Ephesians 6:12: “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”
In America, Christians complain and insist that they are experiencing persecution. What they are actually experiencing is push back. We have an inch deep Christianity that only lasts (if that long) through a Sunday or Wednesday church service. Any love of Jesus is left behind guarding our pews at church. The eyes of most believers seem focused on the present. Where the man or woman of God must get their eyes on eternity. We work to protect what we have because for most Americans their god is their material possessions.
Jesus is not opposed to our stuff. All of our stuff is from Him. All that we have is because He determined to give it to us. Like a suiter He is wooing us into a relationship with Him. Every day He is walking in our community, acting in ways to communicate His love for us. Like a man deeply and desperately in love, He does all that He can to lead us into an eternal relationship with Him. Most of us like the men and women in the second half of John 6, only want the temporary food. Jesus wants to give us food that will not perish, but we choose the temporary.
It is this short-sighted mindset that leads us to think that our battles are political, commercial or even the church down the street. Loudly, church leaders declare that the political party that disagrees with us is evil and if they are elected the nation and our own security will be threatened. While in some ways this might be true, if we know God, we know that earthly security is not on His priority list. Our earthly leaders will come and go but He is eternal. Occasionally, we will be called to boycott this or that business because their leaders are immoral. I again agree there might be time to spend our precious gifts of God in ways that honor Him, they are not our enemy. We can do without stuff. My greatest concern is that the church is not willing to look at ourselves.
In the Old Testament when sin was in the camp they diligently worked to remove the sin. Today the church of blood bought saints rales against the sins of the world while sin is inside the four walls of the church. Rarely do we address the perversity in our own church leaders. Often there are coverups and dismissals. In the worst cases the victims are emotionally and socially assassinated. My friends, the enemy is in the camp. He has taken on the leaders and offered them health and wealth in exchange for their souls and the souls of all that are willing to follow them. We are losing.
Our battle is not against the flesh and blood of this world. It is time we fight this with prayer and Bible study. Honest meditation and internal examination will be required. Ask the Holy Spirit to examine our hearts. When we look at ourselves our common reaction is to dismiss and justify our sins. As we discover where idols have taken over our heart we must repent and then call others to repent. Engage in the battle for the heart and soul of our nation not through social media but through connection with Christ.
