| Daily Thought — April
2, 2008 |
|
| LIVING THE
SOLUTION WITH DAILY INSPIRATION |
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. (Ephesians 6:12 — New International
Version)
C. S. Lewis says in his book, “The
Screwtape Letters”, there are two equal and opposite
errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One
is to disbelieve their existence. The other is to believe
and have an unhealthy interest in them. They themselves
are equally pleased by both errors and hail a materialist
or a magician with the same delight. We are to acknowledge
their existence and deal with them as needed, but they
are not to be our focus. We are not to go hunting for them.
Another misconception, when it comes to today’s verse, is that “rulers
and authorities” refers to ungodly human structures of authority instead
of the hierarchy of the enemy. But it is clear that Paul is referring to the
spiritual realm because he starts by saying our struggle is not against flesh
and blood. Any human ruler and authority that stands against God and godly things
does not fall into this category. However, they can be influenced by evil spirits
and it is those spirits that we must take a stand against, not the people themselves
for they are no different than we are. They are just people who have been deceived
and are in need of rescuing and being enlightened by the Truth of God. Our enemy
is not of this world and when we encounter him our focus is not on him, but on
freeing the one who is under his influence.
It is a balance; we do not want to deny the existence of the enemy and his forces
and at the same time we do not want them to become our focus. When we find evil
rearing its ugly head we must be careful not to fight against the person being
used by the enemy, for that person is not the enemy. Instead we focus our attention
on their freedom from the enemy, binding the strong man (the enemy) and setting
the captive free.
Live intentionally, purposely, free and with passion,
Pete Reinbold
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Scripture taken from the
Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®.Copyright © 1973,
1978, 1984 International Bible Society. All rights
reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of
International Bible Society.
NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION® and NIV® are registered trademarks
of International Bible Society. Use of either trademark for the
offering of goods or services requires the prior written consent
of International Bible Society.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible,
New Living Translation, copyright ©1996. Used by permission
of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL 60189, USA. All
rights reserved. |
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