Spiritual Warfare is Not Casual Recreation
Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, And deep darkness the people; But the Lord will arise over you, And His glory will be seen upon you. (Isaiah 60:1-2)
This article begins a series to help you navigate the darkness and be among those whom God places His glory. Let’s begin with something on the light side.
It’s great being a Dad. One of my top-ten Dad-moments was watching Disney’s newest release, Beauty and the Beast, in a theater with my oldest daughter, Gabi. The movie was great, but there was an intense segment.
The villain Gaston incited a crowd to storm the Beast’s castle. The music got louder, the mob lit torches and sang a song punctuated with, Kill the Beast!
Five-year-old Gabi was frightened -so was I; she turned to me and said Daddy, what are they going to do to the Beast?!!
I faked like I was keeping it all together and said, don’t worry, the Beast will be okay. Thank God for happy endings.
Around that same time, our family watched a DVD of Disney’s, Bambi. I was enjoying the film when a shot rang out sending Bambi and his mother running for their lives.
More shots were fired and only Bambi made it to safety. How do these animators figure children can process all of this?
Fear is tangible and REAL for adults and children because fear is tangible and REAL. Fear has an advocate and proponent named satan; he plans to wreak havoc in your life and destroy you. He is behind the gross darkness covering the earth; the devil is not a fictional character.
My wife provided Sunday School instruction for children via Zoom for some months during the pandemic; I played a supporting role. One series was on Jesus the Good Shepherd, and another dealt with the Armor of God.
I routinely did a 5-7 minute teaching segment during the broadcasts in which I went over the lesson and showed images related to the content. Teaching on the Good Shepherd presented a bit of a challenge for me. How do you talk about the Good Shepherd without talking about the wolf?
It was difficult finding suitable images for children, and the same held true for videos depicting the interaction of sheep and wolves.
I came across this video of two wolves caught on camera sniffing around a sheep pen in daylight. These two returned that night, jumped over the fence, and mauled several sheep to death as you watched.
The video ended with a closeup of one of the wolves snarling with blood dripping out of its mouth. It was like looking at the face of the devil.
My wife and I came across age-appropriate material for the children. We emphasized their need to stay close to guardians and protectors and Jesus in particular, the Good Shepherd.
I’ve noticed people in churches getting excited whenever the topic of spiritual warfare comes up. I am not sure they appreciate the total depravity of the adversary and his wicked intentions.
Jesus sends us forth as sheep among wolves; therefore, we must be wise. A roving enemy opposes us; therefore, we must be alert. (Matthew 10:16; 1 Peter 5:8)
If you feel like you are catching hell at times, it is because you are surrounded by it.
Paul was in a Roman prison when he wrote his letter to the church at Ephesus. This great theological treatise unveils God’s grand strategy of the ages and ends with Paul’s charge to be strong in the Lord and the power of His might. He explains why:
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. (Ephesian 6:12)
I imagine a video of Ephesians 6:12. This video would be the back-story of the North American Slave Trade, the Holocaust, Sex Trafficking, Stalin’s purges, the Rape of Nanjing, regional genocides, and every act of violence ever perpetrated.
Spiritual Warfare is Not Casual Recreation. We are not to fear the devil. God has given us the armor and weapons to prevail against him and his entire pack.
You are a candidate to be a carrier of God’s glory. Darkness will not prevail over you. In the weeks to come we will unpack what it means to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. God’s glory SHALL be seen upon us. God Bless! Press On!! Kevin
