Ephesians 6:10-12
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might.
11 Put on the full armor of God, that you matt be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.
12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. (NAS)
In the pictures of the American Revolution the British and the Americans stood a few yards apart, loaded their weapons and fired. When the smoke settled some were wounded and others were dead. Then they reloaded and took a few steps forward and show again. What a novel idea. You actually knew your enemy. In recent wars often the enemy is unknown and sneaks upon you undetected.
What a similarity between the type of warfare and spiritual warfare! It is easy to misunderstand the enemy. In spiritual warfare the enemy appears to be the people, circumstances, and even one another. Instead the enemy is none other than Satan his host of demons. They are against God and God's people. He is not a fair enemy. He does not just line up against us and shoot it out. He is deceptive, aggressive, and attacks from every direction often at the same time.
When the children of Israel first came out of Egypt God did not lead them by the way of the Philistines, but through the wilderness because they were not ready for war. They would have gone back to Egypt. God led them another way. Later, they were prepared to fight for the land God had promised them. It was their land. It was just occupied by someone else. God was leading them to victory. The enemy was there. It is vital that in order to win the war we must recognize the real enemy and put on the full armor of God.
Greetings from Starbucks in beautiful Tempe, AZ.
This is the time of the year that ll of us in AZ like to call someone "Back East" hopefully as far north as possible and brag about our 70 degree weather. It truly is beautiful in Tempe, AZ this time of the year. (Please don't remind me in July how nice it is where you live.)
Sandy and I are making our plans for the summer. It is filling up with exciting things. We do ask you to pray for these plans and opportunities for ministry and family.
Pray For:
1. It appears that the trip to Uganda and South Sudan will not happen I appreciate your prayers. I have had some real doubts as to whether this was God's will or not. We have prayed as well as many of you have also lifted this to God. I had a doctor yesterday tell me I would have to make the decision on my own, but he felt knowing my health issues that no one would tell me it was a good idea. I am not making a decision based on one doctor's opinion, but with other counsel I think right now it will likely not happen.
2. Sandy continues to teach the Ladies Bible Study at our church. Pray for her as she teaches.
3. I will be preaching at our church on March 4th in the Intersect Service. It is a contemporary service that we really enjoy.
4. I will be preaching a revival at Second Baptist Church of Lebanon, MO April 29-My 2. Pray for a real revival at that church.
5. Roger Ball, our pastor, is going on a sabbatical this summer and has asked me to preach a total of 19 times. That will be 6 Sundays, three sermons each morning. I really look forward to that. I will also be preaching one Sunday night service. Pray for the preparation and stamina.
6. Looks like we will stay in AZ for the summer and do some camping and fishing in the mountains. Such a beautiful, cool place.
7. I have a CT scan Thursday, January 9th. The lab tests were done on the 7th. I will know results on February 20th. Please pray for a good report which means no growth, but stability of the tumor in the liver. Thanks.
8. Sandy, Collin and I are joining First Baptist Church of Tempe on this Sunday, January 12th. Pray for us on this important day.
Your prayers, email and contacts mean a lot to us. Your support is much appreciated. We could not do what we do without you allowing God to use you. Thanks for being such wonderful friends and family.
God bless you this week with special times with special people. ~ DGW
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