Tag: Spiritual Warfare

Spiritual Warfare, US Blog

Spiritual Warfare Podcast Part 2

Jun 9, 2024 by Percy Parakh

Spiritual Warfare – Part 2

Ephesians 6:10-12 New International Version

The Armor of God

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.

11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.

12 For 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.

The World , The Flesh, and the Devil

Ephesians 2:1-3 New International Version

Made Alive in Christ

1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh[a] and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.

Lust of the Flesh, Lust of the Eyes and the Pride of Life

1 John 2:15-17  New International Version (NIV)

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.

Dwelling on past sins in order to wallow in guilt or to revel in nostalgia is never a good idea, but Paul intends neither of these things when reminding readers of their condition before knowing Jesus (Eph. 2:1). Instead, the apostle wants to draw a contrast between life apart from Christ and life in Christ so as to magnify the power and grace of God in salvation. Laying the foundation for this contrast, the apostle continues describing life outside of Jesus in Ephesians 2:2–3, painting the bleakest of pictures for unredeemed sinners.

We were dead apart from Christ indeed (v. 1), but it was a state of spiritual death that did not render us incapable of action. We were all too capable of transgressing that which is holy, “following the course of this world . . . the prince of the power of the air . . . the passions of our flesh” (vv. 2–3). Here Paul reveals the three great powers that enslaved us completely before we knew Jesus and which we must continually rebel against in the course of our growth in holiness — the world, the flesh, and the Devil.

“The course of this world” (v. 2) refers to the ways of culture and society that oppose the Lord. There are ungodly trends in the world — materialism, naturalism, desire for instant gratification, and more — that once ruled all of our passions but are now defeated in Christ (John 16:33; 1 John 5:5). No longer our ruler, the world still appeals to our remaining sin, so we must maintain our guard lest we fall back into bondage.

In ancient times, the term air often referred to the spiritual realm of angels and demons; thus, “the prince of the power of the air” is Satan (Eph. 2:2). This leader of all that opposes God stirs up trouble all over the world, and he even endeavors to infiltrate and disturb the church (4:26–27). The Devil is fierce but easily put to flight when we resist him by the Spirit, as Jesus has triumphed over him (James 4:7; Col. 2:15).

Finally, “the passions of our flesh” and “desires of the body” (Eph. 2:3) refer not to our physical bodies, as if our corporeal form is in itself wicked. After all, God created all things good, including our bodies (Gen. 1:31). The apostle is speaking of our fallen nature, which Christ has subdued. It is a resilient foe, however, that remains until our glorification. We must therefore seek daily to mortify it and deny the sins that seem the most appealing to us (Rom. 6:12–14).

James 4:7 New NIV

Humility Cures Worldliness

7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Colossians 2:15 New NIV 15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cr

Denzel Washington, US Blog

Denzel Washington Declares This Is Spiritual Warfare

Jan 4, 2022 by Percy Parakh
FILE – Denzel Washington addresses the audience during the 47th AFI Life Achievement Award ceremony honoring him on June 6, 2019 in Los Angeles. Washington turns 66 on Dec. 28. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File)

Actor Denzel Washington does not mince words when it comes to his faith in God. And in a recent interview with the New York Times, Washington reiterated that he is a “God-fearing man” while also warning people to not become too self-focused. 

“This is spiritual warfare. So, I’m not looking at it from an earthly perspective,” he said in the interview. “If you don’t have a spiritual anchor you’ll be easily blown by the wind and you’ll be led to depression.”

As CBN News has reported, Washington gave his life to God early on, but it took a few years for him to understand the weight of that decision. 

“Three times…I think we all go through that. I was filled with the Holy Ghost and it scared me,” he said. “I didn’t want to go this deep…I want to party. It was a supernatural, once in this lifetime experience that I couldn’t completely understand at the time.”

Now, the 64-year-old actor lives out his tenets of faith daily. 

“I’m a God-fearing man,” he told NYT. “I try not to worry. Fear is contaminated faith.”

Washington goes out of his way to help others and encourage them.

Actor Corey Hawkins, who plays opposite of Denzel in “The Tragedy of Macbeth,” told the New York Times the actor prays with him. 

“Sometimes we get talking and you see the preacher in him,” he said. “He’s just a natural-born charismatic leader who is not afraid to talk about his own faults or misgivings or shortcomings.”

Washington has become more outspoken about the pitfalls of social media. 

During his American Film Institute Life Achievement Award acceptance speech, he warned against the “twitter-tweet meme-mean world that we’ve created for our children.”

“The least we can do is consider what we have done and think about the young people,” the two-time Academy Award-winning actor said.

He also recently shared scripture encouraging people not to get too focused on social media. 

“The Bible says in the last days — I don’t know if it’s the last days, it’s not my place to know — but it says we’ll be lovers of ourselves,” he said. “The No. 1 photograph today is a selfie, ‘Oh, me at the protest.’ ‘Me with the fire.’ ‘Follow me.’ ‘Listen to me.’”

“We’re living in a time where people are willing to do anything to get followed. What is the long or short-term effect of too much information? It’s going fast and it can be manipulated obviously in a myriad of ways. And people are led like sheep to slaughter,” Washington added.

His focus has become more heaven-bound. 

“There are going to be two lines, the long line and the short line, and I’m interested in being in the short line.”