Resisting The Devil - Put On The Full Armor (Part V)

In covering ourselves with God’s armor, we are to put on the helmet of salvation as well. Salvation is preservation from destruction, difficulty, or evil. Theologically, it is understood to be the deliverance from the power or penalty of sin. With the helmet of salvation, we can best protect our minds with the truth found in Christ. Jesus said: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6). When we accept the truth that we are totally dependent upon our Creator for everything, we can more effectively accept the need for Christ to work in our life to set us free (see John 8:31, 32). It is not that we are set free from having to work though unresolved issues. But through Christ, we are empowered to work out our salvation (see Philippians 2:12). It is not a matter of whether Satan will attack us with words that provoke worry, doubt, and fear, but to what degree we will stand firm in the face of his attacks. During these times, we can best hold fast against the devil by making sure we are covered with all of God’s armor, including the helmet of salvation. When we do, we can stand confident that we have His covering.

For a more in-depth study on this topic, purchase a copy of my book, The Conditioned Mind. I’m confident you will be glad you did. I pray the remainder of the rest of your week and weekend are blessed!

Resisting The Devil – Put On The Full Armor (Part IV)

Greetings friends! Since its invention, the shield has played a key role in the makeup of a soldier’s armor. As followers of Jesus Christ, we, too, are to work with a shield—the shield of faith, which Paul states can “extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.” Faith is having confident belief in the truth, value, or trustworthiness of a person, idea, or thing. It is a belief that does not rest singly on logical proof or material evidence. Through faith amazing things happen (see Hebrews 11). By placing their faith in Jesus, a ruler’s daughter who had died was brought back to life; a woman afflicted with a twelve-year hemorrhaging condition was healed; and the blind were given the ability to see (see Matthew 9:18, 19, 23–26 for ruler’s daughter; Matthew 9:20–22 for afflicted woman; Matthew 9:27–31 and Mark 10:46–52 for blind men receiving their sight).

Each of these individuals was healed of their afflictions because they believed Jesus could heal them. We, too, will receive healing from our afflictions by calling out to Christ. His ministry of intercession is as real and available to us today as it was when He walked the face of the earth more than two thousand years ago.

Exploring the ways we have been conditioned to think and behave requires faith. It may very well be that we are quite aware of what lurks below the surface of our life. Or it could be that we have been unaware that an issue remains unresolved. Either way, what will happen when we come face-to- face with these issues? Will they overwhelm us? Will we be hurt again? In these moments, I believe we receive the greatest degree of strength through faith in the Lord. Obviously, we have not understood what to do with these unresolved issues, or we would have already resolved them. Yet, in these moments, when we boldly step out in faith and confront our fears, we can stand firm and rest assured God’s armor is sufficient for us to fight this battle and be victorious. Through these experiences, we have the opportunity to master our use of the shield. This is where learning God’s word comes in. Jesus resisted the temptations of Satan through faith in His Father’s word (see Matthew 4:1-11). If it worked for Him, it will work for us.

Want to learn more about resisting the devil? Log on to The Conditioned Mind. Blessings to you and those you love!

Resisting The Devil - Put On The Full Armor (Part III)

Continuing with our assessment of God’s armor, Jesus said: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:27). Any hint of peace this world has to offer is, at best, fleeting. Christ, on the other hand is our everlasting source of peace (see Ephesians 2:14-22). But the presence of peace does not always equate to the absence of adversity; rather, we find peace and comfort in the fact that we do not have to face adversity alone. Christ is with us, strengthening us (see Philippians 4:12, 13). Paul exhorts that our feet be fitted with readiness, which comes from the gospel of peace. We are to put on God’s spiritual footwear, so that we can mentally and emotionally get a grip. Essentially, it is the gospel of peace that allows us to gain traction and maneuver away from our self-deceptive modes of thought and behavior that lead to, and keep us, in sin. God’s word clearly says that He is not a God of confusion, but a God of peace (see I Corinthians 14:33). The more we study His word, the greater the opportunity there is for us to actually experience peace: “the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceful, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.” (James 3:17).

For an in-depth study and game-plan for resisting the devil, log onto The Conditioned Mind and order my book. Blessings to you all!

Resisting The Devil - Put On The Full Armor (Part II)

When we make our stand against Satan, we are to do so with the belt of truth around our waist. The symbolism of a belt is significant in this matter. In the days of the apostle Paul, ca. 2 B.C. – A.D. 68, people did not wear pants. Rather, in many of the Roman states, a tunic was worn—a one piece garment that typically went down to the knees on men, and further still on women. In some cases, a belt would be worn around the waist. This was the typical attire for Roman citizens and slaves. Citizens with the distinction of being “free” were also permitted to wear a large blanket known as a toga draped over one shoulder. During battle, Roman soldiers wore a tunic under their armor, with a belt to hike it up. This way, instead of the tunic hanging down around their knees, it would stop mid-thigh, allowing for greater mobility. Thus, the analogy could be made that the belt noted in Ephesians 6:14 equates to the mobility offered by the truth found in the word of God. While we are to stand firm on principle for the Lord, we also need agility when fighting a foe that is very much like a prowling lion. When issues go unresolved in our life, we are hindered like a Roman soldier would be if he were to allow his tunic to hang down to his knees. By putting on the belt of truth, we gain awareness and acceptance of our conditioned states and are then able to liberate our inhibited minds while battling the enemy.

In the armor of God, the “breastplate of righteousness” is intended to protect the heart, but not as one might imagine. Theologically, the heart symbolizes the center of spiritual activity, as well as all other facets of human life. When we lean on our own understanding, things really do seem right at times. Yet our heart is deceitful (see Jeremiah 17:9), which is precisely why we need protection. On one hand, our adversary might attack us in thought using worry and doubt, which produces fear. In such a state, the enemy can render us inept in living out our God-given purpose. The Lord does not want to us to live as a slave to fear (see II Timothy 1:7). On the other hand, Satan might scheme to keep us so busy that we have little time to stop and assess what God’s will is in a given matter. So we must protect our vulnerable heart with God’s breastplate of righteousness. Here we can see the significance of being aware of what we think and feel, why we think and feel that way, as well as discerning what God wills for us to do with our thoughts and feelings.

If you would like to discover more on how to resist the devil, explore my book, The Conditioned Mind. Be blessed, my friends!

Resisting The Devil – Put On the Armor of God (Part I)

Once we have developed enough awareness of the ways we are conditioned by sin, and worked to accept that we are indeed conditioned in these manners, we can then prepare to go to battle. The apostle Paul provided us with the following information on God’s spiritual armor:

Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle 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. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. (Ephesians 6:11-17).

First and foremost, understand it is God’s armor we are to put on. Any notion that we have the means to fight against such a formidable adversary as Satan on our own would amount to foolish pride. If Adam and Eve fell from their holy dispositions as a result of the schemes of the devil, how much more vulnerable are we? Any ground our adversary might have gained in our mind will not be given up without a fight. After we have geared up with the full armor of God, we are instructed to stand our ground. We are to be steadfast, not double-minded (see James 1:8; 4:8).

The enemy will work to fill our mind with all kinds of thoughts. Unless we seek God’s wisdom and make a stand against the devil, we will continue to cope in much the same manner as we always have. Past behavior really is an accurate predictor of future behavior; that is, until we interrupt our faulty belief system.

Portions of this post were excerpted from my book, The Conditioned Mind. To discover more about resisting the devil, click on the book title above. Blessings upon you and those you love!

Resisting The Devil Series –– New Attitude

We just completed a series on self-deception. Which was complex enough. But I would be remiss if I did not spend time focusing on another source of deception –– our adversary –– the devil. I’m titling this series, Resisting The Devil. In my book, The Conditioned Mind, I spend a good amount of time in Chapter Seven on the characteristics, intentions, and methods of Satan. Look, if you want to overcome your enemy, you’re going to need to study him, learn his ways, so that you can most effectively counter his moves. Thus, I highly advise picking-up a copy of The Conditioned Mind and digging deeper into this matter.

Consider the following passage:

“You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” (Ephesians 4:22-24)

All too often, we develop habitually dysfunctional modes of thought and behavior as a result of our sin, as well as the sins of others perpetrated upon us. Yet, to be made new in the attitude of our mind, we must work to develop awareness of what our core issues in life are. The apostle Paul directed us to “put off falsehood and speak truthfully” (Ephesians 4:24). To do so, we must first get honest with ourselves. Unless we are willing to accept the truth about unresolved issues, we are not going to put off anything successfully; especially the lies of the devil. Our old ways of thinking and coping with life will persist on account of procedural memory. While freedom is ours in Christ, when we are affected in such ways by sin, we unwittingly submit to the enemy’s yoke of slavery because we lack the awareness and acceptance to cope with the truth. The apostle James wrote: “Be self-controlled and alert” (James 5:8, 9). But it is challenging to maintain such a state when we are conditioned to deny, repress, and rationalize.

Certainly, these factors are not just limited to our childhood. Even in adulthood, many people are affected by those around them who perpetrate sin. In like kind, people are affected by our sin as well. Regardless of when or how the sin occurs, it becomes an impossibility to resist the devil if we continue to practice self-deception. Our best option is to submit ourselves to God and pray that He will reveal the unresolved issues in our life that need to be dealt with. As He brings revelation, do not hesitate to seek professional help if needed. Kingdom Community Ministries offers eCounseling services (i.e., online counseling via realtime video sessions). Additionally, your pastor/minister, as well as The American Association of Christian Counselors, can serve as good resources for locating counselors in your area by following their link: FIND A CHRISTIAN COUNSELOR.

Portions of this post were excerpted from my book, The Conditioned Mind. To discover more about resisting the devil, click on the book title above. Have a blessed weekend. Peace!

Self-Deception - Series Wrap-Up

To one degree or another, we all engage in the self-deceptive practice of rationalization. In most cases, we do so because we are fearful. We are afraid to face reality, scared things will not go the way we want them to, dread the thought of giving up control, and anxious we might get hurt. But at the heart of our self-deceptive practices, we come to see that the issue is spiritual. When we choose to do our will as opposed to the will of the Father, we can be assured rationalization is present. Doing God’s will is not easy, but it is always best. While we might not know the finer points of the Lord’s will in a given matter, when we engage in habitually sinful behavior, we sense something is wrong deep within our spirit. At times, we might deny this sense. Other times, we might attempt to avoid it. But when denial and repression prove ineffective, rationalization provides a tweak to reality, which allows us to continue in our own willfulness.

With this final post we wrap-up the series on self-deception. I pray you’ve experienced some degree of revelation about your life and what issues God might be looking for you to resolve (see Psalm 139:23-24). Next, we’ll be turning our focus on effective ways to resist the devil.

Portions of this post were excerpted from my book, The Conditioned Mind. If you would like to discover more about self-deception, and how to overcome the crippling effects of sin and guilt, select the book title link above. Be blessed, my friends!