NOT "ALONE & UNARMED!"

You know, some of our loved ones feel as if they are going into battle on a daily basis, and they are not alone. I often face conflict, and I know you do, too. After visiting at length with our Catholic sister from Spain, one thing really stays on my heart: the people of her church all over the world are on the same page of the Old Testament, New Testament (gospels), and Psalms every week in church services. For praying Christians, this is impressive, since our prayers are informed by our reading and interpretation of God's word - AKA the sword of the Spirit, our ONLY weapon of offense in our daily battles.

What will happen when groups of praying Christians are all using not only the same weapon, but aiming it in the same direction and advancing together on the spiritual front? I think evil will have to give way! As of yesterday, I am reading from GospelCom's "Through the Bible in a Year,"* so now you know what page I'm on in a literal and figurative sense. Why not join me on this reading calendar, so that as we read and pray over scripture, our hearts can be as one? Your brother & his precious loved one have this plan as well. Today's reading includes an appropriate reminder regarding God's word. Moses spoke to the children of Israel, and his words speak to my heart as well:

[It] . . . is not too hard for you, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that you should say, "Who will ascend to heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?" Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, "Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?" But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it. - from Deuteronomy 30:11-14

The bad news is it is difficult for me to keep God's word in my mouth and in my heart if I do not expose myself to it on a regular basis (preferably every day). But what a blessing, God's word is near, right at my fingertips online or in book form. All I have to do is reach out and grab it! In addition to giving structure to my prayers, a daily dose from the Bible can give me the exact information I need in those daily relationship emergencies known as conversations or confrontations.

Sometimes the appropriate response or reaction, the thing God would have me to do or say, is so instant that I don't have time to search my memory for what is indicated in the instruction book, yet those split-second decisions are where spiritual battles are won or lost! What is huge, astounding, and wonderful is that if I have a passage of scripture fresh on my mind, it will often be just what I need for the situation at hand.

I never cease to be amazed at how scripture lives up to its claim to be "living and active, and sharper than a two-edged sword." As an individual Christian, I hate to go into a day without being armed and dangerous, and I am now seeing how effective we can be in prayer together if we are focusing our minds on the same reading (remember Jesus' promise in Matt. 18:18-20, http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matt.%2018:18-20&version=31).

Let's do try to read together, and allow the day's reading to speak into our prayer life as well as our daily decision-making. We won't be alone and defenseless for even a moment, but instead we'll be armed, dangerous, and standing shoulder to shoulder together on the spiritual battlefront. Let's do it, what do you say? LOVE.

*GospelCom Calendar - Click on http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/devotions/through.the.bible/ & save it in your favorites, or use the link at the bottom of the page to set up an RSS feed. I'm doing the same, and even if I miss a day or two, I will skip ahead to the reading for the current calendar day, so that you'll always know on what page to find me reading.