Spiritual Battle

6 When the disciples heard this, they fell face down to the ground, terrified. 7 But Jesus came and touched them. "Get up," he said. "Don't be afraid." 8 When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.
9 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed them, "Don't tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead."
10 The disciples asked him, "Why then do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?"
11 Jesus replied, "To be sure, Elijah comes and will restore all things. 12 But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him everything they wished. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands." 13 Then the disciples understood that he was talking to them about John the Baptist.
Matthew 17:6-13



John the Baptist came as a prophet, just as foretold by the writers of the early scriptures, we however did not accept him; he was beheaded for preaching the Word of God. Jesus came to heal the sick and to restore us all back to our original oneness with the creator of this world, just as it had been foretold by the early scriptures and yet we spit on Him and beat Him and eventually nailed Him to a cross to die the most horrific death imaginable. Little did we know at the time that His death was planned in order that we all could be redeemed and restored and free to live out an unbelievable life of joy and love as a result of His grace and power living through us. There is much more to this life than can be seen with our eyes and if we are not careful we will fall into the trap of the enemy who is lurking behind the scenes, just as he was in the day of Jesus, scheming and enticing and tempting you and me to live for ourselves in order that our new found love and power in Christ would be distorted by our brokenness as a result of our flesh. This morning I am more conscious than ever before of the spiritual battle that is happening all around us and I for one will submit today to the only one who has already won the battle and can set me free. I pray that you would do the same today as you reflect the love of our Savior onto the dark world and the lost people who are all around you and crying out for the love of Christ.