“Be sober [well balanced and self-disciplined], be alert and cautious at all times. That enemy of yours, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion [fiercely hungry], seeking someone to devour...resist him...” (1 Peter 5:8 - Amp)

“Do not give the devil (the enemy) and opportunity or any opening...” (Eph. 4:27)

“Forgive one another...lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices/schemes” (2 Cor.2:10-11) ...

If there is anything beneficial that can be gleaned from witnessing this ‘conflict’ in the Middle East unfold before us, it should be a stark reminder of how serious ‘warfare’ actually is...

And yet, while sitting back in the comfort of my leather recliner as I was doing last night, flipping through various news reels giving updates as I watched dramatic video clips of bombs and ensuing destruction...I was reminded how the graphic reality of what happens in war can be easily lost on us. I turned the TV off and went to our bedroom and crawled under the covers of my comfortable bed and soon fell asleep.

It was quiet in my neighborhood last night. There were no screams of parents looking for loved ones under piles of rubble; no wailing sirens or the deafening sounds of screeching artillery filling the air. I actually slept quite soundly...because... in my world here, war is not happening. I’m guessing the majority of any of you reading here today could say the same thing regarding where you live. All that ‘war stuff’ is happening ‘over there’.

So why the serious warnings written by Peter and Paul, as they admonished ‘believers’ everywhere to ‘remain vigilant’...to ‘give no place’ to this ‘enemy’, suggesting we were already aware of how he operates? “Schemes”...what kind of ‘schemes’ is he talking about? And ‘spiritual warfare’? What is that all about? (2 Cor. 10:3-6)

I’m guessing that one of the ‘schemes’ of the ‘enemy’ would be to convince you that you are not in any danger or conflict of ‘war’...so just close your eyes and go back to sleep and you can deal with whatever minor worries you have in this life...tomorrow. Care to guess why that would be a ‘scheme’ of the enemy? How about the fact that he can do more damage when ‘men sleep’ (Matt. 13:25). Jesus would later explain in that parable who the ‘enemy’ was, and Jesus tells us it is... the ‘devil’ (39).

Later on in Matthew’s gospel, Jesus was explaining the chaos and fear and turmoil that would be unfolding just prior to His return, and He shares an interesting word picture by saying: “know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” (24:43-44)

Do we all know what the ‘thief’...comes to do? (- to ‘steal, kill, and destroy’-John 10:10).

If you would, allow me to also refer to him/them as the ‘powers of darkness’ (Col. 1:13; Eph. 6:12) and just so you know...God has no problem with them; we do...when we ‘give them place’. Do you know how we do that? When we ‘sin’ (John 5:14; Matt. 12:43-45)

Friends....so many ‘missing pieces’ began to fall in place for me six years ago, when God got ahold of me...just days before the pandemic erupted across this country. When many were binging on Netflix while shut up in their homes, God was schooling me in His word like nobody’s business. I was brought to my knees and my face with trembling and fear...followed by a genuine time of repentance...that turned my life around, and I will never be the same again. (I’ve been sharing this now daily for over four years since I was compelled to start writing and posting here). And much of what I needed to be ‘schooled in’...had to do with ‘the law’. I know...so Old Testament and irrelevant to modern day NT Christianity. But it was my lack of understanding to just how relevant the law was to us today, that got my attention; a law I might remind you that Jesus strongly implied still stands today (Matt. 5:17).

And just as Moses ‘trembled with fear’ (Heb. 12:21) when he was before God on Mt. Sinai upon receiving the ‘law’, I too...found myself broken before Him, which brought a genuine and ‘healthy’ fear like I was unfamiliar with. We are told that ‘fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge’ (Prov. 1:7,29)...and that God’s people are ‘destroyed for a lack of knowledge’ (Hosea 4:6).

Then, when revisiting Romans 1:18 where Paul announces that God’s wrath “IS being revealed... from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men...” the picture became so much more clear for me. And trust me, it was not because I was smart and well educated that I was seeing this; quite the contrary – (Luke 10:21).

Guess who God uses... to carry out His ‘wrath’? (Ps. 78:49-50; 1 Cor. 5:5). He uses...’them’, the ‘instruments of His indignation’, just like He always has when His people strayed and/or rebelled against His law. (Isa. 5; 13:4-10; Jer. 50:25). And where these ‘powers of darkness’ see ‘sin’, they are given access to attack. But the good news is found in Psalm 91:1-13 where those who are ‘abiding under the shadow of the Almighty’...are protected from the ‘wicked one’. And what do we know about those who are truly ‘abiding’ in Him? They no longer continue to break God’s laws, which is what ‘sin’ is. (1 John 3:4,6,9; 5:18).

I know...that was a lot to ‘take in’, and I am fully aware that no matter how many creative ‘graphics’ I use or word pictures and analogies I share...it is beyond my ability to get anyone to ‘see it’. That only comes from Him (Matt. 13:11; Luke 24:32,45; Acts 16:14; 2 Tim. 2:7). And it is His Spirit...that ‘leads us into all truth’ (John 16:13) and we know what the ‘truth’ will do- (John 8:32-36). All I can do is ask you to pour over these verses I share and ask God to confirm to you, personally...if what I am sharing is truth (Acts 17:11). And if/when He does, buckle up, because your walk will take on a whole new ‘life’ and seriousness, given the times we live in. That ‘war’...is just not ‘over there’. And if you have ‘been asleep’, you are not alone...all ten virgins dozed off when it counted most; and God’s grace awakened them, so those who were ‘wise’, could be about the business of ‘getting ready’ (Matt. 25:1-13).  But 'woe unto them who are at ease in Zion...' (Amos 6:1)