Month: January 2025

Standing Firm – part 2

/ taethne

In a previous post I discussed the principle of learning to stand firm against the attacks of the enemy. I mentioned not going out to look for trouble with our enemy but to stand firm when trouble comes to us. But what about intercession? Intercession is actually a form of standing firm. The difference is that we stand firm between the enemy and another.

What do we do when we stand between them? We pray to God on their behalf. That is it. We simply go our Father on their behalf. Many times people are too upset to pray themselves. They might be in too much despair. They may even be unaware of what is going on. So we pray for our brothers and sisters, asking God to intervene in their lives.

It doesn’t mean we go out to fight their battles. We don’t challenge the forces of the enemy for them. We stand up for them, praying to the Lord of the Heavenly Host to fight for them. We stand in the gap until they are strong enough to stand firm on their own. This takes courage and empathy. It is easier to simply let the enemy focus on another and not draw attention to ourselves. It takes empathy to care enough to get involved. But we are called to stand. Do you have the courage to stand and intercede for others?

Standing Firm

/ taethne

In 1 Peter chapter 5 these words are written, “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.” Ephesians 6:11 tells us to “Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.” 

Notice that in both cases we are called to stand firm. In almost 35 years of ministry, I have encountered evil many times, in many forms. I have seen people controlled by evil spirits, paranormal activity and things that don’t seem to have an earthly explanation. Unlike other individuals who go around seeking out encounters with spirits or claiming to do exorcisms, my encounters always happened in the normal course of doing ministry.

Instead of rebuking the enemy or seeking a “power encounter”, I have learned simply to stand firm and in doing so, the enemy has to retreat. I call on my Heavenly Father to give me the strength to endure and to stand firm while also calling on my Lord and Master Jesus to deal with the evil in front of me. Could I rebuke the unclean spirits in my authority as a Child of God? Yes. But I can also appeal to my Lord who is always with me. Now, if He says, “I will let you del with this one”, so be it. Until then, I will resist the evil, pray to the Lord to overcome my enemy and continue to stand firm in the face of all dangers.

Simply having the strength to stand firm in the face of terrible evil is difficult. It is overpowering, full of depravity and uncleanness. It is emotionally taxing, especially for those of us who are empathetic in nature. It is frightening when facing non-mortal entities and experiencing some of their power. Standing firm takes a lot of spiritual strength.

Ephesians 6 goes on to say, “13 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. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.” Three times here we are told to stand. We prepare by putting on the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness and the gospel of peace. All this, just to stand firm. James 4:7 tells us to resist the devil and he will flee from us. We don’t have to attack him, we just have to resist, to stand firm, and like a strong seawall, his waves of attack will break against us and fail, leaving him no choice but to retreat.

We don’t roll over, freeze up or cower in fear – we stand. We also do not go seeking trouble, challenging what we don’t fully understand, but we stand firm in the truth. We stand firm in presenting the gospel, we stand firm in discipling the nations, we stand firm in advocating for morality, decency and peace. We don’t abdicate our responsibility. We keep our eyes on Jesus and stand in Him alone. He is our Shield and Defender. He is our Rock in whom we trust. Who shall we fear, knowing the Lord is for us.

Be encouraged, then, when the enemy reveals himself and you encounter evil. Stand firm in the strength of the Lord and watch the enemy retreat.

Exaggerating for Effect

/ taethne

In an effort to drive home a point or advance an agenda, many people exaggerate a real event or occurrence. While some parts of the story may be true, or even technically correct, the whole narrative is skewed so as to become propaganda to further a cause. As Christians, we should strive to “tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth” so as to not bring harm or slight upon the perfect person of Jesus Christ.

One such popular slogan tossed around today is that Jesus, Mary and Joseph were “refugees” because they fled to Egypt to avoid Herod’s persecution. That is an example of what I am talking about. People are trying to take a modern connotation of what a refugee is and superimpose it onto a historical event. Jesus did go from Israel to Egypt for a short period of time. However, both Israel and Egypt were Roman Empire territories. They did not flee to another country such as modern-day refugees fleeing war torn Syria for Sweden.

Jesus’ flight into Egypt would be more like someone fleeing Newsom’s California for DeSantis’ Florida. Still remaining in the United States but going to another jurisdiction to avoid political persecution. We would not call them a refugee. Also, the trip was self-funded. Mary and Joseph had received the gifts from the Magi – gold, frankincense and myrrh – which would have provided plenty of money for the young family to travel, find a home and set up shop in the large Jewish community already residing in Egypt. After a couple years, as soon as Herod dies, they return back to Israel and settle in Nazareth.

Now, under a very broad definition of refugee, a person fleeing from political violence, for a very short period of time, one might consider Jesus to have been a refugee. From a practical standpoint, no, He wasn’t. And He wouldn’t identify as one since He was under 5 when all this took place anyway. He would have little to no memory of it as His childhood was stable, growing up in Nazareth. Those who bandy this about are trying to drive an agenda that doesn’t need support from stretching the truth like this. We already have commands of Scripture to take care of others, to support the poor and indigent, to treat all people with dignity and respect, both countrymen and the alien among us.

Using an event like the Bethlehem slaughter of infants to try and score political points today does an injustice to Scripture. The flight to Egypt would have happened anyway because it was a prophetic event. This was done to fulfill the Scripture “Out of Egypt I have called My Son”. A temporary (estimated 3 1/2 years) of hiding and then a return to one’s homeland is not the same as permanent refugee status today inside another country. Temporarily fleeing political persecution would be a more accurate way to describe what occurred, although it wouldn’t fit the current political narrative being pushed. And this is too bad, because Jesus doesn’t need us to “spin” events for Him. He simply needs us to present the truth simply, cleanly, and clearly.