Jesus had much to say about spiritual warfare, and in Luke 11:20-22, he gave incredible insight into the nature of it.
Jesus compares our persons to homes that must be guarded. And he compares our health and well-being to spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical property, that needs to be protected from powerful spiritual beings who are hell-bent on stealing all our “stuff.”
He said the “courtyards,” the perimeters, the outer entrances to our “homes” must be carefully guarded. In other passages, Jesus tells us the courtyards/outer entrances to our persons are the eyes and ears of our understanding. He said to keep our spiritual eyes clear, so our physical bodies could be full of light. He admonished us to open our ears of understanding to receive a love of the truth. He said it isn’t physical food or washing/neglecting to wash hands that corrupt or make a person unclean, but rather it is what we feed our spirits that corrupts or cleans.
The Word of God, cautions, warns, and commands us to carefully guard our hearts—our innermost beings. We are admonished to carefully choose the influences we allow ourselves to be exposed to. There is a direct connection between the spiritual and the physical. And this works both ways. What we participate in physically influences our spiritual conditions, just as Our spiritual conditions influence our physical conditions--both in physical health and the activities we choose to engage in.
Jesus said the enemy of our souls is powerful, and he incessantly plots against us. He spoke of spiritual beings who will form alliances against us. They will come against us with overwhelming force, if possible, or with a prolonged siege—whatever it takes.
Since that is the case, how far are we willing to go in order to serve the Lord our God with all our hearts, minds, and strength? Are we willing to do whatever it takes to protect ourselves and our loved ones from spiritual enemies intent on destroying us, in any way they can? The Bible says the righteous are blessed...and their children. Think about that. The very best gift we can give our children and grandchildren, is to be a righteous parent. The seed of the righteous is blessed.
Our eternal victory begins and ends with having a saving knowledge of Jesus. Have you been born again since you believed? Remember, even the devils believe, and as powerful as the Bible says they are, they tremble.
If we only grab hold of only one promise and spend a lifetime learning how to walk in it, then we will experience victory after victory, both in the spirit and in the natural. That promise is found in Proverbs 3:6, where it says, "In all your ways acknowledge him And he SHALL direct thy paths."
When God directs our paths, his perfect will always unfold in our lives. Do we always find his perfect will a pleasant experience? Not always. What about when we stray from God's perfect will? The Bible says, "All things work together for good to those who love the LORD and are called according to his purpose. So, whether we are please at the moment with God's will or whether we have strayed from it, we are assured that God will make it work for good if we commit our all to him and allow him to.
In 3 John, verse :3, is God’s expressed will that we prosper and be in health, even as our souls prosper.
Developing the habit of reading our Bibles every day, always picking up today where we left off yesterday, will help us to understand and walk in the Proverbs 3:6 promise and 3rd John blessing. Believing that promise and walking in it, is vital to living victorious lives in Christ, waging successful spiritual warfare, and experiencing the peaceful assurance that we can indeed be in the center of God’s will.
Author and speaker, Jocelyn Andersen, is an eclectic
Christian writer. She is a Bible teacher who writes about many subjects
including Bible
prophecy and equality
of the sexes. She is best known for her advocacy in domestic
violence awareness. Her book, Woman Submit! Christians & Domestic Violence, has been a staple in the library of resources on that subject.
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