACE.
John 14:27
King James Version
27 Peace I leave with you,
my peace I give unto you:
not as the world giveth, give I unto you.
Let not your heart be troubled,
neither let it be afraid.
In JESUS is SALVATION.
Acts 4:12
King James Version
12 Neither is there salvation in any other:
for there is none other name under heaven
given among men, whereby we must be saved.
In SPIRIT is LIBERTY.
2 Corinthians 3:17
King James Version
17 Now the Lord is that Spirit:
and where the Spirit of the Lord is,
there is liberty.
In GOD is LOVE.
1 John 4:7-10
King James Version
7 Beloved, let us love one another:
for love is of God;
and every one that loveth is born of God,
and knoweth God.
8 He that loveth not knoweth not God;
for God is love.
9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us,
because that God sent
his only begotten Son into the world,
that we might live through him.
10 Herein is love,
not that we loved God, but that he loved us,
and sent his Son to be the propitiation
for our sins.
In Scripture is prophecy.
2 Peter 1:19-21
King James Version
19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy;
whereunto ye do well that ye take heed,
as unto a light that shineth in a dark place,
until the day dawn,
and the day star arise in your hearts:
20 Knowing this first,
that no prophecy of the scripture
is of any private interpretation.
21 For the prophecy came not in old time
by the will of man:
but holy men of God spake
as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
In Scripture is instruction.
2 Timothy 3:16-17
King James Version
16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God,
and is profitable for doctrine,
for reproof,
for correction,
for instruction in righteousness:
17 That the man of God may be perfect,
thoroughly furnished unto all good works.
A born again has no fear of the future.
Our delight is in the imminence of the Rapture.
On the second coming of CHRIST.
On the "coming down" of the NEW JERUSALEM.
But we do have a RIGHTFUL FEAR of the LORD.
We acknowledge JESUS as our ONE, TRUE LORD.
We delight in Him, and pray that SPIRIT guide us to be FREE of sin.
In place of worldly food, face, form, fashion, family, finance, fornication, and future, look into what SPIRIT and Scripture teach.
Every time you think of self, and desires, think upon what John the Baptist said of JESUS, and himself:
John 3:30
King James Version
30 He must increase,
but I must decrease.
Think also upon what JESUS said:
Matthew 5:8
King James Version
8 Blessed are the pure in heart:
for they shall see God.
Think upon the LORD's cross:
1 Corinthians 2:2
King James Version
2 For I determined
not to know any thing among you,
save Jesus Christ,
and him crucified.
Think upon SPIRIT:
Galatians 5:24-26
King James Version
24 And they that are Christ's
have crucified the flesh
with the affections and lusts.
25 If we live in the Spirit,
let us also walk in the Spirit.
26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory,
provoking one another,
envying one another.
Think upon the ONLY THING that will remain:
Matthew 24:35
King James Version
35 Heaven and earth shall pass away,
but my words shall not pass away.
The true born again knows what to focus on.
Colossians 3:1-2
King James Version
3 If ye then be risen with Christ,
seek those things which are above,
where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
2 Set your affection on things above,
not on things on the earth.
Related material:
ALL battles are SPIRITUAL battles
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