In the late 40's and 50's, the House Un-American Activities Committee, Sen. Joseph McCarthy and a host of others conducted a series of highly aggressive and damaging investigations into perceived communist activities here in the US. (I'll admit, I'm no expert on this. For more info, read this article on McCarthyism.) The fear during this time was that there were Communists and Communist sympathisers living among us, seeking to destroy the American democratic way of life.
Now were they wrong? I don't think so, completely. I think their concern was likely valid, however it was taken to an extreme and paranoia took over. As a local radio host likes to say, the Devil lives in the extremes. To think that there weren't any communists agents here would have been foolish, but we likely took it to the other extreme of seeing them around every corner.
So what does this have to do with spiritual matters, other than mentioning the Devil? Actually, he is the point. Just as communism was a valid concern then and we were right to seek it out, so Satan is real and a threat to us today. We must be aware that Satan and his demons are out there, like soviet spies, seeking to destroy us and our way of life. They do influence us more than we know.
Now I'm not going to go Old Joe and start looking for demons under every rock and in every circumstance that doesn't go right. If my toaster starts to spark, I'm not going to cast anything out. That would be an unhealthy extreme. However the other extreme is to ignore that Hell, Satan and demons are real. We simply need to add this fact to how we view the world.
I could name a few times in my life, looking back through the eyes of Jesus, that I can say with certainty that demons were effecting me. It wasn't a possession or anything you've seen in a horror flick. Looking back, I can just see that different spirits were effecting my mood, my thoughts and opinions. They were holding me in a spiritual bondage that kept me from seeing the truth. Some of these times were before becoming a follower of Jesus, and others were after.
Look at an old grandfather clock, and you see the moving parts on the surface. Most of us are pretty familiar with that. However, underneath, there is a whole new world of ticking, spinning and whirling parts that make that clock go. The spiritual world is like that. We only get a glimpse of what is actually happening. I think it influences so much more of the physical world than we know.
Think about it. Until tomorrow...
Now were they wrong? I don't think so, completely. I think their concern was likely valid, however it was taken to an extreme and paranoia took over. As a local radio host likes to say, the Devil lives in the extremes. To think that there weren't any communists agents here would have been foolish, but we likely took it to the other extreme of seeing them around every corner.
So what does this have to do with spiritual matters, other than mentioning the Devil? Actually, he is the point. Just as communism was a valid concern then and we were right to seek it out, so Satan is real and a threat to us today. We must be aware that Satan and his demons are out there, like soviet spies, seeking to destroy us and our way of life. They do influence us more than we know.
Now I'm not going to go Old Joe and start looking for demons under every rock and in every circumstance that doesn't go right. If my toaster starts to spark, I'm not going to cast anything out. That would be an unhealthy extreme. However the other extreme is to ignore that Hell, Satan and demons are real. We simply need to add this fact to how we view the world.
I could name a few times in my life, looking back through the eyes of Jesus, that I can say with certainty that demons were effecting me. It wasn't a possession or anything you've seen in a horror flick. Looking back, I can just see that different spirits were effecting my mood, my thoughts and opinions. They were holding me in a spiritual bondage that kept me from seeing the truth. Some of these times were before becoming a follower of Jesus, and others were after.
Look at an old grandfather clock, and you see the moving parts on the surface. Most of us are pretty familiar with that. However, underneath, there is a whole new world of ticking, spinning and whirling parts that make that clock go. The spiritual world is like that. We only get a glimpse of what is actually happening. I think it influences so much more of the physical world than we know.
Think about it. Until tomorrow...
1 comments:
I don't know, I've had some pretty unexplainable dial turns that gave me burnt toast. I think that warrants further examination of the demonic!
Seriously though, the grandfather clock is a great analogy. This idea can be applied to God as well. There are so many ways that He is trying to orchestrate people, places, and events in our life to fulfill our God-given purpose that we couldn't even imagine!
He's not a puppet master as people like to characterize Him, he's an event planner. He puts things in our path to guide us along the way. That could be a road sign, a professor, or your crazy Uncle Morrie! It's just a matter of whether we take that path He has for us or push on through with our own agenda.
Just as you can look back and see the devil in your past, Jesus was right there trying to pull you out and into the light!
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