With Halloween at the end of the month, we’ve been looking at the reality of spiritual warfare. Here is a reminder that the spiritual battle is a daily constant threat:

IN WORD Anyone who thinks the Christian life is for the weak at heart is sadly mistaken. Nowhere is that more evident than in areas of faith—i.e., believing what is unseen. People who think of faith simply as hoping for a positive outcome in the future or expecting heaven when they die can perhaps be passive and complacent about it.
But those who truly live as though invisible realities are real are in for a fight. We are tested daily. Do we take the next step according to what we see, or do we base it on an unseen promise? Do we listen to the second-guessing—whether from others or in our own minds—or do we press ahead stubbornly into what God has said but not yet shown? These are not easy battles.
We have to fight to live by faith; and it can be a nasty fight. The enemy hurls lies at us that would undermine what God says or bend us toward compromise. The world often ridicules or even persecutes those who stake their lives on what is unseen. That’s why Hebrews 11 lifts up those who displayed great faith and honors them as examples. People like Noah and Abraham and Moses paid a high price for believing God. Faith cost them dearly. They based their lives on eternal hope and on specific words from God, and few people understood them. Anyone who chooses to live by faith will have to fight—against competing claims, against contrary advice, and even against their own doubts—to do so.
IN DEED To believe in God and hope in heaven is perfectly acceptable and inoffensive to most of the people around us. But to base our daily decisions on what God has specifically spoken? That’s another matter entirely. That kind of faith has to endure relentless assaults. We will have to fight enormous battles, both internally and externally, to defend actions based on unseen truths. It can unsettle the people who support us and offend the people who don’t. But that’s what we’re called to do. We’re to fight the good fight, at all costs, to hang on to what God has said. “You are but a poor soldier of Christ if you think you can overcome without fighting.” —John Chrysostom. (in “God With Us” by Chris Tiegreen)

We must never underestimate Satan’s desire to trip us up in our walk with Jesus. He will try to distract us, make us take our eyes off Jesus, and cause us to stumble. We should not think that spiritual warfare occurs only on the front lines of missions; it also happens behind the lines – including the Pacific Northwest. As one of the most unreached regions in the US, it is a prime location for spiritual warfare.
Unfortunately, many Christians are ignorant of this reality and succumb when they are unprepared. Are you prepared? Thank God that we are not fighting alone or defenseless. God has prepared everything for us to be able to stand firm in our walk with Jesus. Read Ephesians 6 this week and ask yourself whether you have put on God’s armor and know how to use each piece. Then read 1 Peter 5 and be assured that Jesus Himself will personally protect and defend you. Armed with God’s provision and with Jesus’ presence, you can be assured that you will be ready for any spiritual battle. Have a blessed week! - from Singapore, Pastor Sam