First off, I have to apologize for being so scarce. I havn't blogged in about 4 months. I wish I had a good excuse, but all I can say is I didn't feel like it. I didn't feel like I had anything of worth to say. I still don't feel like what I'm posting now is of life altering value, but I suppose that doesn't mean I shouldn't post it.
I'm in the midst of reading C.S. Lewis' The Screwtape Letters. If you havn't read this book, I would strongly recommend that you do. For those of you who don't know what this book is about, here's a brief explanation. The book is written in the form of many letters written from Screwtape, to his nephew Wormwood. Screwtape and Wormwood are both devils working for the head devil, Satan. Wormwood is a beginner in the realm of tempting and deceiving, therefore Screwtape, being the affectionate uncle that he is, writes letters of advice to his nephew since he is well seasoned in the art. Wormwood is put in charge over a human, a man who is a new Christian. Wormwood's goal is to win the human over to their side and keep him away from The Enemy (God). I know what you're thinking, if the man is a new Christian, isn't he already on God's side? That would be our hope. But the interesting angle that this book implies is that it is after the man becomes a Christian that the real work begins. If you're a Christian, you realize this to be true. Satan doesn't take much notice of us until we are in God's grasp. It is then that the real struggles, trials, and tribulations begin in our lives. Screwtape instructs Wormwood to use things such as the church, prayer, and love as weapons against the man. I want you to realize that these are not Satan's weapons to be using. But isn't it true that he succeeds in using the very things that are meant to protect us, to defeat us? If you are unaware of this, then you are exactly where he wants you. He doesn't want us to realize his schemes. When we think of the typical things Satan uses to win Christian back over to his side, we think of things such as alcohol, greed, lust, stealing, etc. And it's true, he does use these things. But what makes these weapons so much weaker than the ones I mentioned before is that they are too obvious. It's easy to see the fault in getting drunk or committing adultery. What is much less obvious is something such as becoming complacent as you attend church service each Sunday. Or saying parrot-like, heartless prayers. You may not be ensnared by worldly temptations, but you may be ensnared by deceptive lies of the devil without even realizing it. You sit in church, among your brothers and sisters, and do nothing but judge the whole time. "This preacher is long winded." "That woman is not dressed appropriately." "Those teenagers aren't paying attention, they just don't care." But you're at church, so that makes you good. We are so blind to the real attacks of the devil. We constantly fight off the pebbles thrown at us without ever putting up a barricade for the cannons fired. We have to start seeing the attacks for what they are. We have to start knowing our enemy well enough to guard against his schemes. We have to stop lying to ourselves thinking we're safe just because we say a prayer a day and attend church service twice a week. Those are the lies that our enemy wants us to believe.
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. Stan 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 saints."
1 Corinthians 16:13-14 "Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Let all that you do be done in love."
Let's fight back.
