Tag Archives: spiritual warfare

Weapons of Our Warfare – Pt. 4 – Prayer

“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”– Luke 22:31-32

It’s one of my favorites verses on prayer.

He could have prayed against the sifting. He could have prayed all the things we pray when the enemy picks a fight with someone we love.

But He would have been praying “No”, while the Father was saying “Yes”.

What Jesus did pray is so very telling. It reveals what the enemy was after in his scheming and sifting and the arrows he aims.

{Our faith has a target on its back.}

As I said in my last post, the devil isn’t trying to get us to not believe in God, he’s going after our trust in God. Our confidence in His goodness and His faithfulness and all that He claims to be.

Jesus knew what satan was after, so Jesus prayed for what satan was after.

Likewise, the Holy Spirit knows what satan is after, knows what the Father has said yes to, and what He has said no to, and knows what needs to be prayed.

Romans 8:28 ~ “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.”

Ephesians 6:18 ~ “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”

Jude 1:20 ~ “But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit…”

Satan wanted Peter’s faith. Jesus used prayer as a weapon against that scheme. Peter still got sifted, but discerning prayer protected what the enemy was really after, and caused that sifting to work for the good of not only Peter, but his fellow believers.

For some of us, our prayers are primarily requests for God to do what we think He should do, or, if we’re honest, what we want Him to do. And while we may follow it with ‘thy will be done’, our minds and our hearts are convinced, or at least hoping, that His will is the same as our will. I know this because I lived it for far too many years. Prayers that are motivated by the wants of our flesh are no kind of weapon.

Jesus knew that part of Peter’s sifting meant that Peter would deny Him. Deny even knowing Him, after everything they had experienced together. If it were me, I would have prayed that God would prevent the sifting, so that I wouldn’t endure the pain of the denial. Those are the prayers I prayed for years. Change him, so that my life will be easier and I won’t cry all the time. Let me get this job so that I can stop worrying about money. Get me out of this situation Lord, it’s so uncomfortable. Make them move so that I don’t have to deal with bad neighbors. Anyone else? No? Ok, just me then.

Our praying is a danger to the enemy when it is motivated by God’s heart, not our own. When it sounds like ‘Father, show him Your love for him‘ instead of ‘change him.’ When it’s our declaration of God’s provision and goodness instead of our fear of not having enough. His purpose vs our comfort. His love for our neighbor instead of their relocation. The plans and purposes of heaven instead of my politics.

This kind of praying doesn’t go unnoticed by heaven. Or by hell.

But I would rather be in the enemy’s crosshairs because I’m wrecking strategies of darkness, than be left alone because I pose no threat.

Be a threat, beloved. Pray fervently. Pray often. Pray His will, not yours.

P.S.– There is a place for praying for our own needs and even our wants. For casting all of our cares upon Him, in being anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. That is not the kind of prayer I am addressing here. We have a good, good Father who inclines His ear to us when we speak to Him, cry out to Him, or just want to pour out our heart to Him. But when it comes to spiritual warfare, to the battle that rages against us, our families, and the Church – we need weaponized prayer. Prayer that calls down the heart and will of God. Prayers that echo heaven.

The Weapons of Our Warfare Pt. 3 – The Armor We Live In

In parts 1 & 2 I talked about the enemy’s domain and his activities. Now it’s time to talk about why I did this teaching in the first place. Honestly, I wanted to show that our victory in the battles the enemy engages us in is tied to the depth and intimacy of our relationship with God.

In pretty much any talk about spiritual warfare, there is a particular passage that comes up that most of us can quote, or at least paraphrase.

Ephesians 6:10-18

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 the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”

First, let me say this — there are a plethora of commentaries written about this passage, and I’m not trying to raise my voice louder than theirs. I just want to sit around this small table with you and give my thoughts, and hopefully hear yours. If I get long-winded (and I will), take a break, eat a piece of cheesecake for stamina, and then come back.

Secondly, we cannot detach this portion of scripture from those that come before it. Doing so will make it appear as though Paul had a touch of ADD. The chapter begins with children – obey your parents; then parents – don’t exasperate your children. This is followed by slaves – obey your master, and masters – treat your slaves well. And then Paul says, “Finally…”. So I believe that Ephesians 6:10-18 is less about what we know theologically, and way more about what we do with what we know. In other words, this passage is not about what we know, but how we live. Let’s dig in.

If I had to put a title to what I’ve learned in the past 31 years of following Jesus, that title would be…

No Other

…so I’m going to approach this passage from that perspective.

The very first thing we’re told is to be strong in the power of His might. Other versions say strengthened by the Lord and His vast strength. Your own strength will not be enough. Not by a long shot.

We try to draw strength from so many wells, but there is no other strength that will sustain us through this life, but Jesus. Through dark nights of the soul, or in the valley under the shadow of death. Even just the everyday work of fighting depression, fighting anxiety, fighting fear, fighting pain, fighting to stay above the water. Oh, we can suck it up and hold on and push through, to a point. But, by divine design, our weakness and limitations and our utter lack of strength will eventually become evident, and where we go for strength will determine whether or not we taste victory over what is trying to do us in.

Jesus taught me that there is no other place to find what I need. He’s it. The fellowship with Him that comes from time spent in the secret place has strengthened me for the journey, strengthened me for suffering, for trials, and even for the green pastures and still waters (because sometimes, it takes the strength and power of God to get us to just lie down, be still, and drink deep of Him).

Be strengthened by the Lord…and no other. It is His strength, not our own that is a weapon against the enemy who seeks to wear us down.

truth like a belt…

It’s an interesting word, Truth. Most of us would think it means we are to gird ourselves with the truth of God’s word, but it actually carries a little different meaning, so I do not have the standard take on this word that many have.

The root word it comes from means “loving the truth, speaking the truth, truthful.” See what I mean? Interesting. The actual word truth in this passage means “sincerity of mind and integrity of character, or a mode of life in harmony with divine truth“.

It’s not about being able to quote scripture passages, and it’s a whole lot more than not lying on your tax returns. Girding yourself with the truth means living true. Living without pretense, without shadows, without hypocrisy. It is a life that is in harmony with the Truth, not at odds with Him.

When you are clothed in the belt of truth, try as he may, the enemy will not get you to compromise or to live in a way that creates disharmony with God’s truth. You won’t be caught in a lie, found out, or exposed as pretending to be something you are not, because that is not the life you are living.

No other way of living provides this kind of spiritual defense.

the breastplate of righteousness…

that word righteousness means “integrity, virtue, purity of life, uprightness, correctness in thinking, feeling, and acting“.

The breastplate is “consisting of two parts and protecting the body on both sides from the neck to the middle“.

Isn’t it interesting that the meaning of righteousness as used in this passage includes correctness in thinking, feeling, and acting? And isn’t it also so interesting that these things protect us against the schemes and attacks of the enemy?

Note: In the armor, the breastplate is attached to the belt. So the breastplate of righteousness for the Christian, is attached to the belt of truth. Here’s what I think – if we aren’t living lives of truth, we will not be able to live a life of righteousness.

This can all sound like a “do it yourself” Christianity. Living righteously out of our own strength. Oh, believe me, it is not. We know that our righteousness comes from Christ alone. Our own ability to be right and live right with God is a big fat zero. And the good news is that we receive the righteousness of Christ upon our confession of faith. Boom. Done. We have been made right with God. But…

If the way we live our lives does not reflect the righteousness of Christ that is in us and on us, then we are unprotected from the attacks of the enemy. This is what I’m saying…this armor isn’t about our salvation, it is about how we live it out. Without the lifestyle that reflects what Christ has done, we are deer in an open field against an enemy with a stellar aim.

There is no other righteousness but the righteousness of Christ that can make us right with God. And there is no quicker way to oppression than for a person who has been made right with God by the blood of Christ, to live a life that is not right with God.

feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace...

I’ll be honest, this one has been one of those things that for years I could not figure out, so I just nodded and quoted and more or less went along with everyone else’s explanation. But that thing in me that needs to know God, and know what He’s actually saying to me, wouldn’t let go of this verse. Once I realized that this whole passage is talking about how we live, then I began to dig and this is what I found that satisfies me, at least for now.

“it also has the meaning of firm footing (foundation);… if that is the meaning in [this passage], the Gospel itself is to be the firm footing of the believer, his walk being worthy of it, and therefore a testimony in regard to it.” (Vines Expository Dictionary) From other sources (which I will list at the end), I found snippets of explanation that helped me form a coherent and less abstract view of this verse:

Be ready to quickly and cheerfully go where you are sent, never allowing your feet to move off the firm foundation that is the gospel of Christ. It is a gospel of peace, so walk worthy of that gospel. You have peace with God, so do not live as though you do not. Let your life be a testimony of the good news, where ever your feet take you.

There is no other gospel worthy of the giving of our lives than the gospel of Christ. No other place for our feet to stand, and move upon, than that firm foundation. All other ground is sinking sand. May our lives speak of this gospel day in and day out, as we move upon the earth.

take up the shield of faith

The word faith is our faith in God, authored by Jesus. It is far more than the belief that God exists, it is the trust we have in Him. Satan is not trying to get us to not believe in the existence of God (even demons believes He exists), but what he’s after is our trust in God. That said, this verse is telling us to take up our shield of faith (trust) so that the flaming darts of the enemy will be extinguished. In ancient times, the shield was made of leather, and they would soak it with water before battle because there would be fiery arrows coming at them. That shield is as big as a door, able to protect everything behind it.

Isn’t it interesting that Jesus is called the living water, and the author and perfecter of our faith? So when we raise a faith that has been soaked in Jesus, there is no flaming arrow that will not be extinguished!

No other faith, no other trust that we put into a person or a thing, will protect us against what the enemy is firing at us. It is only our faith (trust) in God that will fully shield us, and extinguish satan’s fiery weapons.

Take the helmet of salvation…

The helmet is “the protection of soul which consists in (the hope of) salvation”. (Blue Letter Bible Lexicon).

Our soul is our mind, our will, and our emotions. It is to our soul that the enemy will attempt to bring despair, discouragement, hopelessness, fear (of death), and get us to live our lives in response to those emotions and thoughts. The hope (assurance) of salvation, that future life that awaits us with God, is a guard for our soul. But here’s the catch…that hope of salvation has to trump our desire, or hope, for a good, pleasant, comfortable, unbothered life on this earth. When our hope of salvation is simply a “given” that we don’t think much about as the years go on, then our hopes for a “better” life here will uncover our mind to all sorts of thoughts, emotions, and eventually belief systems that can cripple our soul.

No other hope can protect our soul except the hope of our salvation. We have been promised life with God for all eternity, but we were never promised a life on this earth without trouble, sorrow, trials, or pain. This is life in a fallen world. But we have been given a hope to see us through it all with a depth of joy and peace that cannot be touched.

{“Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.”} (Psalm 51:12)

the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Here is what we know for sure — Satan is a liar, and God’s Word is true. There is no other way to tear down a lie than with truth. I will preach this until I die – get yourself into the Word of God and keep yourself there. There is no substitute. The best sermon is not a sword. That podcast you listen to is not a sword. Your daily devotional is not a sword. All of those things are good, and they serve to help us grow, but if you try to bring one against the enemy, you’ve brought a butter knife to a sword fight.

It doesn’t matter that you don’t like to read. It doesn’t matter if you find it boring or hard to understand. The fact remains that it is the only sword you have, so by golly you should learn to weild it well. Otherwise, you are susceptible to any and every lie that the liar wants to whisper to you.

There is no other sword. But no other sword is needed. Pick it up. Learn to use it. Start coming against the lies that you’ve been believing.

Prayer is a weapon we will discuss next time, so I won’t go into it here.

I know this was long and if you hung in there with me, you should get the last piece of cheesecake. And, thank you!

But I can’t end it without going back to my first point. The whole reason I began looking at teaching about spiritual warfare in the first place, was to show that it is directly tied to the depth and intimacy of our relationship with Jesus.

Looking back over every weapon, over the life lived in the armor of God, it comes out of time spent with Him. It comes from that place of seeking His face, seeking His ways, and desiring to know Him more. The hours that become days that become years spent in the secret place, in His word, in recurring surrender and repentance and worship, is what fits us for the armor.

After 31 years, the most humbling realization I’ve had is that I have not yet arrived. Like all of us, I have good days and bad days. Victory and defeat. Falling down and getting back up. Learning and forgetting and relearning it all. And yet, His goodness and His faithful love have followed me all of these days and years, and I am forever grateful.

Sources: Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance; Vines Expository Dictionary; + various NT commentaries.

The Weapons of Warfare – Pt. 2 – The Enemy’s Activity

In my last post I talked about the enemy’s domain. This time, we’re going to look at a short list of what he does in that domain. Again, I’m simply going to lay out scriptures, giving a few thoughts along the way, but my hope is that you will read the scriptures and ask God for His thoughts.

1 Chronicles 21:1 – “And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.”

This was a census of David’s military. The thinking at this time was that a man could only count what belonged to him. But Israel belonged to God, so this census was very foolish, and God brought punishment for it to David. The enemy was coming against all of Israel, by inciting their leader to sin. So, bear with me for a moment, as I follow this trail.

How do you come against a nation? You go after it’s leader.

How do you come against a church? You go after the leadership.

How do you come against a family? You go after the parents. Why do we think the divorce rate is so high?

Anyone else see a pattern? Anyone else see a reason to pray for anyone in your life who is in a leadership position?

Zechariah 3:1 – “Then he showed me the high priest Joshua standing before the angel of the Lord, with Satan standing at his right side to resist him.”

Part of the meaning of the word resist, is to “accuse”. It also means to oppose, to be an adversary. Bottom line for me? My enemy never takes a day off. He is my adversary at all times, opposing me, accusing me, resisting me. Let me ask you a question:

Have you ever come into church on a Sunday morning and as you try to enter into worship, you begin to think about everything you did wrong that week? Has a sense of shame accompanied you into church? Or, are you suddenly reminded of the last fight you had with your spouse (maybe that morning!), and you can’t get it out of your head? That is your adversary at work. Accusing. Opposing. Resisting.

Or how about when you determine to spend time in prayer. Ever find your thoughts wandering into territories that are absolutely not conducive to fervent, effectual prayer? Your adversary is at work.

Matthew 13:19:  “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path.

Mark 1:13 – “He was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan.”

Acts 5:3:  “But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land?”

What do you think he actually used to fill their hearts? Perhaps it was fear of having nothing for themselves. Or maybe it was the need to control, to ensure they would have enough provision. Maybe it was just outright greed. We don’t know, but experience tells us that when our hearts begin to fill up with thoughts of “what about me?”, sin is not far from us.

2 Corinthians 2:11 – “so that we may not be taken advantage of by Satan. For we are not ignorant of his schemes.”

Oh, but I think many times we are very ignorant of his schemes. Did you even know that he schemes against you? Looks for ways and opportunities to hinder you, make you stumble, make you doubt, make you stop. It reminds me of fur trappers. They don’t just stand around with their fingers crossed, hoping a rabbit hops by. They set snares in areas where they know rabbits would be found. They scheme up ways to make their traps more efficient and more effective.

Our adversary is not passive, but I’m afraid that all too often, we are.

2 Corinthians 4:4 – “In their case, the god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”

2 Corinthians 11:14 – “And no wonder! For Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.”

1 Thessalonians 2:18 – “So we wanted to come to you—even I, Paul, time and again—but Satan hindered us.”

1 Peter 5:8 – ““Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”

Revelation 12:9 – “So the great dragon was thrown out—the ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the one who deceives the whole world.”

Ok, let’s summarize.

Our enemy…

Provokes us · Accuses us · Tempts us · Can fill our hearts to sin · Blinds the minds of unbelievers · Snatches seed that is sown · Hinders us · Schemes against us · Disguises himself · Deceives the whole world

Again, this is just a sampling. We know that practically, his activities play out in many different ways and take many different shapes in our lives, in our homes, our churches, our communities, and in the world.

But we can take heart!

In the next post we will begin to talk about the weapons of our warfare. All that we have been given to walk in victory, take back ground, advance the Kingdom of God. Watch for it!

The Weapons of Warfare – pt. 1 – The Enemy’s Domain

One of my goals in my Lifegroup is to try to create an atmosphere that leads the women to desire and seek deeper intimacy with God. Last week’s teaching was on spiritual warfare, which may seem like an odd avenue to a closer relationship with God, but it actually isn’t odd at all. Hopefully, this series of posts will bear that out.

I thought I would lay out a sampling of what the scriptures say, and then I will offer my thoughts – but that’s all they are. My thoughts. I’m asking you to look at the scriptures and seek God for what He is saying in them.

Knowing our Enemy: His Domain

Ephesians 2:2:  “…in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—

1 John 5:19:  “We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.”

2 Corinthians 4:4:  “In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel…”

Revelation 12:9:  “the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.”

John 14:30:  “I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me…”

Ephesians 6:12:  “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.” [the lower heavens, or the heaven of the clouds]

Job 1:7:  “The Lord said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.”

Colossians 1:13:  “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,…”

Matthew 4:8-9: “Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. And he said to him, “I will give you all these things if you will fall down and worship me.”

From the looks of it, the whole earth is satan’s domain, including the atmosphere. The conundrum is what do we do with the scriptures that tell us that the earth is God’s and everything in it, or that Jesus is Lord over all? The best illustration I could come up with is the Roman Empire in biblical times. It may not be a great illustration, given my weak grasp on history, but it’s all that came to mind. The Roman Empire was vast. Really, really huge. And throughout it, there were many Governors, or rulers. They each had power and authority over their particular ‘domain’, however, there was only one who was sovereign over the whole empire. Caesar.

So my thought is this: Satan has power in his domain, but he does not have sovereignty, and that is important for us to know.

Let’s also consider this: Satan was in the Garden of Eden, the place where God walked with Adam and Eve. The place He had created for them. He was also present at the last supper, when Jesus washed the feet of His disciples. He was in the Garden of Gethsemane when Jesus was being arrested.

I think, based on my own experience, that many of us live unaware of the presence of the enemy. When we are fighting with our spouse, experiencing road rage in traffic, thinking of ways to get our next fix (drugs, alcohol, sex, food…whatever our fix may be), when we feel overwhelmed by life to the point of withdrawing from others. We blame our spouse, blame the ding-dong drivers, blame our job, blame our kids, blame ourselves, blame life. And so we fight the wrong enemy, engage in the wrong battle, and wonder why we feel defeated.

We have to acknowledge the war that is taking place all around us. Not just out there, but in our homes, in our churches, in our own hearts. Ignoring it will be of no benefit to us.

The enemy’s domain is the whole earth, including the atmosphere.

He is called the ruler of this world, the god of this world, and the deceiver of the whole world.

He has power, but he is not sovereign!

We will neither glorify him nor underestimate him. We will educate ourselves on his domain, his activities, and the weapons we have at our disposal, and we will walk in the victory that is available to us.

Questions to ponder ~

Where have you most seen the enemy at work in your life? (Marriage/relationships, your job, your emotional / mental state, your ministry or calling, etc.)

How quickly have you been able to recognize that he is at work?

How does the fact that his domain, where he is working and exercising his power, is the whole earth, change how you view world events, if at all?

Next time: The Weapons of our Warfare – Pt. 2 – His Activity

how to not end abortion

Fair Warning:  This is not the kind of post I typically write. It is not a personal attack on anyone, it is a plea to the Church. I am neither Republican nor Democrat. I claim absolutely no affiliation or allegiance to a political party. My allegiance is to Christ and His Kingdom. This post may make people mad at me. While that is not my intention, I’m ok with it. 

On January 22, 1973, the United States Supreme Court made abortion legal in this country. Since that time, there have been 8 different Presidents in office, 5 Republicans and 3 Democrats. In every election, abortion has been one of the major hot buttons and for some people, the biggest issue that decides their vote. When President Obama was reelected this month, I read statements similar to this one:  “Well, that’s four more years of unborn babies being killed”. Obviously they believe the President can make abortion illegal. He can’t. Only the Supreme Court can do that, and they can only do it if they have a case come before them to deliberate that would end up overturning Roe vs. Wade.

But none of that is really my point, I just needed something to open this post.

Because abortion is a spiritual issue, which brings it into the front yard of not the White House, but the Church. (And we can substitute Abortion with any other moral issue that permeated the airwaves and social media during this election.) What has the Church done to stop abortion? Not to make it illegal, but to STOP it? (Because surely we are not naive enough to think that if it’s illegal, people won’t do it. We’re Christians, not idiots. Right?)

First, we need to recognize that the United States is not our Kingdom. For some, that could be a long process with God. We are the Church. We cannot cast our allegiance to something as fragile and fickle as an earthly nation. We’ve all heard it, read it, and been taught that this world is not our home, but I think we would have a hard time convincing the world of that, given the way we act, especially in an election year. But just to cover the bases, I will say it again. We are not from here. We are aliens here. Strangers. Passing through. Heading home. We need to be less invested in earthly matters and processes, and fully invested in the work of the Kingdom. And I promise you, the work of the Kingdom is not shaking your fist at the government. It really isn’t.

Time is shorter than we think.

It is time to stop fighting darkness with more darkness. We cannot continue letting fear and anxiety and our political allegiances govern our conduct, or our words. We cannot continue to hate the President and blame this nation’s woes on a political party, all in the name of God. We cannot continue to make God a “cause”. He doesn’t need us to defend Him. (Read the 38th chapter of Job.) He is God. We are His Church. We alone have the Gospel that is so desperately needed by a lost world. He didn’t tell us to defend Him, He told us to imitate Him. By living lives of love, not hatred, no matter how justified we want to make it appear. He also told us to reproduce ourselves. Make disciples. Spread the Good News, which offers hope to the hopeless.

We are in a spiritual war, and what is at stake is not our taxes or the unemployment rate or health insurance. It is the eternal destiny of every person we come into contact with either directly or indirectly. That includes our President, whether he’s pro-choice, liberal, Islam, or plays golf when he shouldn’t. God cares about where he spends eternity. Do we?

If I was not a believer, I don’t know that anything I have seen or heard from many Christians this past year would make me want to be one.

Abortion is not a political issue, or a women’s rights issue. It is a spiritual issue. Only the Church is equipped for such a battle. If we live in a nation that is so turned against God and His ways, a nation that is killing its unborn and falling further and further into moral decay, then it begs the question “what has the Church been doing?”. Because all of this is taking place on our watch.

Women are killing their babies because they are lost, deceived and desperate, not because of who is President.

Abortion should break our hearts and make us angry. It should elicit from us a desire to see justice. I believe it has done all of that, but our response has been to look to the broken systems of man to fix what amounts to spiritual terrorism against the image bearers of God. Again, we, the Church, are the only ones equipped to fight a spiritual battle.

What if we did the research and decided to be missionaries to those women who are most at risk, taking the love of Christ, and His gospel to them? What if that demographic became the Church’s mission field in this country? What if we reached them before they become pregnant? Or after. Or even after they’ve aborted?

Maybe if we will do what we were commissioned to do, less women will get abortions, regardless of how legal it is.

Because Christ changes things by changing hearts, not laws.

Go. Make disciples. Pray. Be humble. Believe. Show mercy. Love. Fight the real enemy.

Or…we could just keep doing what we’re doing.

That’s one way to not end abortion.

[Please know that I dearly love the Church, and firmly believe that she has the power to bring change. But not when she has her eyes fixed on earthly kingdoms, wielding carnal weapons of picket signs, petitions and name calling. It is when her eyes become fixed on Jesus, and she realizes that heaven and hell are real, and that what is at stake is not her comfort, but the eternal destinies of everyone around her. We must learn to put down our sticks and stones and pick up the weapons we have been given by God, weapons that are mighty for bringing down strongholds…love, humility, truth (spoken in love, not arrogance), prayer, faith, the Gospel…all mighty weapons that bring destruction to the darkness that is the root of abortion and every other evil.]

Hebrews 11:13-14; Ephesians 5:1-3; Matthew 28:19; 2Corinthians 4:4; Ephesians 6:11-13; 2Corinthians 10:4