10Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.11Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.12For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.13Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
When we are tempted to sin, we can resist the power of the enemy in the strength of the Lord. When the enemy seeks to deceive us with lies, we counter him with the truth of God's Word. When we are overwhelmed by fear or despondency or whatever device that comes to destroy, we can rise up in our spirits and clothe ourselves in Christ and His abundant power. We have access to supernatural strength and protection, and we can rejoice in a faithful God who goes before us and walks with us. Praise His holy name!
The Bible reminds us that we have the mighty power of God that is available to us. Repeatedly, He demonstrated His faithfulness to the people of Israel, including the incident where God's people were escaping from Egypt and were under the pursuit of the Egyptian army. We read in Exodus 14:
13And Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever.14The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace."
The headline in the July 18 edition of the Jewish Telegraph certainly had the potential to turn a few heads. It read: “Their God changes the path of our rockets in mid-air, said a terrorist."
According to a piece on the World Net Daily website, it was a partial quote from Barbara Ordman, who lives in Ma’ale Adumim on the West Bank.
Her exact quotation was: “As one of the terrorists from Gaza was reported to say when asked why they couldn’t aim their rockets more effectively: “We do aim them, but their God changes their path in mid-air.”
She opened her piece by noting: “In October 1956, [Israel's first Prime Minister] David Ben Gurion was interviewed by CBS. He stated: ‘In Israel, in order to be a realist, you must believe in miracles.’”
Ordman also noted religious texts, specifically the Jerusalem Talmud, teaches Israelis not to depend on miracles for survival.
“It argues that we must not desist from our obligations and must not wait for miraculous intervention from the Supernatural,” she writes.
After her mention of the divine diversion of enemy rockets, she said, “When our God is not busy doing that, He is ensuring that the high-tech brain power of our ‘start-up nation’ is working overtime to produce yet another Iron Dome battery to help protect our cities and us.”
For me, this is not a stretch. I certainly believe that God has had His hand on the nation of Israel. The re-establishing of a Jewish nation in the heart of the Middle East in 1948 is an unprecedented event that has enormous implications in the context of Bible prophecy. So, divine protection for that nation, something that could really be attributed throughout the years, is certainly within the realm of comprehension.
This story really caused me to think about the faithfulness of God. Even though the Israeli government may be secular in nature, there is a covenant relationship with the Jewish people. There is no sign that has been terminated - it is an everlasting covenant, and even during the period of great tribulation that will come upon the earth, you can see God working to bring His covenant people back to Himself through 144,000 people - 12,000 from each of the 12 Tribes. The narrative of the Old Testament is predicated on the relationship that God desires to have with His people. Those of us who are Gentiles, because of what Jesus did for us, have been brought into a covenant relationship, as well, and we can be thankful for that. And, because of God's original covenant with Abraham, we have a kinship with the Jews, and I believe that we are called to stand with them.
And, we can be thankful that we serve a covenant-keeping, promise-keeping God. He is faithful, His Word is true, and I believe that He is still quite active in world affairs. And, He desires to be active in the events of our lives - He is available to be intimately involved in our actions, our decisions, to flood our thoughts and to direct our steps. Jesus has promised to live in our hearts under the New Covenant, for which He became the perfect sacrifice so that He, by His Holy Spirit, might live in our hearts. We can rejoice in God's faithfulness to redeem us and to be in relationship with us.
Let's talk a moment about divine protection. I think the picture painted by this reporter in Israel can remind us that we do have a God who goes before us and surrounds us with His protection. A reading of Psalm 91 reminds us to abide in the shadow of the Almighty. We can trust in Him, we can walk in peace, and it is not presumptuous to call on God for His protection - physical...and spiritual. The Bible tells us in Ephesians 6 that we have an armor that is capable of withstanding the fire of the enemy in our lives. We have weapons that are mighty in Christ, centered around God's Word, described as the "sword of the Spirit" in that passage in Ephesians. If we are clothed in Christ and His armor, we have access to supernatural protection from the devices that the devil would bring on us to harm us. We can truly be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.
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