How the war is won: He trains my hands for war and gives my fingers skill for battle.

Praise the Lord, who is my rock.
He trains my hands for war
and gives my fingers skill for battle.
2
He is my loving ally and my fortress,
my tower of safety, my rescuer.
He is my shield, and I take refuge in him.
He makes the nations[a] submit to me.

3
O Lord, what are human beings that you should notice them,
mere mortals that you should think about them?
4
For they are like a breath of air;
their days are like a passing shadow.

5
Open the heavens, Lord, and come down.
Touch the mountains so they billow smoke.
6
Hurl your lightning bolts and scatter your enemies!
Shoot your arrows and confuse them!
7
Reach down from heaven and rescue me;
rescue me from deep waters,
from the power of my enemies.
8
Their mouths are full of lies;
they swear to tell the truth, but they lie instead.

9
I will sing a new song to you, O God!
I will sing your praises with a ten-stringed harp.
10
For you grant victory to kings!
You rescued your servant David from the fatal sword.
11
Save me!
Rescue me from the power of my enemies.
Their mouths are full of lies;
they swear to tell the truth, but they lie instead.

12
May our sons flourish in their youth
like well-nurtured plants.
May our daughters be like graceful pillars,
carved to beautify a palace.
13
May our barns be filled
with crops of every kind.
May the flocks in our fields multiply by the thousands,
even tens of thousands,
14
and may our oxen be loaded down with produce.
May there be no enemy breaking through our walls,
no going into captivity,
no cries of alarm in our town squares.
15
Yes, joyful are those who live like this!
Joyful indeed are those whose God is the Lord.

Footnotes:
144:2 Some manuscripts read my people.

(From Psalm 144 New Living Translation (NLT)A psalm of David.)

The Whole Armor of God

10 A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. 12 For we[d] are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

13 Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. 14 Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. 15 For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.[e] 16 In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.[f] 17 Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

18 Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.[g]

19 And pray for me, too. Ask God to give me the right words so I can boldly explain God’s mysterious plan that the Good News is for Jews and Gentiles alike.[h] 20 I am in chains now, still preaching this message as God’s ambassador. So pray that I will keep on speaking boldly for him, as I should.
(From Ephesians 6:10-20)
Footnotes:

6:12 Some manuscripts read you.
6:15 Or For shoes, put on the readiness to preach the Good News of peace with God.
6:16 Greek the evil one.
6:18 Greek all of God’s holy people.
6:19 Greek explain the mystery of the Good News; some manuscripts read simply explain the mystery.

may your spirit and soul and body be kept complete and [be found] blameless

Today’s Bible meditation is from 1 Thessalonians 5. Revelation: the whole spirit and soul and body of a Christian require to be kept complete and [be found] blameless when Jesus returns. Even our spirit can be vulnerable like our body and soul parts.How can that be? I ask and recall the teaching of Paul. He has warned and taught on this subject in 1 Corinthians 6:15-20. He warned Christians not to contaminate their bodies by having sex with a harlot (woman having or characterized by many transient sexual relationships). Then he spoke on an important spiritual issue: because by joining their bodies they join their spirits (thereby joining with unclean spirits), so their own spirits will be contaminated too. (verses 17, 20) Christian spirits can become contaminated too if they do not guard their bodies. The Holy Spirit similarly warns this in Hebrews 13:4, “Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge.” (Also refer to the list of behaviors that prevent people from entering into the Kingdom of God: 1 Corinthians 6:9-10)

This is a relevant issue in today’s prevailing social behavior of the world. What was considered taboo in our godly forefathers’ days, has become an acceptable norm for the society at large today. However, an Individual Christian may consider oneself as too insignificant to live a counter-culture and make an impact, but believe me, it shall make a difference in the spiritual realm when we live our lives aligned with the words of God and God’s will for us on earth as it is in heaven. The Lord’s prayer has taught us that the God’s will can be lived on earth as it is in heaven in the Kingdom of God.

Bible Verses from Amplified Bible (AMP) 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24
16 Rejoice always and delight in your faith; 17 be unceasing and persistent in prayer; 18 in every situation [no matter what the circumstances] be thankful and continually give thanks to God; for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus. 19 Do not quench [subdue, or be unresponsive to the working and guidance of] the [Holy] Spirit. 20 Do not scorn or reject gifts of prophecy or prophecies [spoken revelations—words of instruction or exhortation or warning]. 21 But test [a]all things carefully [so you can recognize what is good]. Hold firmly to that which is good. 22 Abstain from every form of evil [withdraw and keep away from it].
23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you through and through [that is, separate you from profane and vulgar things, make you pure and whole and undamaged—consecrated to Him—set apart for His purpose]; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept complete and [be found] blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Faithful and absolutely trustworthy is He who is calling you [to Himself for your salvation], and He will do it [He will fulfill His call by making you holy, guarding you, watching over you, and protecting you as His own].
Footnotes:
1 Thessalonians 5:21 Or everyone, that is, anyone claiming to be a prophet.

The Sovereignty Of The Spirit

blogger's spiritual review

This blogger started this journey in the Holy Spirit since July 2007; this journey has been worth the while. The Holy Spirit teaches the things of God just as Jesus has said.

1 Corinthians 2:9-16 has become real to me over the years progressively.

In this blog I have referred to many Spirit inspired works and recommended them often. Lately I have been listening, watching and reading Bible teachings from some of those who have taught Bible for forty years and above.

Yesterday, I was brought back to even much earlier teachings on the Holy Spirit. Here is an excerpt from Austin-Sparks (1888-1971).

The Sovereignty Of The Spirit

"The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the voice thereof, but knowest not whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit." A sovereign act of the Spirit. That takes us back to this other fragment: "That which is born of the flesh is flesh", and to that earlier fragment in this Gospel by John, which makes it so clear, so emphatic: "...which were born, not of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God" (1:13). This is something in the sovereign hands of the Holy Spirit and taken right out of the hands of men. You cannot convert yourself, you cannot convert anyone else; you cannot make yourself into this other creature, this new creation, and you can never make anyone else it. And you can never say when it is to be, either for yourself, or for anyone else. All that is a matter of the sovereign Spirit. If the wind decides to blow, it does not give you notice a day beforehand! It just blows, and when it blows you cannot say, 'You are out-of-date, you have come at the wrong time - this is not a convenient moment!' It blows, and that is all there is to it.
Now here you are touching a principle: the sovereignty of the Spirit, as represented by the sovereignty of the wind. You know quite well that [it] is useless to stand up against the wind when it really decides to blow. Carry that principle over further into the New Testament, and you will read three times: "And the Lord added to the church those that were being saved...", "there were added unto them...", "there were added to the Lord..." Who added? Did the apostles add? Not at all. The Lord added. There is all the difference between our being told to go and join a church, and the Lord adding to Christ, or between our joining what we call a church, and being added to Christ. We cannot join Christ at our own will, just when we want to, or think we will decide to, because being added to Christ involves being re-constituted on a different principle, and that is not in our power at all. It is the Lord Who must do it, so that the adding is His sovereign act: and when He decides to do it, it is wonderful, is it not? And if He does not decide to do it, you can work yourself to death, and nothing will happen. This is the work of the Lord.
Look at the day of Pentecost. The wind blew then - a mighty rushing wind. Was it sovereignty? "And there were added unto them in that day about three thousand souls." This was the sovereignty of the Spirit. How wide and far-reaching is the application of that! Oh, that Christianity were on that fundamental basis today - the absolute sovereignty of the Holy Spirit! Why is it not so? Because of the present sovereignty of the natural, because of the intrusion into Christianity of the natural man.
( excerpts from: God's Reactions to Man's Defections - Part 2 by T. Austin-Sparks - Chapter 5 - The Spiritual Basis of the Christian Life )
It is worthwhile to visit the web-site of Austin-Sparks and ask the Lord to show you what articles to read. http://www.austin-sparks.net/

Books too: "A spiritual state is the key to all that is of God. Spirituality is the door, and the key to the door, beyond which lies everything that relates to God. Without spirituality, there is no way through, the door is closed. "