Published by Practical Spiritual Warfare web site, a division of Mission Miami Valley, 718 Stratford Dr., Sidney, Ohio 45365 and authored by Dr.  D. Vincent (Bud) Ford, president.  This e-zine is dedicated to providing valuable, practical information for dealing with the chaotic and confusing times in which we live.

Contents

1.      Strategic Advice for the Remnant – Introduction - Strategies to Win Spiritual Battles

2.      Tips for Kingdom Living - Complacency

3.      Scripture Guidance & Inspiration

4.      Thoughts to meditate on - Rejected

5.      Articles Pointing to the End Times

6.      Site Build It - Follow your passion! Check out the links below.

7.      Announcements - The SBI! $100 Special
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1.     Strategic Advice for the Remnant – Introduction to Winning Spiritual Battles

We all face natural and spiritual battles in our daily life and we need practical ways to deal with them. Because of that, we begin a series of articles covering some specific practical strategies for dealing with both the natural and the spiritual battles we all face.

If you were to describe your daily life, what would it be? Routine? Boring? Stressful? Pleasurable? For many it would be that life is a STRUGGLE, or life is a BATTLE.

For many, there often seems to be a battle against discouragement, disappointment, depression, confusion, boredom or struggling, strained or damaged relationships.

You are not alone in your feelings. The devil tries to get you to believe you are alone, but that is one of his major lies! The Bible tells of many regular people who felt the same way. In fact, the apostle Paul often spoke of life as combat, conflict, and continual wrestling, not only in the natural realm but in the spiritual as well.

This series of articles for “Strategic Advice for the Remnant” will guide you in facing the natural and spiritual battles of life. A few of the topics covered in this series will be:

1. Open your spiritual eyes
2. Kingdom of God/Kingdom of Satan
3. The enemy
4. The enemy’s territory
5. Your Captain
6. Basic training
7. Defensive weapons
8. Offensive weapons
9. Strategies
10. Resisting propaganda
11. Set captives free
12. Rescue the wounded
13. Deliver the demonized
14. Prepare for the final conflict

2.     Tips for Kingdom Living – Priorities

How do I know what’s really important?

Putting God first is the most important thing we can do.  If all our priorities are focused on doing things for ourselves, they are misguided. Proverbs 3:5-6 - …Seek His will in all you do, and he will direct your paths.

How do I set priorities?

There is no greater priority to set then loving and obeying
God.  Nothing affects our eternal future so significantly.  Tenaciously seeking after God’s wisdom is the way to discern right priorities.

Be intentional about your priorities.  Set them and tend to them first.  Only then will your life have full meaning.  When we fail to set priorities, we will stop doing what is right in God’s eyes.

God’s promise:

Proverbs 3:5-6 – Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.  Seek His will in all you do, and He will direct your paths.

3.           Scripture Guidance & Inspiration

 It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, for the sun stopped shining.  And the curtain of the temple was torn in two.  Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit."  When he had said this, he breathed his last. 

 Luke 23:44-46 

 The New International Version 

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There is God's Kingdom and Satan's kingdom. As Christians, we are to be IN this world but NOT BE A PART of it; this involves a tremendous struggle and conflict because the world, and our own flesh, wants us TO BE A PART OF THE WORLD.

D. Vincent (Bud) Ford

4.           Thoughts for Meditation -

REJECTED

He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground.  He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him, nothing in His appearance that we should desire Him.  He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.  Like one from whom men hide their faces He was despised, and we esteemed Him not. Isaiah 53:2-3 (NIV)

The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; (Psalm 118:22

NIV)

Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, and they plotted to arrest Jesus in some sly way and kill him. (Matthew 26:3-4 NIV)

About seven hundred years before Jesus was born, the prophet Isaiah wrote a description of how Jesus’ life would be here on earth.  Isaiah foretold that Jesus would be rejected by His own people, that the very ones He came to save would turn their backs on Him.

Why would the Jewish people do that?  Why would they reject their long-awaited Messiah?  Why do the majority of them still do that until this day?  Because they are normal people. 

At the time of Jesus' birth, the Jews were among the most despised people on earth.  They suffered oppression, slavery, torture, and death because of who they were.  Their religion provided ample opportunity for atonement for sin through the blood sacrifice of animals and other rituals.  They saw no real need to be saved from their sins.  What they wanted to be saved from was their enemies. 

When they read the prophecies about the Messiah, they concentrated on the ones that foretold a triumphal King, a Savior who would deliver them from the oppression and slavery that had dominated their history. 

When Jesus came along, they paid no attention to the prophecies that told of His first visit to earth as the humble shepherd, the Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world.  To them, He seemed to be nothing more than a good Rabbi, possibly another prophet.  That's it.  Nothing at all like what they were expecting.

You and I are no different.  We have our salvation experience and expect to wake up the next morning completely different.  But when we go look in the bathroom mirror, the same bloodshot eyes with bags under them look back!  Our life doesn't suddenly change.  We still have bills to pay and work to do and children to raise.  We still have all the same problems we used to have.  Only now they seem more pronounced.  Now it is much more obvious what an evil life we were living before.  Now we have to figure out how to deal with life from a Christian viewpoint.

The instant cure we were looking for doesn't happen.  So what do we do?

Do we drop back into familiar territory, finding sin almost comforting when compared to the challenge of living a life for Jesus?  Or do we respond to the prodding of the Holy Spirit who now dwells within us, opening ourselves up to His teaching and guidance and comfort, willingly allowing Him to begin molding us into the person Jesus wants us to be?

Sadly, far too many people follow the road of the Jews… refusing salvation because it looks too difficult to deal with.  Many reject Him because He's just not what they're expecting.  They don’t see Him hitting those who are saved with a spiritual "insta-cure", so they turn away, following the easier, more familiar path of the world.  Forgetting (or ignoring) the fact that Jesus' salvation is eternal, and the abundant life He promised can begin right here and now, they turn to self-help books and psychologists rather than to the Word of God.

Is Jesus falling short of your expectations?  Have you, like the Jews, rejected Him because He’s not who you expected Him to be?  Perhaps that's because you're expecting the wrong thing.  If you will allow Him to be all He can be for you in your life, He'll go far beyond what you could ever imagine.  If you'll stop limiting Him, the results will be limitless!

Dogwood Ministries

5.  Articles Pointing to the End Times Watch

[Note: The number following End Times Watch is the sequence number for the End Times article and is inserted to assist the reader in locating the article as well as assisting the search engines.]

End times watch 88 - AN EVIL WIND IS BLOWING: U.N. APPROVES ANTI-SEMITIC RESOLUTION - By Joel C. Rosenberg

"The UN General Assembly recently approved an Arab-backed resolution endorsing the Goldstone Report, paving the way for the matter to be sent to the Security Council," reports the Jerusalem Post. "A total of 114 nations voted in favor of the resolution and 18 voted against it, with 44 members abstaining."

How is it possible that Israel only has 17 other true friends in the world, out of 192 countries?

Click to Read Rest of Article

End Times Watch 89 - Kingdom and Non-Kingdom Believers - By Ron McGatlin

Not everyone will enter the kingdom of God/kingdom of heaven life now available on earth. Many Christian believers are missing the mark of advancing into the spiritual reality of kingdom of God now available and offered to whosoever will.

This is NOT talking about going to heaven when we die. This is NOT talking about what is traditionally called being born again. Believers may be on their way to heaven when they die, but the gospel of the kingdom that Jesus brought is much more about releasing heaven’s ways on earth now. This is about being translated from the kingdoms of this world into the kingdom of our Lord.  

Click to Read Rest of Article

End Times Watch 90 - Israel on the next war with Hamas: Not 'whether' but when' – www.worldtribune.com

Military sources said the intelligence community has determined that Hamas was intensifying military preparations for another war with Israel.

They said Hamas has replenished its missile and rocket arsenal and acquired weapons that could strike major Israeli cities and critical facilities.

"The security leadership does not ask whether there will be an additional military clash with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, rather when," Israeli military analyst Alex Fishman said.

Click to Read Rest of Article

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7.  Announcements

(1)  SPECIAL - The SBI! $100 Special
For details, please see the following page that features this Special...
http://buildit.sitesell.com/

 

(2) Thank you for all your comments about this e-zine, The REMNANT, they are an encouragement to me.  If you have any questions or comments, I encourage you to send a web mail.

(3)  The theme of www.PracticalSpiritualWarfare.com centers around practical, everyday ways to deal with the battle of living in this current season and preparing for the end times the world is getting ready to enter.

(4)  We all need to become the person God designed us to be.  Those who have thought they “had it all together” are finding they have just scratched the surface.  You need to discover God’s destiny for your life, the reason you were born.  There is help for you on this journey – I will soon be a Nationally Certified Life Coach and you can web mail for more information.