Spirtual Warfare

My previous post is a message to the Beards for Breath group and it talks about something that has been on my mind a lot lately, spiritual warfare and present the devil is everyday. Yes, he's as present as Jesus is everywhere we go and as Jesus wants us to be loving and glorify Him in the things we do, the devil wants the opposite, and he wants it bad.

A few weeks ago I had the privilege of listening to Fr. John Corapi. A priest for about 20 years now and a man that has experienced the good and the bad and life more than the average person. Fr. John's presentation was in Newark, NJ at the Prudential Center, home of the New Jersey Nets, Seton Hall Pirates, and the New Jersey Devils. Fr. John began his presentation by coming on stage wearing a Devils jersey and with a hockey stick, the brand/model of the hockey stick was "Warrior". I'm not sure how much of that was intentional but pretty ironic isn't it? I mean a Catholic priest wearing the "devil" with a hockey stick labeled warrior!! Fr. John said, "I've never seen a homeless person, alcoholic, or drug addict that doesn't believe in the devil." Adding that these people (like most) are often stuck between the devil & God. Fr. John at one point in his life was all of those things he mentioned, homeless, alcoholic and drug addict. Thankfully he turned out ok and is doing great things now.

Fr. pointed our direction to Ephesians 6:10-17, which I invite you read here:

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians%206:10-17&version=NASB

This passage talks about putting on the armor of God and standing firm against the devil. Fr. John said, "St. Paul (the writer of Ephesians) tells us to put on the WHOLE armor of God, not the parts we want. If there's a hole in our armor, the devil is a good shot, he will wound you."

Being on a college campus and facing my own confrontations as a Christian with the devil everyday I can tell you that devil is very real. Everyday I am faced with decisions to make that will either bring glory to God or please the devil and I don't always make the right decision. The beauty is that as Christians we can repent, move on, and try to do it better the next time. The devil hates the beauty of Christ and the life offered to Christians through Christ's death. The devil wants us to make a mistake, feel bad about it, let it get us down, and for us to stay down, even to depression. Everything that is good, the devil hates.

So let's put on the armor of God and help those around us become better equipped to stand up to the devil and more importantly bring Glory to God in all that we do.