Category Archives: Spiritual Warfare

Judge Not Part 10 – Drinking from Christ’s Cup of Suffering

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by Mike Ratliff

34 Then stood there up in the Council a certain Pharisee named Gamaliel, a doctor of the Law, honored of all the people, and commanded to put the Apostles forth a little space,
35 And said unto them, Men of Israel, take heed to yourselves, what ye intend to do touching these men.
36 For before these times, rose up Theudas boasting himself, to whom resorted a number of men, about a four hundred, who was slain: and they all which obeyed him were scattered, and brought to naught.
37 After this man, arose up Judas of Galilee, in the days of the tribute, and drew away much people after him: he also perished, and all that obeyed him, were scattered abroad.
38 And now I say unto you, Refrain yourselves from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel, or this work be of men, it will come to naught:
39 But if it be of God, ye cannot destroy it, lest ye be found even fighters against God.
40 And to him they agreed, and called the Apostles: and when they had beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the Name of Jesus, and let them go.
41 So they departed from the Council, rejoicing, that they were counted worthy to suffer rebuke for his Name.
42 And daily in the Temple, and from house to house they ceased not to teach, and preach Jesus Christ. Acts 5:34-42 (1599 Geneva Bible) 

I am sure you have heard some preacher somewhere at sometime say something like, “Come to Jesus so He can bless you and make your life better.” Every time I hear or read something like that, I want to grab them and ask them if they have ever seriously read their Bibles. Yes, a life in Christ is far superior to life outside of God’s grace; however, people who preach a gospel of health, wealth, and prosperity are guilty of misleading the gullible. The walk of a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ is one of self-denial, humility, obedience, and devotion to God’s glory. Continue reading →

The Whole Armor of God

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by Mike Ratliff

This is a repost from October 2024. The reason I am reposting this is my study of Corrie Ten Boom and her family and what they endured at the hands of the Nazis during WWII because they attempted to hide and protect Jews from being deported from Holland to Germany for extermination. As I read of the details of what they went through before and after their arrest and their own experiences in a Nazi concentration/extermination camp and how God was with Corrie and her sister Betsie through it all, I knew I needed to write about it for your edification. Their faith never faltered. They prayed fervently that they would not hate their persecutors and that His will would be done above all. Corrie testified that she was tempted to hate all those guards who tortured her sister and caused her death, as well as the man who betrayed them to the Gestapo, but God kept bringing her back to her faith and who she was in Christ and what the Gospel was all about. Corrie knew about the whole armor of God. Yesterday I encountered another group of people who are Holocaust deniers. Why do they do that? They do not consider the Jews worthy of our compassion. Well, to be honest, without Christ I am not worthy of anything except God’s wrath. So, can any of us look down on the Jews like that and proclaim that the Holocaust was a hoax invented by the Jews to get sympathy so they could get their own homeland? My God is much larger than that. People who come up with that sort of thing have no knowledge of Biblical prophecy. Also, the evidence for the Holocaust is very evident. Corrie Ten Boom encountered Holocaust deniers in her ministry in Europe. All she did was tell them her own story and how God worked through that awful time to grow her faith, making her into the mature Christian she was who could forgive those who persecuted her and her family. She knew all about wearing God’s armor and not allowing Satan’s fiery darts to get control of her. Continue reading →

I have not come to bring peace, but a sword

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by Mike Ratliff

34 ,Think not that I am come to send peace into the earth, but the sword. Matthew 10:34 (1599 Geneva Bible) 

The character and the mission of our Lord Jesus Christ is not well understood by the majority of people on planet Earth. In fact, many professing “Christians” have an image of Him in their understanding that is based upon fleshly reasoning. This “other” Jesus is not Biblical for the most part. They have given their Jesus a whole new set of values and traits that conflict sharply with the Jesus presented in the Gospels in His own words. In fact, many of their attributes of “their Jesus” come directly from how he is portrayed in pop culture.  Continue reading →

The Compromised Church and spiritual blindness

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by Mike Ratliff

22 ¶ ,The light of the body is the eye: if then thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be light.
23 But if thine eye be wicked, then all thy body shall be dark. Wherefore if the light that is in thee, be darkness, how great is that darkness? Matthew 6:22-23 (1599 Geneva Bible) 

Since God placed me in this ministry back in 2006 I have been immersed in a battle against a most disturbing phenomenon in the Church in America. In this post we will take a closer look at it. What is it? It is the willful ignorance in our spiritual leaders. Continue reading →

God’s purpose in our discouragement

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by Mike Ratliff

23 Yet the chief butler did not remember Joseph, but forgot him. Genesis 40:23 (1599 Geneva Bible) 

My natural tendency is to heartily participate in self-pity, outrage, and unforgiveness thereby opening doors in my heart that Satan enters causing me to become discouraged. When this happens to me, I find that my circumstances drive me to become very negative and impatient. I suppose that this is one of my besetting sins which clings closely to me, ready to cut in on me causing me to drop out of the race God has set before me to run with endurance. (Hebrews 12:1-2) My sense of joy that strengthens me as I run this race comes from looking unto Jesus. My focus has dropped from Him to me and my circumstances. When this happens the slide into self-absorption is very quick. I suddenly find myself in this ugly spiritually flat mood whose fuel seems to be anger. I have often pondered how this happens. Prior to my personal restoration in 2004-2005 I was probably in this mood or mode the majority of the time. Since then, however, these falls into this dark ditch have been rare enough so that when I find myself there I am very surprised. Now, I implore the Lord and ask why this has happened. Why am I so full of joy on Tuesday and so fleshly and down on Wednesday?  Of course it could be that my birthday was on Monday and we celebrated it in on Tuesday and now it’s Wednesday and now I’m just a year older and my body is telling me all about how old I really am. 🙂 Continue reading →

What is Joy?

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by Mike Ratliff

21 Certainly mine heart was vexed, and I was pricked in my reins.
22 So foolish was I and ignorant: I was a beast before thee.
23 Yet I was always with thee: thou hast holden me by my right hand.
24 Thou wilt guide me by thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.
25 Whom have I in heaven but thee? and I have desired none in the earth with thee.
26 My flesh faileth and mine heart also: but God is the strength of mine heart, and my portion forever. Psalms 73:21-26 (1599 Geneva Bible) 

Undoubtedly, there is much confusion about that little three-letter word “joy.” Is it simply a deeper form of happiness? Is it the opposite of sadness or depression? The secular perception of joy is “lasting happiness.” However, the Bible interprets joy very differently. In fact, God commands His people to be full of joy. (Psalms 37:4; Philippians 4:4) If joy were an emotion based upon circumstances then that command would seem rather harsh and unrealistic. However, coming from a Reformed Theological perspective, we do know that God commands many things for His people to do that they could never do within their own capabilities. Beginning with salvation itself, we see that our believing unto salvation came through God’s supernatural regenerative work in our Hearts. (Ephesians 2:8-9) Being spirit-filled (Ephesians 5:18), walking in the spirit (Galatians 5:16, 25), praying unceasingly (1 Thessalonians 5:17) and loving our enemies (Matthew 5:43-45) are only a few commands for believers obedience to actions which they could never do within their own abilities. Continue reading →

Teach Me Your Paths

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by Mike Ratliff

Aleph
1 To You, O Yahweh, I lift up my soul.
Beth
2 O my God, in You I trust,
Do not let me be ashamed;
Do not let my enemies exult over me.
Gimel
3 Indeed, let none who hope in You be ashamed;
Let those who deal treacherously without cause be ashamed.
Daleth
4 Make me know Your ways, O Yahweh;
Teach me Your paths.
He / Vav
5 Lead me in Your truth and teach me,
For You are the God of my salvation;
In You I hope all the day. Psalms 25:1-5 (LSB) 

Doubting God and His promises, worrying about things that are in God’s control are sins. Our enemy focuses primarily in his attacks on us on attempting to bring us to a place where we doubt God. This struggle comes to all who commit themselves to serving God with their lives. The closer they draw to God, the more Satan or his forces attempt to bring discouragement and despair to bear on these believers in an attempt to thwart their devotion to their Lord. Continue reading →

How Faithful is God?

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by Mike Ratliff

Lamedh
89 Forever, O Yahweh,
Your word stands firm in heaven.
90 Your faithfulness endures from generation to generation;
You established the earth, and it stands.
91 They stand this day according to Your judgments,
For all things are Your slaves.
92 If Your law had not been my delight,
Then I would have perished in my affliction.
93 I will never forget Your precepts,
For by them You have revived me.
94 I am Yours, save me;
For I have sought Your precepts.
95 The wicked hope for me—to destroy me;
I shall perceive Your testimonies.
96 I have seen a limit to all perfection;
Your commandment is exceedingly broad. Psalms 119:88-96 (LSB) 

God is faithful. When we read or say that we are not saying He is faithful as we are. He is perfectly faithful. The concept that He would somehow cause us to suffer because of a lack of love or care for us is not valid. God may allow suffering to come into our lives, but it is always to accomplish His perfect will. We must never stray far from the knowledge that He loves those who love Him. His love is that highest form of love which always seeks to accomplish what is best for the one loved instead of giving what the loved one desires. Continue reading →

The Tactics of Our Enemy

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by Mike Ratliff

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the might of His strength. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Ephesians 6:10-13 (LSB) 

Before believers mature to the point where they can consistently mortify the sins that so easily ensnare them, they are not a serious threat to Satan and his subordinates in his war against God. However, when believers have matured so that they continually seek to grow in their knowledge of and obedience to the Word and to serve the Lord more faithfully they will soon discover that their walk before the face of God, serving Him, and living for His glory becomes more difficult instead of easier.

This difficulty is part of the battle against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. When believers become Spirit-filled, growing in Christ-likeness, they come under attack by our enemy because his goal is to rob God of His glory and those believers are living in such state of grace that their lives bring glory to God more and more as they obey Him in every part of their lives. Continue reading →

Fullness in Christ

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by Mike Ratliff

14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 John *bore witness about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has been ahead of me, for He existed before me.’” 16 For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. John 1:14-16 (LSB) 

There is a certain hysteria currently amongst many of our 21st Century Puritans. While I gladly count myself as a Puritan, I also know that our enemy desires to shackle and nullify our witness and divert our focus, by feeding our heightened perceptions as to what is godly and what is false with misleading and derogatory information that cause us to turn on one another. Having experienced this against my own ministry over the last few months I can say that it is very frustrating and eye opening. Continue reading →

Why Christians must walk humbly before the Lord

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by Mike Ratliff

 5 But if you do not send him, we will not go down; for the man said to us, ‘You will not see my face unless your brother is with you.’” 6 Then Israel said, “Why did you treat me so badly by telling the man whether you still had another brother?” Genesis 43:5-6 (LSB)

Unforgiveness is poison for the Soul as it ensnares those who refuse to forgive by binding them into the prison of bitterness. This world is not a peaceful, easy, benign place. It is fallen. The world system is the product of Man’s rebellion against God. There is war. There is crime. There is oppression. People wrong other people. They place their wants and desires and perceived needs ahead of the wants and desires of others. The world system is marked by people pursuing their own no matter who gets hurt. The Christian is called to respond to the hurts and wrongs done to them in a vastly different way from the ways of the world. Continue reading →

Praying at All Times

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by Mike Ratliff

17 also receive THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,
18 praying at all times with all prayer and petition in the Spirit, and to this end, being on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, 19 as well as on my behalf, that words may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel— 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains—so that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak. Ephesians 6:17-20 (LSB) 

Ungodly focus is the focus that everyone has except for the Spirit-filled believer. This focus is oriented to self. Believers who are self-focused are either baby Christians or they have succumbed to Satan’s attacks against them. These attacks are designed specifically to render each believer powerless and without a Christlike testimony. He does this with temptations, fiery darts, that are designed to bring believers to be self-satisfied, self-sufficient, and spiritually arrogant. Of course, these are the marks of a Christian who is not humble, but whose pride is in control. Continue reading →

What are fiery darts?

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by Mike Ratliff

11 Let the one who does unrighteousness, still do unrighteousness; and the one who is filthy, still be filthy; and let the one who is righteous, still do righteousness; and the one who is holy, still keep himself holy.” Revelation 22:11 (LSB) 

The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan is a allegory of the journey of one man, Christian, who is saved and makes the journey to escape his home town, The City of Destruction. The journey takes him to the cross by him entering the narrow way by way of the narrow gate that few find. After the burden of sin is taken away at the cross he journeys until he reaches the Celestial City.

One of the most interesting places he must travel through is called The Valley of Humiliation. It is the place where all Christians must travel through in order to reach Heaven. In the Valley their pride is attacked while their humility is cultivated. They are taught to rely solely on the Lord instead of their own wits or reason or abilities. In the book, Christian finds Apollyon there who is enraged that he had lost one of his subjects, who of course is Christian. A battle ensues. Apollyon does Christian much damage, but Christian uses his armor, sword and shield to fight to save his life. One of the main weapons of our enemy is his fiery darts. What are they?

Continue reading →

The Valley of Humiliation and dealing with discouragement

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by Mike Ratliff

23 Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him. Genesis 40:23 (LSB) 

My natural tendency is to heartily participate in self-pity, outrage, and unforgiveness thereby opening doors in my heart that Satan enters causing me to become discouraged. When this happens to me, I find that my circumstances drive me to become very negative and impatient. I suppose that this is one of my besetting sins which clings closely to me ready to cut in on me causing me to drop out of the race God has set before me to run with endurance. (Hebrews 12:1-2) My sense of joy that strengthens me as I run this race comes from looking unto Jesus. My focus has dropped from Him to me and my circumstances. When this happens the slide into self-absorption is very quick. I suddenly find myself in this ugly spiritually flat mood whose fuel seems to be anger that sometimes results in outrage. I have often pondered how this happens. Prior to my personal restoration in 2004-2005 I was probably in this mood or mode the majority of the time. Since then, however, these falls into this dark ditch have been rare enough so that when I find myself there I am very surprised. Now, I implore the Lord and ask why this has happened. Why am I so full of joy on Tuesday and so fleshly and down on Wednesday? Continue reading →