There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil. And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters. His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east. And his sons went and feasted in their houses, every one his day; and sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them. And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually. (Job 1:1-5 KJV)

Beside Enoch (Genesis 3:21-24) and Noah (Genesis 6-10), we also need to look at the life of Job, who was also a righteous man of God. Throughout his book, Job suffered from so many tragedies in his life; yet, he didn't let his wife and friends pull him down that could separate his relationship with God. Even though he did not have a clue what caused all the bad things happened to him, he did not give up to put his faith in God. We must follow what Job did to solve the problem.

Before we'd dig into more of Job's life, we must understand his background. There is not much detail of his early life, but Job was the third son of Issachar (Genesis 46:13).  He was recognized as Jeshub (Num 26:24; 1 Chr 7:1). Apart from his book he can be found in Ezekiel 14:14 and James 5:11.

As the verse 1 stated, Job was a perfect and upright man, who feared God. This doesn't mean he didn't have any sin against God. Paul said in Roman 3:23 that we "all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God…" Again in Roman 3:10-11, "There is none righteous… there is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God." Have you ever lied? Have you ever hurt someone’s feelings by your words or tone of voice? Are you bitter toward anyone? Do you become angry with those who strongly disagree with you? In thought, word, and deed, you, like everyone else in the world, stand guilty before God. Again in verse 1, Job tried to stay away from evil.

Beginning verse 2 to 3, Job lived in a wealthy family and had lots of possessions. But that doesn't mean his children were well behaved. Even though his children did not show any respect for God, Job prayed and fasted for them. He hoped that his children would come to gain their relationship with God.

Are you worrying about your children? Parents can show their concern for them. We need to keep lead them as God led us. We need to "bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4)."

Posted by MGJC Web Ministry at 2:51 PM EDT

Updated: Sunday, July 30, 2023 2:53 PM EDT

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And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.  And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. (Genesis 3:10-13 KJV)

I want us to focus on the result of Adam and Eve's lives after they deceived by the serpent (Genesis 3:10-19). This changed God's plan for the humanity. God intended people to live on the earth forever, but He had to change His plan since the sin entered the world. Adam and Eve could give Him the straight answer and God could continue to work on His plan for the humanity. Because of their disobedience, they faced consequences, which effect to us today.

First, we cannot hide ourselves from God (Genesis 3:10-13). Even though God knows what we're doing in our own private space, we cannot really hide ourselves from God. Daniel 2:28 says, "…but there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets…" When we hide something from God, He will examine our hearts. When you did something wrong, did your parents give you a chance to repent? Even though God gave Adam and Eve a chance to repent, they pointed their fingers against each other. They were like little children to blame each other out. Serpent probably had a good time on this. Not too fast, serpent.

Beginning verse 14, God gave all three some punishments. For serpent (vv. 14-15), he will be snake forever that eats from ground. Then in v. 15 says, "…and I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." This first prophecy has twofold. In KJV Life Application Study Bible says, "The phrase 'thou shalt bruise his heel' refers to Satan’s repeated attempts to defeat Christ during his life on earth. 'It shall bruise thy head' foreshadows Satan’s defeat when Christ rose from the dead. A bruise on the heel is not deadly, but a blow to the head is. Already God was revealing his plan to defeat Satan and offer salvation to the world through his Son, Jesus Christ." He will be defeated at the end. Even though God created the world, He gave Satan a permission to rule over it for while.

For Eve (v. 16), she will have hard labor and have desired to be with Adam, and he will rule over her. God intended for women to give a birth to child not harmful way. Because of sins, she and women after her will have a hard labors and let their husbands rule over them.

But look at verses 17, 18, and 19. Adam's punishment contains more severe than Eve, because he was the firstborn of the humanity. God first call him to govern the garden before Eve was with him. Because of disobedience, the ground shall be cursed that they will work harder. When they'd die in their old ages, their bodies will return to dust. Only spirits will go either to God or burning in Hell forever. I know you might not like the word Hell, but God would like to have them warning.

Are you losing your battle? Do you feel like if God would close His ears when you cried out to Him? Even though our Adam and Eve failed to obey God, He didn't abandon them. Instead, God clothed them before they lost the privilege to live in the Garden of Eden.

Do you have your personal relationship with His Son, Jesus? God didn't bring His Son to the earth, so that he can clean our sins off. No, no. Jesus did on the calvary, so that He can have relationships with us. He did not deserve to die for our sins, but He did. Now, it is up to us to respond to Him. I'm not going to spell out the sinner prayer, because it is not sincere prayer to Him. We must spend our time with Him on a daily basis. Don't just watch or listen to preachers on the TV/radio, but spend our own time to have a quality time with God through reading His words and prayer. If you'd want extra affect, put the worship music on. Whatever you do, do it for God. Your quality time with God also can make shield, so that Satan and all the negative things cannot enter to your mind.

Posted by MGJC Web Ministry at 1:11 AM EDT

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And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? (Genesis 3:6-9 KJV)

Have you noticed that the serpent attacked Eve first? Not Adam, but Eve. The serpent knew that Adam was created by God, who learned everything by Him first before He created Eve. So, Satan went after Eve, because he knew that she wasn't strong enough to overcome the temptation by him. Eve was weaker than Adam (Genesis 3:6). She was easily deceived by the serpent. Paul said in I Timothy 2:14, "And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression." (1 Timothy 2:14). Some churches may think that women cannot speak a word at the church pulpit. God can use women to lead the people as Miriam and Deborah in the Old Testament. But they cannot put authority over men.

Because of their disobedience, Adam, Eve, and the serpent will suffer that would effect to whole world history. Our jobs would be much easier if the event of Genesis 3 hadn’t occurred. Don't misunderstand that there wouldn't be jobs for us to do when we'd enter heaven. But we will be enjoying our work there as Adam and Eve did before the fall (Genesis 3). When Eve saw that curse tree deeply, as the serpent tempted her, the tree became an idol to her. We don't know what fruit she ate, but she liked it and shared it with her husband. As they ate the fruit, they realized what it happened and felt like they were naked (3:7). How would you feel if this was you? Would you run away from God, your parents, or boss if you made boo, boo?

As we read in Genesis 3:8, Adam and Eve tried to hide from God. God said in Jeremiah 23:24, "Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth?" We cannot hide ourselves from God. He knows everything that He created. But, even though He knew where Adam and Eve were, He wanted to let them repent what they did. Even though God can make them as robots, He wanted to have a relationship with them. Let's stop in Genesis 3:9 and let's reflect on today's passage.

How would you answer God in Genesis 3:9? Do you have your personal relationship with His Son, Jesus? God didn't bring His Son to the earth, so that he can clean our sins off. No, no. Jesus did on the calvary, so that He can have relationships with us. He did not deserve to die for our sins, but He did. Now, it is up to us to respond to Him. I'm not going to spell out the sinner prayer, because it is not sincere prayer to Him. We must spend our time with Him on a daily basis. Don't just watch or listen to preachers on the TV/radio, but spend our own time to have a quality time with God through reading His words and prayer. If you'd want extra affect, put the worship music on. Whatever you do, do it for God. Your quality time with God also can make shield, so that Satan and all the negative things cannot enter to your mind.

Posted by MGJC Web Ministry at 12:47 AM EDT

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Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. (Genesis 3:1-5 KJV)

Before Lucifer became an enemy, he was one of God's angels (or messengers). Because of his pride, he was separated from God. Isaiah 14:12-14 tells us that how he wanted to become higher as God. As we read Genesis 3:1, he was smarter than any other animals that God created. However, due to his pride, God took him away from His palace forever. Even though God gives us to chance to repent our sins, angels don't have chance to be right with God. Either they follow God or their ways. Lucifer decided to go his way. That was ugly turned for Lucifer. He took about 1/3 of God's angels with him.

Before continuing with the spiritual battle training, we need to look at the four battle events against Satan. We will look our first earthly parents, Adam and Eve; Job's struggles; David and Bathsheba; and the temptation of Jesus. We need to understand his strategies to overcome any temptation that he would make us to do. His main goal is to destroy our relationship with the Almighty God.

As we see in Genesis 3, there was a serpent in the Garden of Eden. He was smarter than any other creatures that God created. I want to question this: Why this serpent was in the Garden of Eden? I don't believe that God put him with Eve there alone. God created Eve to be companion with Adam, not serpent. God gave them to allow eat anything in the garden, except the tree with knowledge of good and evil. I do believe that he came to the garden by himself as a serpent as he crushed into God and His angels (Job 1:6). His main goal is to destroy our relationship with God. Jesus said in John 10:10, "The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy…" Satan is the thief to destroy our relationship with God, so we cannot have joyful lives on earth, which God created for us.

As we see the world is in crisis, especially in our homeland. We cannot receive the right information from the news media and government because they conflict each other. Satan is having a blast. He loves to make people confuse and lose faith in God.  Jesus described him as a liar. In John 8:44 says, "Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it."

Lucifer knew what God said Adam and Eve, but he decided to challenge God's command to Eve, after Adam left her alone for while. The question is not about why Adam left Eve in the garden, but why the serpent was with Eve there. We all need to have space of our own for while, so that we can't drag our minds crazy to each other. Eve fought back against the serpent with what God said for the first around. But she failed by the serpent's doubt statement by the serpent (Genesis 3:4-5). He answered partially but not truthfully. The tree was forbidden. God didn't want them to become like Lucifer, knowing good and evil. Instead, He wanted to have a relationship with them. As we see in the next segment, there are some consequences for Adam, Eve, and the serpent.

Are you saved? Are your love ones and friends saved in the grace of God through Jesus Christ? The purpose of this message is to help you to become closer relationship with Jesus Christ. As Jesus said, "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms, if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am." (John 14:1-3.)

If you are lukewarm in your relationship with Jesus Christ and want to know Him as your personal Savior and Lord of your life, please consider asking Him to forgive your sins and invite Him into your life. Paul says, "That if you confess with your mouth, `Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believed and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved." (Romans 10:9-10.) If you have done in your private room or workplace, then you need to tell to your friends or love ones about what you have done, so they may rejoice with you and want to have that relationship with Christ in their own life. There are many occults in the world, which do not know the love of God and His great plan for those who believe in Him. As it is written in John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

Posted by MGJC Web Ministry at 3:47 PM EDT

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Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 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. (Ephesians 6:10-12 KJV)

I recently read that the federal government is planning to make us all Vegetarianism. Quoting from "‘They’re coming for your food’: Expert warns the ‘fix is in’ and ‘restrictions’ will be next," Business Review, April 25, 2023:

"Globalist social engineering took another step forward in New York City as Mayor Eric Adams (D) rolled out his new emissions goal that led one expert to conclude, “They’re coming for your food.”

It's good thing this NY mayor is looking after our health, but we need to have meat in our body system to stay strong. It wouldn't be enough for us only to eat vegetables. Even though we are not going to discuss this with End Time, it is also related to the New Age Movement. Satan loves to control our minds to pull us away from God, especially our children. As we see, the school system is completely going opposite direction. Now, they are learning about LGBTQ history (which it is fake), joining Pride Awareness, and becoming drag queen/king. It is just not enough for them to learn witchcraft through Harry Potter book series. Satan is attacking minds of children, because he knows that they are God's and He will use them to lead the world in the next generation.

Right now, our nation has become as a socialism country as Communist China. Some people may think this is good, but, reality, it is not. History tells us that Democrats started to adopt this kind of leadership. Before Donald Trump entered the presidential race, we hardly see this kind of political movement. Of course, we saw that our God's name had been taken away from Pledge Allegiance and other Christian activities in public services and places during the Obama administration.

Now, we see clearly see that this spiritual war is very active, especially in our homeland. Ephesians 6:12 tells us that we are not in battle physically, "but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." We are wrestle against the enemy that we cannot see with our physical eyes. We need to have our battle plan. Even though Ephesians 6:10-20 list of battle plan, we cannot win until we have our relationship with Jesus Christ.

Are you saved? Are your love ones and friends saved in the grace of God through Jesus Christ? The purpose of this message is to help you to become closer relationship with Jesus Christ. As Jesus said, "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms, if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am." (John 14:1-3.)

If you are lukewarm in your relationship with Jesus Christ and want to know Him as your personal Savior and Lord of your life, please consider asking Him to forgive your sins and invite Him into your life. Paul says, "That if you confess with your mouth, `Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believed and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved." (Romans 10:9-10.) If you have done in your private room or workplace, then you need to tell to your friends or love ones about what you have done, so they may rejoice with you and want to have that relationship with Christ in their own life. There are many occults in the world, which do not know the love of God and His great plan for those who believe in Him. As it is written in John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

Posted by MGJC Web Ministry at 1:28 AM EDT

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In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes. (Judges 21:25 KJV)

The KJV Life Application Study Bible says, "During the time of the judges, the people of Israel experienced trouble because everyone became his own authority and acted on his own opinions of right and wrong. This produced horrendous results. Our world is similar. Individuals, groups, and societies have made themselves the final authorities without reference to God. When people selfishly satisfy their personal desires at all costs, everyone pays the price."

What we are seeing the world today, especially in United States, is like the time of the Israelites were doing their own things without God. We are currently seeing that our government system is so corrupted that it is no longer stand by and for the people. We have become so selfish that we put God away from the school system. Nowadays, schools are teaching on critical race theory or CRT, which it came from the devil. Young children are learning about how they can become drag kings or drag queens for themselves; or they lost their true identities. Apostle Paul warned us in I Timothy 4:1-3, "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth."

We clearly see that people are praising for bad things rather than goods. Since U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, many leftists are so upset that women don't have freedom anymore and put their health in risk situation. First, the abortion is not about women's health. It's committing a crime to kill unborn babies. Do you really think killing a baby to make woman healthy again? No! The fake news media outlets (ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, CNN, and MSNBC) use this to help leftists to empower the governmental system. Antichrist cannot come to the world scene until the world is under the governmental system, which we see these things in our very own naked eyes today. The Bible said that the antichrist (global dictatorship) cannot control all of people in the world. Everything that is right is considered as wrong and wrong is considered as right. This is why Satan is pushing the government hard into minds of people.

Jesus warned us in Matthew 24:24, "For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect." Even though this verse is referring to the church leaders, who teach indoctrination of the Bible, our political leaders can deceive us, too. We often hear about their faith in God, but, yet, they do the opposite when they get into the office. Even though President Trump had some falls in the past and while he was in White House, he tried to make right decisions for the nation. We didn't hear on his good deeds enough from the media because of their fake reports. If you would like to know more what's going on the media outlets and political arena, I recommend you to read True Story of Fake News by Mark Dice. Easy to read and he gave some in depths of what is going on with today's general news medias, such as ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC, and big tech (Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube).

Which side are you currently on? We only have two choices--God or Satan. If you want to do your ways, that's the advice from Satan. He deceived Eve when she was alone in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3); and Adam felt into the devil trap when Eve shared the fruit with him. Or you could walk side along with God and He can show you the way. Proverbs 3:5-6 said, "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." Even though we are in chaotic situation right now, God will show you the way if you'd let Him.

Posted by MGJC Web Ministry at 12:01 AM EDT

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Throughout our lives, we faced many sufferings and struggle in order to work the things right. For examples, when we try to live our lives in our workplaces. Some of us try to communicate with the new people and share our beliefs and faiths. Or some of us would face the major decisions on which way we should go as we listen to the other people's advice. Some of us have physically disabilities, and we face the sufferings and struggles through the days to learn and communicate with other people. These and other problems are not only ones we face physically, but, also, we are suffering and struggling against the spirits in the darkness as well. Like Job, when he suffered and struggled against Satan during his life. Jesus, He who fought against the tempter in the wilderness after the forty days and nights of fasting.

Let me ask you this question: Have you wonder why God let you have sufferings and struggles? I often ask myself that one question as I go on with my life. I came from to this country. I experienced many circumstances and I cannot solve my life crisis. Being an orphan boy was one thing I had. But, now, I face many other challenges than when I was in the orphanage in the 1980s.

Early in year 2001, I faced the major spiritual battle while I'm in Woodrow Wilson Rehabilitation Center of Virginia to do my job training. As I listened to the people around me, my mind was beginning to confuse about which way I should go. Satan was trying to use the people to tempt another person and me with our friendship. It left my heart and soul burning in the fire. But thank God that He provided me some Christian friends to overcome this difficult obstacle with me. It is not easy to overcome many challenges, especially in the spiritual round. Satan may swallow you up if you cannot find some resources to win this kind of battle.

Read II Corinthians 12:7-10 and look into Paul's special blessing, he discovered something that helps to understand why he faced many trials in his life. In this passage, we find that Paul had been faced with many obstacles and begged God to help him. His problems were not from God or from the people, but from Satan.

This is the same way that our problems occur. Satan tries to destroy our lives, too, by using anything that he can to control our minds and spirits, such as money, the media, relationships, and other things he can use to destroy our souls. The Henry Potter Movie is the one of tools that Satan could teach the children how to become witchcraft, which they could receive the same power as God has, for example. These techniques Satan tries to use to destroy our relationship with God in our lives. If you would like to have more details about today’s occult, I would strongly suggest read what God’s Word said about this subject, especially in Leviticus 19.

But Paul discovered something else, too, in II Corinthians 12:9-10. He didn't discover this on his own, but from God. Paul discovered that all his pains occurred because of two reasons.

First, he can live with Christ's power. Without Christ and His power, we would not go pass through our difficulties. But what does He give us as individuals? Love? Salvation? Talent? Whatever He gave you, use it to overcome your sufferings and struggles. Don't stand there. Use the gifts He already has given you. Satan cannot stand against the gifts we have.

Second reason is restoring our energy. In verse 10, Paul said, "…when I am weak, then I am truly strong." The battles that we're facing will not last forever. When Paul mentioned the last phrases, he meant when we feel tired, then we need to take the time off to restore our strengths. For doing that, we need to go to God's word and prayer to refresh our spirits and be ready to face our problems again.

“And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness. Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” (II Corinthians 12:9 NKJV.) Our battles are not against people or ourselves, but against the Prince of Darkness. We cannot fall into one of devil's traps if we are willing to walk with God everyday. Maybe you are searching for answers to your issues and need someone. The best way to do that is finding some Christian friends in your church or community, but mostly to go with God, because He has all the answers.

I don't know what circumstances you're facing, but God knows. He knows every answer to our problems. Max Lucado said, "He doesn't come quarreling and wrangling and forcing his way into anyone's heart." No. That is not what God does. God brought His Son, Jesus, to this world, to fight for our sins and fill us with His strength, power, hope, faith, and love.

Are you communicating with God everyday basis to get the resources what you need for your upcoming battles? If you are truly in God's family, don't waste your time with your activities and call God for help in the last minute. Instead, train yourself with God for your next battle with Satan.

First Timothy 4:8 says, in the New Century Version, "Training your body helps you in some ways, but serving God helps you in every way by bringing you blessings in this life and in the future life, too."

Posted by MGJC Web Ministry at 12:01 AM EST

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As we go with our lives, there are many challenging that are waiting for us to step in the battlefield. As we are living for Christ, we would already go through some warfare that are related to physical and spiritual issues. The most problems are occurred in marriage and family problems, financial issues, friendships, and people in our workplaces. As we see on the media, many people faced the tragedies and had resulted as broken hearts. Also, throughout the biblical period, there were many issues as people were going through the battles.

For the next two issues on "Spiritual Warfare," we are not looking only into the physical problems and the spiritual causes, but, also, look into what God told us about the issues we are facing. The first issue is about how we can be ready for any battles. Second message is dealing with sufferings and struggles. And the final message is on the solution to the problems and that is called the "Finishing Line."

As we read from Paul's advice on how we need to prepare for the spiritual battles (Ephesians 6), we will also be looking at the physical issues. Read Ephesians 6:10. Paul told us (as the body of Christ) that we need to be brave and strong.

How we need to be strong and brave in the spiritual battles? We need to trust God the Almighty. Proverbs 3:5-6 said that we need "trust the Lord with all" our hearts "and he [God] will give" us "success." As we can see many people want to have power, fame, and wealth. If we turn on the TV, we would see many violent and sex activities. Look what had happened at Pentagon and World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. We saw that many people had injured and killed because of some plane hijackers. Look on the Social Security Trust Fund (SSTF) for our retire benefit. Although this ministry doesn’t believe every doctrine from the radio and television Christian evangelists, I have found the information about what our government is doing with our money. Pat Robertson, a founder of Christian Broadcasting Network, mentioned that politicians are trying to use our money through the Social Security Trust Fund advertisement, so they can use it for their political reasons. These or more tricks we can be sure of. But we need to be alert everyday by listening and trusting God.

But look Ephesians 6:11-12 and see that what kinds of weapons we need to fight against the devil's tricks. Notice and understand from these verses that we are not planning to against the other people. From the childhood to the adulthood, we have learned that we feel to fight against our neighbors, family members, friends, co-workers, and other people. This is a difficult task for most of us, because we easily see that the people have made mistakes and can't forgive them until we would get the revenge. But look what Paul is saying that we need to fight against the devil only. Although we can't see the devil, he is trying to work in us.

So how can we prepare for the warfare we face?

First, we need to have God's truth. Read Ephesians 6:14 and see that we need to know God's truth to get through the spiritual battles. Also, read Proverbs 3:5-6.

Second, we need to have the Word of God to stand against the Prince of Darkness. In Ephesians 6:15, Paul reminded us the Word of God is a tool to stand against that enemy. For example, three times Jesus used the Scripture from the Old Testament to fight against the tempter (see Matthew 4). He didn't lose the battle, because God's Word is so powerful that the enemy of Christ cannot stand against it. We need to use the Bible and mediate on God's Word to exercise our faiths each day. We do not know what kinds of troubles would come next. Also, we need to exercise our faiths, so we can touch the people into Jesus Christ.

But we need to accept God's salvation before we ask Him for help. "Accept God's salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." (Ephesians 6:17 NCV.)

Finally, we need to pray all kinds of prayers (see Ephesians 6:18). We can't lose the spiritual war if we pray to God. Our prayers can be any problem that occurred to our lives.

Are you ready for your upcoming battles as you walk with Christ in your daily lives? Take God's Word before you open your door and walk with all kinds of frustration. Try reading a couple verses each morning and let God show you the way through your busy schedule.

Posted by MGJC Web Ministry at 12:01 AM EST

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In Ephesians 6:10-17, Apostle Paul gives instructions to prepare us for a fight against Satan and his demons. First, let us go to spiritual battle training. We need to understand who Satan and his demons are and what they can do to pull us apart from God.

We need to understand that Satan is a liar; he is the master of lies. In his book, You Are Destined to Win!, John N. Chacha brings out some of the key lies of Satan. Here are a few:

• Your sins are beyond forgiveness.
• Your problems are beyond God’s help.
• Jesus didn’t die for you as an individual. (Page 6.)

These are lies from the mouth of our enemy. The Word of God says that he is the father of lies (John 8:44). There is no doubt about it, Satan is a liar! Dr. Chacha also pointed out that our battleground is in our minds, because Satan tries to give us bad thoughts or bad habits to control our minds, so he can destroy us in our relationship with God, ourselves, and others. Unfortunately for him, Satan has very limited power to defeat us. Apostle Paul had experienced pain from Satan, but God said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in you (II Corinthians 12:9 NKJV).” Satan and his armies are no match with God, our Supreme. Jesus defeated him when He crucified Himself on the cross for our sins, but He resurrected on the third day from the grave to show us that He won the war.

We need to do our part, training with God to face our enemies. Paul says in I Timothy 4:8, “For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.” Paul knows and understands the importance of being trained spiritually because he had experienced the pain that Satan put him through as we see in II Corinthians 12.

First, we need to understand that our struggle is not coming from the other person. Sometimes, the problems might be caused by the other person’s mistakes. However, we need to look beyond the problem. Paul said that we need to be prepared to fight against principalities, powers, the rulers of the darkness of this age, and spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly realms. You and I need to understand the main reason why Paul wrote this portion of passage in Ephesians.

Today, we see the enemy attacking the churches around the world through the creation of certain denominational churches that mix Christianity and paganism tradition. We see this throughout I Corinthians, where Paul focused on the problems within the Church of Corinth . We see many issues within the churches throughout the , such as: denominations, immorality within the church, and music that is mixed with worldly tunes (Contemporary Christian Music). These and other problems arrived from our very own enemy, Satan.

We not only need to recognize our enemy, we need to equip our spiritual weapons to stand against Satan. Paul named some weapons that we can use to stand firm against the prince of this world. These weapons are:

• The truth of the Gospel (Ephesians 6:14a)
• The breastplate of righteousness (Ephesians 6:14b)
• The Gospel of peace (Ephesians 6:15)
• The shield of faith (Ephesians 6:16)
• The helmet of salvation (Ephesians 6:17a)
• The sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17b)

We need to gird our waist with the truth of the Gospel. The truth of the Gospel is like a belt that we put on our waist. Paul says that when we are wearing the belt of the Gospel, we will not be deceived by the lies of Satan. We also need the “breastplate of righteousness and having shod our feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace (Ephesians 6:14-15).” This protects us from satanic attack as the shield of armor protects us from the enemy’s sword. Finally, we need to have the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:16-17). These weapons are deadly to Satan and his armies. Paul recommends us to have all these weapons in us, ready at all times.

Above all, Paul stresses the importance of prayer (Ephesians 6:18). Prayer is vital for our stance against devils. Our communication with God is crucial to have in our daily life. It is the key to stand against Satan at the spiritual battleground. Jesus said that if we ask Him anything in His name, He can do it for us. Read what God did for Paul when he faced struggles in his life. In II Corinthians 12:8-9, Paul asked the Lord to remove his pain from him; and God answered him. He knew Paul’s circumstances and let him know that He had been working with him to strengthen him.

As I am a disabled man, God is continuing to work with me through various trials in my life. When I am distressed or going through a hard time as I am living independently, there is a great resource. I receive some help from the community, but there is no greater resource than God, His Holy Word, and my communication with Him. Being a physically disabled person doesn’t mean that Satan can defeat me easily. No! As long as I trust in God and have hope, Satan cannot stand against me long.

As we see in Paul’s letter to the Church of Corinth , he didn’t deny the Gospel of Jesus Christ; instead, he continued to pursue and to tell others about what Jesus did for all humanity. Also, he wrote and preached a powerful message to the Ephesian church, urging them to protect themselves from the darkness of life.

We need to learn from Paul’s experiences that there is nothing Satan can do to destroy our lives or pull us away from God’s presence. Our daily prayers are the most powerful weapon we have in our lives, because God stands with us when we cry out to Him while facing problems throughout our lives. Although Paul had a stressful life in his missionary journey to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ, God was with him because of his communication with the Creator of the Universe. To have a successful life, we need to prepare our spiritual weapons and make room for God to intervene in our lives each day.

Posted by MGJC Web Ministry at 12:01 AM EST

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