This is How to Confront Evil

In Scripture Jesus demonstrates his power over the darkest evils, he confronts the demons! And yet, the modern world, and especially in the USA, we ignore the spiritual realm--this is a HUGE mistake. Scripture is clear: we are not in a battle of flesh and blood but of the principalities of evil! And Scripture provides the toolkit to deal with these things, it's called the full armor of God. While we're arguing over gun and immigration control and more, we're ignoring the flood of evil our country; in our ignorance it has cloaked us. 

Ephesians 6:10-18 (NIV)

The Armor of God

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

Be connected to the vine, know Scripture, fight temptation, be a person of prayer, be baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit, walk out GOD'S plan for your life, not what you want but what God wants for you. 

Watch This if You're Worried About the USA Right Now

UPDATE: A couple hours after recording this, I came upon a brother who was reading his Bible in the hotel. I asked him, "what are you reading?" He says to me Ezra Chapter 1, so I ask him what it's about? He says to me, "its about how the Lord flipped the heart of the King to do His will like a switch." I get a big smile as I think to myself, yes, yes, that's the Lord I serve, who holds the hearts of Kings and Presidents and leaders and anyone in the palm of his hand. He took Cyrus the King and in a moment, with nobody having talked to him, he changed his whole life, his whole way of operating. Just like that. Not to say that will happen now or here, but its just a possibility, its a show of the power and awe of the King of Kings.

1 Now in the [a]first year of [b]Cyrus king of Persia [that is, the first year he ruled Babylon], in order to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah [the prophet], the Lord stirred up (put in motion) the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he sent a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying:

2 “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, ‘The [c]Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and He has appointed me to build Him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. 3 Whoever there is among you of all His people, may his God be with him! Let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah and rebuild the house of the Lord, the God of Israel; He is God who is in Jerusalem. 4 In any place where a survivor (Jewish exile) may live, let the men (Gentiles) of that place support him with silver and gold, with goods and cattle, together with freewill offerings for the house of God in Jerusalem.’”

In addition, if you want a thoughtful collection of thoughts and Scripture on the issue, read this post by Mike Griego.

Update: Saw this talk by Pastor James McDonald, and thought it was pretty spot on and worth adding.

I Love to Pray this Prayer by Jack Rase

I've prayed this prayer and have spoken aloud the declaration many times and have found it to be powerful. The guy who wrote it and introduced it to me said that speaking it aloud is important. For the backstory on my meeting Jack Race, click here to read more.