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Man Between God and the Devil

“The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the work of the devil.” So wrote the Apostle John.

The drama of the Christian faith takes place on the backdrop of the opposition of the devil.

The modern secularized, corporate world rejects the supernatural. So, in Western society, spiritual warfare often embarrasses Christians. Even those who believe the devil is real have trouble integrating that truth into their lives.

Theologian Richard Lovelace argued that this is problematic. It does not do justice to the content of biblical revelation or to the actual experience of Christians. It seems easier in the short term to ignore the Bible’s mention of the devil, but in the long run it won’t work. He writes:

Such a domesticated view of spiritual reality may be superficially comfortable for a while, but eventually it is simply not credible. We will have less anxiety ourselves and more of a hearing from the world if we will believe in and preach the awesome, dangerous, but solid realities taught in Scripture. (Dynamics of Spiritual Life, 144)

You just cannot get around the fact that the Bible is unapologetically supernatural in its approach.

Lovelace’s focus was not merely on defending the truth. His main interest was practical: how can individuals and churches be renewed and revived? One important aspect of renewal is recognizing the reality of spiritual warfare and the good news of the Christian’s spiritual authority in that warfare, he argued.

Lovelace illustrated this by recounting the history of the church’s teaching on Satan. He said that there was certainly superstitious approaches in the history of the church, but there has always been a bedrock of careful biblical teaching on this subject that can be found in the writings of the great teachers of the church. Martin Luther appropriated this teaching because it was biblical, and it is a significant part of the story of the Reformation.

During the Enlightenment, the church retreated from its emphasis on the supernatural in general idea of Satan and demons specifically. The focus was on the Bible as containing merely rules for a good life.

What Lovelace noticed in his studies of revival is that in times of revival such as the Welsh Revival of 1904 to 1905 and in missionary endeavors, an emphasis on spiritual warfare regularly developed. As the kingdom of God expanded into new areas, the conflict became clearer and much greater.

So, Lovelace concluded from Scripture and history that a necessary element of spiritual renewal is an awareness of spiritual warfare and of the authority that Christians have in it through Christ.

Lovelace went on his book to explain the strategies of Satan. These five strategies help flesh out how the devil attacks Christians.

1. Temptation: he seeks to get us to give in to things we shouldn’t do or distract us from what we should do.

2. Deception: he seeks to get us to believe wrong things about ourselves, others, God, and the world.

3. Accusation: he seeks to show us the faults of others and hide their good characteristics in order to increase division among Christians. He tries to show us our own real faults to make us believe God will have nothing to do with us. Note that the name “Satan” means “accuser.”

4. Possession: when a demon takes over the personality of an individual.

5. Physical attack: when he seeks to use physical force to keep Christians from following Christ, as he does with 300 million Christians around the world today.

So, how do we oppose the attacks of Satan?

1. Be aware that these things are attacks of Satan. There is more going on in the opposition to the Christian faith than what meets the eye.

2. Read Scripture. I have experienced times of intense temptation, and I have experienced it go away immediately as I read the Word of God out loud.

3. Pray. Be strong in the Lord’s power. We engage in faith by praying to the Lord and seeking His power and authority in this matter.

4. Call a Christian friend. The Apostle Paul used the metaphor of armor to explain how we fight against the devil. However, the Roman army was an army not just a group of individuals. They would use formations that made them much stronger as a collective than they would be individually. Often our first step when we sense spiritual warfare should be to put our shields together, that is, to get other Christians involved.

It is hard to maintain these truths in our society, which is perhaps itself an evidence of spiritual warfare. However, more awareness and emphasis on this conflict can bring renewal to our lives and churches. It can make us more aware of what is really going on and more appreciative of the power and triumph we have in Christ, who appeared to destroy the works of the devil.

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The Secret to Contentment

Have you ever had a big event where you expected a lot of people to show up? You planned for a Bible study and had 25 people tell you that they would come. Then, only 5 showed up. You planned an anniversary party for 100, and only 50 showed up. Disappointment.

Getting involved with people can be disappointing. The Apostle Paul was involved with a lot of people. He was dependent on people to give him money to fund his work.

We might expect that when people didn’t give what they had promised, he might have been frustrated. He wasn’t. He had learned the secret to contentment: “I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want” (Phil. 4:11-12).

Most of us walk around thinking that we would be happy if other people would change. If my kids would act differently, if my spouse would show me respect, if my employer was more understanding, if I had more money, if I had a better car, if I lived somewhere else, I’d be happy.

The trouble with this approach is that things outside of us will rarely match up to our expectations inside us. So, we’ll always be unhappy.

There’s another option. We can adjust to our circumstances. That’s the secret to contentment that the Apostle Paul had learned. Continue reading “The Secret to Contentment”

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God’s Faithfulness to Evergreen Church in the Midst of Suffering

Traumatic events are part of life, but you never think they will happen to you.

One of those traumatic events happened to our church: Evergreen Presbyterian Church in Sevierville, TN. 5 years ago, we lost our church building to foreclosure and purchase by another party in our community.

The trauma of the loss was heightened by the season. It was Christmas time, and we had to be out of our building by December 21, 2013.

This event took place about a year before I came to serve as the Pastor of Evergreen Church, and Evergreen’s previous Pastor was already in transition elsewhere. So, the church was without a Pastor when they were forced to leave the building.

It was a very tough time. In spite of being with the people of Evergreen for four years, it’s still hard for me to imagine what it must have been like to have a prominent building in town and then to have to leave not knowing where you are going. In the Christmas season of 2013, Evergreen not only had to leave but had to search for a place to worship for the first time in nearly 20 years.

Sometimes people respond when they hear of the loss of our building by saying, “Well, the church isn’t the building.” While true, I think this response is an unhelpful one. After all, a family is more than their house, but losing a house to foreclosure is a very traumatic experience.

In the midst of the uncertainty and challenge, some people left Evergreen, but a surprising number stayed. They saw something in Evergreen Presbyterian Church that they wanted to preserve.

They also found a place to worship. Evergreen was welcomed into the building of the Smoky Mountains Seventh Day Adventist Church by the gracious Pastor and members of that church.

Being without a Pastor, the elders took the lead in the transition, and they began to organize a new life as a church without owning a building.

I came about one year later to serve this group of exiles. I came because, like them, I saw something really good and beautiful at Evergreen. I found a people that were loving and welcoming and yet rooted in the truth and the Gospel of Jesus. I found a group of people who were open to thinking carefully about how best to minister to the people in our church and Sevier County. I was excited.

But I made a mistake. I really did not appreciate the trauma of the previous couple of years. I did not see the hurt. I often took calls for the good old days personally rather than as sadness and grief over what had been lost. If I had it over to do, I would have asked for more stories about the past and spent a lot more time listening.

The good news is that the people of Evergreen have been gracious. They have worked with me, and they began to think about what it would look like for Evergreen to be Evergreen in a new situation.

Through it all, the Lord has enabled us to grow in our faith and in our understanding of what matters most. It reminds me of a beautiful song by Scottish singer Amy MacDonald who sings about the loss of a home in a fire in “From the Ashes.” Thinking she has nothing, she comes to the realization: “The little things in life are free; the simple things like you and me and like love, like love.”

In May of 2015, we found a place to worship on Sunday morning at the Conference Center of the River Plantation Campground just south of downtown Sevierville. It was a great place at a great price right in a great location right in the heart of Sevierville, and it has served our needs well for the past three years.

We’ve also become more mobile, and that has enabled us to get out into our community more easily. Last week, we had a Trunk or Treat event in the Sevierville Commons in downtown Sevierville. We have led worship services in Gatlinburg for our Songwriter’s Festival. We have worshiped in Pigeon Forge at the Comedy Barn. Mobility has given us unique opportunities.

It’s also been sad to see some of our Evergreen Family leave us for other cities and other churches, but God has also brought new people who continue the legacy of Evergreen Church as a church rooted in the truths confessed by our Presbyterian Church that also wants to welcome all who come and reach out to our community.

So, the loss of the building has helped us see important things more clearly, provided us with a cheaper meeting place, and enabled us to get into our community.

We’ve seen the truth of 1 Peter 5:10: “And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.”

This Friday, November 9th, marks the 32nd anniversary of the founding of Evergreen. As we think about our past and our future, we can have confidence that the God has led us in our suffering, aided is in our suffering, and healed us after suffering, will continue to do so because He is our faithful Creator.

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I Love the Fall

There is something glorious in each season, but there is no season quite like fall.

God has given us this world to enjoy, and fall is a reminder of that truth. He paints the trees and bids us enjoy His handiwork, though only for a brief season.

Sometimes the leaves change in varying stages. Other times the leaves change all at once.

In South Dakota, there weren’t as many trees, but there was still tremendous beauty. I remember in 2012, one of the hottest years I’ve experienced, when all the leaves changed at once. I had the privilege of driving through Spearfish Canyon several times to enjoy the innumerable cottonwood trees that complimented the Black Hills’ pines.

A little more than two years later, I moved to Tennessee near the Great Smoky Mountains. Trees everywhere! I was excited for my first fall in October of 2015.

One thing that was a little disappointing about Tennessee was that it did not have the maple reds that Michigan (where I grew up) had. So, I was excited one October day when I drove into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and went to one of my favorite trails: Laurel Falls. There I saw red leaves in abundance.

That day, I put up on Facebook: Sevierville friends, I don’t care what you are doing, come up now into the GSMNP! It’s peak color!

The whole fall is beautiful, but to see that one day where everything seems to have turned together is just other-worldly.

I don’t have to travel far, though, to see and experience the leaves. My own yard provides an amazing variety of colors for me to enjoy. Some of my favorite pictures are those of my daughters running across a yard with the backdrop of the colors of the oaks, the beeches, the dogwoods, a Norway spruce pine.

People spend millions of dollars to come and see trees as their leaves change color. My neighborhood is filled with a huge variety of trees and colors in the fall. One thing I have emphasized to my wife is that we need to make sure we are enjoying what we have right in front of us.

And that is one of the most important message of life: enjoy what’s in front of you! Fall is a brilliant reminder of that. “For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving . . .” (1 Tim. 4:4).

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Struggling with Greed

Struggling with greed. It’s something that most of us do not do. For most of us it’s probably just sitting there unnoticed.

I thought of this as I considered Ephesians 5:3: “But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people.” As a Pastor, I’ve had a lot of people talk to me about issues related to sexual immorality, but I’ve had very few (if any) come to me and say, “I’m struggling with greed.” It just doesn’t seem to be on our radar.

As I think of my preaching, I think that most Christians on the right of the political spectrum would resonate with my affirmation of traditional Christian sexual ethics. However, if I spoke on greed, I would probably have to do it very carefully to avoid misunderstanding.

On the other side, if I spoke to Christians on the left, they might resonate with what I’m saying about greed, but I would be very careful in my explanation of Christian sexual ethics.

The Bible teaches that both are serious issues. Paul insists strongly that there must not be “a hint” of these things and that the wrath of God is coming because of greed. In light of that, it seems that we would should be struggling quite a bit more against greed than we do.

In speaking with a friend, I realized that one issue here is that greed is more difficult to define. Sexual immorality refers to any sex outside of the commitment of marriage. But what is greed? Is it greed to want a better car? A bigger house? A bigger savings account? It’s hard to say. These things are certainly not wrong in and of themselves. Money, houses, and cars are not evil things. But can we want them too much? How do we know?

Let me suggest a few diagnostic questions that can help us know if we are being greedy.

1. Does the desire for or plans for obtaining new things consume our thoughts? If we are thinking about these things all the time, then greed is probably present. Having a vacation is not a bad thing, but if all our thoughts are, “When I get on vacation, I’ll be OK,” then we probably have a problem.

2. Is anxiety over not obtaining the things we want consuming our hearts? We not only desire to have good things, we worry about not having good things. For example, if we are worrying all the time about whether people will like us or want to be with us, then we are probably wanting it too much. Acceptance by others is a good thing, but it’s not ultimate.

3. Is thought of what we don’t have keeping us from enjoying what we do have? For example, is thought of a better house keeping us from enjoying the neighborhood or home that we actually presently live in?

4. Are our desires keeping us from our other obligations? For example, are we so consumed with work that we don’t spend time with our children, wife, or God? If so, perhaps you are wanting these things too much.

5. How do we feel when we don’t get what we want? This is perhaps the best indicator of a problem. When we get frustrated, worried, or unhinged when we don’t get what we want, then we probably wanted it too much. This is indicative of the presence of greed.

Let me turn now to consider how we can overcome it. If we see that greed and misplaced desires are an issue, what can we do to overcome it?

1. We need to let the Bible challenge us. It’s easy even for Christians to treat the Bible as an affirmation of our own behavior. We all need to be humble before God’s Word and let it challenge us where we are, even if change may be difficult.

2. Focus not just on reducing our negative desires, work on strengthening positive ones. The opposite of greed is thanksgiving. The more we can enjoy the many good things God has already given us, the less we will be greedy for more.

3. Speak to someone about your struggles. Ephesians 5:13 says, “But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light.” This means that we need to let in the light in order to experience healing. If you don’t have someone with whom you can share your deepest struggles, it’s imperative that you find someone. Conversations with a trusted friend bring light and healing to the darkest corners of our lives.

4. Let Christ shine on you. “Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you” (Eph. 5:14). The more and better we get to know Christ, the less power our destructive desires will have.

The darkness of unbridled desire does not have to dominate our lives. We don’t have to stay in the darkness. Christ, the light, is risen, and we can be healed through His light!

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