When I first became a follower of Jesus in my early 20’s, I lived with the impression that all the neat, clean people that sat on the pews around me on Sunday mornings were sinless, happy, and healthy people who lived worry free lives of contentment. However, after decades of serving in churches, I can say unequivocally that my impression was wrong.

If we are honest, a great many believers today are saved but remain in bondage to sin, addiction, shame, and a host of other hindrances to their walk. The truth is that other than church attendance and having their sins forgiven, a large percentage of believers differ little from the people they work with or go to school with who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them. Divorce rates in the church rival divorce rates in the culture at large. Christian teens seem to have little power over the cultural pressure to drink, experiment with drugs, or to be sexually active. A significant number of believers live on antidepressants, tolerate marriages dominated by anger and rage, live with bitterness toward the past, and are crippled by an overpowering sense of unworthiness and rejection. In short, they continue to live out their lives in emotional brokenness and bondage.

I’m not scolding these believers for not being “the Christians they should be.” Through the years, I have struggled with many of those issues as well. These believers are desperately looking for freedom and healing, but for the most part have not been able to gain victory over the issues that rob them of the joy and peace they long for.

Jesus declared that he came that his people might have life and have it to the full – abundant life. He also declared that he came to bind up the brokenhearted and set captives free. For many believers, there is a huge gap between the promises and the reality. Why? We can say with confidence that the shortfall is not on the part of Jesus for Jesus has done everything perfectly.

The truth is that, in many cases, these men and women have not been shown by their churches how to access the freedom and healing that Jesus promises. The majority of churches in America, offer their people the forgiveness purchased by the cross but not the healing and freedom. When confronted with brokenness and bondage, they send the children of God out into the world to find solutions. They are left to seek healing and freedom from those who often do not believe the core values of our faith or even that God exists.

Even when they are referred to “Christian counselors,” those good men and women have nearly always been trained to use the weapons of the world rather than divine weapons. There is something terribly wrong with that picture. Doing so implies that Jesus has no answers for the emotional suffering of his people, so we must look elsewhere. The weapons of the world can help but cannot go far enough for real victory. They tend to provide “coping skills” rather than lasting freedom.

A gospel that only gets us to a place of forgiveness, but does not radically change us through the healing and freedom that is ours in Christ is not the gospel that Jesus preached. When Jesus preached the gospel, there was always a demonstration of life-changing power with it. Paul pointed to this truth when he said, “Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life” (Phil. 2:14-16).

Stars stand out in stark contrast to the darkness around them. Jesus himself declared that his followers were to be the light of the world. Those who wear the name of Christ should stand out in the crowd by their sheer “differentness” and have a testimony of his powerful work in their lives. Jesus spoke of being “born again,” not as figurative language for trying harder, but as a reality where something real and essential has been altered in everyone who comes to him. After a short while, that essential difference should become apparent, not a as a reflection of our efforts but as a reflection of the power of God working in us and Christ being formed in us.

If the world can provide the healing and freedom that Jesus promised his people, then much of what Jesus paid for with this suffering and death was unnecessary. Paul clearly stated that the wars we truly fight, must be fought with divine weapons rather than the weapons or strategies of the world (2 Cor. 10:4, Eph.6). Most churches have little idea about fighting in the Spirit and little access to those weapons. Therefore, their people continue to struggle with emotional brokenness and bondage.

We need a shift. We need to be willing to say that what we have been doing is lacking. We need to be willing to say that we have meant well but have missed something important in the scriptures because our fruit does not yet rival the fruit we see in the New Testament. My hope is that many senior pastors and elders will begin to ask for more, seek more, and risk more so that their people have access to everything Jesus purchased for them. The power of Jesus is immense and its impact should be profound and visable. Our people should stand out from the world and walk in victory over the things that burden most of the earth. It is not that we will be trouble free, but that the trouble will come from without rather than from within where Jesus lives – and that makes all the difference.

This week I’m attending a four-day conference at the King’s Park International Church in Durham, North Carolina entitled Healing the Human Soul. Most healing conferences offered by churches today are all about praying for physical healing. I love those conferences as well, but I would say that healing the soul is of greater importance and if the soul is healed, many times physical healing will follow. For a number of decades now, leaders in the field of medicine have estimated that 60 to 80 percent of all illnesses are emotionally rooted. When they say “emotionally rooted” they mean that chronic stress, worry, fear, bitterness, anger, etc. tend to compromise the immune system, increase blood pressure, rob people of sleep, create chemical imbalances, etc. and those conditions then give way to illness. Because of that, physical healing is often impossible or, at least, impossible to maintain without first healing the soul.

The prophet Isaiah recognized the great need of healing the soul when he spoke of the coming Messiah. He spoke for Messiah prophetically when he said, “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners” (Isa.61;1). Because of sin, man is enslaved to a number of things: sin, addictions, demonization, self-centeredness, and illness. All of these create their own form of bondage for people – even God’s people. In Isaiah 61, the prophet suggests a chronology needed before each person can be fully released to become all that his/her Father in Heaven has decreed for them. First the gospel must be preached so that sins are forgiven in Christ. That releases us from the legal demands of sin on our lives. But secondly, Jesus came to bind up, heal, or minister to the brokenhearted. That is healing the soul. After that, captives and prisoners can be set free from whatever form bondage has taken in their lives.

Too often we try to heal the physical body or cast out a demon without addressing the brokenness in which a disease is rooted or to which a demon is attached. If the wound isn’t cleaned and healed properly, even if there is some temporary relief, the infection will return. Addictions are ways in which we attempt to medicate our broken souls. If the soul is not healed, a person may be set free from one addiction but will simply find another with which to medicate the wounds hidden deep in his or her soul. Believers often get stuck in their spiritual growth because they can’t get past their brokenness. The church over the last 200 years has been excellent at bringing people to forgiveness but is just now beginning to discover or rediscover how to heal the soul so that the sanctifying work of the Spirit can truly make us like Jesus.

As we minister to broken people, we too often think that problems are one-dimensional and need a one-dimensional solution. If a person is sick, command healing. If person is emotionally distressed or in bondage, cast out a demon. If a person is hopeless, preach Jesus. All of these are valid expressions of the kingdom of God and are extremely important. However, broken and enslaved people typically need all three of these elements to find healing and freedom.

God is interested in redeeming every part of us. Paul echoes that truth when he says, “May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thess.5:3). In one sense, the idea of sanctification is for us to align ourselves perfectly with God’s will, his ways, and his purposes. He wants the body, soul, and spirit of every believer to be aligned with him. When that occurs healing is manifested, freedom is experienced, and the fruit of the Spirit can finally begin to flourish within the believer.

Most often this is a process, not just an event and discipleship is the ultimate solution so that these afflicting conditions don’t return. As Americans we are prone to look for the quick fix and often leave many things undone that manifest later. Taking our time to minister to body, soul, and spirit is a much more effective approach in the long run. The cost on the front end is time and effort – both on the part of the one who needs the healing and on the part of those administering the healing. Slowing down is a spiritual discipline that many, if not most, of us need to master. I’m at the front of that line.

Pastor Jim Laffoon from Nashville, Tennessee is leading this conference and is providing really interesting insights and thoughts about healing the soul. Much of his presentation is connecting what the Bible has told us for millennia about the impact of sin and righteousness in our lives and the lives of our children with current brain and genetic research. This research is revealing some of the “whys” for God’s commands and may suggest even more effective approaches to our use of the divine weapons that God has given us.   I will be sharing some of those insights in my next few blogs.

No weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you.  This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and this is their vindication from me,” declares the Lord. Isaiah 54:17

For many of us, this is a familiar passage but, perhaps, one that we have not dug into very deeply. There is a two-part promise that comes to us as servants of the Lord that we often need to stand on. First of all, God promises that no (none, not any) weapon (weapon, instrument, possession, plan) forged (formed, fashioned, planned, designed) against us will prevail (prosper, cut through, force entry, succeed) if we are servants of the Lord (full time, not part time).

Since Paul tells us that our struggle is not against flesh and blood but rather against spiritual forces of wickedness, we can say that no weapon the devil forms against us and uses through people will prevail or be victorious in the long run. He is not saying that we will not face some battles and even get some cuts and bruises. He is saying that in the long run, the plans of the enemy to destroy us will not succeed if we continue to stand with the Lord.

Secondly, he declares that God will eventually refute every accusation that comes against us. These are connected thoughts and the second may actually be a clarification of the first. Satan is called the accuser of the brethren (Rev.12:10) and not only accuses us day and night before God, but also before men. Many of the weapons formed against us come as accusations, slander, condemnation, and so forth. Sometimes we experience those assaults through the lips of people around us. At other times, we hear them in our own thoughts. They are hurtful, discouraging, and damaging. They are fiery darts from the enemy. Search the scriptures and you will see that all those who served the Lord were, eventually, accused of ungodly motives and actions by their enemies. They were accused of being blasphemers and heretics, subverting governments, and being in league with the devil just for a start.

The promise is that we will refute the accusations made against us. But how will we refute them? Do we argue, make our case, or slander back? No. We trust God to vindicate us in the eyes of those around us. Jesus did not answer his accusers and he is our model (1 Peter 2:23).
As you search the Psalms, you see David frequently asking God to vindicate him but he rarely attempted to vindicate himself. There is an old saying that you should not try to defend yourself against slander because your enemies won’t believe it and your friends don’t need it. There is a great deal of truth in that.

How, then, do we refute words spoken against us? By continuing to live a godly life regardless of how others accuse us. Jesus went as far as commanding us to love our enemies who typically reflect the devil’s character as they accuse us day and night. He commands us to love our enemies by praying for them, speaking well of them when they speak evil of us, and doing good to them (Lk.6). Those actions keep the devil from getting a foothold in our own hearts. The promise is that, eventually, the people we care about will see Christ in us and see the devil in our accusers. If we give in and join them in the mudslinging, then people will eventually see the devil in us and that will hide the devil in them because he is a much more accomplished mudslinger than we can ever be.

To me, the most important part of the Isaiah passage is that protection and vindication are our heritage in the Lord. If that promise is true for the servants of God, how much more must it be true for his children?

Jesus said that in this world we will have trouble (Jn.16:33). Weapons, plans, and strategies will be formed against us. We will experience much of that warfare in the form of accusations and condemnation. Our part is to continue to stand with God, always take the high road, and trust in the Lord for vindication. If we fall into the trap of the devil by taking up his tactics in the fight or by receiving the condemnation he is spewing, then his weapons will have prevailed in our lives. But if we trust the Lord and his promises and continue to reflect the character of God, then our faith will quench the fiery darts of the enemy.

Standing with God in the face of unfounded accusations is hard. It typically takes endurance. If there is truth in the accusation, then we need to hear it, acknowledge it, and repent. David understood this principle. After his son Absalom conspired to take David’s kingdom, David and those close to him were leaving Jerusalem. A man name Shimei accused David of treachery against Saul’s household and was pelting David with stones. Abishai, one of David’s commanders came to him and offered to separate Shemei’s head from his body. David commanded Abishai to leave the man alone. Davis thought that, perhaps, God had prompted the man to say those things for there might be some truth that David needed to hear. If there was no truth in the accusations, then David believed that God would bless him for the abuse he was receiving without retaliation (2 Sam.16). The same spirit is found in Paul’s directives in Romans 12. “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse…Do not repay anyone evil for evil…but overcome evil with good” (Rom.12:14-21).

Satan’s primary strategy is to alienate us from God and to draw us into his camp. If we come into agreement with Satan in our heart or in our actions and remain there long, we give him a place in our lives.  When we stand with the Lord, believing that victory and vindication are part of our inheritance, then we will see the power of the enemy fade and the promises of the Father prevail. Then…no weapon formed against us shall prosper. Be blessed today by blessing those who curse you! By the way, you will probably have to ask Jesus for the grace to do so.

There are certain things that seem to get in the way of answered prayer, healing, and deliverance on a regular basis. Believers, who are attending church and serving God, often wonder why God has not answered their sincere prayers or why nothing seems to be working out in their lives.  Eventually, they begin to question God’s reliability, promise keeping, and faithfulness in those instances, but often the fault lies in the heart of the believer. The number one hindrance, that I see, to the move of God in the lives of believers is unforgiveness.

Jesus is very clear about this issue. “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins” (Mt. 6:14-15). In the parable of the unmerciful servant (Mt.18:21-35), Jesus tells of a man whose master forgave his unpayable debt of ten thousand talents. The man immediately went out demanding payment from a few who owed him inconsequential amounts and when they couldn’t pay, he had them sent to a debtor’s prison. When the master heard about it, he withdrew his mercy and turned the unmerciful man over to the “tormentors.” Jesus finished the parable by saying, “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”

Forgiveness is not optional if you want the blessings of the kingdom in your life. I was reading through Jonah and I thought how much we are often like the old prophet. You remember the story. God directed Jonah to go to Nineveh and declare that catastrophic judgment was on the way unless they repented. Nineveh was the capital of Assyria, a world power that had killed, brutalized, and deported thousands of Jews over a period of decades. In the mind of Jonah, no grace nor forgiveness was due the Assyrians. My guess is that Jonah felt as if God were being unrighteous and unjust in even considering delaying his judgment on that city – a day that Jonah had privately prayed for.

Rather than obeying God and being an instrument of God’s grace, Jonah ran as if he could hide from the Creator of heaven and earth. Many of us believe that those who have betrayed and wounded us should experience the wrath of God in their own lives. When we hear the command to forgive, we run away in our minds – we find other things to talk about, think about, and focus on. We find a dozen reasons why we should not forgive at that moment. Instead of instant obedience, we put if off – sometimes for decades.

After being cast overboard by a crew of pagan sailors out of Joppa, Jonah was swallowed by a fish prepared by God for that moment and after three days and nights he was vomited onto the shore. (The life of a prophet is not always glamorous.) In his refusal to forgive and express mercy toward Nineveh, Jonah had been turned over to a tormentor – in this case a great fish. Then the Lord commanded Jonah, a second time, to go preach repentance to Nineveh. This time, Jonah went.

Remarkably, Jonah’s less than half-hearted preaching did the trick. The entire city, from the King to the dogcatcher, repented in sackcloth and ashes. Jonah was furious. In his mind, God had no right and no business extending grace to these godless people. In fact, Jonah confessed that he had run away because he knew what would happen – God would withhold devastation.

The book ends with Jonah still pouting about God’s goodness. We are not told what happened to Jonah after that. What is clear is that God’s heart is to forgive whenever possible and he wants that to be our heart as well. Here is the key: we don’t forgive because those who have wronged us deserve it, but because Jesus deserves it. To refuse to do so leaves us in the hands of the tormentors.

Who or what are the tormentors? Sometimes, they are simply our own emotions. Anger, bitterness, blaming, revenge – all of these poison our own well, rob us of joy, increase our blood pressure, and spill over on the innocent who are then driven away by our harshness. Sometimes they are demonic spirits who gain access to us by our anger, resentment, and disobedience. “Do not let the sun go down on your anger and do not give the devil a foothold” (Eph.4:26-27).

Sometimes, we interpret Jesus as saying that we must forgive when those who have wronged us when they come crawling to us, pleading for our forgiveness. In our minds, if they don’t repent we don’t have to forgive. Jesus did not set that condition on our forgiveness. Again, we forgive because he forgave us. We forgive those who owe us debts because the master forgave us an unpayable debt.

On several occasions, we have labored to cast out a demon that will not budge until we discover that the person we are ministering to has not forgiven someone in his or her life. When they do forgive, the demon looses its place (his legal right to be there), and then comes out quickly. I believe this situation is repeated when some are not healed and when blessings never seem to find their way to a person or a family.

In those situations, God is not withholding – we are. I wonder if the command came to Jonah for his benefit more than for the benefit of the Assyrians. I imagine Jonah as an angry prophet, beaten down by the years, and bitter in spirit. Perhaps, his bitterness was toward the Assyrians and it was God’s grace that gave him a chance to be freed from that bitterness by seeing the citizens of Nineveh as frightened and broken people rather than just evil enemies. Jonah turned down that opportunity and at the end we see the sun setting on a prickly curmudgeon who is still mad at God rather than a man whose heart had been healed by grace.

Forgiveness is not optional, although reconciliation may be. When the people we have forgiven are still hurtful or dangerous we are not required to let them back into our lives. But forgiveness (releasing their wrongs to the judgment of God along with a decision to no longer make them pay for what they did) is an imperative in the Kingdom. Like Nineveh, they may eventually fall to the judgment of God because they will not repent or change, but it will be his action not yours.

Does it seem that something is blocking your blessings or binding your heart? Is there someone you have not forgiven? Maybe it is someone from so long ago that you rarely think about him or her and so assume you have forgiven that person. Like many things, you need to verbalize that forgiveness and ask God to bless them as he sees fit. Forgive them in the name of Jesus because of what he has freely forgiven in our lives. It is a freeing and healing experience – one that God wants you to have.

How to Rid Your “House” of Unwanted Guests:  Identifying the Problem

Not everything is demonic. We have to deal with the appetites of the flesh and learn to say “No” to our fallen nature. You can’t cast out the flesh. You must crucify it.  Sometimes, in a fallen world, illness is simply illness; depression is caused by chemical imbalances, and broken relationships are created by our own negative choices.  However, many things do have demonic dimensions that must be dealt with before freedom and healing can occur.

Demons attach themselves to believers because someone has given them a legal right to do so.  We may have opened that door through persistent, unrepented sin in our lives, refusal to forgive those who have wounded us, or long-standing unbelief related to God’s truth.  It is possible that demons have come down through family lines as a consequence of “the sins of our fathers” or that someone with authority over us spoke curses that created “legal” assignments for the enemy.  Perhaps, we ourselves spoke those words. It is also possible that demons entered in through wounds inflicted by trauma, abuse, or rejection.

There are several common experiences or doorways that make individuals vulnerable to demonic affliction or that indicate or suggest demonic activity within a person.  If you recognize these “doorways” or manifestations in your life, it raises the probability that you may be struggling with demonic oppression.

Sins of the Fathers – This demonic door is opened when ancestors (especially males) rebelled against God and lived in unrepented sin.  This is especially true in the areas of sexual immorality, occult activity, violence, or addictions.

Child Abuse – Child abuse opens the door for the enemy in many ways.  Often the abuser has some authority over the child or the enemy can enter later through the child’s residual anger, resentment, unforgiveness and shame.

Sexual Sins – For some reason, our sexuality is a place the enemy has targeted in man to produce all kinds of destructive behaviors that alienate us from God, others, and ourselves. Sexual sin of all kinds is a place where Satan gains tremendous access to individuals and families.

Gender Confusion  – Scripture says that God “made them male and female.”   Although our fallen nature contributes to damaged genes and chemical imbalances in our bodies, it is not God’s will that His children be confused about their sexual identity.  If gender confusion is an issue, it may have demonic components.

Anger – Emotions of rage, anger, bitterness, etc. are usually established in childhood after a wounding experience, a painful wrong, or a perceived betrayal.  These thoughts and emotions are natural reactions to those “wrongs,” but if nurtured or kept alive by subsequent wounding, they can open the door for demonic spirits to come in and fuel these destructive emotions and mindsets.  They then become strongholds and may be experienced as rage, hatred, thoughts of revenge, or bitterness.

Abandonment through death, divorce, sickness, or neglect may open the door to spirits of sorrow, fear, and distrust.

Occult Involvement – Christian and non-Christian occult groups throw the door wide open to demons as they invite their presence, pray to them, or serve them.

Curses – Demonic spirits may be commissioned to enforce curses in the lives of individuals or families that are attached to sins or word curses. If you feel trapped in patterns of abuse, destructive relationships, poverty, crisis, etc. a curse may be operating.

You Conspire Against You by persistently engaging in sinful or destructive behaviors and thought patterns, even though you want to be free from those things.  You may say and do things frequently that “aren’t you.”   You may have tried prayer, the Word, accountability, counseling, etc., without victory over the issue. The demonic is indicated when the more you resist a sinful or destructive thought or feeling, the more it presses in on you.  It feels obsessive, compulsive and addictive.

If you struggle with any of the above issues, you may have unwanted guests that have harassed and tormented you for a short time or as long as you can remember. Many demon-afflicted individuals have struggled with sinful or destructive thought patterns so long that they believe it is normal and that everyone must fight those thoughts every day.  That isn’t the case. When the demonic is involved, deliverance makes an unbelievable difference in managing temptation and condemnation. Sometimes you may not be certain whether demonic activity is involved.  I recommend treating it like a spirit and if it isn’t you haven’t lost anything. If it is, you have gained your freedom.

The first step after identifying demonic activity in your “house” is taking away the issue that has given Satan a legal right to camp in your life.  Having done that, you can command those spirits to leave by the power and authority of Jesus Christ who has delegated that power and authority to every believer. If there is sin, you need to repent.  If there is unforgiveness, you must forgive. If there are generational sins you must acknowledge those and renounce them.  If there are curses you must nullify those in the name of Jesus.

In Part 8 of Dealing with the Demonic, we will explore those steps in more detail.

As followers of Jesus, how many of us really believe that “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” (Eph. 6:12)?

The New Testament is full of reverences to satanic schemes, demonic oppression and torment, and battles in the heavenly realms.  It is full of admonitions to recognize the enemy’s ploys and stand up against him.  In Matthew 4, we see a wilderness showdown between Jesus and Satan as soon as Christ’s public ministry is launched.  We then see Jesus, the twelve, the seventy, and the church exercising authority illness and over demons and casting them out each time the gospel was preached.

There are a number of ways demons afflict people in the New Testament record.  There is the tormented and “insane” tomb dweller of Mark 5.   Then there were those who were deaf, mute, and blind.  Some had back problems for years while others seemed to have conditions that produced seizures. Undoubtedly demons manifested in people in numerous other ways as well.  Tradition maintains that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute before coming to Jesus. We are told in scripture that she had seven demons cast out of her.  No doubt they contributed heavily to her brokenness and destructive lifestyle.  Many references to deliverance say that a demon was cast out and the person was healed as a result. It’s fair to speculate that demons manifested as all kinds of physical and mental illnesses as well as physical conditions.  Wherever there is an authentic disease or condition that exists in the natural realm, it is likely that demons mimic and produce those conditions in many. For one, medication will suffice.  For the other, deliverance is needed.

It’s interesting to me that many of the people who came to Jesus seemed to have an accurate diagnosis of physical illness versus demonic affliction. One would come and say that his daughter or servant was ill and needed healing while another would come and say that his son or daughter was suffering from a demon. We live in a culture where even Bible believing Christians never consider that an illness or psychological condition might be caused by demonic forces.

First century Jews lived in a culture that gave great credence to the spiritual realm.  When disaster, affliction, or torment entered their lives, they considered spiritual causes as much or more than natural causes.  So they ran to Jesus or his followers and found healing and deliverance. In our world of rationalism, technology, and science those who believe that physical illness, physical impairments, addictions, learning disabilities, or psychological conditions such as depression, rage, anxiety, panic attacks, etc. might be rooted in demonic activity are considered weird or backward.  In many cases, even the church rejects the notion of demonic affliction and would invite anyone who wanted to minister deliverance or supernatural healing to leave immediately.

Yet the biblical model is to preach the gospel, heal the sick, cast out demons, and even raise the dead.  Most churches declare that the Bible is their guide in all things and strive to duplicate biblical patterns and models in their churches … until it comes to “spiritual forces of evil in heavenly realms.” How many of us have heard prayers asking God to help the doctors do what they do rather than asking God to heal by his power and compassion?

I’m not saying we shouldn’t go to doctors or pray for them. I believe medicine is a grace of God and doctors are a grace to this world.  What I am saying is that greater power and greater solutions lie in the spiritual realm. I am saying that some illness and physical conditions have spiritual roots and vaccines will not solve that issue.

It is clear that the majority of believers in the western church believe our healing is in the hands of doctors and secular therapists much more than in the hands of God. Even believers tend to exhaust all solutions they can find in the natural realm before they turn to the spiritual realm in desperation. Paul’s admonitions would seem to suggest that we should look for spiritual solutions even before we turn to solutions in the natural realm.

I am encouraged, however.  There is a worldwide move of God at this present time where the power of the kingdom of heaven is being displayed in the name of Jesus. Millions are coming to Christ.  Thousands are being healed and delivered.  Even in western nations and America, churches are beginning to live out the commands to preach, heal and set free in the name of Jesus. It is just my heart that every Christian would find the power of Jesus Christ for their lives and the lives of those they love who live in torment and brokenness.  The church simply needs to remember Paul’s admonition in Ephesians 6 to live with an awareness of where the real battles are waged and the real solutions are found.  Then, press in to discover the power of God and the divine weapons he offers to every follower of Jesus.

Anger. Bitterness. Unforgiveness.  These are common characteristics in hurting and broken believers.  They are bitter and broken because they have been hurt and their hurts refuse to heal because they are broken and bitter. Jesus had a great deal to say about these spiritual trip-wires in the lives of believers. So did the apostle Paul.

IN your anger do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry and do not give the devil a foothold. (Eph. 4:26-27).

Anger is a common response to the hurts and injustices of life.  Even Jesus felt the flush of anger.  Anger in itself is not sin.  What we do with the anger is what matters. We often keep our anger and our offense alive because we believe that our anger forms an invisible wall that protects us from those who would wound us again.  It makes us feel powerful rather than weak and vulnerable.  It makes us feel that justice is being served because we believe our anger is somehow exacting payment from those who wronged us.  Satan fuels those beliefs.

The truth is that anger, bitterness, and unforgiveness create a breech in the wall of our spiritual defenses that allows the enemy access to us and our families. In the passage listed above, Paul warns that holding on to our anger gives the devil a foothold or a topos – a Greek word with several interesting meanings. It means a place, a territory, a dwelling, or a sanctuary.  The Hebrew equivalent originally referred to old Canaanite shrines where demons were worshipped. Paul is literally warning that we when we keep our anger alive, we give Satan a place of dominion in our lives, even a high place where, in some way, he is worshiped.

Because Jesus triumphed over Satan, the only authority Satan has in the life of a believer is the authority that believer grants him by withholding areas of his life from the Lordship of Jesus.  When Adam and Eve came into agreement with Satan in the Garden, they forfeited the dominion God had given them over the planet and that dominion was surrendered to the devil. In our own lives, we can forfeit areas of dominion when we begin to walk in agreement with Satan rather than with God about sin.

Jesus is very clear that forgiving those who have wronged us is not optional.  Other than blasphemy of the Spirit, unforgiveness is the only thing in our lives that puts a hold on God’s flow of forgiveness towards us.  That unforgiving place in our life gives Satan access to harass and torment us.  It gives him a legal right to take up residence in our house, so to speak.  I’m not talking about possession. Jesus owns the house. I’m talking about oppression.  The house belongs to Jesus but Satan can garner authority to lease a room in our house on the basis of our actions and create a base from which demons can harass us year after year.

Paul’s point is that nurturing and maintaining anger creates a kind of sanctuary where Satan is honored (even worshiped) by our agreement with him.  When we keep our anger alive, we agree with Satan that it is our right to sit in judgment on another.  It is our right to withhold forgiveness and in many ways make the object of our anger pay for what he/she  has done to us.  It is our right to reject God’s command to forgive because our hurts and our wounds should be exempt from God’s commands.

Again, Satan fuels those thoughts so that for months, years and even decades, Christians harbor unforgiveness towards those who wounded them in their past.  As they do, the foothold that was given to Satan becomes a stronghold and that stronghold limits the blessings and destiny of God in the life the one who is keeping bitterness alive.

Anger and unforgiveness do not protect us or validate us.  Bitterness and resentment poison our own heart and our own relationships.  The very thing that we believe will keep pain out, opens the door for the demonic to come in.  God’s command to forgive is not primarily to make life easy and consequence free for hurtful people. Forgiveness is primarily for your blessing and your protection. It keeps the root of bitterness out of your heart, shuts the door on the enemy, and keeps the soil of your relationships free of emotional poisons so that love can take root and flourish.

For your sake and the sake of those you love, put away anger.  Forgive and give no place to the devil.  Remember, biblical forgiveness is simply a decision to no longer require payment for the wrongs done to you because that is what Jesus did for us.  It is not letting hurtful people back into your life or trusting the untrustworthy.  It is simply releasing judgment and payment to God.

Let God be your protector, your vindicator, your power and your strength – not anger and unforgiveness.