Sue O’Donnell. 15.09.20
“Any bitterness or bad temper or anger or shouting or abuse must be far removed from you – as must every kind of malice. Be generous to one another, sympathetic, forgiving each other as readily as God forgave you in Christ.” (Ephesians 4 v 31, 32 TNJB)
Renounce the evil one,
Declare him now null and void!
For Jesus Christ living in us
Is the Lord God’s peace amongst us.
Life has been animated
According to the calling of the Spirit.
This is the Spirit of Jesus,
He who enables us to love
Even in the face of ill done to us.
Enmity has no part in Christianity.
“Sarcasm and abuse are the mark of the arrogant... Resentment and anger, these are foul things too, and a sinner is master at them both. Whoever exacts vengeance will experience the vengeance of the Lord, who keeps strict account of sin.” (Ecclesiasticus 27 v 28, 30 and 28 v 1 TNJB)
We have to pardon the wrongs done to us
And pray for the sinner to look for God’s mercy.
When anger arises, we must pray for compassion.
The virtuous ways of Jesus must replace our wilfulness,
Any desire to retaliate, take revenge, get even.
We must, absolutely must not ignore God’s commandments.
We must recall the prayer the Lord Jesus taught us,
Whereby we ask forgiveness to be forgiven ourselves.
We must never repay evil with evil,
But aim for what is best for each other and in general.
“Bear with one another; forgive each other if one of you has a complaint against another. The Lord has forgiven you; now you must do the same. Over all these clothes, put on love, the perfect bond.
And may the peace of Christ reign in your hearts, because it is for this you were called together in one body. Always be thankful.” (Colossians 3 v 13, 14, 15 TNJB)
Be thankful to be enabled to love and honour our Father,
Through our experience of the friendship of Jesus
As Lord, God’s living and abiding Word,
The Victor over all sin, destruction and death.
Evil is not a vague, wishy washy concept.
Evil is an adversary waging war upon us.
We have to go into combat hand in hand with Jesus,
Shoulder to shoulder with the Person of the Spirit.
Like it or not, we are engaged in a spiritual battle
For our very life, body, soul and spirit to persist against satan.
“Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and satan came among them. And the LORD said to satan, ‘From where do you come?’ So satan answered the LORD and said ‘From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth
on it’.” (Job 1 v 6, 7)
We have to learn to forgive to live without encouraging satan.
Give him an inch, the least foothold, and in no time at all he will take a mile and reign over us insistently.
But our hearts and minds are remade in the likeness of Jesus,
He who gave His very life for us at the †.
We are forgiven our sinfulness in the love of Jesus.
We cannot choose to be in the midst of spiritual conflict or not,
For we are continuously in a battle with satan.
he, the adversary, looks for every opportunity
To take and hold captive the followers of the Lord Jesus.
“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith...” (1 Peter 5 v 8, 9)
Often satan initiates an attack by frightening us.
he may well whisper ‘You are a lost cause, give up.
There is no hope for you, stop trying.
You are already lost to grace and favour, come to me.
I will help you, provide for you, take care of you,
But you must give up your belief in Jesus,
In God’s purpose of merciful loving protection for you.
This ‘is’ a lie, just look at the state of the world,
Its confusion, chaos, distress, total mess.’
What satan will not tell you is how this is him at work in us.
“ ‘satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat’.” (Luke 22 v 31)
We live with our human weaknesses which have to be overcome,
This is the real battle to be won,
One where self interest must no longer reign,
Because we belong to a Saviour who is Christ the King.
But we will be tested to see whether or not
We live as if we are citizens of a holy kingdom.
The good news is: in Christ Jesus we are stronger by far
Than he who is in charge of this world.
There is nothing that has gone wrong amongst us
That cannot be put right by living within the forgiveness and love of Jesus.
“Above all, be strong in your faith and dependence on the Lord, on His might and power. He has provided His protection for you in several ways. Clothed with His gifts and resources, you will be able to stand against the devil’s disruptive tactics ...You have, not only a defensive shield, but an offensive weapon, the sword of the Spirit, which is God’s Word whenever you pray, depend on the Spirit to lead you and fill your prayer with His life and power, no matter what you are asking of God.”
(Ephesians 6 v 10, 11, 18 The Truth)
Lord Jesus, You seek us out and call to us.
You are the Good Shepherd safeguarding us by the Spirit.
Leading us away from the adversary daily as we pray.
Our conquest over satan is in our belief in You, Lord Jesus,
As Victor, as Saviour, as Redeemer, Restorer to God’s every grace and favour,
Guiding us into the fullness of life led in peace.
The hostility of satan is totally overcome by the victory at the †.
The Holy Spirit is our strengthening in Your love Lord Jesus.
As prayerfully we develop a strong and fruitful relationship
With You who guides our life in the blessing of peace.
“Deliver us from evil – the evil of injustice, of war and of violence, the evil of failing in affection, respect, and support for those who live and work with us, deliver us from the evil of turning away from You. Amen.” (The Global Our Father)
The Lord in His faithful love for us, so steadfast,
Will always strengthen those who pray to be kept from evil.
Let the Almighty Trinity be in command of us as their family.
It is as we submit to God wholeheartedly, willingly,
Nothing held back, hidden away and being without compromise.
That is when the victory over evil is shared with us.
Proclaim your belief, name the Lord Jesus as Conqueror
-For He is!- and see how this sends satan packing.
he cannot stand against the highest name in heaven and on earth.
Our re-birth means satan will run from us as we belong to Christ Jesus.
“ ‘Now the time of salvation power, of God’s Kingdom and Christ’s authority, has come because the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accused them before God day and night.”
(Revelation 12 v 10 The Truth)
“It is His work in you that means you are now qualified to share in the inheritance He has prepared for all those He has called and set apart to belong to the Kingdom of light. For He has already rescued us from the devil’s dominion of darkness and has brought us into His own Kingdom, the Kingdom that belongs to the Son He loves.” (Colossians 1 v 12, 13 The Truth)
Come, Holy Spirit, Advocate, Helper, Counsellor, Comforter, Teacher, come and help us as we strive to live in the way the Lord Jesus has taught us to live, which is prayerfully. Enable us to combat satan and all his
minions.
You are the Spirit of true prayer as You enable us to share in the Lord Jesus’ love for all humanity, combatting satan being a necessity, an ongoing battle for our soul and spirit. Please consecrate us to the love
of the Lord Jesus.
Only in this way, as we pray, will You bring God’s word of life as found in sacred Scripture, to life in us, through us, as we learn to be guided and safeguarded against the world, the flesh and the devil.
Please guide us in daily life, showing us the right words and actions in whatever situation we face, but especially when this is clearly a spiritual battle. Grant us the strength to act wisely, to defend truth and to live according to our belief in the Lord Jesus’ saving help.
Teach us please, to surrender to Jesus as Lord, Master and Victor over all that is evil. Fill us with the fruits of Your love so we find the power to combat all that is evil, always calling on Jesus’ name as Saviour and
Redeemer, for together, to the delight of our Father, You rescue us.
Strengthen us, Holy Spirit, to stand up for, fight for, and defend all that is made holy by Jesus, so as to gift us a life of peace which reigns, of joy in our esteemed friendship with our Saviour and of a decided hope in
knowing Jesus as the fulfilment of all of God’s promises.
Make our faith steadfast and strong, sincere and steadfast, enduring as we fight many a spiritual battle.
Sometimes it feels that each battle is fiercer than the previous round, satan being such an enemy.
We must not give him an inch, lest he take a mile and he will not do so if we hold firmly to the truth of the Lord Jesus, that which His way of life illuminates and makes appealing. Thank You for the power in Jesus’
name, His sovereign authority and His holy wisdom being the Light of the world ever here with us.
All that is evil, the Lord Jesus makes whole, anything broken, He mends. All that sets itself against us in adversity, He helps us to combat successfully through the power of holy love setting us free from the enemy, not from his attacks, but from his victory.
How well I remember the first time I was told “In this world you are bound to experience trouble. But you do not need to be down hearted about this, for I have already defeated the world.” (John 16 v 33
The Truth) What a difference the made to my faith’s confidence, thank You.
Later my faith took a stride forwards when I actually sought Your intervention, impact upon and influence in my life, Holy Spirit, Lord. You introduced me to the Lord Jesus as a personal Friend as well as Saviour.
Thank You so much.
I learned where “God’s power that shatters the enemy’s strongholds that oppose us” (2 Corinthians 10 v 4 The Truth) lay and what to do with regards to this. Daily my first prayer was and still is to invite You into my life to “Enlighten, guide, strengthen and console; to tell me what to do and command me to do it.” (Cardinal Mercier)
The result has been grace freely given in proportion to the battle undertaken, plus the strength to continue to fight on and stand up for the truth which the love of our Father manifests through Jesus. Here “We
exercise authority in the way we think, denying negative or rebellious thoughts...” (2 Corinthians 10 v 5)
May all believers live in You, Holy Spirit, Lord, so as to fulfil the Lord God’s purposes for their life in Jesus, serving through love for Him, delighting to do that which we now know is God’s will for our holiness, satan
banished.
For all praise, all thanks, all glory certainly ever be “There is no spiritual power, nor any created power, that will ever be able to separate us from God’s love for us, that has already been so clearly expressed in Christ Jesus, our Lord!” (Romans 8 v 39 The Truth)
“It is because of Jesus Christ that we (who believe in Him as Lord, Saviour and Word) have put our trust in the Lord God, who raised Him from the dead and glorified Him in His heavenly presence. So now we look to the future with both faith and hope, secure in our personal knowledge of God,” (based on 1 Peter 1 v 21) and satan’s final defeat.
Oh what a victory in the Lord Jesus! “We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was and who is to come, because You have taken Your great power and reigned.” (Revelation 11 v 17)
“ ‘Blessing and honour and glory and power be to Him who sit on the throne, and to the Lamb forever and ever’!” (Revelation 5 v 13) Richly, fully, profoundly we are blessed to be placed within God’s kingdom
under Christ’s authority. Amen.
Images by Artist Christine Garwood
http://www.christinegarwoodartist.co.uk/
Season
Key Themes
VICTORY
KINGDOM
