“Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humble yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words.  The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days, but Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I was left there with the kings of Persia”  Daniel 10:12-13

God gives us a glimpse of the extent of the war going on in the spiritual world and how we are involved in it.  This war is just as real as the ones we have been fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.  And just like those wars we need to prepare ourselves by training and equipping ourselves for the battles.  Daniel provides the example for us.  God hears our prayers and will answer them, but Satan will do what he can to prevent us from receiving those answers.  What we have to understand is the Satan’s demons cannot stop the messenger, but if we are not prepared we can put ourselves in a position to not receive it.  Daniel studied God’s word, prayed constantly, and kept himself humble to the Lord.  He wore the armor of God that Paul talked about in Ephesians 6.

Anyone that has been combat would not dream of going without all their protective equipment and weapons so why would we go to spiritual battles without it?  Find strength in truth, walk in the righteousness of God, practice the gospel of peace, shield yourself with faith in the Lord, wear His gift of salvation, and arm yourself with the Word of God.  This war is real and we cannot avoid it so be prepared.

In Luke 18, Jesus tells a story to a group of people that believed that they were righteous and living a good life.  They looked at others in contempt that they felt were not living up to their standards and considered bad people.  The story is of a Pharisee (religious leader) and a tax collector that go to the temple to pray.  The Pharisee gives thanks that he is not like other men and starts listing all the evil things he does not do and talking about how pious he is.  The tax collector, however, beats his chest and prays for Mercy from God.  Who does Jesus say is “justified”? – the tax collector!

We are often a lot like the Pharisee.  The world view follows the line of the Pharisee in that as long as you are generally a good person and do not commit any serious crime you are destined for Heaven.  We judge people by the scales of justice, weighing actions to determine the level of good or evil.  That is necessary for a legal system in this world, but it is not how God views sin.  There is no ranking of sin and none of us are good enough.  “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”  Romans 3:23.

Maybe you are like the Pharisee and have believe that you are good enough and have not committed any major sin.  Guess what you are still a sinner and deserve judgement.  Or maybe you are like the tax collector and recognize your sin.  Maybe you even think you are so bad God will never forgive you.  Regardless of where you are at Christ died for you!  You are neither too good to need salvation nor too bad to receive it.  All we need to do is to turn to Him, repent of our sins, and ask for His forgiveness. Grace is a gift given freely to all who will accept it.  Even tax collectors

They kids will be preparing cards and the church will provide items that they can pack in the packages. If you have items you want to donate, you can bring them to either of the Sunday services and give them to the Kids Ministry or Micah.