Deception

What if someone told you that there is a world around us, that is active, deceptive, engaged in, and infiltrating our lives.  This is not a physical world, but a spiritual one.  But don't let that decieve you.  It has more impact on your physical world than anything else.  It drives our physical world into caos.  It infiltrates our very minds, manipulating our cultures, not from a distance, but among us.  They are here. They are real.   Would you fight?  Would you stand up for what is true? What you stand up for what is right?  Would you develop a tactic to overcome your adversary? Would you unite with other people who believed in this invisible world?  Would you fight together with those that saw it for what it was?  This sounds like science fiction, like something written in the pages of a script for television.  But unlike what we see on television or read in books, this is actually REAL.......

Ephesians 6:12
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood (the physical world), but against the rulers (those attempting to control), against the authorities (those who define the rules) against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms (in the spiritual world - right among us, but unseen)."

This struggle as Paul defines it, is real.  It's not science fiction.  It is not outside my town.  I cannot operate within the confines of what I know, what I am comfortable with and escape that battle.  No, it is amoung our towns.  It is not outside our church.  In fact, our churches may be the center of the battlefields (if they are not, there may be something wrong with the church you attend).  It is not outside our circle of friends. No, the evil schemes are moving among those we love, among those we dislike, among us.  It is not outside our window.  The battle moves among our families, among our children, among our workplace.  It sits in the car with us. It lays down to sleep with us.  The battle is real.  It is constant. It is severe.  It is life and death.

Are you awake? Are you thinking of scrounging around for a defense? In this battle between the evil forces and those serving God, how do we defend ourselves?  How do we overcome something that we cannot see?  How do we begin to see or recognize the operations, motives, tactics, movements of our enemy so that we may position ourselves to withstand an attack? 

Ephesians 6:13-15
"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."

Today I want to examine part one, the belt of truth:

The Belt of Truth.  What truth?   The truth of who we are in this world?  The truth of who God is?  The truth of who our adversary, Satan is?  Truth as explained by the term "Wisdom" or "Knowledge"?  Truth as explained by the term "Reality"?  Truth as defined by "right" or "wrong"?  The short answer to these questions is "yes".  Truth as defined in scripture is "that which is opposed to falsehood".  It wraps the reality of Christ, the reality of our being, the reality of the struggle with sin and good and evil in this world, all into one.  The belt of truth opposes falsehood.  It opposes falsehood in our minds - deceptive thoughts, deceptive information, deceptive philosophies.  It opposes falsehood in our world - deceptive behavior, deceptive cultures, deceptive claims such as what will being you happiness, peace, or success.  It opposes falsehood in the spiritual realm -Christ said "I am the truth".  Christians can oppose falsehoods from satan just through thier faith in Christ!  We pick up the belt of truth when we wake up in the morning, and choose to follow Christ.  We wrap it around our midsection when we read the truth of scripture, the Holy Bible.  We buckle the clasps on the belt when we let these words of scripture infiltrate our hearts and minds, transforming who were were when we were a part of the world, and who we are in Christ.  We stand firm in our faith when we remember that this belt of truth only has power when it comes from God, and not of ourselves.  To build our defense, we carry the belt of truth to others when we share the gospel with them.  Our army is built out of those who recognize this battle and prepare thier hearts and minds for warfare. We stand firm knowing the enemy's tactics, and deflecting deception when it is fired upon us.

Lord, may I stand firm today in Truth.  May I recognize this battle and fight for the souls of others.  May I develop an urgency to spare someone a single day of torment by sharing the gospel.  Lord prepare me for battle.  Give me wisdom and understanding to oppose falsehood among me.  The falsehood of our world that tells me that what I do is never good enough.  The falsehood of our world that tells me not to try.  The falsehood of our world which tries to distract me from this urgent, powerful war waging among us.  May I focus on what truly matters today Lord, and find my strength on the battlefield within your arms.  Amen.

Captivity

In 2 Chronicles chapter 6, King Solomon offers up a prayer of dedication for the temple he has built for the Lord. Below is a section of verses selected from that prayer:

2 Chronicles 6:36-39 "When they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin—and you become angry with them and give them over to the enemy, who takes them captive to a land far away or near; and if they have a change of heart in the land where they are held captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captivity and say, 'We have sinned, we have done wrong and acted wickedly'; and if they turn back to you with all their heart and soul in the land of their captivity where they were taken, and pray toward the land you gave their fathers, toward the city you have chosen and toward the temple I have built for your Name; then from heaven, your dwelling place, hear their prayer and their pleas, and uphold their cause. And forgive your people, who have sinned against you."

Solomon definitely had a heart for his people, and an understanding of them. He notes that there is no one who does not sin, and asks the Lord to forgive them. These verses struck me today as I thought about people today. Re-read the passage above, and think of it applying to someone today, even to a believer. Do you know anyone that had an understanding of the Lord and yet the enemy has taken them captive? I know I do. In this prayer, the enemy was most likely other nations that would eventually conquer the future Israel and Judah territory. However, today we still face enemies. You might specifically identify this enemy as satan, who plots to draw people out of Christ, and into the world. It may be that the enemy that takes us captive is actually greed, fame, notoriety, or any distraction of this world. Colossians 2:8 reads "See to it, that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophies that depend on human traditions and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ." Have we been taken captive by hollow and deceptive philosophies? Evolution, materialism, self-sufficiency, the "it's all about me" mindset that is prevalent throughout our culture right now, - have any of these taken you captive? What about financial burdens? I can think of so many things that are part of this world that might take someone - including Christians - captive. We should ask ourselves, am I in captivity to anything or anyone?

In the section of Solomons prayer that I have identified above, he prays for people taken captive. One interesting thing to note, is that he first addresses who this captive might be. He uses the word "when" we sin against God. Not "if", not "those who sin", but "when" we sin. He goes on to say that this clearly applies to all humans, as there are none who do not sin. Solomon mentions that the Lord becomes angry when we sin (it appears he is addressing sin without remorse, even possibly habitual sin). The result of this anger is that God lets the enemy draw them in. Now, first we must address that the Lord is not the enemy. He is not making them be taken captive, he instead allows it to happen. Personally, I know I can do a pretty good job of getting myself into trouble, and praise the Lord that he protects me from some of my own undoing. When we choose to sin against God, he may remove the blessings he has given us, and allow us to be taken captive by those things we pursue. Remember that Solomon is talking about the captivity of EVERY believer and unbeliever. While the fact that we all might be captives at some point might be a tough pill to swallow, Solomon's prayer also offers some hope.

His prayer asks for the Lord to show mercy to those who are taken captive, and to forgive them, but it also outlines major steps on the part of the captive. So what are these conditions? Solomon outlines them as follows:
- have a change of heart
- repent and plead with the Lord
- Say, 'I have sinned, I have done wrong and acted wickedly'
- Turn back to the Lord with all your heart and soul
- pray to the Lord

And the promise which comes as a result of the above? Verse 39 states (paraphrased), "Then from heaven, his dwelling place, the Lord will hear your prayer and your pleas, and uphold your cause. And forgive His people, who have sinned against Him."

What a blessing that is! My friend, know that in the depths of captivity, the Lord is there! We must only turn to him, and away from our captors! But how do we do this? First of all, it is crucial that we recognize what and who it is that has taken us captive. We need to wage war against this enemy. However, this is a spiritual battle, not a physical one. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 "For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 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." Isn't it refreshing to know that our spiritual weapons through Christ and the Hold Spirit have divine power? THEY can demolish those strongholds, THEY can battle through the cultural lies we have bought into that are affecting our success in the Lord. However, that doesn't mean that we ask the Holy SPirit to get to work, and then run away from those sins. In greade school, we learn that running away only leads to a chase. No, leaving beihind those sins will not free you from them, for you may find yourself back as a captive to them down the road. Instead, Paul goes on to urge us by stating, that WE take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. See, we must turn around and face our captors. Face the lies that we have bought into, face the deception from the Devil, and bind them up! We must overcome our enemy by leaning on our strength from the Holy Spirit, who offers a defense for us. You see, our freedom in Christ includes not only freedom from the captivity and the sin we struggle with, but protection from the captor!

Lord, help me to identify any areas of my life that have been taken captive. Awaken me to the lies I have bought from our culture and from Satan, and give me the power to overcome them through your Holy Spirit. Father, I ask for your blessings on other believers, those who may have heard the gospel, but have fallen away. I pray that you may reach them in the depths of despair and struggle, in their dungeon of captivity, and call them home to you. May their hearts repent and pray to you, knowing that true freedom can only be found in Christ. Amen.

Memories of 9/11

This morning on the way to work I was listening to Focus on the Family and they had a guest speaker who was in the 2nd tower of the World Trade Center. A wing of the plane actually stuck into his exit door. As he recounted his miraculous escape to freedom, and how God had delivered him by using another man to help him, I couldn't help but think of all the others who may have prayed the same prayer for deliverance from the situation, but met their death instead. We will never know their stories or the peace that filled their hearts as they faced a certain death, the joy of knowing that today would be the day they met their Savior, or the gracious way many gave up their lives for their friend, showing what Christian brotherhood is all about. We also won't know about those who begged to understand why God was not answering their prayer for deliverance, those who did not find peace in that moment, and those who were in fear until the end. I would guess that even Christians fell into both of those categories. So what separated those who fell into the first group from those in the second? Was it their reliance and trust in our Father? Is it fair to say that those who fell into the second group had less faith? Was their faith overshadowed by the burdens of the moment, so much that the Grace of God could not be revealed to them?

This makes me think of my own life. When I am faced with trials, can I hear the Father calling me? Do I rest in the peace of His perfect will, or do I frantically try to find a solution on my own, which leads only to despair. I hate to admit that too often I fall into the latter group, why is that? I have faith, and I believe, but sometimes it is so hard to let go. Sometimes it is hard to understand that our Father has a love for me that surpasses understanding. In this love, he protects me from harm. That doesn't mean He "shelters" me, helping me to avoid any sort of trials in my life. It doesn't mean that the more I trust in Him, the easier life is, and the less troubles I will face. No, that type of understanding only leads to dissapointment, for it puts my fate back into my own hands......if I only tried harder, if I only spent more time in devotions or prayer. No, He is not a shelter to avoid the storm. But "GOD IS OUR REFUGE". In the midst of the storm, He provides a place of peace, a place of rest. Many times, we have to travel through the storm to get to the refuge, and after we are rested and filled, He encourages us to step back out into the storm. My God does not cause me to escape trials. Instead, He holds me through them, teaching me that if I can completely surrender, it is in His arms alone that I will find rest.

"Let the beloved of the Lord rest secure in Him, for He shields him all day long. And the one the Lord loves rests between His shoulders." ~ Deuteronomy 33:12

Beloved, may we rest in the grace and peace of God today. Amen