Your Heart, a Battlefield

Put on all of God's armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.

— Ephesians 6:11

I am sure the greatest day in your life was the day you put your faith in Jesus Christ. And as we grow in our faith and knowledge of what God actually did for us, we become more aware of how significant that day really was. That was the day when we literally had our eternal address changed from a place called hell to a place called heaven. That was the day when we turned from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. That was the day when, according to Jesus, there was a party in heaven given in our honor—a victory shout, if you will, from the angels and from those who have gone before us.

But it was also the day when a very real spiritual battle began. In fact, it has been said that conversion has made our hearts a battlefield. Just as surely as there is a God who loves you, there is also a devil who hates you—a devil who wants to stop the work God is doing in your life.

In the Parable of the Sower, Jesus talked about the seed that fell on the roadside and was eaten by the birds. He said, "Then the evil one comes and snatches away the seed that was planted in their hearts" (Matthew 13:19). It is called an attack, and you had better get ready for it.

If you want to be a spiritual pacifist, then you are going down. You will have to toughen up and put on the armor of God, because in this spiritual battle, you are either advancing or retreating. You are either winning or losing. So you must fight to win. And it is a battle that can be won—if you march with Christ.

A Skillful Adversary

You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

— 1 John 4:4

When I first became a Christian, other believers warned me, "you have to be careful, because the devil will tempt you." That was the craziest thing I had ever heard. The what is going to tempt me? Of course, I envisioned a caricatured version of Satan. I didn't think of him as a spiritual being, and I had never really dealt with temptation. Prior to my conversion, I saw temptation as an opportunity. I didn't know a lot about trying to resist it. So I asked these believers how I would know when I was being tempted. They said, "You will know."

So at school one day, a very attractive girl came walking toward me after class. She had never noticed me before, much less walked up to me or said anything to me. But then she actually spoke. I was dumbfounded. Why is this girl talking to me? What is happening? She asked, "What is your name?" I momentarily forgot my name. Then she said, "Hey, you know what? My parents have a cabin up in the mountains. I was thinking of going up there this weekend. Why don't you come with me?"

I thought, This is a temptation. This is it! She didn't have horns, and she wasn't carrying a pitchfork. But the temptation was attractive, it was enticing, and it was real. I knew this was the devil, because these things did not happen to me when I was in the world. Thankfully I resisted the temptation. But I also learned how it worked.

The enemy is quite clever. He knows how to offer his wares in an attractive way. But don't ever underestimate him. He is a sly and skillful adversary, with many years of experience in dealing with humankind. But even so, he can be overcome.

From One to Many

We all know how God mightily used Simon Peter as an apostle. But do you know how Peter originally came to believe in Jesus? His brother Andrew told him about the Lord.

We never read in Scripture of Andrew preaching to multitudes of people. Andrew never wrote any books of the Bible. Nor did God work miracles through his hands.

But God used him to reach his brother, Peter, who did all the above and more.

We can't all be Simon Peters. God is looking for people like Andrew too. The fact of the matter is, if we had more Andrews, we would have more Simon Peters.

This reminds me of a more contemporary version of this point.

From selling soles to saving souls

Edward Kimball was an ordinary man who taught Sunday school at his church. He sensed God's leading to share the gospel with a shoe salesman.

After nervously pacing outside the store several times, he found this young man in the storage room. Kimball shared God's love and the salesman received Christ.

The year was 1858 and the salesman's name was Dwight L. Moody, who went on to become one of the greatest evangelists in human history. But the story doesn't stop there.

But wait, there's more!

Several years later, when Moody was preaching, a pastor named Frederick B. Meyer was deeply stirred by Moody's preaching. As a result, he started a nationwide preaching ministry.

A college student named J. Wilbur Chapman accepted Christ after listening to one of Meyer's sermons. Chapman became a pastor and started holding evangelistic outreaches.

One of the assistants he hired was Billy Sunday, a former baseball player. Sunday went on to become a powerful evangelist, reaching thousands and thousands of people with the gospel in the early 20th-century.

From Billy to Billy

One of Billy Sunday's evangelistic crusades was held in Charlotte, North Carolina. Afterward, a group of enthusiastic businessmen wanted to do more outreach in the area and asked another evangelist named Mordecai Ham to come and preach.

During Ham's revival meetings, a young farm boy known to neighbors as Billy Frank made his way down the "Sawdust Trail" and gave his life to Christ. Today, we know Billy Frank by his given name, Billy Graham.

So look at this chain of events, starting with this unsung hero. Kimball reached Moody, who touched Meyer, who reached Chapman, who helped Sunday, who reached businessmen in Charlotte, causing them to invite Ham, who reached Graham!

It starts with one!

It all began with the simple witness of Edward Kimball!

If we had more Andrews, we would have more Simon Peters. If we had more Edward Kimballs, we would have more D.L. Moodys. If we had more Mordecai Hams, we would have more Billy Grahams!

So do your part to reach someone today. Who knows, they could be the next great evangelist God uses to reach a generation!

When We Sin

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

— 1 John 1:8–9

It is not a matter of if we are going to sin; it is a matter of when. The Bible says, "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us" (1 John 1:8). We all will sin. The question is, what are we going to do when we sin? Will we listen to the wrong voice and do the wrong thing? Or will we listen to the right voice and do the right thing?

Both Judas Iscariot and Peter betrayed Jesus in their own way. Judas betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. Peter denied knowing Christ. But I believe that had Judas wanted it, he could have been forgiven by Jesus. In the Garden of Gethsemane, when he came to identify Jesus as the one the authorities were seeking, Jesus said to him, "Friend, why have you come?" (Matthew 26:50). He offered him a final act of forgiveness. Still, Judas betrayed Jesus. He later realized what he had done, but he never repented of his sin. He listened to the wrong voice and did the wrong thing.

Peter denied knowing Jesus not once, not twice, but three times. But then he went and wept bitterly afterward. Peter stayed with his Christian friends, he turned to Jesus, and he received forgiveness. Peter listened to the right voice and did the right thing.

The wrong voice, the devil, would drive us from Jesus, from church, from fellowship, from the Word of God, and from everything that could help us. But the right voice will take us to the Word of God, to church, to our Christian friends, to God in prayer, and to forgiveness and restoration in a relationship with Him. You have a choice. Which voice will you listen to?

When We Sin

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

— 1 John 1:8–9

It is not a matter of if we are going to sin; it is a matter of when. The Bible says, "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us" (1 John 1:8). We all will sin. The question is, what are we going to do when we sin? Will we listen to the wrong voice and do the wrong thing? Or will we listen to the right voice and do the right thing?

Both Judas Iscariot and Peter betrayed Jesus in their own way. Judas betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. Peter denied knowing Christ. But I believe that had Judas wanted it, he could have been forgiven by Jesus. In the Garden of Gethsemane, when he came to identify Jesus as the one the authorities were seeking, Jesus said to him, "Friend, why have you come?" (Matthew 26:50). He offered him a final act of forgiveness. Still, Judas betrayed Jesus. He later realized what he had done, but he never repented of his sin. He listened to the wrong voice and did the wrong thing.

Peter denied knowing Jesus not once, not twice, but three times. But then he went and wept bitterly afterward. Peter stayed with his Christian friends, he turned to Jesus, and he received forgiveness. Peter listened to the right voice and did the right thing.

The wrong voice, the devil, would drive us from Jesus, from church, from fellowship, from the Word of God, and from everything that could help us. But the right voice will take us to the Word of God, to church, to our Christian friends, to God in prayer, and to forgiveness and restoration in a relationship with Him. You have a choice. Which voice will you listen to?