Breaking Down Strongholds

      On the radio the other day, I heard a talk show host say that our country is embroiled in a "cold Civil War".  He went on to say that it is a clash of worldview where one side believes socialism is the answer to the woes of people and the other side says our freedoms are best protected through our capitalistic free enterprise system.  Indeed, we see this clash often played out on our streets in devastating ways with businesses being destroyed and people being injured.  Certainly things have radically changed in our country since the time I grew up, and it is a concern for all of us.  What will be the future for our children and our grandchildren?

      As I pondered these thoughts, a Scripture came to my mind:  2 Corinthians 10:3-5 "For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh.  For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.  We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ."  So what exactly are the weapons that Paul the Apostle is talking about here?  I believe they are prayer, the Word of God and worship.  These three elements are key to defeating the enemy of our soul...Satan.   Jesus Christ encountered this enemy when He spent forty days and forty nights in the wilderness (Luke 4:1-13).  For every lie Satan threw at our Lord, our Savior came back with the truth of God's Word.  It is the Sword of the Spirit, and since the devil hates the truth, he left Jesus.  This is why knowing the Bible is so critical for a Christian.

     Paul went on to expound about who our foes are in this present age in Ephesian 6:12:  "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places."  This is why he encouraged us to put on the full armor of God so we can be prepared for the mental and spiritual assaults we face in this fallen world.  However, the greatest tool in our war chest is prayer.  We engage with God and lay out our concerns before Him.  He is the sovereign over the universe and the One who places men and women in leadership according to His plan.  While He knows what we are about to pray for before we utter a word, the exercise of prayer builds our faith in Him.  Prayer moves mountains, and does break down the stronghold of lies.  We do not have the power but we know the One true God who has all power, wisdom, and insight.  Talking with Him daily means we are constantly chipping away at the strongholds of evil in our world, and one day, they will fall like the walls of Jericho.

     Finally, when we worship God whether it is through Psalms, hymns and spiritual songs or in a church service, we are putting God on the throne and driving away the devil.  There is something healing, powerful and soothing when we lift up the name of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.  Whether I am driving to an appointment or working out on my stationary bike, I spend time praising and praying.  The enemy of our soul and his minions cannot stay in the presence of praise and prayer.  

     We know that we are citizens of Heaven and not of this world if we belong to Jesus Christ as our LORD and Savior.  Yet, He has us here to be salt and light in a very dark world just now.  If we really want to heal divisions and overcome the darkness in our world, we must use the weapons given to us by God:  prayer, The Bible and praise.  Paul told us who we are really fighting and he told us that they would bring down strongholds if used.  Let us be busy in this season of turmoil in utilizing what God has given to us and then, trust in Him for the results.  He will not fail us nor desert us.  His Word is truth!  Selah!

In a Holding Pattern

     Years ago, our family decided to take a cruise in the Caribbean.  It was around Christmas time and we thought this would be a fun way to enjoy time together with all the beautiful decorations aboard ship.  Everyone was excited and made plans to board in Miami.  At the time, our oldest son was living and working in Ft. Myers so he arranged to have a friend drive him to the port to meet us.

     As time came for boarding, we did not see our oldest son anywhere.  He called to say that they had been caught up in traffic, but he would get there before too long.  Unfortunately, that did not turn out to be the case.  Instead, his friend took a wrong turn and they were headed away from the port.  Thus, began a series of urgent phone calls to us telling us to ask if the ship could be held.  Of course, this is not a possibility for one person.

 

   Our daughter started looking for flights from Miami to Puerto Rico as this was the first port for our ship.  We had all been called to our "muster" drill to know what to do should something happen at sea.  It seemed that the ship was being held up for one reason or another as it was taking much longer than usual to disembark.  As we were standing around concerned and worried over our son's predicament and praying for a miracle, our daughter said she saw her brother.  Sure enough...he made it!

     Later, we learned that one of the airlines that works with the cruise line had a group of passengers coming from the Northwest part of the country.  The flight had been delayed due to inclement weather, so they had to hold the ship until this group of passengers were able to make it.  Some call this luck, but I call it God's providence and mercy!  Certainly, for us, it was answered prayer.

     Each of us face "holding patterns" in life don't we?  We make our plans, and for reasons unknown, things don't seem to fall into place.  Yet, we cannot see what God sees.  Perhaps that is why I love the verse from Jeremiah 29:11 so much:  "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope."  These words were spoken as comfort to the people of Judah who were about to go into exile in the land of Babylon for 70 years.  I am certain they were not happy with God's plan for them, but they had lived in utter disobedience to the LORD for so long.  However, God was letting them know that He would bring good out of all that would transpire.

     Over the last couple of weeks, I have heard several different pastors talking about time and its relationship to God.  They said that God is outside of time unlike us.  For Him, the past, present and future are all now.  Everything is completed in His realm and accomplished.  His name "I AM" reflects that.  For us, it is a mystery as to how this could be because we live in a time oriented world.  Therefore, with this in mind, He knows the beginning and the end of all things...we do not.  I believe one day when we see Him we will understand the things He has protected us from and why there have been many twists and turns in our path.

     What we know now is that God is good, that He loves us, that He sent His only Son to die for our sins and deliver us from eternal punishment.  We know from His Word that His promises are certain even when we cannot see how things will ever work out.  This is where faith and trust must enter the picture.

     We certainly didn't think our son would make the ship in time, but God had other plans.  He did work all things together for good on that day turning our concern into celebration.  God's ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9).  There are many times where we are left to wonder, but we can rest in Him knowing that He has us in His hands.  Today, let us lay our burdens at His feet rejoicing in the hope of His salvation, protection and care for He knows our needs.  Selah!

A Shocking Experience

      Anyone who knows our family is most likely acquainted with some of the stories of our vacation experiences.  However, some of our real life day to day experiences can be just as interesting if not mind numbing.  On one such occasion, we had just finished the day babysitting our grandchildren (ages 4, 9 and 11).  A bad Florida thunderstorm was on the horizon as our son picked the children up.  My husband had an Elder's meeting that evening as well, so I settled down with the dog beside me to read a book.

     Suddenly, a bolt of lightening struck right next to our home.  I know I jumped but so did

the dog and the light on the table next to me went out.  All the other lights were on but not that one.  So I calmly replaced the bulb and it worked fine.  Of course, our internet was down but that was no surprise.  I tried restarting the router several times to no avail and put in a request for service.  Naturally, the earliest they could come was on Saturday which was four days away, but I had no choice.  The problem is that we have a streaming T.V. service so that means no children's shows or movies, and we were set to babysit again the next day.  This was not the end though.

     Our friendly bolt of lightening did a number on our tankless water heater as well.  I discovered this when I tried to run hot water that night at bedtime.  After trying several things, we knew we would have to call the plumber or electrician the next day. 

     On the following day, I went to turn on our coffee maker and guess what?  Yes, you are right.  It did not work.  The machine was zapped as well.  Still this was not the end of the tale.  

     My husband went out to check on our pool and found the pump was not running.  He turned on the pump and it responded but the timer had been fried by the lightening so now that had to be replaced.  Later that afternoon as I was running water to make the grandchildren lunch our water ran out.  We have a pump for our water well so we feared there was a problem there too.

     Over all, we had a plumber here who told us a fuse was blown in our tankless water heater which might take a while to get.  Then, we had the pool repairman here to fix our timer on the pool.  I ordered a new coffee maker and our son let us borrow his so we could have nice strong coffee.  And to top it off, we had an electrician come check our well pump connections.  He made a call to a well pump repairman who also came and fixed the pump's mother board.

     Keep in mind, we were entertaining our three wonderful grandchildren all the time we had repairmen coming and going.  We had no water in the house and no live T.V. but thankfully, I had some old videos and an old video player I hooked up so the children could watch a Disney movie.  

     By God's grace, we got everything repaired in due time.  This certainly proved to be the lightening capital of the world for us that day!  We never had experienced anything like this in the past (with the exception of hurricanes for which we had been prepared).  I often think our thunderstorms accompanied by lightening are far worse than other weather issues.  

     I shared all this because it is much like the Christian life.  We can be sailing along happily going about our daily lives when suddenly a cascade of events strike without warning.  We know we live in a fallen world, but really?  Why does it seem the sky is falling all of a sudden?  The verse that came to me when the lightening struck is found in John 16:33:  "I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”  Indeed, no truer words could ever have been spoken to the disciples.

     In the commentary of this verse by Dr. John MacArthur, he writes:  "Through his impending death, he rendered the world's opposition null and void.  While the world continues to attack his people, such attacks fall harmlessly, for Christ's victory has already accomplished a smashing defeat of the whole evil rebellious system."  I find a good deal of comfort in thinking about this.  Jesus never promised that our lives would be fields of beautiful flowers that we would endlessly run through day by day with no worries to face.  He was truthful and prepared us for the fact that we live in a fallen world; however, because He has overcome the world, we also are more than conquerors in Him.  This doesn't just apply to a bad day when lightening hits your house, but it also applies to illness, loss, death and the crushing of a dream.  Jesus is there walking with us through the valley of the shadow of death and "His rod and His staff comfort us"!  

     Life is certainly unpredictable in this fallen world, but we have the assurance that we are never alone.  Whether it's a lightening strike or a sudden tragedy, we can know that our never changing God is there with us to see us through.  He has overcome the world, and because we belong to Him, we are also overcomers!  May this encourage us all to look to Jesus when life hands us a shocking experience.  Selah!