This afternoon the Lord used my son's birthday present to remind me of a very important truth.
 

My son loves to play the card game, 'uno' (for those of you who are not familiar with it see the note at the end) . We started playing a "watered down" version just for kids (he will be five on the 13th) about four or five months ago, and since then he has gotten pretty good at it. For his birthday he kept asking for a "Star Trek" version of the game so I go it for him. When we opened it up, I realized that this version had the "grown up" rules and that I would have to explain some of the new cards to him. I showed him the new cards and explained what they did (and didn't) do. He seemed to understand so we started to play. We played a few hands when I began to notice that there were cards in his hand that he wasn't using. I felt the Holy Spirit getting my attention so I kept a close eye on what was happening. The game dragged on and on, and sometimes he had so many cards that he couldn't hold them all. I eventually won the hand and afterwards I looked at the cards that he had left. He had four "wild" cards and even a "wild draw four", all in his hand that he could have used to not only win, but the game would have been a lot shorter. Immediately I felt the Holy Spirit say to me that many of us as we are engaging in spiritual warfare, really do not fully understand the power of what we have in our "hands" ...the Word of God. That being the case, our warfare takes a lot longer than it should and sometimes we even end up losing because we don't use what we have. Also the fact that he had at times more cards in his hand than he could hold is significant because I believe it represents extra "stuff" we take on (from distractions to heartaches) when we don't use what will 'win' us the 'game'. Below I have listed some scriptures about what the Word of God says about the Word...
 
 
 

Psalm 138: 2b
 

for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.....
 

good stuff...but there is more.....like
 
 
 

Deuteronomy 8: 3b
 

that he might know that man doth not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live.
 

Psalm 33: 6
 

By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.
 

Psalm 107: 20
 

He sent His word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.
 

Psalm 119: 11
 

Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.
 

Psalm 119: 25
 

my soul cleaveth unto the dust: quicken thou me according to the word.
 

Psalm 119: 105

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
 

Psalm 119: 133

Order my steps in thy word: and let not iniquity have dominion over me.
 

Psalm 119: 116
 

Uphold me according unto thy word, that I may live: and let me not be ashamed of my hope.
 

yeah, I like the Psalms, but here is some more...
 

Proverbs 13: 13

Who so despiseth the word shall be destroyed: but he that feareth the commandment shall be rewarded.
 

Isaiah 40: 8
 

The grass withereth, the flower fadeth; but the word of our God shall stand forever.
 

Jeremiah 23: 29
 

is not my word like as a fire? saith the Lord; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?

call me OT boy if you like....here is some NT
 

John 15: 3
 

Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
 

John 17: 17

Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
 

Romans 10: 17
 

So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
 

Hebrews 4: 12
 

For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
 

Revelation 12: 11
 

and they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
 

Revelation 19: 13
 

and He was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and His name is called THE WORD of GOD.
 

which brings me to a very important point...the WORD of God is not just what He has said, but is a person... Jesus.
 

John 1: 1, 14a
 

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.
 

So, it's not enough to just memorize stuff in our minds, but we need to have a relationship with

the Word, otherwise we end like the seven sons of Sceva....
 

Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, 'We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth.' And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and the chief of the priests, which did so. And the evil spirit answered and said, "Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who are ye?" And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of the house naked and wounded.
 

Acts 19: 13-16
 

If one little demon did all that, imagine what other, more powerful spirits would do.
 

If you have clearly kept this in mind all along, great. But if you, like me, needed to be reminded, and maybe even learn something new, well...Praise the Lord.
 

For those of you who are not familiar with the game, it is simply a card game with cards of four different colors and numbering zero to nine. There are also cards that make you pick up cards, change the current color, and even both at the same time. The object of the game is to lay down all of the cards in your hand before your opponent does. When you are down to holding one card, you are supposed to say "uno" to let him/her know you have one card left. I think it is neat that the Holy Spirit used the game like he did because we know that our God is "One" yet three and in Jesus dwells the fullness of the Godhead bodily...