The Good Fight

While the modern church sells Christianity as a “love-fest,” Paul talked about the Christian life as a “fight” and a “struggle,” with much suffering, – not exactly warm and fuzzy words. But they are truthful words and we would be wise to pay attention to them. There are many things that he said would be a cause for battle: false teaching, disruption, idolatry, oppression, greed, persecution, quarrels, controversies, dangers, and all sorts of other attacks aimed at the church and at believers. All coming from the bow of satan, the enemy of God and His people.

But sometimes the enemy we must battle is within – our own desires and behaviors.  One fight that Paul emphasized to his mentee – and to you and me – is that of personal holiness. Paul told Timothy, to “flee from” things like discontentment, lust, ungodliness, faithlessness, and evil thoughts and deeds, and to pursue the things of holiness: “righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness” (1 Timothy 6:11). Then he told him to “Fight the good fight of faith” (v. 12). The Greek word that he uses is άγών – agon – you may recognize it in the English word “agony.” Paul told Timothy to “agonize” over the things in his life that lead to unholiness and strive always for holiness.

The church today has changed the message of agonizing over personal sin into approval and license to “do what feels good.” We are told not to speak against sin at the risk of making people feel bad about themselves and we have replaced the call to “holiness” with a call to “happiness.” But according to Paul, we are indeed called to agonize over sin in our life.  God hates sin and so must we.  And we must start with the sin within us. If you claim to be a follower of Christ and are actively involved in what the Bible recognizes as sin, that uneasy feeling in your gut is not the church heaping shame on you – it’s the conviction of the Holy Spirit (John 16:8).

But the beautiful promise of God is that when conviction brings us to repentance there is forgiveness and cleansing and full restoration (2 Corinthians 7:9-10).  And then you are not just happy – but filled with Joy!  How are you dealing with sin in your life Beloved? Let the Spirit lead you from agony to repentance to forgiveness to Joy.  Fight the good fight of faith – it is a battle you are sure to win.

The Battle Belongs to the Lord

Life for the believer is often a battleground; many days, we feel like we are in the middle of an all-out war. We face opposition from the world, from satan, and sometimes from the people nearest to us. David was a man who understood battles. He stood tall against Goliath as a youth. He fought for Israel even while the king fought against him. He led his men into many skirmishes before and after he claimed the throne. David knew how to fight, and he knew how to prepare for battle.

Psalm 20 was written before one of those battles and it gives us great insight into preparing ourselves for the fight ahead. Grab your Bible and read all nine verses of this Psalm.

David knew that the first and most important step is prayer: “May the Lord answer you when you are in distress; may the name of the God of Jacob protect you” (v. 1). The only way that God can answer you is if you ask Him for help. And the help you and I need comes “from the sanctuary” (v. 2), from His holy heaven (v. 6). He also knew that God’s ears are attuned to those who consistently love and worship Him before they are in distress (see v. 3). He remembers and He responds.

Verse 4 is challenging. Is that a guarantee that God will “give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed?” If we have called on Him, sought His help and counsel, and have committed to follow His battle plan; if our heart’s desire is His will, our plan will be His plan and it will succeed.

And when the battle is done and victory is ours, then fellow warrior – it’s shoutin’ time! “We will shout for Joy!” Oh, how that resonates in my heart! And we will declare the victory in the name of our God who heard our prayers and granted our requests (v. 5).

David also reminded himself of what he knew was true – “The Lord saves His anointed,” and when we call on Him He responds with all “the saving power of His right hand” (v. 6). He also declared that God, not earthly powers, that will bring the enemy to their knees.

When we face a battle, we must remember two things: God, not you or I, will win the day, and “our struggle is not against flesh and blood” (Eph 6:12). So “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Mat 5:44). Then get your armor on, (Eph 6:10-18). Beloved, “the battle is the Lord’s” (1 Sam 17:47).

Who Can Know the Mind of the Lord?

I have this bad habit of trying to figure out how God can resolve my problems. As if He needs my suggestions. My little mind thinks in little terms. My imagination is limited to what I can see and understand. Not God’s. Isaiah spoke of a God who “did awesome things that we did not expect” (Isaiah 64:3) and Jeremiah 33:3 says that He knows “great and unsearchable things” that we do not know – things we have no capacity to discern or understand. Who am I to tell God what He should do?

The theologians call this God’s omniscience – His perfect and complete knowledge. I learn new things every single day.  There is nothing that God does not already know. He knows science because He created everything that exists (Gen 1: 1). He knows every human language because He gave the gift of words to us – and made us speak in different tongues (Gen 11:1-9). He knows every facet of wisdom because He is the source of wisdom (Prov 2:6; James 1:5). He knows truth because truth has its essence in Him (Jn 14:6). And yes, He knows you and me – inside and out – because He created us in His image (Gen 2:7). He also knows the future because what is ahead for us is the present in His view (Is 46:10).

In this present moment, the future is very murky for me. I am sitting in the middle of a multi-faceted mess with no idea how to get over it, past it, around it, or through it. It all looks impossible from my vantage point. But not from God’s. My sister-in-law recently reminded me that God is “able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power . . .” (Eph 3:20). In other words, I don’t have to dream up a solution – what could I possibly tell Him that would be better than His own plan?

What I do have to do is wait for Him. Quietly. And in the waiting, to watch and serve. And trust. He knows how to bring Joy back into my life. Beloved, God knows what to do with all the broken pieces. He knows how to overcome all that the enemy is trying to do. He knows the perfect plan for this situation. Stop trying to figure it out. Trust in the Lord. He’s going to do something you could never expect. Just wait for it.

The Battle is On!

Lately, the Lord keeps taking me to battle stories in the Bible, where Israel is overwhelmed and threatened in the face of a powerful enemy. Today I’m in 2 Chronicles 20 and the Moabites, Ammonites, and Meunites are coming against Judah (the southern half of the Kingdom of Israel). The king, Jehoshaphat, did two things right: he proclaimed a fast for all the people in his territory (v. 3) and he prayed (vs. 5-12) It’s an awesome prayer and you really should read it. The king declared the sovereignty, power, and might of the Lord God and reminded Him of His promise to hear His people and save them. Only then did he point to the enemy and their threats. And he said, “O our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us.” And here’s the part I am holding onto with all my strength: “We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you” (v. 12).

I heard a preacher once say, “You are either in the middle of a spiritual battle, coming out of a spiritual battle, or are about to go into a spiritual battle,” and he was dead on. As I said before, spiritual battles are part of the Christian life as long as satan roams the earth. And we may be outmatched but God is not. Listen to the word of the Lord through His prophet: “Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s.” (v. 15). And there’s more: “You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you . . . Do not be afraid: do not be discouraged . . . the Lord will be with you” (v. 17).

The next morning the king told the people, “Have faith in the Lord your God and you will be upheld;” (v.20). Then he ordered the oddest battle plan: “Sing to the Lord and praise Him for the splendor of His holiness” (v. 21). As they sang His praises “the Lord set ambushes” against their enemy and they turned and destroyed one another” (v. 23).

God still fights for His people. And He hasn’t lost a single battle yet. Yours won’t be the first. Trust in the name of the Lord your God Beloved and get ready to shout for Joy when He brings the victory!

What Do You Know About God?

If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times, and I’ll say it a thousand more: “Do not take anyone else’s word for what God has said but God himself.” That includes me. You need to know what God says. And in order to do that, you need to know God.

The armies of Assyria sat directly outside the walls of Jerusalem. The commander of the Assyrian army delivered a crushing message of impending defeat. All of Jerusalem heard him rant against their king and their army and declare their destruction. They also heard him invoke the name of the Lord their God saying, “Have I come to attack and destroy this land without the Lord? The Lord himself told me to march against this country and destroy it” (Is 36:10).

If there is one thing I have learned in all my years of walking with the Lord and studying His Word it is this: If I do not know my God, I will fall to the lies and threats of the enemy every time. If I do not know His Word, if I have not claimed His promises, if I have not staked my life on His faithfulness, I will go down at satan’s first blow. I will surrender to the devil in hopelessness and defeat.

Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem knew the Lord did not send the enemy to take them down. They knew their God would not sell them out. The king inquired of the Lord through the prophet Isaiah who said, “Do not be afraid of what you have heard” (37:6). God delivered His people and powerfully declared His glory – and they didn’t have to raise a sword (37:36-38).

When my faith wobbles – and I confess sometimes it does – God whispers: “What do you know is true of Me?” That You, O God, are good. That You, O God, are faithful. That You, O God, are powerful. That you love the ones I love even more than I do. That You have not lost control for even a nanosecond. That you have a purpose and a plan that will not fail.

Beloved, you need to know the One who created you and loves you – literally – to death. Because when you know Him, you will trust Him. And the devil can’t take that away.

Taking Back the Church

I have come to believe that it’s time for believers to fight for our faith. Not with pitchforks or guns or verbal attacks across the aisle. There’s a better way and it will do us well to learn it and live it. Join me in the book of Jude.

His opening words set the tone: “I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints” (v. 3). Jude wrote about the danger of “godless men” slipping into the church to “change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord” (v. 4). If ever a verse applied to the church, it is this. It is appalling and grievous to see the immoral condition of the Body of Christ. But it’s also apparent that this has been going on for a very long time.

Jude warned his readers that these wicked people have no regard for the things of God. Their motive is to cause disruption and discord – “these are the men who divide you (v. 19). They are: grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves, flatter others for their own advantage . . . follow mere natural instincts, and do not have the Spirit” (v. 16, 19). I know Jude was talking about his own day, but it’s almost as if he was peering into the future – to the twenty-first century.

So how do we fight? How do we take our church back from the vile hands of wicked people? Jude gave the battle plan: “But you, dear friends, built yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life” (vs. 20-21). That’s it? How is that “contending” for the faith? Where’s the fight? In the spiritual realm.  Paul said it best: “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Rom 12:21). We chase away darkness by introducing light. We drive away wickedness by living in righteousness.

The truth is Beloved, you’re in this battle whether you wanted to be or not, so you’d better learn how to fight. Put down your pitchfork and pick up your Bible.  We’ll reclaim the church by being the holy people of God.

Real Words for Real Life

Yesterday I wrote about controlling our thoughts. I want to take you through how I apply exactly what I’ve been telling you. Whether it’s temptation or discouragement, the battleground for the believer is the mind. The enemy works on our thoughts, interjecting lies and accusations and enticement. You and I need to know how to fight this battle according to the Word of God.

I have been slogging my way through graduate school for the past four years. The last course I took has been a bear, not so much for the material or the assignments, but for my life. I have a lot of heavy responsibilities pulling on me every day and my schoolwork always gets pushed to the bottom of the priority list. I’m still trying to finish the last assignment from last semester. The enemy is planting thoughts such as: “What’s the point of going to school? You’re a woman in the Baptist denomination – they won’t let you do anything with all that education.” “You just need to quit and focus on being a grandmother.” “Wouldn’t you like to make pretty ruffled dresses instead of pounding out assignments?”

My weary mind takes the suggestions and starts to think, “Yeah, I’m tired of all this studying. What am I doing this for? It’ll never get me anywhere.” And then I realize, I’m playing right into the devil’s hands. I have to follow Paul’s directive and “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Cor 10:5). I reject these discouraging thoughts. Then I remember Philippians 4:8: “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.”

The Spirit asked, “What is true here?”

What’s true is that God called me to this. Psalm 139:6 is marked with the date of my first day of college: 5/31/13. What’s true is that I can’t see God’s plan, but I know He has one (Jer. 29:11). What’s true is that God always finishes what He starts (Phil 1:6). What’s true is that He called me, is equipping me, and will use me (2 Tim 3:14). What’s true is that He turned my life upside down to get me to a place where I could get a Master’s degree for free as a staff member at BCF.

Satan can’t stand up under all that truth, and neither can my feelings of discouragement. The Bible is a practical book full of real-life wisdom. Beloved, grab onto the Word and use it.

Dig a Ditch

The nation of Moab was on the attack. The armies of Israel, Judah, and Edom set out to fight Moab in the desert. After a week of marching, they ran out of water – a deadly thing to face in a desert. Jehoshaphat, the king of Israel turned to God’s prophet Elisha for the Word of the Lord. “This is what the Lord says: ‘Make this valley full of ditches’” (2 Kings 3:16). Jehoshaphat assumed God was going to send rain to fill the ditches and provide water. Not so. Elisha said, “You will see neither wind nor rain, yet this valley will be filled with water” (v. 17). Water is going to magically appear in the desert? Right! The prophet answered, “This is an easy thing in the eyes of the Lord” (v. 18). Not only will God provide water for Israel, but “He will also hand Moab over to you” (v. 19). The armies obeyed and set to digging. In the morning the ditches were flowing with water! The army and the animals were refreshed and ready to press on.

But remember God’s second promise? When the Moabite army began to take up their battle positions in the early morning, the rising sun was shining on the water. “To the Moabites, the water looked red like blood” and they assumed that the armies had turned on one another and slaughtered each other. Their battle plan changed – “To the plunder, Moab!” (v. 23). But Moab walked right into the revitalized armies, and the few that survived turned tail and ran.

I confess I sat down to write with a heavy heart this morning. I am facing some tough things right now. I feel the press of the enemy against me. I feel his hot, nasty breath on the back of my neck. I was flipping through my Bible for inspiration and God stopped me here on this page. This is what He is speaking to me right now – and to you. “Yes, the enemy has put a bullseye on you, but I will help you. Watch Me easily do what is too hard for you. Dig a ditch and prepare to receive My blessing. Watch Me use that blessing to overthrow your enemy.”

I don’t know what the enemy has up his evil sleeve against you. But I know Who has your back. Beloved, dig a ditch.

Surrounded

One of my favorite Bible accounts is in 2 Kings 6. The prophet Elisha and his aide were pinned down by the Aramean army. Through God’s secret wisdom, Elisha had been giving away Aram’s location to the king of Israel, giving Israel a decided advantage in the war. The Arameans had surrounded the city and were preparing to rush in and capture Elisha. The prophet’s aide saw the army with its horses and chariots and soldiers and cried to his master “O my Lord, what shall we do?” (v. 15).

Ever been there? Me too. The money won’t stretch. The doctor said there’s nothing more he can do. You just got laid off. You watch your spouse walk away. You hand your rent money over to the mechanic. Your kids are hungry and your pantry is empty. “Oh my God, what am I going to do?”

I’ve walked with God long enough to know that that’s the heart of anxiety: What am I going to do? Like it’s all on your shoulders. Child of God it’s not. Let me suggest a different question: “Oh, my God, what are You going to do?”

Elisha told his aide, “Don’t be afraid. Those who are with us are more than those who are with them” (v. 16). Then he called on the Lord to give the man spiritual eyes to see. “The Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha” (v. 17). He was seeing the army of the Lord that had encircled Elisha and stood between him and the enemy. The man of God – and his aide – were completely safe and secure.

God has promised to care for you – but it requires spiritual eyes to see Him surrounding you. Listen to His own Words: Deuteronomy 31:8 says “The Lord Himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.” Isaiah 52:12 says “The God of Israel will be your rear guard.” Psalm 32:10 says, “The Lord’s unfailing love surrounds the man [or woman] who trusts in Him.” Beloved, whatever you are facing right now, your Heavenly Father is there with you, before you, behind you, and all around you. Just open your eyes.

Get Ready!

I’m sure you’re familiar with Ephesians 6:10-18 and the Armor of God:

The Belt of Truth is a foundational garment that provides support and bears the weight of the Sword.

The Breastplate of Righteousness covers the heart – the seat of our emotions, thoughts, and affections.

The Shoes of the Readiness of the Gospel of Peace enables us to take the Gospel with us everywhere we go – spreading it like holy seeds.

The Shield of Faith protects us from the fiery darts of the enemy – darts of doubt, temptation, fear, self-defeat, anger, bitterness, hatred, and animosity.

The Helmet of Salvation covers our minds where the enemy battles us most fiercely.

The Sword of the Spirit – the Word of God – is the only defensive piece of the Armor.

And prayer which is our source of power, strength, and discernment.

My sister-in-love is always reminding me to “Pull those straps tight every morning!” And she’s right. But here’s something I had not noticed before now: “Therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground . . .” (v. 13). Every day is a spiritual battle. Every day we face off against the devil. Every day he lobs his darts and tries to take us out. But there is a “day of evil” coming when the battle will be like nothing you or I have ever experienced. We have no way of knowing when that will be, so we must be prepared for it every day.

Do you remember the story of “David and Goliath?” When David told King Saul that he would take on Goliath, Saul dressed David in his own tunic, armor, and helmet. “David . . . tried walking around” and said, “I cannot go in these because I am not used to them” (1 Sam 17:38-39). Fellow soldier, you and I have to get used to wearing the armor now, so that when that day comes, it is as natural to us as our favorite pair of jeans. We have to strengthen our arms to hold up that Shield and know how to use that Sword to its fullest advantage. We can’t be clunking into war in uncomfortable battle gear.

Beloved, the day is very near. Put your armor on. You need to get ready.