Are We Defending God's Truth? Or Tolerating the Enemy's Lies . . .

"A dog barks when his master is attacked.
I would be a coward if I saw that God's truth is attacked and yet would remain silent."

~ John Calvin

. . . It's sorta' the theme of my entire blog. (See the definition of Apologia in scrolling text of the header.) And I have learned over the years that one of the most challenging places to stand firm and defend the truth of God's Word is in the company of other church-goers.

Are you tilting your head wondering, "uHmmm??!"

It doesn't take too many clicks of your television remote, or even a trip through a grocery store checkout aisle, to be convinced that we live in a time of complete spiritual confusion and blind exploration. Satan has indeed conquered the world in terms of winning it over. Which makes one of Satan's most preferred workplaces in our current culture -- the "church." The spiritual confusion is just as readily found inside the church as it is outside the church. Just because you're sitting in a church building does not mean you are surrounded by Bible-believing saints!

"The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers,
so that they cannot see the light of the Gospel . . . "

~ II Corinthians 4:4

Peer pressure within the Christian world to "match-up" our faith with fellow Christians is great. And the pressure to accept and tolerate ideas and doctrines and theories that are flat-out against God's Word is rampant. Satan has become very proficient at working within this subset of culture known as the Evangelical Church.

Making matters worse in the fact that so few churches really offer expository preaching/teaching from the Bible anymore -- nor do they teach people how to study the Bible. One well-known mainstream Christian pastor has admitted that certain passages of Scripture are offensive to his followers and he will not preach from them. How can Christians defend something they are not familiar with?

The Result: Satan has been given a place of honor in the life of every Christian who is unable to or refuses to defend God's Word.

Take the Harry Potter craze for an example. The Bible is very clear about the sin of witchcraft, abstaining from the appearance of evil, and about casting down imaginations that exalt themselves against the knowledge of God. End of discussion.

Or is it?

Satan's job is to attack God's Word and to twist it and to confuse its true message and cause Christians to accept or tolerate the untruths and he does not rest in his quest to achieve this goal. Enter: J.K. Rowling. How many Christian kids do you know who are fans of J.K. Rowling and her Harry Potter series? And how many Christian parents do you know who tolerate it. Whose fault is this?

The parents?
The church?
The pastor?
How about anyone who sees God's Truth attacked and remains silent!?

What about the self-help industry? Consumer psychology and the self-help industry are among the biggest money generators in our society. And the biggest problem in the self-help industry is that many (not all) promoters make false promises. They promise hugely unrealistic results, as if reading a single book or attending a single seminar will produce all the permanent changes you need to make your life absolutely perfect.

Yet Christians still purchase these products as frequently as non-Christians because they really want to believe the marketers are telling the truth. And probably more notably, people are keenly aware that they do indeed need help.

For the most part, secular psychology has attacked if not completely dismissed God's Word. And lamentably, many Christians have accepted it. And if they haven't accepted secular psychology for their own lives, they have learned to accept and tolerate it in the lives of their friends and family .

If every God-fearing Christian (there is no other kind) would stand up for God's Word and God's plan for psychological wholeness, the self-help industry would most certainly go broke! Romans 3:23-24 says more about self-improvement than 10,000 self-help books. But until God's Truth is spoken and defended and accepted and one's attitude is changed, Satan wins the battle and God's Word is not only attacked, but dismissed.

How many Christian friends do you know who are caught up in secular psychology? Whose fault is this?

The psychologist?
The person's friends?
Family?
The church?
How about anyone who sees God's Truth attacked and remains silent!?

Let's talk politics.

Okay. . . second thought, let's not.

But surely you can fill in the blanks here. To try and put GOD and the Truth of HIS Word into the confining and humanistic box of politics makes Him a very,very small God.

Yet . . . it is abundantly clear that our current political climate has made a mockery of God's Truth on everything from the value of human life itself to the work ethic of those who are allowed to live. Whose fault is this?

The politicians?
The President?
The church?
How about anyone who sees God's Truth attacked and remains silent?!

When Christians choose to remain silent when God's Word is attacked, we have effectively learned to accept and tolerate the Enemy's lies and Satan does indeed gain a foothold; and this primes the church for accepting the New Age Movement much more easily.

Sure . . . as "good Christians" we can pick and choose our causes. We can rail against abortion or pre-marital sex or witchcraft or even Mormonism or Catholicism. Some of us even like to take on "false versions" of the Bible in order to gain credibility as a "real Christian." Our individuality does drive us to hand-pick what we will defend from God's Word. But this is NOT what the Gospel calls us to do!

Christians must "bark" when our Master is attacked. On any subject. If we don't, then Satan wins another battle and God's Word is not only attacked, but eventually dismissed altogether. And then . . . what's the point?

"A dog barks when his master is attacked.
I would be a coward if I saw that God's truth is attacked
and yet would remain silent."

~ John Calvin

"Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes,
you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything,
to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist. . . "
~Ephesians 6:13-14

~ Esthermay V. Bentley-Goossen
© 2009 The Heart of a Pastor's Wife
[This article also submitted for outside publication]

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The Lesson of the Bumble Bee. . .

I don’t blog too often about the mundane events -- scheduled and non-scheduled -- in our family’s life. It’s just not my flair. Not that there’s anything wrong with it! I laugh-out-loud in recognition, empathy and kinship when I read about crayon-throwing tantrums and rodent-disrupted Scrabble games and bathroom episodes gone (–- well, let’s just leave it there. I laughed-out-loud for a long time -rotflol). A gifted blogger will find spiritual application in the both the humdrum and unexpected. (Have you visited Ann Voskamp’s site, Holy Experience?)

I do consistently find both humor and spiritual insight in the routine of life. Most of my spiritual growth comes silently in the moments of daily“ness”. I just find neither the point nor the time to digest it for all the world to see and read.

However . . .

This morning, Chloe’s behavior and resulting accomplishment met the criteria and her genius will now take it’s place in the blogging kingdom.

We affectionately call our family cat “The Bugger.” She is an indoor cat and, therefore, de-clawed. I’ve never seen a de-clawed cat catch a mouse. Unsure. Can it be done? Our Chloe can catch undersized critters. So we've supplanted the characteristic "Mouser" with "Bugger."

You visit our basement to retrieve frozen peas or pork ribs from the deep-freeze, and you will sidestep and maneuver around dead crickets and flies and big-furry-spiders and hornets and bumble bees. All exterminated, stamped out, and left for the broom by “The Bugger.”

We rarely see any creepy-crawlies upstairs. The pests must breed and multiply and begin their life's journey in the cellar and migrate north. “The Bugger” -- of course -- intercepts and ends the journey.

Chloe must have been sleeping-in this morning in one of the three un-made beds (busted!) because a bumble-bee made its way past the basement stairwell and into the kitchen. Mark and I watched “The Bugger” for over ten-minutes in her plucky effort to catch that bumble-bee.

She batted at it repetitively. Without claws, this was ineffective and powerless. (She is a "lightweight.") She chattered at it (-- you know, the way cats chatter at birds) and she took a crack at sinking her teeth into it. No success. The bumble bee was a fighter.

Chloe did not give up. Ultimately, “The Bugger” used her body to pin the bumble bee between herself and the window glass, and then slither the bee into the corner of the window sill. I'd never seen Chloe actually catch an undersized critter before. Is this how it's done? That little cat used her body - not the claws God gave her - to do the work God had created her to do.

So besides feeling guilty about declawing the family cat (Please don't e-mail me!), I see a spiritual application worthy of the blogosphere. The family cat used what was available to fight her bumble bee battle. And she won! Way to go, Chloe!

What bugs you? And what do you use to battle and exterminate it?

As Christians, the whole world should "bug" us. II Corinthians 4:4 tells us that Satan is the god of this world. He's everywhere. And he's blinding people to the truth. He's even blinding believers. We need to be aware of and prepared to do battle with everything and anything of and in this world! Yeah! That's a big chunk of stuff to do battle with. . . . And what sort of weaponry should we be stockpiling and studying-up on. . . . ?

David used five smooth stones in his battle. (I Samuel 17.) Like David, if we are walking with and trusting God, He can use anything that is available. If we have Faith in God, we don't need too much in the way of material things. Chloe (lacking her razor-sharp claws) used her lightweight seven-pound body.

Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd's bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.

- I Samuel 17:40

Scripture does not elaborate here, but David did not go out empty-handed and unarmed against the Philistine giant. He used his wits and took what he needed: his faith and confidence that God was with him.

His little slingshot didn't look like much to the visible eye. And if I'd been among the Israelite-Moms standing by witnessing this, I'd have been pretty opinionated about the boy's folly and lack of common sense. I would have been wondering -- probably out loud -- who his parents were and where they were now.

That little sling shot was visible and laughable as a weapon. What was not visible was God's power. That was David's ultimate weapon.

Too many times as Christians, we go out to fight the enemy unprepared and unarmed.

The enemy is everywhere.

Ephesians Chapter 6 lists the armor we are to wear when we go into battle - none of it is visible.

The battle is all around us.

God never sends any of us into battle without first training, dressing and arming us. Here's our God-given arsenal -- how to use it -- and how to secure it:


He gives us: The Belt of Truth.
To Know & Understand: GOD!
Read & Study: Deuteronomy 4:39; Psalm 23:1; Psalm 18:1-3.

He gives us: The Breastplate of Righteousness.
To Know & Understand: The Righteousness of Jesus in our lives.
Read & Study: Psalm 100:3; Romans 3:23-24; Romans 6:23; Galatians 2:20-21; Philippians 3:8-10.

He gives us: The Sandals of Peace.
To Know & Understand: Inner Peace and Readiness.
Read & Study: Romans 5:1; Ephesians 2:14; John 14:27; John 16:33; John 20:21

He gives us: The Shield of Faith
To Know & Understand: Living by Faith.
Read & Study: Romans 4:18-21; Hebrews 11:1; I Peter 1:6-7.

He gives us: The Helmet of Salvation.
To Know & Understand: Salvation through Christ - Today and Forever.
Read: Psalm 16, Psalm 23; Hebrews 1:3-6; II Corinthians 4:16-18; I Thessalonians 4:17; I John 3:1-3.

He gives us: The Sword of the Spirit: God's Word.
To Know & Understand: God's Word to discern and fight spiritual deception.
Read: Hebrews 4:12; Matthew 4:2-11; I Peter 3:15; Psalm 119:110-112.

Before our military are sent into Iraq or Afghanistan, (or anywhere in the world) they are fully and expertly trained. I am not altogether militarily-literate, but . . . Are our troops given semi-automatic weapons upon recruitment and depolyed into combat right there on the spot? I don't think so. They are given weapons after they are trained. After they are prepared both mentally and physically.

Are we, as soldiers in God's army, any different? We need to be prepared not only mentally and physically, but also spiritually.

As followers of Christ, we've been recruited. Now we need to be prepared for battle.

Are you in the battle? Are you trained for battle? Are you dressed for battle?

If you are, are you winning?

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. (Ephesians 6:12)

- Esthermay Bentley-Goossen

Aforementioned Bumble Bee was gently and humanely escorted

to the garbage disposal following photo session.

Please don't e-mail me.

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