Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. ~Proverbs
4:23
“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will Guard your heart and your mind which is in Christ Jesus.” ~Philippians 4:7
“Therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may bbe able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. 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 saints.” ~Ephesians 6:13-18
Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy, the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, stand firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers and sisters throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. ~1 Peter 5:8-9
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and He will come near to you. ~James 4:7-8A
“Don’t let your guard down.” It’s a warning given when we want to charge someone to stay alert and stay prepared. I believe that too many Christians are woefully ignorant of the spiritual war that we are in every moment of every day. We know that there is a devil and we know that we face temptation, but I believe that we are not aware of just how relentless the pursuit of our enemy is.
We may be aware of small victories over temptation in our lives and we want to reward ourselves for a job well done. That’s when we are most tempted to let down our guard and that just may be the point at which we are most vulnerable to the devil’s true attack. Even satan knows that we can become distracted by our smaller victories, but, having a bigger picture in view, he can allow that little victory if a bigger prize is in view.
We go back to the chess game. What’s the loss of a pawn when the king is in our sights? Satan is always on the prowl for those moments of bigger victory.
Peter compares satan to a lion. The unfortunate aspect of this comparison is that lions sleep most of the day. Anyone who owns a cat knows how much they just sleep and lounge around. Kathy often refers to cats as “connoisseurs of comfort” which is pretty much true. The lion is the same way, lounging around in the jungle until opportunity comes along. Satan, however is always prowling, always hungry. He is never satisfied with one small morsel when there is the whole human race to ravage and destroy. That is his main goal.
Humans are his main target. He knows how much the heavenly Father loves those strange creatures, humans. Why, He has even created them with the stamp of His image and has died for them to free them from satan’s schemes. When Satan can attack and destroy one human, created in God’s image, whether in the womb, the gutter, places of power or a nursing home, it makes no difference to satan. It is all out war for him until the end.
We get tired and weary, discouraged and weak. That is satan’s strategy too. Whatever works to get us to lower our guard and admit defeat is what he’ll do to eliminate one of God’s loved soldiers.
Fortunately for us, our loving God never sleeps or grows weary either. That is why it is so important that we stay close to Him. He offers us His strength. He offers us His wisdom and guidance. His strategy is even better than satan. Satan can only destroy, but through love, God builds and grows and creates a flourishing community of loving soldiers to come along side one another and hold each other up and protect and encourage through the enemy’s attacks.
That’s why we need to stay close to God always in prayer and in His Word, but we also need to stay in community to help each other stay strong in Him. The writer of Hebrews says, “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another and all the more as you see the day approaching.” (Heb. 10:23-25)
What day? The day of victory that can only come after the day of battle. You need the war to gain the victory. You need to stay alert on the battlefield and not let your guard down. Keep that armor in place. Then, the peace of God can guard your heart which is in Christ Jesus because you know His battle plan and you know that it is good and right and victorious. Stay close to God and He will stay close to you, so close that you can hide behind His shield to guard your heart forever.
Prayer: Today Lord, with thanksgiving for Your Gracious provision, I put on the full armor of God so that I can stand for you and resist the devil. Today I am ready to ward off doubts, walk confidently in the light of Christ and share the gospel whenever opportunity opens a door, for the need is great. Use me to snatch your lambs from the jaws of the lion! In Jesus’ name, amen.
Song: Lord I Need You
“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will Guard your heart and your mind which is in Christ Jesus.” ~Philippians 4:7
“Therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may bbe able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. 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 saints.” ~Ephesians 6:13-18
Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy, the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, stand firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers and sisters throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. ~1 Peter 5:8-9
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and He will come near to you. ~James 4:7-8A
“Don’t let your guard down.” It’s a warning given when we want to charge someone to stay alert and stay prepared. I believe that too many Christians are woefully ignorant of the spiritual war that we are in every moment of every day. We know that there is a devil and we know that we face temptation, but I believe that we are not aware of just how relentless the pursuit of our enemy is.
We may be aware of small victories over temptation in our lives and we want to reward ourselves for a job well done. That’s when we are most tempted to let down our guard and that just may be the point at which we are most vulnerable to the devil’s true attack. Even satan knows that we can become distracted by our smaller victories, but, having a bigger picture in view, he can allow that little victory if a bigger prize is in view.
We go back to the chess game. What’s the loss of a pawn when the king is in our sights? Satan is always on the prowl for those moments of bigger victory.
Peter compares satan to a lion. The unfortunate aspect of this comparison is that lions sleep most of the day. Anyone who owns a cat knows how much they just sleep and lounge around. Kathy often refers to cats as “connoisseurs of comfort” which is pretty much true. The lion is the same way, lounging around in the jungle until opportunity comes along. Satan, however is always prowling, always hungry. He is never satisfied with one small morsel when there is the whole human race to ravage and destroy. That is his main goal.
Humans are his main target. He knows how much the heavenly Father loves those strange creatures, humans. Why, He has even created them with the stamp of His image and has died for them to free them from satan’s schemes. When Satan can attack and destroy one human, created in God’s image, whether in the womb, the gutter, places of power or a nursing home, it makes no difference to satan. It is all out war for him until the end.
We get tired and weary, discouraged and weak. That is satan’s strategy too. Whatever works to get us to lower our guard and admit defeat is what he’ll do to eliminate one of God’s loved soldiers.
Fortunately for us, our loving God never sleeps or grows weary either. That is why it is so important that we stay close to Him. He offers us His strength. He offers us His wisdom and guidance. His strategy is even better than satan. Satan can only destroy, but through love, God builds and grows and creates a flourishing community of loving soldiers to come along side one another and hold each other up and protect and encourage through the enemy’s attacks.
That’s why we need to stay close to God always in prayer and in His Word, but we also need to stay in community to help each other stay strong in Him. The writer of Hebrews says, “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another and all the more as you see the day approaching.” (Heb. 10:23-25)
What day? The day of victory that can only come after the day of battle. You need the war to gain the victory. You need to stay alert on the battlefield and not let your guard down. Keep that armor in place. Then, the peace of God can guard your heart which is in Christ Jesus because you know His battle plan and you know that it is good and right and victorious. Stay close to God and He will stay close to you, so close that you can hide behind His shield to guard your heart forever.
Prayer: Today Lord, with thanksgiving for Your Gracious provision, I put on the full armor of God so that I can stand for you and resist the devil. Today I am ready to ward off doubts, walk confidently in the light of Christ and share the gospel whenever opportunity opens a door, for the need is great. Use me to snatch your lambs from the jaws of the lion! In Jesus’ name, amen.
Song: Lord I Need You
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