Spiritual Warfare: Put on the full armor

By Mark Ellis
Senior Correspondent, ASSIST News Service

LAGUNA BEACH, CALIFORNIA (ANS) -- The Book of Ecclesiastes contains a very important message: Life is ultimately meaningless without God. When you place God at the center of your life, you find meaning and purpose you never knew before.

Before I became a Christian I had no purpose other than to live for me, myself and I – the unholy trinity. I would never have guessed in my twenties or even my thirties that I would become a pastor and that my life’s great purpose today would be to advance Christian missions around the world.

And I’m sure that many of you have found a whole new purpose in life since you began to follow Jesus.

One of my favorite pastors, Ray Stedman, calls Ecclesiastes “The inspired book of error.” It is unique in the Bible because of its mostly human perspective on life, rather than revealing God’s point of view about life.

Everything in Ecclesiastes is evaluated according to what man can see, “under the sun,” the appearance of things from a human perspective, excluding divine revelation.

In Ecclesiastes, chapter 9, we see an unusual story:

"I also saw under the sun this example of wisdom that greatly impressed me: 14 There was once a small city with only a few people in it. And a powerful king came against it, surrounded it and built huge siege works against it. 15 Now there lived in that city a man poor but wise, and he saved the city by his wisdom. But nobody remembered that poor man. 16 So I said, “Wisdom is better than strength.” But the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are no longer heeded."

The passage tells us a city was saved by the wisdom of one poor man, but his wisdom was forgotten. Isn’t it true that earthly fame, glory, heroism is quickly forgotten?

How many of us can remember the greatest hero from World War II? Does anybody remember his name? How about the greatest hero from Vietnam or the Gulf Wars? All earthly glory is fleeting, as this poor wise man who saved his city discovered.

But perhaps we can look at this passage in Ecclesiastes in a different light and find a spiritual application for us.

The little city can be compared to your soul. In other words, small and defenseless (in your own strength) against the enemy. The powerful ruler who comes against your soul, who wages war against you, is Satan.

It may surprise you to learn that behind the scenes in this beautiful area of Southern California, there is a deadly war being fought. It’s a war between light and darkness, good and evil, heaven and hell, Jesus and Satan.

Satan is waging war against God, he is trying to mess up God’s creation and disrupt God’s plans. He and his demons wage war against Christian homes, Christian marriages, and against Christian leaders.

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Mark Ellis is a senior correspondent for ASSIST News Service and the founder ofwww.Godreports.com.  He is available to speak to groups about the plight of the church in restricted countries, to share stories and testimonies from the mission field, and to preach the gospel. mark@Godreports.com

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Helpology.org Christian Ministry Aims to ‘Help. Love. Jesus.’,

NASHVILLE, TN (ANS) -- Can a Christian web site help save souls? One site -- www.Helpology.org -- believes it can and is a Christian ministry on a revolutionary mission to lead people to Jesus.

Dave Christian is an award-winning, former U.S. Marine sergeant, Iraq War veteran, and founder ofwww.Helpology.org

The foundational Scripture verse of www.Helpology.org is, “Our help is in the name of the LORD ...” (Psalm 124:8 NKJV). The ministry's mission is to, “Glorify God as we ‘help. love. Jesus,’ and to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with as many people as possible by prayerfully answering The Question: Lord Jesus, ‘What's the most helpful & simplest way that works?’ (James 1:5 NKJV).”

The web site lists “FREE Top Help” with many no-cost resources, including: www.211us.org; American HeritageSeries (www.american-heritage-series.com); Apologetics Index (www.apologeticsindex.org); www.BibleGateway.com;www.ChristianAnswers.net; www.FreeBibles.net;www.GenerousLife.org; 

GotQuestions?org (www.gotquestions.org); Helpology TV (http://bit.ly/sRJKfE); JESUS Film Project (www.jesusfilm.org); One Year Bible Online (www.oneyearbibleonline.com); Rock Music Exposed (http://bit.ly/svaSto); Setting Captives Free(www.settingcaptivesfree.com); and Top 100 Tools for Learning 2011 (http://c4lpt.co.uk/top-100-tools-for-learning-2011).

Logo

Helpology features a purposeful, Christ-centered logo - a red, white, and blue heart with a white cross in its center. The heart symbolizes God the Father's love, and the cross is for God the Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, living in our hearts once we're saved by faith in His Holy Name. White is for God the Holy Spirit living in our hearts and surrounding us with His Love. Red is for the Blood of Jesus, which washes away our sins, when we turn from our sins and put our faith in Jesus Christ alone. And blue is for the water of baptism, which is an outward sign of an inward change.

The following verses describe the biblical meaning of the logo: “...God has sent forth the spirit of His Son into your hearts ...” (Galatians 4:6 NKJV). “... the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit ...” (Romans 5:5 NKJV). “...that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith ... being rooted and grounded in love ...” (Ephesians 3:17-18 NKJV).

When you donate to the www.Helpology.org ministry, you help create Christian jobs, and 10% of all proceeds are given to various evangelical Christian ministries to help share the Good News of Jesus Christ with as many people as possible to help fulfill the Great Commission commanded by Jesus.

www.Helpology.org was founded by Dave Christian, a Bible-believing, Evangelical Christian. Christian's vision is to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ by creating the most helpful service of all time. For more information, visit www.helpology.org.

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Three Short Devotional Stories of Faith

By: Author With Joy! 

1. You changed my mourning into dancing; you took off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness. With my whole being I sing endless praise to you. Oh God my God, forever will I give you thanks. Psalms 30:13 (New American Bible)

Angela is a Latin-American in her mid-forties who lived a very difficult life. Angela tried to commit suicide many times. It is amazing that she is still alive. She has much potential, even after being in the mental health system for many years. She has many questions about Jesus and has a hunger to know Him.. She knows He cares and that she will be loved and cherished, no matter what. When asked about her faith, Angela quickly responded, without Jesus, she wouldn’t be alive today. She encouraged me to start a non-denominational faith group in our program.

I contacted my supervisor and explained how I would not emphasize my own faith, but let members talk about theirs. I gave my supervisor an agenda of what I would cover, and the proposal received approval. Angela wanted to lead the group, and I encouraged her to do so. I talked with her before the group met, to explain how this would be a safe place for people to talk about their faith without judgement.She seemed enthusiastic, and shared her excitement with the group. Now since she has been the facilitator she has made no major suicide attempts. She mentioned to me that being able to share her faith and being with others has helped her feel understood. She feels like she fits into the world. She sees herself not as a “mental patient” but a woman of faith. She helped me realize spiritual wisdom can come from anybody at any time if we are open to the light of Christ.

Prayer

You have the light of Christ

within and around you

Shine your light for all to see!

2. “Jesus said, ‘I give praise to you, Father, Lord of Heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned, you have revealed them to the childlike.” Mathew Chapter 11: 25 (New American Bible)
‘

John was an African American man about 55 years of age. Due to his Schizophrenia it was difficult for him to express himself clearly. Each day he would have roses tucked in all of his pockets. They were many colors and he seemed to take pleasure in picking certain roses. Even thought they became wilted when he put them in his pocket, to him they were a priceless treasure. Each day John would come to me and say,” What color rose would you like today?” His face would show his eager anticipation of giving me this wonderful gift from his heart. Even though the flower would be wilted I always was go grateful that he would share his greatest treasure.

Unfortunately John passed away last year. I saw him the day before he died. Now it was my turn to give him a rose. I brought the brightest roses I could find. Even though he was in a coma I think somewhere is his subconscious mind he knew I was there. I told him I loved him and how much his roses meant to me. Then the most amazing thing happened. I sensed a bright light surrounding John and I felt peace and holiness.
John taught me to share my spiritual treasures and also give the best of myself to others – even if I feel like a wilted rose that day.

Prayer

When the night is dark

and the world seems to

be passing us by

There is a light which

can give us courage and hope

This light is filled with love

and comes from Jesus

We have this light within us

We can have joy, peace

understanding and forgiveness

He is waiting for us

Come to the wonderful

light of Jesus!

Let this Holy light

shine for all the see!

3. “The Lord raises up the needy from the dust, lifts the poor from the ash heap.” Psalm 113:7, (New American Bible)

I was working with adults who had profound disabilities. They weren’t able to feed themselves, walk, talk, or have the basic skills we take for granted. I provided assistance with feeding, changing diapers, activities, and going into the community. One of the people I assisted was Jean. Each morning when I saw Jean she would welcome me with a smile and her legs would move as if she was very excited, and then she would start laughing. There was never a day that she failed to welcome me with this greeting.

One day my supervisor called me in the office to tell me she had to let me go because of the budget. Of course I felt many emotions, including shock. I went out of the office feeling down and Jean was in the room. She looked at me as though she understood. Then with her usual smile she started laughing.

In spite of myself I couldn’t help but laugh with her. I looked at Jean clearly for the first time and became mindful of all the challenges she had yet every morning she seemed to be thankful and joyful for another day. I had lost a job, but I was still able to do many things she would never be capable of. She would always need someone to feed and change her diapers, yet she still smiled. Maybe physically she wasn’t able to talk, but spiritually she spoke volumes. I realized I have much to thank God for and to find at least one thing to smile and laugh at each day.

Prayer

How can I thank you?

Are their words?

Are their actions I can do?

I ponder many ideas and thoughts

on how to try and give you thanks

when really all you are wanting

is my heart. You don’t need a lot

of words or even a lot of planning

of how I can show my gratefulness

You just ask that I follow my heart

Article Source: http://christian-topics.info

Would love to write in magazines and publish a devotional with a traditional publisher. I have one book titled Finding the Light of Jesus which is published by CrossLink- a traditional published. I'v been published in thirteen peridicals and facilitate spiritual retreats and provide uplifting presentations to groups and churches. I am also currently writing for San Francisco Examiner in the spirituality section. You can read my articles at www.examiner.com/christian-living-in-sacramento/cindy-tuttle