30/09/2020
Giving Evil Enough Rope
For the past 8 years or so, this blog has been dedicated to exposing the devil. The archives are full of 180 posts about the nature of evil and how it manifests itself under the guise of religion, politics, ego and emotions, just to name a few. Once my eyes were opened and I could finally understand and wrap language around the evil I had always sensed, I was consumed with the purpose to expose the enemy, in the hope to put a stop to his wicked antics. I spent 18 years completing an epic novel, fueled by this very purpose.
Two decades later and I am still frustrated by the ignorance in the world, and confused as to why Almighty Sovereign God would allow evil to continue.
This blog “Inner Angels & Enemies” uses self-awareness techniques to help readers (and myself) dig deep into our motives to discover the evil within, so that we may bring hidden evil to the light to be overpowered by the grace and blood of Christ. Seems simple enough. But what happens when people refuse to rid themselves of the evil within, or if our hearts are a bottomless pit of evil and we just keep finding more. What is God’s plan to conquer all this evil, and when?
We don’t have to look far before we feel our anger rise at all the injustice and lies, cruelty and malice in the world, and we all know someone who treats us in wicked ways that we are unable to accept. Every human has sin in their hearts and its a given that we unload our worst selves onto those around us, especially those we love most. Its human nature to want to control the discomfort this brings. We end relationships, we quit jobs, we move towns or countries, we disown family, we riot, and we call people out on their shit at the first inkling of wrongdoing. But all these tactics just appear to be harsh judgments because the seriousness of their sin hasn’t had chance to fully reveal itself.
So what if, instead of forcing people to recognise their private evil, we wait and give them enough rope to hang themselves? It will test our patience, challenge our tolerance, and curb our judgements, but these are beneficial aims anyway. Let me be clear, this is not a tactic for our enemies alone, this is the very same tactic God uses in the way He parents us, His children. This is a tactic of love and justice.
God has given the devil enough rope and it will be his undoing! Simply by allowing the enemy free-reign to allow the true depth of his wickedness to develop to its fullness, the once ignorant world is beginning to recognise the devil everywhere. He’s been hiding in the churches, in the schools and colleges, in the government, and in us, but in 2020, there is no more denying it. His own works expose his truly deceptive character and we see it!
Is it possible to treat our loved ones as God treats us? He allows us free reign and free will so that the wicked motives of our hearts can become clear to us. How many of us know deep down we probably shouldn’t do something? But we run the gauntlet, hoping to get away with it, convincing ourselves we aren’t that bad. But eventually one day, the reality of what we have become reaches absurdity that we have no choice but to accept that we are in need of a righteous and drastic change. This is when we learn to crave the mercy and righteousness of our Saviour, so that we choose His will freely and receive His blessings, His protection, and His strength, so we can give Him honour for His goodness, never to fall for the lies and temptation of evil ever again!
It’s time for a change of tack, time to sit back and laugh as this temporary world becomes flooded with evil, because it is only in the revealing of just how wicked our enemy is, that we can comprehend how unbelievably Awesome is our Creator God, and surrender to His plan for our eternity without evil! Yeeew!
09/04/2020
Stupid Covid…It doesn’t even feel like Easter
So tomorrow is Good Friday, and I know you’ve said it doesn’t even feel like Easter, which got me thinking.
Is it because no one is planning their long weekend vacations, or taking the kids on road trips? Many people were sent home from work weeks ago, so there’s none of that longing for a break, no counting down the hours until clock off. There’s no churches open to worship and share communion in. The pubs are all shut, and parties all illegal.
This is what Easter has come to mean to us, and we need our rituals, our revelry, and our routines to make things feel ‘real’.
But if were honest, its the state of the world that doesn’t feel real, but perhaps this is the most real and Biblical Easter seen for many generations!
There’s a strange anxious energy in the air, sleepless nights, weird constant dreams, schedules and plans thrown to the wind, the common law is now like shifting sand beneath our feet, we have no idea where we stand, and as each question is answered, six new questions appear in its place. The world as we know it is disappearing before our eyes and literally God only knows what the world will look like on the other side of Covid-19.
If I were alive in the days of Christ, in the lead up to His world altering cross debut, I imagine some of these same experiences were likely. When those drops of blood dripped from His brow in the garden before His arrest, there would have been this unfamiliar heightened spiritual activity too. After Christ’s death and resurrection, the world as they knew it would never be the same again.
In our Christian culture, where Christmas and Easter are celebrated every year, some Bible stories are familiar. Many of us would be familiar with the countless warnings from God to His people, that a captivity was coming if we refuse to turn to God. I don’t know about you but this sure feels like being captives. Or how about the infamous story of the ten plagues, and the Passover, where the spirit of death struck the modern city of its day, taking the lives of those without protection and leaving others untouched. Kind of like an unknown virus that is both a killer and asymptomatic at the same time, yet no one seems to know who it will strike down and who it will miss.
I’ve lost count of how many people have asked me in recent days to “put in a good word with the man upstairs” for them. Isn’t Easter the perfect reminder that each person, every single one of you, has an advocate in Heaven, vouching to God on your behalf, His own precious blood shed in your honour. You don’t need me, though you’re all in my prayers, myself included, but as my teen daughters bestie constantly quips “Y’all need Jesus!” for He is already putting in a good word for you! Hallelujah! 🙌
This Easter, we don’t need a church to worship, for all it takes is recognition and deep gratitude in our souls. We don’t need a party, for countless unseen angels filling the sky, are already celebrating the softening of our hearts. We don’t need a vacation, for time on this earth is fleeting and never meant to be our permanent home. We don’t need our distractions and our dysfunctions to survive another day, for when all the noise of life becomes quiet our ears can hear more clearly the still small voice to guide us.
The trials we face right now, are simply a test, the furnace to purify the priceless worth of precious metal, the melting pot of affliction to refine us. The clearing away of all our imperfections, our indulgences and our weaknesses, to strengthen and renew our faith.
My prayer for us this Easter is for all to be covered with the precious blood of The Lamb of God, and for hope to spill over in abundance at the possibilities of a New World.
May God bless you and give you His peace this Easter ❤️
Inner Angels & Enemies 