Weekly Devotional – May 18 – 22

Monday: Wednesday Youth Group Discusses Biblical Warfare

Wednesday night youth group had just settled down after the usual chaos of getting teenagers to sit still. John and Jane Christian had been leading this group long enough to know how to get their attention. Sophia, a teen, spoke up before John could even open his Bible. “I have been thinking about Sunday all week. I knew about Satan but I never thought about my actual life as being in the middle of a war.” The group laughed at a joke Tyler made about war, but Sophia kept going. “No seriously. I always thought struggles were just life. But to understand I was born into a war is a completely different thing.”

John said “Most people hear about Satan their whole life and never connect it to their daily reality.” Jane said “Satan was not just wandering around after being cast out of heaven. He relocated his whole operation to earth. God had already placed His image bearers here with a commission to fill the earth under His authority and Satan came straight for them.” Sophia said “So Adam and Eve were not just people who made a bad choice. They were targets.” John said they were the “First casualties of a war already in progress before they took their first breath,” Tyler said: “I knew we are born sinners, and Satan exist but never really felt real until Pastor taught this.” Then Jane said. “Colossians 1:13 puts it plainly. Two kingdoms are at war. You are born into Satan’s kingdom and salvation moves you into God’s Kingdom.”

What Scripture Says:

Colossians 1:13 — “Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son.” – Paul describes us as being born into Satan’s kingdom, but God is advancing His Kingdom by calling sinners out of sin. When we stop following and practicing sin, we are surrendering to God’s authority. That means we are changing kingdoms. We are leaving the kingdom of darkness and joining the Kingdom of God.

Ephesians 2:2 — “Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience.” – Again, Paul argues we were in Satan’s kingdom, but we have a choice who we surrender to. But we must not deceive ourselves, if we serve sin we are serving Satan’s kingdom not God’s.

How does knowing you were born into Satan’s kingdom make you appreciate God saving you. We were the enemies of God, but He loved us and made us His Children.

Tuesday:  The Youth Group Continue Discussing Biblical Warfare

This week we are joining John and Jane Christian as they lead their Wednesday night youth group through a discussion of Sunday’s sermon on Biblical Warfare. John asked the group what they thought when Pastor asked what was Adam and Eve’s sin. – Mary said “I always thought it was just disobeying God but Pastor showed it was so much bigger than that.” John said “Their sin started with doubting God and wanting to be like Him. Satan convinced Eve that God was lying and holding something back from her. Then he offered her the one thing he had always wanted himself — to be like God. She wanted that. That led to them disobeying God. Jane said “And that is makes this far more than fruit and disobeying one command. When they followed Satan’s words over God’s word they transferred their allegiance from God’s kingdom to Satan’s. The dominion God gave Adam over the earth went with them. That is what Satan came for.” Tyler said “So Satan did not just tempt them. He conquered them.” “And through them he gained a foothold over the earth God had commissioned them to fill with His image,” John said. “That is why the fall matters so much to the Bible’s storyline. It was not just a moral failure. It was the first major victory for Satan’s rival kingdom.”

What Scripture Says:

Genesis 3:4-5 — “And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” Satan did not come into the garden with a temptation about fruit. He came with a lie about God’s character — that God could not be trusted and was holding something back. Then he offered Eve the same thing he had always wanted — to be like God. She doubted God first. The disobedience followed the doubt. Temptation always works that way. It starts with a question about whether God can be trusted and ends with a choice to follow our own desires instead of His word.

Isaiah 14:14 — “I will be like the most High.” Satan declared this in heaven before he was cast out. When he stood in the garden and told Eve she could be like God he handed her the same lie that destroyed him. The fall of mankind and the fall of Lucifer share the same root — the desire to be like God outside of God’s design. Satan knew exactly what that desire does because it ruined him. He used it against Eve and it worked.

How does recognizing Satan wants to do more than tempt you to sin, He wants to capture you and gain more ground for his own kingdom make you think of sin and temptation?

Wednesday: The Lord of Hosts (God of armies)

This week we are joining John and Jane Christian as they lead their Wednesday night youth group through a discussion of Sunday’s sermon on Biblical Warfare. Yesterday the group talked about how the fall was not just a moral failure but a kingdom transfer. John said “One of the things Pastor pointed out Sunday was that God does not soften His language when it comes to this war. He wants us to take it seriously so He uses war language throughout the entire Bible.” Jane said “Paul calls us soldiers. He talks about armor, weapons, warfare and enemies. God chose that language because He wants us to see ourselves as active participants in a real war not just people trying to live a good life.” Sophia said “What hit me was that the armor of God is not just a Sunday school lesson. If God is telling us to put on armor every day that means every day we are in a battle.” John said “And look at how God describes Himself. The title Lord of Hosts appears 285 times in the Old Testament. That literally means Jehovah God of the armies of heaven. God introduced Himself that way hundreds of times because He wants us to understand He is the Commander and Chief of an army.” Tyler said “And pastor explained David understood God as a military leader. That is why he fought Goliath in the name of the Lord of hosts. He was not just standing up for an offended God, he was fighting for a God of war.”

What Scripture Says:

Ephesians 6:11-12 — “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” Goe describes life as a war. He provides us with armor for battle. Every piece of armor Paul describes — truth, righteousness, faith, salvation, the Word of God — is God’s direct answer to a specific tactic your enemy uses against you daily.

2 Timothy 2:3-4 — “Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.” – Paul calls Timothy a soldier and tells him to endure hardness. A soldier understands advancing the kingdom is the mission. God uses this language because He wants every believer to wake up understanding that today is another day on the battlefield. We are called to take new territory for the Kingdom.

How does reading the war language help you see God as a God of war? How does this help you think of serving in God’s army?

Thursday: Angels – Warriors for God’s kingdom

This week we are joining John and Jane Christian as they lead their Wednesday night youth group through a discussion of Sunday’s sermon on Biblical Warfare. Yesterday the group talked about how God uses war language throughout the Bible and how He is the Commander and Chief of the angelic army. John said “One thing Pastor brought out Sunday that I want us to think about is how we picture angels. Most people picture them as gentle beings floating around worshipping God.” Sophia said “That is exactly how I always pictured them. Soft, glowing, playing harps.” Jane said “The Bible shows us something completely different. Angels are fierce warriors actively deployed in this war.” John said “Elisha’s servant woke up surrounded by the enemy and panicked. Elisha told him fear not because those with us are more than those with them. Then God opened the servant’s eyes and the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire. God’s army was already positioned and ready.” Tyler said “And then one angel went out that night and killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers. One angel did that.” Jane said “In Daniel 10 Michael is described as one of the chief princes who came to fight. In Revelation 12 Michael and his angels fought against Satan and his army. These are not passive beings. They are soldiers in an active war fighting on behalf of God’s people.” Sophia said “That changes how I think about prayer. When we call on God we are calling on the Commander of that army.”

What Scripture Says:

2 Kings 19:35 — “And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the LORD went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.” One angel deployed by God destroyed an entire army in a single night. This is not a gentle messenger delivering good news. This is a warrior executing the command of the Lord of Hosts. The same God who sent that angel into battle is your Commander in this war.

Revelation 12:7 — “And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels.” The angels are not spectators in this war. Michael led God’s army against Satan and his forces and won. The angels who serve God are active warriors in a spiritual war. And they are still deployed and active in this war today on behalf of God’s people.

How does seeing angels as active warriors deployed by God in this war change the way you think about angels and how they protect you from our enemy?

Friday: Application – Be Sober – Be Vigalent

This week we are joined John and Jane Christian as they led their Wednesday night youth group through a discussion of Sunday’s sermon on Biblical Warfare. The group has covered the two kingdoms at war, the fall as a kingdom transfer, the Bible’s war language, and the angels as active warriors deployed by God. John reminded the group “Pastor closed Sunday with two commands from 1 Peter 5:8 and I want us to finish our study with them. Be sober and be vigilant.”

Jane said “Be sober means being fully in charge of your passions, your desires and your thoughts. It means you are not letting sin or the world set the agenda for your life. You are submitted to God.” Sophia said “That is harder than it sounds. There is so much pulling at us every day.” John said “Which is why we must be vigilant about the danger around you. You will be tempted everyday. That is Satan trying to gain new ground for his kingdom. If he can get you to sin he gains ground. So be vigilant, it means living every day knowing you were born into a war and that your enemy is actively looking for an opening to capture you and destroy you.” When temptation comes you have to catch it, and remind yourself that is sin, and sin leads to death. It may feel good for a momentbut it will destroy me.

What Scripture Says:

1 Peter 5:8 — “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” – Peter reminds us: Your adversary is active, focused and looking for someone to destroy. A lion locks onto a target and pursues it. Be sober and be vigilant are calls to take this war as seriously.

Ephesians 6:13 — “Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” Paul says having done all to stand. That means you put on the armor, you submit to God, you resist the enemy and then you stand firm. You do not run from the battle. You do not surrender ground. You stand in what God has given you and you hold it. That is what a soldier does.

What is one specific area of your life where you need to be more sober and vigilant starting today?