THE TRUE BATTLE

It doesn’t help to point the fingers of blame if they are pointed at the wrong thing.  I must keep in mind that at the root of all evil are the schemes of the Satan, the enemy of God.  The events of this present darkness hovering over our world in this age reveal the results of abandoning God and denying the existence of evil and the schemes of Satan. 

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12). 

When I know this my anger will be channeled in the right direction.  This is the only way I can follow Jesus’ teaching of loving my enemies.  It enables me to have compassion on the people doing the harm and want to help them rather than hate them.  Jesus wished no harm or vengeance on anyone; not the one who betrayed him; not the one who denied him; not the ones who beat him and crucified him.  He continued to love them and asked God to forgive them.  Jesus washed Judas’ feet and Peter’s feet; he broke bread and drank wine, making a covenant with them.  He did these acts of love and kindness, looking beyond the faults and wrong choices, all in his darkest hour.

He knew the true enemy, the true battle, and why it had to be fought. It is the example he gave to me and all who follow him.

God created people free to make choices.  Their first choice was and is who they listen to and obey.  This choice will affect all of their actions.  This is the primary scheme of Satan; “Did God say?” and “If Jesus is the Son of God”. 

Beyond this physical world is a spiritual world and there is where the true battle is that fuels the battles we see manifested here on earth.  Satan wants worshippers and followers; God desires worshippers and followers.  Satan’s schemes are crafty, using deception, lies, and illusions.  God’s ways are clear, using truth, love, and life.  The choice lies in the heart and mind of every individual.

Evil is prevalent in the world today because we allow it to be.  We exalt and indulge flesh while at the same time we silence and stifle the spirit.  Satan is not stupid; he knows the places to attack.  Satan wants our kids and we have been handing them over to him for some time.  We crumble our foundations so that they have no firm place to stand; we dismantled the anchor so they are adrift in a sea of lies and illusions.  Little by little, generation by generation, it has been growing darker.  Now the darkness is so strong we can’t even see what we have done, so we adjust and adapt to it, which is just what Satan planned to happen.  But the battle is not over.

Christians are called to be light and salt in the world. We are told to be witnesses of all that Jesus taught and did.  When we do that God will reveal Himself and manifest His Spirit in wondrous ways. I experienced a great move of God upon the youth during the 70’s Jesus Movement.  It was as though God came and snatched kids right out of Satan’s hands; He gave them a firm foundation to stand on and an anchor to hold them steady, all in the person of Jesus Christ.  I experienced it then and I believe it will happen again.  God will do it but we can help by setting the stage.  Today we need:

   More intergenerational testimonials about how Jesus works in our lives.

   Less doctrine and more demonstration.

   Less preaching at and more presence with.

   Less proclaiming and more presentation.

   Less pulpit and more presence.

   Less sectarianism and more Holy Spirit.

   Less church affiliation and more Jesus affirmation.

Let’s gather together and set the stage.  Then let’s sit and watch God move.