Warfare: Winning the Spiritual Battle by Tony Evans

About the Book:

Where do you need victory?

You feel stuck – or even held back – in your spiritual life. You want more for your life, but every time you reach for more of Jesus, you're knocked down again. Whether it's marital challenges, financial distress, or the recurring pain of old wounds, the Enemy finds a way to keep you discouraged and disabled.

Are you ready to fight back? Step one: Recognize you're on a supernatural battlefield. Step Two: Learn everything you can about this battle – how it began, how it will end, who's fighting, how to fight, and most importantly how to find victory.

Warfare is your introductory guide to spiritual warfare. In it, trusted pastor and teacher Tony Evans will teach you:

1. To identify how spiritual warfare is impacting your soul, family, church, and culture.

2. Who the armies are and what role they play – God, angels, demons, and the devil.

3. How to claim the victory God has already won.

The most dangerous battles you'll ever face are the ones you can't see. Learn to fight and win today.

My Thoughts:

In Warfare: Winning the Spiritual Battle, Dr. Tony Evans tackles the complicated topic of spiritual warfare. Dr. Evans spends substantial time fleshing out the history of spiritual warfare, who is involved in the war, and how to fight the war. He writes so that someone with little or no previous knowledge of spiritual warfare can get a comprehensive view of the subject matter.

In the pages of Warfare, I also found good, practical advice on matters such as: recognizing one's responsibility and power to direct one's thoughts/doubts, reverence for the Lord God, realizing that people/situations are not the real enemy and who the actual enemy is, the necessity of prayer, the danger of elevating things or people above God, and more.

There was one major idea in Warfare that Dr. Evans did not completely convince me about: that all spiritual warfare happens because Satan wants to steal God's glory and God is all about keeping His glory. Dr. Evans explains why he believes this, but I was not convinced. The way it was presented made God seem narcissistic. My personal belief is that spiritual warfare happens because God loves humans and wants a relationship with them while the enemy hates humans and works to prevent that relationship with God. Perhaps I am in the wrong, but I just wasn't convinced in this matter.

It is important to note that Warfare is written from a conservative, evangelical worldview. Those who disagree with said worldview will likely disagree with several things including Dr. Evans' view of the necessity of the wife's submission in marriage.

Personally, I would have liked to have seen Chapter 9 go into further detail about the weapons we can use in this war – commonly known as the Armor of God in Ephesians 6. (Dr. Evans' daughter, Priscilla Shirer, has a fabulous in-depth study on this particular topic if you want to explore more with practical application)

Lastly, I noted that the copyright page shows that Warfare is a condensed version of Tony Evans' book, The Battle is the Lord's, and that part of chapter 1 is excerpted from his book, Kingdom Man. So, just a heads-up that if you have read The Battle is the Lord's, the material might be very similar.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Spiritual Warfare for Your Family by Leighann McCoy

In Christian circles, spiritual warfare ranges from being unheard of, to being ignored, to being embraced in a mystic sort of way, and everywhere in between. In Spiritual Warfare for Your Family, Leighann McCoy aims to educate the reader regarding what spiritual warfare is, the importance of spiritual warfare, and how to successfully fight to protect yourself, your family and other loved ones.

There are several chapters that explain the basics of spiritual warfare – what it is, why it happens, where it happens, etc. She addresses some hard questions like, “Why did God create the devil?” and “Why do we still struggle with sin if Jesus has already won victory and empowered our lives?” I felt most of the information was Scripturally sound, though at few things might have been a bit edgy.

After the basics are laid down, McCoy moves into tactics to fight the enemy. Although these lessons are framed as tactics within the concept of spiritual warfare, most of them are basic Christian living principles that people just need to put into practice. Forgiveness, love, prayer, resisting fear, surrender to God, etc.

Lastly, McCoy offers several chapters that address particular life stages and common issues in homes. These down-to-earth principles offer suggestions on how to try to prevent situations from happening as well as what to do if they have already happened. I appreciated her honesty as she shared her own failings and what, in hindsight, she believes she should/could have done differently.

Some of the lessons I gleaned from this book included: 1.) Confess your worst fear. Then focus on God, not you. 2.) Give up your own will completely. 3.) Tear down the “High Places” in your life.

McCoy points out that she isn't a prosperity preacher advocating health and wealth if you serve Jesus. Living the Christian life is often more about surrender and sacrifice than pleasant desires and luxuries. Even the basic principle of forgiveness can be terribly difficult if the wrong has been severe enough. I think that most Christians would find parts of this book challenging to put into practice, but the application of difficult principles can lead to spiritual growth and victory in the spiritual realm.

Overall, I think Spiritual Warfare for Your Family: What You Need to Know to Protect Your Children by Leighann McCoy is worth the time to read. I plan to keep it and read it again in the future.

Read an excerpt from Spiritual Warfare for Your Family on the publisher's website.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."