Hello friends,

 

                I want to talk a little today about warfare. We are in a spiritual battle. It is easy to forget that here because of the tactics that the devil uses.

 

                When we think of warfare, we think of out and out, in-your-face battle, where the casualties are obvious and plentiful. And that is how the devil fights in some places around the world. He is more subtle here in the west. So subtle, in fact, that we can almost forget that we are in spiritual conflict.

 

                We can imagine that the devil is fighting in places where there are witchdoctors and voodoo, evil sacrifices, wicked wars or bloody violence. But here, where we don’t see that very often, we can falsely assume that the devil has mostly left us alone.

 

                Can you imagine if that were actually true? That the devil, for whatever reason, has chosen not to attack us in the west?  That is a ludicrous thought. Of course, he wants to attack us, because we are loved by God and Satan hates everything that God loves. He gets even more bent out of shape if we are truly living for God and desiring to be used by Him to bring His love and redemption to the world.

 

                His attacks look like discouragement and temptation, despair and tension, doubts and troubles. He wants us to treat every battle as if he was not involved. So, we get mad at other people, we allow hurts and wrongs to build up in our heart and fill us with bitterness.

 

                But scripture clearly says,

 

                Our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

 

                We need to open our eyes to the fact that the real battles we face are battles against the enemy and not other people. 

 

                Peter says,

 

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

 

                We need to put on the full armor of God and to be alert, calling out his evil tactics instead of giving him a free pass.

 

It’s time to be alert. It’s time to be aware. It’s time the devil stops getting away with free attacks and hits against us.

 

Greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world.

 

Stand firm against his onslaught in the name of Jesus and you will be victorious!

 

                This weekend we will be looking at the third part of our series called “Exiles’ Handbook.” We will be talking about the society that those exiles found themselves in and how it relates to the society we find ourselves in today. I hope you have been able to read through the book of 1 Peter each week. It is a great book of encouragement and hope in the midst of trials and difficulties.

 

                I am excited about gathering this weekend and celebrating communion together. We have a very great friend in Jesus who showed His love for us by giving His everything to save us. We are so fortunate.

 

                I hope you have a great weekend, and we will see you on Sunday.

 

                I love being your pastor.

 

Pastor Tim