Thought Exercise on Enemy

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The Enemy of Our Soul

Author

Keywords

The other enemy of the soul, meaninglessness…chokes out life with equal vigor. Meaninglessness woos us into spending our one shot at life on insignificant and trivial things. If we are not vigilant, w...

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The President Vouches for Us

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

John 16:33, Daniel 3:16–30, Exodus 14:13–14 , John 16:33, Romans 8:28, 31–34, Psalm 91:1–4

Max Lucado tells a true story showing that God's determination to shape His followers proves stronger than Satan's most persistent efforts to discourage them. What the enemy plans for destruc...

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Gentleman, There are Your Enemies

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 13:8-9, Nehemiah 4:14-15, 2 Chronicles 20:22-23, Mark 3:24-25 , Philippians 2:2-4 , Psalm 133:1, Ephesians 6:12, 1 Corinthians 12:12-31, 1 Corinthians 1:10

Internal conflict is not only dangerous—it can threaten the long-term flourishing of any organization, including the church. According to tradition, during the Battle of Trafalgar, Lord Horatio Nelson...

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The Enemy is Us

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Galatians 5:17, 1 John 1:8, Proverbs 4:23, Romans 7:18-19, Mark 7:21-23, James 1:14-15

In a famous Earth Day 1971 Pogo comic strip by Walt Kelly, the titular Pogo and his companion Porkypine are enjoying nature when they come upon a clearing filled with trash. Pogo says the iconic line,...

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Cat and Mouse Games

Author

Max Lucado

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 3:14-15, Job 1:6-12, Isaiah 14:12-15, Colossians 2:13-15, Luke 10:18-19, Psalm 91:13

My friend Carter Conlon has ministered in New York City for more than two decades. Yet he spent many of his early years on a farm. He recalls a barnyard scene that illustrates the status of Satan. A f...

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The Enemy Lines are Hard to Find

Author

Fleming Rutledge

Keywords

A friend of mine who is a child psychologist told me about something one of her young patients said. It is common practice to give toys to children in the treatment room so they work out their conflic...

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The Hitchhiker Who Pulled a Gun on Me

Author

JR Woodward

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 12:20-21, Matthew 5:44, James 2:1, Proverbs 16:7, Ephesians 2:14-16

I was driving in Columbus, Ohio, when I came upon a hitchhiker who alternated between holding his thumb out and clasping his hands together as if he were praying. I picked him up. His name was Mike, a...

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Where are the Nails?

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Deuteronomy 13:1-3, 1 Kings 22:19-23, Isaiah 53:3-5, Matthew 24:23-25, John 20:27, Psalm 34:18, John 20:25, 1 Corinthians 1:23; 2:2, Galatians 1:8-9

St. Martin of Tours was a Frankish soldier in the Roman army who abandoned his military post to follow Jesus at a time when Christianity had only begun to take root in France. He later became the bish...

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The Enemy of the Good

Author

Steven Covey

Keywords

You have to decide what your highest priorities are and have the courage—pleasantly, smilingly, nonapologetically, to say “no” to other things. And the way you do that is by having a bigger “yes” burn...

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Don't Give the Enemy a Seat

Author

Louie Giglio

Keywords

Scripture

Ephesians 6:12, Psalm 23:null, James 1:19-20, Psalm 23:5, Ephesians 6:12

During an especially difficult season planting a church, pastor Louie Giglio was filled with the raw emotions that often accompany the messy side of pastoral ministry. Without going into much detail, ...

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Marking Your Enemies

Author

James Martin

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 6:37, Ephesians 4:31-32, Psalm 37:8, James 1:19-20, Colossians 3:13, Proverbs 15:1

One elderly monk in his community used to show his displeasure with other monks in a highly creative way. As you may know, most monastic communities chant the psalms several times a day together in ch...

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The Strategy of the Enemy

Author

Bob Clanton

Keywords

In the first book of The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien tells the tale of a small, diverse group who go on a mission to destroy the power of an evil Dark Lord. The Fellowship of the Ring is a band ...

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Mutual Accusations

Author

William Ury

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 3:8-13, Matthew 7:3-5, Romans 14:10-13, Luke 6:41-42, James 6:41-42, James 4:11-12, Ephesians 4:31-32

In the mid-1980s, I helped facilitate a series of conferences between top Soviet and American policy advisers on the question of how to prevent a nuclear war. The times were tense and the accusations ...

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Life’s Greatest Trap

Author

Henri J. M. Nouwen

Keywords

Scripture

1 Peter 2:9-10, Romans 8:31-32, Psalm 139:1-4, Ephesians 2:10, John 21:15-19, Ephesians 3:17-19

Over the years, I have come to realize that the greatest trap in our life is not success, popularity, or power, but self-rejection. Success, popularity, and power can indeed present a great temptation...

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The Newspaper Ad

Keywords

Scripture

John 15:18-20, 1 Corinthians 15:58, Luke 14:27-28, Revelation 2:10, Philippians 1:29, Hebrews 11:35-38

Early in the 20th century a London newspaper carried an advertisement that read: “Men wanted for hazardous darkness, and constant danger. Safe return doubtful. Honor and recognition in case of success...

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Spiritual Battles on the Journey of Faith

Author

Ruth Haley Barton

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 3:1–7, 1 Kings 3:5–12, Daniel 1:8–17, Matthew 4:1–11, 2 Corinthians 1:13–15, Psalm 119:105

While I am not one to see a demon behind every bush or spiritual warfare in every difficulty, the fact is that we are regularly engaged in the struggle against good and evil—whether we know it or not....

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A Venomous Creature At Your Bosom

Author

Frederick Douglass

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 25:40, Jeremiah 22:3, James 2:1, Psalm 82:3-4, Micah 6:8

Frederick Douglass describes how the evils of slavery and racism acts as a sap on the integrity of both our country and our faith in a God where there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free: Fello...

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An Interesting Advertisement

Author

Warren W. Wiersbe

Keywords

Leadership

Early in this century a London newspaper carried an advertisement that read: “Men wanted for hazardous darkness, and constant danger. Safe return doubtful. Honor and recognition in case of success.” T...

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Until the Snake Has No Head

Author

Ann Voskamp

Keywords

My grandad told me a story once and that story became a light. A light that unlocks the dark and releases you into the land of a thousand suns. Apparently, so the story went, there had been a tropical...

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Your Day Will Come

Author

Voddie Baucham

Keywords

Scripture

Hebrews 9:27

The last time I checked, the death rate was one per person. I didn’t check today, but I’m sure it didn’t change. It is appointed to man to die once, then face the judgment (Heb. 9:27). So everyone eve...

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Thirty-one New Testament Descriptions of Sinful Mankind

Author

L. Meredith

Keywords

Sin

Scripture

Ephesians 4:18, John 12:40, 2 Corinthians 4:4, 1 John 2:11, Romans 8:6, Matthew 7:17-18, 1 Timothy 6:5, Matthew 6:23, John 3:19, Romans 1:21, 1 John 1:6-7, John 5:24, Colossians 2:13, 1 Timothy 5:6, 1 John 3:14, Titus 3:3, Isaiah 64:6, Titus 1:15, 2 Peter 2:20, Revelation 22:11, Romans 1:18, Matthew 7:23, Ephesians 2:3, James 4:4, Matthew 6:22, John 3:20, Matthew 7:26, Ephesians 5:15, 1 Peter 2:25, Matthew 6:2, Romans 2:5, Hebrews 3:8, 2 Thessalonians 2:12, 2 Timothy 3:4, 1 John 2:15, Romans 1:30, 1 Timothy 6:4, James 4:6, 1 Peter 5:5, John 3:35, 2 Timothy 4:4, Acts 7:51, John 8:44, 2 Timothy 3:2, Revelation 3:17, John 3:34, Romans 6:16-17, Romans 1:25, John 8:33, Romans 7:7, 1 Corinthians 6:9

Alienated from God (Eph. 4:18). Blind (John 12:40; 2 Cor. 4:4; 1 John 2:11). Carnally or fleshly minded (Rom. 8:6, 13). Corrupt (Matt. 7:17-18; 1 Tim. 6:5). Darkened (Matt. 6:23; John 3:19; Rom. 1...

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Doing the Right Thing

Author

Kevin L. DeYoung

Keywords

Scripture

Esther 2:2-17

Esther. As a Jewish woman who won an unusual beauty contest to become Xerxes’ queen (see Esther 2:2–17), Esther would learn that God’s plans can include risk—and an opportunity to show courage. The ki...

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Pursuing Truth Over Revenge

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Micah 6:8, Luke 23:34, Exodus 23:5, 1 Peter 3:9, Proverbs 24:17, Luke 6:35

During that time there was a pastor named Peter Miller, and all through his ministry in a small town in Lancaster County, he had a neighbor who took great pleasure in mocking and ridiculing Miller and...

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The Fourth Option to Dealing with Contempt

Author

Arthur C. Brooks

Keywords

In his book Love Your Enemies: How Decent People Can Save America from the Culture of Contempt , author and professor Arthur C. Brooks charts the rise of anger — and more importantly, contempt — ...

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The Most Important Thing About Us

Author

John Mark Comer

Keywords

The twentieth-century writer A. W. Tozer made a stunning claim: “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” Really? The most important thing? M...

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Addictions Attach Desire

Author

Gerald G. May

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 7:15-20, John 8:34, Exodus 20:3-5, Matthew 6:24, 1 John 2:15-16, Psalm 115:4-8

For generations, psychologists thought that virtually all self-defeating behavior was caused by repression. I have now come to believe that addiction is a separate and even more self-defeating force t...

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The Power of a Grateful Heart

Author

John Kavanaugh

Keywords

Scripture

Habakkuk 3:17–19 , Nehemiah 8:10 , Isaiah 61:1–3 , Philippians 4:11–13, James 1:2–4, Psalm 16:11

Gratitude has a ripple effect, spreading warmth and positivity to those around us. It is nearly impossible to hold onto resentment or self-pity while maintaining a grateful heart. John Kavanaugh share...

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Armor for a Soldier, not a Warrior

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Ephesians 6:10-18

In most western societies, what do people think of when you say "armor of God"? I wouldn't be surprised if the image that comes to mind is the kind of plate armor you see in movies abou...

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Can we Accept Ourselves?

Author

C. G. Jung

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 32:22–31, Leviticus 19:18, 1 Kings 19:1–13, Romans 7:14–25, Psalm 139:23–24, Luke 15:11–32

Carl Jung, one of the early pioneers of modern psychology, wrote this from his years of experience as a therapist: The acceptance of oneself is the essence of the moral problem and the epitome of ...

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If I asked you the same question I asked my patient

Author

Curt Thompson

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 2:18-25, Ruth 1:16-18, 1 Kings 19:9-13 , Psalm 27:4, John 20:24-29, Luke 24:13-35

If I asked you the same question I asked my patient Aaron—“What do you want?”—and you could for a moment put aside the predictable anxiety that comes with it, I’m confident that at some point in your ...

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