Thursday, April 4, 2019

Front Line Fighting

Ephesians 6:12  
"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." 

   As a Believer, we must be ready to battle our enemy "the devil."  We must also battle his cohorts which we find in (Eph. 6:12).  Our battle starts at the top with Principalities, which is lets say Satan's Generals who have the over sight of entire nations, (see Dan. chap 10).  His powers are his "privates" who possess human beings, (see Mark 5:1-20; Matt. 17:14-21). Then we have the world rulers, these are the demons that are in charge of worldly religion.
   Now that we know who we must battle, we need to understand his tactics, which is called the wiles of the devil, (v. 6:11).  these are his cunning arts, deceit craft and trickery. Then we must battle the fiery darts of the wicked. These are arrows that are tipped with tow, pitch, and other material than set on fire before they are discharged.
   My Friends, we can not battle Satan and his demons with a weak christian attitude. We must be in union with God and put on the whole armor of God, which we will discuss in our next Devotion.
Amen!
Reading:  Eph: 6:10-12
                Dan. chap. 10
                Mark 5:1-20
               Matt. 17:14-21
Ref:HG SB

May God Bless You
And Your Family
Minister Robert A. Lail Sr.
The Cross Life Ministry
     

Monday, April 1, 2019

Banished From Christian Life

Ephesians 4:32  
"And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, 
forgiving one another, even as God for
Christ's sake hath forgiven you." 

   You must get rid of your old way of life just like you would get rid of an old suit of clothes. Clothe yourself in a new way; put off your sins, and put on the righteousness and the holiness which God can give you.  Paul speaks of the things which must be banished from the Christian life. 
   There must be no more falsehood. There is more than one kind of lie in this world. There is the lie in speech, sometimes deliberate and sometimes almost unconscious. When something happens at one place and time, and they, when relating to it say it happen at another place, do not let it pass, instantly check them; because you just don't know where deviation of truth will end.  It is more from carelessness about truth than from intentional lying, that causes falsehood in the world today. Truth demands a deliberate effort. There is also the lie of silence, and it is more common. It is things that should have been said that wasn't, (ie) you did not listen to the Holy Spirit.   
   There must also be anger in the Christian life, but it must be the right kind of anger.  The anger which is selfish and uncontrolled is a sinful and hurtful thing, which must be banished from the Christian life.  But the selfless anger which is disciplined into the service of Christ and of our fellow men is one of the great dynamic forces of the world.  The man who was a thief must become an honest workman.
   Paul urges us not to grieve the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the guide of life. When we act contrary to what our parents tell us when we are young, we hurt them. So, to act contrary to the guidance of the Holy Spirit is to grieve the Spirit and to hurt the heart of God, the Father, who, through the Spirit, sent his word to us. 
   My Friends, It would save a great deal of heartbreak in this world if we simply learned to keep our voices down and if, when we had nothing good to say to a person, we did not say anything at all. The argument which has to be supported in a shout is no argument; and the dispute which has to be conducted in insults is not an argument but a brawl
Amen!
Reading: Eph. 4:25-32
Ref: HG SB
May God Bless You
And Your Family
Minister Robert A. Lail Sr.
 The Cross Life Ministry