Ephesians
6:12
In today’s focus
verse we learn to important things that we must not only understand, but carry
with us daily… The first lesson is that upon this earth we will wrestle… There
is a battle that takes place daily, the problem is that it comes in many forms…
Laziness (a desire not to get up or go to work), jealousy (a desire to have
what others have obtained) and malice (hatred, spite or cruelty) which will
cause us to be nasty to people or disrespectful just to name a few… Know that
battles are at your door and sometimes have already invaded your house… You
must follow the guidelines that are outlined in this letter to the church of
Ephesus… Paul teaches us in the verse that precedes this one that we are to put
on the full amour of God… After instructing us about the importance of being
prepared he goes on in today’s focus verse to explain why we need to equip
ourselves… Again, whether we recognize it or not, daily we are at war within
ourselves and our societies… We see many young men and women becoming
chalk outlines, many kids having kids and more and more decisions being made
that lead to catastrophic outcomes… To understand the war that we are fighting (this
is the second lesson that we must learn and comprehend), we must understand
who the enemy really is… When someone commits a heinous crime we are quick to
pass judgment, but the truth of the matter is that we should be praying for
that individual to be released from the bondage of evil that has taken His life
captive… This war that we are fighting isn’t about the flesh; it’s not about
what you see but about the motives and where the decisions are derived from…
Jesus taught that we are to love the sinner and not the sin… There are so many
people that have been written off and pushed to the side instead of lifted up and
laid before Christ… Paul reminds us today that As Christians, we are taught to
love the sinner, but hate the sin. We must remember that evil comes in many
forms in fashions (a wolf and sheep’s clothing) and that it is seeking whomever
it can devour… Paul wrote
in his letter to Rome that we aren’t to retaliate toward evil deeds, but that
we are to overcome evil with good… Romans 12:20 says, “On the contrary: If
your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head." Paul’s
message was that we cannot allow the devil to manipulate situations and cause
us to fall short… When we look beyond faults and wrongdoings we are allowing
God’s love and compassion to enter in and manifest it self… It is so easy to
give someone a piece of our mind when they have heart us and this is the war
that Paul is speaking of today… Coals are used to mold things and remove
impurities from jewelry… Often times we are compared to gold and therefore subject
to the refiner’s fire… When we extend a hand of love instead of a hand of hate,
we reap coals on the person who has wronged us and those coals create the
foundation for purification and molding in their lives… Everyday that you
are privileged to see is another day in the war for your soul… The devil will
come in many forms; he could try you in the form of a financial hardship,
losing a relationship or simply inflecting strife into your life; however,
understand that none of these scenarios are focused on physical challenges… The
storms your face test your faith, your mental toughness and emotions… Paul
reminds us to be mindful of the situations around us, but to also remember that
it isn’t about what we see on the surface… A lot of people look at what happened
with Job and all the riches he lost; however, many people feel to realize when
the devil actually stepped into his life… Job had lost everything and then his
wife told him to curse God and die… The physical things that we see on the
surface of Job’s life weren’t the real problem, it was the decision to curse
God or not… Paul’s letter speaks to us and Job’s situation confirms it… We
wrestle not against the flesh (what we can see), but rather against the devil
and all the traps that aren’t visible…
BE BLESSED!!!
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