On November 21st 2017, the Lord told me to sound the alarm declaring this as a season when He is calling all believers to rise up and fight spiritual warfare to push back the forces of darkness in our nations. He has reminded me again of this word and that 2018 will be a time when the Body of Christ is not only to fight the battle on our knees but to go out into the public sphere, into the market place, to stand up for righteousness. This is not the time for believers to keep quiet about the immoral laws and policies that are being implemented in our nation. Many of us are asleep and don’t even know that healthcare workers are being trained to record patients’ gender not as God created them but according to how they perceive themselves. In other words, if a man feels he is a woman and wants to be treated as such when health records staff are registering them they are being required to record their gender not based on biological evidence but on their requested preference. Yes, that is happening right here in Jamaica and this is only one of many issues that are overtaking us as we remain at ease in Zion. This is not the time to sleep. This is time for the sons of God to arise and to speak out with boldness. We need to be delivered from the fear of means faces and the pride of life.

The fear of man brings a snare, But whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe. (Prov. 29:25)

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matt. 5:10)

We must remember that we do not fight against flesh and blood but against spiritual forces of darkness (Ephesians 6:12). As we go into battle each day we are to put on the whole armour of God so that we will be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all to stand. This is very important. Holiness and righteousness are essential so that the enemy will find no foothold in our lives to undermine our power as we fight. I believe there is purpose in the order the armour has been stated in Ephesians 6:14-18. As I meditated on this, I would like to share with you what the Holy Spirit revealed to me.

Armour is protection and is therefore designed to cover the most vulnerable areas. Based on this, the most vulnerable issue faced by Christians is sexual purity. The first piece of armour mentioned is the girdle of truth to gird up our loins. God’s Word is truth and we must use His Word when faced with temptation to commit sexual sins – fornication, adultery, pornography, masturbation, homosexuality and others. Recall that when Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness each time he withstood by declaring “It is written”. It should be no surprise that over recent months there has been the revealing of sexual sin among church leaders. We cannot afford to be ignorant of the enemy’s devices (2 Cor. 2:11). We are being bombarded on every hand. We are instructed to be vigilant and sober because the enemy is just waiting for our guard to fall so he can pounce (1 Pet. 5:8). We must pray daily for our spiritual leaders and ourselves as sexual sin is eroding the power of the Body of Christ.

Next, is the breastplate of righteousness. The Lord says we are to guard our heart with all diligence for out of it flows the issues of life (Prov. 4:23). We must always be aware of our attitudes, motives, emotions as these are under constant attack. Included here is our self esteem and our passion for the things of God and for God Himself. We are constantly at risk of loving the wrong persons and the wrong things. God says love of the world is enmity with Him. Love of money is the root of all evil. Idolatry comes out of loving people and things more than we love God. The Lord tells us we must love God and others more than we love ourselves. Love is to be the main motivator in the life of a Christian. The enemy wants us to be lukewarm in our love towards God and towards each other. He is constantly trying to attract us to other things and many of us have fallen prey. It is time to examine our hearts.

The third area of vulnerability targeted by Satan is our feet.  We need our feet to take us to the places God is directing us to go. Many times though we allow ourselves to go to places that are not in keeping with God’s will. Many times also we use our feet for violence and not for the purpose for which God created them. We rob ourselves of peace by not walking in paths of righteousness that God has prepared for us to walk in. We are required to have our feet shod (covered) with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Wherever we go peace is to go with us. Not the peace of the world but the peace that God gives even in the midst of the storm. This means our minds must be constantly focused on God (Isa. 26:3). The conflict we have many times is not with others but conflict within ourselves, which then manifests in conflict with others. Satan is the accuser of the brethren. He accuses us so we will lose our peace. He seeks to rob us of our peace by tormenting us about past sins and making us believe that we have not been forgiven. Romans 8:1 says we are not under condemnation if we are in Christ Jesus and walk not in accordance with our feelings and desires but in accordance with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. With regards to conflict with others, we must not allow the sun to go down upon our wrath. We must be quick to forgive and show mercy towards others even as we desire the Lord to forgive us and to be merciful to us.

Join me next week as we continue to arm ourselves for the battle.

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. (Rom. 8:14)

For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. (Rom. 8:20-23)

Shalom.