ODJ: you’re at war!

July 15, 2013 

READ: Ephesians 6:10-20 

We are not fighting against flesh and blood enemies, but againstevil rulers andauthorities of theunseen world (v.12).

So he did nothing when Hitler acquired Austria and the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia. Chamberlain realised too late that Hitler’s word meant nothing, and as German tanks rolled into Poland, Great Britain had to declare war.

Sometimes I wonder whether I’m a spiritual Chamberlain, oblivious to the fact that I’m at war. Consider Jude 1:9, which says, “Michael was arguing with the devil about Moses’ body”. What?! Michael and Satan tussled over Moses’ dead body? Now switch back to the story of Moses, which simply says “the Lord buried him . . . but to this day no one knows the exact place” (Deuteronomy 34:6). Apparently that simple statement, “the Lord buried him”, conceals a lot of angelic activity.

I don’t know what Satan wanted with Moses’ body. Perhaps he wanted to parade it in front of the Israelites to dishearten them. Perhaps he simply wanted a souvenir.

I wonder if Satan shadowed the Israelites during their trek in the desert. Did he hound them into grumbling about food and the size of the giants in the Promised Land? When he saw an opening did he swoop in to scoop up Moses? How would the Israelites have responded if they realised their trials were part of a larger war?

The first soldiers to die are often the ones who don’t know they’re in a battle. Be on guard, you’re at war.—Mike Wittmer
Matthew 10:16-42‹

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Read 2 Kings 6:8-23to learn about the unseen world.  
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Think of a temptation that grips you from time to time. How will it help you to remember that your obedience is part of a larger, cosmic war?