Jim's Place

Spiritual Warfare

The spiritual war that rages everyday—mostly unseen by human eyes—is the most significant battle you will ever be involved in. The consequences are the most important you will ever know. This is the battle between God and Satan. Satan’s objective is to destroy lives through the ravages of sin and lead them away from God for all eternity. God, on the other hand, wants to lead people into a fulfilling life on earth and prepare them for eternal life in His presence.

When you look at these two objectives, you may wonder why there is a war at all. Why would anyone side with Satan? The answer is that Satan is a liar and deceiver, and humans, on their own, do not see through his deception. He promises one thing and delivers another. He attacks when we are tired and alone. He can and will defeat those of us who are not protected by the armor of God.

Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the power of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 6:11-12)

Having spent 32 years in the military I have studied the Principles of War more than I care to remember—from basic training, to Command and Staff College to War College. For centuries, the Principles of War have stood the test of time and proven to be valid. Those who ignore the accumulated experience of previous warriors will generally finish poorly, but success and victory will generally favor those who study and apply these time-tested principles.

Spiritual warfare is no less war than other types so it makes sense to look at combating it by use of the same principles. Rick Bereit, a retired Air Force Colonel and friend of mine, wrote a book titled “In His Service, A Guide to Christian Living in the Military.” In his book he devoted a chapter to the Principles of War. Over the next couple of weeks, I will look at what Rick has to say about the Principles of War and Spiritual Warfare. I will look at each of the 12 principles (1 per blog) and see how we can apply them.

posted by Jim @ 9:53 AM