dark forces

This passage is Paul writing to the followers of Jesus in Ephesus.

Ephesians 6

10 A final word:

Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.

11 Put on all of God's armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.

12 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.

  13 Therefore, put on every piece of God's armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil.

Then after the battle you will still be standing firm.

14 Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God's righteousness.

15 For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.

16 In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.

17 Put on salvation as your helmet,

and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

  18 Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion.

Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.

I think in our scientific, rational world, we downplay the possibility of satanic & demonic action in our lives.

Which, of course, is exactly what the devil wants us to think.

Lynn & I have been keenly aware of the actions of “evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world”,” mighty powers”, & “ evil spirits”.

I know many of you will think I'm crazy to make that statement, probably thinking I see the devil or demons behind “natural” things that occur.

I've lived too long & see too much to not think so much of what we've had to quietly struggle against is anything but demonic attack.

Both Lynn & I have seen things going on in our lives for especially all our adult lives that can only be attributed to the devil & his cronies.

Enough about that...

The essence of this passage is that we have tools we can use to fight against the “dark forces” that surround us.

Those tools are truth,

God's righteousness,

the peace of God,

faith,

the assured fact of our salvation,

& the word of God.

That last one has enough power to scare off these dark forces.

By filling our heads will the truth of the Bible, we have one of the strongest tools to fend off the attacks of all the dark forces may fling at us.

Because within the Bible is the eternal truths of God, something that the devil & his demons can't fight again, because truth is foreign to them – their very essence is based on lies.

I know all this may be more than a little mystical for some of you.

The longer I live, the more I see things that can only be attributed to the evil forces that surround us & who subtly & not so subtly undermine & attack our lives & our thinking.

But Paul says in all of this that we do not have to be afraid – we have an infinitely power God who back us up with Himself, as well as His own angels who do “guard duty” over each of us.

I had no clue this missive would go in this direction this morning.

It's something I needed to remind myself about.

And I guess maybe some of you needed to be reminded of it too, or maybe even think about for the first time.