conspiracy: Jesus followers, it is not just a theory 109/366
conspiracy: an evil, unlawful, treacherous, or surreptitious plan formulated in secret by two or more persons; plot.
scrolling through facebook
day after day,
night after night
I see it-
conspiracy theories abound
but I also see IT
a real, live, verifiable, without a doubt conspiracy executed perfectly
advanced without much effort by the perpetrator
because it is most effectively advanced by the intended victims
dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
we are in a battle for our relationships with God and one another
we are attacked on every side by an enemy,
who, contrary to some opinions,
is anything but a nerd
or a weakling
or a funny little cartoon character dressed in red tights and a leotard
he is strong
he is smart
he is sneaky
he is ruthless
he is excellent at what he does
he knows his opponents
and he plays us well
the battle, as old as humankind, began in the Garden of Eden
the serpent approached Eve:
"did God really say..."
and progressed
to pitting brother against brother, time and again
to battles of lust overtaking the hearts and minds of men and women
division and broken relationships is the purpose of the conspiracy
human to human
human to God
the Devil even tried to pit God against God when he tempted Jesus in the wilderness
love one another, the way He loves us-
it is not an option,
it is a command with a purpose:
it deepens our relationship with God
it deepens our relationships with one another
this is how people will know we are His disciples
the goal, for us, is that more people will become His disciples
to reiterate:
the goal of the devil, our enemy,
is to weaken, abolish or marginalize all of our relationships
and every time we bash rather than bless
every time we are rude rather than respectful
everytime we are prideful rather than humble
every time we deride one another rather than encourage
every time we demand our "rights" rather than looking for ways to serve
every time we hang onto an offense rather than forgive
every time we practice worry and fret over prayer and trust
every time we hate or are indifferent rather than love and engage
every time we are intentionally unkind or impatient we nullify our witness
we play right into the enemies plan
we advance his agenda of broken relationships
the devil and his angels can sit relaxed,
and watch
and wait
and laugh
because we are destroying ourselves
how can we fight and defeat the conspiracy?
by acknowledging the enemy and his authority rather than downplaying it
by obeying the instruction manual God has given us (the Bible)
by facing every day mindful that there is a battle,
and admitting that we are not equipped, on our own, to fight it
"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.
I read this without the punctuation as it is placed and it gave me a different perspective-
"Finally, be strong in the Lord. And in the strength of His might, put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil."
"For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
those people,
those things,
those situations you think are the enemy-
it appears they are only pawns,
tools the enemy uses to distract us from who the real enemy is
Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.
The WHOLE armor-if we want to withstand the attack, if we want to remain standing, we cannot pick and choose, leaving off what is hard to put on or uncomfortable to wear.
Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth,
truth, God's Word, not feelings or opinion or preference
and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
Jesus alone is our righteousness
and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.
the gospel of peace gives our feet the willingness and strength to move, to go, to serve or to stand and protect or support
In all circumstances
in ALL circumstance
guess what all means?
yep, you are right- all means all
the good
the bad
the ugly
and everything in between
In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints" Ephesians 6:10-18
The only way to eliminate a conspiracy is to uncover it
it's not been a secret for a very long time,
we just tend to forget
to understand what it is
not deny or minimize it
to understand who and what our fight is against
if you need a review, go back and read those first few verses
then go to war,
armed and fitted with the proper equipment
I don't always get it right,
but I am practicing, trying to be more like Him everyday-
will you join me in the quest to love like Jesus loves and combat the conspiracy?
day after day,
night after night
I see it-
conspiracy theories abound
but I also see IT
a real, live, verifiable, without a doubt conspiracy executed perfectly
advanced without much effort by the perpetrator
because it is most effectively advanced by the intended victims
dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
we are in a battle for our relationships with God and one another
we are attacked on every side by an enemy,
who, contrary to some opinions,
is anything but a nerd
or a weakling
or a funny little cartoon character dressed in red tights and a leotard
he is strong
he is smart
he is sneaky
he is ruthless
he is excellent at what he does
he knows his opponents
and he plays us well
the battle, as old as humankind, began in the Garden of Eden
the serpent approached Eve:
"did God really say..."
and progressed
to pitting brother against brother, time and again
to battles of lust overtaking the hearts and minds of men and women
division and broken relationships is the purpose of the conspiracy
human to human
human to God
the Devil even tried to pit God against God when he tempted Jesus in the wilderness
John 13:34-35 is a concise explanation of what Jesus wants from us.
It is not complicated.
It is not easy by any means,
but it certainly is not hard to know what the expectation is.
"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another,
even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
it is not an option,
it is a command with a purpose:
it deepens our relationship with God
it deepens our relationships with one another
this is how people will know we are His disciples
the goal, for us, is that more people will become His disciples
to reiterate:
the goal of the devil, our enemy,
is to weaken, abolish or marginalize all of our relationships
and every time we bash rather than bless
every time we are rude rather than respectful
everytime we are prideful rather than humble
every time we deride one another rather than encourage
every time we demand our "rights" rather than looking for ways to serve
every time we hang onto an offense rather than forgive
every time we practice worry and fret over prayer and trust
every time we hate or are indifferent rather than love and engage
every time we are intentionally unkind or impatient we nullify our witness
we play right into the enemies plan
we advance his agenda of broken relationships
the devil and his angels can sit relaxed,
and watch
and wait
and laugh
because we are destroying ourselves
how can we fight and defeat the conspiracy?
by acknowledging the enemy and his authority rather than downplaying it
by obeying the instruction manual God has given us (the Bible)
by facing every day mindful that there is a battle,
and admitting that we are not equipped, on our own, to fight it
"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.
I read this without the punctuation as it is placed and it gave me a different perspective-
"Finally, be strong in the Lord. And in the strength of His might, put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil."
"For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
those people,
those things,
those situations you think are the enemy-
it appears they are only pawns,
tools the enemy uses to distract us from who the real enemy is
Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.
The WHOLE armor-if we want to withstand the attack, if we want to remain standing, we cannot pick and choose, leaving off what is hard to put on or uncomfortable to wear.
Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth,
truth, God's Word, not feelings or opinion or preference
and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
Jesus alone is our righteousness
and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.
the gospel of peace gives our feet the willingness and strength to move, to go, to serve or to stand and protect or support
In all circumstances
in ALL circumstance
guess what all means?
yep, you are right- all means all
the good
the bad
the ugly
and everything in between
In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints" Ephesians 6:10-18
The only way to eliminate a conspiracy is to uncover it
it's not been a secret for a very long time,
we just tend to forget
to understand what it is
not deny or minimize it
to understand who and what our fight is against
if you need a review, go back and read those first few verses
then go to war,
armed and fitted with the proper equipment
I don't always get it right,
but I am practicing, trying to be more like Him everyday-
will you join me in the quest to love like Jesus loves and combat the conspiracy?
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