You are Under Attack

There’s no doubt in my mind that we could all agree that 2020 hasn’t been the year we imagined it would be. New Years Eve, we were with loved ones, celebrating the “out with the old and in with the new,” and new resolutions. Perhaps some of you celebrated alone, planning 2020 to be THE year life starts looking up. I, for one, always gave my years “names” like Change, or Chance, or Follow your Dreams. Thankfully, I can’t remember what 2020 was called, probably something like Crash and Burn, or the New Normal… you know, something fitting. I’m sure none of us imagined a pandemic, the shut down of our entire country, riots, political agendas, and protests for various reasons. I certainly didn’t see coming the idea of a store being essential to our well being, but fellowshipping in person with my church community on a Sunday morning would not be. Or gosh, millions and millions of people out of a job in the matter of a week all because someone decided your job wasn’t important enough or relevant enough to stay open. #Essential. I am not a political blogger, nor will that be the intent of this blog, but today I write to you because I’ve been searching for some truth. As I write, I will speak bluntly. Some may agree, some may not. But I come to you today, not for your approval or “Likes,” but because the Lord has asked me to write. So I will, no matter the outcome. In the past few months there has been a crazy amount of division in our country. Brother tearing down brother, families falling apart, hatred towards our neighbors, even among friends there has been a loss of respect. Suicides are skyrocketing, abuse cases are climbing higher and higher. Depression has taken a strong hold on the mind and weakened the spirit. Opinions are no longer just that… opinions. Opinions are spoken as laws, slander is at an all-time high on social media, and in my whole life, I have never seen so much hatred and division among my fellow Christians. I’m sure you’ve seen it all over social platforms… it doesn’t matter what the topic is, and there are certainly hot topics out there right now. What happens is that you state your thoughts about something and either people will like it (which hey, it makes you feel good about yourself!), or people will verbally destroy you for it. There is no longer the concept of agreeing to disagree. You either say something they agree with and are labeled as a good person, or you say something they don’t and the response is “I hope you get the virus and die.” Strangers you’ve never met rip you apart, friends decide to unfriend you on social media because you are a racist, liar, hypocrite, unintelligent, don’t care enough, or the cause of the problem. Family decides the time for civil conversation is over and speaking is no longer an option. Blood boils, and fingers type out the worst of humanity from the comfort of your computer. On top of that, we are stuck in a climate of isolation. Mass majority of Americans have been told to “stay home, save lives!” School aged kids have been taken out of school, away from their norm, and in a lot of cases, their safe place. Continuing the trend of isolation, we were then told to wear a mask over our face and social distance from each other. What I saw happen was indeed a social distancing. People stopped smiling as they walked by someone in the store, because hey, you are wearing a mask and they can’t see your face anyways. People stopped saying hello, because not only do they say the mask prevents the spread of this virus, but it prevents verbal vomit, formally known as speech. People stopped helping when someone dropped their groceries, or saw an elderly man trying to put his bags in the trunk. People stopped being social people. Well for Pete’s sake, I think it lived up to it’s name! It was only meant to be a physical distancing when a mask was not an option, not an excuse to pretend humanity isn’t around you. A mask was only mandated by our governor to be worn when you can’t maintain your 6ft apart, not as an excuse to act like the people around you are carrying a plague of deadly portions. Now living in a state of isolation, and for a lot of people, fear, feeling physically distant from human contact, and like there’s something actually wrong with you, you look to social media and get hit in the face with every. other. thing. wrong in this world. Left and Right are fighting, people are calling this Trump’s downfall, others are speaking out for America’s constitutional rights, media bias is screaming in your ear, China lied, BLM protests are ongoing, riots are breaking out, cops are threated to be defunded, old people are dying everywhere, children are getting some deadly mystery illness, an asteroid is on its way, DON’T FORGET THE BEES, and hate is literally hiding behind every corner. My friends, can you not see what is happening?

You are under attack. My question to you is… who is the real enemy?

I’m not going to dance around the truth in order to avoid offending you or making you uncomfortable. HIS WORD is truth, no matter who’s saying it, IT does not return void. That person you want to strangle on social media, that person who just doesn’t get it, that person who clearly is a racist, the friend who isn’t at all on the same political side… stop.. look at their picture. They are not your enemy. Let me introduce you to who is…

“Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.” (2 Cor. 11:14) You won’t see him coming, you won’t know it’s him, he is cunning, he is deceitful, but he will seem like the right choice, the right words, wisdom, justice, vengeance, and victory. “Be alert and sober mind. Your enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (2 Peter 5:8) His only mission in life is to seek you out and destroy you and who God created you to be. God made you for a purpose, and he will do anything to stop it. His mission is to cause chaos and division, to separate your allies, to keep you from fellowshipping with the body of Christ, His people. If he can get you alone, he can get you. My friends, he is the enemy. Not them. And your battle, your war, your movement, your stance, is against him. “Finally, 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. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Eph. 6:10-12) In my 30+ years here on this beautiful earth, I have never seen so much division and chaos. Christians, for the first time in at least my lifetime, Satan has managed to keep us from fellowship. He has managed to use his pawns to completely close down our churches. He has accomplished his goal by allowing fear to be a driving force, and tolerance to be the excuse. He has been able to undermine God’s sovereign law given to this land, the Constitution, giving us the right to peaceably assemble and allow us to freely practice our religion. He wants discourse, division, and hatred. In the name of safety, in the name of justice, in the name of speaking up, in the name of not offending anyone, in the name of compliance, he has been cunning. My friends, he may start a few battles here and there, but the battle belongs to the Lord! If you believe in my God, if you call yourself a Christ-follower, please pay ever close attention to this next part.

Do not let fear be your driving force! “For God did not give us the spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind.” (2 Tim. 1:7) “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Rom 8:31b) “But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen you, and protect you from the evil one.” (2 Thes. 3:3) It’s easy to shut the doors and lock the windows when life tells you that times are tough. But the truth is, no matter our circumstance, no matter what is happening to the world around us, God is still in control of our lives. He still knows just how many hairs you have on your head. He knows your darkest thoughts, the worst of you, and loves you even still. He knows we are not a creation worthy of His righteousness, but He sent His Son to die for us anyways, by Him we may take on His righteousness! He knows exactly when your time will be up, and that is not a surprise to Him. He is, and will always be our Victory. 2020 has been a year of fear, stress, and uncertainty. The media tells us all the worst cases, telling us to prepare for even worse times. Fear lingers around every news article, every new story, every riot, every death toll chart… God is not surprised by any of this! My friends, we must fight against this master of fear! 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 says, “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ.” God didn’t create us to live in fear, and this is certainly no time for it! Christians, the time of God is coming. We must start calling a spade a spade, and preaching the gospel for what it is. If this year has shown me anything, it is that the world is desperately in need of hope, love, and justice. Three things that can only be found in Christ. Christians, churches, it is time to STEP UP. We can not live our lives walking a fine line between loving people and not offending them. The gospel will be offensive to some. His Word says, “for the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing..” (1 Cor. 1:18a). We were called to be free, my friends, (Gal. 5:13), not to live a life dancing around the truth, living in fear, and not living life to the fullest. “A thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10) Let us fight against the spiritual war Satan has so cunningly waged against us, without us even noticing. James 4:7 says, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and He will come near to you. Wash your hands (CDC approved!), you sinners, and purify your hearts…” “I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.” (Luke 10:19)

My dear churches, fellow members of the body of Christ, we can and we must do better! The world is looking for people of ridiculous faith. People of living truth. People trusting God over man, looking for His favor over the favor of others. We aren’t here to please man, but to please God. Satan has kept His people apart long enough, we have a mission to accomplish! We must gather together, sharpen each other as iron sharpens iron, and get out to a world frantically searching for truth. I don’t care if your scared, if it’s not convenient, or you’re mad at the person next to you! Riots, racism movements, political division, cop-hating, suicides, abuse, depression, anxiety, looting, dictatorship… “There is a time to be silent, and a time to speak… a time for war and a time for peace.” (Ecc. 3:7b, 8b) It is time to speak up! We can not be silent in order to seem tolerant, compliant, and accepting. It is time to fight against our true enemy! (Ecc. 3:7b, 8b) We must fight the good fight while we still have air in our lungs. And if you still have air in your lungs, oh, He’s certainly not done with you. You are under attack… so what are you going to do? Allow the enemy to steal and destroy?

My friends, churches, and fellow members of Christ, it’s time to declare war.

For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. … {but} I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”

2 Timothy 4:3-4,7