In my theology classes, we are discussing the spiritual activity that is visible in the world today. Scripture paints a stark reality of angelic and demonic influences all around the saints of the Old and New Testament…but to see some of these realities at work in present human experience is quite scary. I’ve heard stories demon possession (including the personal experience of a pastor’s mother who was demonically possessed for years when he was a child), levitation by shaman, and I’ve watched video of a self-professing demon-possessed man doing ‘healing’ surgeries on Brazilian patients. Sexual abuse, suicide, substance abuse, drunk driving: demons can have a powerful influence over the lives of believers and non-believers alike. They are often hard to cast out: taking hours of confrontation and prayer. And they can be incredibly deceptive: even professing that they serve God and Jesus (yes, I watched the demon-possessed surgeon speak the name of Jesus!).

While I believe these things are adding clarity and preparation to my learning here at Dallas Theological, they are pretty fearsome to behold as well. Demons are liars, subtle attackers, and powerful enemies, having thousands of years of experience in tormenting the creatures made in the image of God. It’s worrisome to wonder what my more outright encounters might entail, and even more vexing to consider the places of influence they might hold in our national and global society.

Take, for example, the demonic power to do miracles. Usually we think of demons doing evil things…but they are told to deceive many people, especially in the end times, through miracles and wonders. What kind of reaction would a miracle-working surgeon get, if he started healing people today? How do we really explain some of the magicians that we see in our world today? Is it all just an illusion, or is there more behind it? What is really happening in the growing communities of our nation where wicca or the occult is practiced?

In addition to possessing people, demons have the power to cause illness, tragedy, and yes, it appears they can occasionally take the lives of their hosts and the people around them.

My key questions for you are as follows:

• Are we really doing the right thing in looking to science for explanations to everything we experience, or are we being naive?
• Should we be actively reaching into the darkness of our society in hopes of redeeming people under Satan’s power?
• How should we be magnifying the power of prayer in our churches to combat Satan’s efforts?
• How can we better reach out into the work God is doing in the world, and specifically help them to combat spiritual warfare where it is much more visible than in America?

I am confident that I have one of the best marriages around…and I love Stacy with all my heart. We talk, and laugh, and pray, and play together…and still I would wish for nothing more than longer weekends and more time with her. But love is daily challenged in my life. Lust crouches at the door to my life seeking to breach our relationship.

Life as an American is a constant battle against all the things that our society indulges in and celebrates. I can’t go a day without having to turn down the messages I hear from people and advertisements: eating too much, drinking too much, playing too much, being too selfish, and lusting over women that don’t belong to me…

Sometimes I grow tired of doing all the filtering. Perhaps that’s the new strategy of advertising…wear down their defenses. If that is so, then it’s working. I am prone to wander, so after constant bombardment, my sinfulness would like nothing else than free reign on the internet.  I need more than a break from sorting junk, I need a blockade against pursuing it.

A month ago I sought out and installed something that was previously unavailable: a really effective, FREE, internet filter. I’ve been using the K9 filter for a month now, and I’m loving it…so I want to pass it along to you. It provides high quality filtering for free, for individual users. They sell the filter to businesses, and then use the proceeds of those sales to give it away to individuals.

Best of all…the filter is not easy to disable. As an IT guy who’s fought with his share of viruses, I’ve learned a host of skills that make me a menace to programs both good and bad. In my weakness, nothing is underneath me…so in my strength, I’ve tried to beat the filter. I can’t. If you don’t have a filter…give this a try. It’s really worth it. After all, it’s not costing you anything…except freedom to indulge your sinful self. And that’s a road that should be barricaded at any cost…not just when it’s free.

http://www1.k9webprotection.com/

There was a time in my life where the truth of Scripture seemed so simple, so clear, and so compelling, that all I wished to do was share it with others…and I did. I took each opportunity that came my way, and taught. Lesson after lesson. Notes, Power Point slides, catchy lesson titles…I did it all.

Now, a half dozen years down the road, the truth that once was so crystal clear is a kaleidoscope of one liners, verses, and life experiences that I cannot readily systematize. I have trouble consolidating my thoughts to a 20 minute presentation…and I struggle diligently to separate wisdom I have learned from the world and in the church, from straightforward Biblical truth.

This new tension is deeply frustrating. Although I hope that it leads to a deeper level of understanding and maturity as a teacher, it currently stunts my desire to teach. I feel incompetent…”permanently disorganized”.

Perhaps it is a result of being exposed to so many men who have spent their lives studying the Word, and who teach based on their lifetime’s work attaining clarity.

“Please, Lord, send me a little insight down here…”

I Am Second Logo

I don’t wish to spoil this with words…all I have to say is: If you have not seen this campaign, you are missing out.

I believe that the most powerful thing about God’s people are the testimonies they bear regarding what God has done in their lives. It’s powerful to see it on video. It’s even more powerful for those people to be givng their testimony to the church that they have come to be a part of.

I hope this concept is one that finds its way into all of our churches, and into the hearts of the unsaved.

www.iamsecond.com