Prodigal:  Time to go downtown!

Me:  It was such a busy day that I’m near ’bout past goin’

Prodigal:  It will be fun.

Me:  Ok, I will be there.

This is from the book Bold Love by Dr. Dan Allender & Dr. Tremper Longman III

The real war is supernatural and is against the forces of evil arrayed against God and His people.  The commander-in-chief of the evil forces is the prince of darkness, and his cohorts include legions of rebellious angels who hate God.  But the war doesn’t rage “out there” in heavenly realms far removed from the daily grind of life.  The powers of darkness work of the destruction of good through all ideologies, social structures, institutions, and events.  To put it most simply, the Evil Ones works through the basic building block of all ideologies, social structures, institutions, and events–namely, people.  IN other words, he works through the dynamics of one person relating to another, attempting to accomplish his destructive goals.

Through one human being relating to another philosophical and societal structures take their shape.  The terrain of the eternal war is the battle ground of relationships. 

The battle is not ultimately against flesh and blood, but it is fought with flesh and blood against powers and principalities that show themselves in the normal relational entanglements of life.  The rumblings of the battle are always with us, and the consequences of war we are engaged in and the wounds that require forgiveness.

What does the idea that we do not fight against flesh and blood mean?  It means when that person continues to slander and gossip about you that you recognize that they are being deceived by the Evil one.  That they are choosing against our Savior by not loving others.  It means we may put up boundaries. We may have to disagree with the gossip and not participate. We have compassion that they are living a life of deception and are missing out on true joy and peace from Christ.  Praying and keeping the focus of the battle will help you today.

I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3:14

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org