It's a War

 ¹⁵And the ^(AS)serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, so that he might cause her to be swept away with the flood.
 ¹⁶But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and drank up the river which the dragon poured out of his mouth.
 ¹⁷So the dragon was enraged with the woman, and went off to ^(AT)make war with the rest of her ^(AU)children, who ^(AV)keep the commandments of God and ^(AW)hold to the testimony of Jesus.



Revelation 12:15-17

We are, no doubt, in a battle with the devil.  And we cannot overcome him without the power of God, the Mighty Spirit.  This scripture specifically says that he is to make war with us... and he's pissed.  In Revelations 13:7 John writes, "It was also given to him to make ware with the saints and to overcome them, and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him."  Verse 8 continues with "All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain."  What this is saying is that all non-believers will succumb to Satan.  They will have believed the lies and deceptions and followed another besides Christ.  We need to understand that this is no party... war is upon us like it or not.

I think about the fact that we're at war.  I've never been in one personally but I can imagine the battlefield filled with so much uncertainty, tension, pain and even small victories.  But the one constant I'm sure about is armor.  When our troops head into battle they are equipped and prepared.  The amount of preparedness will depend on their superiors but they are equipped in some way.  Who do I go about my life in this war?  I'm lazy, unprepared, distracted, selfish... so many things that will get me killed in battle.  I need to put on the mind of Christ with the preparedness of a soldier.

Father God, You know my struggles and You pick a perfect time for me to recalibrate my heart back on You and the mission on hand.  You want me to be prepared in every way.  Help me to put on my full armor, even in rest.  I invite You into my heart so that when the day of judgement comes I will be able to enter Your kingdom on Your grace... along with all Your lost sheep.  In the mighty name of Jesus I pray, Amen!

Incompacitated & Energized

 ¹⁷When I saw Him, I ^(BI)fell at His feet like a dead man And He ^(BJ)placed His right hand on me, saying, "^(BK)Do not be afraid; ^(BL)I am the first and the last,

 ¹⁸and the ^(BM)living One; and I ^(BN)was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have ^(BO)the keys of death and of Hades.

 ¹⁹"Therefore ^(BP)write ^(BQ)the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place ^(BR)after these things.

Revelation 1:17-19

 ⁴'But I have this against you, that you have ^(H)left your first love.

Revelation 2:4

The first passage reminds me of the song, "I Can Only Imagine" where it talks about how our posture will be when standing before the King of kings and Lord of lords.  Would we be able to stand?  Would we fall to our knees?  In Revelation, John came face to face with Jesus glorified and fell at His feet like a dead man.  I believe a true encounter with God renders us incapacitated because our fleshly bodies cannot comprehend this encounter at all.  God's presence in our lives should shock our very being into submission.  When we hear God's voice and message in our lives we should be humbled, all ears.

The second passage is cutting to the heart, return to Jesus in the most urgent of ways.  Life will always be full of stuff... even great ministry stuff.  But we cannot be aligned with this Spirit without our fuel.  We can be on the right track but our vehicles, our vessels, will sooner or later run out of gas... or worse, we'll fill our tanks up with the wrong gas and we'll end up damaging these bodies.  With the right fuel, Spirit, we can afford to take wrong turns and end up back on track to God's best.

The constant with these scriptures and what's I've been hearing a lot about lately is this... return to Jesus!  I need to spend time with Jesus... by any means He provides: prayer, fellowship, study, counsel, correction... all these and many more.  I cannot go on this journey without sitting down with Jesus and listening to His stories, His teachings, His warnings, His directions.  I can make up all the excuses in the world but it always comes down to my choice to spend time with Him.  Once I get re-acquainted with my Lord's voice I'll desire it more and more.

Father God, thank You for the ministry and provisions.  I get caught up in what the world dictates instead of focusing in on all that You have already given.  You know I think about my mortality all the time... I believe it's a call to urgency.  I need to prepare for my last days on this earth.  I can't fill it up with temporary things... no.  I need to fill it with eternal things.  Help me Lord to rid my mind and flesh of all the junk in my heart.  Help me to break through this rut of selfishness.  I look to You my Mighty God.  In the precious name of Jesus Christ I pray, Amen!