I was at church and after I was attacked, I was left dazed and bleeding. I never saw it coming. Well, if you want to be picky about details…I ran into a closed sliding glass door! We had a busy Sunday with lots of good stuff going on and I was in one of our buildings and I had taken some things into my study in one building and was headed to a special Christmas breakfast that a small group had invited me to. I was moving fast and I must have closed the sliding glass door behind me, but it was so clean and clear, it looked open to me, and I just had to barrel across the walkway into the other building, eat with the gang for a bit and head to the Chapel. But that unseen door and I had a meeting! I had pushed my sunglasses up on my forehead and I hit it so hard that they cut my forehead. Now I’ve had my “bell rung” a number of times in my life (which might explain a lot of things!) but I almost always had the protection of a helmet on. I tried to just “soldier on” but everyone I came close to asked “Do you know your forehead is bleeding?” Yeah… I really do. The good news was that it was like that first hit in a football game, and after that you are totally focused on what you are doing! We laughed about it after my confession during the service but then afterward, I got to thinking about the dark side of what had happened to me. I never saw it coming, and that so easily can happen to us as followers of this Jesus of the Bible. The Apostle Paul wrote that as Christians; our real fight is not with flesh and blood enemies. The real battle we face each day is against unseen foes. He said that we fight, and it is a daily fight against the unseen evil rulers and authorities. I know that there are people who become agents in our world for those powers, but the real enemy behind them are what Paul describes as the “evil spirits in the heavenly places”. So, remember you won’t see every attack of the enemy coming and you and I can get taken by surprise. Paul writes that we need to put on every piece of God’s armor so we can resist the enemy in the time of evil. But if we will take the armor that God offers: his truth, righteousness, the message of hope, your faith, your assurance of your forgiveness, and every promise that God gives in his word, then after every battle, you will still be standing firm. And don’t forget, if you are choosing to live faithfully with this God of the Bible, you will be in the battle. It is not a matter of “if” but “when”. Don’t try it on your own…use what God has given you. And do be careful with those really clean sliding glass doors! Here’s our Bible verse for today…
Ephesians 6:12-13 NLT For 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. (13) Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm.
Remember I’m praying for you…
PJ
Ephesians 6:12-13 NLT For 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. (13) Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm.
Remember I’m praying for you…
PJ