Category: Spiritual Warfare

The Power of the Bible-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. t- Hebrews 4:12 NIV

The Bible.

Throughout history brave men and women have literally died so others would have the privilege to read the Bible for themselves. Even today there are men and women who long to own a copy of the Bible. There are petty dictators who lay awake at night and worry about what might happen if those who long to get their hands on a Bible actually do.

There is a reason the Bible has the ability to terrify the bejebbers out of insignificant tyrants with over-inflated egos. 

The Bible is a weapon. It is the only weapon named in Ephesians 6-10-18 that is both offensive and defensive. Knowing what it says is protective. Its words can also be used defensively to do battle with the powers of darkness (Daniel 8:27 and 10:1-20, Ephesians 2:2, Ephesians 6:10-12, Colossians 2:13-15, 1st Peter 5:8). These powers act as puppet-masters to the unsaved. The same powers harass, discourage and attempt to derail those who are saved (Romans 10:9-10).   Christians are commanded to:

Take up the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (Ephesians 6:17).

Jesus did this.  

In Matthew 4:1-11 Jesus took hold of the sword of the Spirit (the Bible) when Satan tempted Him in the wilderness. Three separate times Jesus used quotations from the Old Testament to overcome any temptation He felt and neutralize Satan’s power. Jesus’ use of Scripture (the sword) was so threatening to Satan, he took off. He literally turned tail and ran (Matthew 4:11).  The words of Scripture are powerful enough defeat the enemy of our souls because the words of the Bible embody all the wisdom, understanding and knowledge of the maker of the universe (John 1:1-3, Hebrews 4:12)   

Jesus gave His followers authority over Satan.

Therefore, Jesus followers can use the sword of the Spirit (the Bible) the same way Jesus did (Matthew 10:1, Mark 6:7). Spiritual warfare is not hand-to-hand combat with demons. In its simplest, most basic and most common form spiritual warfare is the act of intentionally applying scripture to satanic temptations and situations (Matthew 4:1-11).  Spiritual warfare means speaking truth to both people and the enemy. Discernment is a form of spiritual warfare, it tells us when to rebuke the enemy and move forward and when to change course.  Spiritual warfare is examining every cultural trend and teaching we hear and running them through the filter of Scripture (Acts 17:11). Spiritual warfare is knowing the Bible well enough speak it out loud and to pray in a way that causes the power of darkness to flee and change course. 

However.

There are some things we have to understand and do to be successful in this endeavor.  Those things include:

 Having a relationship with the author- 

 Spiritual power and authority is only promised to those who have a personal relationship with Jesus and worship Him as Lord. It is a pointless (and even dangerous) to attempt to do battle with Satan minus a relationship with Jesus (Acts 16:31, John 3:3, Acts 19:13-16). 

Actually, reading it-

This point is super basic but needs to be made anyway. Mostly because it’s importance cannot be overstated. An unread Bible is very much like a weapon locked in a safe with an unknown combination. It’s useless. 

Contemplating it- 

Reading the Bible is essential. However, we must do more than simply read it. The Bible is not a Tom Clancy novel. We must think deeply about what it says and ponder what its instructions mean for us personally. We must learn to meditate on it often so we know it well enough to apply its wisdom to every temptation and problem we come up against. 

Believe it enough to do what it says- 

In John 3:36, 3:16 and John 5:24 the Greek words for believe and obey essentially mean the same thing. In many cases those two words can be used interchangeably. Obedience to the commands in the Bible give us spiritual power and authority. Every time we obey a biblical command we draw close to God and our understanding of all things spiritual is heightened (James 4:8). Obedience grants us the ability to effectively rebuke Satan and bind his power, pray with authority, speak the word with wisdom, bring about true biblical justice and convert the lost (Matthew 10:7-8, Luke 9:2 2nd Timothy 4:2-5). 

Give it the reverence its origin deserves-

In one very real sense the Bible was not written by human beings—although God did use humans to pen the words (2nd Timothy 3:16). The author is Jesus Himself. In John 1:1-3 the apostle John calls Jesus the word. Jesus is the originator of all things and source of all the wisdom, knowledge and understanding found in both the world and the Bible (Colossians 1:15-17, Hebrews 1:1-3). Any book whose author is the God of the universe deserves our reverence. Christians do not worship the Bible. However, Christians do hold the Bible in the highest esteem.

And finally, 

For Christians the Bible is our anchor and our true north. It guides us through the storms of life. When spoken out loud its words will reprimand Satan and defuse his power. Satan utterly despises Christians who know, understand and obey the Bible. These Christians are the most likely to stop him in his tracks with their prayers and the least likely to succumb to temptation and believe spiritual lies. 

What was Jesus’ Spiritual Weapon of Choice?

Lisa M. Price4 Comments

 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life-John 3:16 NIV

Love is more than a sweet sentiment. 

It is a formidable spiritual weapon. 

It is not an accident (in my opinion) that the “warfare passage” we find in Ephesians 6:10-20 is preceded by two and a half chapters that spell out in detail what love “looks like” and how our faith and love for others ought to work itself out in our churches, marriages, parent-child relationships and workplaces (Ephesians 4:1-6:9). 

Nor is it an accident the “love passage” found in 1st Corinthians 13:1-13 is sandwiched between passages that cover the ins-and-outs of how Christians should do church, worship and use their spiritual gifts. Paul understood probably better than anyone that love only works as a weapon when it impacts every part of our life. If we don’t get the “love” thing right our spiritual gifts become pointless parlor tricks, our worship never goes further than the ceiling and our churches are powerless to transform the lives of hurting people. 

Love was Jesus’ weapon of choice. 

 Jesus knew everything there was to know about every person He encountered and He still loved each and every one of them deeply and fully (John 3:16). He loved everyone He met in a way they had never been loved before. He did not turn away from the woman caught in adultery (John 8), the demoniac (Mark 5:1-14) or Mary Magdalene (Luke 8:12) or anyone else and for that matter. 

Instead. 

The almighty, all-holy, perfectly clean, absolutely sinless God of the Universe looked the worst humanity had to offer square in the face (literally) and because He was God He saw clearly the ugliness and sin in every person who crossed His path.  He knew exactly how their choices had affected them

And yet:

 He loved them anyway. He loved them by looking beyond their sinful ugliness and the effects of their choices. He met them where they were at and in the process loved them into a state of wholeness and health.  Then He went ahead and did the same thing for the whole human race by dying on the cross to pay the penalty of our sin (Romans 5:8)

Love is critical. It literally has the power to change the trajectory of a person’s life. 

Here’s the thing, though. 

 Love alone— or at least the way our culture defines love is actually dangerous (and icky) because it tends to devolve into a grody form of sloppy sentimentalism.   Twenty-first century love is like the drunk girl at the party who gushes sappy sentiment all over everybody but can’t remember any of what she said the next morning. Contemporary love is all about being okay with the worst in people instead of accepting people where they’re at AND helping them to reach new levels of growth, transformation and health. Sloppy sentimentalism feels delightful and appears to be noble but it isn’t really love because it lacks the power to save anyone from anything. 

Sigh.

 Authentic love: the kind of love that defeats the powers of darkness and changes the trajectory of people’s lives is firmly anchored in biblical truth (Colossians 1:13-14). True Christian love is always characterized by a willingness to resist current cultural beliefs that lead people away from God and into bondage to sin. 

It’s the kind of love Jesus had for people. 

When Jesus freed Mary Magdalene and the demoniac from their demon possession he did not encourage either one of them to go back to the choices that got them demon-possessed in the first place—although those choices may have still felt comfortable to them, even after meeting Jesus. Instead He showed them how they could live free from the sinful choices that led them to a life of bondage and despair.  Jesus did not forgive the woman caught in adultery (John 8) and send her back to her latest partner— instead He told her she should “go and sin no more” because that’s what warfare kind of love does. 

Warfare kind of love sets the captives free with equal measures of truth and grace (Isaiah 42:6-9). 

 Jesus would never have been okay with our culture’s contemporary definition of love. He would be disgusted with drug programs that help people to do drugs “safely” rather than free them from the oppression of their drug use. Jesus is undoubtedly appalled at the notion of encouraging someone confused about their gender to transition because transitioning doesn’t deal with the root hurt, pain or sin that led to their confused state in the first place (Jude 23)  

Jesus grieves deeply when Christians choose to love like the world loves because He knows that real love fights for the best heaven and earth have to offer; instead of simply settling for something easy but vastly inferior to what God wants for all people (2nd Timothy 2:3-5).  

Everyone who has been truly touched by the love of Jesus wants to love like He loved: with a warfare kind of love. We love like Jesus loved by living out the Bible’s standard of righteousness, fearlessly telling people the truth in the most loving way possible and sticking with them through the sometimes-long process of finding authentic freedom and growing into the image of Jesus (2nd Corinthians 3:18, Colossians 3:1-25). 

Understanding Satan’s most Effective Schemes-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes- Ephesians 6:10-11 NIV

At some point in their spiritual journey Christians have to face the fact that for followers of Jesus this life will never be all sunshine, daisy chains and good vibes (John 16:33).

This is because we live in a world at war (John 10:10, Job 1:1-22, Luke 22:31, Ephesians 6:10-13, 1st Timothy 1:18-19).  

We have a very real enemy who wants to destroy us spiritually, morally and psychologically (1st Peter 5:8), doing so takes him a long way towards his ultimate goal of rendering as many Christians as possible ineffective at glorifying God and leading others to Jesus.   

 Thankfully, followers of Jesus sit squarely on the winning side of this war (Revelation 20:10). Nonetheless, ultimate victory does not exempt us from battle in the here and now (Philippians 2:25, 2nd Timothy 2:3-4, Philemon 1:2). The good news is that God has given us every weapon we need to be victorious. Our success is guaranteed if we learn how to use those weapons properly (Ephesians 6:13-18, 2nd Corinthians 10:3). 

One of the most powerful weapons we have in our arsenal is the Holy Spirit (John 14:26, Ephesians 6:18). Jesus calls the Holy Spirit our guide (John 15:26). A healthy connection to the Holy Spirit will give us spiritual eyes to see through the schemes and tactics of the enemy (2nd Corinthians 2:11, Ephesians 6:11). When we understand our enemy, we are far less likely to become collateral damage in the battle (Hebrews 12:1). 

We underestimate Satan’s craftiness at our own peril. That being said, he is not a particularly inventive creature. As a result, he tends to use the same strategies over and over again. If we learn to recognize those strategies the Bible calls his “schemes” that knowledge will empower us to live every area of our lives victoriously and lead others to faith in Jesus (2nd Corinthians 2:11).  

It quickly becomes a win win for team Jesus. 

Satan’s favorite schemes are as follows: 

The twisting of God’s words- 

This is was the very first scheme Satan used against humanity (Genesis 3:1-5). It was so off-the-charts-effective he has stuck with it over the years. Satan twists God’s word around in our minds in such a way that we end up doing the exact opposite of what God wants us to do. For example, I know a person who as a teenager was told (correctly) Jesus said lusting in your heart is a sin (Matthew 5:28). This person concluded that since that temptation was a sin every temptation must be a sin. It seemed logical to them that if every temptation is a sin then they might as well just do the thing they were tempted to do because they were already guilty of sin.  Sadly, the enemy created a lot of heartache for this person before a good pastor straightened out their doctrinal errors. This scheme is dealt with most effectively through consistent church attendance and spiritual community. Messy theology is far more likely to be corrected when we habitually fellowship and study with other Christians. 

Discouragement or difficulty anytime we choose a higher level of obedience- 

It would make total sense for obedience to always equal obvious blessings and a trouble-free existence. Alas, that would be a fast track to one-hundred-percent obedience on our part all the time. Satan is categorically not a fan of spiritual growth or obedience. So, one of his favorite (and most effective) schemes is to go out of his way to make our lives difficult and complicated anytime we choose obey God fully or pursue Him on a higher level. 

A smooth path when we choose disobedience-

Interestingly enough, periods of rebellion can be some of the easiest, most stress-free times of our Christian life. When we are rebelling against God in any area Satan has nothing to worry about from a spiritual perspective, so he leaves us alone.  Our sinful choices have already rendered us ineffective, so he has nothing to do.  Consequently, Satan will go the extra mile and find ways to make our path smooth in times of rebellion because a smooth path makes us unlikely to self-reflect and reverse course. Constant self-reflection is the key to overcoming this scheme. We should examine ourselves regularly and ask God to reveal any areas of sin  

Our thing- whatever that thing is- 

We all have an underlying or besetting sin that trips us up in life— usually without us even realizing what it is. Satan knows what our thing is even if we don’t and he uses our desire for that thing to trip us up every chance he gets. Our thing might be greed, lust, power, a fear of man or a desire to be in control or whatever. If you have a recurring theme in your life—and most of us do. Ask God to show you the sin at the root of the recurring theme.  There is one. If you figure out what IT is Satan will lose his power over you in that area.  

At least half the battle in spiritual warfare is understanding the tactics of our enemy. The other half is of the battle is trusting God with our lives and making the choice every day to walk closely enough with the Holy Spirit that we SEE those tactics at work so we can do something about them. 

Should Christians Care About Free Speech?

Lisa M. Price1 Comment

`The quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded than the shouts of a ruler of fools.
Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good- Ecclesiastes 9:16-18 NIV

I am convinced Western society has gone off a cliff and lost its collective mind. How we approach speech these days demonstrates this phenomenon. 

There was a time in the not-so-distant past when the right to speak freely was considered sacred and unquestioned. Free speech was thought to be, by everyone except a few, the holy grail of freedom and democracy. There were of course, limits. It was never okay to yell “fire” in a crowded building. That being said, unless a person’s words were likely to cause real physical harm to a large number of human beings the speech was permitted. Not all speech was valued or appreciated. Some speech was simply endured, some was loathed, some was laughed at, but it was all okay. Those folks in the not-so-distant past were clever enough to understand that political and religious freedom and the democracy that undergirds political and religious freedom rests entirely on a person’s right to say what they want to say when they want to say it. 

Unfortunately, all that is pretty much over.  

In recent years a great deal of speech has been stifled, some has even been forbidden. All of this has taken place under the watchful eye of the news media and with the blessing of social media, capitalists and many in government. Ironically, this squashing of speech has been done in the name of protecting people. There are those who sincerely believe words have the power to cause irreparable harm to others and therefore should be monitored for appropriateness and censored when found to be unsuitable. 

Here’s the thing:

Appropriateness of speech is totally subjective. The speech one person finds acceptable someone else might decide is wildly unacceptable.  It’s nearly impossible to find two humans who fully agree on every aspect of what’s okay and what isn’t okay to say. However, the biggest problem is with who gets to decide what’s okay and what’s not. Somebody has to be the decider. It’s simply a fact that anyone who believes they are qualified to decide what should and should not be said is very likely a narcissistic monster with a colossal god-complex.  

Sigh. 

The right to speak freely matters. It really is the foundation of every other human right. Furthermore, we live in a time when dangerous ideas about life, sex, and even what is real are being promoted almost everywhere. Someone has to be the voice of reason (Ephesians 4:15 and 25). As Christians we are obligated to be that voice because Jesus called us to co-labor with Him in setting the captives free from the lies of the enemy (Luke 4:18, Matthew 10:8). Furthermore, the ability to share the gospel, call out sin and preach the Bible hinge on the right to speak freely and without fear of government interference and/or retaliation.  It’s just a fact that all Christians are called to be a protective and healing influence in the society they live in (Matthew 5:13-16). This means all Christians in a free society play a part in keeping speech free. We can do our part to keep speech free by adopting the following five policies. Starting with:

Don’t be dumb-  

Seriously. There is a lot of unadulterated idiocy in this cultural moment. Christians should work really hard to not contribute to any of it. Pray fervently, do research on issues and train yourself to think deeply about all sides of an issue before you speak out about ANYTHING (Proverbs 10:19). 

Learn to separate an opinion from a fact, only argue with facts- 

When doing research on a subject look for verifiable facts rather than just accepting someone else’s assessment of a subject. Remember, facts can be verified and repeated. Opinions are what one person thinks. An opinion formed using facts is okay, an opinion formed without verifiable facts backing it up should never be used in a discussion or argument. 

Don’t allow fear to control your tongue- 

Too many Christians with good ideas and well-formed opinions have kept their thoughts to themselves out of fear of not being liked.  This is a big part of what got us to where we’re at in this sketchy cultural moment. Change will only come if smart believers speak start speaking their minds on the issues in a respectful way. 

Don’t be a jerk-  

Don’t name-call, demean or disparage anyone while speaking out on issues. It’s tempting to be rude in a world where there are so many incredibly stupid opinions literally running amuck. Just don’t. It’s not Christ-like and won’t change anyone’s heart or mind. 

Be respectful- 

 It’s critical we remember the battle we find ourselves in is spiritual (Ephesians 6:12). The people are not the enemy. Our job is to free people from the real enemy. We won’t do free anyone by being rude, disrespectful or mean.   

Avoid contributing to the problem with your dollars- 

I am not a huge fan of big, noisy, obnoxious boycotts. Boycotts pit people against each other and draw attention to Christianity in all the wrong ways. That being said, I am convinced there is more to Christian money management than simply tithing. All the money we have is a gift from God we get to manage or steward for God’s glory. This approach to money means we think hard about what companies do with or promote with their profits. There are many companies run by men and women who want to severely curtail free speech. Believers should make every effort to avoid supporting these businesses because the right to speak freely is basic, God-given and directly tied to the freedom to worship.

The world has never needed Jesus more than it does in this moment. It’s our job as Jesus followers to declare truth as winsomely as we possibly can. We can’t do that if we’re contributing to the foolishness. 

What do 1st and 2nd Kings Teach us About how God Works in Tough Times?

Lisa M. Price1 Comment

Our wrongdoings testify against us, Lord, act for the sake of Your name! Our apostasies have indeed been many. We have sinned against You– Jeremiah 14:7 NASB 

A while back it dawned on me that I have been spending almost all of my Bible reading time in a few New Testament books. 

It was high-time I broaden my horizons. 

So, I dusted off the books of 1st and 2nd Kings. The first few chapters of 1st Kings is mostly just palace intrigue. It tells the story of the the death of King David and the opportunistic scheming that occurred around his passing. The book reaches a high point early on with the installation of David’s son Solomon as his replacement. Solomon had a promising start. God blessed his efforts and Israel thrived economically and militarily under his leadership.  

It all kind of goes down-hill from there.

Despite his wisdom and obvious leadership ability, Solomon was a dismal failure when it came to all the things that really matter in life. The Kingdom split following his death and both Israel and Judah wandered far from God.  Most of the rest of 1st Kings is just a glum recounting of one bad, evil, idolatrous king after another bad, evil, idolatrous king. The book gets slightly more interesting with the introduction of the prophet Elijah in 1st Kings 17. Then 2nd Kings devolves into a serious of weird and disturbing stories that cover topics as diverse as floating ax heads and cannibalism. The weird stories are interspersed here and there with more sad stories of more terrible kings and their leadership foibles. In chapter seventeen Israel falls and is taken captive by Syria. King Hezekiah begins ruling Judah in chapter eighteen. Hezekiah and Josiah were the last of Judah’s even halfway decent kings. However, their leadership was not enough to keep the country from falling ever deeper into idolatry and ruin. King Nebuchadnezzar makes his first appearance in chapter twenty-four, his arrival on the scene ushers in the Babylonian captivity and the end of Jewish sovereignty. 

Sigh. 

This is why I like the New Testament.

I was surprised by just how bummed out I felt when I was finished reading the books. It wasn’t the first time I read either book. However, it was the first time either book hit me in such a soul-crushing kind of a way.  

As I sat in my sad feelings I did experience a couple of insights:

First.

The book of 1st Kings is basically just a long, sad recounting of Israel’s long slide into apostasy, unbelief and sin. 2nd Kings tells the story of how God worked in the lives of those who lived faithfully for God when everyone else turned their backs on Him.  The books hit me hard because I am also living in a season of apostasy. We don’t call it that, that of course, we call it “living in a post-Christian culture”, which sounds way nicer than “apostasy” but it’s basically the exact same thing. Whatever you call it, it sucks. It sucks living in a declining culture. It sucks watching the whole stupid world devolve into moral and intellectual chaos. It sucks seeing people degrade themselves with stupid ideas and even stupider behavior. It sucks watching people do everything possible to deny the reality of God. Most of all, it sucks feeling overwhelmed by the darkness and ugliness of a post-Christian world. 

That being said. 

There’s hope.

We aren’t Israel and God hasn’t left the building (metaphorically speaking of course). He’s still on His throne and He is still working in the hearts of His people, which means He is still working in our culture. Revival could be just around the corner. In the meantime, following are four lessons I gleaned about living in a post-Christian culture from 1st and 2nd Kings.  

Community is critical in tough times– 

In 1st and 2nd Kings God works most powerfully through little communities of prophets who banded together to support and encourage one another. Community, connection, partnership and close friendship is an ongoing theme throughout the book. The takeaway for contemporary believers is clear. The key to remaining spiritually strong and emotionally healthy while the world is literally going to hell around us is making Christian community a priority in our lives. 

When the going gets tough God shows off– 

All the depressing historical truths aside, one of the high points of both books is seeing God work among the believing remnant in 1st and 2nd Kings. From Mt. Caramel in 1st Kings 17 to the ax head incident in 2nd Kings. God showed His power and provided for His people in new and unexpected ways. It just makes sense to have hearts of faith and expect Him to do the same in our time. 

 God works in surprising places in dark times- 

One key theme of both 1st and 2nd Kings is provision for gentiles in general and gentile women in particular (1st Kings 17:9-20, 2nd Kings 4:1-37). Both books make it clear that when previously believing people turn their backs on God, He shows Himself in mighty and life-giving ways to people groups we wouldn’t necessarily expect Him to work through. I believe with all my heart we should expect a movement of God in unexpected places in the coming years. 

And finally: 

Relentlessly courageous leaders bring hope and healing to a graceless age – 

Two bright spots in 2nd Kings are the stories of Hezekiah and Josiah. Both men were hardworking, tenacious, God-fearing leaders who had the insight to recognize the serious nature of times they lived in and the grit to do something about the problems at the root of Israel’s trouble. They understood it was idolatry and the sinful practices that accompany idolatry destroying the people they loved (2nd Kings 18:1-6, 2nd Kings 23:1-24). Their love for people, steadfast leadership and determination to serve God wholeheartedly resulted in revival that brought social change and kept judgment at bay. 

So. 

All that to say, one of the key takeaways from 1st and 2nd Kings is that God is always at work even in a post-Christian world that feels like it’s going to hell all around us.  Usually in ways we least expect. 

Becoming Courageous-

Lisa M. Price1 Comment

“These things I have spoken to you so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”- John 16:33 NASB 

The command “fear not” is given three-hundred-sixty-five times in the Bible.

That’s a lot of times.

One for every single day of the year.

Courage is a frequently used Bible word as well. It’s used a total of one-hundred-forty one times. Furthermore, God explicitly promises abundant personal peace to those who trust Him enough to courageously obey His commands (Leviticus 26, Romans 2:10, Galatians 6:15).  All that combined makes it tough not to conclude that Christians are straight-up commanded be brave, courageous people (Joshua 1:6-9).

Overcoming fear is not about white-knuckling it through the scary stuff of life. Nor, is it about pretending everything is okay when nothing is okay. Overcoming fear is about doing the right thing in the face of scary stuff. It’s about forging ahead with the right thing in the face potentially ugly consequences and trusting God with the outcome (Daniel 6:1-28). When we choose to trust God He not only makes us braver than we naturally are, He also blesses our bravery by using us to bring about change in the world. Following are four areas we all probably need a little more courage in order to bring about much needed change:

 Saying what needs to be said-

Life is full of situations where God clearly calls His people to speak up for what we know is right, just and true. These moments pop up naturally at work, school, with children, spouses, friends and those we interact with on a regular basis. Anything hard should be said with a generous measure of compassion, grace and kindness (Colossians 4:5-6, Ephesians 4:15). However, it is critical we understand that choosing not to speak truth, especially hard truth always comes at a substantial price. Our culture is the way it is, partly because good people have chosen to keep their mouths shut rather than run the risk of offending others or being canceled by “the cool people”. I cannot help but wonder what the world would look like if more of us had the courage to challenge wrong thinking when it first began taking root in the lives of people we know and love rather than waiting until bad ideas and wrong thinking became endemically entrenched throughout the culture (Galatians 5:9).   

 Living the way God calls us to live- 

We live in a world that’s broken in ways none of us will never fully understand this side of heaven. Consequently, there was never a time when it was actually easy to put God first, live with integrity and speak out against sin and injustice. That said, it’s getting tougher to do those things all the time. When life gets scary and the pressure to conform to the world’s system becomes overwhelming we have to remember God does not promise to make it easy on us when we do the right thing. But, He does promise spiritual power, joy and peace beyond human understanding to those who choose to live courageously and counter-culturally (John 14:27, Philippians 4:6-7, Philippians 4:9, 2nd Peter 1:2).  

Standing up against the forces within Christianity that are pulling the church in the wrong direction- 

 Many churches and Christian denominations are being pulled away from biblical truth into worldly philosophies that run counter to the gospel (Colossians 2:8, 2nd Timothy 4:3, 2nd Peter 3:3). This should not come as a surprise to anyone. Jesus never promised that the church would be occupied only by good, God-fearing Christians determined to live Jesus first lives. Jesus promised in Matthew 13:24-30 that weeds (unbelievers) will grow-up alongside wheat (believers) causing all sorts of difficulties and challenges for true Christians. Furthermore, all Christians are in various stages of spiritual maturity and health. It is possible for a genuine Christian to be wrong about all kinds of issues or misled by bad teaching or their own sinful desires and wrong thinking. This is why prayerful self-examination is a must for all believers. We can’t fix other people but we can correct ourselves. Self-examination gives God opportunity to correct our thinking and set us straight. If we want to be at peace with God and ourselves we must know the word, understand how God is calling us to live and never allow ourselves to be swayed by any voice not rooted in Scripture and led by the Holy Spirit (John 10:14) 

Being the right voice of righteousness-  

Christians are not called to defend a particular nation or form of government. Instead, Christians are called to be defenders of the Christian faith (Philippians 1:7, 1st Peter 3:15, Jude 1:3).  There is nothing wrong with patriotism, however choosing country over fidelity the gospel always leads to a lack of peace, loss of voice in the culture and spiritual power.  

Finally.  

In Matthew chapter ten Jesus sends out the twelve and commands them to do things that could only be done with God’s empowering presence and a serious dose of courage (Matthew 10:7-10, 2nd Corinthians 12:9).  He then promised life would be hard for anyone who actually has the guts to do the things He asks (Matthew 10:16-21). He also lays out a series of promises throughout the passage. Jesus promises that the courageous will be loved by God (Matthew 10:30-31), will be like God (Matthew 10:24), and will be honored in the presence of the Father (Matthew 10:32). Then He promises that the courageous will have such and abundance of personal peace the world will be blessed by their existence (Matthew 10:13).

In order to get to where Jesus wants us to be we must courageously trust God in the face of any fear we may feel. 

How do we Forgive the Jerks who Hurt Us?

Lisa M. Price1 Comment

If you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses- Matthew 6:14-15 NKJV

Let’s be real. 

Hard things are hard and God asks His kids to do a lot of legitimately hard things.

Jesus’ followers are called to love the unlovable, exercise self-control in the most unjust of circumstances and do good things to and for those who mistreat them (Luke 6:27 12:17-19, 1st Peter 3:17, Matthew 5:44). 

Dang.

However. Without question the hardest of all the hard things God’s people are called to do is to forgive. The New Testament passages that mandate total forgiveness are insanely comprehensive and leave no legitimate wiggle-room for compromise on the subject (Matthew 18:21-35, Mark 11:25, Colossians 3:13, 1st Peter 2:18-21). These requirements go so far as to teach that our being forgiven by God hinges on our willingness to forgive others. 

Yikes. 

Furthermore, Hebrews 12:15 tells us if unforgiveness is allowed to harden into bitterness the bitterness will not just defile (taint, corrupt, ruin) the bitter person but the people they love as well. 

Sigh. 

Over the course of the last fifteen years or so I have been “blessed” with several “opportunities” to forgive people who legitimately did not deserve to be forgiven. These were not small slights like having my feelings hurt, being overlooked in a social situation or being ignored by someone I felt should care about me. Each experience was extremely personal and painful.  To my knowledge, none of the people I had to forgive were actually sorry for anything they did. None of them ever apologized or even admitted any kind of wrongdoing. I will not be spilling the tea on the details. All anyone really needs to know is that all those situations were incredibly painful and ultimately demanded more of me than I honestly thought I was capable of giving at the time. 

Through those situations I learned there are steps that must be followed for the process of forgiveness to work itself out. These things don’t need to be done in a particular order. However, if any parts of the process are skipped or glossed over the forgiveness will be incomplete and our feelings towards the person who hurt us will harden into bitterness. 

 Following are the steps to forgiving others:

Recognize that forgiveness is a process rather than an event- 

Forgiving really big offenses is rarely, if ever, a one and done. Forgiveness begins with the choice to forgive. However, that choice must be followed by a commitment to do the work necessary to truly move on from the hurt. The length of time it takes to work through the process depends on many things including the level of hurt involved and the maturity of the person who was hurt. 

Ask God to help you-

Any reasonably mature adult can forgive a social slight or a minor offense easily.  However, there are some hurts and offenses so grievous that even the most spiritually mature people cannot forgive them without God’s help and guidance.  

Allow yourself to feel the impact of the hurt-

Anytime I hear someone who has just experienced a hurt at the hands of an evil person say “I forgive them”. My heart breaks for that person because I know they aren’t Jesus and Jesus is the only person who ever lived who is truly capable of forgiving an act of evil without first sorting through their feelings about the situation (Luke 23:34). Forgiveness is hard because it means surrendering the right we all feel we have to hold people accountable for sinning against us. Feeling the full, ugly impact of a hurt is excruciatingly painful. Therefore, it is tempting to simply utter the words “I forgive” without counting the cost and really working through how we feel about the person who hurt us. If we skip this step we will likely find that the feelings of forgiveness do not last long. Another possible consequence of skipping or glossing over this step is turning to substances (drugs, alcohol, food) to keep the bad feelings at bay.    All that being said, it is critical that we don’t get stuck in feeling the pain because if we do bitterness is inevitable. 

Find a person to help you process- 

God designed the human race in such a way that people need people (Genesis 2:18). Christians are commanded to comfort the hurting and to grieve with those who mourn (2nd Corinthians 1:3-5, 1st Thessalonians 2:11-12, Romans 12:15). No one needs comfort more or is grieving harder than someone who is processing a huge injustice.  If you are hurting find a Christian counselor, Pastor or mature Christian friend who can walk you through the process. If you happen to be in a good place right now commit yourself to being the person who helps someone when they need comfort (Matthew 5:9, James 3:18). 

Pray daily for the person who hurt you- 

You absolutely have to pray God blesses the person who hurt you. This one sucks in the worst way imaginable but it is also probably the most important. Thankfully you are not required to pray they will be blessed with a million dollars or their dream job. Instead, ask God to bless them with healthy self-awareness so they will begin to understand how their actions are affecting the people they interact with.  Ask God to put people and situations in their lives to help them become more self-aware and caring. Pray He will do whatever needs to be done in their lives for them to grow into the best version of themselves possible (Luke 6:28). Keep praying those prayers until you feel freed from any bitterness you feel towards the person who hurt you. 

Forgiveness is never easy.

That said, forgiveness is worth all the pain and trouble involved because the alternative is mental, emotional and spiritual bondage. Unforgiveness keeps us emotionally stuck, making it impossible to grow, change and be transformed into the image of Jesus.  Authentic forgiveness frees us from the mental bondage of thinking about the person who hurt us all the time. This frees us up to focus on the things that will empower us to become the people God wants us to be and that kind of freedom is worth any trouble and pain it takes to get there (2nd Corinthians 3:18).   

Five Ways our Generation has Screwed-up Prayer-

Lisa M. Price1 Comment

This, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread”~ Matthew 6:9-11 NIV

 This week I enjoyed a very long lunch with an old friend.

This particular friend is not just an old friend in the sense that we have known each other a long time. She is also an old friend in the sense that she is a good bit older than I am. I don’t know if it’s because she’s older than I am or if it’s because she’s acquired some wisdom in life (or a combination of the two), but this woman never fails to challenge me. The truly maddening thing is that I’m fairly certain she does it without even trying.

 This visit was no exception.

 We spent some time catching-up on our families and grumbling about all the madness in the world, then we moved on to the topic of church and ministry. I shared a little bit about what’s going on in my life right now, she shared what she’s doing and a couple of “back in the day” stories.

 I will not lie.

 There was a time (to my eternal shame) when I would sigh quietly anytime an older Christian began to wax eloquent about how ministry was done “back in the day”. I assumed, like all youthful idiots that there is nothing significant to be learned from how church or ministry was done in the past. However, my generations’ complete and utter failure to make meaningful spiritual inroads into to our culture has humbled me a bit. I am now much more inclined to listen anytime those with a few years on me starts talking.

 It didn’t take long for me to recognize that all of her stories had a shared theme. The theme did not include tales of strategic outreach, careful planning or exciting gimmicks used to lure the unsaved into church buildings or a relationship with Jesus. Rather, the common denominator to all her stories was prayer. In every story she told, Christians prayed really hard and then crazy-cool stuff would happen, hearts changed, non-Christians became Christians, sin got confessed and repented of, and miracles took place. By the end of our lunch I was deeply convicted that our generation has both forgotten how to pray and screwed-up the concept of prayer in at least five ways.

 Beginning with:

 We plan instead of pray-

 I am a planner. One of my favorite adages much to the chagrin of my poor children is “failing to plan is like planning to fail”. I have even been accused of over-planning a time or two. That said, I suspect we might see more success in our churches and events if we spent at least as much time praying for events and services as we do planning for them.

 We just don’t-

 According to a bunch of surveys I looked at, Christians admit to spending an average of three minutes a day in prayer. The ugly underbelly of that already ugly statistic is that it tells us that at least half of all Christians either don’t pray at all or routinely pray for fewer than three minutes a day.  

 We don’t really believe anything will happen when we do pray–

 Over and over again in the New Testament we are told that God is much more inclined to answer prayer when the person praying actually believes something will happen because they prayed. I will be the first to admit that God does not answer all our prayers the way we want Him to answer our prayers. However, that does not mean we should stop believing that God will answer when we do pray, especially when we are praying for things that are categorically in His will like people getting saved, repenting, etc.

 We pray for dumb stuff-

 Seriously, the world is going to hell right in front of us (literally and figuratively) and I have been at prayer meetings where people requested prayer for the health of their pets and for a relaxing vacation. God does care about pets and rest (He cares about everything). However, I suspect He cares more about the souls of the lost and is more inclined to answer in the affirmative when we pray about the stuff with eternal consequences.  

 We don’t pray corporately-

 Even when we do gather to pray corporately, most of the time we wander off by our selves and pray alone. I’m pretty sure that’s not what Jesus had in mind when He talked about “two or three being gathered” in His name.

 We have lost touch with the purpose of prayer. Prayer is not about convincing God to do what we want or getting a blessing from God. Prayer is about becoming spiritually aware, getting our purposes aligned with His and receiving the spiritual power we need to do the things that really matter to God.

When we pray like that crazy-cool stuff happens.