"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Ephesisans 6:10-12

Many of us spent January 6th in prayer and fasting as we realized the seriousness of our predicament as a Christian nation. At the end of the long day I went to bed with a heavy heart. During the night I heard these Words I believe from the Holy Spirit: "You are trying to do it within yourselves." Simply put with profound meaning. I knew this was a personal word for my life, and for the Church of Jesus Christ. This battle we are facing is way bigger than the Democrats and Republicans. It is much bigger than just our nation. It is global, world wide; it is universal. There are only two powers at work, good and evil. These forces are made up of lies and truth. Both forces have eternal consequences. The line is clearly drawn in the sand like never before, and you must decide between God and satan.This is not a fairytale. This is reality whether you believe it or not. There is no neutral ground. It doesn’t exist. Refusing one is choosing the other.

I obviously choose to be a follower of Jesus Christ and God the Father. It isn’t a very hard decision. He loved us enough to die for us. Satan came to steal, kill, and destroy us. He does that through lies and deception. I pray you too will make the right choice before it is too late.

I believe the antidote for trying to battle from within ourselves the Holy Spirit revealed to me for the church of Jesus Christ is to realize the truth of His Word in Ephesians 6. Read it. Take it piece by piece. Stand firm having girded your loins with truth. Truth holds everything together, and refers to integrity! Put on the breastplate of righteousness. Guard your heart. Out of it flows the issues of life. Shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace. The gospel is the foundation that gives our feet support and stability. Our shield we are to take up is our faith. We must believe in order to extinguish the flaming arrows of the evil one. We are to take the helmet of salvation which guards our mind and thoughts. Finally we take our sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. This is the only offensive weapon, and this is the "Ramah," the Word God has spoken to our hearts from His written Word, the "Logos." This instruction was given before and after the armor: "When you have done all, we are to stand firm!"

We must put our focus where it belongs. The true battle is not temporal; it is eternal. It is not physical; it is spiritual. We as the church, the Bride of Christ, must ready ourselves according to His instruction. We can do nothing in our own strength. God is telling us the same He required from His Son. "I need your obedience." Jesus learned obedience through the things He suffered. (Hebrews 5:8) We must follow the example He left us. "Father if you are willing let this cup pass from Me, but not My will, but Your will be done." Luke 22:42

The true church must give up her ideas and plans for His. It isn’t about us. It is always about the Son of God. Jesus revealed to John how the saints will overcome in Revelation 12:11:
"And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb, and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives even when faced with death."

We can no longer play church. The battle is intense and much is at stake. This is a call to those who truly want to follow Christ. I leave you with these sobering verses in Revelation 3:15-16
"I know your deeds, that your are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot, so because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold I will spit you out of my mouth."
Again, He left an example for us to follow when He gave His all for us. How can we do less for Him?
In His love.
Teresa Roberts

Masterpiece Fitness

www.masterpiecefitness.com

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