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Wisdom and Innocence
In Matthew 10:16, Jesus gives us a warning and an instruction: we are sent out like sheep among wolves; and, therefore, we are to be as wise as serpents and as innocent as doves. Similarly, Paul writes in Romans 16:19 an instruction to be wise about what is good and innocent about what is evil. Innocence, however, is not the same thing as naivete, which means foolishly simple, artless, and lacking wisdom. Jesus makes it clear in His instruction that we are to be wise. Innocence, in contrast, means freedom from sin and evil. Therefore, we are to have wisdom about the enemy and his plans but be innocent, or free and pure, of them. These resources are designed to help you toward that end, and to help prepare you for warfare against the enemy.

  Part of the Plan: The false god, a distant light on the shore during the storm
Matthew 8:23-27 and Luke 8:22-25 recount the story of Jesus calming the storm when the disciples feared their boat would be swamped. It is my belief that we are in a similar situation today, but with the grave problem that we seem to have forgotten that Jesus is in the boat with us at all. Because of this belief, the enemy has tricked us.

While the storm rages around us, and we bail furiously to try to keep the boat from foundering, the enemy (pretending to be an "angel of light") stands on the distant shoreline waving his "light" shouting words of encouragement: "Keep bailing, you can do it! Keep your eyes on me, and you won't lose sight of the shore! Bail faster, harder, it is all up to you!" We take heart at these words and bail faster, but the storm continues to pound our little boat, and we can barely keep our heads above water. All the while, we are believing that it is Jesus standing on the shore, far out of reach but cheering us on in our fight against the waves. And because of the deception of the enemy, we are too afraid to take our eyes off the figure on the distant shore to see that JESUS IS IN OUR BOAT WITH US and HE CAN CALM OUR STORM. In fact, we seem to have lost hope in the entire concept of the storm being calmed at all; that His peace can set us free from the struggle.

So it is in our lives, and the storms that plague us. Rather than turning to our Lord, right beside us in the boat, and asking for His help, seeking His words to calm the storm, we bail and struggle to maintain where we are and keep our eyes on the false god of the shoreline out of fear. For we believe if we take our eyes off the shoreline, or we stop bailing long enough to look for Jesus in our boat with us, we may drown. We think that the false god is better than nothing - and from where we are in the foundering boat, we accept that the false god is good enough.

When Jesus was teaching me about this serious threat to His church, He said two things to me: the name of the shoreline "god" (demon) is "good enough and better than nothing;" and, there are places where this image of "god" is being taught as truth. If you believe you must depend on your own efforts to defeat the enemy, or to survive the storms of life; if you find yourself furiously struggling to keep your head above water but not making any progress in getting out of the storm; if you see Jesus as a distant, uninvolved "cheerleader" in your life rather than a hands-on storm-calmer - stop for a moment and pray. Ask Jesus to show you where He is in your life. Listen for His truth. Then look in the boat beside you - even though you feel you are risking losing sight of the shore or your own effort at control over the situation - and ask Him to calm the storm.


Sail and Bail? Or Turn to Jesus?
  Part of the Plan: Deceive and Then Accuse, Getting Us In the Carnival Picture yourself walking hand in hand along the road with Jesus. You are engaged in a deep conversation with Him, similar to the one enjoyed on the way to Emmaus after Jesus' resurrection. Suddenly, off to your right, there is a loud noise, something between a squeal and a grunt. Naturally, you turn to see what made such a sound, and there off to the side of the road stands a pig; but not just any pig, no. This one is unique in some way that captures your attention. Perhaps it is cute and pleasant in appearance, and seems to entice you with its smile to follow along. Perhaps it is rolling deliberately in the mud, and its very filth captures your interest. Or perhaps it is just loud and persistent. But whatever the tactic chosen for you, you begin to walk toward the pig, who scampers off through the field of brambles and briers, as if it has someplace to be. You follow the pig, until all at once you notice a huge tent, marked with flashing lights and loud calls: Come one, come all, come into the carnival! Well, now you are really interested, and you see the pig entering the tent, so you also enter.

But when you get inside, you find yourself in a large, open funhouse. Every wall is a funhouse mirror. Even the door is covered with a mirror, so that all you can see, everywhere you turn, is a distorted view of yourself. And you can't find the way back out. Now the pig has turned into your mocker. It accuses you, laughing, "you walked in here of your own free will! Jesus couldn't care anything about you anymore. You got in here by your choice, now you have to find the way out!" And how do you feel? Trapped and alone.

This is a tactic of the enemy: entice you, gather your attention off of Jesus so you lose sight of Him and begin to focus on yourself...the enemy just doesn't tell you up front that the only view you will ever see in the carnival is a distorted view, based on lies...then accuse you and condemn you for your choice to leave Jesus behind. The moral of the story? PUNT THE PIG!!!!


Will you follow the pig?
  Part of the Plan: Counterfeits, Distortions and Perversions, One Degree Off True North Please check back soon - this section is still under construction.