Category: Be Aware of Spiritual Warfare

¹ Now when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, the Amalekites had made a raid against the Negeb and against Ziklag. They had overcome Ziklag and burned it with fire ² and taken captive the women and all who were in it, both small and great. They killed no one, but carried them off and went their way. ³ And when David and his men came to the city, they found it burned with fire, and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive. ⁴ Then David and the people who were with him raised their voices and wept until they had no more strength to weep. ⁵ David’s two wives also had been taken captive, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel. ⁶ And David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because all the people were bitter in soul, each for his sons and daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God. ⁷ And David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, “Bring me the ephod.” So Abiathar brought the ephod to David. ⁸ And David inquired of the Lord, “Shall I pursue after this band? Shall I overtake them?” He answered him, “Pursue, for you shall surely overtake and shall surely rescue.” ⁹ So David set out, and the six hundred men who were with him, and they came to the brook Besor, where those who were left behind stayed. ¹⁰ But David pursued, he and four hundred men. Two hundred stayed behind, who were too exhausted to cross the brook Besor. ~ 1 Samuel 30:1-10

One of my favorite TV shows of all time is Avatar: The Last Airbender. Each character has a unique and deep storyline that involves some form of growth. One of my favorite episodes is when Zuko and Sokka go to find Sokka’s father in a Fire Nation prison. Sokka feels like giving up because he can’t find his father, and if he stays, he’s risking everyone’s (him, Zuko, Suki) safety and freedom for something that may not happen (finding his father).

In hopes of encouraging Sokka to not give up, Zuko tells him this:

Zuko: Look, you’re going to fail a lot before things work out…
Sokka: This is supposed to make me feel better?!?!
Zuko: Even though you’ll probably fail over and over again…
Sokka: Seriously, you’re not helping!
Zuko: You have to try every time. You can’t quit because you’re afraid you might fail.

In the end, Sokka decides to stay, free his father from the Fire Nation prison, and lead everyone to freedom. If he had left, he would never have been reunited with his father or freed him. It looked impossible. It was dangerous, but in the end, it was worth it. Our lives are much like this.

We are each called to do things that scare us. Things that we can’t ignore. Things that we can’t just let go. Usually, these things are to take us to the next level. They’re to get back something that the enemy has taken from us. So, go in the confidence of the LORD. Sokka had his friends to help him, but you have the LORD God Almighty. You have the Great I Am.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Go In The Confidence of The LORD.

⁹ If a wise man has an argument with a fool, the fool only rages and laughs, and there is no quiet. ~ Proverbs 29:9

Instigating when you are losing a debate, I believe, is exactly what Solomon was referring to in these verses. If you argue with someone who cannot defend their stance, they attack you. They gaslight you. They will accuse you of being loud, aggressive, and in need of calming down because they have only one true option when it comes down to it: they have to admit that their stance is wrong, which a fool will never do. Why? Because according to Proverbs 1:7, they despise wisdom and instruction.

Throughout the book of Proverbs, they are characterized as quarrelsome, aggressive, and making their own path to destruction, ignoring any instruction of the wise. These people are self-destructive. Haters of wisdom. Mockers. Unable to ever find truth. Not because no one has told them. Not because no one has taken the time to explain it, but because they hate instruction. They hate Truth. They are wise in their own eyes, and therefore unable to ever come to the knowledge or understanding of Truth.

So, what can we do? We can plant the seed by showing them the Truth and the folly of their ways or beliefs, and then we place them in the hands of God. You can’t argue the Truth into them. You can’t even beat the Truth into them. Solomon says:

Crush a fool in a mortar with a pestle
along with crushed grain,
yet his folly will not depart from him.

Proverbs 27:22

In other words, no matter what you do to a fool, you will never get them to see the Truth. This one you can only put into the hands of God. Into the hands of Him who can melt stone hearts, open deaf ears, and remove scales from blind eyes. It is only the mercy of God that will save a fool. Therefore, show them the Truth, but do not let them anger you. Don’t let them get to you. Hold your peace, and when it’s all said and done, place them in the hands of the Almighty. Not every soul is the same. There is not a one-size-fits-all for leading people to Christ. Some you can show the Truth, and they will accept on the spot, while others will need prayer, and still others will need prayer and fasting.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Know With Whom You Deal.

²⁶ For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? ~ Matthew 16:26

I recently saw a video of a young woman who had been on X-Factor and had a recording contract in her teens, open up about what it was like behind the scenes. She said that as a young teen, the label told her they weren’t giving her any money for promoting this new album. Instead, she needed to go to the clubs and try to seduce Bieber. To basically leech off of his success by throwing herself at him. This was their advice to a young teenage girl.

Now, I actually remember listening to her music as a young teen myself and wondering what ever happened to her. Why her career never blew up. I now know why. She didn’t play Hollywood’s game. She didn’t want to, essentially, prostitute herself for fame or gain of any kind. She was talented. Her music was catchy, but her soul wasn’t for sale, so her music didn’t go anywhere.

Jesus asks a very deep question: “What will you give in return for your soul?” We often read Jesus’ first question and think about someone selling their soul, but what happens once it’s sold and you want it back? What can you give in order to acquire it? In order to retrieve it? More times than not, when a person who has been in Hollywood a long time or has a lot of fame begins really seeking Jesus, they have some kind of mental breakdown. Some kind of mental meltdown that is often very public. Very intense. Very off. I don’t think this is a coincidence. I believe this is spiritual.

Make no mistake, your soul can be sold. You don’t need to sign your name in blood on a mystical contract with the Devil himself to do it either. Who you align with. Actions you take. Things you promote. Your soul has a for-sale sign on it. And what is all of that profit and gain and fame worth if your soul has been lost to an eternity of darkness because of it? Then Jesus asks the scariest question. What will you do to get it back? So many think that saying a prayer of repentance will save their souls from the consequences of contracts and open doors they themselves have signed and opened. I don’t believe so.

I believe there’s more to it than just the sinner’s prayer, which is why you see the meltdowns, the breakdowns, the mental instability. The Scripture paints the spiritual war as a war, but also a courtroom. A place of legal law. A place where we have a lawyer and an accuser. We have to spiritually take the enemy to court. We have to spiritually cancel contracts, close doors, and take back our soul.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Keep Your Soul.

¹¹ in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes. ~ 2 Corinthians 2:11

In the animated Western comedy, Rango—a sheltered chameleon—accidentally ends up in the desert town of Dirt, where he invents a tough gunslinger persona. He quickly becomes the town’s sheriff after accidentally killing their arch-nemesis—a hawk. But things take a turn for the worse when he uncovers a dark and sinister plot against the citizens of Dirt… He discovers that the water shortage is no accident but part of a scheme by the corrupt mayor.

We too have what we can consider a corrupt mayor; his name is Satan—the devil. The Bible states that he stalks around seeking someone to devour. But Paul says that we are not unaware of his schemes. Meaning, we know what he is up to, because the Word of God tells us what he is up to: He comes to steal, kill, and destroy. If your things are being stolen- your time, your finances, your relationships, and what have you- it is most likely the devil. You are working really hard, but something that should take you an hour takes you two, and you can’t figure out why—there’s an enemy stalking around, seeking someone to devour.

In the movie Rango, it was their corrupt mayor. Behind his polite, grandfatherly smile, he was deliberately starving the entire town of precious water by secretly shutting off the emergency valve on the water pipeline and thereby creating an artificial drought that turned fertile land into worthless wasteland, and the citizens of Dirt had no clue.

It’s the same with us. The devil masquerades as an angel of light, but he brings darkness wherever he goes. He turns green, lush pastures into barren wastelands that soon become worthless. He comes only to steal, to kill, and to destroy. He presents himself as benign, but all the time he is scheming and plotting. Paul said we are not unaware, but to be unaware, we must first acknowledge that there is a devil and he is alive and active. Second, we must not be intimidated to attribute to him what is his—theft, death, and destruction. But we have a steady and faithful promise from our God: when the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit will raise up a standard for us, and will fight on our behalf when the enemy is too strong for us. So, let us believe, and let us seek the face of our God and turn to Him with all our hearts.

Father, we ask you to bring us relief. We are battered by life’s storms; we are harassed by spiritual forces, and we are unaware of the enemy’s schemes. Please open our spiritual eyes to see clearly, so that our prayers may be more specific. In Jesus’ Name, I pray, amen.

¹⁴ Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace. ¹⁵ And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, ¹⁶ as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures. ¹⁷ You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. ¹⁸ But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. ~ 2 Peter 3:14-18

Paul’s writings are hard. They’re difficult to understand, which adds an even higher chance of misinterpretation to all of his letters. Romans 9 is a chapter that is amongst the hardest to understand. Paul writes what sounds like God creates some specifically for Hell and others specifically for Heaven, and there’s nothing we can do to change that. But is this true? If we read just this chapter alone and nothing else, it sure sounds like that, but in the context of Scripture, it can’t be.

Peter assures us that:

⁹ The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

2 Peter 3:9

If God desires all to reach repentance, then He cannot withhold the ability to repent from some or create some specifically for Hell. As Paul is explaining these things, he quotes the book of Exodus.

¹⁴ What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! ¹⁵ For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” ¹⁶ So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.

Romans 9:14-16

Paul is quoting Exodus 33:19. The very chapter before the people of Israel had created a golden calf. What was the LORD’s response? He told Moses He was going to consume all of the people of Israel and start over with Moses. So, Moses interceded on their behalf. Then he came down, condemned the people, and then returned to the LORD the next day in hopes of making atonement for their grievous sin. It is during Moses’ intercession that God makes this statement. God says to Moses:

¹⁷ And the Lord said to Moses, “This very thing that you have spoken I will do, for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.”

Exodus 33:17

The most interesting part of this is that God tells Moses He will show mercy to whom He will show mercy as a response to Moses hearing that the people will be spared and then asking to see the Glory of God. God then places Moses in the cleft of a rock, covers him with His hand, and then removes His hand so that Moses can see the LORD’s back. See, God tells Moses I will show mercy to whom I will show mercy because not everyone receives mercy. The people didn’t receive mercy because they sought the LORD. It was too late. The LORD was ready to bring judgment on them, but because Moses had sought the LORD while He could be found, He could seek and plead on their behalf.

Sometimes, it’s too late because the LORD has given us chance after chance, and we refused to take it. The LORD gave Pharaoh chance after chance, but Pharaoh continuously hardened his own heart. So, the LORD then gave Pharaoh over to his own desires and refused to have mercy on him. Paul warns us that today is the day of salvation. Not just because tomorrow is promised to no one, but also because tomorrow may be one day too late. He may not be able to be found. You may have hardened your heart so much that the LORD gives you over to that hardness and you have no more hope.

This is where intercession is so important. If Moses would not have interceded, then all of those people in the wilderness would have perished. But because Moses had found favor with the LORD and prayed and sought Him on their behalf, they were given another chance. The LORD looks for only one person to stand in the gap. One person to intercede. Therefore, if you see that family member, friend, co-worker, neighbor who is consistently pushing off the tugging of the LORD, pray for them. Seek His face on their behalf, lest the LORD stop tugging and they lose their opportunity.

Dear LORD, I’m sorry for all of the times I have hardened my heart. For all of the times I ran from Your call and refused to humble myself before You. I’m sorry for all of the times that I gave in to my flesh and sinned knowingly. Please forgive me. Please give me another opportunity to be saved. Another opportunity to seek Your face. Draw me close to You, LORD. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

Dear LORD, please don’t give up on [insert name here]. Please soften their heart and do not give them over to their own flesh. Please tug at their heartstrings. Keep them up at night with thoughts of You. Distracted throughout the day with You on their mind. Call out to them, LORD, that they might hear Your voice and come to You. Remember Your Will that none should perish, but all come to acceptance. Remember Your plan that You have for their lives. Please LORD, intervene in their lives, even now as I pray. Let their hearts be not content with this world but uneasy in all of its false splendor. Draw them close to You. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

¹² For every man threw down his rod, and they became serpents. But Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods. ~ Exodus 7:12 (NKJV)

Imagine the feeling of despair when Aaron and Moses saw Pharaoh’s magicians throw down their rods, and they were turned to serpents as well. I’m sure they felt fear, disappointment, and discouragement. But it didn’t stop there. That wasn’t the end of the story. Why? Because what looked like defeat. What looked like equality. Was quickly swallowed up! So, in the same way… Just like what happened there… Our God will swallow up every demonic counterfeit… And every demonic competition the enemy brings against us will get swallowed up.

Because these are the times when our God will show up and show out, and let the powers of darkness see and understand their inferiority—there’s no God like our God. We hear it all around us… The sound of the enemy encamping in our territory… coming in like sand upon the seashore because it’s harvest time… but nonetheless… God will grant us victory and our enemy defeat.

Because… when they come at us from one direction, they will flee from us in seven directions (Deuteronomy 28:7). A thousand may fall at our side, ten thousand at our right hand, but no plague, no mortal spiritual danger, will come near us! (Psalms 91:7, 11). We must let our mustard seed of faith, which should already be blooming and bearing fruit… burst out upon the enemy in glorious victory. Listen! The serpent of our God will eat up any and all serpents of the enemy. Whatever he does… whatever he mimics… will get eaten up!

You just have to have enough faith to keep going. To stand firm. To not accept defeat. The LORD will do the rest. He will fight for you. Through you. In you. You just have to show up in faith and refuse to stop. Refuse to quit.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Fight For Your Victory.