Paul tells us in Eph 6 “Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand against the Devil. 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….Pray in the Spirit at all times.. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.”

You may feel it too, but it is very clear to me that we are spiritually at war in the US and in the world. It is a war primarily unseen as the enemy fights to destroy us, our families, relationships, organizations, neighborhoods, states, and countries. The enemy, the Devil, manipulates people to separate them from God, and and separate them from God’s love and salvation. The battlegrounds are our governments, courts, schools, the entertainment media, the news media, and the internet.

Much of war is about deception, and it is often difficult for us to know which side of this battle people and organizations are on. Paul gives us an idea how to recognize this in Romans 10:9-11 “If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.”

It appears that, in military terms, the enemy has the “high ground,” controlling most of the battlegrounds. It is our responsibility to be discerning, vigilant and true to our faith, particularly in the democracies that allow us to influence these battlegrounds.

Our most powerful weapon in this battle is Prayer which allows us to ask for God’s unlimited power to fight our battles.

Dear Lord, we battle evil, treachery and tyranny in our world. Protect us and those we love, support us and our leaders to be strong and move our world toward you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

In Hebrews 12:1 Paul writes, “Therefore since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down especially the sin that so easily trips us up, and run with endurance the race God has set before us.”

If you are a runner, I am sure you can relate to the burden that an few extra pounds have on the effort required to run, particularly those first few runs after adding some weight over the winter or time away from exercise. If you are not a runner, have you ever had to run through the airport with a suitcase or dufflebag trying to catch a flight, or running into school with a backpack trying to make the bell. That is the example Paul uses to describe the burden sin has on the race we are running daily as Christians. Getting rid of that sin we are carrying, makes it so much easier to pursue those things we hear God calling us to do.

If we confess and repent of those sins, we can throw off the weight they have on our lives and follow our call more easily.

Dear Lord, we confess today the sins we have in our lives, we are humbly sorry for doing those things we know are against your will. Thank you for your forgiveness. Help us move forward running our race without these burdens in the future. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Some of you may know that I had the privilege of being a fighter pilot for a long time in the US Air Force. One of the things we trained for routinely was called Basic Fighter Maneuvers (BFM) more commonly known as “Dog Fighting,” where two jets would maneuver through the sky in an effort to get in a position to shoot the other jet with guns or missiles. One of the most important concepts in this process was never to lose sight of the opponent. We had an expression that spelled it out “lose sight, lose fight.”

Somewhat similarly, Paul writes in Hebrews 12:1,2, “..And let us run the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith..”

We can endure the hardships and challenges of life, and the Christian life, by keeping our eyes on Jesus. When we look away and lose sight of him, we begin losing our fight with the temptations of life.

Dear Lord, Thank you for being the focal point of our faith. Help us remember to keep our eyes of faith on you so that we may be able to run the Christian race with endurance. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Have you seen those cartoons showing the character sawing a tree branch while sitting on the branch, cutting on the trunk side of where he is sitting? After a couple cuts, he saws through the branch, but falls along with it.

This is similar to what happens when we do things we know we shouldn’t. By doing things we know are wrong, we undermine our faith and begin distancing ourselves from God. When we do, the devil, described at times as “the accuser” works on us with guilt, trying to make us feel unworthy of reconciliation with God. In contrast, when we exercise our faith, by doing what we know is right, even when it is difficult or scary, we are relying on God and making our faith stronger.

In his letter to Timothy, 1 Timothy 1:19, Paul writes, “Cling tightly to your faith in Christ and always keep your conscience clear, doing what you know is right. For some people have disobeyed their consciences and have deliberately done what they knew was wrong. It isn’t surprising that soon they lost their faith in Christ after defying God like that.”

Dear Lord, help us choose to do the right thing, led by the conscience that you gave us. Help us remember that it is always better to do the difficult right thing than the easy wrong, but also know that you are always waiting for us to return to you if we stumble. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Do you know people who are just cheerful, upbeat, and cooperative all the time? It could be a coworker, checkout person at the grocery store, the postman/woman, or a relative. Though sometimes you may wonder how they can be so upbeat all the time, isn’t it nice to interact with that person?

Paul tells the Christians at Philippi, in Philippians 2:14-15 to have this demeanor, saying, “Do everything without complaining and arguing, so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people.”

Complaining is essentially telling others about our problems, and having some indirect expectation that someone else is responsible to solve them for us. God tells us we will have challenges, to make us stronger and better, and he will help us overcome them. When we complain, we are displaying our dis-belief in God’s promises and his power.

As Paul says, we should be striving to live clean innocent lives, and be that cheerful, upbeat, cooperative person that others wonder about.

Dear Lord, You know we are weak and struggle to follow your guidance in our lives. Help us improve. Help us believe your promises of support, guidance and protection, so we will live confident, cheerful lives and be the shining lights in this world that you intend us to be. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.