One of the major keys to keeping the enemy at bay is holiness in our own lives.  Yes, we do stand before God as holy because Jesus has imparted his righteousness to us. He became sin for us that we might be become the righteousness of God (2 Cor. 5:21). Our position is righteousness, but that is not always our condition.  God saves us by grace and gives us the legal position or standing of being forgiven, being children of God, and being citizens of heaven, etc. That relates to our salvation, but other important things relate to our sanctification.

Sanctification is a theological word that simply means “how much have we become like Jesus?”  To the extent that we have areas of our lives that are unsubmitted to Jesus and his righteous standards, the enemy has access and authority to harass and oppress us.  Sanctification is not the same as salvation.  We can be saved and still have much of lives or thoughts that are not in agreement with God. 

My experience is that many believers (all of us from time to time) are blind to many areas that need to be confessed and repented of. That is typically because we compare our holiness to the world around us, rather than the standards of heaven. We look at the people we work with who are unredeemed and compare our lifestyles to theirs or we know those who are struggling with addictions or homosexual sin and we aren’t.  When we do, we think that we are living at a higher standard than those around us, so God must be pleased.  However, we often ignore or justify much in our own lives that needs to be submitted to the Lord…our words, our pride, our judgmental attitudes, our unbelief, our indifference to the lost and the poor, and so on. 

! believe that even the great prophet Isaiah fell into that trap because when he was given a vision of God in Isaiah 6, the text says he cried out, “Woe to me…I am ruined for I am a man of unclean lips and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have the King, the Lord Almighty” (Isaiah 6:5). Compared to the culture around him he was a righteous man, but compared to the holiness of God and the standards of heaven, he was overwhelmed by his own sense of sin and undone.

I know that I let the culture around me creep in and desensitize me to sin. Even on primetime television nudity, bad language, adultery, homosexuality, fornication, and violence are normalized and I believe we lose our sensitivity to such sin so that we are no longer offended by it.  When we are no longer offended, we no longer guard against it and eventually start to compromise with the world. However, the Holy Spirit has not been desensitized and as we willingly watch those things or read those things, we defile the temple in which he lives and grieve him. That willing participation (even passive participation) gives the enemy reason to accuse us and gives him access to us and our families.  

We must guard against the “culture creep” that numbs us to those things that offend the Father.  Let’s pray that the Holy Spirit would re-sensitize us to the things that offend God and open the door to the devil. Let’s pray as David prayed, “Search me O God and know my heart. Test me and know my anxious thoughts.  See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting” (Ps. 139: 23-24).

In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul wrote, “I pray that the eyes of your heart might be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe” (Eph. 1:18-19, NIV ). 

The Passion Translation renders the text as, “I pray that the light of God will illuminate the eyes of your imagination, flooding you with light, until you experience the full revelation of the hope of his calling – that is, the wealth of God’s glorious inheritance that he finds in us, his holy ones” (Eph. 118-19, Passion Translation).

The “eyes of your heart” or the” eyes of your imagination” is an interesting phrase because it implies that we can see something with our hearts or imagination that we cannot see with our physical eyes.  Of course, we could understand it to simply mean that we can perceive or understand something with our hearts or imagination that cannot be understood by intellect or natural reason.  I believe that is true.  But I also believe that God intends for us to see heavenly realities in a way that goes beyond understanding or reason.  

I subscribe to the idea that we all have spiritual senses just as we have physical senses.  Those believers with the gift of discernment or a “seer” gift can see into the spiritual realm.  They can see angels and demons just as Elisha saw chariots of fire around him (2 Kings 6).  Elisha asked God to open the eyes of his servant that he might also see the angelic guard around them. He didn’t ask for God to give his servant eyes, but to open his eyes that he might see into the spirit realm.  I believe those were spiritual eyes…the eyes of his heart or imagination.

With our spiritual eyes, we can see the spirit realm.  Some seers believe that they ae not seeing that realm directly but are seeing it on the screen of their Spirit-directed imagination. They can see Jesus when he is in the midst of his people.  The prophets can hear the voice of God and we all can feel his presence or the presence of evil at times.  Others smell the presence of demons or the presence of angels.  I believe we are born with these senses and what we need is for the Holy Spirit to activate those senses for us….so Paul prayed that God would open the eyes of their heart of imagination.

The object of Paul’s prayer was for God’s people to know the hope to which they are called, the riches of his inheritance in the saints, and the power that is available to God’s children.  God always wants us to know something beyond the level of simple information or facts.  He wants us to experience the truth or to have intimate knowledge of the realities he reveals to us. Seeing spiritual realities and getting glimpses of heaven through dreams and visions deepens our faith and understanding of his promises and revelation. 

I believe God wants the spiritual senses of every believers to be activated so that we can be anchored more deeply in his truth and so that we might better understand his ways for us and the immense depth of his love for us.  Just as we should pray diligently for the Spirit of wisdom and revelation that we discussed in my last blog, I believe we should pray just as diligently for God to open the eyes of our heart and to activate our other spiritual senses as well.  In the same way that the loss of a physical sense hinders us in the natural, the inactivity of any spiritual sense must also limit us in the spiritual realm.  I encourage you to ask God for the activation of those senses and to show you if anything is standing in the way of that activation.  

Blessings in Him

Three essential questions determine nearly everything else in our lives.  

• Does God exist?   
• Does God love me?
• Is God powerful? 

If God does not exist then we are on our own and “might makes right.”  There is no help coming and there is no judgment against evil.  The powerful rule like ruthless drug lords…imprisoning and killing anyone who opposes them…until a more powerful and more ruthless drug lord appears. Unselfish acts will be for the suckers because all that matters is to look out for number one.

If God does exist, but does not love me in a personal way, then he is still of no help. He will live detached from me, uncaring about my needs or crisis.  He will act as judge but not as savior or redeemer.  That is even more frightening that a world without God.

If God does exist and loves me, but is not powerful, then he may cry when I am wounded or in need but he will not be able to help. Like a poor and aging uncle who lives far away, he may be concerned, but I will still essentially be on my own like an orphan child.

However, if God does exist, loves me in a personal way, and is infinitely powerful then I can live unafraid, unselfishly, and with joy because the God of the universe is looking out for me. That is the message of the Bible and especially of the gospel. To the extent that I believe those things I will have peace, confidence, and freedom.  To the extent that I don’t believe those things, even as a believer, I will live with anxiety, try to control everything and everyone around me, and feel unwanted and unloved.

In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul said that the asked continually that God would give them the Spirit of wisdom and revelation that they might know Him better (Eph.1:7).  The truth is that we need revelation to know that God exists, that he loves us deeply, and that he is able to do more than we can ask or imagine.  We can get those biblical facts in our head but we can’t know them in our hearts without the Holy Spirit revealing that truth to us. The Holy Spirit writes God’s truth on our hearts.  The more we believe it in our hearts, the more we can walk in peace, in faith, and in love.

It’s fairly apparent that we need revelation to know those things in the sense of having them written on our hearts so that we live by God’s promises even when to do so is irrational in the face of natural reason.  But why wisdom?  One definition of wisdom is “knowing how to apply the word of God in a given situation.” In others words, wisdom is knowing not just God’s will, but also his ways.  I need to know his ways, so that when things in my life seem to indicate his lack of care or power as seen through natural eyes, I will not doubt because I know his ways and know that when the time is right, he always comes through.  That is an essential facet of wisdom.

In our present circumstance, America is in turmoil.  The prayers of millions of believers seem to have gone unnoticed in the courts of heaven. The future is uncertain and Satan seems to be having his way no matter which side of the political landscape you stand on.  Fear, division, hatred, and accusation are the flavors of the day…except in heaven. Those are the works of Satan but he does not work in heaven where we are seated with Christ and where we are now citizens.  

 As believers, we can reason ourselves to those biblical positions, but what we need is for those truths to be our very first thought in the face of every crisis or uncertainty. Our first thought must be underscored by a certainty that God is working powerfully in the shadows and he already has our welfare in mind.  Those are our first thoughts when the nature of God and the promises of God are written on our hearts.  

This is a season in which I pray that God will give each of us the Spirit of wisdom and revelation so that we may know Him better.  Paul said he prayed that prayer over and over for those in Ephesus because there is no end to the depth of knowing God.  I encourage you to make that your prayer as well…over and over.

I know.  Me too.  The last thing I want to think about is a 2021 that might be worse than 2020.  But what if it happens?  How will the church respond?  The American church has long been a church that has prayed for ease, comfort, favor, and for the hardships of life to simply pass us by in the name of Jesus.  At the same time, our spiritual brothers and sisters in the Middle East, in China, in Indonesia, in parts of Africa, and other places have undergone the most severe persecution, including torture and death.  We have had favored status in America so long that we believe comfort and acceptance of Christianity is the norm and what we should expect Christianity to look like.  When life becomes hard, we are tempted to feel betrayed by God.

However, the church was born in adversity.  Before Jesus was two years old Herod tried to murder him and Mary and Joseph had to flee to Egypt.  His family returned to Israel after the death of Herod, but essentially still hid out in the little town of Nazareth in Galilee far from Jerusalem.  John the Baptist was opposed by religious leaders and was killed for speaking out against sin and corruption in government.  Jesus and the twelve were conspired against by the religious ruling class of Israel and Jesus was crucified. After Jesus returned to the Father, those who preached the gospel were opposed, imprisoned, beaten, slandered, and scattered for the sake of the gospel. Jesus clearly said that in this world, we would have trouble and that if the world hated him, it would surely hate those who followed him.

I’m not saying that there have not been seasons of peace and even favor for believers throughout history but there has also been hardship and persecution – especially in these latter days.  There is more world-wide persecution against Christians now and more believers being martyred now than at any time in history. The church, by nature, is always counter-cultural unless an entire nation has been discipled.  If we stand with God, the culture will be offended.  If we stand long enough, the culture will either be converted or hate us.  There is clearly a war on Christianity brewing in this nation as we live in a culture that calls good evil and evil good. Whenever the church compromises with culture to keep the peace and curry favor with the powerful, the door is opened for the enemy to enter and he will.  

We may need to begin to consider how we will respond if our culture continues to align itself with Satan instead of Jesus. If our mindset is that God owes us comfort and safety, then we may surrender much of our faith to stay comfortable and safe (although not spiritually safe).

I’m not saying that we should reject the blessings of peace and favor when they come, but we must always be ready for conflict and willing to stand with God when the enemy rises.

The truth is, we learn more about faith and about God in seasons of hardship than we ever do when everything is going our way.  The fledgling church of Jerusalem quickly faced great opposition to their preaching. In Acts 4, Peter and John were threatened by the Sanhedrin and commanded not to speak in the name of Jesus any longer. Instead of compromising with the Sanhedrin in order to avoid persecution, they replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you or to him?… As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard (Acts 4:18-20). 

Peter and John returned to their little band of believers and reported on the threats.  The response was instructive. “Now, Lord. Consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.  Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant, Jesus (Acts 4:29-30).  They didn’t pray for comfort, favor, or even protection.  They prayed for great boldness and world-shaking miracles in the name of Jesus.  

A lot of churchmen today would have counseled the church to soft pedal things for a while or adjust their stance on Jesus just a little to demonstrate more tolerance, etc.  That is not what the Jerusalem church did and the response from heaven was clear.  “After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken.  And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word boldly” (Acts 4:31).  

I don’t know what 2021 holds for the followers of Jesus, but we may want to decide now how we will pray then, if we find ourselves in a culture even more hostile to the faith than it is now.  We will have to decide which is more important – safety and comfort in this world or eternal life and glory with the Father.  We may not be able to have both.  

Blessings and boldness in Him.