Fight Back: Be the Hands and Feet of Jesus
How defeating the devil's deception by helping others is spiritual warfare | Halloween Challenge 2024 | Jesus Christ | Christianity
If you’re a not-yet follower of Jesus Christ, come on this journey with us.
You are welcome here.
And, I invite you to read my series on the book “What Does God Want?”.
Halloween Challenge 2024: Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4
Halloween Challenge 2024: Week 3
Fear, Worry, and Spiritual Warfare
If you’ve been following the Halloween Challenge 2024 series and have read Week 1 and Week 2, you know what Jesus told His disciples about fear and worry. Jesus encourages us all not to fear, not to worry because He cares about our physical, mental, and emotional welfare.
He also cares about our spiritual welfare in the midst of spiritual warfare.
A new subscriber, Steve Weatherill [on Substack], recently read one of my previous posts on spiritual warfare. For newer followers and subscribers, here’s my post from June 9, 2024, “One Way to Wage Spiritual Warfare”. I invite you to read the post as I think you’ll enjoy it:
Steve’s Comment
After reading this post, Steve left a comment in Substack Notes:
What a wonderfully refreshing story, and to tag it as spiritual warfare - yes it is!! The battle isn’t just ‘military’ in our thinking, it is in simple terms our everyday walk. Walking in the victory of Christ and the power (and empowerment) of His Spirit.
A beautiful story that has encouraged me to step outside my door a bit more often!
Be the Hands and Feet of Jesus
My June 9th post mentions our neighbor “John” and the fear and worry he experienced at that time. “John” loves Jesus. But, when he walked past me late on that summer’s evening, he felt lost in despair, afraid he was going to lose his home, his neighbors, and have to live in his car due to circumstances that seemed overwhelming and beyond his control. John was keeping the bad news to himself, and when he shared his pain, our LORD God answered my prayers and led several of us to reach out and help “John”.
Fast forward to now, “John” is in a much better place. He’s living in God’s peace, and he’s not going to lose his home or his neighbors. He also learned during these several weeks that it’s okay to reach out and ask for help.
Once we knew, believers sprang into action. We all saw a brother caught in depression, in feelings of hopelessness. We recognized what our enemy was doing and we all became the hands and feet of Jesus in “John’s” life.
And that, dear readers, is spiritual warfare in action, when we are welcomed to step in and fight back against the devil’s deception and lies.
How? By giving some cash for gas, funds for buying groceries, expressing words of spiritual encouragement, and pointing our brother to resources in the community.
Encouraged by so much support, “John’s” faith increased and he stepped into action, working to resolve issues that we couldn’t help him with. As each week passed, he grew stronger and more resilient. He gives all the glory to God, as do we.
Together, we all fought against the enemy of our souls with prayer and practical help.
This is one aspect of spiritual warfare we may not think about:
Be the hands and feet of Jesus!
Your Turn
This week, dear readers, spend some time thinking about how—in the past—you’ve been the hands and feet of Jesus to others.
How did your actions help the individual(s) fight spiritually against fear and worry?
Maranatha, come Lord Jesus.
Soli Deo Gloria!
Conversation & Community
What are your thoughts about being the hands and feet of Jesus by helping others, and how that’s spiritual warfare?
Let us know in the Comments.
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GOD bless you, Jenise, and yours. Keep fighting back. Never stop doing good.
10/20/24
For this response this morning, the LORD put this simple comment on my heart to share with His people as a reminder that there is a safe place to rest amid the ongoing, unrelenting, dark battle that rages all around us, trying to stop our affords, distracting us from doing good for others, those things that are precious in the LORD's sight, that indeed are apart of His plan.
Remember His presence will go with us, and the LORD will give us rest."
Exodus 33:14-16 ESV "And he said, "My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest." And he said to him, "If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here. For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? Is it not in your going with us, so that we are distinct, I and your people, from every other people on the face of the earth?"
"Entering His gates with thanksgiving"
"Open to me the gates of righteousness,
that I may enter and give thanks to the LORD.
This is the gate of the LORD,
the righteous shall enter through it.
I will give You thanks, for You have answered me,
and You have become my salvation." Psalm 118:19-21 BSB
Thank You, LORD!
An encouraging reminder to us to come and rest, abide in His hiding place, and take the time to be with the LORD in His sanctuary, away from the chaos.
"He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty." Psalm 91:1 KJB
Remember, don't forget, His secret place of refuge, where we will find rest. In this place of safety, we will be restored and strengthened. In this place of protection, all our fears will be calmed with reassurance that our GOD is always with us, even now in this very moment.
"He will hide us in his shelter in the day of trouble."
"For he will conceal me there when troubles come; he will hide me in his sanctuary. He will place me out of reach on a high rock." Psalm 27:5 NLT
Here in His sanctuary, all our troubles will be quenched. Nothing can ever harm us here. Here in this place, we stand on Holy ground, our feet resting on the Rock of our Salvation.
"You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall surround me with songs of deliverance." Psalm 32:7 NKJV
"Songs of deliverance will sound."
In this place, songs of deliverance and peace will be heard, songs of praise will sound, only shouts of joy will fill the air, and His love will surround us and hide in the palms of His hands, always secure.
Thank You, LORD!
Be reminded to rest in His presence, in His secret place. Here, we will be restored and strengthened.
GOD bless you all!
"I will praise You every day; yes, I will praise You forever." Psalm 145:2 NLT
Don Moen - Hiding Place (ft. Lenny LeBlanc) | Acoustic Worship Sessions
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9UhzvFmrYE
It's great to hear how "John's" story unfolded in a wonderfully victorious way. Be the hands and feet of Jesus - yes - but first we have to have the heart and mind of Jesus so that our hands and feet move as His do. As believers you were motivated by hearts and minds aligned with Christ's which 'moved' you to act as you did. Love the story, and beautifully simple! Stories which are multiplied across the earth every day, untold but seen by our Father.
Our attention can so easily be caught by headlines that suggest we are losing ground, but it's the untold everyday-stories by the unsung everyday-heroes of the faith that is taking the ground. Our Father in heaven sees them and His is the glory!