#830

Rising Above Political Division

Winning the Real War

The Battle Is Known

For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against persons without bodies—the evil rulers of the unseen world, those mighty satanic beings and great evil princes of darkness who rule this world; and against huge numbers of wicked spirits in the spirit world. (Eph 6:12, TLB)

As I read so many Facebook and X posts and saw the back and forth of the arguments, I started to wonder if there was anything I could really do to make a difference. Yes, I was getting a little defeated at how this world is spiraling out of control. But I let Holy Spirit speak truth to me and a peace came to me. Not that the battle isn’t real, but that I had real power to fight against it. I just needed to change my glasses.

We Have All We Need

The thief’s purpose is to steal, kill and destroy. My purpose is to give life in all its fullness. (John 10:10, TLB)

In any battle, one needs to identify a few things before fighting. And in this case, the Bible tells exactly who our enemy is, how He fights and his ultimate goals. And all of this has been known since the very beginning. When the serpent tempted Eve, he knew exactly what he wanted to accomplish. He wanted to steal man’s place in God’s plan. He wanted to kill any chance of staying in the Garden and he wanted to destroy mankind and the world with sin. He got exactly what he wanted, but God still won.

We Win

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. (Rom 8:37, TLB)

It’s all there for us in the Bible. This is just one of many scriptures giving us hope in our current battle, but it is the most succinct one. More than conquerors, let that sink in. We don’t just win, we win extravagantly. The victory is not a close one, but one that leaves no doubt who won and who lost and even biased onlookers can’t sugar coat their lost.

But I Don’t Feel Victorious Right Now

I totally get that. I looked around at the landscape and saw that the state governments were out of control, flaunting their rights letting people take over their cities. Protests that turn into riots and looting and violence instead of meaningful and peaceful ways to voice the opinions of the people. I see a Supreme Court that was supposed to review laws and instead writes them even though we have the “right” judges in the majority. And I see a lawn right outside my window with weeds dominating every inch of it. No, that last sentence fits the narrative. I feel like I have no control over any part of my life.

Again, See This From God’s Perspective

Late in the week, I felt like God was telling me that I can take my feelings of despair and use them to fight the battle in the only meaningful way I can and that is in the spiritual realm. And He reminded me that not only has the Body of Christ been in worse situations, they have overcome time and time again, even when facing the worst of odds. And yes, I read the back of the book and we still win! But about the current fight…

Expect Deception And Lies

You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. (John 8:44, NIV)

When you spend too much time on social media, you can see this exact truth playing out. Even when good people who are as sweet and as nice as anyone I know, take a stand against the lies she sees, she is attacked by even her Christian friends who overlooked her point. Whether they know it or not, they are letting the father of all lies speak through them and they think they are being Godly when they say them. And unfortunately, I hear responses in my head that would do the same, but I stop before I voice them.

Forgive Them

Just like Jesus, forgive them for they can’t see what they are doing. The spirit of the Antichrist is getting stronger and stronger and it can get to us if we let it. Remember that we are still family in the Body of Christ and at the end of the day, we’ll see these folks in Heaven, but right now it can be hard to get along with them. God will work it all out and He has ways of changing hearts that we can’t even come close to duplicating, nor should we try. And like I have said before, this is nothing new.

Peter And Paul Butt Heads

Later, when Peter came to Antioch, I had a face-to-face confrontation with him because he was clearly out of line. Here’s the situation. Earlier, before certain persons had come from James, Peter regularly ate with the non-Jews. But when that conservative group came from Jerusalem, he cautiously pulled back and put as much distance as he could manage between himself and his non-Jewish friends. That’s how fearful he was of the conservative Jewish clique that’s been pushing the old system of circumcision. Unfortunately, the rest of the Jews in the Antioch church joined in that hypocrisy so that even Barnabas was swept along in the charade. (Gal 2:11-13, MSG)

Sound familiar? I can see this play out in a Facebook or X thread. Paul was clearly upset over such clear avoidance of the elephant in the room when Peter, reverting to his days of rejecting Jesus gave in to the pressure of the Jews who wouldn’t get caught eating with Gentiles because they were so unclean. Interestingly enough, some of the very portions of scripture that address the current racial divide right now, come out of this very confrontation. It is Jews and Gentiles in this case, but it could very easily be black and white, and it would play out the same.

No Division

In Christ’s family there can be no division into Jew and non-Jew, slave and free, male and female. Among us you are all equal. That is, we are all in a common relationship with Jesus Christ. (Gal 3:28, MSG)

This is just one of the battles to be fought by the Church of Jesus Christ in our world today. Paul was fighting to preserve the unity of the Body way back in the formative days of the church. This dispute was after Peter had received visions for God to take the Gospel to the Gentiles and Paul felt Peter should know better. And Paul was right. The world sees the church fighting right now and it ought not to happen, at least publicly. It is so easy to rip off a post and start an online battle of words that will hurt way more than it can heal. Let us be better than that. Let us find ways to have meaningful discussions in social media, but more importantly in private so we can work out the issues long before we respond online. There are much more eternal fights that are being ignored right now and we need to remember that. Winning the eternal battles will resolve the earthly ones, because hearts will be changed and not just minds.

Winning In The Heavenlies

And you probably thought I forgot about this point, but I didn’t. Just how do we win that fight? Just like any battle, define the enemy, know their strategy and goals and then put on your armor. We know our enemy; we know his goals and even his strategy and we know what to wear to fight to win. It’s all in the same portion of Scripture:

And that about wraps it up. God is strong, and he wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way. This is no afternoon athletic contest that we’ll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels.

13-18 Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life. God’s Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other’s spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.

19-20 And don’t forget to pray for me. Pray that I’ll know what to say and have the courage to say it at the right time, telling the mystery to one and all, the Message that I, jailbird preacher that I am, am responsible for getting out. (Gal 6:10-20, MSG)

Here It Is Again

If you didn’t recognize that version, here it is in another one:

10 Last of all I want to remind you that your strength must come from the Lord’s mighty power within you. 11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand safe against all strategies and tricks of Satan. 12 For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against persons without bodies—the evil rulers of the unseen world, those mighty satanic beings and great evil princes of darkness who rule this world; and against huge numbers of wicked spirits in the spirit world.

13 So use every piece of God’s armor to resist the enemy whenever he attacks, and when it is all over, you will still be standing up.

14 But to do this, you will need the strong belt of truth and the breastplate of God’s approval. 15 Wear shoes that are able to speed you on as you preach the Good News of peace with God. 16 In every battle you will need faith as your shield to stop the fiery arrows aimed at you by Satan. 17 And you will need the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit—which is the Word of God.

18 Pray all the time. Ask God for anything in line with the Holy Spirit’s wishes. Plead with him, reminding him of your needs, and keep praying earnestly for all Christians everywhere. 19 Pray for me, too, and ask God to give me the right words as I boldly tell others about the Lord and as I explain to them that his salvation is for the Gentiles too. 20 I am in chains now for preaching this message from God. But pray that I will keep on speaking out boldly for him even here in prison, as I should. (Gal 6:10-20, TLB)

Prayer Strategies

Since we are fighting the forces in the spiritual realm, we need to know what to do. Let God give you a list of things to address for your part of the fight. There are the general lists, but every soldier fights the battle God gives them and yours could be more refined than others. One might be praying for binding specific political strategies while another may be praying against lying words out of the mouths of leaders in and out of the church. Another may be praying for the opening of the spiritual sight of the believers on whatever topic they are letting the secular world influence them more than the Bible. Allow God to lead you and He will give you the things to address.

Binding And Loosing

And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” (Matt 16:19, NKJV)

“Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. (Matt 18:18, NKJV)

Oftentimes we go into battle without praying to bind the enemy and loose God’s power into the situation. In these most sensitive of times, this is an egregious error and one that can doom our effectiveness and delay winning the day. God freely gives you the keys of Heaven and the authority to use them. Why wouldn’t you take full advantage of this? More often than not, we decide to fight using the enemy’s tools and strategies thinking if it works, just use it against them. We forget that Satan’s tools and arguments are meant to demean people and tear them down, so they are too weak to fight. God’s tools and arguments are meant to lift people up and to build their lives on the right foundation.

The Church And America Are Not Finished

Yes, I am on solid ground on the Church, but I think I can make a case that America is far from done as well. The church can move and act more freely when the country is not in chaos and unstable. We must also remember that Rome was a ruthless regime and Christianity flourished so it has been much worse than what we see here and now. The extent we get back to stability and order is dependent on the Church binding Satan and his spokespeople. And then loosing God and His spokespeople to promote calm and order. It can happen and I firmly believe it will as long as we do the heavy lifting in prayer.