THURSDAY November 1, 2018
Spiritual Warfare
“Be strong and conduct yourselves like men, you Philistines, that you do not become servants of the Hebrews, as they have been to you. Conduct yourselves like men, and fight!”
1 Samuel 4:9
The Philistines were given a stirring speech––a pep talk. Despite the knowledge of Israel’s God and His mighty acts, they were determined not to become servants of the Hebrews. They would rally together and fight against them. Yet it should have been God’s people who were ready to defeat their enemies––sad.
As Christians, we must fight the good fight––a spiritual warfare. The Apostle Paul gave an inspiring letter to motivate young Timothy:
But you, O man of God, flee these things [greediness, desire for riches, and lusts] and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses (1 Timothy 6:11-12).
Paul gave another exhortation to the Corinthian Christians: Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong (1 Corinthians 16:13 ESV). In the book of Ephesians, Paul, in all seriousness, wanted Christians to be ready to fight a spiritual warfare:
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil (Ephesians 6:10-11).
Seriously, are you prepared to fight the good fight? As Christians, we need to be daily in the Word, in prayer and in fellowship with other believers. We must pursue God and have Him at the center of our lives.
To have found God and still to pursue Him is the
soul’s paradox of love.
~A. W. Tozer~
For more from Raul Ries, please visit Somebodylovesyouradio.org!