Sing, O heavens! Be joyful, O earth! And break out in singing, O mountains!

For Yahweh has comforted His people, And will have mercy on His afflicted. ~Isaiah 49:13

Equipping the Saints (Ephesians 4:12)

I always felt like there was something missing in the routine of going to church once a week, hearing a sermon going home and wondering, “now what?”. It is as if we are supposed to just figure it all out, no strategy, no clue except go to school, forge a career, get married, have children, adapt to the culture, ……. No, Wait! Culture is part of the problem! (1 John 2:15) Cult-ure is Satan’s realm.

I chose this picture below because it gives a clear picture of what we are up against. This poor woman is obviously not prepared for battle. No offense to the artist, but lovely though she is, she looks like she is waiting to go larping with her friends so they can post on social media. Meanwhile, their lives are truly in danger. I am afraid the church as a whole may be just this vulnerable in these times.

The modern church seems to be leading people to blend into the culture (Deuteronomy 8:17-20) rather than to stand out and be different (1 Peter 2:9). Many people have even left church for different reasons, but often because of this deficiency.

Obviously we are here living in this time and in this culture, but if we belong to Yeshua, we are to be in the world but not of the world (John 17:14-16). How do we do that? And what does it mean to overcome? Part of overcoming is to learn how Satan been using culture to deceive us and to destroy us.

The image of the archer woman at the bottom of this article gives a clear picture of what we are up against. And this poor woman is obviously not prepared for battle. No offense to the artist, but lovely though she is, she looks like she is waiting to go larping with her friends so they can post on social media. Meanwhile, their lives are truly in danger. I am afraid the church as a whole may be just this vulnerable in these times.

Know Your Enemy

Satan is the enemy. He uses trickery and deceit to get people to do his bidding (Genesis 3). The more one sins, the more vulnerable one is to being used by Satan to hurt oneself as well as other people including ones we love. Lack of repentance and lack of gentle confrontation (Galatians 6:1) merely leads to escalation (James 1:15) and corruption within families, within churches, within schools and businesses and of course governments (Luke 17:1-3, 1 Corinthians 15:33).

Corruption can remain hidden for a time, but eventually it is so great that it cannot be so. The tragedy is when the corruption is unrecognized because the society sees evil as good and good as evil. Evil needs to be publicly distinguished from righteousness (John 7:24) by God’s called out people. Jesus called corrupt leaders a “brood of vipers” (Matthew 3:7, 12:34), it must be exposed (Ephesians 5:11-12) and it must be dealt with (Psalm 94:16). We know our battle is not with flesh and blood, so we must be properly equipped because we live in perilous times.

Be Good Bereans

Be good Bereans and search the scriptures daily (Acts 17:11). Stay informed, pray for wisdom (James 1:5) and discernment (1 Kings 3:12) in searching out information. When you find good information, share it. Scripture the sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17, Psalm 119:105), has plenty of examples of good people taking action. Know what good Biblical action is and apply it to what God is calling you to do today.

ONE GOAL for this site, is to help others develop (Matthew 28:19) knowledge and understanding; studying scripture (2 Timothy 3:16-17) and allowing the Holy Spirit to teach (John 14:26), listening to His still small voice (1 Kings 19:11-12), knowing indeed (John 10:27) that it is Him speaking to you personally, desiring to be obedient to His instructions (Psalm 37:4) which are specific to you and feeling confident with trusting Him to navigate us through this often wild and chaotic life (Proverbs 3:5-6).

It is the guidance I would love to have had when I was young, I am almost 60. Maybe your church is doing a great job in this, Praise Yeshua. I hope sure so. I know there are good and faithful churches out there. And hopefully this will be an added help and encouragement.

Resources

ANOTHER GOAL is to share resources – news, knowledge, inspiration and encouragement from my own personal arsenal as well as from others who are on similar missions. I have many interests in which I am certainly no expert, but when I discover good focused researchers and information, I want to pass it on because there is so much to learn.

The enemy sows disinformation to confuse us. It is unfortunate that much of the news and information that we get is merely propaganda. The sources that we grew up trusting have betrayed us for profit and agenda (Matthew 27:3-4). Therefore My people will go into exile for their lack of understanding; their dignitaries are starving and their masses are parched with thirst. ~Isaiah 5:13

Not everyone has an evil agenda. Good people sharing truth try to be as accurate as possible, but we are all human, so we need to also be forgiving when mistakes are made. So chew the meat and spit out the bones. We are in the battle of our lives and for the souls of those who are lost. The mission is to overcome the enemy and to make disciples! Satan intends to steal, kill and destroy. But we have hope.