Ephesians 6:12 (Waging War)

By Beejai

 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:12)

Relate: Today Barak Obama addressed the United Nations. According to NBC News

He warned that “dangerous currents” threaten to create a “darker world” in a wide-ranging address to the United Nations General Assembly on Monday. Obama slammed Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad as a “tyrant” and urged the international community to work together to defeat ISIS. “There is no room for accommodating an apocalyptic cult like ISIL,” the president said.

The headline in a far less scrupulous news media outlet used this headline to to reinforce once again to their readers who the “bad guys” are: “ISIS shuts PLAYGROUNDS in Syria because they were being used as a meeting place for single men and women”

I love how they had playgrounds all in caps. ISIS won’t even let little kids play on PLAYGROUNDS! Young parents everywhere are cringing in horror. How can they be so CRUEL? I guess burning people alive and chopping other’s heads off isn’t enough. Now they won’t even let little kids play on PLAYGROUNDS!

I feel like some people might think I am making light of a horrible geopolitical situation. Please don’t think that. I am talking to and passing by people on a daily basis who are victims of the horrible evil that is happening in Syria. I have people on my prayer list who have horror stories far, far more tragic than anything I could ever be able to put into words. I understand, I KNOW, how serious this situation in a way I could never have been able to have imagined a year ago from the comfort of my suburban apartment back in New York.

Read more at: http://tworiversblog.com/2015/09/28/ephesians-612/

It Is Grace

It is grace at the beginning, and grace at the end.  So that when you and I come to lie upon our death beds,  the one thing that should comfort and help and strengthen us there is the thing that helped us in the beginning.  Not what we have been, not what we have done, but the grace of God in Jesus Christ our Lord.  The Christian life starts with grace, it must continue with grace, it ends with grace.  Grace wondrous grace.  By the grace of God I am what I am.  Yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

~ D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

The Trinity, Firstborn, and the Dead

http://apologetics-notes.comereason.org/2015/09/the-trinity-firstborn-and-dead.html

Would We Be Called Christians?

https://thei535project.wordpress.com/2015/09/28/would-we-be-called-christians/

Why the Beginning of the Universe Cannot Be Explained from “Inside the Room”

http://coldcasechristianity.com/2015/why-the-beginning-of-the-universe-cannot-be-explained-from-inside-the-room-free-bible-insert/

Don’t Leave Jesus Behind

This sponsored post was prepared by Dennis Johnson.

You may have heard passionate advocates and ardent critics debate “Christ-centered biblical interpretation” and wondered what the fuss is about. Why is it important to read the Bible as a unified story of God’s one redemptive plan, climaxing in Christ and his mission? Why should we read every page with our spiritual senses on high alert, watching for Christ?

Read more: http://www.challies.com/sponsored/dont-leave-jesus-behind

The Joy of Eternity

http://biblicalcounselingcoalition.org/blogs/2015/09/28/the-joy-of-eternity/

Our Quiet Communication

James 2:14-18 What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, 16 and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?  So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.  Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.” The Lord calls us to share His truth with others, but oftentimes our actions and attitude completely contradict the words that are coming out of our mouths. This is an area in which we all seem to struggle. Every day, every one of us communicates something to someone. We send messages by what we say and by what we don’t say, by what we do and by what we don’t do. For example, if a father quietly decides to stop tithing, he is sending a loud message to his children. Without ever opening his mouth, he is declaring, “Kids, you can’t trust the Lord with your money. God isn’t faithful to meet your needs, so you better hold on to as much as you possibly can.” Is that the message you want to pass on to your sons and daughters? You might argue, “Well, I’m not really a tither, but I would never tell my kids that you can’t trust God.” However, you have already sent an unspoken yet very clear message. What people—especially children—witness in our behavior speaks much louder than what we actually say with our mouths. The apostle Paul understood what powerful lessons we teach by our actions. For this reason, he made sure he modeled the right behavior and values for his spiritual children to emulate (7 You know you should follow the way of life we lived when we were with you. We worked hard while we were there. 8 We did not eat anyone’s food without paying for it. We worked hard night and day so none of you would have to give us anything. 9 We could have asked you to give us food. But we did not so that you might follow our way of living. 2 Thess. 3:7-9). It is not an issue of whether or not we will communicate a message. Rather, the issue is, What kind of message are you already communicating? Search yourself for any disparity between what you say and what you do, and choose to share a complete, unified message of hope with the world. ~ Andy Stanley

ustin Bass vs Bart Ehrman | “Did the Historical Jesus Claim to Be Divine?”

https://chab123.wordpress.com/2015/09/30/justin-bass-vs-bart-ehrman-did-the-historical-jesus-claim-to-be-divine/

Bill Nye’s Unscientific Tirade on Abortion

https://chab123.wordpress.com/2015/09/30/bill-nyes-unscientific-tirade-on-abortion/