Spiritual Warfare 8

In doing battle with the evil forces in the unseen world, we are challenged to realize our power and authority in Christ. Repent by word and action. Now, put on the armor to continue the breaking of demonization. Ephesians 6 encourages us to: "Stand firm then,
* with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, (consistent meditation and memorization of Scriptural truth that produces freedom as described in John 8:32)

* with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ( having a cleansed conscience - living out our position of holiness in Christ, I Corinthians 1:30)

* and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. (desire to bring peace to disrupted relationships, Romans 12:18)

* In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. (unwavering trust in God’s Word, Romans 4:20-21)

* Take the helmet of salvation (the confidence of being a child of the Sovereign , John 1:12)

* and the sword of the Spirit, (which is the word of God, prepared to speak its truth, demonstrated by Christ combating satan’s temptations, Matthew 4:4)

* And pray in the Spirit.... (Continual communication with the Father, I Thessalonians 5:17)

satan often attacks with an insinuation that God is not good. That He is not for us. he seeks to alienate our affections from God. Consequently, another effective piece of armor in our arsenal is an ever deepening awareness of why we love God and how much He loves us.

The wearing of the armor is not only strategy for combating the evil one, but it also is an exercise of holiness. Holy living loosens and frees us from the enemy’s footholds he has gained through our sinful living. We are removing satan’s power source in our lives as we allow Christ to live His life through us. The daily discipline of holiness makes us well-muscled for spiritual grappling. Without it we get pinned to the mat.

Back to the pornography issue. As the flaming arrow of lust is flung at a man, the thrust is averted by “the belt of truth.” Truth is: a pornographic image can not satisfy deep needs for love and approval. It temporarily excites desires but meets no needs. Porn is a sham. Its titillation gives a false sense of reality. Truth goes on to say that real love and affection is gained only through intimacy that comes from deep relationship. The flame is extinguished in satan’s arrow. It does not penetrate the belt of truth. The Christ-life is lived through us as we believe in and cinch up the belt, instead of listening to satan’s lie.

John Wimber, a noted authority in ministry to the demonized, adds another dimension. He says that the most effective means of deliverance is for the person to accept the Lordship of Christ and live out this commitment to Jesus.

satan tempts. He flings flaming arrows. He can overpower the Christian. The Christian in combat realizes the victory has already been won. He/she appropriates and celebrates the conquest by verbal and action-oriented repentance. In conjunction, the armor is worn and the skirmish with satan produces triumph!

Spiritual Warfare 7

Though satan is a defeated foe (by Christ's death/resurrection) we must "keep him there". Continuing in that theme: Break demonic bondage by attitudinal and behavioral repentance.
If satan has achieved a foothold through some sinful attitude or behavior, repent by
1. word 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

2. action Ephesians 4:31-32 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice (an any other sinful attitude or behavior). Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Forgiving seems to be a key action point of Scripture, found in many passages. To keep from being outwitted by satan - forgive. 2 Corinthians 2:10
If you forgive anyone, I also forgive him. And what I have forgiven--
if there was anything to forgive--I have forgiven in the sight
of Christ for your sake, in order that satan might not outwit us.
For we are not unaware of his schemes.

The one who prays (repents) and acts in this manner is becoming free from the evil one’s hold and frees him/herself of the devil’s accusations. Romans 8:1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,

The word “becoming” is significant because footholds aren’t necessarily loosened with one prayer utterance. The word of repentance needs to be uttered only once. But the action of repentance may take considerable time to break sin’s stranglehold. Consistent reliance on the power of the Holy Spirit to walk in obedience to God must be appropriated to break (and sometimes very slowly) the pattern or habit.

Pornography is a prime example. As mentioned earlier, some surveys indicate a high percentage of evangelical pastors are addicted to pornography. In my counseling practice, I view men who are strong Christians in every area but this. As a young man, I had a six-month bout with porn magazines myself.
By professional and personal experience, I can tell you that the habit, the addiction if you will, of pornography is not broken by a single prayer of repentance. Freedom comes only as one relies on the power of the Holy Spirit to stay away from the magazine racks or other sources of temptation, to identify any subtle underlying issues beside the obvious lustful pleasure, and to own and be repulsed by the heinous self-centeredness of the practice.

Occasionally, God will free an addict miraculously. But that is not God’s typical modus operandi. The struggle of breaking a stronghold builds a dependence on God and a deeper trust in Him, leading to a stronger godly character.

Tomorrow we "PUT ON THE ARMOR"

Spiritual Warfare 6

We continue to examine satan's influence in our lives, viewing today his ultimate weapon of destruction: he overpowers.
Acts 10:38 --how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.

This refers to a specific bondage. Some would say “a demonic attachment.” Others: “demonization.” It is an affliction of the soul or body that is empowered by evil spirits. This is often a result of a “sin foothold” of pre or post conversion ungodly behavior or attitude. Sexual sin, hatred, rebellion, and drug abuse seem to be the most prevalent way satan establishes attachment along with astrology and board games that utilize demonic power. Other people who work in this arena include other strongholds like homosexuality, alcoholism, sexual abuse as children, dedication to satan as children, curses leveled by witches covens and through trauma.

A dear friend of ours relates this story regarding trauma as an entry point for demonic attachment. “Our daughter had a spirit of fear attach to her when she watched a horror movie at a friend’s house. I knew nothing of this until one day she told me that every time she saw a knife she would get so scared that she would start to cry and break out in a sweat. After investigating, I discovered the entry point was this movie that had so frightened her. We simply prayed to remove it and it was gone.”

Some also believe that a major arena for demonic attachment can be generational - passed from a demonized parent to offspring. Probably the most subtle demonic attachment comes to the “super spiritual” Christian. This kind of Christian is described by C.S. Lewis as,
“Whenever we find that our spiritual life is making us
feel better than someone else -
we are being acted on, not by God, but by the devil.”

Some would say that there is pride and then there is a “spirit of pride” - a demonic pride attachment. This would come from the Bible student who thinks they know it all or the super star charismatic living a double life or even the legalist who is led by dogmatic principles rather than by God. Pride - a silent killer! The question that, in my opinion, is unanswerable, “When does the sin of pride cross the line and become a demonic attachment? Or of lust? Or of rage?”

Some unbalanced “demon chasers” see any aberration as demonic and set about casting out the demon of anger, lust, homosexuality or whatever. This tends to take personal responsibility away from the angry, or... person and the problem remains acute. Often this leads to a transient journey of going from one “deliverer” to another, hoping to be delivered from a spirit of ..., instead of assuming personal responsibility to follow Biblical guidelines for diminishing the problem.

Can a Christian be demon possessed?
Remember, we’re addressing the topic of satan harassing Christians. Can a Christian be so overpowered by satan that he/she could be labeled “demon possessed?” The general consensus of those ministering in this arena appears to be this: Christians can be demonized (have a spirit attached) but not possessed.
“Possession connotes a totality of ownership incompatible with the eternal ownership of a soul by God. Demonization comes in various degrees and controls or influences with various effects, limited to influence a Christian’s life only where that aspect of life is unyielded.” (Tom White).

Our scheme of attack on satan’s overpowering:
Deliverance. Deliverance seems to have a double barrel shot gun approach. Let me explain. As a teenager growing up in North Dakota, pheasant hunting was an exciting activity - both for the sport and the meat. I had an old double barrel 12 gauge shotgun. Each barrel had a trigger and if I missed on the first shot, I’d just pull the second trigger and the other barrel would fire. I wasn’t so accurate that I could “shoot the eye out of a bird in flight”, but the Burwick household had its share of pheasant meat - and very tasty it was.
In our attack on satan’s overpowering schemes, we fire one barrel by having a person experienced in demonization prayer, pray against the evil spirit(s). The other barrel is triggered by the victimized person him/herself. The person firing this barrel can shoot accurately and with confidence because of a threefold strategy: realizing that victory over the evil one is secure, repenting and putting on the soldier’s armor. Let me elaborate.

Realize a Christian's victory over the evil one is secured. Colossians 2:15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he (Christ) made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
A Christian’s victory over the evil one is guaranteed. Romans 8:38-39 tells us For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Consequently, a believer in Jesus knows that
1. The supremacy of Jesus name binds the evil one. Matthew 18:18-20
I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. "Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.
2. He/she has confidence in His atoning blood. Revelation 12:11
They overcame him (satan) by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.
3. Christ’s empowering is greater than satan’s power. Luke 10:19
I have given you authority... to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.

The Christian’s victory over the evil one is secured. By faith, not by feeling, claim it. Acton it.

Spiritual Warfare 5

We're examining the effects of the evil one's influence on our self esteem. Satan’s “passive attack” called temptation was examined yesterday. Today we view how satan intensifies his attack with flaming arrows.

Ephesians 6:16 ... with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. (With the flaming arrows, he seeks to assault our weaknesses or encumber our mission.)
Flaming arrows are seen as more aggressive than temptations. They come with, as Tom White would say, “nearly irresistible intensity. Excessive irritation. Bitterness. Criticism. Lustful impulses. Jealousy. Fear.”

Not just a little irritation, but excessively so. Not just a resentment, but a hanging on vindictive, mean, getting even bitterness. Not just lustful impulses but obsession of desire. A fear that is all consuming and debilitating. An attack on self esteem that makes one feel worthless and impotent. satan especially hits the home and the church.

How many ministries have been corrupted because of:
1. satan’s lustful arrow? (A high percentage of pastors are involved in some lustful sexual activity - nearly 50% visited an Internet pornography web site in the last year, according to www.pastors.com.)
2. satan's pride arsenal? (“Our doctrine. Our method of worship is far superior to others.”)
3. his jealousy dart? (“His ministry is bigger than mine.”)
4. his sword of control for power? (As it has been said, “Power nurtures the idolatry of self. It corrupts.” Churches split over power maneuvers.)

Our scheme of attack for satan’s flaming arrows:
Put on the armor.
Ephesians 6:11-18 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 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. 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. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 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 saints.

In satan’s progressive attack mode, he tempts, then he flings flaming arrows and
Monday we examine his ultimate strike of intensity.

Spiritual Warfare 4

Resuming our quest for personal growth - Know God, Know self, know about the enemy (satan).
Our scouting report on satan continues with a summary of our findings regarding his strategy against Christians. As in basketball competition, a team can develop a strategy that often begins with a more passive zone or sagging man to man defense. It intensifies with aggressive half court pressure and reaches its ultimate force with a full court press.
So also with satan’s strategy in attacking the Christian. he tempts. If that doesn’t get the job done, he turns up the heat with flaming arrows. his ultimate weapon of pressure is entitled “overpowering.” Let’s examine the progression together and our counterattack with each.

Temptation: satan’s passive attack
Matthew 4:1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. satan questioned Jesus’ identity (“if you are the son of God...”) and tempted Him in areas of normal human weakness and need: appetite, attention, power. The sinless Jesus, as God/man, met satan head on, giving him no ground for success.

Not being sinless, humans often yield to temptation. James 1:13-14
When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.
We all have natural needs to love and be loved, to feel worthwhile and significant, to have meaning in life. Nothing wrong with these God-given needs. But satan tempts us to short-circuit the meeting of these needs.

The search is on for someone to love us. We find him/her. We are loved. Life is great. Rejection occurs sooner or later. Loss. Pain. God gently whispers, “Look first to me for love. I want to meet that need. As I am your focus for love, I’ll secondarily bring another into your life.”

This concept came alive to me after I lost Ann, my wife of 36 years. Grief hit hard. Then came loneliness. I prayed, “God, in Philippians 4, you promise to meet all my needs. I have a great need for companionship and love. I don’t want to look to another person for that. I don’t want to date around. Will you be my companion - my wife, as it were?”

He did. He was. Then He connected me with a woman I had known 40 years previously, who lived across country. Too far to date. But e-mail and telephone provided us the opportunity to learn about each other in depth. Marriage followed and what a gift God has provided! First Himself. Then Himself along with Theresa.

Besides seeking love, we pursue feeling worthwhile and significant through some performance. We work hard. We invest life energy. We become successful. Then the bottom drops out. We lose the position. We’re not wanted anymore. Fired! Cut loose. Down sized. Replaced. Our kids rebel. God gently whispers, “Look to me for your worth, your sense of significance. I created you unique. You have great value in my eyes. Learn from me. Integrate that truth. You’ll seek my glory and not man’s. The pressure to perform is off.”
satan tempts us.

Our counterattack to satan’s temptation:
1 Take every thought into captivity.
2 Corinthians 10:5 admonishes: We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. (Rebuke the whisperings of satan.)
2. Resist.
1 Peter 5:9. James 4:7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (“In the name of Jesus, flee, satan.”)
3. Attack with Scripture.
Luke 4:4 Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone.'" (Know Scripture well enough to combat the evil one with God’s Word.)
4. Don’t give him a foothold.
Ephesians 4:26-27 "In your anger do not sin" : Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. (Consistent sin in any area gives satan a foothold in that area.)
5. If yield to temptation, repent. Reinstall the breastplate of righteousness.
Ephesians 6:14 Stand firm then, ... with the breastplate of righteousness in place, (Thank you Father for your forgiveness of my sin. I reclaim my purity and holiness in you.)

A more passive attack by satan is temptation. If that strategy is ineffective, he turns up the
heat, he intensifies the assault with flaming arrows. We'll examine that in tomorrow's post.

Spiritual Warfare 3

satan’s conquering strategy # 3
he instigates to sin
John 13:2 The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus.

We may never betray Jesus with the Judas kiss of death, but we’ll distrust Him and become prayer-less. We’ll substitute lust for love, greed for gratitude, control for dependence. We’ll worry instead of trust, be bitter instead of forgiving, gossip instead of encouraging. We’ll seek our glory instead of God’s, be prideful instead of humble.

As mentioned previously, satan instigates the sins of cynicism and discouragement. Then come the sins of unbelief and resistance to intimacy with God.
How frequently the counselor hears, “it started out so innocently. We were two couples enjoying fellowship together, in church, with recreation and with our children. I directed the choir. Jack’s wife accompanied on the piano. Our music planning sessions took on an added dimension. Before long it became romantic. It’s now an affair. Neither of us wanted this to occur. How did it happen?”

satan takes a healthy Christian love relationship, instigates to sin and godly love becomes lustful passion.
satan afflicts, deceives, instigates to sin and contends with saints.

satan’s strategy # 4.
he contends with saints
Ephesians 6:12 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.

It was a beautiful Saturday night at our ranch in Birmingham, Alabama. My wife, Ann, and I were praying and praising God. I was preparing for teaching Sunday school in the morning. The topic was the Ephesians six battle with satan. All of a sudden my wife began to bleed profusely from her nose. We took the typical steps in stopping a nosebleed. Nothing worked.

I rushed her to the hospital’s emergency ward. There the doctor diagnosed a broken blood vessel that, “probably was precipitated by allergy.” (She had never had a nosebleed before.)
He cauterized the vessel. He told us there would be no more problem. The bleeding stopped.

We drove the thirty minutes back to our ranch and no sooner had we gotten home (about midnight) that her nose started to bleed again. This time we suspected the evil one’s contention. We prayed that God would bind the evil one’s touch on Ann’s life and protect her from his harassment. The bleeding stopped and until her death many years later, she never experienced another bloody nose.

satan strategy to "steal, kill and destroy" includes affliction, deception, instigation to sin and contention with the saints - you and me!!!!

Our next post will be the end of next week.

Spiritual Warfare

satan’s Strategy With The Christian
satan’s strategy #1. Affliction

Job 1:12 The LORD said to Satan, "Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands...” and Job 2:7 So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.

Notice. satan had to have God’s approval to afflict Job. Any dis-ease from satan we experience has to come through God’s protective “bubble” surrounding us. God isn’t the source of evil, but He allows it.

I ask the Lord for a new challenge every year. It becomes my objective for the year. My focus. One year it was:
“Nothing can come my way today that God, my loving Abba PaPa,
will not use for my benefit. For that reason, my objective is to
learn to actively embrace my life, not passively resign or resentfully
resist and to live with continuous joy and gratitude in the Lord
even through the toughest circumstances or attack by satan.
I have confident trust in the character of God and wait
with confident hope in Him.”

That was during the two years My first wife died, I was unjustly fired from a college coaching/teaching position, all vocational doors were closed to me and God seemed to have removed a sense of His presence. It wasn't a JOB situation but it seemed like a significant affliction from the evil one.

Life is great now (nine years after Ann's death. I have a wonderful new wife. Money in the bank. Am making new friends. A good mind. Much for which to be thankful. I often lose that perspective; consequently, I believe God’s objective for me was to learn a depth of Him that brings no tactile experience. No feeling of His presence. A faith and dependence on Him alone. Not for what He does. I wait with confident hope in Him, no matter the circumstance or the attack by satan. (Much of the time!)
My challenge is to focus on how God wants to use affliction for my good and His glory. satan afflicts and he also deceives.

satan’s strategy #2. he deceives
2 Thessalonians 2:9 The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders,
John 8:44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

Deception began with Eve,
“You’re not adequate in yourself.
You need to become like God. Eat the forbidden fruit.”
The evil one continues his deceptive onslaught on the Christian.

Have you listened to his lies?
“Who are you to think you are of any value. You are just a “wretch” who doesn’t deserve God’s blessings. You’ve prayed to have that mountain removed. It hasn’t moved an inch. God doesn’t care about you.
“God is mad at you. That’s why your prayers aren’t answered.”
‘Look at all those promises the Bible portrays. Why aren’t you receiving more? Besides, it seems like God has been far away from you for quite some time now. Maybe those promises and His presence are for those more worthy.”
“The economy is so bad. You’ll lose your job. There will never be as good a job as you now have.” satan’s deceptive onslaught of the Christian.

satan doesn’t encourage us to “curse God and die," like he did with Job. he just encourages cynicism and discouragement. satan afflicts, deceives and tomorrow we'll look at his instigation to sin.

Spiritual Warfare

We ended yesterday’s post with these words: The invisible world is just as real as the visible world. And in that invisible world there is spiritual warfare - a cosmic conflict, that was described in Ephesians 6:12 - warfare against spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

For more of a historical background on the invisible world and satan, lets look at Jesus' involvement with him.
Luke 4:1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, 2 where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. (And the next 11 verses tell of satan's temptation process.) 13 When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.

An aspect of Jesus ministry when He walked this earth was confronting demons. Luke 9:37-42 shows Jesus casting out of a boy an evil spirit. Luke 8:26-35 describes a tomb-dwelling, chain-breaking man possessed by a legion of demons. Jesus cast the demons out and into a herd of swine.

In Mark 1:23-27 the example is not of a tomb-dweller, but a church-goer:
Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit cried out, "What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are--the Holy One of God!" "Be quiet!" said Jesus sternly. "Come out of him!" The evil spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek. The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, "What is this? A new teaching--and with authority! He even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey him."
Mark goes on to emphasize in verse 34 Jesus healing many who had various diseases, and also driving out many demons.

Jesus was not the only person confronting demons. Acts 8 tells us about a layman, Philip, one of the seven deacons chosen to help with food distribution in the church, casting out evil spirits.
Consequently, one of Christ's objectives is seen in I John 3:8:" ... The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work."

A Scouting Report
It is not wise to focus on satan’s shenanigans. God should be our focus; but, in our battle against the kingdom of darkness, 2 Cor.2:11 challenges us to not be ignorant of satan's schemes. It is beneficial for us to get a “scouting report.” Know the enemy’s tactics.

As a younger man, I coached college basketball. If my team had talent comparable to our next opposition, I felt confident that we would give them a real tussle and usually win, whether we had a scouting report on them or not. If we had less talent, a scouting report would help us understand the opposition’s strengths and weaknesses, evening out the odds, gaining us possible victory.

In scripture we see the twelve spies sent out by Israel to get a scouting report on Canaan. What kind of military strategy would be implemented to gain victory?
Likewise, let’s perform a cursory diagnosis, a scouting report on the evil one, not to focus on him and give him more credit then he is due, but to be a good soldier in spiritual warfare as we face the enemy, the prince of this world.

In our next post we'll examine satan’s Strategy With The Christian.

Know About the Enemy 2

We saw in yesterday’s blog the origination of evil – satan's demise. What caused it?

Pride: Isaiah 14:12-14 How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! You said in your heart, "I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High." satan wanted the glory due only to God - pride.

satan, who apparently was the chief of angels, desired to take God’s place, to usurp His authority. His pride and lust for power was the genesis of evil. He lost his position in heaven.

his demise: Jesus described satan’s fall in Luke 10:18: "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven...”
In The Revelation to John, chapter 12 verses 7-9, satan’s demise is described: And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down--that ancient serpent called the devil, or satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. (Verse 4 indicates that one third of the angels, called demons, were cast out with satan.)

satan’s Game Plan Has Not Changed
he still seeks to take God’s place of preeminence in our lives .1 Peter 5:8 explains: Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

satan’s work crew called demons, principalities, powers, or evil spirits seek to wreak havoc. Ephesians 6:12 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.

"Spiritual forces in the heavenly realms. 2 Kings 6:15-19 gives us a peek into that invisible world:

The invisible world:
2 Kings 6:15-18 When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. "Oh, my lord, what shall we do?" the servant asked. "Don't be afraid," the prophet answered. "Those who are with us are more than those who are with them." And Elisha prayed, "O LORD, open his eyes so he may see." Then the LORD opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. As the enemy came down toward him, Elisha prayed to the LORD, "Strike these people with blindness." So he struck them with blindness, as Elisha had asked.

The invisible world is just as real as the visible world. And in that invisible world there is spiritual warfare - a cosmic conflict, that was described in Ephesians 6:12 - warfare against spirtual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Tomorrow's blog will begin with Jesus' contact with satan.

Know About the Enemy

I believe the three greatest challenges we face as Christians are:


1. Know God (be journeying on that quest.) Scripture is clear: nothing is more important than knowing God. God speaking in Hosea 6:6 (TLB) says: "I don’t want your sacrifices - I want your love; I don’t want your offerings - I want you to know me."

2. Know self. It is impossible to integrate knowledge of God without knowing self. The Psalmist’s prayer of 139:23-4 "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."

3. We’ve examined the topics of knowing God and knowing self. The third segment of our study is: Know about the enemy. Examine with me, the enemy and his product: evil

CS Lewis writes in Joyful Christian, “God made all things good and for the sake of goodness; that one of the good things He made, namely, the free will of rational creatures, by its very nature included the possibility of evil; and that creatures, availing themselves of the possibility, have become evil.”
Lewis is saying that in God’s creation of goodness, He gave humans free will to choose. With that ability to choose, rational creatures have availed themselves of the potential of choosing evil and in the process have become evil.


In Genesis 8:21, we hear God saying, Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood.

The Source of Evil
The origination of evil and the ultimate example of this choice for evil is satan. The Bible has other names for him: the devil, accuser, adversary, angel of the bottomless pit, god of this world, murderer, prince of devils, prince of the power of the air, prince of this world, ruler of darkness, tempter, unclean spirit, wicked one.

So who is satan?
His origination -
Ezekiel 28:11-15 The word of the LORD came to me (Ezekiel): "Son of man, take up a lament concerning the king of Tyre (another name for satan) and say to him: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: "'You were the model of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz and emerald, chrysolite, onyx and jasper, sapphire, turquoise and beryl. Your settings and mountings were made of gold; on the day you were created they were prepared. You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you.

Satan, the model of perfection until wickedness took over.

Tomorrow we look at satan's problem.

Pain and self esteem

We might go so far as to assert that God loves adversity, not for the pain it produces but for the character it can create.

Crises and difficut cirmcumstances can potentially elicit the best in a person. A study of resilient adults revealed hardiness developed because individuals were sorely tested through suffering and emerged stronger than they believe they would have otherwise. As a result, they valued life greatly.

Counseling in the past has been labeled “The damaged model”, described by the cumulative effect of coping with life’s difficulties takes an inevitable roll, resulting in symptoms and behavior problems. This model can reinforce a victimization attitude.

We need to recognize that amid problems we also have God-given strengths that are able to be harnessed with hope and confidence that life can be faced productively, no matter the circumstances.

Crises and difficulties have the potential to either transform or destroy us. God uses the fallout from crises to refine and hone our understanding of his great love for us and His sovereignty in our lives, oviously resulting in a more positive self esteem.
Resiliency assumes:
V God created us in His image, Gen.1:27, 5:3
V We are of great value to God, Psa.8:4-9, Matt. 10:31
V God is sovereign and God is good, Eph.1:23, Psa.73:1, Psa.31:19
V God seeks the best for us, Jer.29:11, Psa.20:4
V God in His wisdom allows human suffering, 1Pet.4:12-13
V We have hope, Rom.12:12, 15:13; Eph.1:18, Heb.6:19 and 10:23
V In our obedience we surrender to the Lordship of Christ, Phil.3:13-14, 2 Cor.9:13

Louis Smedes: We need to suffer the cussed wrongness of life in order to find its deep righeousness. We have to feel pain we do not want to feel, carry burdens we do not want to carry, put up with misery we do not want to put up with, cry tears we do not want to shed. If we feel no hurt now, we will, when it is all said and done, be the most miserable of all people.
adapted from Marian Every

Self Image or Actual Image

YOUR SELF-IMAGE IS MORE POWERFUL THAN YOUR ACTUAL IMAGE
Dr. Maxwell Maltz was a plastic surgeon who became interested in "self-image psychology" because of his confusing observations of patients who had undergone plastic surgery. Some patients who only received minor facial changes changed their personality and life dramatically while others with greater facial changes didn't seem to change at all.

A boy with large ears had been told he looked like a taxi cab with both doors open and had been ridiculed all his life. He had become withdrawn and shy. After surgery he became much more outgoing.

Yet others, such as a shy Duchess who was given a truly beautiful face in surgery made no noticeable improvement in her personality. Maltz concluded that the reason was because these people continued to think of themselves as ugly, different, abnormal, or defective people. It was their self-image that was the main problem--not their actual physical appearance.

His conclusions caused him to begin to focus on improving people's self-image and eventually write books such as Psychocybernetics. For years this was one of the self-help books most frequently cited to me by clients as a book that had helped them change their lives.

One of my clients came in because she lacked confidence in herself--especially in meeting men and relating to them. Through her teen years she was grossly overweight. Only in the past few years had she taken good care of her body and lost weight. She was happy about that, but she said that she still saw herself as fat and ugly. In fact she was beautiful--she could have won a beauty contest.

I was amazed that she still saw herself as fat. We discovered that a message she had received from her mother was that it was wrong to show off and stand out. This part produced feelings of guilt whenever she tried to dress well or attempted to appreciate her own appearance. She would not even accept what she saw in the mirror.

It became important to reject these beliefs about being a "show off." She had to overcome those thoughts that interfered with her self-appreciation. To overcome her fear of self-appreciation, her repeated thoughts like, "It's wonderful to look at a flower and appreciate the beauty in it, and it's just as wonderful to look at myself and appreciate the beauty in my own body."

My good readers, are you in tune with your actual image as created by God and in the process of forming you into the unique individual He has created. Or, are you living out some of the childhood messages that say you are inadequate in some fashion? At the age of 69 I’m still eradicating some of those very strong negatives. Actual image over perceived image!

adapted from www

She Walks her Talk

One person who is truly living out her identity in Christ is Nancy Pitts. She and her husband Mark left the security of two significant jobs in Nampa, Idaho – Mark as Academic VP at NNU and Nancy, community pastor of a young thriving church - and are currently serving as missionaries in Kenya. I’ve previvously posted Mark’s story. Here is Nancy’s.

Behind the closed door of an elementary school bathroom stall, Nancy ate her lunch in quiet solitude, escaping the students who she assumed saw her as homely and geeky. But did they? Very possibly it was an incorrect observation, because by the time this California small-farm schoolgirl had graduated from high school she had achieved many honors in school and church.

Going to a small church college, Nancy had the opportunity to experience success as a lead actor in most of the school dramas, held many collegiate offices, became a cheerleader, was elected Homecoming Queen, and made lifelong friends.

Life took a twist when she met her future husband at college. The first time they met Gene announced that he hated people. Later on he made the statement that “women are like bird dogs, the more you kick them, the more they come back and lick your boots.”

As I interviewed Nancy, she responded to my shocked expression following her previously mentioned description of Gene: “My mother set the example of ‘marrying a man and changing him’ like she had done with my father. It worked for her. My father gave up his bad habits and became a committed Christian. He was a kind, gentle, and generous man but favored my sister over me. I saw in Gene, unconsciously, a man like my father who I could change and thus rewrite my childhood script of a rejecting father. I could fix my childhood.

What a mistake! Gene and I had a stormy, on and off relationship for 5 years during which time I was engaged to two other guys. But Gene kept coming back and when I finally told him there would be no more second chances he reluctantly asked me to marry him.”

“Gene was a preacher who made fun of me from the pulpit and treated parishioners harshly. As a result we didn’t last long at any church. He became more and more domineering, demanding that I submit to him as unto the Lord. We came to an impasse when I was pregnant with our fifth child. Gene insisted that I deliver at home as I had with our fourth child even though there were ominous and unexplainable physical problems during this pregnancy. When I prayed about whether to give birth at home, I heard a definite inner “no” from the Lord. When I told Gene what I felt the Lord had shown me, he said I hadn’t heard from God and needed to submit to his authority.

For the first time, I went against him and did what I knew was right. It was fortunate that I defied him because the baby was born with multiple medical problems and died at 16 days old. Later I found out that I had a rare adrenal tumor that would have killed me if I had given birth at home. Even after we found out about the tumor, Gene still insisted that I should have saved money and delivered the baby at home.

“His behavior became worse and reached a point where he crossed the line. I finally realized that I was no longer safe so got a restraining order and made him leave. Separation was a long process because “God hates divorce,” and I wanted to be an obedient Christian. Throughout my painful marriage, I had seen God as my captor. However, as I searched Scripture and spent time listening for God’s guidance I slowly came to the place of realizing that He was my Deliverer and was releasing me from the marriage covenant.

If there had been any sign of repentance or even acknowledgment from Gene about his abusiveness I would have tried to make the marriage work. However, there was not. So with grief about what should have been I made the decision to go ahead with the divorce proceedings.

Church people instead of judging and condemning me rallied around and supported me because they had observed first hand Gene’s demeaning cruelty to the children and me.
I’ve learned more about God’s loving grace from the loss of a failed marriage than I could have ever known without that painful experience. What I gained from the loss is: the deep knowing that God is all I need, that the Lord redeems our pain and uses it to minister to others, that He is a God of second chances (my marriage to Mark is a wonderful testament to that), and that He can use broken people in His Kingdom work (being missionaries to Kenya is proof of that).

“What a wonderful God we have…who so wonderfully comforts and strengthens us in our hardships and trials. So that when others are in trouble, needing our sympathy and encouragement, we can pass on to them this same help and comfort God has given us.” 2 Corinthians 2:3-4 LB

Who Are You 9 - Thoughts and Actions

How does this “New Creation”, this one who experiences real identity in Christ, think? How does he/she act?

In my discipline of solitude this morning, I studied Romans 12. The thought hit me – verses 9 to 21 are the ideal, compact description of the one walking closely with Christ. As I wrote them in my journal, I asked God to show me what I needed to work on the most. May I suggest this as an exercise for you?

Characteristics of one walking closely with Christ.
Love others - hate the wrong - delightfully honor each other - not lazy -

serve God with enthusiasm - rejoice in God’s plan for your life -

patient in trouble - pray always -help the needy -

be hospitable in the home- pray God’s blessings on one who mistreats you -

rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn-

work happily together- think and act with humility- revenge not-

honest- no quarreling -be a peacemaker- allow God to do your avenging-

provide food and drink for your enemy -conquer evil by doing good.

Following the study my prayer became, “Father, which one of these needs most work in my life? Empower me as You and I co-create this characteristic developmentally.”

Who Are You 8 - Our Real Identity

Hayden Williams, our grandson

Over the past few posts we've talked about Adam and Eve having a perfect connection with God - until the fall. Then, we looked at the description of the natural man controlled by self and satan . Our last post emphasized the importance of the natural man being replaced by the new creation. At the controls of the committed Christian's life is the Creator of the Universe. The new birth (beginning a walk with Christ) sees a resurrected spirit dimension that exercises control of and renews the mind, which in turn affects emotions, behavior and bodily functions. (We also know that a Christian can choose to run his own life. When we do that we learn from the teacher named "consequences.")

Having been a college basketball coach for years, indulge my desire to use a coaching analogy to explain the "Christ in me" phenomenen. NCAA rules state that a college basketball member cannot start practice before October 15. Yet, if you are on a campus before then, you’ll observe the basketball team going through all kinds of activities - legally.

Earlier that day, the coach has called his captain in and explained what he wanted done that afternoon. The captain carried out the coaches wishes and organized the team in conditioning drills or scrimmage, whatever the coach had required.

Stretch your theology a bit and see the spirit of the new creation indwelt by the Holy Spirit as the coach. The soul is captain and the body is player. The captain tells the player to carry out functions of the coach. The inner man (captain) directed by the indwelling Christ (Holy Spirit), empowers the body (player) to function at peace with itself and its environment. The coach, with all his experience, wisdom and power, is actually living through the captain and player, producing supernatural living.
Love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness, self-control, adequacy reach out from the coach, not only affecting captain and players’ attitudes and behavior, but spreading out to others for a redemptive ministry.

Jealousy, inadequacy, tension, laziness, etc., begin to disappear. Others observe the changing process. Interest is aroused. Others are brought to experience the new birth; spiritual growth is stimulated in dormant Christians because of the change observed in a person growing in Christ.

This sounds so wonderful and freeing. The old man (the person we were before coming to faith in Christ) is dead. Our essential being now is single nature, new creation. David Needham in his book "Birthright"says, “A Christian is not simply a person who gets forgiveness, who gets to go to heaven, who gets the Holy Spirit, who gets a new nature. Mark this - a Christian is a person who has become someone he was not before. He is a saint, a born child of God, a divine masterpiece, a child of light, a citizen of heaven.”

Question: Are you and I experiencing the benefits of being a divine masterpiece?

Who Are You 8 - Our Real Identity

We spoke in yesterday’s blog of God being our total Resource. We tend to look to others, however God is our only Source of stability for love and joy. Russell commented to the blog, “What about Genesis 2:18, which reads: The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him."

Tough question, Russell. I like it. How do you handle Genesis 2:18 contrasted with Philippians 4:19 “And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” Allow this non-theologian to take a stab at understanding this seeming contradiction.
I believe God’s basic plan for most people is marriage. Rare is the person with the gift of celibacy. But even in marriage, the tendency is to look to the spouse to meet our needs. When we feel those needs aren’t being met, we either become clingy and possessive, trying harder to get our needs met or we build a wall of hurt and resentment. Withdrawal from the intimate relationship usually results in the genesis of marital upheaval.

Consequently, Scripture would indicate that our primary source for meeting our deep longings and needs is God. Out of that well of resource, our focus becomes giving and serving our spouse rather than getting from our spouse. Giving over getting. When you have both parties in the relationship with this type of heart, the relationship becomes deeply fulfilling and meaningful. If only one of the two is engaged in this game plan, the one finds the exercise a personal strength producing training and the receiver stagnates in personal growth. Thus, the foundational truth is “My God shall supply all my needs.” Secondary truth is, “ it is not good for man to be alone.”

So, back to knowing who we really are in Christ, Ephesians chapters 1-3 describes this position and our possessions in Christ, then chapter 4:1 says “now live and act in a way worthy of those who have been chosen for such wonderful blessings as these.” Think like who you really are. Act like who you really are. King James version says: Now because of these things, walk ye in them.
This is our position in Christ. It begins with an awareness of what Christ has done and where we are in Him, but it also involves a daily walk: Luke 9:23 emphasizes this: Jesus speaking: “Anyone who wants to follow me must put aside his own desires and conveniences and carry his cross with him every day and keep close to me.”
We can all say “Yes, I’ve been wounded: sexual abuse, unfaithful spouse, abusive relationships, rejection. But that doesn’t need to contaminate who I am. I am now a child of God. I am in Christ. Christ in me healing me, forgiving that abusive person through me, loving that person through me. Christ is my esteem. My security and significance is in Him. It is no longer I but Christ who lives in me. Christ living through my temperament, my personality, my life experience.

I am now able to live a life of victory over pain, over abuse, over rejection, over sin because I have been made alive by the resurrection life Christ has imparted to me. By His grace, I am a saint - who can sin. That is my real identity.

And, God’s eye never leaves me. He promises to work everything for my good, according to Romans 8:28. In Matthew 7:11 Christ states, “If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
And Paul blows our minds Ephesians 3:20 with, “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us…
I close our thoughts today with the Living Bible’s version of Colossians 2:2-3, 6-7,9-10, “This is what I have asked of God for you: that you will be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love, and that you will have the rich experience of knowing Christ with real certainty and clear understanding. For God’s secret plan now at last made known, is Christ himself. In him lie hidden all the mighty, untapped treasures of wisdom and knowledge. And now just as you trusted Christ to save you, trust him, too, for each day’s problems; live in vital union with him. Let your roots grow down into him and draw up nourishment from him. See that you go on growing in the Lord and become strong and vigorous in the truth you were taught. Let our lives overflow with joy and thanksgiving for all he has done. For in Christ there is all of God in a human body; so you have everything when you have Christ, and you are filled with God through your union with Christ.

That is my prayer for you and me, dear reader.