The great Imposter

*Quick Post*

Just a quick reminder to all of us. Satan is not only our enemy; he has no substance whatsoever. His entire existence is based on pretending to be something he is not, and never will be.

• Satan aspired to be God himself ( Isaiah 14:12-14)
• Satan masquerades as an angel of light, when in reality he emanates nothing but darkness and emptiness (2Cor 11:14)
• Satan could never be the Warrior- Protector Lion that Jesus Christ is, so he became a destroyer lion instead. (1Pet 5:8)

Yes, he is powerful and persuasive, but we can put Satan and his evil machinations under our feet, through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Poem:

God Boots

Savage dark fool
what’ll it take to get
rid of you?
Stubborn as a stunted mule
Forensically ice blue
Incident to
the slaughter house
that rules
the hearts of men
to their eternal doom

You’re the one I eschew
Drive the stake of the flag
clear through
the banner of the Most High God
as here I take a stand
with your puny dominion
under my shoe
the Lord of Heaven
my armored boots

11/29/2012

Rom 16:20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

Advertisement

Sabotage

Soldiers, mercenaries, terrorists.

Any of the above will do.

…

With a boldness unparalleled, these agents of warfare penetrate deep behind enemy lines. Their mission is clear; leave a wake of destruction through stealth, planting of minefields, and ambush of unsuspecting and unprepared combatants.

Even though multitudes of their fellow soldiers have been discovered, trapped and eliminated, they keep coming, undeterred as madmen from the denizens of Hell. Because that is exactly who they are.

The demonic minions of Satan never rest, never tire, never waver from the destruction of their enemy; which is that fellow or lady in the mirror, by the way.

Only one thing stops them in their tracks. One weapon that brings them to their knees.

“the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” [Eph 6:17]

And of course Jesus, who is the Living Word.

And He healed many who were ill with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He was not permitting the demons to speak, because they knew who He was. [Mark 1:34]

I implore you as I remind me:

1. Put on your armor and keep it on [Eph 6]

2. Guard your heart [Prov 4:23]

3. Pray and Read the Word, especially when the forces of evil strike, intent on sabotaging your heart and faith.

In the strong name of Jesus, Amen.

Poem:

War on Self

I declare war
on the ruinous me
the kind that sneaks around
and loves the darkness deep
Who suppresses Christ
in favor of emptiness

This man is marked for death –
so that the new creation
can thrive, cloaked in the Holy Spirit

Charge!
And do not stop
do not look back
until you have thrust the spear
deep into the blackened heart
and reclaimed the King’s territory

To Him be honor, glory and praise
Forever and always

07/24/13

Scare the Hell Out

Forgive the bluntness of the title, but we live in a time where we cannot mince words…

Matthew 12

43“When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. 44Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. 45Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.”

I’ve been thinking about these verses lately.  Thinking about the prospect of demonic house guests.  Thinking about the fact that Jesus spoke these words to the “Pharisees and teachers of the law.”  In other words to the very religious and pious of the day, the elite members of the church so to speak.  We might today claim to follow the law “religiously” but of course that is not humanly possible.  We might take pride in our religious fervor where none is founded.  We might, like the Pharisees ask Jesus for a sign, dictating terms to Him as if we were in any position to do so.

And then Jesus gives this very vivid example of spiritual warfare.  Although we may be lax in our discipline, demonic spirits will never be.  Although cast out of a particular soul, the spirit keeps looking for a new victim, even returning to its old host to see if the way is guarded.  And imagine his glee when he sees the door left completely open, wide enough for him and seven other hobo spirits he picked up along the way.

Only Christ will be sufficient.  Only the Holy Spirit’s indwelling and filling.  Only this will scare the Hell out.  And his seven demonic brothers with him.

Amen.

Shipwrecked

​Shipwrecked

Author’s Note:  I will be speaking frankly about the perils of allowing sin a foothold, even to the point of a believer embracing and loving sin more than their calling or ministry to the Kingdom.  I am speaking as a man, but temptation, sin, and destruction of faith can occur in the life of any believer.

1 Timothy 1:19

Keeping faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith.

2 Corinthians 11:25

Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep.

The Apostle Paul knew a thing or two [actually three] about shipwrecks.  In carrying out God’s mission to spread the gospel, Paul saw and experienced many hardships.  And a ship is a hard thing to slam into reef or rocks.

And thus, Paul – having experienced shipwreck firsthand three times – saw it as the perfect metaphor to describe what happens to certain believers in Jesus Christ who are sucked into temptation, sin, depravity, greed, pride, the lies of the Devil, perhaps even outright rebellion against God.  Essentially – usurping His rightful place on the throne of their hearts.  And suffering massive damage to their faith in the process.

…

Recently as last night I was told of a believer who is currently going through divorce.  He has led ministry groups in the church.  But now there is rumor of a long history of infidelity and affairs.  To be fair, I haven’t spoken with the man in question, or even confirmed the rumor.  But it brought to mind the devastation that Satan is wrecking on the church, especially with those in positions of ministry and leadership.  Particularly with men and sexual sin.

Several years ago, a pastor friend of mine recounted the story of a church elder who was widely respected in the community, led ministry and Bible study, started new churches, etc…  My friend relayed the story of an unnamed woman who came to him and described this elder often spending the night and getting up next to her in the morning.  The Elder was unmarried.

Unfortunately, I have other examples of shipwrecked ministry.

Of course, it doesn’t have to be sexual sin; it could be greed. It could be pride and desire for power and control.

I have seen the darkness of the soul, and I have no desire to see it again.  But always it looms, watching and waiting for an opportunity.

Here is the bottom line:  We can never, repeat – NEVER – take a day off from guarding and protecting our hearts and souls from the demonic forces that foment sin.  NEVER.  We can never take off the armor of God, never allow some shallow, worthless pleasure in this life take the place of Jesus Christ the Messiah in our hearts.  NEVER.  Never give in to the siren song of temptation that leads us to steer our ship of faith right into the rocks.  NEVER.

If you are struggling with a sin that is crippling your relationship with God, I am praying for you now.  Father, we say “we are only human”, or “we have needs,” but that is a lie from the devil, because we use it to rationalize and justify sin.  Forgive all of us who have glorified hedonistic pleasure, greed for money or material things, or the desire for power, as idols in place of you.  Cleanse us of all unrighteousness.  Give us a desire for more of You, then to be filled with the Spirit, to spread the gospel to others – who like us – struggle with sin.  Hurl our sin to the bottom of the sea and give us new hearts for You.  Turn our shipwrecks into monuments of lives radically changed; not drowned with sin, but rescued by the Life Preserver, Jesus Christ.  To Him be all honor, glory and praise, forever and ever, and in His mighty name I pray. Amen.