Under Attack

I really feel like our family is under attack right now. My neck has been popped out and sore for three days - starting on the fourth day - now (in terms of how much ibuprofen is good for you - this is really bad news!). I don't have medical insurance and really wish I had some narcotic pain killers right about now - or a muscle relaxer or something... other than just this heating pad. Kevin's truck wouldn't start this morning so our friends who were down for the weekend couldn't go to church with me this morning for lack of transportation (we couldn't all fit in her little car). I've been overwhelmed with all the tons of projects I have to finish (and feeling not 100% enough to tackle or complete them). Kevin had an awful headache this morning and he has been grinding his teeth at night - a sign of stress. We just really have had our share of difficulties this year in general (and for the past couple of years) - with finances, moving, and adjusting to living out of state most recently. I can see God's hand in all of these things pulling me closer to Him and know there is a purpose in these trials. There have been many blessings along the way as well. We have wonderful homeschool friends here and we love our church... it will be hard if we ever move home to Texas, and hard if we do not. Life is full of strange circumstances which we must muddle through, isn't it?

So, before I head over to the bed with my dayplanner, homeschool planner, Sunday coupons, coupon organizer, stacks of paperwork, bills, calculator AND HEATING PAD FOR MY NECK... I thought I would write down a few things to encourage myself for the battle ahead (and to encourage you - if you happened in here today)...

Things We Know About the Devil

1. The devil schemes against us.

Ephesians 6:11 - Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.

2. We are to resist the devil. Knowing the Lord helps us do this.

1 Peter 5:9 - Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

James 4:7 - Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Daniel 11:32 - With flattery he will corrupt those who have violated the covenant, but the people who know their God will firmly resist him.

3. The devil wants us dead - and separated from God forever.

1 Peter 5:8 - Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

Mark 4:15 - Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them.

Job 1:7 - The LORD said to Satan, "Where have you come from?" Satan answered the LORD, "From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it."

4. If we don't love our brother, or obey the Lord, we are children of the devil.

1 John 3:10 - This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.

5. The devil has the ability to test us and persecute us at times which God appoints. He has to ask God permission, though.

Revelation 2:10 - Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.

1 Thessalonians 2:18 - For we wanted to come to you—certainly I, Paul, did, again and again—but Satan stopped us.

Luke 22:31-32 - "Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. 32But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers."

6. The devil leads us astray... and he has lots of helpers. He sometimes tricks us into believing that he is a "good guy".

Revelation 12:9 - The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.

2 Corinthians 11:14 - And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.

2 Thessalonians 2:9 - The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders

1 Timothy 5:15 - Some have in fact already turned away to follow Satan.

7. The devil is angry with God and knows his time is short.

Revelation 12:12 - Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.

8. God will crush Satan and destroy him eventually. God is stronger than Satan.

Romans 16:20 - The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

1 John 4:4 - You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

Knowing my enemy helps me to see with eternal eyes - see past the every-day anxieties into the real realm of spiritual matters. One day, the financial troubles, the neck pain, the hardships, the homeschooling, and all other things which vie for our attention will be gone. The one thing that will remain is Christ and His Word and how I lived in His presence. Whether I choose to believe that He is here with me - holding things together - or not... it doesn't change the fact that He is. Can I look past the choking weeds of the devil which distress and sidetrack me to the larger picture of this harvest before me... to the seeds of tomorrow in my children's hearts and in the lives of my husband, myself, and our friends and family?

A bible teacher once told me that if you are NOT being attacked by the devil, he probably isn't worried about you. So you should consider it flattery when you seem to be on his hit-list... because that means he sees you as an adversary to his evil cause... or in other, more wonderful words... a SOLDIER OF CHRIST.

James 1:2-3 - 2Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.

2 Timothy 2:3 - Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 6:10-18...

10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.

11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.

12For 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.

13Therefore 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.

14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,

15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.

16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

May you take up the armor of God today and may God give you the strength to fight against your enemy.


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