We can and should be thankful even and especially in the face of adversity and times of trouble. There is always something to be thankful for. If there is a struggle to find something, reflect on what God has saved you from and thank Him for salvation. If that's all He ever did for us, it would be more than enough to be eternally grateful.

To see the rampant deception and corruption going on today, it's difficult to not be disappointed, even sickened. It's okay to be disappointed. The trouble comes we allow disappointment to grow into discouragement, doubt, and fear.

God's got it. 

We aren't called to fully understand or to know the end from the beginning. We are called to be steadfast in our faith. We are called to trust Him. We are called to prepare and maintain our vessels so that when He does pour out His spirit on all people, we are able to receive it.

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Being ready, armored up, doesn't mean you're prepared. Putting on the armor is only the first half of preparation. Once we are armored, we have to be alert and stand ready. Being caught off guard will render the best armor worthless.

We are called to victory. We are called to be men and women of valor.

To obtain and walk in the victory we are called to, we have to know our identity and who we are called to be. To become who we are called to be and walk in our identity, we need to identify and remove the things that are stealing our identity and holding us back.

We may be "more than conquerors" but we need to ensure we are entering battle from the right place and are properly prepared. Our victory in battle doesn't come from our own ability, it comes through Him. The battle and the victory belong to the Lord. It is critical that we maintain our relationship with Him and dwell under His authority to obtain victory.

"The best defense is a good offense." This is a statement we have all heard before, and it is a statement that shows the full purpose of the "Armor of God." The armor is not intended to be used to hunker down and simply survive the onslaught of the enemy. It is not intended to allow us to simply "hang in there" until the end. This is a very poor and ineffective battle strategy and it can be argued that we are reaping the consequences of this strategy today. 

"Surviving" is not the strategy we are called to. Conquering is our call and is the armor's intended use. If this were not the case, we would not have an offensive weapon. The "Sword of the Spirt," "the Word of God," is our weapon and we need to have it at the ready. We need to be familiar with it. We need to keep it sharp. We need to put it to use to drive back the enemy.

There are few, if any, more important things to protect than our minds. Every word we say, every action we take, everything we do begins with a thought. This makes our mind valuable real estate and leads to battle for it. To deny or ignore it would be our downfall. If we aren't pursuing and maintaining a sound mind and actively putting on our helmet of salvation, we will not be able stand.

An in depth Bible Study and a look at current events.