"The Philistines Are Upon You!"

"She cried, 'Samson, the Philistines are upon you!'...Then the Philistines...[bound] him [and] set him to grinding grain in the prison.""  (Judges 16)

The more I read the, "God-Breathed," Words, the more I realize that nearly all of the Bible reveals a constant cosmic struggle.  The Old Testament is one war after another; even the Psalms were mostly written in warfare.  We read in the New Testament that from day one of Jesus' appearing there is a constant attempt to discredit and kill Him.  Then there is the Blood-Stained path of our Lord's Passion, Jesus' wrestling in prayer, sweating great drops of Blood, the flogging and "Game of Kings" with the Roman soldiers, the crown of thorns, and nails in his hands and feet, sword in His Side at the Cross, followed by the greatest shout of victory in the Scriptures, "It is finished."  Later we read in the Epistles that, "the weapons of our warfare...are mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds..," and, "we wrestle...against principalities and powers...."  

So; you and I, should never be confused, discouraged, or weak in faith because of what is going on in the earth or our personal lives.  As strange as it may seem to our very, very limited ability to understand all of this, the life-reality is warfare.  Rather than fight it, as do so many religious folk, we need to embrace the reality that we are in a great struggle, "Then war broke out in heaven, Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back."  But no fear:  "They overcame him by the Blood of the Lamb and the Word to which they bore witness."  "Christus Victor"!!     

Father, in Jesus' Name, I pray that my friend and I would not, "grow weary," in the fight.  Amen.

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Further revelation on "The China Problem" at:    jhs58.blogspot.com

When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"

Hebrews 12:2

It Is Not "What" But "Who" Is The Armor of God

"....girded...with truth,..breastplate of righteousness,..shod your feet with...the gospel of peace;...tak[e] the shield of faith....Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God."  (Ephesians 6)

In Romans 13:14, the Holy Spirit commands us to, "put on the Lord Jesus Christ."  This, my friend, is "how" we, "put on the whole armor of God." 

Each weapon is a description of Jesus.  Jesus is, "the Truth."  Jesus Alone is, "our righteousness."  The Gospel is Jesus Christ, not about Jesus Christ.  Jesus, "is our peace."  The Bible refers to what man calls "Christianity," as, "the Faith of Jesus."  Jesus is our, "Salvation."  And, Jesus Christ Himself is, "the Word of God."    

Now spiritual pundits can exegete these passages, and that is good.  But I also say that we need to get the picture very, very clear:  Spend less time on attempting to understand and define breastplate, footwear, shield, helmet, and sword, and place our attention on what is the Holy Spirit's "assignment," which is, as our Lord Jesus Christ tells us, "He shall glorify Me."

Father, in Jesus' Name, I confess that I do not fully understand the "meanings" of some of the Biblical imagery.  I just want them/You!  Amen. 

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When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"

Hebrews 12:2