Hello, good people, and welcome to this episode of the

daily bible refresh brought to you by

voice of god daily.com. My name is

doctor Brad Miller. I'm here to offer you a fresh

expression of a daily reading of the scripture, which is focused

on understanding scripture that is both understandable, relatable

and applicable to your life. We read

from the revised common lectionary, year c,

which is the particular passage of scripture selected for this

very day, and we are in the epiphany season. We offer you a

reading of the scripture that is understandable, and as much as it comes

from the new testament reading only, we read from

the the message translation of the Bible. We make

it relatable by offering you a couple of points to ponder about the scripture

and applicable, and we give you an action step to follow. We have a prayer,

and we do the whole thing in under 10 minutes. Our reading for the day

is from Ephesians chapter 6

verses 10 through 18, reading from the message. A

fight to the finish. And that about wraps it up.

God is strong, and he wants you strong. So take

everything the master has set out for you, well

made weapons of the best materials, and put them to use so you

will be able to stand up to everything the devil throws your way. This

is no weekend war that we'll walk away from and forget about it in a

couple of hours. This is for keeps. A life or death fight

to the finish against the devil and all his angels.

Be prepared. You're up against far more than you can handle

on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has

issued, so that when it's all over, put the shouting, you'll still

be on your feet. Truth, righteousness,

peace, faith and salvation are more than

words. Learn how to apply them. You'll need them

throughout your life. God's word is an indispensable

weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential

in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and

long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your

eyes open. Keep each other's spirits

up so that no one fails behind or drops out.

Powerful words for the words of scripture. It's about standing strong,

resistance, and care of one another in the community.

And it's really through this lens, if you will, of spiritual warfare,

about how there's hidden wisdom, there's deep wisdom for

a mod our modern faith in this words of scripture. Let

me offer you a couple of points to ponder. One has to do

with collective resistance. While

some interpretations focus on individual spiritual battles, I

believe this passage speaks powerfully to a collective resistance

against systematic injustice. The devil and his

angels, is what it says, can be understood as systems of

oppression, as racism, economic inequality,

environmental destruction, and other forces that diminish

human dignity and keeps creation from flourishing.

A point to ponder. Another one is this

passage can be seen as a involving tools of

liberation. The weapons described aren't for violence,

but for liberation and justice. Truth telling

in the face of misinformation, for instance. Righteousness

as right relationship with all beings.

Peacemaking in a world full of conflict. Faith

and the possibility of change and salvation as a collective

source of liberation. These are tools that

can transform our world. One more

point to ponder. It has to do with community care and spiritual

practice. There's an emphasis here in this scripture about praying and

supporting one another, and it really suggests that care of one

another in our communities is essentially is essentially

spiritual work. So it says here, I quote,

keep each other's spirits up so that no one falls behind.

Love that. Speaks directly to the importance of mutual

care and aid for one another in a solidarity with one another

to seek justice. Here's your action step for

today. Create or join a care circle, that

is some people who are caring about and connecting

to some of the matters that matter in your community.

Sweet if you where there's some injustice, maybe you can speak to it, or

maybe you can open yourselves up to sharing your personal

struggles or the struggles of your community. Celebrate the

victories to be sure, and support one another, and try to get involved to

make proper change. Remember, sustainable activism

requires sustainable support systems.

We're gonna pray in just a second, but I want to remind you that we

have a we have a resource that I really want you to take advantage of.

It's called the ABC 123 Bible

study guide. You can find that at our show notes, which you can find

everything at voice of god daily dot com, including

this this, this episode today and a transcript.

That's also where you could find this ABC

123 Bible study guide, and, indeed, it makes your Bible

study as easy as ABC in 123, and hope that you'll take

advantage of it. Let's pray.

Oh, God. You are the source of strength and justice in a world that

is often overwhelming. Help us remember that we're not fighting

alone. When systems of oppression seem too big to tackle,

remind us of the power of collective action, and ground us

in truth which when which of which surrounds us.

Fill us with courage when fear threatens to paralyze us, and

bind us together in community when other forces seek to

divide us. May we be gentle with ourselves and

each other as we do the hard work of justice and

peace. Give us wisdom to know and when to

rest, and strength to keep standing for what's right,

in hope and solidarity.

Well, it's been good to be with you. My name is doctor Brad Miller.

It is my joy to present on a daily basis the daily

bible refresh as a service to you. I hope that you'll join me

again tomorrow morning and tell others where to find us on the daily

bible refresh brought to you by voice of god

daily dot com. Until then, remember that

God's loyal love doesn't run out. His merciful

love hasn't dried up. It's created new

every morning.