The True Struggle

June/Training for Mission

4 June 2010

The great Dragon, worst of all, terrible and ancient...dragged a third part of the stars with him into the abyss of the infernal places...

- Columcille, Altus Prosator (Irish, 6th century)

And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon...His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to earth.

- Revelation 12.3, 4

Columcille was very wise in preparing men for mission among the various pagan and backslidden Christian populations of Scotland and beyond. He knew that the real struggle was not with local kings, pagan shamans, or compromised priests and bishops. The real struggle is, and always will be, spiritual.

Our enemy is clever, and he knows us very well. While he's not omnipresent, he has plenty of henchmen at his disposal to do his bidding against us. And, while Satan has been bound, so that we can effectively resist and banish him, he's still quite powerful, because he knows just how to approach each of us.

We are vulnerable to temptation and sin; the moment we think we aren't, we're in trouble. We must never forget that our real struggle, our ultimate campaign, is not against atheists, evolutionists, progressives, secularists, Muslims, or any other human actors. We are in a spiritual struggle, and we can only make progress in this fight when we arm ourselves with the right weaponry and engage the enemy in the power of God's Word and Spirit.

This requires daily readiness, constant vigilance, and courage to oppose spiritual forces of wickedness with spiritual power from God's Word. If we ever lose sight of our true enemy, we will end up wasting our energies on fruitless combats. Of course, we must stand up for Truth at every turn, and expose the Lie of our enemy no matter its form. But at the end of the day, let us never forget: our struggle is against spiritual forces of wickedness in high places, and our only hope and power is through God's Word, prayer, and simple obedience.

Today in ReVision: "Comprehensive" - When you hear that word, listen up.

This Week's Download: Faithfulness in Ministry - How you can begin to know more of it, right here, free of charge.

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T. M. Moore, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.