Excerpts from Battle Cry Good vs Evil
Chapter 9: Faith
In a world so overrun by evil and corruption, we can easily find ourselves losing faith and trust in mankind. Consequently, it causes us to lose faith and trust in God. This lack of faith leaves us more vulnerable to the spiritual attacks of Satan, and we become a part of the evil and corruption. Our only hope of rising above our circumstances is to develop the faith to turn back to God. We must learn to rely on the strength of the Spirit to be more successful in battling Satan and finding true peace. We’ll have the faith to trust that everything will work out according to God’s plan. Take a moment to pause right now and look back on your life. Identify the times, even though you weren’t being faithful, trusting, or dependent on God, He had you anyway. God truly is in all things, at all times, according to His plan.
Author’s comments: If you think you’ve fallen short and you don’t have a chance, you’re dead wrong. Matter of fact, the more broken you can admit you are, the more likely you are to realize how much you need God. To begin experiencing a relationship with God, declare you accept His gift of grace and forgiveness. Ephesians 2:4-5 (NLT) says, “But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!)” This same Good News applies to us today, as it did when originally written.
Chapter 15: God’s Gifts and God’s Calling
If our faith is weak, we are more likely to ignore the Spirit’s guidance and follow Satan’s lead. This leads to a prideful demeanor and sinful behavior. We will fail to understand and apply God’s Word to our life. We will not follow God’s plan. It will lead to calamity and everyone out for themselves. Doesn’t this look and sound familiar today? Aren’t we seeing more selfish, prideful, and sinful behavior?
Author’s comments: We need to dig deep to feel the Spirit within us. He gives us the ability to be who He wants us to be. He has given us specific gifts enabling us to achieve everything through Him, as determined by Him. Yes, determined by Him. We are all a part of His plan, and how we respond to His plan determines how well we use our gifts. In Romans 12:7–8 (NLT) Paul says, “If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.” We must not only identify our gifts, we must use them well. Since we don’t always know what God’s plan is, we must remain faithful to follow the Spirit’s lead, and trust God is in control.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out; Bruce would love to help you grow in your spiritual journey! To contact Bruce personally, go to the website: battlecrygoodvsevil.com. Battle Cry Good vs. Evil is available in paperback or eBook through the website, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and iTunes. To get the weekly blogs, be sure to “like” and “follow” Battle Cry on Facebook.