Reflection

Deliver us from Evil

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Spiritual warfare is something that few Christians, regardless of their denomination, are accustomed to thinking about, let alone engaging in. It is as if Satan disappeared shortly after Christ rose from the dead. But, the same Satan, the identical evil that was in the garden of Eden and tempted Christ in the desert is alive and well.

You are free

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The Jesus who calmed a sea of deadly, stormy waves, whose arrival sent thousands of demons cringing and cowering to his feet ... the Jesus who in Mark 5 crossed a sea and entered hostile territory just to release a single outcast filled with evil--this is the same Jesus who let himself be tortured and killed to release you from your misery and chains, too. He cast out countless demons, but was cast out by his own people; he controlled creation with a word, but then offered up his body and life to that creation. He did so, knowing full well we'd turn on him, cruelly abuse and do our best to destroy him ... and he did all of it to show how deeply, how intensely, how passionately he cherishes *you.*

Despair is strong, but is Jesus not stronger? Evil fights hard, but has it not already lost? My chains are too heavy for me to lift, but is Jesus not more than able--and willing!--to reach out and break them? Income collapses, bills pile up, but can (and will!) the feeder of the five thousand not provide? Whatever I'm going through might be excruciatingly painful, but ultimately, somehow, it will be okay. It will be redeemed. The Divine Lover will not allow his beloved’s suffering to go to waste.

Warfare Spirituality

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spiritual_warfare The Trinity function as farmers of our souls, actively caring for God’s creation: an ongoing, radical reclamation of His creation. Initially, when God separated light from darkness, He did so through the presence of His Spirit sweeping across the waters and His Word uttering light into existence. Those first moments presciently foreshadow God’s spiritual warfare, brought against evil working to subvert God’s light and truth, attempting to diminish our relationship with the Father. God has given us the means to participate in both the spiritual farming and warfare, allowing us to integrate His Spirit in our soul through the transformative human life, death, and resurrection of God’s son, Jesus Christ.

Until we allow His Spirit to transform our souls, we are without God’s presence in our lives, or recognition of any connection to God’s Spirit. Even when we follow the Holy Spirit's invitation, effort is required to maintain the bond of Christ's life with ours. Without the tight connection with the Word that separated out the darkness, disease can occur. The results of evil are apparent across God’s land: weeds that grow and either choke off the fruit of the Spirit or shade out the Light of truth from Christ. There is also the world’s detritus mixing into our Spirit-fed stream, choking off the water, drying up our source of strength. In the process of blocking off the stream the water becomes polluted with unhealthy contaminants, clouding our drinking supply and the source of providing water to our fruit.