Prisoners of war are not the enemy

 

Scripture is clear who is behind the people who persecute Christians; it is Satan. He lies, blinds people, and causes rebellion and conflict. God allows this for a reason, but I know that we fight a spiritual war with evil, and should not battle with other people. The Bible tells me:

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:12)

In his assault, this enemy uses an organized army of fallen angels said to be “rulers . . . authorities . . . powers over darkness . . . forces of evil in the heavenly places.” It isn’t a detailed description but indicates his power and that he is not the only one who goes at us with lies and a desire to destroy. As Jesus said of him:

. . . He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. (John 8:44)

While those who reject Christ and God are unwitting prisoners of war, captured and mobilized by the enemy to accomplish his purposes, Christians can also be oblivious to Satan’s tactics. I’ve blamed people for the nasty things they do, forgetting that the enemy is always trying to motivate nastiness. If he is going to attack me and try to get all who love Christ to go against Him, it’s logical that he will use those who are already against the Lord to thwart the work and the witness of God’s people. We need to be alert to him and not “ignorant of his schemes.”

For me, this is important for my prayer life and for my relationships with unbelievers, especially those who ridicule faith and make life difficult for God’s people. I’m to be patient, realizing the source of their attitudes. Even though they are responsible for opening themselves up to deception by denying the truth, it is the Liar and Deceiver who fills their hearts with antagonism and animosity toward God and His people. I don’t want to add to that by being angry, bitter, or by retaliating in an ungodly way. Jesus reached out in love to me so that I can reach out to other sinners in love, asking Him to open their eyes and their hearts to the truth.

PRAY: Jesus, I’m thankful You remove spiritual blindness. You do that for me and You are doing it for others. I’ve many on my prayer list that need to see beyond Satan’s lies, not only concerning their behavior and need for You, but the wonder of who You are and the great love that You have for them — even though they are still in their sin (see Romans 5:8).

PONDER: Read Colossians 1:13 and 2 Corinthians 4:3–7 and worship Jesus for what He has done in my life and can do in the lives of those who do not yet believe.

 

 

Love rejects lies . . .

It’s interesting that the OT speaks of the things God hates, but the NT mentions this word only once to describe what God hates. It is in a verse that mentions the deeds of a false group or sect but with no other explanation (see Revelation 2:6).

Instead the NT uses ‘hate’ to describe the attitude of some have toward Christ and His people: “You will be hated by all for my name’s sake.” (Luke 21:17) It also describes the attitude we can have if God is not put first in our lives, and even if He is put first.

No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” (Luke 16:13)

If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14:26)

Without using that word, today’s reading implies that God hates worldliness and points to this passage:

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. (1 John 2:15–17)

This does not say God hates the world, but that we are not supposed to love it. The Greek words used in these verses and in the well-known verse: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16) are the same words: agape (love) and cosmos (world).

In the longer passage, the problem is not the world but the sinful cravings common to the world, and that we are not to ‘love’ this in the same way that God loved the world and gave Himself for it. Instead, we are to give ourselves and that love to the people of the world, recognizing the difference between the love of God (humble, obedient, sacrificial) and the love popularized in the world (proud, do my own thing, me first).

That false love is not from God, will not last, and has nothing to do with the life of Christ that is in me. These verses do not say that God hates anything, but is a warning to distinguish what I am to ‘love’ and give my life toward. He died to set me free from living from worldly desires, a Greek word for “evil cravings” — and as one in whom Christ lives, that desire is changed so that I want to love what God loves. I just need to recognize what that is!

He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son. (Colossians 1:13)

The lies that can lead me astray come from Satan, the father of lies and the one who opposes all that is of God. He wants to destroy my faith and lead me away into worldly cravings, but God says, “Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4)

PRAY: This devotional ends with, “Praise God that someday Satan and his evil system will be vanquished.” In You, Jesus, this has already happened. Even though the Bible warns that “In later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons” (1 Timothy 4:1) it also says, “Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God.” (1 Corinthians 2:12) My focus is on You, not on what You hate but on what You love. I don’t want to be a Christian who rants about all the evil in the world — Satan does not deserve any free publicity. Instead, I want to honor You by loving You with all my heart and giving my life to love that which You love.

PONDER: I don’t need to study the lies and the negatives to be able to quickly spot and avoid them. Instead, I need to know the truth so well that all that is evil stands out in sharp contrast to the goodness of Jesus Christ.