ARE YOU ANCHORED IN CHRIST TOO?

by Maria Kneas

May 8, 2024

As Christians, we need to do two kinds of reconnaissance in order to protect ourselves and our loved ones. And in order to be able to be effective in doing practical things to resist this evil.

Spiritual warfare is increasing. The spiritual atmosphere keeps getting darker. And in the world around us, we are seeing more and more evil. Shameless, in-your-face evil that we never could have imagined a few years ago. Rampant delusion and insanity. And widespread lawlessness that keeps increasing.

The first kind of reconnaissance that is needed is the obvious one of studying the enemy. Its strengths and weaknesses. Its strategies. And its practical tactics. Plus identifying its enablers.

The second kind is something that we can easily overlook because we have become distracted by looking at the enemy and the damage that it is doing. And because we have become war weary.

We need to study ourselves in order to see if there are any ways that the enemy can readily get at us. Do we have vulnerabilities? Do we have a soft underbelly, or an Achilles heel? Because if we do, then the enemy can harm us. And that will cause problems not only for us, but also for people we love.

The Bible warns us about some things that we need to watch out for. I’m only mentioning a few here, but there are others as well. We need to be on guard for all of them. In addition, we can ask God to cleanse our hearts. Psalm 19:12 says, “Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults.”

Because of that Scripture passage, every day I ask God to deal with my blind spots. With the problems I have that I’m not aware of. (Or maybe only partially aware of.) To give me “ears to hear” what He is saying to me. To make me willing and able to see what He wants me see. And to make me willing and able to do whatever He wants me to do about it.

With the way that the world keeps getting more and more evil and insane, all of us have to deal with fear and anger and discouragement. All of those are natural responses to being faced with evil. Especially when it sometimes seems to be overwhelming.

For me, the primary problem is fear. (But sometimes I get quite angry.) For strong men, the primary problem is likely to be anger. (But they also have to deal with fear and discouragement.) For some people, the primary problem is discouragement.

When discouragement hits, it’s good to remind ourselves that God is willing and able to keep us going until our tour of duty is over. We are weak, but Almighty God can enable us to be faithful soldiers. God can give us the strength and courage and faithfulness that we need in order to be able to do that.

Of course, we all have other ways that the enemy of our souls can get to us. Weaknesses. And blind spots. And areas of vulnerability. And we all get war weary. Therefore, it’s good to keep asking God to deliver us from these areas of weakness and vulnerability. To make us aware of them and show us how to overcome them. To make us be strong enough to keep on fighting. And to enable us to fight effectively.

When it comes to dealing with fear and discouragement, it helps to keep remembering Eternity. Our time down here on earth is SO brief compared to Eternity.

While we are here on earth, time seems to go by slowly. But remember what the Apostle Paul said: “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.” (2 Corinthians 4:17)

Remember who talked about a “light affliction” that was only “for a moment.” This is the Apostle Paul who was beaten, stoned and left for dead, thrown into a Roman prison, betrayed, shipwrecked, had times of extreme hunger, was attacked by mobs, etc.

Now I’ll put that in terms of us personally, here in modern America. If some horribly evil people do something terrible to us, the worst that they can do is to cause temporary suffering and death. But if we love God, then we will be in Heaven with Jesus, rejoicing for all Eternity. And the same applies to the people we love.

There are NO exceptions to Romans 8:28. God promised to make ALL things work out for the good of those who love Him. And therefore, no matter what anybody does to us, if we love God, then eventually we will look back at what happened to us and be grateful that we went through it because of the good that God brought out of it.

A good example of that is what happened to Joseph in Egypt. His brothers meant it for evil. But God meant it for good. And God brought great good out of all of the suffering that Joseph went through. Not only for Joseph, but for his entire family. And for multitudes of people in Egypt.

When dealing with anger, it helps to remember what the Apostle Paul said in Ephesians 6:12: “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

Remember that many of these seriously evil people are literally demon possessed. Or else they are being controlled by (or heavily influenced by) evil men and women who are possessed. Either way, they are being used by puppet masters. Our real enemy is the devil. Not the puppets.

It also helps to remember Romans 12:19. The Apostle Paul said, “Do not take revenge, dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath. For it is written, ‘Vengeance belongs to me. I will pay them back, declares the Lord.’”

Now that does NOT mean letting evil people get away with things. We can fight them and their agenda tooth and nail. But at the same time, we can do that without hating them or trying to get revenge.

In Matthew 5:44, Jesus told us: “But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.”

How in the world can we do that with somebody as wicked as George Soros? Here are some things that help me do it:

(1) We don’t know how they got that way. They may have been tormented and deceived and deluded since childhood. They may be possessed by demons.

(2) Obviously they don’t deserve love and prayer. But neither do I. Because of my sins, I deserve to go to hell. But in spite of that, Jesus loves me and He forgave me. Therefore I should show my love and gratitude to Jesus by obeying Him.

(3) The one thing that I can do for horribly wicked people is to pray for their salvation. That shows them love, and it blesses them, and it is praying for them.

(4) Jesus paid a terrible price in order to enable those people to be able to get saved. And Jesus should get what He paid for. Therefore, I can pray for their salvation for the sake of Jesus. Because I love Jesus and I want Jesus to get what He paid for.

(5) Forgiving is a way of showing loyalty to Jesus. It’s a way of showing Jesus that my love for Him is more important than my anger at those horrible people. That my relationship with Jesus is more important than my feelings about those people.

The Bible gives us an important warning about anger. There can be righteous anger. We see that when Jesus turned over the tables of the money changers in the Temple. However, because of our sin nature, even our most righteous anger isn’t 100% righteous. And over time it can gradually morph into becoming unrighteous. Therefore, long-term anger can give the devil ways of getting at us. Only God is holy enough to have His anger be 100% righteous. And have it remain totally righteous.

Here is what the Apostle Paul told us in Ephesians 4:26-27. He said: “Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.”

Some translations use the term “place” but others say “opportunity.” The Greek word is “topos” and it is Strong’s 5117. It can mean place, situation, or opportunity. In military terms, that would be a beachhead. A place from which to launch an attack.

Here is something that the Apostle Peter said. This applies to fear and anger and discouragement and any other kind of emotion. In 1 Peter 5:8 he said: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”

The Webster 1828 dictionary gives five definitions of the word “sober.” One of them is, “Regular; calm; not under the influence of passion; as sober judgment; a man in his sober senses.”

If we become overwhelmed by any kind of emotion, then that can impair our judgment. It can make us become less vigilant, because we have become preoccupied by our feelings. And that can give the devil (and his minions) an opportunity to get at us.

Here is another important principle. Jesus told us to forgive. In Matthew 6:14-15, Jesus said: “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” Jesus said that immediately after giving the disciples the Lord’s Prayer.

Obviously, forgiving is very important to Jesus. That’s a problem, because sometimes it can be VERY difficult to do. For example, I know a woman who had to forgive the drunk driver who killed her son. And Corrie ten Boom had to forgive the Nazi guards who tormented her and her sister Betsy in a German concentration camp. Betsy died there.

There have been times in my life when I was hurt so deeply that it was very difficult to even want to try to forgive those people. I had to start out by asking God to make me be willing and able to forgive. Here are some things that have helped me forgive when it was difficult:

(1) That person obviously does not deserve to be forgiven. But neither did I. Because of my sins, I deserved to go to hell. However, in spite of my sins, Jesus forgave me. Jesus was willing to be tortured to death on a cross, in order to enable me to be forgiven.

(2) Jesus told me that because He forgave me, I should forgive other people. That includes people who have done harmful things to me and to people I love. I should forgive them. However, that does NOT mean allowing them to keep on doing harmful things. I can forgive the person and at the same time protect myself and my loved ones.

(3) If I don’t forgive, then I am disobeying Jesus. I am rebelling against Jesus. How can I say that Jesus is my Lord and Master if I refuse to try to obey Him?

(4) If I don’t forgive, then I have given my anger at that person priority over my love for Jesus. That is a form of idolatry. It is putting my feelings about somebody above the Lordship of Jesus.

(5) Doing what Jesus tells me to do is a way of showing love and loyalty to Him. Therefore, I try to forgive out of loyalty to Jesus. And love for Jesus. And the desire to obey Jesus, who is my Lord and my Master. I want to be his “good and faithful servant.” (Matthew 25:21, 23)

(6) When it’s really difficult, then I ask Jesus to make me be willing to forgive. With Corrie ten Boom, for her it was so difficult, that her starting point was to ask Jesus to make her be willing to be willing to forgive. The point is to move in the right direction, as much as we are able to.

We are living in challenging times. But God knew when we should be born. And He has work for us to do here and now.

Chuck Missler said that our time on earth is Boot Camp. That God is training us and preparing us and equipping us for the work that He has for us to do when Jesus rules and reigns from Jerusalem for a thousand years. And for whatever God has for us to do after that.

God is faithful and He loves us. And God’s power is beyond our comprehension. Almighty God created the universe, and He holds it together with the word of His power.

God’s love and power and wisdom and faithfulness have no limits. Therefore, no matter what happens to us, because we love God, He will make it work out for our long-term good. And when we get to Heaven, then we will look back and be grateful for everything that we went through because of the good that God brought out of it.