As I write this, it’s 9:34 a.m. on Friday, September 11, 2015. Fourteen years ago at this time, both towers had already collapsed, Flight 77 had hit the Pentagon and Flight 93 had crashed in Pennsylvania.

I was in Loveland, Colorado for a meeting with a publisher. We soon learned air travel had been suspended, so there’d be no flying home that day. We made the decision to keep our rental car and drive home to Arkansas.

I was numb. I’d grown up sixty miles south of New York City. The World Trade Center buildings were a familiar landmark on the drive to my grandmother’s house. And now they were gone. As were almost three thousand people.

I realized we were now a country at war. My children would grow up “at war.” I just didn’t realize how profoundly that would effect my family.

My oldest daughter is married to a Marine. He’s been deployed multiple times and now serves as a recruiter. My second daughter is married to a soldier. He has also seen combat. My third daughter will move to Germany in three weeks to do ministry at an American Air Force Base. My son is in the Navy. To say I’m proud of my children and their spouses doesn’t come close.

I wish we weren’t at war though. I wish my children (and now grandchildren) were growing up in a time of peace. I wish they all lived in the same town with us. I wish…

Reality though is different.

We’re at war. As a country. And as followers of Jesus.

Your marriage and family are being played out on a battlefield. The enemy is unseen and the fight takes place in the spiritual realm, but it doesn’t make it any less real.

We have an enemy. He will seek to deceive you, discourage you, distract you and tempt you. He is the “father of lies.” His will is to “steal, kill and destroy.”

To avoid becoming casualties, we must be filled with God’s Spirit and armed with the truth.

Several years ago, I put together a 40-day devotional to help arm us with truth, so we don’t fall victim to the lies and temptations around us. If you’d like a copy of “I Believe God: a 40-day adventure”, then click here. It’s a $1.99, but I have it set up so you can set your own price. If money is tight, then feel free to make it $0.00.