Welcome to Boot
Camp! For the next seven weeks we will
be training with our weapons (God’s Word and prayer) in preparation for the
battle of our lives and the lives of others!
And we will be learning how to equip ourselves with the Armor of God.
Priscilla Shirer’s Armor of God Bible study is a MUST-DO for
EVERY BIBLE STUDENT! I don’t mean to
shout, but I can’t emphasize this enough!!!
We are at war boys and girls. And
our enemy wants to keep us in the dark about that fact. If he can convince us that he does not exist
or that our God is not good or that we are not loved and treasured by the King
and Creator of the Universe, he wins the battle. But can I share something with you? OUR ENEMY HAS ALREADY LOST THE WAR!!!!! His time is short and he is grasping at
anything we leave dangling in an attempt to drag us down. So let’s not leave too much dangling.
My church begins the Armor of God study tonight
(9/9/15). I can’t wait! We need to start implementing these
strategies NOW. There is no time to
waste. I will put these posts on the
blog as soon as possible. I’m targeting
Mondays.
Video #1 is some of the most powerful teaching I’ve ever
experienced in a Bible study class. What
I learned:
·
Prayer is powerful
·
I need to step back so I can see the battle
·
People are not my problem
·
The enemy is real
·
I need to quit playing whack-a-mole by dealing
with circumstances and ATTACK THE REAL PROBLEM BEHIND THE CURTAIN
·
Because I am a believer, I am in the heavenly
places right now with Christ
·
Prayer is how I access the heavenly places
·
My weapons aren’t physical
·
God has given me HIS OWN armor to wear
·
Prayer powers the armor
I loved my book work
this week! I told our study group last
night that the workbook was a mentor, like Miss Clara from the movie “War
Room,” with whom we can sit down and have a hot cup of coffee and receive
one-on-one tutelage. I sat down with
Miss Priscilla and the Holy Spirit throughout the week. Through the workbook, they mentored me in
crafting prayer strategies to fight the real enemy. Here’s what I’m learning in my time with Miss
Priscilla and the Holy Spirit:
·
What I see with my eyes is a reflection of
what’s happening in heavenly places
·
I am connected to more spiritual brawn than what
is coming against me
·
I need the Lord to open my eyes to see the
spiritual reinforcements at my disposal and working on my behalf
·
I am blessed richly in Christ with every
spiritual blessing (redemption, forgiveness, wisdom, understanding, I’m marked
with a seal, I have enlightenment, hope, a glorious inheritance and the power
of God – Hallelujah!)
·
I need to undisguised, uncover, unveil, unmask
the enemy
·
Satan’s calling card is deception
·
Because I’m a citizen of heaven (and I am in the
heavenly places right now with Christ), I have the home court advantage
·
Satan can’t destroy me, but he can and will use
any means to make me ineffective
·
I can’t be lazy – I must always be on my guard
and alert because my enemy is prowling like a roaring lion looking for someone
to devour
·
Satan may be tricky, but he’s not original or
creative
This week’s bookwork included two “Digging Deeper”
articles. Digging Deeper I is called
“What’s in a Name” and it exposed eight names used to describe our enemy. These names reveal his character and opened
my eyes to his nature. Digging Deeper II
focused on “The Enemy’s Strategies”. This
article showcased 10 strategies the enemy uses to entice us to live in
defeat. Each of the strategies
corresponds to a chapter in Priscilla’s book “Fervent”, which is also about
prayer and a read I highly recommend. Both
articles provided valuable insight into the battle we’re fighting.
Here is the prayer strategy I’ve crafted to use based on
what I’ve learned:
Holy Father, my Defender, You are more powerful than my
enemy. I repent of fighting symptoms,
being lazy and not putting on the full armor You’ve gifted to me. I ask that You open my eyes to my spiritual
resources and teach me how to use them.
Make me alert. Give me awareness
of my enemy’s unoriginal and uncreative trickery. Help me to step back from situations so I can
see the true battle and fight…not according to the flesh (2 Cor 10:3), but
being alert and of sober mind because my enemy prowls like a roaring lion for
someone to devour (1 Pet 5:8). I am Your
child, but not a child tossed here and there by doctrine, trickery of men or
craftiness in deceitful scheming (Eph 4:14).
Train me to be a successful warrior in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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