Hello friends! Happy long weekend!
Here are the final questions for “Spiritual Warfare”:
Chapter 11 Healing and Spiritual Warfare
*The authors state that there is no one size fits all formula for healing and that God may use multiple methods in order to heal. Do you believe there is divine healing happening today?
*Why is it important to know we have ‘the mind of Christ’ (1 Corinthians 2:16)? What do we need to focus on to help keep that mind?
Chapter 12 Are You Under Attack?
*How can you discern between God’s dealings with you and the devil’s attacks against you?
*How do we know whether we are going through a temptation, test, or attack? How do we want to respond to each of those issues?
Chapter 13 Lessons from the Field
*Was it encouraging to read the various stories of spiritual warfare and victory presented in this chapter?
*What do you hope you take away from reading this book? Do you feel better prepared and spurred on to engage in battle?
Scripture of the Week
1 Peter 4:12-13
1 Peter 2:24
Isaiah 54:17
Prayer of the Week
Father God, we come to You knowing there is a battle raging and that You have given us the opportunity to fight. Help us to discern when we need to engage in battle. Help us to know the sound of Your voice and to know when it is our enemy trying to speak to us. May we be women who know our Shepherd’s voice. Help us to remain vigilant and aware because the enemy always seeks to destroy us and our families. Keep us alert and sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s prompting and nudging to pray, battle, stand in the gap, and never give up. We love You and praise You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen
For Next Month
*Check out THIS POST for all the details for June!
One of the ways the enemy deceives us is by having us believe divine healing doesn’t happen today. It is easy to read the Bible and think miracles only occurred back then – that God doesn’t work the same way now. I believe it’s especially easy to have this type of thinking in America, where we’re so bogged down with pride and self-reliance that we often don’t consider the supernatural as an option for anything. Perhaps too, if we don’t place it on the table, we won’t be disappointed if things don’t turn out well.
“‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the Lord.” (Isaiah 55:8) When we accept Christ, we enter into a new way of life and a new way of thinking. Having “the mind of Christ” is so foreign to us, and the transformation is gradual and difficult because our spirit wrestles with the Holy Spirit.
When God is drawing out my sin and bringing me to the end of myself in a certain way, it may be painful, but I feel it in a corrective way. It’s like when a parent yanks a a little kid back from trying to jump into the street to get a ball. The kid is not thinking there could be cars; he/she only wants to get the ball back. Similarly, God’s intent is not to condemn but to convict or persuade us to see the error of our ways. He doesn’t do this in a manipulative way but rather in an enlightening way.
When the enemy tempts or attacks, he’s already been observing us…thoroughly. He knows us shockingly well and searches for opportunities to have something or someone get under our skin so our focus shifts and sin can more easily ignite.
For me recently, I’ve been up to my ears in enemy attacks! What’s interesting though is I’ve been realizing the initial attacks may be able to be blamed on the enemy, but the lingering within the sin is something I’m doing solo. But I guess that’s the point, right?! That’s what the enemy wants: him to start, us to continue on our own. No more training wheels needed, we’ve got the hang of it now. This is a scary place to be. This is how bitterness, resentment, and hard-heartedness take root and grow.
Lately I’ve been asking: How long does it take for the chaos, despair, and negativity around someone to affect/infect someone? Of course it varies depending on the circumstance, but it’s telling how quickly we can become (in some degree or another) what/who we are fighting against.
This is why we can’t fight in our own strength. “Only a renewed mind can rise up in times of attack and defeat the purposes of the enemy.” (Page 184) As I said earlier, transformation takes time – that is why sanctification is lifelong. Settling into this new self and mindset requires choice and will. “We must settle in our own spirit the truth regarding our authority in Christ.” (Page 202) While we won’t always feel positivity when we’re doing the right thing, we can still choose to do what is right and will ourselves to believe what is right.
Jesus, the Truth, doesn’t change – regardless if there are conflicting emotions raging within us during the enemy’s attacks. Jesus, the Light, has already defeated sin, and we need to remember the enemy doesn’t have a hold on us. We can “allow the Holy Spirit to shine the bright truth into the inner rooms of [our souls].” (Page 193) His Light can shine not only in, but also through us. We have been given the tools to engage in spiritual warfare. And we can proceed confidently, knowing the final battle’s already been won.