Category: Spiritual Warfare

Straining Out Truth From Lies

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Nehemiah was an impressive man with a singular focus.  One of the things I most respect about him was his ability to discern truth from lies quickly and not to second-guess himself or God.  In Nehemiah chapter 6 his enemies hatch a scheme to derail him while he leads the people of Jerusalem in their wall re-building efforts.  The three schemers, Sanballat, Tobiah and Geshem repeatedly send messengers asking Nehemiah to stop work to come and meet with them.   When he refuses, they finally fabricate a lie to strike fear in him.  They write and tell him there are rumors that he is planning a revolt and offer to “confer together” with him.  I love Nehemiah’s response:  “I sent him this reply: ‘Nothing like what you are saying is happening; you are just making it up out of your head.’”  (Nehemiah 6:8)  Nehemiah goes on to explain:  “They were all trying to frighten us, thinking, ‘Their hands will get too weak for the work, and it will not be completed.’  But I prayed, “Now strengthen my hands.’”  (Nehemiah 6:9)

Nehemiah saw the lie for what it was and didn’t let it upset him.  He didn’t lose his focus or spend time fretting over what other people might be thinking about him.  He didn’t worry about politics because he knew he was doing the right thing and that he had the king’s support.   His only response to their threat was to pray for strength and continue building.

Nehemiah’s story gives a great example for what Satan often does in our lives.  Sometimes we are working steadily toward accomplishing God’s call for us when Satan slips in and sows seeds of deception to get us off track.  Sometimes he uses other people, as he did with Nehemiah, and sometimes he uses our own doubts and insecurities.

We see a clear example of this in the New Testament in a conversation between Jesus and Peter:

“From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.  Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. ‘Never, Lord!’ he said. ‘This shall never happen to you!’  Jesus turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.’”  (Matthew 16:21-23)

Peter was one of Jesus’ closest friends, but Jesus recognized Satan was using him. Peter’s words were dissuading Him from carrying out the very purpose for which He came to earth: to suffer and die for the sins of all people.  Although Peter didn’t understand his error, Jesus recognized that his friend’s “supportive” words were actually clouding His focus.

Jesus knew well that lies and deception came from one source.  In an earlier exchange He has with a group of Jews who refuse to accept Him He says:  “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. 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.” (John 8:44)

Both Jesus and Nehemiah immediately recognized Satan’s attempts to distract them from God’s goals for them.  Satan isn’t very creative and tends to grab from the same bag of tricks to derail us over and over again. The best way we can arm ourselves from falling for his lies is by knowing the truth of God’s word and having our gaze singularly focused on Him.  Satan wants nothing more than to render us ineffective by succumbing to our weaknesses and insecurities.  Lukewarm, complacent, insecure Christians rarely make an impact for the kingdom of God.

Our best defense against believing lies is being able to recognize God’s voice.  This happens when we spend time with Him and in His word consistently.  Jesus explains this using the metaphor of a shepherd (God) and His flock (us):  “The gatekeeper [shepherd] opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.”  (John 10:3-5)

There are many times in my life when I haven’t stopped to think about the voices I’m hearing.  Without God’s wisdom and discernment, I easily fall prey to Satan’s lies.  One of the fastest ways he does this is by causing me to focus on myself.  When I wallow in my feelings of inadequacy and insecurity I prevent myself from being used effectively for God’s purposes.  When I find my confidence in Christ and focus on God and what He can do through me, He moves in my life in powerful ways.  This can be as simple as taking my eyes off myself to smile at a stranger or as involved as saying “yes” to a ministry opportunity that is going to stretch me beyond my comfort zone.

A few years ago I attended a silent retreat sponsored through our church.  Included in the materials was a handout called “Three Voices” that provided wisdom for discerning between God’s voice, Satan’s voice and the world’s voice.  It has been like a spiritual and mental strainer for my mind.   All the internal and external voices I hear throughout the day get filtered through it.  I hold onto the voices containing God’s truth and discard the rest.  Over time, I’ve added to the list through my own experiences and observations.  I hope you’ll find it a useful tool as you learn to strain out truth and let the lies wash away.

Three Voices:

God’s Tone of Voice is:  soothing, quieting, peaceful, encouraging, invigorating, inspiring

Satan’s Tone of Voice is:  insistent, demanding, mesmerizing, hurried, rash, accusing, discouraging, doubt-producing, pride-building, vengeful, selfish, self-centered, critical, negative, defeating

The World’s Tone of Voice:  agrees with the world’s standards and attitudes, is driven to be accepted and acceptable, lets the culture set personal standards, compares self to others, believes we are what the world says, is fearful of what others think, seeks value in exterior and measurable qualities, constantly struggles to “measure up”

God’s Motives and Character:  builds relationships, empowers us, give us courage, provides wisdom, gives peace, stretches and challenges us, reassures us, convicts us to bring positive and healthy changes, offers grace, understands, forgives

Satan’s Motives and Character:  destroys, deceives, accuses, divides, isolates, turns people away form God, lies, makes us feel guilty, creates self-loathing, capitalizes on insecurities and doubts, exaggerates faults, magnifies misunderstandings

The World’s Motives and Character:  to please people, to fit in, to satisfy self, to look out for self, to judge self and others, to compare self to others

As you ponder the voices in your own life, let the verses below encourage you:

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”  –Romans 12:2

“And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.” –Philippians 1:9-11

Click on the link below to hear Jason Gray’s song “Remind Me Who I Am.”  It’s a great encouragement to keep our minds fixed on God’s truth and not to believe the lies that assault us throughout the day.

“City Gates, Soul Gates”


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In the Northern California climate, bare root roses are usually planted in January.  My husband and I moved into our house a number of years ago in mid-February.  So, for close to a year I eagerly anticipated the time when we could finally start our very own rose garden.  We went to a nursery and studied labels, carefully choosing the colors and varieties we wanted to plant along the side of our driveway in the front yard.

It was hard work digging holes and planting in the winter soil, but it was worth the effort when we envisioned the beautiful roses that would bloom a few months later.  We’d chosen colors in a variety of shades:  pink, yellow, white, red, coral and lavender.   They had names like “Mr. Lincoln” and “Touch of Class” embossed on metal tags hanging around the main stalks of the plants.  We kept them attached even after planting so we could remember their names later.

As winter turned to spring, green shoots and fat buds began to appear on our new rose plants.  I’d check them regularly– excited to see which colors would show first.   Then, one morning, I discovered all of the buds were gone.  It looked almost as if someone had come into our yard and snipped them off with a pair of clippers.  I was perplexed, angry and disappointed.  I couldn’t imagine who would have done such a thing.

Later that evening, as the sun was setting, a family of dear gracefully wandered into our yard.  As I moved to the window to watch them, I was horrified to discover they were brazenly snacking on my rose plants.  What had looked like a clean cut from a pair of garden shears had actually been the teeth of several deer.

When I went back to the nursery where we’d bought the roses to explain our predicament, the employee there was less than sympathetic:  “Yea, deer eat just about anything.  They don’t care about thorns.  I can sell you some stuff to spray on the flowers to make them taste bad, but you have to use it all the time.  Those deer are pretty tenacious.”

I bought the spray and tried it for a while, but finally gave up.  It smelled bad and the deer ate the blooms anyway.  For several years, we just relinquished any hope of ever seeing a bud, let alone a fully blooming rose.  I couldn’t even remember what color flowers we’d planted and had only the metal tags to remind me.

Finally, one winter we decided to risk uprooting our rose bushes and re-planting them in the backyard.  It would either kill them or give them a new lease on life.  We hoped they would survive the transplant and would thrive safely tucked behind our high fence where deer couldn’t get at them.  Sure enough, that spring, we began to see buds forming.  Eventually after years of waiting to see roses, our backyard was filled with blooms in a multitude of colors.  I could enjoy them from the window or clip them to put in vases or give them to friends.  All it took was guarding the roses from the hungry deer that devoured them.

Those roses were one of the first things I pictured as I read Kelly Minter’s words in the week 2 lesson of Nehemiah:  A Heart That Can Break.  Until I fenced them in for protection, they never reached their full blooming potential.  In the study, Minter describes how Nehemiah and his fellow Jews focused their attention on rebuilding the gates around the walls of Jerusalem.  She explains:  “Little is as important to a city as guarding the places where people come and go.  Jerusalem’s walls meant nothing without fortified gates—every door, bolt, and bar had to be scrutinized and secured.  This led me to think about the ‘gates’ in my life, what I allow to enter my seeing and hearing…The question became, ‘What am I allowing in and out?’  Have you ever wondered if ‘mindless entertainment’ might actually be a wide-open gate in your life by which many hurtful and deceiving ideas are sliding straight into your thinking?  What about the friendships you keep, the magazines you read, the conversations in which you choose to engage?  Are your doors open to uplifting, truth-telling and life-giving, or to what corrodes your soul?”  (p. 43).

If we’re not on our guards, the good things in our lives can be infiltrated and ruined by the enemy, just like my roses.  Proverbs 4:23 says it clearly:  “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”  I started thinking about the times in my life when I’ve let my guard down and have allowed my heart to be influenced in ways that are not beneficial to my walk with God.  See if you can relate to any of the areas below where your “soul gates” might need a bit of shoring up:

Entertainment

Kelly Minter mentioned in her video how people often excuse inappropriate subject matter because it is funny.  She pointed out that even sin can seem funny but that “if it put Jesus on the cross, it’s not funny.”  I started thinking about all the ways we can be entertained that have the potential to leave our “soul gates” wide open to ungodly influences.

-TV Shows and Movies: Often they subtly or blatantly give messages contrary to God’s teaching.  I think about this in relation to my kids and ask myself how their worldview might be shaped by what they’re seeing.  When we come across something that doesn’t fit with God’s word, we talk about it and point out the message that is contrary to God’s plans for us.    Talk shows and reality shows espouse unbiblical worldviews as much as dramas and sitcoms, so it’s important to consider them too.

-Music:  Song lyrics spout messages constantly.  I have one child who particularly enjoys listening to “hit music” on the radio.  Many of the songs are catchy and fun, but it’s important to listen to the message behind the beat.  Recently my son and I had a conversation about a song with the recurring line:  “Are you gonna stay the night/ Doesn’t mean we’re bound for life.”  He was a little annoyed and embarrassed when we talked about how the song’s message didn’t fit with God’s design for sex, but he listened and accepted what I said.  Now, when the song comes on we can joke about it and roll our eyes, realizing the not so subtle message it gives.  Sometimes my boys and I look up song lyrics online to clarify or discuss the content.  We can’t keep our kids or ourselves entirely in a bubble, but we can learn to recognize the way the world influences us so we don’t fall for it.

-Books:  We need to be wise about the non-fiction and fiction books we read.  Even those fun “beach reads” have an impact on our thought lives, for better or for worse.  Our imaginations have few limits and when they’re fed ideas that don’t fit with God’s plan, we are opening our “soul gates” unwisely.

-Websites/ Chat rooms/ Blogs:  The places we frequent on the Internet also impact our thought lives significantly and can lead to a breakdown in the walls around our souls.  Are you considering that with the content you absorb online?

-Magazines:  How are the articles you read influencing you?  Do the magazines you read make you wish for bigger and better material possessions?  Do they turn the personal lives of strangers into scintillating gossip?  Do they tempt you to eat and drink in ways that you’ll regret later?  Do they influence your worldview in ways that draw you closer to God or that pull you farther away from Him?

-Talk Radio:  Talk radio can fill our minds with ideas.  Do the people you listen to on the radio continually espouse specific views and label groups of people?  Do they vilify certain people or groups?  This happens easily on talk shows centered on politics.  Keep in mind, whether you agree with someone’s political views or not, they are still loved by God.  Sometimes when we draw political lines in the sand, it’s hard to reach out in love to people whose labels don’t match the ones with which we agree.

-E-mail forwards:  Do you think carefully before you forward “thought provoking” or “funny” e-mails to friends and family?  Do you think about how they have influenced you and how they might influence others?  Do you check to see if information you are forwarding is factual?  Do you think about whether the recipients need more e-mails in their inboxes?

The links below provide resources for reviewing movies, TV shows and other media.  They are a great way to screen in advance what you plan to watch or to let your kids watch.  The first is from Focus on the Family, the second is from Common Sense Media:

Home

http://www.commonsensemedia.org

A good guideline to keep in mind for entertainment is to think of Philippians 4:8

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”

Relationships

The people we spend time with influence us profoundly.  Here are a few questions to think about how they might be influencing you in different ways:

-Do the people you spend time with point you towards God or away from Him?

-Are your peers positive and encouraging or negative and bitter?

-The Bible calls us to be salt and light to a world in darkness—are you rubbing off on your non-Christian friends and acquaintances or are they rubbing off on you?

-If you’re married:  Do the people you spend time with make your marriage stronger? Do your friends know more about the highs and lows of your marriage than your spouse?  What parameters do you place around your interactions with the opposite sex? (Sometimes we may think we’ve been married too long for these things to be issues-yet our culture is full of marriages that crumble even after twenty, thirty or forty years.  We must be relentless in protecting our marriages at every stage in life.)

-Do you seek out friends to provide support and wisdom before you ever consider seeking God?  Kelly Minter cautions:  “Even well-meaning people can unintentionally draw us away from God’s will in our lives” (p.58).

-Do you spend time with people who take pleasure in being critical of others?

-How easy is it to get drawn into gossip in your circle of friends and acquaintances?

-Does the sarcasm and cynicism of others rub off on you?

-Do you spend time with people who expect you to “show well” and put up a façade?

-Do you downplay your faith around certain friends and acquaintances?

Colossians 3:1-17 provides some great instructions for relationships:

“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.  Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

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There are a lot of challenging issues to think and pray about in the paragraphs above.  If you’re feeling convicted, just keep this in mind:  the goal of these questions isn’t to make you feel guilty, but to help you find the places where your “soul gates” need strengthening.  Strong gates allow your spiritual garden to flourish and give God room to develop your potential.  Ask the Holy Spirit to keep your soul gates strong.  Let Him monitor what comes and goes through them.   You may not realize the ways you can bloom spiritually until you notice what is coming through your “soul gates” and guard against the things that will damage your walk with God.   I didn’t realize the beauty I was missing until we took the time to move our roses.  It was worth the effort.

Roses

For some additional perspective on this topic, click on the link below to hear Casting Crowns’ song “Slow Fade.”  It’s a great reminder for why keeping your “soul gates” intact is so important.

The Aftermath of Being “Punked”

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Beth Moore told a story in Faithful, Abundant, True:  Three Lives Going Deeper Still about a time when she was duped by a woman with a testimony that seemed too amazing to be true.  When Beth learned that she and her ministry had been deceived, one of her staff members said: “We’ve been punked!”

I decided to look up the word “punked” online to see some of the definitions for this slang term that has become popular in recent years.  Here are a few of the definitions I found:  punked:  A way to describe someone ripping a person off, tricking, teasing; humiliated completely, as in disrespected; putting oneself in a position of being open to ridicule; having been lied to or fooled.

Like Beth, I still wince when I think of a few times that I’ve been “punked” by Satan through hard circumstances with others.  While I’ve never had someone “punk” me in such a deliberate way, I’ve experienced my fair share of pain.  What I chose to do with the pain often led me down a path of being spiritually attacked. People may hurt us intentionally or unintentionally, but it is really Satan who does the “punking.”  First Peter 5:8 says it clearly:  “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”  When we’re hurt, we can either draw closer to God or look for unhealthy ways to cope that leave us spiritually vulnerable.

Looking back, it’s clear there were times when I made myself pretty easy prey for that prowling lion looking for someone to devour.  Beth Moore gave a big and extreme example of when Satan used a situation to “punk” her, but we all have situations that can lead to being “punked” by him. It’s just one of the down sides of living in a fallen world.  We can be sure that even if someone didn’t intentionally mean to “punk” us, Satan looks for ways to capitalize on our hurt and use it against us.  Here are a few situations he can use to “punk” us when we’re not staying alert:

-A pastor or ministry leader disappoints you personally causing you to withdraw from Christian community or to stop attending corporate worship services

-A pastor or ministry leader’s sinful nature is suddenly exposed and you stop trusting anyone in a leadership position and cynicism begins to take root in you

-Your tight knit community of friends fractures and goes its separate ways causing you to feel hurt and wary of engaging in deep relationships anymore

-Your spouse, friend or business partner betrays you, leaving you choking on your own bitterness and unable to see past your own problems

-Your teen or adult child seems to do the opposite of everything you taught him, leaving you disillusioned about the Christian parenting tools you thought were foolproof

-The ministry where you’ve been serving seems to be changing in a way that doesn’t fit with your vision so you disengage and stop seeking ways to use your gifts

-You have a difference of opinion with someone you serve with and decide it’s not worth it to be involved in ministry anymore

-A close friendship falls apart and your fear of being hurt prevents you from cultivating new friendships

If you can relate to any of the scenarios above, you are not alone.  What if it’s too late?  What if you’ve already been “punked?”   Here are a few thoughts on dealing with the aftermath and moving back into a place of health and wholeness.

-Don’t let being “punked” make you bitter

Ephesians 4:31 tells us:  “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.”  When bitterness takes root in us, it flavors everything in our lives negatively.  Bitter people rarely exude joy, peace, or grace.  It’s hard to share the love of Christ when bitterness plunges its roots deep into the soil of our lives.   Pray and ask God to remove the bitterness you feel welling up inside of you.

-Don’t lose trust in all people because you were burned

In Matthew 10:12-14 & 16 Jesus says:  “As you enter the home, give it your greeting. If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you. If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet…I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.”  Being shrewd and innocent means having discernment to know the difference between people who are trustworthy and people who are not.  It is unwise to assume the negative about all people you encounter because of one or two bad experiences.

-Pray against cynicism

Colossians 3:12-14  “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” Cynicism doesn’t coexist well with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness and love.  It makes us sarcastic, jaded and unable to be authentic in our relationships with others.

-Don’t lose sight of the other good things in your life

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18  “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”  Sometimes it’s easy to focus on the hurt we feel and to miss all of the other places good things are happening.  Good things and hard things usually co-exist in our lives.  We show wisdom when we can be thankful noticing the good and instead of fixating on the bad.

-Get help to access the tools you need for healing

Matthew 18:15-16 “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’”    Often we try to muscle through hard situations on our own when what we need is the help of others.  There was a time when the same person was repeatedly emotionally hurting me.  I was afraid to talk to anyone about it for fear of being a gossip.  When I finally confided in a wise friend, she spoke the truth and reassurance I desperately needed to hear.  Eventually a Christian counselor equipped me with the tools I needed to heal and learn from what I’d experienced.  The ways I grew by facing my pain caused much good to come from a very difficult situation.

-Practice Forgiveness

Matthew 6:14-15 says:  “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”  I don’t think I could say it any clearer.  If we love God, then we need to forgive.  This is a choice we make, not a feeling.  Think of forgiveness as a cycle that may need to repeat rather than a one-time transaction.  You’ll feel tremendous relief when you’re able to release your hurt at the feet of Jesus.

-Take time to heal, but don’t withdraw permanently

Matthew 5:14-16 says: “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”  Taking time to heal is healthy and good, but we can’t hide our lights forever.  If you need to push the “pause” button for a while to re-group, that is a good thing, just don’t let it become your new “normal.”  Hebrews 10:25-26 says:  “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

-Don’t let Satan sideline you and keep you from using your gifts to bless others

1 Peter 4:10 says: “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.”  If you’ve been hurt while serving in a specific area and want to step back, take some time to pray and see what is next.  Maybe there are some issues you need to confront in your current situation.  Maybe it is time for you to find a new place to plug in and use your gifts.  Just make sure you don’t leave any unfinished business behind before you move on.  Running from a difficult or frustrating situation doesn’t bring healing– it just delays it.

-Put on your spiritual armor

Ephesians 6:10-18  “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 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 Lord’s people.”  Be aware that you are vulnerable to spiritual attack and access the spiritual armor God gives you to stand firm against it.

Just in case you need a reminder if you’ve been “punked”, you are not alone.  You might be wondering how I compiled the list of suggestions above.  It’s all from personal experience.  I’ve let the messiness of life open me up to being “punked” by Satan more than once.  Hopefully, the things I’ve learned will bless you and enable you to avoid having to learn the hard way like I did.

There are many helpful resources to assist you if you’ve been “punked” and don’t want to find yourself there again.  A few books that have made a difference for me are:

Forgive and Forget by Lewis Smedes (Don’t let the title fool you- this book is about learning from your hurt so that you won’t be doomed to repeat it)

Boundaries by Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend

Safe People by Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend

If you have other resources that have helped you, please make a comment and share them with others.

Need a little encouragement right away?  Click on the link below to hear the song “Holding Nothing Back” by Ryan Stevenson. It will remind you that it’s best to keep our eyes on Jesus in the midst of our hurts and disappointments.  There is no better way to safeguard against getting “punked.”

Spiritual Eyes

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I’m in a serious state of denial.  I think I’m reaching that “certain age” where mature adults finally admit that they need a little boost with their vision.  Somehow, I can’t bring myself to make the trip to the store to buy a pair of reading glasses.  I guess it just makes me feel “old.”  (If you wear reading glasses, please don’t take that personally, it’s my silly little issue).  So, I’ve been compensating by using larger font sizes, squinting, or sneaking to put on my husband’s readers when no one is looking.  He came home from work the other day and caught me by surprise as I was writing at the computer.  As I turned to greet him, he laughed and said:  “You’re busted!!”  I’d forgotten to take off his reading glasses.   It was a funny, albeit humbling, moment.

I’ve been thinking about vision a lot lately and realizing that besides our physical eyes, God has also given us “spiritual eyes.”  And just like my physical vision is in need of a “boost,” we need to give our “spiritual eyes” a boost by asking God to open them for us.  I think many people spend a lifetime in spiritual blindness, missing out on all that God is doing in the world around them.  I don’t want to be one of those people.

Two of my favorite stories about spiritual vision come from opposite ends of the Bible.  One is in 2 Kings 6 and the other is in the book of Acts.

The story in 2 Kings 6:8-23 is about the prophet Elisha.  God has given him the divine ability to know the movements of Israel’s enemies in advance so that the Israelites can defend themselves.  Verse 10 says,  “Time and again Elisha warned the king, so that he was on his guard in such places.”  Elisha’s ability to discern the enemies’ plans enraged them, so they decided to try and capture him.  As the soldiers surrounded the city to close in on Elisha, his servant went into a panic:  “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.”

Elisha responds with complete confidence:  “Don’t be afraid… Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”  Then he 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.”

How cool is that?  One minute the servant is quaking in his sandals and the next he sees God’s holy army completely surrounding the enemy and protecting Elijah and him.  They were there all the time–he just didn’t have the eyes to see them.

The New Testament “vision” story I love takes place in Acts 9 when Saul is converted on the road to Damascus.  As he is on his way to persecute Christians, he encounters a blinding light from heaven accompanied by the voice of Jesus:  “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”  Jesus then gives Saul instructions to go to the city and find a specific disciple who will tell him what to do.  With the help of his companions, the blinded Saul travels to Damascus where he follows Jesus’ instructions.  He meets with a disciple named Ananias, who Jesus sends to heal Saul.  Ananias lays his hands on Saul saying  “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”  The text says: “Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again.  He got up and was baptized.”

I love that Saul’s physical sight was restored and that the Holy Spirit opened his spiritual eyes at the same time.  I love the instant change that occurred in Saul and that his first action was to get baptized as a believer.  From that moment on, his entire mission in life went from persecuting Christians to sharing the Good News of Christ.

I wonder, sometimes, if we need to pray for God to open our spiritual eyes a bit wider.  Are there things we’re missing because we’ve stopped staying in tune with the Spirit?  Are we getting apathetic and failing to look in wonder on God’s creation all around us?  Maybe we’ve lost our spiritual eyes to see a world crying out for compassion.  Do we realize that the same spiritual army that surrounded Elisha and his servant is at our beck and call?  Do we even recognize spiritual battles when they crop up?

IMG_5941 I like the way Priscilla Shirer says it:  “As believers, our spiritual eyes must detect God’s presence.  Once this happens, the opportunity unfolds for us to understand our calling and the vast inheritance we’ve been given to accomplish the tasks before us”  (Gideon p.44).

I think it’s challenging to have spiritual eyes in our western culture.  We pride ourselves on self-sufficiency.  We like to make things safe, comfortable and easy.  We have contingency plans and back up scenarios for everything.  We’re anesthetizing ourselves constantly with mindless entertainment.  We all run the risk of being lulled into letting our vision get fuzzy- kind of like my denial over needing reading glasses (yes, I am wearing my husband’s readers as I type this).

The more I write, the more it reminds me of Gideon’s community.  People had lost sight of who God was.  They had forgotten His power and His miracles.  They stopped worshipping Him and were influenced into worshipping the gods of those in the cultures around them.  And it happened in just one generation.

I don’t know about you, but reading that makes me want to ask the Spirit to sharpen my spiritual eyesight.  I want to discern where I’m growing lukewarm and letting our world direct my steps instead of God.  My prayer through Gideon is “Give me eyes to see you God.”

How about you?  Is it time for a spiritual vision check?  Time to see where things have gotten a little fuzzy?  Are there places where God is opening your eyes in new ways?  Make a comment below and tell us about it.

Finally, check out the three attached videos.  Each one deals with a slightly different aspect of our “spiritual vision.”

Chris Tomlin’s  “Whom Shall I Fear” will focus your “spiritual vision” on God’s hand of protection that surrounds you at all times.

Brandon Heath’s “Give Me Your Eyes” will fix your gaze on God’s heart of compassion and the ways He’s calling you to engage others.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mhpLjPslbM

Josh Wilson’s “Behind the Beauty” will remind you to see every aspect of creation as an opportunity to praise God for His incredible handiwork.

Accessing the Power of the Spirit

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If you’ve read any of my posts in the past year, you know that I love to mountain bike.  God seems to speak to me as I climb hills, pick my way through rocky spots and roll through shifting soil.  I’ve been riding for quite a few years without any major incidents.  There has been a minor crash or two, but nothing too serious.

Until this past summer, I’d never even gotten a flat tire.  And then, in the span of a few weeks, I got two.   Both times I was out on an early morning ride with a close girlfriend when I realized I’d run over a thorn and was losing air fast.  I’m embarrassed to admit it, but I’d never learned to change a flat (my only consolation was that she didn’t know either).  Our solution was to leave in the thorn to plug the hole and pump the tire back up.  I’d ride my bike as far as I could until the tire was too flat, then we’d stop and repeat the whole process.  Both times, I made it home with only a minor amount of walking after I’d parted ways with her.    Here’s the worst part, though.  In my “Camelbak” (a small backpack that holds water), I had a patch kit, a new tube and tire irons.  The problem was, I had no idea how to use them.

Years ago my husband lovingly placed all the needed tools to change a flat into my “Camelbak” so that I’d be prepared in an emergency.  The one thing we’d never taken time to do was make sure I knew how to use them.  I’ll admit it– I’m spoiled and let him do about 95% of my bike maintenance  (I pump up the tires and hose it off when it’s muddy, that’s about it).

After my second flat, I called my husband.  “I think it’s time for me to learn how to change a tire.”

That night, he gave me a lesson.  I wasn’t 100% confident in my abilities, however I at least knew the basics.

A few days later my husband and I went for a ride.  We’d been on the trail for about 20 minutes when I noticed my front tire going flat.  It was my third thorn of the summer after going years without a flat.   Very frustrating.

We pulled out our tools and I was actually somewhat helpful as my husband found the leak and repaired it with a patch.    So instead of turning around and limping my way home with a deflating tire that continually needed air, we were able to finish our ride and enjoy a sunny summer afternoon.

I’d had the tools on every ride– the difference was that now I knew how to use them.  Even better, I had someone there to help me.

Riding home I started thinking about the study we just started on Gideon.  In Week One of Priscilla Shirer says:

“Like it or not, spiritual warfare exists.  We may never take up arms with a shield and sword like Gideon, but we are no less in a battle every day.  We know it.  We feel it.  Victory requires constant effort to take ‘every thought captive to the obedience of Christ’ (2 Cor. 10:5).  By God’s Spirit, we can be successful—the same way the judges were”  (p. 31).

She then asks three penetrating questions:

1.  “Does the enemy have to think twice about his schemes against your family because of your watchful presence?”

2.  “Do the enemy’s attempts become quickly thwarted because you are alert and prayerful?”

3.  “Are you on guard and aware of the spiritual nature behind physical events in your life?”

I’ll translate her questions a different way to connect to my story:

Do we have the tools we need but fail to us them?

Or how about this:

Do we have the tools but not know how to use them?

God has given us his Word and the Holy Spirit–two incredibly powerful “tools” in our “Spiritual Camelbaks.”   But, have we taken the time to learn about them and how to use them?

Ephesians 6:10-18 is probably the most well-known passage relating to spiritual warfare:

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 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. 13 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. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

18 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 Lord’s people.

Take a look at verse 17.  Do you see it?  The sword of the Spirit is the word of God!  Knowing God’s word and relying on the Spirit are our best offensive weapons.


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Priscilla Shirer puts it this way:  “Our goal must be to flesh out the truths of God’s Word, open ourselves to His activity in our daily lives, learn from those who are doing it well, and seek to inspire others through our example”  (p. 35).

Time spent studying the Bible is time well spent.  Time spent studying it consistently with others is even better.  Asking God to fill you to overflowing with His Spirit is the best way to meet spiritual attack.

And just like my husband was there to teach me how to use my tools and to help me out on the trail when I got my flat, the Holy Spirit is always there with us once we’ve accepted Christ as our Savior.  When we’re involved in a Bible Study with others, we have them to help us along the way too.  Pray and invite more of His Presence into your life. Pray that God will open your eyes so that you can see where He is at work.  Then, sit back and enjoy the ride.