Pastor Barry's  "Chapter & Verse"  Day 118

April 28;   Ephesians 6:10;   174/260(I);   ‘Be Strong in the Lord’

Ephesians 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.

Paul is closing his epistle (letter) to the Ephesians.  He is about to teach the Church at Ephesus and us about the armor of God.  ‘My brethren’ simply means that what Paul is about to teach is written to Christians.  They will be the only ones who will understand and can do what Paul will teach.  ‘Be Strong in the Lord’ actually means make yourself strong in the Lord.  The devil deceives the lost, lying to them and making them believe their strength to be victorious in life comes from their muscles, their knowledge of martial arts or their arsenal of weapons.  Much of the time of the unsaved is devoted to physical strengthening or developing skill with a weapon.  The devil has no fear of natural strength or weapons, they cannot hurt him.  He is a spirit and knows he will win if he keeps you in the ‘natural arena.’.  The Lord would have us devote our time to becoming strong in Him.  Diligent study of the Word, time dedicated to prayer and sincere worship builds spiritual muscles that enable you to win any conflict with our adversary, satan.  ‘The power of His might’ or our dominion in life is from the might of the Lord.  If you rely on yourself to defeat the devil with natural strength or ability, you will lose.  If you discipline yourself to be strong in the Lord, you will defeat satan.  Our adversary the devil was defeated by the Lord Jesus Christ when He rose from the dead. He is no match for the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit who is in you and empowers you.  If you are strong in the Lord, you will live a life of victory yourself and be used by the Lord to help and show others the way.