Fiery Arrows

I want to share a discussion with you today that came from my small group I call the "Tuesday Guys." We're concluding a really rich study through Paul's letter to the Ephesians and in his final remarks to the church in the town of Ephesus, Paul tells them to get dressed for battle. They were in a war and needed to be dressed to fight. They needed armour and it needed to be the very best equipment available. So, Paul tells us what the best soldiers have in their locker and how they gear up for the battle they face. Guess what, we're in the same battle!

It's important to know in all of this who the enemy is and how he fights. Paul says that "our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." I don't know about you but that creeps me out a bit. I'd rather fight against humans. Spiritual forces? Oh, my! Really? But Paul says we have everything at our disposal to stand against these evil forces and in Ephesians 6, he lists them. Check it out.

This morning the Tuesday Guys got stuck on two really cool parts of our armour; our shoes and our shield. For a Roman soldier, good shoes meant that he would be stable and mobile so he could stand and protect his ground. The shield was used to deflect fiery arrows that enemy would launch. So we asked, "What are those arrows that Satan and his forces sends at us?" One conclusion, lies. Lies that mislead and misguide us from our mission and from what is truly important. What lies? What are lies that we hear as men and as warriors for the Gospel?

Here's our Top 10. Would these make your Top 10?

1. You're not good enough
2. You’re not smart enough
3. God’s holding out on you
4. God’s is not good enough to you
5. I can do it myself
6. God is not near to you
7. He’s really not loving
8. Your sin is too big. If He really knew you… He would not even wouldn't like you
9. God would condemn or judge you if you were honest
10. You can earn God’s approval with your behavior. Keep trying harder

These are lies that Satan wants us to believe about God, but I think he also wants us to believe them about the relationships we have with each other. Read the list from both perspectives.

So,which lies do you hear the most? Drop me a comment and let me know. In a future posting, I'll share how the Shield of Faith works to deflect these flaming arrows shot from the pit of hell. Each of these lies has a corollary truth.