Fathom Stranger

Thank you for your comments, George. We are to put on the full armor of God indeed. "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." (Ephesians 6:12, KJV). I think of the illustration of Paul in his own life with his battle between the flesh and the spirit. (Galatians 5:17). Since we struggle with the flesh and the spirit at every waking moment, we ask ourselves: Which one is going to win out? The easy answer: The one we feed the most, of course. (Courtesy of Dr. Tim LaHaye). The enemy knows how get at our hot buttons and target our weaknesses. He knows our battleground and that battleground is the world, the flesh and the devil. (Galatians 5:16-17; Ephesians 6:1; 2 Corinthians 10:5). Furthermore, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, as subsets of our source of struggles, further complicates our day to day affairs. (1 John 2:15-17). So, yes, our battle is not ours and ours alone to fight. The phrase, "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer," comes to mind as it relates to the passage of Matthew 10:16: "Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves." Of course, this is accomplished by faithfully studying the Word of God. 2 Timothy 2:15 immediately comes to mind along with Acts 17:11 and 1 John 4 as other brief passages of mind. The enemy does not play fair and is not a respecter of persons. He will hope to divide and conquer at any opportunity in a moment's notice. (1 Peter 5:8). "The Strategy of Satan" by Warren W. Wiersbe puts everything in its proper perspective in how the adversary targets our weak spots (i.e., chinks in our armor) in whatever means he can to bring us down. Be it the mind, the body, the will, the heart and conscience. Through any compromised areas or strongholds to exploit, that is. So, don't give him a beachhead, right? Don't give the enemy a reason or an excuse. We need to put on the full armor of God and pounce on every thought at every turning moment indeed. Unfortunately, this has become a constant for believers these days! Thank you again, George. I appreciate the encouraging thoughts. God bless.

Thank you for your comments, George. We are to put on the full armor of God indeed. "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." (Ephesians 6:12, KJV). I think of the illustration of Paul in his own life with his battle between the flesh and the spirit. (Galatians 5:17). Since we struggle with the flesh and the spirit at every waking moment, we ask ourselves: Which one is going to win out? The easy answer: The one we feed the most, of course. (Courtesy of Dr. Tim LaHaye). The enemy knows how get at our hot buttons and target our weaknesses. He knows our battleground and that battleground is the world, the flesh and the devil. (Galatians 5:16-17; Ephesians 6:1; 2 Corinthians 10:5). Furthermore, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, as subsets of our source of struggles, further complicates our day to day affairs. (1 John 2:15-17). So, yes, our battle is not ours and ours alone to fight. The phrase, "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer," comes to mind as it relates to the passage of Matthew 10:16: "Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves." Of course, this is accomplished by faithfully studying the Word of God. 2 Timothy 2:15 immediately comes to mind along with Acts 17:11 and 1 John 4 as other brief passages of mind. The enemy does not play fair and is not a respecter of persons. He will hope to divide and conquer at any opportunity in a moment's notice. (1 Peter 5:8). "The Strategy of Satan" by Warren W. Wiersbe puts everything in its proper perspective in how the adversary targets our weak spots (i.e., chinks in our armor) in whatever means he can to bring us down. Be it the mind, the body, the will, the heart and conscience. Through any compromised areas or strongholds to exploit, that is. So, don't give him a beachhead, right? Don't give the enemy a reason or an excuse. We need to put on the full armor of God and pounce on every thought at every turning moment indeed. Unfortunately, this has become a constant for believers these days! Thank you again, George. I appreciate the encouraging thoughts. God bless.

Thank you for all your comments. Regarding the coronavirus scare, I will only add these verses. Matthew 10:28: "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." 1 Timothy 1:7: "For God hath not given us a spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." Philippians 3:14: "I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." (KJV) The Lord is sovereign over all things regardless of what we know or do not know, or what we can or cannot do. He is in complete control. What better hands than to be in the palm of the hands of the One who created us. We are His prize. I believe the Lord is reminding us to turn our eyes upon Him, our first love, in seeking His face continually. The world is but a vapor in light of eternity (however long the Lord tarries) and we find there is also opportunity to evangelize/witness to the best of our abilities to a fearful and lost world whenever or wherever opportunity rises. We are still the 'light of the world' and 'salt of the earth' the short time that remains. As the final curtain draws closer and closer to His return, we are to turn our eyes upon Him and make the most of the time He has given us. We have all the time in the world. In other words, His enduring Word never changes. He is our blessed hope until His time.

Can Christians inadvertently 'enable' others when dealing with others (i.e., other believers, or unbelievers for that matter) with our call to agape love? I usually find that it can be a petty enterprise or even a 'thorny' area for believers, one way or the other. Nevertheless, agape love is the very essence of the Gospel and the hope of the Cross. Any thoughts on the matter?