Monday 21 May 2018

Part 2 - Only 5 Days Later


So the problem with declaring that you are going after the devil with full intentions of kicking his a** and doing so in front of all ten of the people that read your blog is that then you kind of have to........a-hem......do something. Like go after the devil and kick his a**. Or you look sort of dumb.

I made that grand declaration here:  Reintjes Chronicles - 2048 Days

After I hit publish on that blog post and had time to think about my little tirade, I may have had second thoughts and wanted to delete it. But I figured that by the time I did, maybe two people would have taken time out of their days to read it and then I was already accountable to them. Damn.

It has been a few days and I haven't dethroned satan yet, but I am taking the threat seriously. So, step one. I went to church, after I hadn't had the energy to go in a long time. And lo and behold if the sermon wasn't about kicking the devil in the a**. Huh. (Well, maybe it wasn't worded exactly like that, but totally the same idea.)

And then I was gifted a very encouraging conversation. And then I went for prayer and just said, “I am not sure what I need prayer about.” And then proceeded to receive prayer for a new “mission”. Then as we were leaving, my husband reminded me of a conversation that I had wanted to have a few months ago with our youth Pastor. So I went and had the conversation, and the youth Pastor's response? “I've been praying for someone to ask me that question.” Huh.

So, that is probably the most instantaneous resolution of one of my little fits of spiritual crazy that I have ever experienced. Take that devil.

So now I feel like I have to explain why I seem obsessed with the devil. As that might be a little concerning to some people. Firstly, I would like to mention a fact that was mentioned in the sermon last night and that I have felt in my spirit to be true since I started understanding I had a spirit.

The most effective scheme the enemy has right now for a culture such as ours is to lull us into a false sense of security and spiritual dullness and to MAKE US BELIEVE HE DOESN'T ACTUALLY EXIST. After all, if we are just going with his program and not causing any waves, our days will pass and before we know it, they are over and we wake up and realize what we have missed.

Secondly, I grew up in a violent, alcoholic home. I made stupid choices as a teenager that put me smack dab in the middle of the kingdom of darkness – even though I knew they were stupid choices. At least one of those choices almost cost me my life. I did not know Him at the time, but He knew me. And He saved me from my own stupidity.

The topic being discussed at the first home group I ever attended happened to be, “satan and spiritual warfare”. Interesting. You don't normally start “newbies” off with that particular topic. But my spiritual mentors at the time did not mess around and thank goodness they did not. When I heard about the kingdom of darkness, bells went off, flood lights snapped on, and my whole entire existence suddenly made sense.

I had an enemy and he had been after me my whole life. It made more sense than anything else had ever made.

Wisely, after providing me with this revelation, my mentor explained that Jesus was the answer to the meddler. If you picked God's team, the devil was likely to lose against you every time. It seemed like a no-brainer to me, I picked the right team.

In the 20 or so years since that home group, I have been given ample opportunities to experience the loving side of God and the people He calls His. He is always my main focus. 

But the part of me that usually rises up in any sort of spiritual situation is the one that wants to kick the enemy's a**. I think that is the part of Jesus that was destined to crush the serpent's head, the part of Jesus who returns and “treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty”. 

There is not much gentle about that Jesus, that is a warrior Jesus.

And I am not sure why, but there's just always been something about that Jesus...

I've Got the King