Wow; it’s been a month!
Nov0
I’m not abandoning my blog, but have had to put more energy into my personal prayer life in order to maintain a zealousness for the Lord within the sickness I’ve been dealing with in pregnancy. Also, some days it’s hard to sit up and concentrate long enough to write. No, it’s not gone yet. 
To those of you who have emailed me via awaitingtheking.com and have yet to get a response: so sorry! My lack of availability has not been a lack of prayer and thorough consideration for your situations. I’m sure my typical promptness will return at some point.
Verses on Spiritual Warfare (Part Two: Strengthening Before Battle)
Oct0
Coming from an athletic family, I like to call these the “defensive” verses. They focus on what to do before the spiritual attack comes–how to “put on the armor of God” so you aren’t shaken when the battle shifts to your home front. It is not, by any means a ‘complete’ list, but rather a sample of the verses I’ve collected through my experiences.
The themes are:
1. Remain in Christ by connecting deeply with Him
- Read scripture
- Test all things and remain only in Truth
- Pray in the Spirit
- Be on the alert through watching and praying
2. Stop remaining in that which is not Christ
- Battle now against your flesh, so you can battle later against the enemy of this world
- If you know you’re in sin (disobedience to God), do everything you can to get out
- Sacrifice the things that aren’t beneficial even if they aren’t ‘bad’
Verses on How to Fight the Defensive Battle:
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord” (Colossians 3:16).
“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success” (Joshua 1:8).
“All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything” (1 Corinthians 6:12).
“Finally, brethren, whatever is true…let your mind dwell on these things” (Philippians 4:8).
“Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth” (Ephesians 6:14).
“The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light…put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts” (Romans 13:12 & 14).
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm” (Ephesians 6:10-13; continue through verse 17 for specifics).
“With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints” (Ephesians 6:18).
“Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17).
“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ” (Colossians 2:6-8).
“Let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall. No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it. Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry” (1 Corinthians 10:12-14).
“Keep watching and praying that you may not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Mark 14:38).
“Run in such a way that you may win…I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified” (1 Corinthians 9:24, 26-27).
Verses on Spiritual Warfare (Part One: Recognizing the Battle)
Sep0
As I was going through the most severe moments of spiritual warfare–this was as I was in the process of fully giving my life to Christ, which was not easily accepted by the devil–I began collecting verses to help me with the battle.
This first section is rather incomplete because the spiritual battle was quite easy for me to recognize; the spirits of darkness were in fact all over our apartment in obvious ways.
What did help me quite a bit was to recognize that there is an absolute line of truth and not-truth (good and evil) in the spiritual realm. Coming from a mindset of New Age philosophy, I had not even considered this ‘black and whiteness‘ as a possibility, but as I started to read the scriptures, that’s exactly what I started to see. And as I continued to spiritually clean our living space, the spiritual battle began to diminish a little at a time.
Verses on Recognizing the Spiritual Battle:
“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12).
“For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace” (Romans 8:5-6).
“And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world [Satan] has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Corinthians 4:3-4)
“But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons” (1 Timothy 4:1).
“For men will be lovers of self…lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these. For among them are those who enter into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Timothy 3:2-7).
“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses” (2 Corinthians 10:3-4).
Personal Update
Sep0
The last two weeks I spent working full-time as a parking enforcement officer. Each day brought so many memorable conversations with co-workers, as well as intermittent moments of dealing with angry and confused people–a great chance to strengthen my faith.
I also recently discovered the bud of a new spiritual gift for interpretation as the Lord allowed me to understand a young woman speaking in Russian (not as a word-for-word translation, but as an interpretation of each of her main points). Having understood the main ideas of the conversation she was having with another, I then asked if I could pray for her, and was able to pray (in English) regarding her concerns. Of course, I don’t actually know Russian beyond a few simple greetings; this was definitely a gift given for the moment, and I was very excited by it!
This week, I’m adjusting back into my “regular” schedule–if that’s possible, I think the Lord’s been teaching me to live spontaneously and nomadically, which is against my natural tendencies. My husband and I are also spontaneously rearranging our living/dining area, which has become an adventure in itself.
This blog addresses the 'sticky' topics of Western Christianity in an attempt to shake, refocus, and unite the body of Christ, and to reveal the true gospel message to unbelievers.
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