I haven’t written in a while.
First it was schedules, then technical difficulties. Eventually time affected the spirit and I did not “feel” compelled to write. Maybe I was out of sorts, maybe I was distracted… Or maybe, just maybe, I was led astray.
I was picking up my son from camp yesterday and we were talking about the theme of his weekend. They were all about spiritual warfare and being the Soldiers of God. There is, of course, much fun to be had with this theme. And as we talked and he told us of his weekend, there was another theme I noticed. Distraction. Capture the Flag, has always been both a game, and a lesson in warfare. As my son relayed his tale of daring-do’s, epic assaults and defenses in this tournament of will, I began to see correlations to our recent patterns at work and home. We tend to forget that we are in a war. We tend to forget that there is an enemy who wants us to be ill-equipped, unprepared, and unwilling. Those little distractions that cause us to wonder if its REALLY worth it, are the weapons of the father-of-lies and its minions. Reading Ephesians 6:10-20, Paul reminds us in verse 12:
We are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. – Ephesians 6:12
But we should not ever be discouraged. We must remember that the accuser’s first, and most powerful weapon is always discouragement. But his second, is distraction. Ephesians 6:10 tells us to “.. Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power”. We must be aware of our surroundings and know that as we seek out the Lord Jesus the enemy wishes to tear us away. Those little things that drive us to distraction, those gadgets or projects or accidents or … you get the idea – these things take us away from our time with our Heavenly Father. Our time with the Lord is precious. We should be reading his word daily, because that is the only way to know the will of Our Lord. . We should be praying without end, for that is both the basis for a relationship and worship.
Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. – 1 Peter 5:8
The apostle reminds us that the Lord has provided us a way to battle the flaming arrows of lies and discouragement. In Ephesians 6:10-20, he instructs us on the full Armor of God (AoG) at our disposal. In 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 we instructed that “…though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.” and reminded that we are to “…take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”
Our schedules have become distractions. Our work has become a distraction. Our finances (or lack thereof) have become distractions. Even our health has become a distraction.
Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. – 1 Corinthians 16:13
We must be pro-active, not reactive. We must choose to do these things on-purpose and not just let things happen around us. Our Father made us on purpose, He made this world on purpose, and He filled us with a PURPOSE.
This is His day that He created to fulfill His purpose. Rejoice in it and most of all, participate. Let everything we do be an act of worship. Commit your days to Him.
Read Psalm 118:23-24. Let it remind you that He has done it all, planned from the begging.
Read Ephesians 6:10-20, Let the apostle tell us of the weapons we are to use to combat the spiritual enemies.
Read 1 Thessalonians 5:12-22, Let this reminder from Paul, Silas, and Timothy instruct us on our daily walk.
Thank you for reading. God Bless you all.
May Jesus have His way with your day
He is Founder and consultant for Tek Management,
Founder of the Men’s Leadership site: CalebStrong.org,
Co-Founder of the online Bible study app: BibleCounts
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