In Scripture, the devil is called “the wicked one” (Matt. 13:19, 38; Eph. 6:16), “the evil one” (Matt. 6:13; John 17:15; 2 Thess. 3:3), “a murderer” (John 8:44), “a liar and the father of” lies (John 8:44), “the tempter” (Matt. 4:3; 1 Thess. 3:5), “your adversary” (1 Pet. 5:8), “a roaring lion” (1 Pet. 5:8), “the accuser” (Rev. 12:10), “the enemy” (Matt.…

For what reason do people turn to God? Perhaps some turn to God because they are scared of going to hell. Others probably turn to God so that they can go to heaven. Some turn because they hear about God’s love for them and what He did, and they in turn love the Lord and want to be His child. Some turn perhaps out of sense…

Could you survive without chocolate? Some of you say, “No!” Could you survive without coffee or caffeine? “Are you kidding?!” Could you survive without the internet? “Have you gone mad?!” More serious, could you survive without water? Without oxygen? Obviously not! Get even more serious. Could you survive without God? Some might say, “Well, it depends on what you mean by survive. Obviously, I could survive. It’s not like I’m going to die or…

Have you ever watched someone go through a really trying time in their life and your heart just grieved heavily for them? You wanted to reach out and just hug them and console them. You wanted to send them something (flowers, food, a gift) just to show how much you hurt for them and were thinking about them. You were truly hurting because they were…

There are many folks who think that life on this earth is the best thing there is, so they want to “stay” here as long as they can and “get” as much as they can.  Interestingly, the Lord warns us that “the days are evil” (Eph. 5:16).  The wise Solomon admonished, “Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before…

How often have you heard lessons on the armor of God detailed in Ephesians 6? How often have you seen illustrations with arrows pointing to and identifying each piece of armor? There are six pieces, right? Actually, if you stop reading with the sword of the Spirit (the sixth piece) in verse 17, you’ve missed a most potent weapon available to the soldier of Christ.…

As the apostle Paul details the full armor of God that each Christian is to “put on,” there are many defensive pieces. One piece stands out as the “offensive weapon” for each Christian—the sword of the Spirit. There are several things to note about this sword. It is called “the sword of the Spirit,” emphasizing that this is the manner in which the Holy…

As a soldier puts on his armor, there are some pieces that are put on last (kind of like a football player putting on his protective gear). But the order does not set the value, as a soldier’s helmet is absolutely essential to protect his head and his mind, which controls everything that he does and the choices that he makes. This is the…