Just a thought… 19 Oct

Behind all opposition to loving and serving God is a real spiritual war, the existence of which we must never forget. It can be tempting to treat opposition either as something to ignore, or as something mega-dramatic. Of course, it can fall into either category and for some Christians it can sadly be very dramatic indeed! Yet an awareness of the spiritual realities behind what’s going on will help us to maintain a proper perspective:

On Sunday morning we saw from Ezra chapter 4 that the Old Testament believers in Jerusalem politely rejected practical help they were offered because it came with an agenda to compromise truth. They understood very well that the disaster that had fallen on their ancestors was because they had watered down the clarity of God’s Word and given in to sinful tendencies of making up their own religion. No sooner had their position been made clear than the ‘innocent’ offer of assistance turned into determined and vicious opposition.

For us as New Testament believers, those same temptations are likewise always with us. The war has been won by the Lord Jesus (praise God!) but the battle for the attention of our souls and compromise away from God’s Glory remains our daily experience. Thus it was the apostle Paul who, writing to the Christians at Ephesus, warned them (and us!) to remember:

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armour of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms…” (Eph 6: 10-12)

Spencer Shaw