Done with Deception

I CANNOT wait for the day when we will be done with the enemy.  I am so sick of that conniving, condescending, corrupt, cocky knucklehead.  

Over the past couple of weeks, I have seen the wreckage that his deception brings, and I am not ok with it.  How have I stood by and let this happen?  How have we, as the church, let this sucker into our lives to do as he pleases?  Since when is he welcome?

This is what happened:

Satan's best and most used weapon is deception.  Somewhere along the way, we have forgotten that little bit of information.  We were lulled into comfort and the Americanized version of Jesus, and we forgot that he twists words, he makes things look appealing, and he sucks us in to these traps that don't look like traps.  We let our guard down.  We got lazy.  And we forgot.  

At least, I hope we forgot.  I pray that it wasn't that we have just gotten to the point of not caring that we are in a war daily for our souls.  I hope we simply forgot and need the reminder that the enemy is real.  He is at work, and he has clever tactics that demand we be on watch.  We have to watch out for that wolf in sheep's clothing.  We have to be on guard against all the things that glitter and entice us because Satan was once an angel, so he will deceive the people of God with that facade...

...and he already has.

As I look around at modern Christianity, or at least those who claim to be people of God, I see a whole lot of things that are not of God.  I am not seeing people who are seeking the King above all.  I am not seeing people who are taking up their cross daily and denying themselves to follow Christ.  Instead, I see those that have traded Christ for comfort and security.  I see people taking soundbites of the Bible and making them their anthem, typically out of context.  I see people using the guise of craft beer and coffee to begin conversations about Christ. 

We have gotten entangled in what seems to be a Christian scene rather than living Christ.  We think a verse for the day is good enough to get to know our King and arm ourselves for battle.  We have done more about God than with him, and we are missing him.  We are missing intimacy.  We are missing relationship with him, his people, and those that need him.  The cost of comfort rises.

Our comfort, our coffee shop Christianity, has led us to wasted time and resources.  It has lulled us to sleep, and we are condoning the things of this world under the banner of justice when we should be measuring it against the Word.  But how can we do that if we are only spending five minutes on a verse and then walking away, never to return?  How can we expect to see change and hearts on fire for God if we aren't on fire for God?  

We cannot expect to come out of this thing victorious if we are not on the side of the Victor.  We have to be willing to make some sacrifices, put in hard work, and fight if the enemy is to lose every hold he has on our lives and the lives of those around us.  I'm tired of watching those who were once strong soldiers become jaded.  We must, as Priscilla Shirer so eloquently puts it, "refuse to allow comfort and ease to make [us] apathetic, uninterested, and in some cases, unaware of the battle that is raging all around."

I CANNOT wait to be done with deception of the enemy, and I know that day is soon because I have a promise that "the God of peace will soon crush Satan under [our] feet (Romans 16:20).  It won't be long, now.