Has Satan outsmarted you?

When you forgive this man, I forgive him, too...so that Satan will not outsmart us. For we are very familiar with his evil schemes. 2 Cor. 2:10-11 (NLT)

Relationships are a main area of attack. A few years back a man I trusted turned against me. Soon after he turned others against me. Satan had sown lies and misunderstanding. The devil's plan was to hurt the church and hurt the church he did. We have dear loved ones who walk with us no more. I felt many emotions. Frustration and anger began to settle in.

Then I began to see the "unseen war" more clearly. I took our staff away for a few days and we prayed about the matter.

• We used our spiritual weapons and began to thwart Satan's scheme.
• We asked God to give us a forgiving heart and remove any resentment or bitterness that had begun to take root in our spirit.
• We began to bless those who were cursing us.
• Not long after that we called a fast in the church.

It was a glorious three days that in my opinion broke us free from an enemy attack.

Satan wanted to make our fun-loving church into a place of division. He wanted us to become closed and gaurded. He sought to bring depression to our place of joy. But we did not let him outsmart us. Don't let him do it to you. Remember you can always drop the "F" bomb! FORGIVE!

open war is upon you...

"Open war is upon you whether you would risk it or not" Aragorn, Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

We too must confront the reality that open war is upon us whether we believe it or not-whether we realize it or not.

Revelation 12:17 (NCV)
"Then the dragon was very angry...and he went off to make war against all her other children--those who obey God's commands and who have the message Jesus taught."

Think about the things that have happened to you. Are some of those things just a coincidence? Are you kidding? Do you live in the awareness of the unseen world at war around you? Do you believe that your heart is a target? Your loved ones? Your coworkers?

Are you a warrior engaged in the "ultimate battle for the hearts and souls of men? Do you know what your weapons are? Do you know how to use them?

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then..." Eph. 6:10-14

Join me at NCC and here on my blog over the few weeks as we encourage soldiers to engage the enemy and fight.

Neh. 4:14 Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes."