Today is Patriot Day -- and we must never forget what happened on 9/11.
Hi, I'm Joni Eareckson Tada and although some say it's no longer politically-correct to call it an actual war against terrorism, we know better, don't we! That's because as Christians we understand the way an enemy operates -- we're aware of the Devil's tactics from the sorts of spiritual battles we fight every day! It's easy to draw parallels between the war on terrorism and the schemes of Satan. It's why every year on 9/11, I like to remind myself of the spiritual lessons I'm learning from this ongoing war on terror.
Let’s take a group like Al-Qaeda. Terrorist groups like that know they could never stand toe-to-toe against a big power like the United States because they would be outgunned, outmanned, and outmaneuvered. So what do they do? They throw hand grenades here, take sniper shots there; they roadside-bomb vehicles, hijack and hold people hostage. They're too sneaky for conventional warfare. And they have to be sneaky. They know they would lose if they ever went one-on-one against the U.S. military. And so the way they strive to win is by chipping away, bit by bit, at our resolve...
Terrorism spreads fear, and fear in turn can really wear you down, right? One explosive attack after another and before you know it, our firmness and determination has been chiseled away. What's left? We become demoralized. When that happens, good people cave in and make appeasements, all in the name of being left alone. "Please, please just leave us alone, go away.”
The devil fights like that. He knows he would lose if ever he went directly up against God. He’d be outmaneuvered by the Almighty and he knows it. So what does our adversary do? He gets at God by needling us. He takes potshots at our peace of heart; he fires off shots of discouragement or frustration. He throws hand grenades into our joy and robs us of our confidence in the Lord. The devil doesn’t come out with guns blazing. He pricks at us with what the Bible calls fiery darts and he spreads fear and terror, little by little, until we want to make appeasements. We become demoralized to the point where we compromise our testimony – just sinning a little bit – hoping that the devil will quit bugging us and leave us alone.
Christians you must remain focused against the devil. His goal is to demoralize and defeat us by guerrilla warfare. Ephesians 6:16 gives great advice. It says, "Take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one." So Christian, take faith! And how do you gain faith? Well, faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. In this spiritual warfare we are in we really need to be in God's Word as never before. And I have something which will help you do just that – it’s a laminated fold-out called the Bible Overview and it highlights all the books of the Bible, when they were written, the main topics, major themes, and key verses. It’s a really great little study aid for people who want to get serious with God's Word. You can get your free copy by just contacting me today at joniandfriendsradio.org. That’s all you have to do. Visit me at joniandfriendsradio.org and I'll get your Bible Overview off to you right away, because remember, Christian, the war has been won! So please don’t let the daily battle wear you down. Terrorism, especially spiritual terrorism, must not win… and it won’t when we remain on the side of the Captain of the Lord’s army. God bless you in this battle against your adversary.
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