A Life Lived with Power

When we are in any conflict, we need to separate issues from people and restrain from concentrating on blame, jointly seeking situations to such problems knowing that the devil is involved.

God has prepared us, equipped us, and provided everything we need to realize His purposes for us as individuals and as the churches we partner with. Meanwhile, the enemy constantly works to derail, discourage, and defeat us. But that won’t happen unless we allow it. We must be prepared to battle the scheming ways of Satan and our own sinful desires.
When we are tempted, the most effective weapon that God has given to us as believers is the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Jesus modeled this so beautifully during His temptation in the wilderness. When the devil tried temptation after temptation against Him, Jesus used the sword of the Spirit (Luke 4:1–13).
When the devil tempted him three times, Jesus responded with the truth of God’s word – every time. However, I need all the aspects of the armor of God to be present in my life and in my work with the church.

We need to increasingly grow in all aspects of the armor of God, as we work together on the mission that God has called us to. Every aspect of God's armor is needed. Like a soldier constantly on the battlefield, you never know when you will need your helmet to be well placed or your breastplate in place. You cannot predict when your belt will need to be tight or your shield well-positioned; you can't prejudge when you will be required to use your sword or to run on dangerous grounds that require your shoes to be intact. As believers, constantly battling a real and dangerous enemy, we need our armor on all the time, praying at all times with all kinds of prayers. Lord, help us to be fully dressed as we live and serve.