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Chapter 1 Under Attack

12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, [a] against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:12 (NKJV)

      The room was dark and stale. There seemed to be an essence in the air that lingered in such a way as to make my skin tingle with fear. The bed beneath me was damp from a sudden burst of sweat that raced from my body. My heart was beating so loud that it overpowered my hearing. Sounds were muffled and muted. There was a persistent ringing in my ears that no matter how hard I focused on making it diminish, it would not let up. I wanted to speak, but I was unable to open my mouth. I wanted to get out of bed, but I was glued to the mattress, too paralyzed to move. I closed my eyes and tried to think this hellish scene away, but closing my eyes only made the nightmare worse. I saw myself in a dusky room with an eerie red glow that seemed to come out of nowhere. Crouching in the corner in a fetal position, I raised my hands over my head in a frantic attempt to protect myself from a severe beating. I was whimpering and weeping, cornered by a vicious predator. I focused my mind’s eye on the scene, and then the haze disappeared. I was able to witness my attacker as if I were an onlooker watching from a short distance. The demon was a ghoulish nightmare of a creature that had a crooked back and gray, leathery skin. It frightened me just to look at him. He had a club in his hand, and he was beating me. He would raise his boney hand above his head and bring the club down on top of my arms. At the same time he was hitting me, he was screaming curses at me. “You are worthless. You have nothing to offer anyone. You will never succeed. You are going to lose everything you love. You are a fool. God is so angry with you for all the mistakes you have made. You will never be able to recover from your mistakes. I don’t know why you try so hard. You are always going to fail. You always thought that God had given you gifts, but He has given you nothing. You always try your best, but I am here to tell you that your best will NEVER be good enough! You might as well just GIVE UP! YOU ARE A FAILURE!” As this creature was beating me, I heard whispers coming from my lips. “Please…” I said breathlessly. “Please stop.” I continued on with my plea. “Please, stop. This is more than I can bear. Have mercy.” My whimpers were ignored and yet I kept calling out, “I am dying and I cannot breathe. Please…. I beg you, please stop.” My pathetic cry for relief was falling on deaf ears. I was begging for mercy from a creature who had none to give. I was looking for a light of hope from a creature whose job was to steal any hope I had. I sat there motionless on the floor as I allowed this demon to overpower my mind and my emotions. Suddenly, I heard a thunderous voice in my mind. It was a voice of authority and command. “GET UP!” said the voice with strength and confidence. I didn’t know who the voice was talking to, so I questioned, “Who me?” “Yes, you!!” The voice sent chills through my body. I protested, “I cannot. I am overcome by this devil and I cannot move. I will die if I move.” “You will surely not die. Get up!” At that moment the demon began to beat me even harder. The sound of his cursing became more frantic and grimacing. The level of intensity grew as he continued to scream curses in my direction. I flinched from being scorched by his escalating anger. Then I hear a voice of authority say to me, “Get Up!” Terrified and desperate I screamed, “I do not know how to get up. I am afraid. I cannot move.” The voice of God called to me saying, “You can move. You are more powerful than this demon who is torturing you. Don’t let him hit you again! Get up!!” The demon paused for just a moment, and I thought I saw a glimpse of distress in his eye. I was not certain because he continued his chanting and his beating of me. “I do not know how to get up. Lord, please tell me what I should do?”

Chapter 5 Drawing Your Sword

“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12

Why do so many Bibles sit on a shelf and collect dust? If the Bible holds all of the answers of the universe, then why are so many people unfamiliar with what is actually written inside on its pages? The answer is simple. There is a great advisory that hates God so much that he is willing to take that hatred out on you. He knows that the Bible shows the true nature of God and points the way to eternal victory. Because of this, Satan manipulates people in every way he can in order to prevent mankind from finding their answers in the Word of God. Satan knows the Bible is true, and he hates it!! If a person is willing or unknowingly neglecting their source of power, Satan will take advantage of that and he will attack and attack hard. He is relentless, and will never give up his pursuit to generate discouragement, fear and ultimate destruction. For this reason, this chapter is dedicated to the training of “how” to use your Bible as a sword to fight off the enemy and win every time.