I'll stand!

The devil is a liar!! Yesterday I really came under attack from the enemy and felt myself getting unjustifiably angry at things. But in the evening I started reading a book that my friend lent me about spiritual warfare. It really put things into context and opened my eyes to the battle that we, as Christians, face every day whether we know it or not.

In the opening chapter, the author hears the voice of the Lord saying "This is the beginning of the enemy's last day army. This is Satan's ultimate deception. His greatest power of destruction is released when he uses Christians to attack one another. Throughout the ages he has used this army, but never has he been able to use so many for his evil purposes as he is now. Do not fear, I have an army, too. You must now stand and fight because there is no longer any place to hide from this war. You must fight for my kingdom, for truth, and for those who have been deceived"

What a wake-up call at such a powerful moment! At a time when I find it so easy to become frustrated at things I don't understand in other denominations, and even the stayed traditionalist attitudes of parts of my own "denomination", I'm reminded that this is exactly what the enemy uses to tear apart the Church. The book depicts vividly the way the enemy uses pride, jealousy, selfish ambition, impatience, unforgiveness and many others, to leave the Church to tear itself apart and render itself useless in the fight.

"So Jesus called them and spoke to them in parables: "How can Satan drive out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand." (Mark 3:23-25)

As the quote above says (from the book), we have a battle on our hands and we can no longer hide from it. For ages I mocked the whole "spiritual warfare" thing, I didn't understand it. But now my eyes are being opened and I realise how the devil is turning Christians upon themselves to render them useless and hinder the spread of the Kingdom.

Last week I took a Salvation Army flag and went and stood in the street outside my church with it. It was meant as a prank to welcome a friend back from holiday; but God had the last laugh and used the occasion to give me a nudge. As much as I normally don't like the traditional/symbolic aspects such as the flag, as I stood in the street and held the flag up I looked up at it just as a gust of breeze took hold of it. For a split second I was awestruck by the magnificence and splendour of it and was reminded that the only victors in this battle will be those that march united under the banner of Christ.

It is time to ready ourselves for the battle. It is time to stand united under the banner of Christ. It is time to put off "sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like" (Galatians 6:19-21). It is time to clothe ourselves in the full armour of God (Ephesians 6), not just parts of it. It is time to stand against the flaming darts of the enemy.

Another quote from the book which hit me; "You cannot win if you try to fight the enemy on his own ground. You must remain on My holy mountain"

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." (Galatians 2:20)

Bring it on!!