Way of The Warrior- A Daily Devotional

You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier. – 2 Timothy 2:3-4 NKJV

Warrior;
There is a battle waging? Are you aware of it? Are you engaged in it? If you are NOT aware of it, how can you ENGAGE IN IT? Hear the Word of the Lord: Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. (1 Timothy 5:8) In warfare there is confusion. As a matter of fact, our enemies #1 weapon formed against us is CONFUSION. If we are confused then we don’t speak up, ACT up or STAND UP. And many who “identify” as Christians are too busy fitting into the world to understand they are in a battle for their souls. So many who self-identify as Christians are so busy falling in line with the world quoting Romans 13, that they are not engaged in the warfare that we are called to. In the parable that Jesus told of the Sower and the Seed in Matthew 13 Jesus made it clear who was doing the confusion. The enemy who planted the weeds among the wheat is the devil. The harvest is the end of the world, and the harvesters are the angels. (Matthew 13:39) It is clear that we have a formidable opponent in the devil, and He is tricky, and He first wants you to believe He doesn’t exist and then secondly, as a good Christian you are supposed to be a submissive lamb and do whatever he says. Even King David, and Jesus’ good friend and Apostle, Peter, who the Catholics made the first Pope, had to deal with the reality of the devil. Hear the Word of the Lord; Then Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel. But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you bare not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” (1 Chronicles 21:1, Mark 8:33)

Leader, Matthew 16:23 recounts the same story of Jesus rebuking Peter, and the devil who was guiding Peter. Peter was unknowingly being used by the devil, just like today with so many who call themselves Christian are wrapped up in Social Justice. Social Justice is man’s attempt to fix a broken man. The problem with the world today is man- we are flawed, we are attempting to bring Justice to an unjust world. There is NO JUSTICE this side of eternity, that is why there IS NO PEACE this side of eternity- outside the PEACE WITH GOD, that brings about the PEACE OF GOD. That cannot take place with any form of Marxism, Bidenism, Socialism or Wokeism. Unknowingly, Peter was speaking for Satan. Like Jesus’ adversary, Peter was not setting his mind on the things of God—His ways, His plans, and His purposes (Colossians 3:2; Isaiah 55:8-9). Instead, his mind was set on the things of man, the things of the world and its earthly values. Jesus was saying that the way of the cross was God’s will, the plan of redemption for all mankind. Today, we are experiencing the GREAT APOSTASY, because man again is attempting to fix things by our standards. The Logical levels show us, and Einstein told us, “You cannot fix a problem at the same level it was created at”. Man is the problem, sin is the problem, the flesh is the problem. Man cannot fix Man, only the Salvation of God, only reconciliation with God- Only Jesus can fix what ails the Church and the World. This is why John recounts Jesus’ words to us: “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) If we are going to be active members of this battle then we must know our enemy and understand his schemes. Ephesians 6:11 warns us to “put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil” 2 Corinthians 11:14 tells us; even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.

Conduit, Paul understood the battle and He understood the adversary, that is why at the end of his life he was able to say: I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. (2 Timothy 4:7-8) if you are going to not only fight the good fight, but be victorious, like Paul you must know these things about our adversary the devil: The devil is real; The Bible tells us that “Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil” (4:1). The devil tries to make us doubt God’s provision, thus God’s goodness. The temptations of Jesus in Luke 4, and Matthew 4 show us that the devil wanted to convince Jesus that God was not looking out for His best interest. The Devil uses the temptation of EASY as a way to get us off the GOD-COURSE. You have not eaten for 40 days, turn those rocks into bread. Nobody believes you are the Son of God, throw yourself off of the highest pinnacle and the angels will swoop in and save you. The cross is too hard, bow down and worship me now, and I will give you all the Kingdoms of the earth…EASY! The devil should not be messed with, he is the most powerful creature ever made. Satan shows his great power by first taking Jesus to the pinnacle of the temple and then to a mountaintop. If Satan can do such things, we should never underestimate his power here on earth. Furthermore, we should not be surprised by the evil we see all around us. Still, the devil can only do what God allows him to do (Job 1:12). The devil knows Scripture, at least 3 verses. Like many pretend Christians the devil knows a few scripture verses and misquotes them to manipulate true believers. Do you know more scripture than the devil? Jesus has authority over the devil. Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’” (Matthew 4:10; see also Deuteronomy 6:13) Lastly, we know about the devil: The devil is a defeated foe. Although it may appear that the devil is triumphing over God, like Biden over Trump- it is a false perception. Everything is falling into place, as God planned it. Consider that in the greatest act of evil ever perpetrated against God and man, Jesus conquered sin, death, and the devil with the greatest victory of all time, winning salvation for all who trust in him. We must remember, Satan hates God, and he hates you and me. If the devil tried repeatedly to destroy God’s Son, we can be certain he seeks our demise as well. If you are struggling today, know that you should be. If you are fitting in with the world and the vaccines, and the Biden administration and the world WOKE SYSTEM, you might want to check your passport. Because God says the world should hate you, like it hated HIM! “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you”. (John 15:18)