It’s important to learn the Word so your relationship becomes more vivid. God speaks to us in many ways, but I find it most comforting when He teaches me through the Word. Memorize a daily devotional scripture each day and watch it strengthen your faith and emotional stamina.
Conquering Evil
Evil times are times when the worst of mankind surfaces. It is also a time when the Principality War is most visible. My last two posts shared thoughts about the present evil time, and how faith is our anchor. Today we’ll focus more in-depth on conquering evil by doing good. We are Gods army; we are the ‘ Resistance.’ It is our 
responsibility to resist the enemy in the time of evil. (Eph 6:13)
The word ‘conquer’ means, to overcome by force. In our case, overcoming by physical force is not possible. The Principality War is between God and Satan. The war exists in the second heaven and is played out on earth. If we are to be victorious and conquerors, we must use the weapons the Lord gave us that are described in Ephesians. Each part of the armor represents a component of our weaponry and is based in prayer. Paul tells the Ephesians to put on the armor and explains that they must be dressed to stand against the devil’s schemes. He also shared that our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. (See my post about the Heavenlies.)
Paul described the armor as Roman military uniforms. The importance of wearing the armor is still applicable today. The war is raging, and we need to dress in the appropriate attire to protect ourselves, stand, and fight in God’s army.
“13 Therefore 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.”
There are six elements that compose our armor. Each element has its attribute though they must be worn together. Failure to wear each piece leaves us exposed to the wiles of Satan and the onslaught of his demons.
| Parts of the Armor | Definition of Attributes |
| Breastplate | The breastplate represents Christ’s Righteousness/Purity. It protects us from Satan’s accusations and charges. The enemy attacks through sin, and the temptation of the flesh. The breastplate protects our heart, through which spring the issues of life. (Proverbs 4:23; Romans 3:10; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Ephesians 2:8-9; Philippians 3:9) |
| Belt | The belt is the Gospel of Peace. The belt holds everything together. It is our commitment to the truth. It refers to the truths of the Scripture, as opposed to the lies of Satan. It is the foundation of our integrity and honesty. If we don’t have integrity, we will lose the battle. (John 8:44; John 8:32) |
| Shoes/Sandals | Sandals are the believer’s tranquility/solid footing of peace. Satan tries to place obstacles in our path. Jesus provides strength and discipline to our walk. (1 John 2:6; John 10:27) |
| Shield | The shield is our Faith/Certainty in God’s Word/Truth. The shield combats doubt, thrown as fiery darts. Faith is a gift from God that dwells in us. (Ephesians 6:16; 2 Timothy 3:12; Romans12:3; Galatians 2:20; 2 Timothy 4:7) Use the shield of faith to turn aside everything Satan and his demons hurl at you. |
| Helmet | The helmet is our salvation. It is being saved which protects our thought and mind from attacks. When we are sure of our salvation, we will not be moved by Satan’s deception. Our salvation is knowing that our sins are forgiven and gives us peace when the accusations of unforgiveness are hurled. (1 John 1:9; 1 John 5:11, 12) |
| Sword | The sword is the Word of God we use when we are being tempted by Satan and his attacks. The sword is the only offensive weapon. The sword protects us and destroys the enemy and his temptations. (Hebrews 4:12; John 17:17; Psalm 119:105) |
Each morning when we take out our outfit for the day, we must also take out our armor. Paul commands us to:
14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Ephesians 6:14-17 NKJV
Prayer is the thread that stitches the armor together. So, while prayer is not part of the armor, it is the thread that holds it together.
18 And 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 Lord’s people. Ephesians 6:18 NKJV
READ, Conquering Evil by Doing Good, Part 2, tomorrow
Re-Blog – https://wp.me/p98Coa-DL
Scripture – Bible.com/YouVerison,Images – YouVersion, Google Images
Resources/References – Armor of God-WHat It Is and How to Use It. Debbie McDaniel, Crosswalk.com; Armor of God. What Is It? Bibleinfo.com
In a time where it seems that the Civil War spirit has spread throughout the nation, it’s important to remember who we are – God’s children.
We live in this world but are not of this world, and some of the commandments do not line up with worldly logic. I understand that, my response, to paraphrase Jesus, is, ‘not my will, but your will be done’.
God’s command is to ’love our enemies, to love those who hate us and despise us.’ We are to bless those who curse us and to pray for those who mistreat us.
Why?
We are God’s children and He wants to save all souls. ”The idea of blessing is to invoke God‘s favor on another’s behalf or at least appeal to God for that person.” Jesus is calling for an unnatural response. He wants us to respond in love and not physical or verbal retaliation.
This is important for everyone including me. I am at times taken over by the prevailing spirit of hate and anger, succumbing to the spirit of Civil War hate. But my response feels unnatural and weakens my resolve.
As we mature as Christians, our continuance is no longer of this world. We can no longer linger in the hate, hurt, or malice. God has called us into another world. One that stands in the face of this energy and proclaims Him the victor, our Lord, and Savior.
We cannot be separated from God. We are his children. And we have an intimate relationship with Him. It is unnatural to abandon Him during these dark times.
It is precisely during these times that people look for light and look for God. We are the light, the Holy Spirit lives in us and shines through our being. They look to see how we respond, with love or hate. The war is not ours, it is a principality war and we are charged to carry out the Lord’s commands. We are God’s foot soldiers. Our light must continue to shine brightly in this all-encompassing darkness.
Light always shines through the darkness, if we ’STAND’ in these evil times. We need to do good and be merciful to our enemies because of what God did for us, when we were unsaved sinners.
Re-Blog – https://wp.me/p98Coa-Dv
Scripture Bible.com; Biblegateway.com, TNIV
Images – Bible.com, YouVersion; Google Images
Thank you for visiting my Young Christian Warriors site and dailyinspiration-lisasthoughts.com.
Believe me, it is not easy to forgive, because it is not easy to forget past hurts. Before we can forgive as God commanded, we must first learn how to disconnect from past hurts. This is the most difficult part of the preparation for forgiving. We give life to our thoughts every time we allow them to re-enter our consciousness. They are restrictive, remotely controlled, and Satan’s ploy to distract us and keep us from activating God’s Word in our lives.
It is impossible to remove them if they live in our present day thoughts, they remain part of us and continue to define us as earthly vessels. However, it is possible to retire them to a place of dormancy where they can no longer access energy to be reborn. Each time they resurface and we cowl to their power we replace the power of the Word of God, which is our ultimate power source. Satan created or minimally inspired the hurt that weakens us, by giving renewed life to the experience(s) each time we are distracted by them, meaning they do not lay dormant as long as you continue to give them energy through our thoughts.
Satan inspires and maintains past hurts to weaken us.
Satan knows that as long as we are enslaved by past hurts, we cannot follow God’s command to forgive. This is the wedge he placed between our spiritual development and our carnality. We cannot forgive if we cannot control our thoughts and release ourselves from continuously being victimized by our thoughts.
We must retire the past and allow it to become part of our past, in a catatonic state so we can stabilize our present, and mature as Christian Warriors. Never forget we live in a 
principality war and we must take God’s commands to heart and use his principles and weapons to secure our ability to control our own thinking.
To this end, all change is a process, a procedure. We must relegate our hurts to the past. We cannot learn to forgive as God forgave us until we rewire our thinking. The scripture says we are not of this world, though it tries to enslave us. We do however live in this world where Satan continues to treat us as pawns in his plan to take over the earth and all that resides on it. Consequently, we must stay vigilant, awake and constantly return thoughts that pervade our thinking back into a catatonic state. In short, we must speak to the hurt, reject the thought and replace it with God’s words.
As a caveat, we should not remain in harmful environments if there is physical or emotional harm, however, if the experiences are behind us, we must learn to take away their power and replace it with the Word of God, our true power source.
The actual scripture reads: “Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.” Col 3:13, NLT
Our humanistic conversation sounds something like this: He/She harmed me, how can I forgive them? I hate them. God’s response is, I forgave the people that crucified my innocent son, there is nothing worse than that. If I can forgive them, you can forgive those that caused you personal harm as well. Don’t let the hate become a badge of victimization, an albatross around your neck. Capture it once and 
for all and put it in cryosleep. Is this easy? No. But God commanded and our answer should be ‘Yes Lord. I forgive those that have done me harm and am no longer bound by the hurt.’
God’s Command to us – FORGIVE, as I forgave you.
Images – YouVersion, Bible.com; Google Images
Scriptures – Biblegateway.com
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God’s Promise – To give us wisdom, direction, and a way of escape
This morning I awoke and almost began my day without first thanking God for gifting me with the day. I quickly came to my senses, because without Him I am nothing.
So, I prayed, thanked Him for my continuous blessings, naming some of them, praised Him, and put the blood of Jesus over and around me and my family. I asked God to give me wisdom in all that I do today. I asked for help to incline my ear towards the words the Holy Spirit shares, to open my heart to other people’s needs and to be truthful about myself and my growth as a Christian, woman, wife, mother, and friend.
I verbally put on the Armor of God preparing and equipping myself to spread the Good News and defend myself against the onslaught of the evil one – through the Word, in all my interactions today. (Not my words but His words. It’s easy to cuss belittle, and denigrate, much more difficult to hold your tongue.) I prayed that I reside under the Lords’ wings and shadow throughout this day, and praised Him because He causes the devil to flee from my loved ones and me. I closed by prayer, Praise our Lord, Amen.
This is truly the day the Lord has made. We can begin the day stepping on the floor wrought with the issues of the day or step into the day wrapped in the power of God.
Image – Free Google Images
Scripture – Holy Bible, Bible.com
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God’s Promise – Gift of Desire and Power
When we listen to the Holy Spirit, who was sent to guide us through life, God will give us the desire and the power to do His work, those things that please Him.
It’s interesting, as we mature in the Word and continue this journey, we find that these things please us as well. We no longer walk in the dark and grey tones of life. We walk in the light, both pastel and bright. Stress loses its hold on us, and our experience becomes more peaceful.
Not all experiences in life will be pleasant, but from my experience, the process is much less stressful and much more peaceful.
The righteous person may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all.
Psalm 34:19
We will suffer setbacks, hardships, misalignments, betrayal, and more. Jesus suffered them and died so we can be redeemed. The beauty is that God knows what we will go through in this life and provides or converts experiences to help draw us nearer to Him.
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:28
It is our decision to seek God’s rest and peace. We have been given the power to follow our Free-will or God’s Will. Which is your choice?
Let’s vow to stop looking out and begin looking inward to the Holy Spirit who guides us.
Images – YouVersion, Bible.com; Google Images; LAB Photography
Scripture References – Biblegateway.com
Thank you for spending time on my sites, if you like what you are reading, follow me, lisasdailyinspirations.wordpress.com and receive the daily inspirations in your inbox, or visit my other site, youngchristianwarriors.com and subscribe.
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