Spiritual Warfare

The Religious Spirit has turned discipleship into a soul-killing exercise of principles. Most folks don’t even know they can walk with God, hear his voice. He’s stigmatized counseling as a profession for sick patients, and so the wounds of our hearts never get healed. He’s taken healing away from us almost entirely, so that we sit in pews as broken people feeling guilty because we can’t live the life we’re supposed to live. And he takes warfare…

Have you ever looked at someone and thought, He’s so lucky or Her life is so easy? In reality, no one has a problem-free existence. Scripture describes life’s trials as universal—we all face times of trouble. James 1:2 is a small verse, but it contains tremendous insight about our trials. First, it is significant that James uses the word “when.” Undergoing trials is a matter of when rather than if. Second, James says we’ll “encounter;…

I suffer from a disease called chronic disappointment disorder, or CDD. It’s not a real disease; don’t ask your doctor about it. It may be fake, but it affects me—and my celebration of Christmas—in a very real way. For most of my life, the sting of disappointment accompanied every holiday. I felt let down when quarreling children ruined my serene Christmas morning. My spirit deflated when my pumpkin pie looked more like a science fair project. I…

Have you ever wondered why God allowed Adam and Eve to sin? Since He’s all-powerful and all-knowing, He certainly was not surprised by their rebellion and could have stopped them from dragging the entire human race into sin and suffering. So why didn’t He? Although we can’t fathom the inscrutable mind of God, Romans 5:20 of today’s passage gives us some insight: “Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.” The presence of sin in…

The devil no doubt has a place in our theology, but is he a category we even think about in the daily events of our lives? Has it ever crossed your mind that not every thought that crosses your mind comes from you? We are being lied to all the time. Yet we never stop to say, "Wait a minute ... who else is speaking here? Where are those ideas coming from? Where are those feelings coming from?" If you read the saints from every age before the Modern Era—that pride…

We can all relate to Paul’s dilemma in today’s passage. These verses describe the internal struggle we have with sin, even after salvation. When we give in to temptation, we’re often plagued by feelings of condemnation and may wonder if God has abandoned us. That’s why Romans 8:1 is such a comforting “Therefore there is now no condemnation at all for those who are in Christ Jesus.” When the Savior went to the cross on our behalf, He…

The world is extremely divided. God is allowing things to happen that challenge the strongest in the Faith. Opportunities abound for us to lose hope in a way that God never intended. What is at the heart of it all? I posted on this subject in a Podcast and one of our daily memos written by Francis Chan. This is how he profiled the lukewarm Christian. Someone who attends church regularly, but it’s what's expected of them. They believe good Christians should do so.…

We do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. HEBREWS 4:15 Until we are born again, the only kind of temptation we understand is the kind mentioned in James 1:14, “Each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.” But through regeneration we are lifted into another realm where there are other temptations to face, namely, the kind of temptations our Lord.…

Zombie movies are science fiction, but did you know that, spiritually speaking, there actually are dead men and women walking around on earth? They look like everyone else, but deep down inside, their spirit is dead. Truth be known, everyone begins life as a spiritual “zombie.” Human beings are composed of a body by which they interact with the world around them, a soul with which they relate to themselves and others, and a spirit through which they can commune…