Most Followers of Christ have come to the conclusion that we are living in perilous times that sound eerily like the end-time prophecies. The enemy has long been sowing seeds of selfishness and discord in marriages, families and the Body of Christ, the Church. And the chickens are coming home to roost. The effects of the enemy’s work in surreptitiously elevating self above God in man, (starting from convincing Eve that she needed to see and know what God sees and knows), has led to pervasive self-gratification being accepted as the norm in our secular society. We want and seek our happiness and forget that our joy should come from seeking only what pleases God, a feat that is only achievable when we strive to constantly keep ourselves in a state of grace with the help of His own Spirit.
One could even presume that the enemy is not even working as hard anymore, right now, he might as well just be sitting relaxed and watching how his seeds have germinated into full bloom, way above his expectations. In particular, the infiltration of the Body of Christ is probably almost complete with Pastors and Shepherds that seek the satiety and glorification of their human nature above their calling to glorify God by leading the flock to Him. (Jeremiah 3:15 https://biblehub.com/jeremiah/3-15.htm; Titus 1:7 https://biblehub.com/titus/1-7.htm; 1 Pet. 5:2 https://biblehub.com/1_peter/5-2.htm). If we are not hearing about pastors that are now emboldened by greed to extort large sums of money on behalf of God (who expressly forbids such “grace/miracles for sale”) from desperate congregants; we hear about those who sexually abuse vulnerable children and adults who trust and look up to them.
Our hearts go out to these victims of selfish lust and victims of greed. We wonder if the victims of lust will ever fully recover from their experiences of breached trust and wonder how the victims of greed will feel when their eyes open to the biblical fact that they have been conned for too long by shepherds who are actually wolves in sheep’s clothing. We acknowledge that these types of experiences among so many other types of pastoral misdeeds may inflict a damage that is beyond any type of human or psychological repair and may cause the victims and their loved ones to turn away from their faith. We call on God’s Holy Spirit to personally minister to each soul that has been wounded and each sheep that has been misled and deceived, and heal them supernaturally. May each person so affected, feel a special, personal outpouring of God’s unwavering love and tender mercies. Amen.
Having said that, we are not forgetting who the real enemy is here. The devil is having a ball as Followers of Christ struggle to follow Christ’s actions of forgiving His murderers while dying because they did not know what they were doing. The argument will be made that these Men and Women of God know exactly what they are doing as they fleece desperate congregants and satisfy their varied lusts. Proponents of this opinion will insist that they be named, shamed and punished as appropriate. That satisfies our innate urge for justice for wrong-doing and one cannot argue with that. But if we stop there, we will be handing the devil a trophy. Every Follower of Christ who loses faith or walks out of God’s church because of the shameful results of God’s servants succumbing to the enemy’s temptations, is a button on the enemy’s victory banner. Jeremiah 12:10 https://biblehub.com/jeremiah/12-10.htm
We need to get on our knees and intensify our intercession for the Body of Christ as a whole. We need to recognize the devil’s plan of divide and conquer and stop the foolish bickering over denominational doctrines and practices and the associated complexes. (Romans 14:1-4, 10-23; 15:7) As long as we Followers of Christ believe in the salvation that Jesus died for and the associated grace that comes from that belief, let us pray for one another and pray for the Church as a whole. Acts 20:28 https://biblehub.com/acts/20-28.htm. This is a battle for the Soul of Christ’s Church and not a battle among the different battalions in the Army of God, for God shows no partiality (Romans 2:11). Let the Owner and Supreme General of the Army, the one who scrutinizes the hearts of men, eventually decide who is truly loyal to Him among the soldiers in the different battalions while we all unite to keep the focus on battling our common enemy, Satan. We have received so much from God and He expects us to be better than these petty squabbles.
Our daily personal prayers for protection of ourselves and Christ’s Church should also touch on protection of Christ’s ministers from the unrelenting attack of the enemy. While their choices are ultimately theirs alone, for which they must bear the consequences, they are also victims of the devil’s master-plan. Whether in our marriages, in our families or in the Church; when the enemy gets us to attack and despise one another, we lose sight of the spirits of wickedness that are acting on our opponents and focus only on the physical adversary we can see. We are blinded to Satan’s long-standing M.O. of using people to tempt and antagonize us into bitter feuds and divisions, thereby making us easier prey for his machinations. I have never heard of a human being who battled with Satan in flesh. Scripture already warned us that the battle for our souls individually and the Body of Christ collectively is waged against spiritual wickedness in high places (Eph. 6:12 https://biblehub.com/ephesians/6-12.htm) We must grow spiritually to learn the habit of considering all things on a spiritual level, always striving to unlock and understand the deeper meanings of what we see and hear.
Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; 3 not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away. 1 Peter 5:2-4
May the redeeming Blood of Jesus wash over His precious Church and secure those who serve Him in Spirit and in Truth from the wiles of the enemy. Amen.
Hilltop Thoughts, Valley Strengths 