For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ”

(2 Cor.10:4-6).

These verses are essential to our understanding of spiritual warfare and to our ability to gain victory over the enemy. Even those of us whose church homes are “Spirit-filled” need to be reminded of the truths imbedded in this brief text. We need to be reminded because there is something in us (and me) that constantly wants to default back to the perspectives of the natural man whose eyes are on the world and the solutions the world offers.

In these verses, Paul echoes his thoughts from his letter to the church at Ephesus that our real struggle is not against flesh and blood but against spiritual powers (see Eph. 6:12). Like the proverbial iceberg, the part of the battle we can see is the smaller part. The greater part resides in the unseen realm and because the critical battles are going to be fought in the spiritual realm, worldly weapons and strategies will not save the day. Jesus spoke about his followers being in the world but not of the world. Paul parallels that thought when he says that although we live in the world we do not and should not wage war as the world does. In these few words he alerts us to the fact that even the saved often look to the world for answers before searching out and employing the divine weapons of prayer, declaration, deliverance, confession, repentance, faith and so on.

The truth is that the church as a whole is not well versed in the use of divine weapons. Most believers run to the help the world offers before finally resorting to fasting and prayer and the exercise of spiritual authority which they should have run to first. Think about it. How often do churches refer crumbling marriages to secular “professional” counselors or to counselors who are Christians but who have been trained only in secular approaches to counseling? Does he church not have wisdom to bring healing to these marriages?

For a number of years I served on a visiting committee that helped to evaluate the Marriage and Family Department at a well know Christian university in Texas. Once a year we would meet with graduate students who were finishing the program to ask them about the training they had received and their experience at the school. Year after year we heard positive statements about the faculty and the school but also heard them voice disappointment that they had not really learned how to do Christian counseling with a spiritual emphasis on using the Word, prayer, emotional healing ministered by the Holy Spirit, and spiritual authority exercised by believers over the forces of evil. Nearly every student sensed a need for such training but did not receive it.   The head of the department agreed that such training could be useful but told me on several occasions that in order for their graduates to receive licensing from the state to be a professional counselor, so many state-mandated courses were required that their was no room in the curriculum for the training most students were asking for. Once again, we let the world shape and determine our approach to helping and healing broken people. And once again we act as if the strategies of the world are superior to anything the kingdom can offer.

So, year after year, this Christian university and many others train believers to use the weapons (strategies) of the world but not divine weapons. And yet, Paul clearly states that the weapons of the world are ultimately ineffective. In his letter to the church at Corinth, he scolded the believers there because they were taking each other to court over matters that should have been handled by the church. He said, “Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life! Therefore, if you have disputes about such matters, appoint as judges even men of little account in the church! I say this to shame you. Is it possible that there is nobody among you wise enough to judge a dispute between believers” (1 Cor.6:3-5). The same should be true with marriage issues, emotional healing, and addictions. The church has the wisdom and the power of Jesus Christ deposited in us through the Holy Spirit. The world should be coming to the church to learn how to heal relationships and broken hearts rather than the church going to the world.

I am not opposed to medicine and many things the world offers in terms of therapies and support have some value. I believe the grace of God has given the world doctors and counselors. I’m just saying they inevitably fall short if they don’t address the spiritual realities behind many of our conditions. Worldly strategies teach us to manage our issues rather than gaining victory over them. Divine weapons are the most powerful and most effective approaches to human struggles and yet we often only go to those when we have exhausted everything the world offers.

Paul’s letters remind us that we have the resources of heaven at hand and should always go there first. Where there is bondage or deep wounds that lay havoc to marriages or individual lives, strongholds exist where the enemy has found a opening in our souls and has dig in deeply to exploit our pain and make it worse. Only divine weapons can tear down such strongholds. Let’s remember that the power and strategies of God should be our first approach to every issue and not our last resort after the world has failed us once again.

I’m rereading Dutch Sheets book, Intercessory Prayer (everyone should read it), and have been reminded of some critically important principles about which we can become careless to our detriment. Let me quote from him.

“Many Christians believe that protection from accidents, destruction, satanic traps, and assaults, etc. is automatic for the Christian – that we do nothing to cause it – that it is based on the sovereignty of God alone. In other words, when God wants to protect us from these things, He does; when he chooses not to he allows them to happen. This belief simply means that whether or not we are delivered from destructive things is based entirely on God, not us….Whether or not God directly controls every event in the life of a Christian can be answered by stating that the basic laws of sowing and reaping, cause and effect, individual responsibility and the free will aren’t negated when we come to Christ. All promises from God are attached to conditions – governing principles. Most, if not all, of these conditions involve responsibility on our part. Protection is no exception” (p.81-82).

I would add to Sheets’ thoughts the admonition from James that “we have not because we ask not.” In addition, Jesus taught us to pray, “and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one.” In other words, we need to ask God daily for protection from the enemy – not only for ourselves but our families, friends and spiritual leaders as well. Satan is not indifferent toward us. He plans, schemes, and lays traps for God’s people. Because of that God counsels us to put on his armor, to be alert, and to pray in the Spirit at all times (see Eph.6:18).

I’m reminding you and myself that we have been instructed to pray for protection and for the wisdom to detect the schemes and traps of the devil. We have been given authority over the enemy but we must exercise that authority in our prayers and other settings for that authority to do us any good.

We are living in a season of heightened demonic activity. Inevitably, what we see going on in the natural realm is a reflection of activity in the spiritual realm because our primary struggle is not against flesh and blood. Across the globe there is unprecedented persecution against Christians. Hatred against Israel is on the rise again. Even in America there is clearly a war being waged against Christianity and biblical truth. When a nation’s leaders legislate to remove the name of God and the commandments of God from the public realm, when they deny that Jesus is the only way to the Father, when they call evil good and call good evil then they release the demonic over a nation.

School shootings, child trafficking, beheadings in Oklahoma, domestic violence, murder, rape, natural disasters, and the rise of Isis with crosshairs on America are not primarily political, social, or environmental in nature. They are primarily actions and conditions prompted by spiritual forces. Weapons or strategies of the world cannot resolve those forces and influences but only God’s divine weapons (see 2 Cor. 10:4) can overcome them. As we pray for solutions to these huge issues in the world we must not forget to pray daily for the protection of the Lord because the enemy has been released in our nation.

The psalmist declares that the angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear the Lord and promises protection as we dwell in the shadow of the Almighty. But that protection comes when we are obedient to the Lord and when we consistently and persistently intercede for ourselves and others asking God to keep the evil one from us and to build walls of protection around us. Pray for protection from the enemy, from his snares, from wicked men, from disease, and from poverty. Pray and pray everyday. It is God’s will and his counsel.

Jesus came not only to save us but to transform us as well. Understanding how transformation occurs is essential for us as believers who want to become more and more like Jesus. Obviously, and entire book could be written of the process of transformation but from time to time God gives us a nugget related to radical change in our lives. One of those can be found in Genesis 32.

Remember Jacob and Esau the quarrelling twin sons of Isaac. Jacob and Esau were not identical twins and were very different in appearance and character. Although Esau immerged from the birth canal first, Jacob was holding on to his heal as one who wanted to take his brother’s place as the firstborn. At it’s Hebrew root, Jacob can mean “supplanter” or deceiver. To supplant means to replace and Jacob certainly took his brother’s place by treacherous deception. If you read Genesis 25-32, you will see that Jacob beat his brother Esau out of his birthright (a double portion of the inheritance) and later posed as Esau before Isaac who was old and essentially blind and received “the blessing” that should have been declared over the older brother. After defrauding his brother, Jacob fled for his life. He went to Haran where his uncle Laban lived and settled with his family there. During his time with Laban, Jacob married Leah and Rachel, but was often swindled by his uncle in business deals and deals relating to his wives. Jacob certainly reaped what he had sown. The deceiver was often deceived.

Finally, Jacob had endured all the fraud he could take from his uncle and decided to take his family and his fortune and return to the land of his father. Only one problem stood in his way. His brother Esau still lived in the land and the last time he saw his brother, his brother had murder in mind.

The night before he would encounter Esau, Jacob sent his family and his servants ahead of him to form a buffer between Esau and himself. He stayed behind and encountered a man who wrestled with Jacob throughout the night. Initially, Jacob may have thought this man was a wandering thief or a scout sent ahead by his brother. But apparently, as the night wore on, Jacob began to sense that something supernatural was in the air and that the man with whom he was wrestling might not be a man at all.

Jacob wrestled all night and clung to the stranger but as sunrise approached, the stranger asked Jacob to let him go. “But Jacob replied, ‘I will not let you go unless you bless me’” (Gen.32:26). Then the man (apparently an angle of the Lord) asked Jacob what his name was. Angels come on assignment. They don’t just wander around picking fights with strangers. The angel undoubtedly knew Jacob’s name so why did he ask?

I believe he asked because Jacob needed to face himself. Jacob knew that he was facing an encounter with his brother in a few hours that could be deadly. Undoubtedly, he had been doing some serious soul searching in the days leading up to this moment and the final challenge was to consider his name which meant deceiver. Biblical names reflect character. Fraud and deception had defined Jacob’s life and had set some very serious consequences in motion. Before God could bless him, Jacob had to face himself and his failings as a man.

Too many of us want to run on to the good stuff in our conversion process without truly facing our sinful nature and our failings. We try to come to Jesus without acknowledging how badly we need him. But Jesus himself said, “He who is forgiven much, loves much” ( Lk.7:47). To love much, we need to be aware of how much has been forgiven. Facing ourselves honestly and humbly before the Lord can bring us to a place of blessing.

The blessing Jacob received was a new name, Israel, which also indicated a new character. It means “triumphant with God” and spelled a turning point in his life. A new name launched a transformation from a man of deceit to a man of godliness. It began with an honest evaluation of his own brokenness, sin, and failings. That kind of honesty before God brought a blessing and launched him into a critical process of transformation. Our own transformation will require such a self-evaluation and an honest look at who we have been with a hopeful perspective on where we are heading.

God keeps bringing me back to our great need to understand who we are in Christ. I have been involved in pastoral counseling for over thirty years and with few exceptions every problem I have seen (including my own) can be reduced to broken identity and shattered self-esteem. Notice Adam and Eve’s response to a loving Father once they had broken the covenant by eating from the tree. Overcome with a never-before-experienced sense of shame, they both hid themselves and tried to cover their nakedness with fig leaves. In response to the Father’s questions they immediately began to blame God and one another for what had happened.

Shame was the driving factor for Adam and Eve. Guilt is the sense that we have done something wrong. Shame is the unrelenting sense that there is something wrong with us that makes us unacceptable and unworthy. Once Adam and Eve had been overrun by that feeling, their assumption was that the Father would no longer love them and would abandon them to a hostile world.   So they hid, covered up, and tried to shift responsibility to everyone else in the Garden. Most of us live with our own sense of defectiveness and do the same things as our forefathers. Additionally, we creatively find a number of ways to medicate our own self-loathing and fear of rejection – drugs, alcohol, sexual addictions, serial romances, affairs, power, fame, money, etc.

We could go on but you know the issues that flow out of that empty hole in our soul and all the ways that man has attempted to fill it. God understands our dilemma and so has gone to great lengths to restore our identity – our sense of self – and has placed us in a process of once again becoming who we were meant to be. Paul declared, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (2 Cor.3:17-18). God made us in his image. Sin distorted that image but, in Christ, we are in the process of having that image restored.

God’s goal is to reclaim his children not just in a legal sense but to make us again into his glorious representatives on this planet. When the Logos entered this world through the womb of a virgin, he became Jesus, the Son of Man. He came to represent man as he was meant to be. In Jesus, we see not only the Father but also Adam before sin distanced man from God. As a believer, God has placed his divine nature within you through his Holy Spirit and his Spirit is now transforming you into the image of Jesus Christ.

As a child of God, born again as a new creation, you are no longer the person you used to be. Whoever you were before Christ you are no longer that person. You are now an adopted child of your heavenly Father, an ambassador of Christ, a royal priest in the household of God, the temple of the Creator of the universe, the light of the world, the salt of the earth, the carrier of God’s divine presence as a living Ark of the Covenant, the righteousness of God, one who tramples on snakes and scorpions, the beloved of the Father, and the bride of Christ. (That’s just a start)

God speaks those truths to his children day after day but the enemy hurries to snatch up the seed before it can take root and form our new identity within us. Too often we listen to the enemy and the world and reject God’s truth for us and go on unchanged by the power of God because we have little faith that his truth is for us. Jude encourages us to “contend earnestly for the faith.” To contend is to fight, to battle, and to go to war for the faith. That not only includes doctrines but truths that we must claim for ourselves and plant in our hearts.

Beyond the gospel, our identity in Christ is the most transformative truth I know. When we and the rest of the church understand who we are and the glory and authority that rests on us in Christ, the gates of hell will certainly not prevail against us. Meditate on who you are in Christ, memorize who you are in Christ, pray that the Holy Spirit will give you a deep revelation of that truth in your heart and begin to relentlessly say about yourself the things that God says about you. Contend for that truth and it will change your world by changing you. Don’t contend occasionally or for a few days but commit to contend for the truth of who you are until it is unquestionably in your heart!

For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men—the testimony given in its proper time. (1 Tim.2:5-6)

Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us (Rom.8:34).

I was always taught that Jesus, as our high priest and mediator, is the one who takes our prayers before the Lord and intercedes for us by asking the Father on our behalf to answer our petitions. I think that is fairly standard theology in many churches. However, In John 16, Jesus gives us an incite into what he has accomplished for us through his death. “In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God” (Jn.16:26-27).

Jesus is telling us that there was a time when our sin separated us from the Father. That separation was represented in the temple by the great veil that hung between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies. Not even the priests could enter into the Holy of Holies where the presence of God lingered. Only the High Priest could enter into his presence and only once a year on the Day of Atonement. The High Priest would enter and offer sacrifices and prayers on behalf of the people. It was a fearful moment for all because entering into the presence of Elohim was highly risky. If the High Priest were unacceptable the Jew believed he would die in the presence of God and if the High Priest were unacceptable then so were the sacrifices and prayers he offered for the people.

Yet Jesus, as our High Priest entered into the Holy of Holies in the Heavenly Realms and presented himself as our sacrifice once for all. When Jesus died on the cross, the veil of the temple was torn in two and a way to God was opened.

So Jesus tells us that we can lift up prayers to the Father directly in the name of Jesus without Jesus having to mediate and intercede for every prayer we offer. Because God loves us through his Son, we are able to come directly to the Father as beloved children of God. There is no fear in doing so and every assurance that he hears our prayers.

If that is true, then what does it mean for Jesus to be our mediator and to intercede on our behalf? I like watch Dutch Sheets has to say about this concept. He says that that concept of mediation and intercession is really the idea of one person arranging a meeting with another. It is the idea of drawing two people together rather than forming a boundary between the two. Jesus, through his death arranged a meeting between us and the Father in which all was forgiven and all was reconciled. He interceded and formed a union between us and the Father – forgiveness, adoption, entrance into His kingdom, and so forth.

The idea that Jesus still has to take every prayer and persuade the Father to answer them implies that there is still a division between me and the Father and that there is still something unacceptable about me so that Jesus has to always stand up for me. Yet the truth is that the Father loves me and you because of Christ and is always anxious for us to come into his presence as a Father welcoming his beloved sons and daughters. Thank you Lord for the open door.

I was watching (for the fourth time) the 1995 historical docudrama, Apollo 13, a few evenings ago. It’s a great movie about our aborted attempt at a third moon landing in 1970. Tom Hanks played the mission commander Jim Lovell. The movie was made with as much attention to accurate detail as possible. We forget what amazing things NASA did while the computer age was still young. I have heard that you have more computerized technology in your iphone than they had on the entire Apollo 13 rocket. When things go bad, everyone starts grabbing for their slide rule or pad and pencil rather than a computer.

The mission begins with a sense of the ordinary. Space had become so familiar to the American public that hardly anyone watched the launce. With a sense of “everything is under control” and “everything will be fine,” three astronauts were blown into space and hurtled toward the moon with a business as usual feeling. Somewhere along the flight path, however, Jack Swigart, the backup commander for the mission, hit a switch to stir the fuel tanks and an explosion rocked the ship. Suddenly, business as usual turned into an amazing drama. As the crew turned the ship to return to earth they had no idea what was still functional and what was damaged beyond repair.

As the movie moves ahead, one thing after another becomes questionable and life threatening. Although they had enough oxygen the CO2 scrubber which took the carbon dioxide from the cabin atmosphere ceased to function. It had to be rebuilt from plastic bags and duct tape on board. Most of the battery power that would run their basic computers for reentry and deployment of the parachutes for the reentry capsule was lost. They had to turn off all heat and lights in the ship to preserve precious amps to operate the computers at the last moment.

In addition, there were serious questions about the reentry angle and the heat shield that would keep them from incinerating when they entered the earth’s atmosphere. No one knew the full extent of the damage from the explosion. As these three astronauts approach reentry the Houston control room begins to take on a sense of despair about their chances. All the families are huddled together at the Lovell home watching the news minute-by-minute and wondering if they would ever see their husband or father again.

When reentry occurred there was an expected three minutes of silence when no communication was possible. If they survived the flight; if they didn’t bounce off the earth’s atmosphere; if the heat shield was intact and the parachutes deployed they might survive. No one would know for three long minutes. After three minutes there was still no communication. Three minutes passed, three minutes thirty seconds passed, and the four-minute mark rolled by in silence. Families began to weep softly. The control room at Houston was silent with fear. And then unexpectedly, a voice crackled over the radio – “Houston, this is Odyssey.” In that moment hopelessness and despair exploded into triumph and joy.

As I watched, engineers and mathematicians in the control room jumped like children and cheered like fans at the Super bowl with tears drizzling down their cheeks.   Families and friends erupted into hugs and joyful laughter.

At that moment, I thought how much like the Apollo 13 journey was Christ’s journey to the grave and back. As we watch Jesus and his followers at the end of the Passion Week, it seems that everything is going their way. The crowds have cheered Jesus into Jerusalem. He is gaining followers daily. The disciples are anticipating that he will soon establish the kingdom in power before their very eyes. But then thing things go bad. Betrayal. Arrest. A kangaroo court. The death sentence. Crucifixion. A dead Messiah placed in a tomb. The followers of the King of Israel are shattered and disbelieving what has happened. Fear and hopelessness settle over the apostles and other disciples. No one knows what to expect or what is coming. Those who speak, speak only in whispers.

Then suddenly, Jesus reenters and appears in their midst. He is alive and well. Life can go on. The mission can continue. As I watched the control room and the home where the families of the astronauts were gathered explode into triumph and joy, I thought how much that moment must have paralleled what that small group of believers felt in there hearts when Jesus appeared to them again. I wondered if even the angels had been holding their breath for three days wondering what would become of their king. It seems that in our worship and in moments of communion we should find that same triumph and joy in our hearts. Jesus faced every impossibility, weathered the storm, faced the fires of hell, and when we had all given up hope immerged the hero – our hero. Blessings.

Wisdom is a huge commodity in the Kingdom of Heaven. Biblically, wisdom is the “capacity to understand and to act in concert with that understanding.” It also involves insight. Our culture doesn’t value wisdom very much. It values power, money, fame, influence, talents, and education. A person may have all of those things and yet lack wisdom. Check out the sports headlines – men who have most of the above accessories in their life are about to lose it all for lack of wisdom and judgment.

Even experience does not always bring wisdom. How many of us have dealt with people who have faced the same situations or temptations over and over and have always made the same bad decision in response to the situation. No wisdom. In addition, there are two kinds of wisdom – worldly wisdom that knows how to manipulate people and the system (street smarts) and heavenly wisdom which understands how things operate in the spiritual realm.

Here’s what James had to say about that. “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil.      For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere” (Ja.3:13-17).

Notice the wisdom that comes from heaven flows from the Spirit and resonates with our spirit. Worldly wisdom flows from demonic realms and resonates with our natural man or our flesh. They are truly opposed to one another and from the world’s perspective heavenly wisdom seems utterly foolish.

I remember having a conversation on a college campus years ago with a young Iranian Muslim. He was likeable, charismatic and full of leadership. I thought how amazing he would be for the kingdom of God. We were talking about Jesus and his teachings and when we read the passages about turning the other cheek, loving your enemies and forgiving those who had wronged you I really expected this young man to be impressed with the moral high ground of the Lord’s teaching. Instead he laughed out loud and ridiculed the teaching as naïve and foolish. He said, when someone strikes you one the cheek, you must hit him so hard that he would never dare touch you again. The wisdom of the world and heavenly wisdom are not shades apart but poles apart.

The reason is that heavenly wisdom leaves us in the hands of God. We feel weak, vulnerable, and foolish at times. In our fear of being hurt again or taken advantage of we default to the flesh and judge that our situation is unique and worthy of an exception so that we don’t have to follow the teachings of Christ in our particular case. We then sow to the flesh and blame God when our conditions or relationships don’t improve.

We must make up our minds to live from the spiritual realm and understand our situations and our responses to those situations from the will of God always – not just when it suits us to do so. Heavenly wisdom drives us to God and keeps us dependent on him. Worldly wisdom strives for control and self-sufficiency. Most marriages fail because the spouses continue to operate out of worldly wisdom rather than submitting to heavenly wisdom.

The real danger I see is believers trying to operate out of both as if some situations require worldly wisdom while others require heavenly or a hybrid of the two. There is no hybrid. One is from above. The other is from the devil. Do you remember that worldly wisdom that counseled Adam and Eve to take and eat? How did that work out for us? Be blessed today and be wise. And ask God for more and more of his wisdom. He is eager to share.

I have frequently made the point that power and authority flow from the top down in any organization or government and it flows best when we are aligned with our commander’s purposes and strategies. That is also true in the kingdom of God. The more aligned we are with the heart of God – his values, his purposes, his vision, and his ways – the more his Spirit will speak to us and manifest his power through us. One of the ways in which we stay aligned with the Father is by recognizing the leading of the Spirit. Paul tells us, “because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God” (Rom.8:14).

That statement prompts the question, “What does it mean to be led by the Spirit?” Being led by the Spirit is actually the process of discerning God’s will in any given situation and responding to that will. The Spirit is not so much leading us as he is conveying the Father’s lead to us. On several occasions, Jesus said that he only spoke what he heard the Father speaking and he only did what he saw the Father doing. Since Jesus operated as a man I don’t think that he heard God directly (except on rare occasions) and I don’t think he literally saw the Father doing something. Rather, by the Spirit he heard from the Father and by the Spirit he sensed God’s activity, direction, and purposes in given situation and participated in what he sensed God was doing.

For instance, in his healing ministry there were times when hundreds of people converged on Jesus asking for healing and the gospels tell us that he healed all who came. That situation seems fairly easy to read but there were other times when Jesus walked through a crowd of sick and disabled people and picked out only one for healing. That required sensitivity to the Spirit who directed his eyes and heart to one person out of many. After healing the one, he would usually move on even though all the rest needed healing as badly.

One thing I have noticed about Jesus throughout the gospel accounts is that he never seemed in a hurry even though he only had three years to teach, demonstrate the kingdom, and to save the world. I believe he was never in a hurry because he was being led by the Spirit and engaging only in the things presented to him each day that were part of God’s strategy for him. Many of us who serve the Lord often feel overwhelmed by the amount of ministry opportunities that land on our plate everyday because we think we are responsible to take every opportunity to speak or minister. My guess is that we are not very Spirit-led and are engaging in many things that are not on God’s agenda for us. The things we undertake are all good and even consistent with the values of the kingdom – evangelism, good works, helping marriages survive, feeding the poor, etc. but they may not be on God’s strategic agenda for us. I’m betting that our days and lives would slow down while being more effective if we sensed more clearly the leading of the Spirit in our day-to-day lives and only did the things that were on God’s To-Do list for our day.

If that is true, then the next question should be, “How do I develop that kind of sensitivity?” I don’t have it all figured out but let me suggest a few things. First of all, we should pray for that kind of spiritual discernment on a daily basis. We should ask God to teach us to hear him even in the crowds and in the business of our day. Many of us have learned to hear him in our quiet times and in the midst of worship but what about during all the other times that comprise most of our waking moments?

Secondly, we might practice being led by the Spirit by stopping five or ten times a day in the car, at the mall, in the grocery store, or on the job and asking God what he wants us to know or see or sense about that moment. Then listen for the small, still voice of the Spirit. Any gift or ability is only developed through practice.

Thirdly, when we sense that he wants us to do something we should do it – even, and especially, if it takes us way out of our comfort zone. Have you have ever had a friend or family member who would frequently call you late in the evening to ask advice but then always went his or her own way and never followed through on your counsel? When that pattern emerges, it’s usually not long before you lose your willingness to give any more advice or to pick up the phone late in the evening. I think God may feel the same way when he speaks to us and we never follow through on his urgings. Obedience is critical even when we “mishear” God. Our consistent willingness to follow his lead will bring more leading.

Fourthly, fill up on God’s word daily. Sometimes we become lazy about Bible study and simply depend on the leading of the Spirit when we want to know God’s will. The Word is the constant plumb line for knowing whether the leading you are sensing is from God or from another source. When we honor God by studying his Word he will honor us by speaking to us.

So…..practice being Spirit-led this week and have fun!

In the ninth chapter of Mark, Jesus had just descended from the Mount of Transfiguration where he had taken Peter, James and John while the other disciples stayed behind. While on the mountain, Jesus had met with Moses and Elijah and during that meeting his clothing became as white as snow and as bright as lightening. The three apostles witnessed this miraculous meeting and then returned with him to the crowds below. When they returned they met a man whose young son had been tormented by a demonic spirit for years. The father explained that before Jesus had arrived he had asked the disciples and apostles who had stayed behind to cast out the demon but they could not.

After a brief dialogue with the father, Jesus gave a brief command to the spirit and the spirit left the boy. Mark then reports, “And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out? And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting ( Mark 9:28-29, KJV).

At first reading, we might assume that the father or the boy should have fasted and prayed before asking for deliverance or that the apostles, after encountering the spirit, should have prayed and fasted and then gone after the demon again. However, Jesus did not instruct the father to pray and fast for a season nor did he pray and fast for 24 hours himself before confronting the unclean spirit again. He simply cast out the demon. What we have left is that Jesus was instructing them that there are levels of demonic power and authority that sometimes require more than the ordinary level of spiritual authority that most believers carry. The text also implies that to walk in that level of authority, a believer should dedicate regular times to prayer and fasting as part of his lifestyle.

As we scan the gospels, we often see Jesus separating himself from the crowds and his disciples for nights of prayer and, we can assume, fasting as he prayed. We don’t see the disciples doing that until after Pentecost when the church often met for prayer and fasting. Since Jesus had incorporated extended times with the Father into his lifestyle, he simply walked with more authority than the band who followed him. When he encountered a spirit with greater authority than usual, the authority he walked in was sufficient for the moment and the unclean spirit was banished with a simple command.

There are two significant principles in this account. The first is that we must prepare in advance for spiritual battles. Too many believers wait until the battle is upon them before they start praying, fasting, making their declarations, and trying to summon sufficient faith. Any athlete knows that you must prepare for the game ahead of time with study, strength training, and drills. You can’t begin to get ready after the game starts or you will find yourself hopelessly behind in a hurry. Any soldier knows you don’t wait until you are being fired upon to clean and load your weapon. You always prepare for the battle ahead of time. The same is true in spiritual warfare. Get ready now for what is coming later by getting the word in your heart, praying and fasting as part of your lifestyle, and learning how to use divine weapons before you need them.

Secondly, it appears that spiritual authority increases as we pray and fast. If we want a greater anointing there is a price to be paid and that price should be paid on a somewhat regular basis. The increase comes because we are spending more focused time with the Father and because our relationship with the Father, the Son and the Spirit is deepening.

As I look around us in this season of cultural decay and rejection of biblical values, I believe we must prepare for spiritual warfare as we contend for our families, our marriages, our communities, and our nation. We must encourage one another to prepare before the battle, to increase our authority as followers of Jesus, and to learn how to use divine weapons in skirmishes with the enemy before the all out assaults begin. Otherwise we will be overwhelmed.

But the good news is still the same – He that is in us is greater than he that is in the world. Jesus is certainly sufficient be we are commanded to join him in the battle as we put on the armor of God and wield the weapons of heaven. If you are not prepared or are not in the process of preparing, let me encourage you to get started because the battles are increasing all around us. The hope of our nation is in a church that arises prepared for war against spiritual principalities and powers. We need every soldier in the battle and we need him or her today.

Faith can be hard when life does not meet our expectations. Faith can be hard when promises we read in scripture that seem black and white and iron clad do not unfold as we anticipated. Faith can be hard when we expect God to intervene in supernatural ways to right every wrong yet we see wrong prevailing. This is not a new dilemma. The psalmists struggled with the same issues.

But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold.      For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong. They are free from the burdens common to man; they are not plagued by human ills…This is what the wicked are like—always carefree, they increase in wealth. Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure; in vain have I washed my hands in innocence. All day long I have been plagued; I have been punished every morning. (Ps.73:2-5, 12-14).

Here was a man who tried to live for the Lord every day and to so what was right. And yet, his days seemed like a constant struggle. Nothing was working out. God seemed to be ignoring his prayers. Perhaps he had health problems or financial struggles. Maybe his business was failing or his boss was a tyrant. Maybe he had a rebellious child or his marriage was slipping away. Those things in themselves were hard enough but the kicker was what he observed in the lives of those who gave no thought to God at all. They were prospering – good looks, great health, a fine house, the best of food and wine, an upper tier education for their kids, amazing vacations and a Roman spa membership. Along with that they enjoyed fame and fortune built on deceit and unscrupulous business practices. Where was justice?

There is a slice of biblical theology in which God promises good things to the faithful – health, safety, prosperity, obedient children, and long life along with vengeance on the wicked. But there is also another slice that promises persecution, hardship, warfare with an invisible enemy, a need to put on armor every day and a prayer to keep the evil one from us. If we ever believe that our faith will smooth every road, give us favor in every situation, and that every prayer will be answered immediately just as we had envisioned it, we will probably live with disappointment. The greatest danger is that we will take up offense against God and decide that he is untrustworthy.

Scripture calls on us to preach, teach, and understand the whole counsel of God not just one facet that we find particularly appealing. All of God’s word is true and all of his promises are certain but they often come later than we anticipated. Think about Joseph who was given prophetic dreams that he would be a ruler some day with his brothers bowing before him. All that came to pass but only after being sold into slavery, falsely accused, imprisoned, and forgotten. Eventually there was prosperity and power but a season of hardship filled the parenthesis between the dream and the reality. Neither the suffering nor the prosperity contradicted God’s word. The key for Joseph was not to judge God as a liar because his dreams were not fulfilled immediately or even soon but to continue to trust God that his promises would come to pass – some in this life and some in the life to come. We greatly differentiate between this life and the life to come, but I suspect God sees them both as one continuum. Promises made now but fulfilled then are just as faithful.

The psalmist struggled with the idea that God’s justice should punish the wicked while all he saw was the wicked being blessed. He lamented, “When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me” (Ps.73:16). Sometimes our assumption in such matters is that God is blessing the wicked while we forget that the prince of this world can bestow wealth and fame as well. As he continued to seek God, however, he was given a revelation. “Till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny” (Ps.73:17). In a moment, God revealed the eternal destiny of the wicked and the certainty of God’s justice. We are also told that the kindness or goodness of God calls men to repentance. So judgment and mercy are both reserved for the wicked to be dispensed in different seasons.

All this is to say that when we live by faith, we trust in the promises of God and often we cry out for those promises believing God for an answer. When we don’t see his answer quickly or as we had imagined it or when we see those who are indifferent to God already enjoying blessings that we are still praying for, we may take offense at God when he is still being true to his word. Remember, Paul had to learn to be content in moments of abundance and in moments of scarcity as well. Faith and expectations must be rooted first in the goodness and faithfulness of God so that I know God will grant a harvest for whatever I am sowing into with faith and prayer. Then I wait on him to see how and when the harvest comes. May he always give us eyes to see what he is doing and understanding to know what he has already done and to always count him faithful.