Day 41 - No Excuses

Yesterday we discussed that the enemy is not against flesh and blood but against the evil rulers of darkness and spiritual forces (Ephesians, 6:12).  We then examined the “Sword of the Spirit” and how Paul is really referring to the Word of God as our weapon that prepares us for battle.  Just like a soldier needs training with the weapon they use for battle we need training with Word of God which is one of our weapons. This should be a strong point in our battle plan that goes with everything else we have talked about over the last six days.
The question is how do we do it? Do we just read the Bible and “Poof” everything will make sense to us and come to light? That may be the case for some, but for others they need more. I want to ensure you have a solid battle plan and the necessary training to use the Bible as you weapon. To do that I want to propose four strategies to help us with the habit of knowing and applying scripture. This will assist us in our strategy.
The first thing we need is to be hearers of the word (Blanchard). Paul wrote that, “faith comes by hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). We need to be in church every Sunday to hear the message, faith comes by hearing not reading. We need to hear the message each and every week. If we can’t make it to Sunday service, then we have all kinds of technology to help us hear the message. Facebook, Pod casts, Audiobooks, and the like are out there for us to use, we should be hungry to hear the word of God. There is no excuse to not hear the message of the Gospels. Another thing is the only time we hear the word should not be on Sundays. You cant get strong working out only one day a week, and you can’t grow spiritually hearing the word one day a week. We need to hear the word every day, through devotionals, messages, lessons, or whatever medium works for your time and schedule, there are many choices, NO EXCUSES!
The second thing we can do to enhance our understanding of the word is to read the word (Blanchard). Ask yourself an honest question, how much time a week do you spend reading the word of God? Now ask how much time do you spend on social media or watching tv? For most of us, we spend more time on social media and watching tv than we do training ourselves to use the Sword. We need to train with our weapon in order to do battle, and not just go to battle but to win! Choose a part of the scripture, maybe a short passage and read it. Sometimes when we read to much, we may find it challenging to reflect on what we read (Blanchard).  Balance your reading of Gods Word, ensure you are reading both the Old Testament and the New Testament.  God will begin to speak through you with every word you read. Every time you apply the word of God to your life you grow closer to Him. As you grow closer to Him and learn His word, you can begin to defeat the enemy attacks and he will flee from you.
The next thing we need to do is to study the word. Studying the word mean more than just reading it (Blanchard).  Studying the means learning more about the words meaning and application. Knowing God more deeply will enable us to lead like Jesus and win the small victories over sin and the devils attacks.  With study, like training on a weapon, you begin to handle Gods Word more effectively. Study involves comparing one Bible verse or translation to another, or searching the scriptures to find an answer to a question. Bible study often includes gaining additional information through commentaries and analysis.
The last thing we need to do to train with our weapon is memorize and meditate on the word. When you commit Gods word to memory, it lives in you, and you live in it, and Gods promises become your possessions (Blanchard). 
I challenge you do train and prepare for the war with the enemy by doing these four things! Like a solider going into battle, they must train and we are Gods soldiers at war with the enemy and we must train as well.
God Bless!