Have you ever seen one of those signs (or at least a picture of one) that's absolutely ridiculous? Or one of those warning labels that seems so blatantly obvious and useless?
Example:
Windex. Warning! Do not spray in eyes!
Nooo, really?!
Alright. And have you ever seen one of those disclosures on DvD boxsets. It's like, those ones that say, "The views expressed in the commentaries and bonus content do not reflect those of the FOX company" etc.
Here's what I'd like to say.
I'm human (I think. Jury's still out.). I'm fallen- A LOT. I'm prejudiced. I'm a jerk. I'm a bad Christian. And I'm doing a 'theology' blog.
When I started WASD, I just wanted to make a blog for me to spout my random thoughts on theology and God. I also wanted to aim it at other teens, so teens could relate to it.
This entry is a disclosure.
First of all, don't spray it in your eyes. Second of all, it has sharp edges.
No, but seriously. One of my favorite quotes is from Rob Bell when he defines theology. He says, "The word theology has roots in two Latin words. Theos means God and Logos means Talk. Theology is God Talk. Anyone can do theology."
Now, in Ecclesiastes 1:9, it says, "There is nothing new under the sun."
So here's my point.
A) I'm biased and fallen. Everything in this blog is me wrestling with scripture, so don't take it as Scripture. 'Cause I know it's not perfect understanding of things. These are just my thoughts. I want YOU GUYS to think a little bit. Get that hamster running on that wheel. I hesitate to say it's my opinion, since I base all my entries on what I know about the Bible and try my best to keep it in the context of Scripture.
B) There's nothing new. I'm not saying NEW stuff. Humans have been around for a while now. There have been dozens of philosophers and theologians over time. But this blog is MY thoughts. This is me trying wrestling with my spiritual questions and posting them in the hopes some discussion will result or some thought will occur.
So keep that in mind when reading my thoughts.
I'd also like to talk about Christian authors. Just as a general set of rules, here are some guidelines to follow when looking at Christian books:
1) Don't give much credence to books with pictures of their author on the front. I'm looking at you, Joel Olsteen.
2) Don't give much credence to books that say stuff like "Five Steps To A Holier You". The book was written by someone who is fallen, just like you. They aren't going to have anything to say that Scripture doesn't say. They can't.
3) Any books that have their author's photo on the cover or back should not be trusted. If there's a small picture in the dust jacket, that's fine. That's totally okay. But not big photos.
4) Cheesy is as cheesy does. 85% of the time, anything with a ridiculously cheesy title is not going to be that great, in my experience. Granted, Rob Bell named one of his books "Jesus Wants To Save Christians", and that was FANTASTIC. So, that's in the 15% category.
Yep. Just some thoughts.
"Jake, how many hamsters do you go through in a day?"- Crim
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Saturday, September 12, 2009
My Story
*Fear can drive a stick, and it's taking me down this road- a road down which I swore Id' never go. And hear I sit, thinking of God knows what, afraid to admit I might self destruct.*
- Devastation and Reform, Relient K
- Devastation and Reform, Relient K
Early on in my Freshman year, our New Testament class was assigned a project. It was a memoir/brief autobiography of ourselves. You know, one of those things teacher's assign to get to know their students. Basic stuff.
Well, the first line of my paper was, "I'm not interesting."
Okay, this may take a little explanation. See, up to that point, I'd say my life wasn't interesting. I didn't have one of those amazing stories about turning to Christ- I had one of those 'been all my life but really clicked during summer camp on year' conversion stories. Although there had been a few incidents in my life that were semi-interesting stories, other than that, nada.
At least, that's what I thought.
A few months later, something happened.
See, there's a slight history of anxiety in my family. You know, 'worry-wartism'.
During my fifth grade year I had dealt with a form of an anxiety disorder, and after several months, defeated it. I attributed the success to A) God's help, B)My will, C)Medicine.
Anyway, after that, I was normal, save a few eccentricities. But suddenly, something in my mind apparently just snapped- no, not like I went insane. It was like my body had been storing up all my anxiety and worry and fear over the course of four years. And suddenly, it just flooded.
Okay, that's not a good way to describe. But it happened so gradually, so deceivingly slowly, that in retrospect it seems like it just sneaked up on me. (Yes, it's sneaked, not snuck.)
So after Christmas Break, my world fell apart. I developed not only a new anxiety disorder but OCD- Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.
This doesn't mean I was crazy. In fact, MILLIONS of people suffer from some form or another of OCD. But suddenly, I developed this fear of contamination- not germs, but contamination. It's hard to explain.
Mostly, because to you, and to me NOW, it doesn't make sense. It's not practical. It was just irrational, uncontrollable fear. And it just started eating me up inside.
Suddenly, I was sleeping on an air matress in the living room instead of my room. Suddenly, all the food in the house was contaminated and I had to eat out. I couldn't make myself eat food at home. I wouldn't touch my dog or family. I couldn't touch anything in the house, essentially. And the outside world was similar.
It was soul-crushing. That's the only way to describe it.
In his book "Drops Like Stars", pastor Rob Bell makes a valid point. He says that when suffering strikes people, they always ask the question, "why?".
The 'why' is always the same: we live in a fallen world.
So the logical thought progression is, "Why would God allow it?"
Rob Bell says the question we should ask is, "What now?"
This may sound the same as when people say 'everything happens for a reason', but it's not. Because it's not in our human capacity to accept or truly understand that.
It's the idea that when suffering strikes, we take a step back, no matter how difficult that may be, and we ask:
What now?
Where do I go from here? What is my life now?
This isn't the same as asking "How is God using this to teach me?".
It's more of a step toward that thought. It's like we aren't quite ready to swallow the truth that God IS going to use it, so we take a baby-step. We ask, "What now?''
What are the truths of my life? Where do I go from here?
It's incredibly hard to do while suffering, and incredibly painful to do while in the face of suffering.
The first month into Summer Vacation, after MONTHS of psychological training and 'therapy', the OCD was defeated. Not gone, but defeated so badly that any time it chose to try and make me anxious, I could quell it.
And just recently, I have gotten around to asking, "What now?"
Fear guided my life for months. I know for a fact that nothing will ever be the same with me in light of that experience. It's too powerful.
My friendships suffered from lack of speaking and making contact for months. Never even seeing people. My life socially had changed dramatically.
So, I ask: "What now?"
I've been wondering what God was trying to teach me from this experience, because I'm finally at the point where I can start asking that question.
It's most likely you will say, "God is teaching you that He is always with you and that with His help you can get through anything!"
Or possibly: "God wants you to gain understanding of psychological anxiety disorders so you can move into a career on that subject."
I disagree with both, although they might be totally correct.
I think
He was saying,
"You ARE interesting."
I opened a paper just a few months before with the sentence "I'm not interesting", and within a few months, enter an ordeal that very few can truly say they have been part of. And it's happened before. Twice, I have beaten this.
What kind of kid can say that? Although OCD is common, on a smaller scale, it's semi-rare. I may be the only kid in my grade to ever have dealt with an Anxiety Disorder on this level.
And on a larger scale, many people with OCD just adapt to it. They never defeat it.
So recently I thought about my life.
And I realized, if you don't count those two incidents, I still have had a very unique life. I have stories in my past that make most people go wide-eyed.
I think God was just trying to tell me, "You ARE interesting. You DO matter. And if others don't find you interesting, well...I find you fascinating. Your life is infatuating to me."
God loves me so much. He cares so much about me. About my life.
And that's a concept I know I'll never fully be able to understand. But I sure will try.
I'll try because God is interested in me.
Well, the first line of my paper was, "I'm not interesting."
Okay, this may take a little explanation. See, up to that point, I'd say my life wasn't interesting. I didn't have one of those amazing stories about turning to Christ- I had one of those 'been all my life but really clicked during summer camp on year' conversion stories. Although there had been a few incidents in my life that were semi-interesting stories, other than that, nada.
At least, that's what I thought.
A few months later, something happened.
See, there's a slight history of anxiety in my family. You know, 'worry-wartism'.
During my fifth grade year I had dealt with a form of an anxiety disorder, and after several months, defeated it. I attributed the success to A) God's help, B)My will, C)Medicine.
Anyway, after that, I was normal, save a few eccentricities. But suddenly, something in my mind apparently just snapped- no, not like I went insane. It was like my body had been storing up all my anxiety and worry and fear over the course of four years. And suddenly, it just flooded.
Okay, that's not a good way to describe. But it happened so gradually, so deceivingly slowly, that in retrospect it seems like it just sneaked up on me. (Yes, it's sneaked, not snuck.)
So after Christmas Break, my world fell apart. I developed not only a new anxiety disorder but OCD- Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.
This doesn't mean I was crazy. In fact, MILLIONS of people suffer from some form or another of OCD. But suddenly, I developed this fear of contamination- not germs, but contamination. It's hard to explain.
Mostly, because to you, and to me NOW, it doesn't make sense. It's not practical. It was just irrational, uncontrollable fear. And it just started eating me up inside.
Suddenly, I was sleeping on an air matress in the living room instead of my room. Suddenly, all the food in the house was contaminated and I had to eat out. I couldn't make myself eat food at home. I wouldn't touch my dog or family. I couldn't touch anything in the house, essentially. And the outside world was similar.
It was soul-crushing. That's the only way to describe it.
In his book "Drops Like Stars", pastor Rob Bell makes a valid point. He says that when suffering strikes people, they always ask the question, "why?".
The 'why' is always the same: we live in a fallen world.
So the logical thought progression is, "Why would God allow it?"
Rob Bell says the question we should ask is, "What now?"
This may sound the same as when people say 'everything happens for a reason', but it's not. Because it's not in our human capacity to accept or truly understand that.
It's the idea that when suffering strikes, we take a step back, no matter how difficult that may be, and we ask:
What now?
Where do I go from here? What is my life now?
This isn't the same as asking "How is God using this to teach me?".
It's more of a step toward that thought. It's like we aren't quite ready to swallow the truth that God IS going to use it, so we take a baby-step. We ask, "What now?''
What are the truths of my life? Where do I go from here?
It's incredibly hard to do while suffering, and incredibly painful to do while in the face of suffering.
The first month into Summer Vacation, after MONTHS of psychological training and 'therapy', the OCD was defeated. Not gone, but defeated so badly that any time it chose to try and make me anxious, I could quell it.
And just recently, I have gotten around to asking, "What now?"
Fear guided my life for months. I know for a fact that nothing will ever be the same with me in light of that experience. It's too powerful.
My friendships suffered from lack of speaking and making contact for months. Never even seeing people. My life socially had changed dramatically.
So, I ask: "What now?"
I've been wondering what God was trying to teach me from this experience, because I'm finally at the point where I can start asking that question.
It's most likely you will say, "God is teaching you that He is always with you and that with His help you can get through anything!"
Or possibly: "God wants you to gain understanding of psychological anxiety disorders so you can move into a career on that subject."
I disagree with both, although they might be totally correct.
I think
He was saying,
"You ARE interesting."
I opened a paper just a few months before with the sentence "I'm not interesting", and within a few months, enter an ordeal that very few can truly say they have been part of. And it's happened before. Twice, I have beaten this.
What kind of kid can say that? Although OCD is common, on a smaller scale, it's semi-rare. I may be the only kid in my grade to ever have dealt with an Anxiety Disorder on this level.
And on a larger scale, many people with OCD just adapt to it. They never defeat it.
So recently I thought about my life.
And I realized, if you don't count those two incidents, I still have had a very unique life. I have stories in my past that make most people go wide-eyed.
I think God was just trying to tell me, "You ARE interesting. You DO matter. And if others don't find you interesting, well...I find you fascinating. Your life is infatuating to me."
God loves me so much. He cares so much about me. About my life.
And that's a concept I know I'll never fully be able to understand. But I sure will try.
I'll try because God is interested in me.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
God vs. Fantasy?
Throughout the Bible, witchcraft and dabbling in the dark arts is seen as one of the ultimate taboos.
But what does this mean?
GK Chesterton said, "Fairy tales are more than true, not because they tell us dragons exist, but that they can be BEATEN."
I grew up reading fantasy novels. My dad, a seminary graduate, read Harry Potter to me when I was little, as well as the Chronicles of Narnia. I grew up reading books about magic and wizards and brave knights and heroes.
Then came RPGing. I grew up when parents were scared that Dungeons and Dragons was leading their children into the occult and satanic practices.
Then the Harry Potter controversy.
Then, oh yes, World of Warcraft. The game that has attracted MILLIONS of players all over the world. Warcraft's world is full of monsters, demons, magic, healing, and fighting demonic powers.
I had been raised on fantasy novels and manga. It was no surprise I got into online gaming as well. I started playing Guild Wars, played the demo of World of Warcraft, engaged in ALL of Artix Entertainment's free games. Heck, when I was little, I played the card game Yugioh ENDLESSLY.
Is this wrong? Is this 'dabbling in the occult'?
I've read Harry Potter, Narnia, Lord of the Rings, Artemis Fowl, The Inheritance Cycle (Eragon), Broken Sky, some of the Warcraft novels, R.A. Salvatore's Forgotten Realms, and countless more.
I grew up reading-and continue to read-manga like Shaman King, Naruto, Bleach, Death Note, Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles, D. Gray Man, Fullmetal Alchemist, and more.
I grew up watching- and continue to watch- Magic Knight Rayearth, Fullmetal Alchemist, the movies of Hayao Miyazaki, and TONS more.
I'm an avid comic book fan. One of my all time favorite superheroes is Hellboy, a demon who refuses to follow his demon heritage and instead spends his time trying to save the world!!
So, I've read tons of fantasy.
I've played RPGS involving magic and supernatural powers.
I've watched anime involving magic and elemental abilities.
So again: Am I sinning?
What are the pros of fantasy?:
1) Fantasy openly acknowledges a struggle between good and evil, often involving supernatural abilities under many names. Jutsu. Kido. Magic. Elemental powers.
2) Fantasy's heroes are often children of no special background rising to become heroes. This mirrors the Christian's call to Christ.
3) Other times, fantasy heroes are children who are long lost children of Kings. These children are often raised in a poor setting with a small family. This mirrors Christ being born as the child of a carpenter.
4) The abilites the heroes use are often a gift from a higher power. This mirrors the Apostles being given great power by the Holy Spirit to do miraculous things.
5) The hero is often called to sacrifice himself in order to save the world.
I could go on and on about lessons fantasy can teach us. But let's look at...
The Cons of Fantasy:
1) The use of magic. While this is solely a story telling element, it can be dangerous. It's hard to say.
2) The decision to ignore the conflicts of the Spiritual War and say life is boring. Thus, we read fantasy. By saying that this life is dull, we are leaving ourselves unaware and unprotected.
3) Possible desensitization to the powers of darkness.
4) The occasional protagonist who believes he must have more power constantly. This is seen in manga fairly often.
5) If Christians that read fantasy are scorned for reading fantasy by other believers, this can potentially push people away from Christianity.
So, I leave the decision to you. That's what this blog is about.
God bless.
But what does this mean?
GK Chesterton said, "Fairy tales are more than true, not because they tell us dragons exist, but that they can be BEATEN."
I grew up reading fantasy novels. My dad, a seminary graduate, read Harry Potter to me when I was little, as well as the Chronicles of Narnia. I grew up reading books about magic and wizards and brave knights and heroes.
Then came RPGing. I grew up when parents were scared that Dungeons and Dragons was leading their children into the occult and satanic practices.
Then the Harry Potter controversy.
Then, oh yes, World of Warcraft. The game that has attracted MILLIONS of players all over the world. Warcraft's world is full of monsters, demons, magic, healing, and fighting demonic powers.
I had been raised on fantasy novels and manga. It was no surprise I got into online gaming as well. I started playing Guild Wars, played the demo of World of Warcraft, engaged in ALL of Artix Entertainment's free games. Heck, when I was little, I played the card game Yugioh ENDLESSLY.
Is this wrong? Is this 'dabbling in the occult'?
I've read Harry Potter, Narnia, Lord of the Rings, Artemis Fowl, The Inheritance Cycle (Eragon), Broken Sky, some of the Warcraft novels, R.A. Salvatore's Forgotten Realms, and countless more.
I grew up reading-and continue to read-manga like Shaman King, Naruto, Bleach, Death Note, Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles, D. Gray Man, Fullmetal Alchemist, and more.
I grew up watching- and continue to watch- Magic Knight Rayearth, Fullmetal Alchemist, the movies of Hayao Miyazaki, and TONS more.
I'm an avid comic book fan. One of my all time favorite superheroes is Hellboy, a demon who refuses to follow his demon heritage and instead spends his time trying to save the world!!
So, I've read tons of fantasy.
I've played RPGS involving magic and supernatural powers.
I've watched anime involving magic and elemental abilities.
So again: Am I sinning?
What are the pros of fantasy?:
1) Fantasy openly acknowledges a struggle between good and evil, often involving supernatural abilities under many names. Jutsu. Kido. Magic. Elemental powers.
2) Fantasy's heroes are often children of no special background rising to become heroes. This mirrors the Christian's call to Christ.
3) Other times, fantasy heroes are children who are long lost children of Kings. These children are often raised in a poor setting with a small family. This mirrors Christ being born as the child of a carpenter.
4) The abilites the heroes use are often a gift from a higher power. This mirrors the Apostles being given great power by the Holy Spirit to do miraculous things.
5) The hero is often called to sacrifice himself in order to save the world.
I could go on and on about lessons fantasy can teach us. But let's look at...
The Cons of Fantasy:
1) The use of magic. While this is solely a story telling element, it can be dangerous. It's hard to say.
2) The decision to ignore the conflicts of the Spiritual War and say life is boring. Thus, we read fantasy. By saying that this life is dull, we are leaving ourselves unaware and unprotected.
3) Possible desensitization to the powers of darkness.
4) The occasional protagonist who believes he must have more power constantly. This is seen in manga fairly often.
5) If Christians that read fantasy are scorned for reading fantasy by other believers, this can potentially push people away from Christianity.
So, I leave the decision to you. That's what this blog is about.
God bless.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Uh-oh....
"Turns out, I don't have as many thoughts as you might think."-Joey, FRIENDS
I've just noticed something. I'm out of spiritual musings right now.
NOT GOOD.
Shouldn't we always have spiritual musings? Isn't that what makes us Christians and truth seekers?
So far, I've minorly covered my musings on good and evil, demons, and a few other things.
Am I already out? Where did my spiritual musings go?
Praying for renewed spiritual vigor...
I've just noticed something. I'm out of spiritual musings right now.
NOT GOOD.
Shouldn't we always have spiritual musings? Isn't that what makes us Christians and truth seekers?
So far, I've minorly covered my musings on good and evil, demons, and a few other things.
Am I already out? Where did my spiritual musings go?
Praying for renewed spiritual vigor...
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Let's See How Far We've Come
There's a line in this song that I love.
*I sat down on the street, took a look at myself. I said "Where you goin' man, you know the world is headed for hell?"Say your goodbyes if you got someone to say goodbye too.*
I think for a lot of people that's how the moments goes. When God chooses the time to have them choose, this is how a lot of people feel I think.
Because people usually come to God in hard times. Right?
Chosen to choose to be chosen.
We were chosen by God to choose whether or not we would follow him- and even though he knows what our choice will be (to be chosen), he still offers the choice.
That's the little blurb of the day.
*I sat down on the street, took a look at myself. I said "Where you goin' man, you know the world is headed for hell?"Say your goodbyes if you got someone to say goodbye too.*
I think for a lot of people that's how the moments goes. When God chooses the time to have them choose, this is how a lot of people feel I think.
Because people usually come to God in hard times. Right?
Chosen to choose to be chosen.
We were chosen by God to choose whether or not we would follow him- and even though he knows what our choice will be (to be chosen), he still offers the choice.
That's the little blurb of the day.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
How then should we live?
*This life is beautiful! I give it all to You, all for You!*
I've been thinking about what I'm going to do with my future and stuff, and an interesting thought occured to me.
Our physical life is sort. To quote the band Reilly, "We're living on limited time."
We are called to give ourselves wholly to God.
We have an eternity with Him.
So, should we put aside what we want for the future so that we can do what we are called to? Should I give up my passions and skills, all my plans for my life, and instead live as a missionary? As a teacher? A pastor?
We're living on limited time, but soon we'll have an eternity with the Lord Himself. During this eternity, we will be praising Him constantly. In this life, we praise God through the gifts he gives us.
In the movie Chariots of Fire, Eric Little says to his sister:
"Yes, God did call me to be a missionary. And I'm going to. But he also made me fast. And when I run, I feel His pleasure."
So, what if we decided to live our mortal lives doing everything we could to spread the Gospel? To be a force for good? What if, instead of pursuing our passions on our career path, we threw ourselves into the work for God wholeheartedly?
We can enjoy the gifts He's given us in Eternity.
But really- don't we have work to do now? Our calling?
Just something to think on.
FOLLOW-UP QUESTION:
Can our gifts become an idol of ours?
I've been thinking about what I'm going to do with my future and stuff, and an interesting thought occured to me.
Our physical life is sort. To quote the band Reilly, "We're living on limited time."
We are called to give ourselves wholly to God.
We have an eternity with Him.
So, should we put aside what we want for the future so that we can do what we are called to? Should I give up my passions and skills, all my plans for my life, and instead live as a missionary? As a teacher? A pastor?
We're living on limited time, but soon we'll have an eternity with the Lord Himself. During this eternity, we will be praising Him constantly. In this life, we praise God through the gifts he gives us.
In the movie Chariots of Fire, Eric Little says to his sister:
"Yes, God did call me to be a missionary. And I'm going to. But he also made me fast. And when I run, I feel His pleasure."
So, what if we decided to live our mortal lives doing everything we could to spread the Gospel? To be a force for good? What if, instead of pursuing our passions on our career path, we threw ourselves into the work for God wholeheartedly?
We can enjoy the gifts He's given us in Eternity.
But really- don't we have work to do now? Our calling?
Just something to think on.
FOLLOW-UP QUESTION:
Can our gifts become an idol of ours?
Friday, April 10, 2009
Knowing Is Half The Battle
Obviously, you've heard the expression, "Knowing is half the battle". It's used in ads ranging from various diseases and STDs to game show slogans.
Why am I using it today?
Because we completely misunderstand demons.
We paint horns on them, and draw them as hideous monsters. They love causing death and destruction, blood and war. And this is the wrong way to understand demons.
What are demons? As us humans understand through Scripture, demons are angels fallen from heaven who have chosen to follow the first fallen angel, Satan. They are spiritual beings, whereas humans are physical/spiritual beings. Of two natures.
It says in the Scriptures that Satan comes in the form of an angel of light. He doesn't come for you in fire and brimstone, with a pitchfork and fangs. He instead chooses to imitate the beauty of God's angels.
I think the most common misconception on the devil and demons is the way they work. We think they kill people close to us, or cause immediate pain. What we think of as physical evil acts.
But CS Lewis, in his wonderful book "The Screwtape Letters", puts it another way through the view of Screwtape, the demon mentoring the younger one Wormwood. Screwtape chides Wormwood for being so excited when Wormwood observes the beginnings of WWII. Screwtape tells Wormwood that although it might be slightly entertaining, war is bad for their cause. Death and near-death experiences cause humans to reconsider life and God. An athiest will often pray on his death bed.
There's a great quote that was in one of my teacher's classroom. It said:
"Apathy is the glove into which evil slips its hand."
That's the way demons and the devil work. They deceive by lulling us to sleep, numbing us to things like God. They don't attack directly. No, they use a means of distraction.
Often, we don't even catch that they've diverted us from the right path until much later in life. They can deceive a Christian into believing things about the Bible that aren't actually there. They can deceive a Christian to walk around threatening people with Hell unless they convert.
Demons are behind the scenes bad guys who are like the puppet masters. They don't really DO anything. They place thoughts. Like how Satan simply asked Eve, "Did he really say you can't eat from any tree in the Garden?" and other questons. Simply pushing her in that direction without actually doing anything.
Demons are, for lack of a better term, psychologists. But there is some REALLY good news.
Ted Dekker, in his novel "The Slumber of Christianity", describes Satan as a beast in death throws. Wounded, already deafeated, and yet insistent on continuing trying to win. The war is over.
It's nearly Easter by our calendars, which is a day we take to commemorate the winning of a war. Jesus crushed the Serpent's head under his foot.
In Revelation, there are a lot of scary things. They talk about Christians becoming horribly persecuted, and people being killed unless the bow to demons. But here's the great part: it's just a battle! Already, God and Jesus have won the war! Those massive events that they say will stretch on for years and years- in the eyes of a completely immortal, indestructable King, that's only a few moments! It's one battle!
It's Satan's last stand, his last desperate attempt to win. And I think he already knows he is going to lose.
Lot's of people are scared of demons and such. When we are in Christ, we don't need to be! Sure, we need to acknowledge them, but we are also so protected by Him that the demons can't hurt us unless He allows it! So you know what we can do to Satan?
We can stand there and laugh at him. Because he can't stand being mocked. Demons can't stand it when we are aware of their presence but feel no fear. And we feel no fear because the war is already won- our Lord rose from the grave and conquered death! He won the war!
It's Easter! God bless.
Why am I using it today?
Because we completely misunderstand demons.
We paint horns on them, and draw them as hideous monsters. They love causing death and destruction, blood and war. And this is the wrong way to understand demons.
What are demons? As us humans understand through Scripture, demons are angels fallen from heaven who have chosen to follow the first fallen angel, Satan. They are spiritual beings, whereas humans are physical/spiritual beings. Of two natures.
It says in the Scriptures that Satan comes in the form of an angel of light. He doesn't come for you in fire and brimstone, with a pitchfork and fangs. He instead chooses to imitate the beauty of God's angels.
I think the most common misconception on the devil and demons is the way they work. We think they kill people close to us, or cause immediate pain. What we think of as physical evil acts.
But CS Lewis, in his wonderful book "The Screwtape Letters", puts it another way through the view of Screwtape, the demon mentoring the younger one Wormwood. Screwtape chides Wormwood for being so excited when Wormwood observes the beginnings of WWII. Screwtape tells Wormwood that although it might be slightly entertaining, war is bad for their cause. Death and near-death experiences cause humans to reconsider life and God. An athiest will often pray on his death bed.
There's a great quote that was in one of my teacher's classroom. It said:
"Apathy is the glove into which evil slips its hand."
That's the way demons and the devil work. They deceive by lulling us to sleep, numbing us to things like God. They don't attack directly. No, they use a means of distraction.
Often, we don't even catch that they've diverted us from the right path until much later in life. They can deceive a Christian into believing things about the Bible that aren't actually there. They can deceive a Christian to walk around threatening people with Hell unless they convert.
Demons are behind the scenes bad guys who are like the puppet masters. They don't really DO anything. They place thoughts. Like how Satan simply asked Eve, "Did he really say you can't eat from any tree in the Garden?" and other questons. Simply pushing her in that direction without actually doing anything.
Demons are, for lack of a better term, psychologists. But there is some REALLY good news.
Ted Dekker, in his novel "The Slumber of Christianity", describes Satan as a beast in death throws. Wounded, already deafeated, and yet insistent on continuing trying to win. The war is over.
It's nearly Easter by our calendars, which is a day we take to commemorate the winning of a war. Jesus crushed the Serpent's head under his foot.
In Revelation, there are a lot of scary things. They talk about Christians becoming horribly persecuted, and people being killed unless the bow to demons. But here's the great part: it's just a battle! Already, God and Jesus have won the war! Those massive events that they say will stretch on for years and years- in the eyes of a completely immortal, indestructable King, that's only a few moments! It's one battle!
It's Satan's last stand, his last desperate attempt to win. And I think he already knows he is going to lose.
Lot's of people are scared of demons and such. When we are in Christ, we don't need to be! Sure, we need to acknowledge them, but we are also so protected by Him that the demons can't hurt us unless He allows it! So you know what we can do to Satan?
We can stand there and laugh at him. Because he can't stand being mocked. Demons can't stand it when we are aware of their presence but feel no fear. And we feel no fear because the war is already won- our Lord rose from the grave and conquered death! He won the war!
It's Easter! God bless.
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