Be Strong 12/22-23

Ephesians 6:10, NCV "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his great power."

What does the Bible has to say about the spiritual warfare? What are we fighting about and how are we going to do that? Ephesians 6:11-12 gave us the answer. 

"Put on the full armor of God so that you can fight against the devil's evil tricks. Our fight is not against people on earth but against the rulers and authorities and the powers of this world's darkness, against the spiritual powers of evil in the heavenly world."

Reading one story from the book called, "Jesus Freaks and The Voice of the Martyrs" from Albury Publishing, Tulsa, Oklahoma, touched my heart to where I would like to share this with you. 

Her name is Liuba Ganevskaya and during 1970's she was arrested for her faith by the Russian Communists, was kept in a solitary cell, starved and beaten. They wanted her to give up her faith in Christ and give the names of other believers so the guard would beat her daily. Liuba has had enough and she was going to tell the guard to his face that he is a criminal. 

But the Holy Spirit showed her something else. The Holy Spirit had Liuba noticed the guard was tired of beating her because if he failed to get any information from her, Stalin, the chief Communist dictator, would killed him along with 10,000 officers of his own secret police, which included three successive heads of the police. Just like the Christians they had persecuted! 

Holy Spirit spoke to her, "You and your torturers pass through the same vale of tears." Luiba looked up at the guard who had already lifted his whip to beat her. She smiled. Stunned, he asked, "Why do you smile?" 

The way Liuba explained to the guard caused him to put down his whip. She continued, "What burden so weighs on you that it drives you to the madness of beating a person who has done you no harm?" He had no answer. The torturer left that day a changed man.  

The Holy Spirit has shown Luiba how to fight against the powers of this world's darkness. Her gentle spirit has won the guard's heart to Jesus. She did not fight him. Let us listen to the Holy Spirit:

"Put on the full armor of God so that you can fight against the devil's evil tricks. Our fight is not against people on earth but against the rulers and authorities and the powers of this world's darkness, against the spiritual powers of evil in the heavenly world."

May the Lord bless you today!