The Light We Bear

This is for the broken.  For the depressed, the wounded, the discouraged, for the addict, and for every human being that cries out in despair and wishes that they could be someone else.  This is for all of you who have been lied to, attacked, for those whose hearts have been shattered and scarred, for those who cannot go on.  Know that this is not the end.  Know that there is a tomorrow, that the story does not end here.  Do not despair.

For you are not a creature of darkness, although all the lies of the Enemy speak otherwise.  You are far more than flesh and blood, and you are not a being of desperate wickedness.  Though the Devil assaults you at every turn, and your very body seems to war against you, know this: that in your heart of hearts, in your deepest soul, in the most truest place of your being, you are good.

You are good.  Let this soak into your soul for a moment.  Absorb it, drink it in, like the parched ground drinks up fresh water.  You are good, and your God has not abandoned you.  For when your Father made you, he said, "It is good."  Doubt not, then, that you are still good, and think not that your perfection has been lost until eternity comes.  For it is still within you, though you have forgotten it.  Awaken your soul, delve into this lost place within you.  You were made unique, and pure.  Even though your flesh rebels against you daily, even though Satan's lies fly like arrows overhead, you are still a being of light, a beautiful creature, a wonderful soul.

For when the Messiah cried out and gave up his life, your body of sin died.  And when he arose on the third day, your perfect heart was restored to you.  He has taken your old self to the depths of Hell, cast it into the Lake of Fire to be burned up, and he has brought back the true you, given you back your lost perfection.

So then, despair no more, but rejoice, rejoice in yourself and your gifts!  Rejoice for those around you, for they are made as new!  If your gift is the gift of writing, then write as a messenger of the Lord.  If your gift is speaking, then let your words come like a storm upon the ocean.  If your gift is to be kind, then let all your brothers and sisters rejoice in your kindness.  If yours is the gift of thinking, then think on the deep things of life, and uncover the truths of life.  If your gift is of action, then do great things for the Kingdom of God.  The gifts that God has granted to us all are as grains of sand on the seashore, and a handful of each has been granted to us all.  So do not hold back, but let the sands flow, let your light shine out, bright and glorious in the power of the Father.  Rejoice in yourself, creature of light and love.  For you are good, and you are loved, and you have a place.  Take your seat at the table, and raise your glass with your brothers and sisters, and with the Messiah who has given your soul back to you.

This is not the end, but rather the beginning.

Part 2 - Fighting the Good Fight

"Fight the good fight for the true faith. Hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you, which you have confessed so well before many witnesses."
- 1 Timothy 6:12



"Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the Devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour."

- 1 Peter 5:8



"The Thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy. I come that they might have life, and have it to the full."

- John 10:10



"Fight the good fight". A "roaring lion", "devour". "steal, kill, and destroy". How have we missed all this?




You may have noticed the new background. I've changed it in accordance with the theme of today's post - namely, fighting the Devil. Our picture of "fighting the Devil" nowadays has been reduced to fighting off the temptation to sin, which is just a PART of Satan's schemes. He plays on our sinful flesh, tempts us, trying to get us to do things we shouldn't. However, this isn't all he does. You have to remember, Satan is very, very clever, and quite powerful. God gives us the power to fight him, through the Holy Spirit, but what do we do? We don't even see him.

"Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere."

- Ephesians 6:11-18 (NLT Bible)

"For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places." I think Paul's trying to tell us something here. If only we would stop and listen. Notice that he doesn't say "resisting", but rather "fighting", as in, battling. The "armor of God" analogy only solidifies this. Armor implies that we will be attacked. Not just tempted, attacked. And a sword? That implies that we're supposed to fight back. Not something you hear from most pulpits these days.

To put this in another light, I'd like to quote from 'The Message':

"And that about wraps it up. God is strong, and he wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way. This is no afternoon athletic contest that we’ll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels. Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life. God’s Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other’s spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out."

- Ephesians 6:10-18 (The Message Bible)

See what I'm getting at? God wants us strong. Why, if all we do is come into a building on Sunday mornings, sing a few songs, listen to a guy speak for an hour or so, say our farewells, and go about our week; if this is it, why do we need to be strong? Strong of voice? No, there's a lot more to the Christian life than we know. We're in a war. A war. "Well-made weapons of the best materials". As in, to fight with. This is a "life-or-death fight to the death against the Devil and all his angels". "You're up against far more than you can handle on your own." Don't go alone. But there's a slight problem. Satan's got us pinned down already, every last one of us. Time to dust off that armor, sharpen that sword, and start fighting. Fight for your heart.

What's our sword? Well, for one thing, the Word of God. We all know this. It's kryptonite for the demons. However, this isn't the only weapon we have. Prayer is an essential. We cannot go without it. Why does it work against the demons? The Holy Spirit endwells us, and our appeals go directly to the spiritual realm. And it's not just about asking God to send the demons away. We have to command them ourselves, in God's name. For even though we cannot stand for ourselves at this time, God made us to rule and subdue the Earth, remember? And that also applies to the spiritual realm. We can't survive on our own, but God has given us his power to fight them off.

And boy could we use it right about now.

"In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil." We will be attacked. It's a given. Satan's not gonna sit idly by while the people made in the very image of God take up their birthright and start shining out the glory God has restored to them. He hates God, and he hates anything that bears His glory. So, then, what are these "fiery arrows"? They can be quite varied. Anything from temptation of our sinful flesh, to condemnation through the words of a friend. Now, please note, Satan isn't able to possess Christians. Our true self has been purified, cleansed, made new and perfect. (Our true self and our sinful nature both exist at this moment, by the way.) Satan cannot indwell us. But he can certainly suggest to us. He may not be able to take control of us, but he can certainly put thoughts into our minds (not that this is the only way such thoughts come to us). If that seems weird, yes it is. If it seems impossible, keep in mind this is the second most powerful being in existence. A long way off from God, but still very powerful, and in charge of all the demons.

First off: pray. Pray like crazy. Pray that God will set your heart free, reveal Satan's spiritual strongholds, so that they may be uprooted. Pray that He would open your eyes to see the flaming arrows, and the attacks everyone suffers every day. Start using that Sword of the Spirit. God gave it to you for a reason. It's not a trophy. It's a weapon. Use it. Its full extent: the Word of God, and a direct line to God, giving us the ability to influence the spiritual realm through prayer. It's real, my friends, and cannot be ignored. To do so is a very, very bad idea, and you'll live most of your life in misery, wondering what the heck Jesus meant by a "rich and satisfying life", wondering why God is being so darn quiet. Truth is, he's talking to us, every single day. But our ears have been covered. We've been gagged, blindfolded, and had our ears plugged up. Satan's got us right where he wants us. Are you going to sit around and do nothing about it? I'm sure not.

Fight the good fight, my friends. Pray earnestly, use your armor and your weapons. The battle is still very much underway, and your Captain calls you forward. Will you answer the summons?

Part 1 - Lies About Christianity

   "A friend of mine recently handed me a program from a large and successful church somewhere in the Midwest.  It's a rather exemplary model of what the idea [of discipleship] has fallen to.  Their plan for discipleship involves, first, becoming a memeber of this particular church.  Then they encourage you to take a course on doctrine.  Be 'faithful' in attending the Sunday morning service and a small group fellowship.  Complete a special course on Christian growth.  Live a life that demonstrates clear evidence of spiritual growth.  Complete a class on evangelism.  Consistently look for opportunities to evangelize.  Complete a course on finances, one on marriage, and another on parenting (provided that you are married or a parent).  Complete a leadership training course, a hermeneutics course, a course on spiritual gifts, and another on biblical counseling.  Participate in missions.  Carry a significant local church ministry 'load'.
   You're probably surprised that I would question this sort of program; most churches are trying to get their folks to complete something like this, one way or another.  No doubt a great deal of helpful information is passed on.  But let me ask you: A program like this--does it teach a person how to apply principles, or how to walk with God?  They are not the same thing.  Change the content and any cult could do this.  I mean, Gandhi was a remarkable man; so was Lao-tzu, Confucius, or Thomas Jefferson.  They all had principles for a better life.  But only Christianity can teach you to walk with God."
- John Eldredge, "Waking the Dead"

The sad thing is, I'm inclined to agree with him.  Our picture of living a "Christian life" has been so warped, we only know about a tenth of the things we should, most of which are not principles, but rather much more important things.

For instance, our picture of eternal life.  The general mental picture I get, from what I've heard in the church, is that when we die, we'll go to a blindingly-white place in the sky somewhere, and life will be an infinite church service.  Yuck.  Luckily, that's not what God meant at all.  I mean, this is GOD we're talking about here.  And heaven is the most beautiful place we'll have ever seen, so amazing that our minds would explode if we went there now.  Take the description of the New Jerusalem, for instance:

   "And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God.  Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal.  Also she had a great and high wall with twelve gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west.
   Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.  And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city, its gates, and its wall.  The city is laid out as a square; its length is as great as its breadth.  And he measured the city with a reed: twelve thousand furlongs.  Its length, breadth, and height are equal.
  Then he measured its wall: one hundred and forty-four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel.  The construction of its wall was of jasper, and the city was pure gold, like clear glass.  The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones: the first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysophase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.  The twelve gates were twelve pearls: each individual gate was a single pearl.  And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.
- Revelation 21:10-21


   I included a little math about the size of the city, but I failed to account for square and cubic units of measurement, so it was a bit inaccurate.  But suffice it to say, the city is frickin' HUGE.  The whole thing made entirely of the purest gold, so pure that it's compared to glass.  Now, when he uses the word "like", it's important to note that he's finding the closest comparison there is that we'll understand.  However, this doesn't mean it's anything close to what it's being compared to.  Think about it.  A city made out of gold that's so pure that the closest comparison to its clarity is glass?  (Not the grimy, water-spotted, dirt-covered kind; the shiny, crystal-clear, not-even-sure-if-it's-there, run-into-it-cause-you-don't-see-it kind.)  And to think, that description probably doesn't even come close.
   The gates are made out of a single pearl, each.  The wall is 216 feet thick.  I think you're starting to get the picture.  This city is enormous, and the value of even one of its gates or a sliver of the wall are probably worth more than the combined currency of the entire world.  And this is just a city.  The world...well, imagine what it was like when it was first made.  The most beautiful garden you could imagine.  Even better, because it's been made better than new.  And our new bodies?  Probably capable of more than we would think humanly or superhumanly possible.  Never tired.  Never.  You could run laps around the world without stopping once.  Jumping over a lake would be a cinch.  And God is right there.  Think of the happiest moment of your life, those times when you thought your heart would explode with joy.  Multiply that by...well...infinity.  That's God.  Small wonder we're drawn so easily to things that promise to fill that empty spot inside us, that place that God was meant to be in.

   Okay, I think you're starting to get the idea now.  A pharisee God is not.  Or a sky-dweller.  Or anything else that makes you think super-sanitized, whitewashed, etc.  God is...well, he's a million times better than the best thing you could think of.  A beautiful sunset, overlooking the most gorgeous of views?  A finger-painting compared to what he can do.  Those moments of pure and overwhelming happiness?  A drop in the sea compared to what he is.  Do you really think the best he offers us in this life is a set of disciplines and principles to follow?  Hardly.
   Let's see...where was I?  Oh, yeah.  Eternal life.  This does mean we get to go to heaven when we die.  Awesome.  But, when he talks about life, he doesn't just mean in the afterlife.  He means now.  Life, right now.  And not just any life, but Life.  Life in intimate connection with him, letting him guide us, heal us, make us whole, let his glory shine through us, help us fulfill our role in his great Story on earth.  And when I say role, I mean spiritual gifts.  But, again, here we've missed out on an amazing offer God's given us.  We're also missing out on the bigger picture.
   This life is a war.  Yes, a real war.  Not just a war against the flesh, but also a war between the angels and the demons.  And we're in it.  Or rather, we should be in it.  Sadly, most of us aren't awake to this reality, and so we live out our days trying to do the right thing, trying to follow the principles and give our 10% tithe, wishing we could be a better person, or at least sin a little bit less, and wishing we weren't such a rotten, horrible person.  Most of this is a lie.  Deep down, if we have truly accepted Christ, we are good.  Our heart has been restored, replaced.  Yes, we still deal with the flesh, since we live in it, but the fact that we are, at heart, evil, is totally and completely wrong.
   Where does God send the Holy Spirit to dwell in us?  In our hearts.  We know for a fact that God cannot coexist with evil.  At all.  So how is this possible?  The only answer is that God has made our heart new, taken away its evil.  You doubt?  He's God.  What more do I need to say?
   The fact is, we're totally oblivious to the level at which Satan is at work.  You remember Satan.  The father of lies, the leader of the demons, the ancient serpent who decieves the whole world.  Well, he also decieves us, plays on our flesh, whispers lies about who we really are.  If you thought your heart was evil deep down, well then.  There's proof.  Satan has whispered lies to all of us, without exception.  He has vowed to tear down God's image-bearers, and he's done so quite successfully, it seems.  How many people do you see living out of their hearts, fully alive, without false fronts or fear?  Far too few, most likely.  Even the "got-it-all-together Christian" can be, and is, a false front, one that Satan convinces us to wear.  That sense of, "I can't let people know how bad it really is.  They wouldn't understand," that can come from Satan.  As can many other things.  For me, it's been, "You're just a pest.  No one really cares about you.  You'll never be a part of anything.  You'll never be able to get the girl you want," and on and on it goes.  So many lies, so many whispers.  He'll jump in at every opportunity, every chance to solidify your doubts or turn your perceptions into "facts".  He's hell-bent (literally) on destroying every last ounce of joy, freedom, and goodness you have.

   I'll continue this in a later post.  But remember: you are not evil at heart.  You are a good person, deep down.  Those lies about you are not true.  Do not give the Devil another inch.  Pray ferverently against him.  Pray for the freedom of your true heart.  See if I'm not right.