Spiritual Warfare & The Delete Button
By Ro Lashua
Computers have a delete button! We have a delete button. We need to learn how to use it. We need to know and experience the power that the Lord has set before us to delete the enemies evil plans in our lives so we can walk in the kind of victory that the Lord has for us.
If we have lived for any length of time on this earth we know that people hurt people. That is a fact of living any life that interacts with others. So, what are we to do?
Forgive Them
What? Forgive them? Forgive those who have done evil against us?
Did you know it is easy to “forgive” those who we do not perceive as doing evil towards us? You might ask why we would need to forgive someone who has not done anything against us. Many people do things against us. The key is how we take it. If we have a close relationship with a person we will pass it off as not important, it will be no real issue and we will “forgive” them.
On the contrary, if we do not have a close relationship with another person, it is not as easy to forgive them. After all they do not deserve forgiveness, they were wrong. Right? Don’t we view their “wrongs” against us in a much different light?
There does seem to be an exception, for some people. Some people are nice to perfect strangers and freely forgive them for errors etc. against them. Some people, however, do not freely forgive strangers for errors, mishaps or sins against them. We see this manifested in such antics as road rage etc.
Can we see that we need to learn to be able to forgive others, no matter who they are?
Why Is It Difficult?
So what is the difficulty with “forgiving” the others who do evil against us? Why can we forgive someone so freely if they are one of our close friends?
The crux of the matter boils down to understanding. When a close friend makes a mistake or sins against us we give them understanding. Right? We give them the benefit of the doubt. We often times do understand them. We understand their present situation and we often understand a lot about their past, which does effect our choices now.
So we give our friends, what often is called some “space”. We give them the understanding.
Understanding can be summarized as seeing through our eyes, their world. We can never totally understand because we do not have 100% of their experiences but we can see through a glass darkly what they see.
The sad scenario is when we have an opportunity to give someone “understanding” and we do not. Why don’t we do that?
For some of us we think we are Holy Ghost Jr. We are here on this earth to fix everyone. We are here to make sure we set everyone straight. Let me impart a revelation here. First of all, we are NOT Holy Ghost Jr. The Holy Spirit does NOT need our help. He is doing just fine without our help. Amazing but true.
What does the Scripture say that will be lacking in the last days? Holy Spirit patrols? Sergeants? No. In the book of Matthew chapter 24 we find that a major lacking ingredient in the last days will be the Love of God.
Let’s think about our scenario. What is the ingredient we add to the equation when a friend mistreats us? We love them and we give them the benefit of doubt. We show them love by forgiving them.
The Scriptures also indicates that it is easy to forgive those who are our friends. It is easy to show love and compassion to them. What reward do we have if we show them love and not those who we might consider our enemies?
Just HOW Do We Do That?
We have options. Forgiveness is a choice. We, humans cannot really forget but we can choose to not remember. God forgets. He forgets our sins. He also for gives our enemies sins. He loves them. He has compassion on them.
OK, so we have to choose to not remember. This means that when our mind brings up a past offense we can choose to not rerun that event in our mind but instead pray for that person and rehearse God’s love for them. We can even pray FOR that person.
When we say pray for them, we mean that we pray for them to be blessed and not that God will GET THEM for all the evil they have done against us. ?
We must pray for them to be blessed.
You might be thinking, “I cannot pray for them to be blessed when they just did…”
Yes you can.
It is a decision.
The ability to do this has two parts. First we must determine before incidents happen, that we are to forgive others. And even more than just “determine” that, we must mentally rehearse it in our mind. This is that renewing of our mind. Doing this is thinking and acting like Jesus.
Secondly we have to just do it. This is perhaps the hard part. We must determine ahead of time to forgive and that we are going to pray FOR our enemies. Then we must walk out our faith and we must just do it.
We probably do not have to explain this, but here’s a tip: You will NOT feel like doing that. You will not want to do it. You will most likely think of all sorts of reasons why you should not do it. However, if we have first determined we will forgive others and we have been forewarned that we will not feel like doing it, them we can move forward and just do it.
This is perhaps where most of us fail. We want to be a forgiving person. We want to be like Jesus. However, when the “rubber meets the road” we let our emotions rule us rather than the wisdom of Christ. Ouch! That hurts but it is so true.
Spiritual Warfare
You might be saying, why is forgiveness a topic of Spiritual Warfare? Because it just is.
Here is how. You see, Satan uses unforgiveness to keep us in bondage. He knows the bible better than we do. He could quote it to us, and perhaps does. He also knows, perhaps better than we do, the scriptures that tell us that we are to forgive and if we do not then we will not be forgiven. He also knows that by the same measure we forgive others that is the same measure God will forgive us.
Can we see why Satan does not want us to forgive others? It is perhaps the single most important trait of Jesus that we desperately need.
Let’s examine the Scripture Matthew 18:21-35 (NIV).
The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant
In Matthew 18 beginning in verse 21 we read the parable about the rich ruler who forgave the man of his huge debt and when he was released from debtors prison he went out and found someone who owed him a measly $20 and said he HAD to pay up or he was going to put him in prison.
The rich ruler heard about this turn of events and had the forgiven man brought back before him and he scolded him and said (paraphrased): What do you think you are doing? I forgave you of this huge debt and now you are harassing this man for a measly $20. Because you have done this you will be given to the tormentors.
Do we see what will happen to us if we do not forgive? We will be given over to the tormentors. We need to realize that is our fate if we do not forgive.
We may not believe this but it is true.
Think about it. Well, if you have ever held a grudge with someone because of some wrongdoing. Did the person who did you wrong feel bad? Most likely…no. Did you feel bad? Most likely, yes.
Was there a point where, when we continued to hold the grudge, that the other person felt bad or remorseful? Most likely…no. If they repented, it had nothing to do with us holding a grudge. Did we continually feel worse and worse as we held onto the grudge? Absolutely.
Can we see that we will be tormented if we hold on to wrongs that people have done to us?
You might be saying, has she been reading my mail? No, I have had my own situations. We all have. The longer I live the more I see we all are extremely a lot alike. Our names are different and our lives are different but for the most part our lessons are the same.
We serve a mighty God who wants us to learn lessons from this life. He is preparing us for eternity with Him. How cool is that? Sure, it is not always enjoyable but it is necessary.
Delete It!
OK, so we know why and how do forgive. Perhaps this will make it a bit easier. Just delete it. That is why I have come up with to remind me to “get over it” or to “move on” or to “let go” I just remind myself to “Just Delete It”.
This phrase is especially easy to remember for those of us who are computer users.
We can do this by acting as if nothing has happened. That is doable if we have determined to act like Jesus.
If anyone has a “right” for not forgive someone Jesus does because He was and is sinless. The rest of us have absolutely not “right” to not forgive. We have been forgiven much and we should forgive much.
We should forgive fellow believers and also non-believers.
Mark 8:36-37 - 36 “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? 37Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?” (NIV)
What profit is it if we profit in this world BUT loose eternal life!
If a person does not have Christ in their life then they do not have the same purpose and direction as a person who know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. The person who is without Jesus lives each day as if THEY are in control. They live each day as if they have everything they need to make appropriate decisions.
Some may refer to professionals when they come upon a decision, which they deem to require “professional” help. However, when it comes to their daily life they do not look to anyone for the final decisions and directions that are taken.
I Peter 5:7 “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (NIV).
Cast EVERYTHING on HIM!! Take it to the Lord in Prayer!
James 4:7-8 “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded” (NIV).
Submit to GOD! Resist the Devil and Draw near to GOD!!
It is not easy to let it go. But it is doable with God. Remember do not hold on to it. If we do we are the only ones to get hurt from unforgiveness. We subject ourselves to torment.
God can make all things new. Freedom comes from giving our lives to Jesus and letting Him lead the way and following His direction.
He takes away the trash of unforgiveness when we push the delete button.
Let’s do it!
By Ro Lashua
Computers have a delete button! We have a delete button. We need to learn how to use it. We need to know and experience the power that the Lord has set before us to delete the enemies evil plans in our lives so we can walk in the kind of victory that the Lord has for us.
If we have lived for any length of time on this earth we know that people hurt people. That is a fact of living any life that interacts with others. So, what are we to do?
Forgive Them
What? Forgive them? Forgive those who have done evil against us?
Did you know it is easy to “forgive” those who we do not perceive as doing evil towards us? You might ask why we would need to forgive someone who has not done anything against us. Many people do things against us. The key is how we take it. If we have a close relationship with a person we will pass it off as not important, it will be no real issue and we will “forgive” them.
On the contrary, if we do not have a close relationship with another person, it is not as easy to forgive them. After all they do not deserve forgiveness, they were wrong. Right? Don’t we view their “wrongs” against us in a much different light?
There does seem to be an exception, for some people. Some people are nice to perfect strangers and freely forgive them for errors etc. against them. Some people, however, do not freely forgive strangers for errors, mishaps or sins against them. We see this manifested in such antics as road rage etc.
Can we see that we need to learn to be able to forgive others, no matter who they are?
Why Is It Difficult?
So what is the difficulty with “forgiving” the others who do evil against us? Why can we forgive someone so freely if they are one of our close friends?
The crux of the matter boils down to understanding. When a close friend makes a mistake or sins against us we give them understanding. Right? We give them the benefit of the doubt. We often times do understand them. We understand their present situation and we often understand a lot about their past, which does effect our choices now.
So we give our friends, what often is called some “space”. We give them the understanding.
Understanding can be summarized as seeing through our eyes, their world. We can never totally understand because we do not have 100% of their experiences but we can see through a glass darkly what they see.
The sad scenario is when we have an opportunity to give someone “understanding” and we do not. Why don’t we do that?
For some of us we think we are Holy Ghost Jr. We are here on this earth to fix everyone. We are here to make sure we set everyone straight. Let me impart a revelation here. First of all, we are NOT Holy Ghost Jr. The Holy Spirit does NOT need our help. He is doing just fine without our help. Amazing but true.
What does the Scripture say that will be lacking in the last days? Holy Spirit patrols? Sergeants? No. In the book of Matthew chapter 24 we find that a major lacking ingredient in the last days will be the Love of God.
Let’s think about our scenario. What is the ingredient we add to the equation when a friend mistreats us? We love them and we give them the benefit of doubt. We show them love by forgiving them.
The Scriptures also indicates that it is easy to forgive those who are our friends. It is easy to show love and compassion to them. What reward do we have if we show them love and not those who we might consider our enemies?
Just HOW Do We Do That?
We have options. Forgiveness is a choice. We, humans cannot really forget but we can choose to not remember. God forgets. He forgets our sins. He also for gives our enemies sins. He loves them. He has compassion on them.
OK, so we have to choose to not remember. This means that when our mind brings up a past offense we can choose to not rerun that event in our mind but instead pray for that person and rehearse God’s love for them. We can even pray FOR that person.
When we say pray for them, we mean that we pray for them to be blessed and not that God will GET THEM for all the evil they have done against us. ?
We must pray for them to be blessed.
You might be thinking, “I cannot pray for them to be blessed when they just did…”
Yes you can.
It is a decision.
The ability to do this has two parts. First we must determine before incidents happen, that we are to forgive others. And even more than just “determine” that, we must mentally rehearse it in our mind. This is that renewing of our mind. Doing this is thinking and acting like Jesus.
Secondly we have to just do it. This is perhaps the hard part. We must determine ahead of time to forgive and that we are going to pray FOR our enemies. Then we must walk out our faith and we must just do it.
We probably do not have to explain this, but here’s a tip: You will NOT feel like doing that. You will not want to do it. You will most likely think of all sorts of reasons why you should not do it. However, if we have first determined we will forgive others and we have been forewarned that we will not feel like doing it, them we can move forward and just do it.
This is perhaps where most of us fail. We want to be a forgiving person. We want to be like Jesus. However, when the “rubber meets the road” we let our emotions rule us rather than the wisdom of Christ. Ouch! That hurts but it is so true.
Spiritual Warfare
You might be saying, why is forgiveness a topic of Spiritual Warfare? Because it just is.
Here is how. You see, Satan uses unforgiveness to keep us in bondage. He knows the bible better than we do. He could quote it to us, and perhaps does. He also knows, perhaps better than we do, the scriptures that tell us that we are to forgive and if we do not then we will not be forgiven. He also knows that by the same measure we forgive others that is the same measure God will forgive us.
Can we see why Satan does not want us to forgive others? It is perhaps the single most important trait of Jesus that we desperately need.
Let’s examine the Scripture Matthew 18:21-35 (NIV).
The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant
In Matthew 18 beginning in verse 21 we read the parable about the rich ruler who forgave the man of his huge debt and when he was released from debtors prison he went out and found someone who owed him a measly $20 and said he HAD to pay up or he was going to put him in prison.
The rich ruler heard about this turn of events and had the forgiven man brought back before him and he scolded him and said (paraphrased): What do you think you are doing? I forgave you of this huge debt and now you are harassing this man for a measly $20. Because you have done this you will be given to the tormentors.
Do we see what will happen to us if we do not forgive? We will be given over to the tormentors. We need to realize that is our fate if we do not forgive.
We may not believe this but it is true.
Think about it. Well, if you have ever held a grudge with someone because of some wrongdoing. Did the person who did you wrong feel bad? Most likely…no. Did you feel bad? Most likely, yes.
Was there a point where, when we continued to hold the grudge, that the other person felt bad or remorseful? Most likely…no. If they repented, it had nothing to do with us holding a grudge. Did we continually feel worse and worse as we held onto the grudge? Absolutely.
Can we see that we will be tormented if we hold on to wrongs that people have done to us?
You might be saying, has she been reading my mail? No, I have had my own situations. We all have. The longer I live the more I see we all are extremely a lot alike. Our names are different and our lives are different but for the most part our lessons are the same.
We serve a mighty God who wants us to learn lessons from this life. He is preparing us for eternity with Him. How cool is that? Sure, it is not always enjoyable but it is necessary.
Delete It!
OK, so we know why and how do forgive. Perhaps this will make it a bit easier. Just delete it. That is why I have come up with to remind me to “get over it” or to “move on” or to “let go” I just remind myself to “Just Delete It”.
This phrase is especially easy to remember for those of us who are computer users.
We can do this by acting as if nothing has happened. That is doable if we have determined to act like Jesus.
If anyone has a “right” for not forgive someone Jesus does because He was and is sinless. The rest of us have absolutely not “right” to not forgive. We have been forgiven much and we should forgive much.
We should forgive fellow believers and also non-believers.
Mark 8:36-37 - 36 “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? 37Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?” (NIV)
What profit is it if we profit in this world BUT loose eternal life!
If a person does not have Christ in their life then they do not have the same purpose and direction as a person who know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. The person who is without Jesus lives each day as if THEY are in control. They live each day as if they have everything they need to make appropriate decisions.
Some may refer to professionals when they come upon a decision, which they deem to require “professional” help. However, when it comes to their daily life they do not look to anyone for the final decisions and directions that are taken.
I Peter 5:7 “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (NIV).
Cast EVERYTHING on HIM!! Take it to the Lord in Prayer!
James 4:7-8 “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded” (NIV).
Submit to GOD! Resist the Devil and Draw near to GOD!!
It is not easy to let it go. But it is doable with God. Remember do not hold on to it. If we do we are the only ones to get hurt from unforgiveness. We subject ourselves to torment.
God can make all things new. Freedom comes from giving our lives to Jesus and letting Him lead the way and following His direction.
He takes away the trash of unforgiveness when we push the delete button.
Let’s do it!
Copyright © 2007 Ro Lashua. All rights reserved.