This sounds like Paul's statement in Ephesians 6:4. Jesus has given us the weapons of spiritual warfare. Marmosets are squirrel-size monkeys. After the euphoria of new-found faith wears off, Satan attacks viciously with doubt and fear. They are not ready for combat. Now let me see you disobey THAT!”. It's easy to notice the wrong in a child, but difficult to look beyond an innocent offense to see an act of creativity and love. As a result, I was brought to Christ and am now safe in the bottle of His salvation. Distance yourself from the adversary. Looking astonished, the operator replied, “You’re not the supervisor?” (Howard A. Stein in Reader’s Digest quoted in 10000 Sermon Illustrations. Each stage has a parallel in spiritual warfare. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds" (2 Corinthians 10:3, 4). John Wesley was convinced that the prayers of God's people rather than his preaching accounted for the thousands who came to Christ through his ministry. Proverbs 24:10 states, “If you are slack in the day of distress, your strength is limited.” In Proverbs 1:20-33, wisdom mocks the guy who waited until calamity hit to seek her. When Mr. De Pree visited his widow, she told him of her husband’s poetry and of his witnessing to the night watchman. Someone wrote, "It was as if wings had been given to them—they walked lightly again." Soon an unwilling boy was in front of that plow. Privacy Policy. —D. As children grow, a parent's role changes, but the responsibility to care remains the same. All Rights Reserved. A bigger place than this to fill, O Lord, I do not pray, But to be big enough to fill The place I'm in today. B. , © Thankfully, the battles of those years are behind us. During the lonely nights, huddled against the cold wall of her cell, she composed poetry in her head about God. At his retirement dinner he said, “This is my company. They view him as being almost as strong as God is. Today, when someone is assigned to a department or an individual to learn a job or craft, he does so by observation, instruction, and practice. In Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical The Phantom of the Opera, a young chorus girl named Christine Daae receives voice training from a mysterious musician she calls the “Angel of Music.” Christine believes this is the angel her dying father had promised to send to complete her musical training. --Sper Train up a child in the way he should go, but be sure you go that way yourself. We should never assume in any situation that we're incapable of falling. We have been compelled to go to God for our souls, as constant beggars asking for everything. Verse 13 repeats much of verses 10 & 11 to drive the point home: “Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.” As I pointed out last week, it is God’s armor and God’s strength, but we are commanded actively to take it up and put it on. Dallas: Biblical Studies Press). Maybe that God is looking out for your best interests. Ephesians 6:12 February 11, 2004. This is “the evil day,” or what John Owen (in his great treatise on “Sin and Temptation”) referred to as “entering into temptation.”. Have you noticed how zombies seem to show up everywhere in our popular culture these days. asked the corpsman. And yet, Satan does have temporary successes in the battle. I am reminded of the mother who wanted to have the last word but couldn’t handle the hassle that resulted whenever she said no to her young son. We're thankful for our fathers, Lord, They're special gifts from You; Help us to show we honor them By what we say and do. —D. Encouraged by that admonition, he and his friend doggedly continued their witness and gained a more attentive audience. Dad took a bullet in the leg and suffered the painful effects of that injury for the rest of his life. (Meyer, F. B. Crouching behind cover, the Israelite captain heard one soldier tell another about a dream (Judges 7:13, 14). --Sper The greatest gift a father can give to his children is himself. If you have the NAS or NIV, it says struggle. 5:22, 23). RD Mangold. Feelings are deceptive. You do not need to learn any formulas or complicated steps to victory over the devil (as some books promote). In Christ, we have God’s mighty power at work in us, power that raised Jesus from the dead and seated Him in the heavens, far above all spiritual authorities (Eph. What we asked so vehemently we did not ask wisely. 4:3-4). It seems that we're always looking for some great display of His power in our lives. --D J De Haan. The Angel Of Music Ephesians 6:10-18 May 28, 2006. Some young people show little respect for their fathers and mothers. This "prince" was an evil spirit who sought to influence the rulers of Persia to oppose God's plan. Ephesians 6:12, NLT: "For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places." When I awoke, I found He had sent me not only one but two oranges!" Like the third man in our story, we need to see that what gives work eternal value is not the product or service of our labor but the process of laboring itself--doing the job faithfully to the glory of the Lord. One day a worker in the plant died suddenly. We would be wise to do all we can to prevent tooth decay, but it's even more important that we do all we can to prevent Satan from harming us spiritually (1 Peter 5:8, 9). As a boy, I never shared my father’s enthusiasm for the soil. --Sper The best fathers not only give us life but also teach us how to live. How about speaking well of God's Son today? Condition Orange: The soldier is physically prepared, mentally alert, and ready to fight. James 5:16,17, "Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. We are called to be faithful in performing our assigned duties. Christians have no excuse for being taken in by the deception of the enemy. De Haan The surest way to make life hard for your children is to make it soft for them.