A Modern Woman's Perspective On The Kingdom of God on Earth


August 29, 2014

Onward, Christian Soldier: The Time To Take Up Spiritual Arms Is NOW!

DISCLAIMER:  I am not an expert on Spiritual Warfare, and in fact, am just beginning a serious study of the power and authority we have been given in the name of Jesus.  As I gaze upon the world today, I am becoming increasingly aware that this is a weapon we need to be employing.  This post is a "Beginner Course", so to speak, and the following is my developing hypothesis, in the hopes that you will solemnly and thoughtfully consider this matter.

     This post may not be of interest to many; nor might the necessity of it be understood by a majority of readers.  But all one has to do is look at a sampling of the headlines over the last couple of days, and I can assure you that it is a subject that needs to be discussed.
     I'm going to start by asking the question, What do all these news stories have in common?  Russian Troops Invade Ukraine; ISIS Strips 250 Soldiers, Leads Them To Mass Execution In the Desert; Babysitter Stabs Father For Refusing To Have Sex With Her; Stranger Fleeces Church With Sob Story... I could go on and on; the newspapers and internet news sites are full of them.
     So, what is the answer?  Very simply, it is that mankind is in a spiritual war with God's Enemy.  But the understanding of this concept precludes that one comprehends and accepts that not only does God exist, but that Satan is real; and that he employs a multitude of devices and forces, in his position as "god of this world" (2 Corinthians 4:4).  It is important that 1) we recognize it is our duty to fight against this Enemy; 2) the four important areas of his influence; and 3) we have a power stronger than his.
     Part of Satan's delusion is that both the Unsaved and Christian can be presented with his power and influence through movies like The Exorcist, Amityville Horror, and The Shining; or through music by Lady Gaga and Katy Perry, both of whom claim to be "possessed" by demons.  Yet most of today's Christians are not engaged in battling these spiritual entities because they've never been taught that they are to be engaged in such a battle, nor how to go about it.  "Onward, Christian Soldier" is nearly a lost conviction.  (Please don't think I am confusing Spiritual warfare with the Crusades.  Those were human military campaigns, sanctioned by the Roman Catholic Church, for a variety of religious, economic, and political reasons -- and I call into question the part that Satan played in their execution).
     A couple of weeks ago, I alluded to a private gathering I attended, in which the author of Psalm 91: God's Umbrella of Protection, Peggy Joyce Ruth, spoke.  I am very fortunate to be part of a body of Believers who are listening to the call of the Holy Spirit to come out of the apostate Church.  Mrs. Ruth introduced us to the concept that, as Christians, we have a job to do as part of this End Times generation.  We have been given authority over Satan; we were created to rule over the enemy -- not the other way around.
     So, all this sounds like good "church-y" theology, right?  And you are thinking, what does this have to do with the headlines of the day, or the lyrics to Katy Perry's song, "Dark Horse"?  Well, they are all manifestations of who we are battling, according to our go-to Scripture on Spiritual Warfare, Ephesians 6:12:  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

     It is imperative that you understand the true meanings of these four forces of Satan.  The Greek meaning of the word for PRINCIPALITIES describes things in a series, such as leaders, rulers, and judges; it signifies rank and organization.  This informs us that the Satanic kingdom is highly organized, and Satan is at the head of this kingdom; and there is a rank of ruling spirits under him that are subject to him and assigned over areas such as nations and cities.  (When you consider some of the decisions of the world's rulers and look at their actions, it is not hard to imagine that they are "under the influence".)
     Remember the reason the angel was delayed with bringing God's message to Daniel?  It was because he was engaged in battle with "the prince of the kingdom of Persia".  We must grasp the reality that Satan, as the Enemy of God, can have a powerful effect on the leaders of nations, states and cities.  It is necessary that we realize that our spiritual warfare not only includes our individual lives, but communities, our nation, and the world!  This is not just some Biblical folklore, folks!  Kings, and Presidents, and Shahs, and Imams can all be at the head of Satanic Principalities.  And they derive their POWER from their spiritual leader, Satan.  That's the second force that we battle.
     The Greek meaning of the word, Power, implies "authority", and tells us that the demons Satan has placed over various areas and territories have been given the authority to carry out whatever orders they've been assigned... Satan's orders that result in deception, control, and destruction.
       But, as we take our positions for battle, we need to understand that we have even greater authority; the authority of the name of Jesus.  Our authority lies in the power of That Name, and demonic entities are forced to yield to the authority of the name of Jesus.
     Both PLW and I can personally attest to the power that the utterance of that name has against a demonic force.  Sadly, the Church has this same power and authority, (through the Name), that was given to it initially, by Jesus, Himself; yet, we've lost the knowledge that it is at our disposal.  We don't have to pray and wait for God to come to our rescue.  Through our Salvation and our baptism in the Holy Spirit, God has provided us with the necessary weapons to engage in spiritual warfare and actually become a formidable and mighty, militant Church!
     The third force to be reckoned with in our spiritual battle is the RULERS OF THE DARKNESS OF THIS WORLD.  When Adam fell through sin, Satan was given dominion over the world, but he is nonetheless a defeated foe of our Lord.  The Devil is really just a trespasser in this world, and he has no legal rights over us Christians.  Our debt has been paid by the blood of Christ, and we belong to Him.
     So, if he's doomed to defeat, why does Satan still seek to rule this world, and why has he gained such success through his "rulers"?  It is simple:  the Church has not recognized or risen up in the power and authority given it.  It's time that we use our spiritual weapons and strength, and take the offensive to the Enemy!  But the Church and Believers have to recognize that this battle cannot be won politically or socially ... we cannot change things by getting out the vote, or accepting new social paradigms.  In fact, a secular activist group (The American Humanist Association) recently revealed that 24 members of Congress have privately admitted they don't believe in God.  So, do you really want to go to Spiritual War with these guys on the front line?
     Finally, the fourth force that we embattle is SPIRITUAL WICKEDNESS IN HIGH PLACES.  Obviously, the key here, is "wickedness".  In the Greek, that word means "depravity; malice; plots".  That can encompass all kinds of spiritual battles against pornography, the occult, "Black masses", or even a babysitter who has allowed a spirit of sexual addiction to rule her impulses.
     The point is that we have very real spiritual enemies.  They are the enemies of both God and man.  And while we Christians have the promise of victory in heaven, we still can be afflicted and tormented here on earth.  The key to our victory in this realm is to use our authority as it has been given us.
     All the mayhem and chaos we see in the world is not going to go away "if we just try to get along", or if we compromise with the Enemy.  The disorder and turmoil is a result of the battle between spiritual forces in the heavenly realms and upon this earth.  It's time that we get into the fight!  We have been given the authority (through the power of Jesus) to bind the power of the Devil, and to set free those he has made captive.   And we need to be exercising that authority NOW! 

This is an exhaustive and many-layered subject for Christian study; far too sweeping for a single post.  But it is a discipline that needs to be encouraged and strengthened as we face the last onslaught of the Enemy.  For a more in-depth study of how to wage Spiritual Warfare, I highly recommend the celebrated book, Pigs In The Parlor: The Practical Guide To Deliverance.  It is a book filled with practical information for the modern Christian Soldier.  And I offer you this Warfare Prayer to fortify you and further embolden you.

2 Corinthians 10:3-4    "For though we walk (live) in the flesh, we are not carrying on our warfare according to the flesh and using mere human weapons.  For the weapons of our warfare are not physical [weapons of flesh and blood], but they are mighty before God for the overthrow and destruction of strongholds,"  
   
     

35 comments:

  1. Most churches in America today are apostate. Few attendees know their Bibles let alone know their God and Christ Jesus. John 17:3

    Daniel 11:32 "And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits." Even the "very elect" will be and are being deceived.

    America's churches do not honor or worship Almighty God as HE...AS HE....desires to be worshipped - with reverence and awe. Hebrews 12:28,29. It's all about rock and roll, money, growing the church and feel good theology.

    What ever happened to His Ten Commandments? They have been dismissed as "not required." Judgment begins in the house of God. May He have mercy on our souls.

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  2. As Believers, we live in parallel worlds - one foot in the physical, one in the spiritual as it were. While we may see aspects of the war play out in the physical world, the true picture is revealed in the spiritual. Study the phrase "in the heavenly places", used 5 times in Ephesians for an understanding of the truth; Eph 6:12-18 is a summary statement. Eph. 1-3 tells us what is true in this regard. Eph. 4-6 then tells us how to fight the battle, to wit, Walk in (1) UNITY (of the faith and spirit), (2) MORAL PURITY, (3) LOVE, (4) LIGHT and (5) WISDOM.

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  3. This is a very inspiring article but.....this battle is already lost....by us. The reason is this and I am not happy in telling you all this. The church has been infiltrated 2 thousand years ago as Paul warned us it would be and the book of jude confirms this. So the Christian of today has acquired a corrupted version of the word as handed down to us. So the Christian of today has acquired this happy love theology most prevalent in the churches today which causes them to arrive in a state of complacency. So when their leaders elected by them passes yet more laws throwing Christ under the bus the complacent Christian may scoff at it but he will move on quickly to Walmart or Chuck E. Cheese to live their best life ever. The first shot across the bow was in1962 when congress passed a law throwing Christian prayer out of our schools. What did the Christian do? Nothing, as he always does. This country should have stopped functioning until Christ was reinstated back into the schools but the complacent Christian had better things to do, as he still does today. So what is going to happen? God has pulled his protective force away from this country and His judgment is upon us. 1. Our economy will crash. 2. Our beloved non-Christian leaders you all elected will take us to war. Which after such war will set up the arrival of the antichrist who will appear to be able to put the world back together. 3. God will place His judgment on us as he will send a great delusion upon the Christian and this Christian will be fooled by this antichrist. Only Gods elect will know the difference. Now I will let you all into a dream I had years ago. Beginning of Dream ; I saw from out of the clouds these huge mother ships silently dropping out of the clouds. The bellies of these ships opened up and small ufos began dropping out of them and they scattered in many directions. One of them landed near me. Three white people literally appeared out of them (meaning they didn't open a hatch and walk out) Two men and one woman. The men walked past me and started working in the electrical yard of the small town I was in. (Key here. Small town.) Everyone ran when they saw the ufo but me. I wanted to know if these people were Gods angels. So I asked her if her people ever had a war. She seems taken back by the question but said. Yes, one. That's all I needed to hear. Then other people started gathering around her and asking if Jesus was coming. She said yes. Then she said this. Who here is not married? I told her I wasn't. She then handed me a photo and said, this woman has agreed to marry you. She then addressed all others who weren't married. Then came the other 2 guys. And what they did was create some sort of invisible electronic force field around the town. Basically the area we were in was invisible to anyone outside this area. We were absolutely safe. Now we could go out of this protective shield at our own peril but if we stayed inside we were safe. So basically we were going to be in this area for quite some time. End of dream. Folks Gods judgment is upon us. What you need to do is throw of the chains of the modern love church theology and seek His truth.

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    1. Outstanding post Anonymous!!! Frighteningly accurate, yet my thoughts exactly as well.

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  4. Great post and in total agreement. In order for us to overcome what is and what will be before us, we definitely need to know what we're up against.

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  5. Oh yes, you are right. I was positive that I had read that book. When I went to check, it seems I have "When Pigs Move In" by Don Dickerman. Now my interest is piqued. Do I need to purchase another book or just reread what I already have!

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    1. "Pigs in the Parlor" is a standard on Christian Deliverance, and there is also a study guide you can purchase. I'm not familiar with the Dickerman book.

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    2. Belle, the forward of the Dickerman book is written by Frank D. Hammond. In that forward he says..."This is a book I found impossible to lay aside until I had read it in its entirety"... I figured just from that statement alone that it went further or at least covered the whole of Mr. Hammond's book sufficiently.

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  6. Up until 4 years ago, I did not understand spiritual warfare. I did not know that demons could harass Christians until something happened to wake me up. I was getting a massage from a woman who said that she talked to spirits and they "told her" things about her clients. I was very disturbed about this. That night, I could not go to sleep and I was very restless. I felt like someone was watching me. It was an extremely hot July night, but I turned off the air conditioner anyway. About 4am in the morning, I had a nightmare, and when I woke up, someone was lying on top of me! Even though it was hot out, I was freezing cold and the hair on my head was standing up! I did not see anyone, so I knew it had to be something spiritual. I waited a minute and it left me. I immediately got up and turned on the lights. I called my pastor the next day and asked him what it could be. He told me to go through my house and anoint it with olive oil and cast out the demons. Ever since then, I know that Satan and demons are real and that they can harass even believers, though we can't be outright possessed by them. Every night I do spiritual warfare. If I sense something, I say out loud "I am covered by the blood of Jesus!" and it has great power! We can cast out evil spirits by saying out loud "I cast you out in the name of Jesus Christ"! Also, I do believe that we need to be prepared to cast demons out of people, just as they did in Jesus' time. I highly recommend going through the spiritual warfare series by Russ Dizdar. It is free and it was so helpful to me. It will equip you to do spiritual warfare. I am really glad I had that experience, because it woke me up to the reality of the spiritual world.

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    1. As I stated in the article, both my husband and I have encountered demons; me while I was leading a Book of Revelation Study … Satan certainly doesn't want us to know that part of the Bible! And my husband battled the spiritual realm as he was experiencing a tremendous growth in his understanding from God. Once you call on the name of Jesus, they know you cannot be moved. Your pastor was wise in telling you how to cast them out!

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    2. Did you hear something like maracas .

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  7. I see you have four anti-Christ Jews cascading from the Christian Adolf Hitler.
    You need to find out who fulfilled Genesis 35:11 and it wasn't these contemporary Revelation 2:9 & 3:9 Jews.
    If you don't already, you need to get the faith Jesus had and be a commandment keeper.
    That means 7th, not 1st day of creation Sabbath, celebrate the 3 feasts and stop eating unclean food like the pig and rodent.

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    1. My example of these men are that they are all Anti-Christ and under demonic influence.

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    2. Thanks for posting my comment.

      Hitler went to church and held Christian holidays.
      JFK thought Hitler was a great man that was given bad press.

      Did you find out what people fulfilled Genesis 35:11, the largest transfer of land and wealth in human history? A company/commonwealth of Nations and a great Nation as the covenant promises.

      Also what people whose numbers are like the stars and can't be counted.

      Jesus said his people hear his voice and follow him, meaning the one's who do not are not his.
      Read Matthew 15:24 and see who and only who Jesus was sent to save. Then Matthew 10:5 and 10:6 to see where he told his teachers not to go. He also said he spoke in parables so others would not understand.

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    3. I'm still not sure what point you are trying to make. God had a BIG plan because He is a BIG God, and yes, He sent Jesus to save the lost sheep of Israel. But how can we discount God's plan to blind the Israelites and send Paul to preach to the Gentiles and graft us in? That is what the Book of Romans is all about!

      And I'm sorry, but I cannot agree with your theory on Hitler. JFK wrote these words around 1945, didn't he? When the horrors and the atrocities of the Holocaust were still being discovered -- certainly the world did not know all of his deeper philosophies, and as JFK said in his book, "He [Hitler] had a mystery about him" .... obviously, the whole of his ideology had not been revealed yet. Hitler was a monster and a type of the Anti-Christ.

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    4. If you do further research, you will discover who the Caucasians are; you will realize that the Lost Tribes were dispersed and became Scythians, Parthians, Goths, Gomerians etc., and yes, eventually morphed into Caucasians. But they had lost all sense of their "Hebrewness" through these generations and thus, became Gentiles (because remember, a Jew means a member of the tribe of Judah; it does not incorporate members of all the tribes).
      You're right, the "Jews" (once again, members of the tribe of Judah) did not become British or Americans. But members of the lost Hebrew tribes who were dispersed and intermarried and lost their faith, did.
      As far as your love of Hitler, I'm sorry -- still not buying it. And I'm sorry that you do not see that Paul's encounter on the Damascus Road with the Risen Lord gives him as much credibility as the OT prophets Daniel, Isaish, Ezekiel, etc. who each record their own experiences with God/Jesus.
      Your hatred of the Jews is coming through loud and clear, but I would like to remind you that the Son of God was born into this world as a member of the tribe of Judah, making him a Jew..

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    5. Why don't you look your facts up bigphilydaddy?
      Search Lenin for his real name and Stalin's Jewish ancestors.
      Jews are a race, not a religion and some were/are ministers, priests and probably even Popes.

      Google Jewish Jesuits. See Revelation 2:9 and 3:9.
      Demons hide in plain sight, saying to your face what you want to hear and plot behind you.

      As Jesus said, reproof yourself, meaning don't take my or anybody's word for it.

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    6. Dude, you're obsessed with this Jew thing. I don't care if it's a race or religion, your actual soul has nothing with any earthly labels. I'm sure you could back on anyone's ancestry and find all kinds of "Races" or "Religions", but that still does not determine their standing with God. The point of this lady's great article had nothing to do about who's Jewish and who isn't. And bringing up this canard only delegitimizes anything pertinent you may have to say. Plus you're playing right into the hands of Satan. Lighten up buddy.

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  8. When we think of warfare we think of a large contingent of soldiers going out and defeating an enemy. Yet God needs believers to recognize that He defeated the enemy all by Himself. It is then by participating in His victory that we win the battle. This battle is also a personal one. The verse quoted above wasn't talking about an army defeating the enemy; its talking about the individual recognizing how they can defeat the enemy in their own life. Only then can larger foes be defeated.
    A great book on the subject, "The Shadow of the Spiritual" By Gordon Brownlee (Amazon)

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  9. Excellent article. For our Spritual Warfare to impact our children & our society I believe the Biblical Foundation of the roles of Man & Woman must be Rooted & Grounded in the hearts of all God's Children. Without Men being the head, to lead & to protect & Women becoming One with her Husband & to nuture the Children, our Spritual Warfare will never go outside our personal lives. All feminist, jezebelles teachings, must be utterly rooted out & destroyed for good. When our households are in order, then our churches will be in order, only then will our societly be in order. Then the Kingdom of Christ Jesus will rule & reign forever! God Bless.

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  10. First, put on the whole armor of God - prayer, reading and speaking the Word aloud - so that you can withstand the arrows of the enemy. Second, remember that there is great power in the spoken word so guard your tongue and give the enemy no footstool. Third, if you are not living the Word of God the demons will laugh at you. Last, believe firmly that the Word of God is Truth and that ALL of it applies to us (God doesn't have two sets of rules for His people, even if they are split in two) or you will not have the strength to keep the armor on.

    There are things that we say and do that not only affect our lives, but the lives of those who come after. Bad behavior will be passed on through generational curses; good behavior is passed on through blessings. To remove curses, one must speak words of forgiveness, seeking forgiveness for the deeds of our ancestors (read Leviticus, Nehemiah and Daniel) to break these curses so that we can remove the unclean spirits that have been harassing us (the curses give them the legal right to do so, regardless of what we believe.)

    My husband and I have been "cleaning up" our family and are now able to help other become clean as well. It takes time to work through all of the layers of the onion, but this is why Yeshua/Jesus came - to set the captives free!!

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  11. Spread thoe Gospel of Jesus Christ. Sharing my Bible software to bring him into the next millenium .Find scripture faster than ever.
    goo.gl/XApnE2

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  12. FIRST, you have to learn what Christianity is. Western "Christianity" is an attempt to teach Barbarians to be civilized, and has very LITTLE to do with Christ.
    The three MAGI (wise men of ZOROASTARIANISM) brought gifts of GOLD, FRANKINCENSE, and MYRRH to Baby Jesus. Do you think they came all that way, dropped off their VALUABLE gifts, and left?! NO! they stayed and imparted their beliefs. Then, when Jesus was 12, he used those gifts to pay his expenses to travel to INDIA and complete his studies of YOGA/HINDUISM nand He became an "Enlightened Master" (He achieved CHRIST CONSCIOUSNESS) THEN, when He was 32/33 He returned to Palestine to spread what He had learned IN INDIA.
    Search (Jesus in India) and (Christ Consciousness).
    HIS KINGDOM is not of THIS Earth ...... HIS kingdom is the UNIVERSAL CONSCIOUSNESS.
    THIS is why the Priests HAD to kill Jesus .... he was preaching LOVE, UNIVERSAL brotherhood, FORGIVENESS ...... Those concepts are DEADLY to a Tribe that bases It's existence on HATE and VENGEANCE, that follows a WAR god.

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    1. Sounds like you have been attending a mystery school....these ideas you're laying down are convoluted ideas and twists on the truth, making it all untrue. :) Jesus was not an enlightened master, He was God in human flesh!!! The priests killed Jesus on grounds of blasphemy. He said He was I AM. not an enlightened master, but God Himself. If you're going to argue about Jesus, then please, use His own words and not some made up hogwash about Him.

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  13. Im not sure whats up with anonymous' Hitler comment? I wish he would elucidate us with his interpretations and not assume we all know what is rolling around in his conspiratorial and possibly anti semitic noggin. Your are dead on with the spiritual warfare and pro active fight against the fallen ones. If we waiver now then why were made for such times as these? To fold and wimper away? Jesus has already one the fight for us,all we need do is claim it but claiming it requires standing ,and the church is either too scared to stand or doesn't know it has this authority. C'mon church get with it!

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  14. Excellent post, this is right on! By God's grace, I started putting together songs and sharing them online. Here is one I completed last week on this very topic, and I hope it can encourage believers to battle in prayer. God Bless:

    http://soundcloud.com/samuel-paul-larson/when-we-pray-what-happens-when/s-1hYGZ
    Or
    http://youtu.be/P4wpLqBnLmY

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  15. This is a great article and not many cover this very important subject. The attacks have been getting more intense (labor pains) as we approach the coming Tribulation and spreading to all but those who know how to use the power we've been given as followers of Christ. Hal Lindsey says we need 'Combat Faith' to battle the demons conducting spiritual warfare on Christians and talks about many of the same things mentioned in this article. I agree that a strong faith and trust in Jesus is essential. He works through us. Reading the Bible daily and prayer are all a necessary part of our arsenal to battle evil and repenting of sins (I'm always needing to repent). Hal's a great bible teacher and I've seen every weekly program since 2009. His website is free to use and his shows are archived. Hal is very easy to understand, and puts these last days in perspective by only using Scripture. There's also a book titled 'Spiritual Warfare' which confused me early in my walk because it was so detailed but gave good examples of the author's personal experience.

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  16. An interesting and informative article along with its comments.

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  17. Great article Belle......I also have much to learn in the area of spiritual warfare but I can feel the urgency of the hour at hand and I believe God is trying to awaken the church to arms in the spirit......battles are coming and we MUST be ready.....God bless

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  18. Just had the chance to hear several preachers present Ephesians 6. Just became aware of Dr. Jeffress from Dallas, TX. I was blessed to hear his discussion on " putting on the armor ". Although I had been aware of this series of verses from many years ago - TODAY it clicked with me with regard to the helmet of salvation. I have since reread those passages and was astonished to now KNOW what these military tools are !!

    Truth , Righteousness, Gospel of Peace, Salvation, Words from the Book .... if we know these things, we have NO EXCUSE but to start getting engaged in the fight. I NO LONGER will give myself excuses of being too busy , don't know enough, not my fight etc. etc. etc. Starting tomorrow I will let my local and national leaders know how exasperating it is to see them sit on their hands when they have the power to DO SOMETHING about all the travesties and tragedies that are occurring in our political realm with our so-called " leaders ".

    Helmet of Salvation --- Isn't it curious that if we KNOW that we are saved, we would want that knowledge to be protected with a helmet !

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  19. Your words are such a blessing to me! I look forward to your truthful and powerful writing. May GOD bless you and teach you. Thank You!

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    1. Thank you for your kind words. I pray everyday that what I write is pleasing to God and that I do it for His glory, not mine. He is my inspiration and the reason I write. On the days that I think I am no longer honoring Him, I receive a comment like yours, and I know He has more for me to do.

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  20. I am glad to know that belle ringer is of the elect.

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  21. So happy to find good place to many here in the post, the writing is just great, thanks for the post. a course in miracles teacher

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