Boy, I’d really like to get away from politics and get back to telling stories about doing SERE stuff in the Air Force or jumping out of airplanes or something, but the world just seems to insist on going crazy.
It looks like it’s happening again. Another Virginia county’s school system is passing policy changes that will result in boys being authorized to use the girl’s restroom (and vice versa). Before you tune out on me though, hang in there just a bit longer.
You know, at some point you have to ask…since this fails the common sense test, what’s really going on here?
A little background first. Prince William County Schools Superintendent Dr. LaTanya McDade is citing safety as a reason to create an environment that physically endangers students. (Here’s my last post, which shows how well that idea works.) At a school board meeting earlier this month, she said “All Prince William County students have a fundamental right to access educational programs and facilities that are safe and supportive of their physical, emotional, social and academic needs…” She also said “It is our mission to ensure every school community is inclusive, appreciates diversity, students have a sense of belonging and are affirmed in their identity.”
Affirmation is that important, huh? Affirmation is supposed to be used when somebody does a good job at something. To the parents out there…if your kid comes home and tells you about some kind of destructive behavior they’re getting into, YOU are the one with more life experience and YOU are the one that can help guide them. You don’t need to let them figure everything out by themselves. I’m all for letting kids make their own mistakes at the smaller level so they learn about consequences and critical thinking, but I’d say that no-questions-asked affirmation isn’t always the way to go, you know? “Hey, Mom/Dad, look, Johnny from school gave me a cherry bomb and said I should light it and throw it into traffic!” “Oh, wow, that’s wonderful news! Here’s a lighter!”
Now, the school system has some legal basis for doing this. A lawsuit settled in the Virginia Supreme Court established that public schools cannot use gender identity to deny a transgender student the right to access the school’s programs and facilities consistent with the student’s gender identity. Whether you agree or disagree, the court is saying “hey, you need to provide every student an opportunity to use school programs regardless of what gender they claim to be.” The decision effectively made this the law in Virginia. That being the case, I’d expect more Virginia school systems to start heading this direction.
The “Common Sense Fail” comes in recognizing the status of a non-binary student but still forcing them into using a binary system. If you have an X and a Y chromosome but identify as something other than a male, you shouldn’t get to compete in girls’ sports. That same person gets to use the girl’s restroom because it makes them feel affirmed, yet there’s apparently no concern for the other girls who feel uncomfortable or afraid to be alone in the bathroom with that person.
To inject some common sense back into the debate, if you’re going to recognize an unlimited number of genders, that’s fine, but you’re going to need to provide separate bathroom facilities for each of them. You’re also going to need to have separate sports leagues for each of them. Prohibitively expensive? Yep. Wildly impractical to have a league that has only three athletes in the whole county? You betcha. Fairer and safer for the girls and boys in school? I think so.
It’s not about fairness though, is it? Nobody’s actually interested in solving this problem, they’re interested in exacerbating it. Our kids can’t even perform basic math proficiently. Meanwhile, China’s out there firing hypersonic missiles. Don’t worry, though…at least the U.S. has its first transgender four-star admiral. That leads me to the deeper question…what’s this really about? What’s the real reason this is happening? Like I said two posts ago, there’s opportunity in chaos, but who’s poised to take advantage? Those that are dividing are looking to seize something they don’t yet have, while those that are trying to unite are trying to make more opportunity available for everyone.
Another point to ponder. The Virginia Supreme Court has effectively legislated from the bench. The Court has decided what the law should mean. If you live in Virginia, the only way to alter this reality now is to elect politicians that will write laws that modify the current situation. If you’re legally registered to vote in Virginia, you have the opportunity to do exactly that in less than two weeks. Only two states are holding gubernatorial elections this November, and Virginia is one of them (New Jersey is the other). You have the chance to help choose who will make the laws over the next four years.
Lord Jesus, thank you so much that we can rest knowing You’ve got your hand on the wheel. I pray for protection for all those that will be affected by this policy change, for good people and common sense to prevail, and for God-fearing people to be elected, not just at the state and local level, but at high levels as well. Amen
On a local Christian radio station here in Northern Virginia, a couple of the afternoon hosts play a game called “Bible or Not.” They have three short phrases that sound kind of wise or religious, and a listener calls in and tries to determine whether they’re from the Bible or from somewhere else.
Let’s play a similar game. I’ll tell you a true story, and you guess whether it’s from Soviet Russia, Communist China, or present-day America. The story itself is true; you’re just trying to guess where it took place.
Ready? Here we go.
A school in the country was adopting a controversial policy that upset many parents. Many of the parents feared the policy would allow students to be physically harmed, and protested the change. The people in charge wanted the policy anyway, though, and it was enacted despite the parents’ concerns.
The parents ended up being right. One student took advantage of the policy and committed a crime against another student. Not just a little crime, a particularly heinous, “put you away for a long time” crime.
The crime was largely kept quiet. The next time the school board had a public meeting, the victim’s father showed up, hoping to shine a light on how the policy change had enabled the crime. Someone at the meeting asked if there had been any problems related to the policy change. The school board leaders said “not to my knowledge.” Enraged, the father relayed what happened to his child. Another attendee at the meeting informed the father that she did not believe the child’s claims, going so far as to insult the child’s mental capacity.
At that point the argument heated up, and law enforcement tried to escort the man out of the meeting where he could calm down. Wanting to stay and shed more light on the crime, things quickly escalated from a heated argument to several officers restraining the father and putting him in handcuffs.
He was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, and found guilty of both charges. The court sentenced him to 10 days in jail, all of which was suspended, contingent on one year of good behavior. The top prosecutor involved in the case then pursued a fine and anger management training for the man. This seems excessive for a man that simply wanted to share how a controversial policy brought physical and emotional harm to his child.
This man’s name is Scott Smith. He lives in Loudon County, Virginia, where the public school system allows students to use whatever restroom they’d like. He alleges that his daughter was sexually assaulted in the girls’ bathroom by a boy wearing a skirt. The nature of the allegations is extremely graphic and violent. The school system apparently tried to cover up an incident where a girl was beaten and raped in a public school. At the very least, school administrators claimed no knowledge of it, suggesting incompetence of the highest degree. I don’t really blame the cops for arresting him (they never know the back story, they only see what’s happening in front of them), but it’s unsettling that a pro-leniency prosecutor chose this incident to make an example out of, apparently trying to silence someone to help preserve a controversial agenda.
The daughter’s assailant was moved to a different school, and has allegedly assaulted a second victim.
And now, Scott Smith is near the top of someone’s list of domestic terrorists. Citing the case of Scott Smith, among others, the National School Boards Association has requested help from the U.S. Department of Justice to prosecute parents that get rowdy at school board meetings while protesting controversial items.
Your right to free speech doesn’t disappear overnight. It’s taken away little bits at a time. Elections matter. If there isn’t a good candidate in your local race, maybe you should throw your hat in the ring.
Christian influence used to dominate American culture. When you take a look at where our country is now, you can’t help but wonder: “how did this happen?”
It’s actually very interesting, in a terribly sad and depressing kind of way. This is a tactic that’s been used regularly throughout history. I’ll explain it a little and then show a couple of examples that one country has used recently. This is something that’s been done by insurgent groups, multiple nations throughout the world, and even the US.
When you have an existing political or social order where one force or social norm dominates the landscape, and a minor force or social norm desires to gain an increase in power relative to the dominant one, one of the strategies available to the underdog is a process called Strategic Subversion.
Strategic Subversion is a four-step process that can upend societies, and I believe that in America it has both already been done, and is still ongoing. I don’t know if this is the intent, or merely a side effect, but I believe its current use in America is leading Americans away from Christianity and Judeo-Christian values. (To be clear, I believe Americans have the right to practice any religion they choose so long as it doesn’t harm or infringe on the rights of others, but it’s something else entirely when someone intentionally pursues the widespread undermining of a religious system.)
There are different names for the four steps, but Strategic Subversion follows this basic sequence: Preparation, Destabilization, Flashpoint, Restabilization.
In the Preparation phase, the aspiring entity builds a network of players that prepares to seize opportunity and consolidate power when the time is right. Think of it as prepositioning allies to pick up the most important pieces when the existing system weakens and breaks. During the summer of 2020’s crazy civil unrest, flyers started showing up in my neighborhood. They said something like “think what the police are doing is unfair? Text ‘prosecute’ to xxxxx.” Why would anyone want a bunch of people texting them? It’s not a scam and they don’t make money from those texts, but what they’re doing is building an army. They’re gathering a list of phone numbers of sympathetic individuals that they can feed cherry-picked information to, aiming to inflame the emotions of people and inciting them to some sort of mass action at a later date.
Synchronize Watches!
During Destabilization, the aspiring entity sows the seeds that will allow for the Flashpoint to occur. It might include pushing the boundaries of what’s acceptable for the sake of seeing where the dominant power draws a line. In a revolution, the lesser power might attack government institutions (physical attacks, cyber attacks, or any other means of overwhelming the institution’s ability to conduct normal operations) in an attempt to demonstrate the current power’s inability to effectively provide services (electricity, water, food, safety, security, or any other basic need) to the populace. A benign example would be a college prank where a large portion of the student body checks out the maximum allowable number of books from the school library over time, and then everybody returns them all during the same half hour on a prearranged date. The library’s staff would not be able to provide normal services because they’d simply be overwhelmed by all the incoming books. Now imagine the same concept, but on a much more serious level, like engaging in a large number of crimes in a short amount of time. The police simply cannot get to all of them in a timely manner.
The Flashpoint is the most crucial of the four steps. It’s an unmistakable crisis that essentially causes mass confusion among the general populace and sets the plan in motion. During the confusion, the prepositioned players execute their pre-assigned tasks, which could be something as simple as intentionally making a bad situation worse, or could be as bad as assassinating a key figure. This is the phase that moves quickly…the people in the know seem to miraculously seize power before the general public has even figured out what’s going on.
Restabilization is the consolidation of the new order. It’s the cementing of power that makes it difficult or impossible for the deposed power to mount a counterattack and reclaim what it lost. Assassinations, imprisonments, sweeping new laws, reports of sudden swings in public opinion (which may or may not be true)…these are the things that make it very difficult for remaining pockets of the old order to bounce back. If all goes according to plan, the aspiring power has now become the ruling power and most of the serious challenges to its authority are eliminated or minimized through various means.
One of the artificial islands in the South China Sea
China can provide two recent examples. Ten to 15 years ago, the South China Sea (SCS) was highly disputed territory…many nations in the area had claims to its waters simply by virtue of their close proximity. Plenty of nations are closer to the SCS than China, but China wanted to expand its territory for various reasons (natural resources, additional buffer space, control of one of the busiest shipping regions in the world, etc.). As fishing vessels from different nations continued getting into disputes with each other in the area, China started sending armed vessels to the area to protect its fishing vessels. Soon after, it began putting armed troops in ankle-deep water on shoals in the SCS to stake claims to maritime features. Fast forward to today, and it’s manufactured islands in the area that now include military airstrips, from which China intends to consolidate Chinese control over huge swaths of the SCS, something to which China would otherwise have no authoritative claim. International maritime courts have declared China has no right to territorial claims near these manufactured islands, but the nation largely ignored the ruling. Officially, this territory is not internationally recognized as Chinese territorial waters, but if everybody stays out of the area, that’s essentially the new reality. That’s why the United States still conducts “Freedom of Navigation” cruises through the SCS; we send US naval vessels through territory China claims as its own, but which the international community does not recognize. China of course raises a stink each time we do it, but Chinese leaders know they have no legal claim to the area. If nobody sails through the area, China’s vision becomes the new order.
A more current example involves Taiwan. If you’re not up to speed on this one, the quick and dirty version is that when Communists rose up against the government and took over China in the late 1940s, the deposed government fled to an island roughly 100 miles off the coast…Taiwan. Ever since then, mainland China has been under Communist rule while a Democratic version of the pre-Communist Chinese Government has remained in place on Taiwan. As China gained power, many in the international community navigated this sticky situation by acknowledging only one of the governments, the Communist People’s Republic of China on the mainland, as the rightful China. The Democratic government still communicates with the U.S., but if we set up an American embassy on Taiwan, China would view this action as tantamount to an act of war. The fact that China, with all its might, has for the past 70+ years been unable to reclaim Taiwan and abolish the Democratic upstart just off its coast, has been a national embarrassment to the government. China intends to reclaim Taiwan by force, if necessary, and we could all be surprised by how soon this occurs. During the Trump administration, China played things a little cooler with Taiwan and would only send a few planes every now and then into Taiwanese airspace. Now, though, during the administration of a president China perceives as weak, bogged down with foreign and domestic crises, and unable to demonstrate military force or resolve, China regularly violates Taiwanese airspace with larger and larger incursions. This past Monday, 56 Chinese aircraft entered Taiwan’s airspace without permission. China is clearly challenging the norm in preparation for the Flashpoint, when it seizes Taiwan by force, arrests or kills Taiwan’s key leaders, destroys or takes over the island’s defenses, and sets up a naval perimeter the U.S. Navy would be hard-pressed to breach. At that point it will be difficult, if not impossible, to fight and recover Taiwan (and still have pre-flashpoint Taiwanese leaders reclaim power). I don’t believe the plan was to do it this early, but China may choose to seize the initiative before Australia builds up the submarine assets we’ve heard so much about in the news recently (the deal the French weren’t happy about), at a time when the U.S. administration will be reluctant to commit the U.S. Navy to the crisis, and when America is embroiled in domestic challenges to the point where its citizens don’t care about what’s happening on the other side of the world.
I use China as an example, but it’s certainly not the only nation employing the tactic. Remember how this post started out: how did such a pro-Christian nation get to where we are now? Slowly and persistently. This happens inside our own borders, by those who wish to tear down the existing power structure. The next time you find yourself standing palms up with shrugged shoulders, mouth agape, asking “what is happening?”, you may find yourself in the tail end of a destabilization phase. Chaos is the goal, because in chaos lies the opportunity to make big changes. Take a look around and ask yourself “who’s doing the dividing, and who’s doing the uniting?” The people doing the dividing are likely players (at least pawns) in the aspiring power’s plan.
Here’s one of the main takeaways from this post. This strategy is most effective when the people in the dominant role (the position being undermined) are not being proactive. I’d guess most Americans just want to go to work, get paid, raise their families, and try to improve their situation. That’s wonderful, but it probably means that if they’re focused on that, they’re not out to change society. Other people are, though. Don’t be passive. When you see evil or those with ill intent, confront it and/or call it out.
I don’t believe we’re anywhere near the horror of the Holocaust, but I bring it up to make a point. The situation for the Jews in 1940s Germany started getting bad way before concentration camps. By the time they were forced to walk around with yellow stars pinned on their clothes, it was too late. Don’t be afraid to learn from history, to push back (while you’re still able to), and to start moving this country back toward becoming a God-fearing one.
God, it’s getting bad down here. It feels like the country has turned its back on You. I know there are other Christians out there, but I sure don’t hear them as much as I hear everyone else. Help us collectively turn back to you as a nation and help us point others to You in the process. Amen
Over the past few weeks I’ve touched on how Satan commonly employs the same handful of tactics. I’ve covered how he wants to keep unbelievers unbelieving, and how he wants to water down the effectiveness of those that have become Christ-followers.
So where does that leave us in this epic spiritual struggle for the ages? Well, a historical anecdote might help set the stage:
After World War II, our ally Russia (then the USSR) started to walk down a different path from ours, and our two nations became enemies. It didn’t take long before both sides amassed enough nuclear weapons to destroy each other (and the rest of the world) several times over. In light of this massive weapons buildup, it became crucial that the two countries avoid a direct conflict, because it could very easily escalate into something with terrible consequences for the entire world.
American tanks facing off with Soviet tanks in Berlin
Most of the developed world split into two camps: one that sided with the Soviets and one that sided with the United States. The two sides had radically different ideologies, and both wanted to strengthen their position and gain additional allies. No corner of the world went untouched by this indirect conflict (or “Cold War”).
Both sides knew that war with one another could quickly escalate to global catastrophe. Yet with both sides armed to the teeth, they couldn’t help but rattle sabers at each other in various ways. Both superpowers turned to supporting smaller groups or nations in fights against someone from the other camp. This led to a series of “Proxy Wars.” The Korean War, the space race, the Vietnam War, numerous conflicts in Africa, Asia, and Oceania were all just different chapters of the same story: the US vs. the USSR.
That’s where we are in the spiritual battle right now. The real story has always been God vs. Satan, but the fight plays out across the globe in chapters, fought through Christians and non-Christians.
You and I are “proxies” in a certain sense. We speak on Christ’s behalf when sharing the gospel, and the enemy’s efforts are sometimes manifested, either intentionally or unintentionally, through other people. What’s so easy to do, and I want to caution everyone against this, is to slip into the trap of thinking that the proxy on the other side, the unbeliever, is the enemy. Absolutely not! Satan is the enemy; the proxy is a soul that can potentially be saved, join the Kingdom of God, and do great things for Him! This is so important. Have a look at what the Apostle Paul said in Ephesians:
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. – Ephesians 6:12
It’s very important to stress that although all people are inherently sinful, relatively few of them are malicious or openly hostile toward Christ and Christians. God can even take violent, hateful people and turn them into powerful assets for His kingdom (read the story of Saul’s conversion to Paul for an example). There’s nobody that God doesn’t love, and no matter how bad you think you’ve been (or how bad the worst person you can think of has been), God is willing to extend salvation to them if they accept Him as their Savior. We don’t know who those people will be, though, so it’s up to Christians (and this is where we often have trouble) to treat everyone as if God’s working on their heart to reveal Himself to them and bring them to salvation. This is where another Bible verse comes in:
Look, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. – Matthew 10:16
We’re supposed to be out in dangerous territory, spreading the gospel to people that haven’t heard it, and yes, to people that we believe will reject it or react violently to it. Proxies can harm us in multiple ways. We must balance between being on guard against them while showing them love, compassion, and the truth in the hopes that we help win them for Christ.
One of my favorite sayings is that you do not know what’s on the other side of your obedience. At some point you, as a Christian, will likely feel called to do something that makes you uncomfortable, and that’s by design. The Bible is full of stories of people that God stretched in some way to go do things they thought were impossible. God makes no pledge about giving you cushy assignments. He’ll take care of you…maybe not in the way you’d like, but if you follow through with what you’re supposed to do, you might be surprised at how things fall into place for you.
As I close today, I just want to reiterate that other people are not the enemy in our spiritual struggle; they are the prize! You will do nothing on your own to win them for Christ, but you have no idea what Christ will do through you according to His plan. Boldly accept His invitation to play a part in His master plan. You won’t be able to see where the road leads, but part of growing your faith is taking the first few steps without seeing where you’re going.
God didn’t offer to let us be choosy about the people to whom we bring the Gospel. They all need to hear it, and you might be the only chance someone gets to hear it.
Today we wrap up the discussion on Red Teaming humanity…looking through the adversary’s eyes at how to fight against God’s plan for individual people.
In the way of review, let’s take a look back at what we’ve covered so far.
Part 1 of the series set the stage and described the likely mentality of the enemy we’re dealing with.
After that, to help as a memory aid, everything is arranged in groups of three that all start with the same letter. In Part 2 we looked at the basic steps God uses to lead someone to faith, along with the tools Satan uses to counter any or all of them. Whereas God addresses a Wanderer, then Wakens them by revealing Himself to them, after which they begin their Walk with Him, Satan takes a different approach. He’ll try to Fulfill the longings of the wanderer through other means, Fight the wakening by inciting chaos in the person’s life, and try to Flatten their walk if it turns out they’re serious about following Christ.
Last time, in Part 3, we started looking at how our adversary attacks Christians. If the goal is to prevent Christians from using their God-given gifts, talents, and resources to grow the Kingdom of God, many of the techniques he uses boil down to Dividing them so they cannot function as a cohesive team, Distracting them from what they should be focused on, and Delaying them from taking action.
Today we look at how Christians can combat the effectiveness of the tactics in Part 3. It’s very simple. Christians maximize their effectiveness in working for the Lord when they follow the three Gs:
Gather, Grow, and Go.
It’s so simple that it’s easy to overlook. Right now, though, it’s so important to understand these three Gs and follow through with them.
The Bible instructs us to Gather. Alone we are vulnerable to fear, quicker to question whether living a life of service to the Lord is worth pursuing, and prone to give up more easily. Together we can spur each other on to overcome those obstacles and encourage one another. Iron sharpens iron.
And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. – Hebrews 10:24-25
For where two or three gather together in My name, there am I with them. –Matthew 18:20
And though one may be overpowered, two can resist. Moreover, a cord of three strands is not quickly broken. –Ecclesiastes 4:12
Today’s world looks very different than most people would have imagined a year ago. We’ve all essentially been thrown into pioneer roles; we’re figuring out what “gather” looks like as we go right now. There may be a few places that are largely unaffected, but for the most part, if you’re physically going to church these days, you’re probably wearing a mask at least part of the time and you’re not sitting as close to others as you normally would. If you’re not going in person you might still get to hear the worship and sermon through online church, but it’s very hard to actually connect with people that way. As restrictions ease and we’re allowed more social freedoms, I encourage you to make an effort to get back to church, even if you have to sing with a mask on. There simply is no substitute for physically being in the same room with other believers.
It’s essential to find other means of meeting with fellow believers, especially if you consider yourself part of an at-risk demographic or if your church will undergo an extended period of time without being able to physically meet. Online meetings can work, conference calls can work, but I’d encourage you to be physically present with other believers SOMEhow. Outside-the-box thinking may help here; if it’s with just one or two other people, you can meet for coffee or in a park and maintain a decent distance between yourselves and still be close enough for great conversation that builds, encourages, and lifts up one another. If it’s a larger group, you can do the same thing or get more creative. It’s probably going to be awhile before we can have widespread potlucks again, but in the meantime, we can have get-togethers in church parking lots for example. If you have a big group of folks at your church that are just longing for time together, have everyone bring a camp chair and a bottle of water and sit, one person per parking space, and rearrange the group every 10 minutes or so. It’s important to have opportunities both for unstructured fellowship as well as those that are meant to build one another up.
Gather and Grow often go hand in hand. While you can watch videos and study the Bible on your own, living life as part of a community of Christian believers will help you really learn and embrace the Bible’s teachings. Other people see things in scripture that you don’t; you have experiences and interests that are different from other peoples’. Together you collectively bring more than what you have on your own. Much of the growing occurs as you read the Bible and supporting material on your own, but another big chunk of it also happens as you interact with other Christians. You can grow by learning from other believers, and on the flip side you can grow by mentoring other believers. Growth happens when you’re together.
When it comes to Go, the distinguishing characteristic of Christians is supposed to be the way they show love for one another. John 13:34-35 says A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.
Unbelievers are supposed to see Christians in action and know who we are by the way we love and care for people. You don’t have to go far to Go. There are limitless ways to show love to your neighbor, and your neighbor is…anyone and everyone. It’s not just people you know and have a good relationship with. Everyone has physical needs. Everyone needs human contact. Everyone needs a little shot of optimism, especially these days. If you can provide any of those things in a way that would make God smile, that might be exactly what He’s looking at you to do. It could be digging wells in a far-off land, going on a missions trip elsewhere in your own country, or taking a meal to a lonely shut-in in your neighborhood. There is literally no limit to the number of ways you can show love and compassion to someone that needs it, and your acts of love make people more willing to listen to what you have to say about Christ.
Congratulations! You’ve made it to the end of this series. I’ve said it a number of times before on this blog, but it bears repeating in light of what we’ve been covering. Christians are empowered to do much more than what they think they are capable of doing, and it’s because the power of the Holy Spirit resides in them. If you consider yourself a Christ-follower, I urge you to take up the challenge you find before you; seek direction through prayer and move out with confidence. Not confidence in your abilities and prowess, mind you, confidence in the one that holds your life in His hands. Sometimes God prepares you for years to perform a given task, but other times you witness a need that anyone can fulfill, and you just happen to be the only “anyone” around. Please…be willing to let God work through you. You have no idea what events your obedience will set in motion.
In closing, I’ll say that as a Christian you should expect opposition. I recently heard it described as “if you’re holding the football, you’re going to get tackled.” Don’t be surprised when it happens, because it’s going to happen. It’s not the end of the game though. You can head to the sidelines for a break and for talking some strategy with teammates, but if you sit down and don’t plan to get up off the bench again, the other team has nothing to fear from you. In this game, the Coach is going to walk down the sidelines, point His finger at you, and tell you to get out there. It’s going to be scary, you’re not going to know how it’s all going to turn out, and you may end up having to be carried off the field. Just remember that you’re on the winning team and you’re not alone out there. Rely on your teammates and let them know they can rely on you. The Coach wouldn’t have pointed at you if He didn’t think you could do it.
Gather, Grow, and Go.
You hold more worth and value to God’s Kingdom than you can possibly imagine. There’s no ceiling as far as what God can do through His truly dedicated followers, but only He knows His plans for your life. Subscribe or check back every week for encouragement in reaching your God-given potential!
Last time we covered how Satan tries to keep unbelievers from believing. This time we’ll take a look at how he tries to keep Christians on the couch.
From Satan’s perspective the real danger of losing a soul to Christianity is not that his kingdom shrinks, it’s that he has absolutely no idea how Christ will use this new asset to build His kingdom. For the people that become Christians, Satan wants to stifle their growth as much as possible so their relationship with God suffers and they don’t become effective at bringing others to a saving faith. He wants to prevent walkers from maturing to the point that they can enable other unsaved souls to become walkers.
If Satan wants to limit the impact of his losses, he’ll do what he can to prevent Christians from using their spiritual gifts or submitting themselves to Christ’s plan. He ultimately wants Christians to die with untapped potential. What kind of Christian do you think Satan likes better, a passionate Billy Graham, or an apathetic average Joe that got saved as a kid, but whose only present-day indication of faith is going to church on Christmas Eve? Clearly, he’d rather have a world full of couch-potato Christians; they don’t even have an impact that he needs to counter!
Well, let’s get to it. How do you keep Christians on the couch instead of in the trenches?
It turns out there are a variety of ways. God made people with different personalities and vulnerabilities. Everyone is susceptible to something. There’s a group of well-used tactics in Satan’s bag of tricks; if one doesn’t work, he’ll try another, then another, until he finds something that shows promise. (You may recognize a particular weakness in your own life that prevents you from being used by God to do greater things than you’ve done up to this point.)
None of the tactics are overly complicated, but there are many different ways to employ them. Think of it in terms of Satan having a dossier on you. He knows what works on you and what doesn’t. For some it’s ego. For others it’s jealousy or fear. Some people have major problems with anger, while others are crippled by depression or doubts that God could forgive the things they’ve done. You don’t think Satan’s figured you out and takes advantage of your personality quirks and triggers? Although one person may not have a problem with lust or pornography, it can absolutely shatter the ministry effectiveness of another. The same holds true with drug addiction, insecurity, arrogance, self-pity, apathy, or any number of other ways to take you off mission…Satan has a tailored attack plan for you that will give him the best chance of minimizing your effectiveness as a Christian in ministering to others.
In the last post I named three general steps God takes to bring a person to faith, and three methods Satan takes to combat those steps. For the Christian, I’m going to reverse it by giving you Satan’s tactics first. When it comes to marginalizing a Christian’s effectiveness, he uses the three Ds.
The many tools Satan uses to keep Christians from doing God’s work can largely be categorized into three groups: Divide them to make unity impossible, Distract them from what’s really important, and Delay them from actually doing anything in God’s plan.
Let’s talk “Divide” first. Ever see a schism in a church? It’s ugly. What happens to the people in that church? They may have been focused on going out into the world to preach Christ at one point, but if the right issue comes to the forefront, a surprising number of parishioners give in to things that Christians should not fall prey to. Back biting, gossip, pettiness, bitterness and grudges are some of the big ones. Is that church an effective light to the world at that point? While it’s true that church splits sometimes happen for good reason, the fallout can hobble many Christ followers’ effectiveness and cause long-lasting divisions. Anything that divides Christians compromises their ability to serve God as a unit.
This is just an example of a single church in a single community. We’re living in the most divided period our country has been at any point in recent memory. Try to get churches across the nation to agree on and endorse a political party. Some pick the party that helps the poor. Others pick the party that believes life begins at conception. Are these not both Christian values? Why do we have to choose to embrace one and ignore the other? Division is built in. How can one side be pro-life, yet be pro-death penalty? On the other hand, how will you help the poor by de-funding the police?
Talking politics tends to get people going. If that paragraph made your blood pressure start to rise, it’s a perfect illustration of how effective division can be. Do you get as heated or willing to give a response when someone puts down Christian values? In the grand scheme of things, Christians around the world should probably have the same views and be the most willing to reach out to other cultures because we all have Jesus as our model. It’s not that Jesus is so different to various countries and cultures around the world, it’s that we view Him and His teachings through many different prisms. We have the same model, but we’re quite divided about our opinions of what’s important and what’s not.
This concept overlaps with “Distract,” too. At the most basic level, a distraction is something that siphons time, focus, and effort from a primary objective. If you’re a Christian, your two main objectives in this life are to draw closer to Him and share Him with others. Anything that takes away from your ability to do that is a distraction.
We don’t always have large events that distract us, but we instead fall victim to general busy-ness. Our schedules are so full that we don’t have much time to proactively pursue God’s calling for our lives. Being busy doesn’t make us bad people, but we need to be clear-headed and understand that busy-ness doesn’t directly translate into good use of time, nor is it an excuse to duck the plans God has for you. In order to get a handle on our lives we have to be intentional; we have to manage our calendars rather than allow our calendars to manage us. It falls to us individually to make God’s calling for our lives a priority.
Finally, Satan uses “Delay” as a class of tactics. Think back to when you were a kid. What were your dreams for when you got older? What did you want to be when you grew up? Are you that today? If not, why not; did something unforeseen come up? Maybe a little more recently for some, what big vacation plans did you and your significant other envision early in your relationship? If you haven’t done it yet, and the years have started to get away from you, it may now be too late to do it. Rarely does a single, large event derail the intentions, but more commonly a variety of things get in the way to ensure “someday” never arrives.
This is the same principle Satan hopes for with “delay.” If the adversary can postpone your big plans for doing God’s will even by a short amount of time, a new day can bring a whole new set of circumstances. Your enthusiasm to take on new responsibility in an organization died a slow death after your accident. You’re still willing to go on that missions trip, but the opportunity died when Coronavirus emerged. You’re not promised tomorrow. You’re not even promised the rest of today. All you have is right now, and if you don’t make use of it, your future will be imposed on you, rather than be influenced by you. You can serve God in a way that only you can, but it takes conscious, devoted, and persistent effort.
Boy, I run out of room quickly when I take on complex topics. Time for a quick review. Many of the enemy’s tools can be boiled down into the three Ds: Divide, Distract, and Delay. It’s important for individual Christians to learn what they’re vulnerable to, and to learn to recognize when it’s happening to them. The goal is to have no more unrealized potential left when you pass from this life into eternity. To borrow from author Erwin McManus’ book, how many unused arrows will still be in your quiver when you die?
We are under constant attack, it’s true, but take heart! In the final installment of this series, I’ll touch on the three items Christ followers can use to fight against the enemy’s three Ds. If it feels like you’re alone in this fight, it’s by design. I can assure you that you are not alone, but you may have to do some reaching out.
Subscribe or check back next Thursday for the final installment in the series “Red Teaming Humanity!”
Let’s problem-solve for a bit. If you’re Satan, lashing out against God by trying to rob Him of the joy of humans receiving salvation, how do you go about doing it?
Well, it might help to take a look at the process God uses to bring the lost to faith, then use whatever means are necessary to interrupt or counter any of the steps in that process.
Let’s establish a few assumptions. First, ever since the fall of Adam and Eve, we all live with something called “original sin.” That means we’re born with a sinful nature, and our default setting when we die is to spend eternity separated from God. (The good news is we’re given the option to be rescued from that fate through acceptance of Christ’s sacrifice, but in reality, few choose it.) In that sense, when it comes to the fate of any given soul, Satan doesn’t need to play to win, he just needs to play to not lose.
Also, it’s important to understand that for Satan, the death of any human being is beneficial. A death for the unsaved is like taking that soul to the bank. It’s over. That soul no longer has the opportunity to embrace Christ. God’s possible joy over that soul’s salvation will forever go unrealized. On the flip side, the enemy rejoices in the death of Christians because they can no longer rob from his fiefdom after that. Either way, he’s happy to see death occur. He may not be able to inflict death on people directly, but he can attempt to persuade some to inflict it on others or themselves. Although I’m unsure of what his capabilities might be, I imagine he does what he can to instigate famines, disease outbreaks, and other types of natural disasters, all in the hopes of raising the death toll.
He’s got a split focus; his goal has to be keeping unsaved people unsaved while minimizing the evangelical effectiveness of those he loses to Christ. Hamstringing Christians reduces the glory brought to God, and if that means some people get saved later in life than they otherwise would have, it collectively reduces the amount of lifetime that Christians spend as effective doers of God’s will. We’ll cover more on how Satan might approach Christians next time, but for now let’s take a look at how he might aim to keep unbelievers from believing.
At a simplistic level, we’ll define God’s process of bringing the unsaved to faith in Him by way of the three W’s: He takes a wanderer who is searching but does not have a saving relationship with Him, He wakens them by revealing Himself to them, at which point they begin their walk with God. Again, very simplified here. There are countless ways through which these steps can occur, and I doubt if any two stories of salvation are exactly alike, but these are the basic steps in the process.
What do you do if you want to disrupt that three-step process? To counter any or all of the three Ws, you might use the three F’s: You fulfill the longings of the wanderer through other means, you fight the wakening by inciting chaos in the person’s life, and you try to flatten their walk if it turns out they’re serious about following Christ.
Let’s start with the “fulfill” step. God created humans with a longing, a hunger, for something more in this life. I’ve heard it said that people are created with a God-shaped hole in their heart. Satan’s goal is to fill that hole with anything other than God. One tactic is straightforward and easy: use other religions to fill the void. Christ said “I am the way, the truth, and the light. No one comes to the Father except through me.” If that’s true, no other religions are valid means of entering Heaven after death. What simpler way to throw people off a Heavenly course than by providing impotent facsimiles where people still get to believe in a god? Even if a religion’s founder completely believes that he or she witnessed a supernatural being delivering a special message that doesn’t jive with what God says, there’s a reason for that, found in 2 Corinthians 11:14-15: And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Satan and his minions can assume a beautiful or supernatural form and employ that showmanship to start entire new religions meant to distract from the real thing.
There are numerous other ways to fill that hole in the heart. Christ created us to know that there’s something bigger than us out there, so we have a need to fill a sense of belonging. What’s the counter? Come up with ways to fill that need without addressing the deeper yearning. The focus could be good things, like family, pride in your nation or occupation, or volunteer work at shelters. Maybe it’s something neutral, like being a fanatical sports fan, or, depending on the cause, being a dedicated activist for a cause you believe in. They could be things that turn bad too, like alcoholism, destructive relationships, or doing things to feed your greed. The enemy wants to see unbelievers get caught up in something that fulfills the longing in their heart at least enough to stop searching for something lasting to fill the void. (This is why Communist nations ban or tightly control religion. Those governments want the people to seek fulfillment through the State and its success, not turn to any other entity for hope and morality.)
Try this additional method on for size. Some people have an exceptional thirst for the supernatural. Well, if you’re Satan or one of his minions and can assume numerous forms and do things a human being can’t, it’s probably a piece of cake to inspire ghost and alien sightings. People want to believe in the supernatural, and Satan long ago invented ways that allow them to do it without embracing Christ.
Let’s move on to the “fighting” step. Sometimes God will work on a person’s heart for years before they accept Him as Savior; for others the timeline is much shorter. As Satan recognizes that a person is about to come to faith in Christ, many times he tries to ensure their life becomes chaotic. He plants seeds in their minds. The person’s head is flooded with thoughts like “What will your family say?” “You’ll lose your position or status if you join them!” “You mean you want to be one of those nuts that think the earth was created in 7 days and an old man went out and gathered two of every kind of animal on the planet and put them in an ark to survive a flood that covered the whole earth?” “Are you crazy?! Think about the shame you’ll bring to the people that care about you!” “You’ll lose everything you’ve worked for!” “YOU?! You think God could ever love or forgive you after all the things YOU’VE done?!”
These planted thoughts are meant to inspire fear, make you rationalize away the things you’ve been experiencing, and get you to turn your back on the idea of embracing Christ as your Savior. It’s like pulling a transplanted sapling out of the dirt before the sapling has a chance to take root. (If you want a closer look at the rational side of the faith, see this blog’s “This would make Spock raise an eyebrow and say ‘Curious’” category. There’s only one entry there right now, but more are on the way.)
Finally, Satan will try to “flatten” a new believer’s faith. Some people may very well lose friends or a good relationship with their family. In some sections of the world, they’ll forfeit their life if their faith becomes known.
I’ve been on youth retreats where people become Christians. They’re caught up in the emotion of it all, everybody’s singing songs, and there’s a great speaker. Telling a counselor or pastor of their decision brings happiness all around, and everyone is supportive of their decision to accept Christ. Then they go back to their normal life. Are they really supposed to turn their backs on the behaviors that have been a regular part of their life for so long? Are they supposed to read the whole Bible? That thing’s huge! “Do I have to stop hanging out with my friends?” They rationalize their decision away. “Well, I was sleep-deprived, the speaker was convincing…I kind of felt pressured to do it.” They talk themselves out of it, and turn their back on what they heard.
This is a simplified version of what happens to new Christians of any age (and is a good example of why your Christian walk should not be based on emotion and feelings…there will be low points, so building your faith using facts and reasoning is important too). Without a supportive network, many new Christians fizzle out, and isolated baby Christians are prime targets for the adversary to pick off. Preventing them from connecting with and being mentored by other Christians will go a long way toward getting them to fall away from their newfound faith.
Well there’s a lot to this, but people are going to stop reading if I keep going. To wrap up, Satan will use any means necessary to interfere with the process God uses to bring people to faith. God uses the three Ws: He takes a Wanderer, He Wakens them, and helps establish their Walk with Him. Looking to counter at least one of those steps, Satan uses the three Fs: he tries to Fulfill our innate desire for God by using other things, he Fights God’s process of wakening a lost soul, and if neither of those work, he’ll try to Flatten the new Christian’s belief.
Eternity is at stake, and the consequences are deadly serious. Today’s post addressed the non-Christian aspect of Satan’s war with humanity; come back next time for some of the ways he reduces the spiritual effectiveness of those who have embraced Christ as their savior. It might save your spiritual life, or help you be a part of saving someone else’s!
In the United States military there’s a tremendous amount of information that can be lost if our side isn’t careful about protecting it. We want information on our weaknesses or vulnerabilities, be they physical, cyber, medical, whatever they are…to be kept from adversaries. There’s a practice in the Department of Defense that encourages designated individuals or teams to look at themselves through the eyes of an adversary, with the intent to identify where information is leaking. The goal, of course, is to find and plug those leaks. This practice, that of looking at your own unit’s operation through the eyes of your adversary, is called “Red Teaming.”
Over the next several entries I’m going to Red Team Humanity from the perspective of our enemy, Satan.
Before we get into that, let’s take a step back to set the stage. It’s not a truth that people like to hear, but upon their death, humans by default are not on the path to Heaven. God made a way for us to reach Heaven along with an eternity in His presence, but there are some obstacles we need to overcome in this life. Although many people might think of him as a silly little red cartoon character, Satan is very real, and his tactics are simple but effective. His bitterness toward Christ at having already beaten him is beyond description, and he seethes with jealousy. I’m sure there has been some lashing out in rage, but he’s also not a mindless fool. He’s cunning, sophisticated, and intelligent. He was created as the greatest of all angels. Knowing that he cannot actually harm God or stop His plan, Satan’s best chance of hurting God now is to do everything in his power to rob God of the thing He loves the most…a loving relationship with us, the crown of God’s creation.
God gave us an amazing gift, and this time I’m not talking about salvation. Imagine creating us, giving us a free path to rescue us from our default path of destruction, but still leaving the door open for us to have the freedom to choose to accept it or reject it. This is a God that loves us so much that He won’t force us to love Him back because that would force us to be someone we’re not; the only souls in Heaven will be the people that chose willingly and genuinely to embrace Him as their savior.
So now put yourself in Satan’s place. You hate God, but you can’t beat him. The worst you can do to Him is to make Him sad. You recognize that God doesn’t mandate that people love Him, so if they have free will, there’s an opening for you to exploit. You can do anything within your power to prevent people from embracing Christ or sharing Him with others. Some things are off limits for Satan (he asked permission to sift Peter and the disciples “like wheat” in Luke 22:31-32 and had to seek permission to bring certain circumstances against Job). He may not be allowed to bring physical harm to some, but our minds are always fair game and are always open to attack. If you can consistently attack someone’s mind in an effective manner, you’ve got a great chance of getting the result you’re looking for.
Photo courtesy of Pinterest
How, then, do you attack someone’s mind?
I’m not going to give you an exhaustive list (I’d have to be pretty arrogant to claim to know all the tricks Satan uses), but using variations of only a handful of concepts has worked well for millennia against us humans. Even if we each live to be 100 years old, that’s still pretty short compared to the amount of time Satan’s had to hone his skills of trickery and deception. Hopefully it will help give you a better understanding of why the different pieces of the Armor of God referenced in Ephesians 6:10-18 are so vital to a Christian, and at the same time help give new urgency to why it’s so important to reach non-Christians.
In all things remember that God will be with us and He won’t desert us, but it’s up to us to believe it and not give up, even when our persistent prayers are met with silence. We are the ones that are most likely to come up short when it comes to the lifelong struggle we each face. Hanging in there and knowing God takes the long term over the short term is the way we’ll get through it.
There’s more going on out there than what we can see, and my prayer is that this series helps you think more in those terms so that you can recognize when you’re being influenced and can make good choices in times of high stress. God works through people to implement His will, and Satan will use any means to water down your effectiveness at glorifying God. Protect your mind. Take comfort in knowing that your helmet of salvation provides a great deal of protection, but don’t allow yourself to let your guard down.
Stick with me over the next few weeks, because these are going to be important. If you’re not a subscriber, check back every Thursday for a new entry in this four-part series, or sign up to receive new posts in your email.
Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. –Ephesians 6:11
If you’ve read some of my previous posts and suspected that I’m crazy, you’ll be sure of it after this one. Stick with me though, it’s going somewhere.
For a few summers in high school and college, I worked at a Christian conference center. The summer staff, made up mostly of teenagers, lived on the campus and did a variety of jobs during the summer. “Summer staff” made for lots of fun memories. The days were long, but the weeks (and summers) were short.
I don’t know if this still happens today, but back then the girls had a tradition where, once a summer, they’d sneak out after curfew and hit the pool for some late-night skinny dipping. Every summer, the morning after the annual excursion happened, the guys would be disappointed because it had gone on right under our noses, while we were sleeping, and we hadn’t even been aware that it was happening. (We caught them in the act the previous summer, but I was on crutches, so I couldn’t play much of a role in it.) It was a huge morale boost for the ladies to get away with something so dangerous, and it would temporarily suck the morale right out of the guys’ side of the dorm.
Well, the following summer I was a counselor, so the curfew wasn’t an issue for me. It would have been fun to catch the girls in the act, but it would’ve been impossible to keep watch every night of the summer. Rather than have the guys stay up late trying to catch the girls (and making it tougher to stay healthy in the process), I decided I would instead try to deter the girls from sneaking out for their annual tradition. A few complete coincidences worked in my favor, and I probably went a little overboard further developing my “unhinged” persona. One time, by complete luck, while I was locking up the kitchen at night, I looked out the window and saw three of the summer staff girls running out of the dorm toward the kitchen, for what I can only guess was the need to raid the fridge. I couldn’t resist the opportunity. That night when I had entered the kitchen, I didn’t turn on any of the lights, so I was walking around in the dark. I hid and waited silently. Sure enough, the three came sneaking in without turning on the lights. As they drew near, I jumped out from wherever I was hiding and yelled “YOU’RE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE IN HERE!” They screamed in absolute terror and ran out with their hair standing straight up. Hopefully they got a snack somewhere else.
Now, you have to understand that back then, I had more enthusiasm and energy than direction. I got a little crazier and, in my exuberance, I dug up a camouflage military uniform that I would put on as it drew near the time for lights out. Sometimes the camo makeup went on, too. I’d let everyone see me in it, and the impression everyone got was that even as everyone was going to bed, I was heading outside into the dark to do Heaven-only-knows what. I wouldn’t do this every night, but I did it often enough to keep would-be curfew breakers guessing whether or not I was out there waiting for them. It was a page from Bruce Wayne’s book.
In full summer camo one night…
Another complete coincidence worked in my favor. Sometimes I really would head outside, all dressed in camo. My main purpose was merely to be seen heading out into the darkness, but since I didn’t want to be seen coming right back in again, I had to stay out for awhile. Most of the time I just found a comfy place to lay down in the grass, and in truth I enjoyed the quiet and stillness of the normally busy place while I was out there. Sometimes I fell asleep. One time, though, as I turned the corner of a building, I came across four of the staff girls, just sitting on the grass overlooking the pool, breaking curfew. At least one of them was someone that I had earlier caught sneaking into the kitchen. They weren’t doing anything wrong (other than being out after curfew), but to them it seemed like I just…knew when they were out there doing something they shouldn’t be doing.
This is the winter version; blowing my nose wiped off part of the makeup, but when I painted up it looked like this
The end result of all this was that I cultivated an impression that just wasn’t true, and it ended up influencing others’ behavior in a way that I wanted. There were countless nights where they could’ve made it to the pool without any problem at all, but it was the fear of some weirdo in camouflage hiding in the bushes that kept them from taking part in the adventure they wanted to be a part of. More often than not, I was actually asleep in my bed way before lights out, but without knowing that truth, late-night pool adventures got postponed.
Here’s where we “land the plane” on this entry. As Christians, we have an enemy that cultivates the same kind of image. If you’re a Jesus-follower, you have the unimaginable power of the Holy Spirit residing in you, but if your enemy can intimidate you into entertaining or giving in to your doubts, he’s effectively countered the power you have inside you. In military terms, he’s negated your will or capacity to fight, even though you’re equipped to dominate.
It’s all just clever tricks and deception. Remember the truth: as a Christian, you are more than a conqueror! Don’t be held captive by lies! Not only do you have defensive armor available to you, but you have the greatest offensive weapon there is…the Sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:10-18). Properly prepared, you can walk boldly and confidently into a spiritual battle and emerge victorious. Think of it this way: if you don’t have the will to fight, the enemy can use the resources he would have used on you…somewhere else. Make no mistake: he’s going to use them, if not on you, then on someone else. If you and the Holy Spirit combat those forces, you are fighting back against the darkness and tying up enemy forces, enabling relief elsewhere. (See Daniel 10:1-14 for an example where this happened to an angel.)
The Prince of Darkness excels in lying and deception. Do you believe the lies he wants you to believe, or are you willing to trust God’s truth? Don’t believe the lies. Get up and get in the fight.
In a couple of weeks I hope to start a series on some more of the tactics Satan uses against you. Subscribe today to be sure you don’t miss it!
When I was a kid I used
to love watching cartoons. I don’t know what happened since then, but I guess
somewhere along the line they decided they were going to stop making good
cartoons.
One of my favorite
cartoons to watch was “Duck Tales.” It featured Scrooge McDuck (of “Christmas
Carol” fame), the three young duckling triplets Huey, Dewey, and Louie, and the
lovable (but terrible) pilot, Launchpad McQuack.
Scrooge McDuck was a
greedy guy, there’s no doubt about it. Part of the draw for a younger me was
that he was always mounting expeditions to go in search of lost treasures. Off
to faraway jungles, canyons, deserts, mountains, the ocean floor…no matter the
danger, Scrooge McDuck’s greed drove him to adventure.
One such adventure
involved catching a leprechaun. The main characters caught a leprechaun and
demanded that he show them to the massive underground treasure caverns (because
a pot o’ gold at the end of the rainbow just ain’t enough sometimes). The
leprechaun showed them to the hidden entrance, which was under a young tree. I
don’t remember why they couldn’t go exploring down the tunnel right then and
there, but for some reason they had to temporarily abandon their quest. Knowing
that it would be extremely difficult to identify this one tree in the middle of
the forest, McDuck took out a handkerchief and tied it to one of the branches
of the tree. After binding the leprechaun by making him promise not to mess
with the hanky or the tree, the adventurers departed.
I think it was the next day when the treasure hunters returned. The hanky and the tree were indeed untouched, but now the forest was littered with hundreds of white hankies. The leprechaun had kept his promise, but still managed to obscure the value of the makeshift marker.
Let’s switch gears for
a minute. Take the perspective of Satan and the other fallen angels. You’ve had
definite limits imposed on you, but you’re free to meddle with humanity in
other ways. How can you divert people from the true way to God and eternal
life, which is a relationship with Jesus Christ? You can’t touch that one true
hanky, but you can sure hang up a lot of other ones that look enough like the
original to make the real one hard to spot.
Aside from
Christianity, there are a handful of major world religions on the scene, but
there are an untold number of minor ones, splinter groups, minor sects, and
other less popular religions. All of them are fake hankies.
In addition to using other
religions, the adversary attempts to muddy the waters for actual Bible-based
events. The focus of Christmas and Easter used to be Jesus’ birth and Jesus’
triumph over sin, respectively. Now it’s Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. Being
a Santa fan doesn’t make you a bad person, but consider this: this Christmas,
are you and yours giving at least as much emphasis on the story of Jesus’ birth
as you are to Santa?
There’s a lot of
distraction out there, but remember the true reason for the season and the fact
that the adversary has to ask permission to launch certain attacks on
Christ-followers.
“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission
to sift you like wheat…” Luke 22:31
8Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you
considered My servant Job? For there is no one on earth like him, a man who is
blameless and upright, who fears God and shuns evil.”
9Satan answered the LORD, “Does Job fear God
for nothing? 10Have You not
placed a hedge on every side around him and his household and all that he owns?
You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in
the land. 11But stretch out
Your hand and strike all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your
face.”
12“Very well,” said the LORD to Satan.
“Everything he has is in your hands, but you must not lay a hand on the man
himself.”
Then Satan went out from the
presence of the LORD. Job 1:8-12
