Spiritual Warfare: In a word or two

A friend lent me the Ted Dekker book, Adam. While talking with another friend, I absently flipped through the back of Ted's book to the printed conversation he had with author and speaker, John Eldredge, about spiritual warfare.

This sentences arrested my heart and pinged with deep level truth. I know what Eldredge is saying, I've lived it, but his expression brought all my understanding and experiences into focus.

The question was: What is the bottom line on spiritual warfare?

JE: The battle is not the point. Evil is not the point. The point is the love story. We live in a love story that is set in the midst of war. When you understand those two things, you will suddenly understand Christianity, and you will understand your own life.

This concise truth blows me away. Eldredge is exactly right. What's going on now is a battle for our affections. Satan wants your affection to draw you away from the greatest love you'll ever know. From healing, intense, deep, passionate, perfect, personal love.

He's created all kinds of "bling" to keep us fascinated, like babies, with elementary values and principles of his world. Money, sex, career, status, entertainment, things, friendships and family, our personal identity even can rob us of our affection (who we think we are.) He makes his trinkets easy to obtain and for the most part, fun.

But Jesus draws us to a deeper love with jewels and gifts that cannot be matched. We must mine for them, be disciplined, draw ourselves away from all the things that so easily capture our affection.

Does food, or a certain television show, or sport, or person ignite your affection? You can feel the exhale, or released, when you know you're going to sit down to a program or with certain food? Or spend time with someone?

Fast food is fun. It's easy. It's temporarily filling. But well-cooked, prepared food like we learn to do on some of the cooking shows takes time. The flavors can be endless, the food nutricious, adding value.

What we can't be is fast food, easy love Believers. We must be aware that Satan is out to steal our affection. Guard your heart and mind with all you have. Give Jesus your affection. Remove those things which get in the way.

He is so worth it!

Where Your Treasure Is

We're talking through Matthew 6 in home church. Last night we focused on verses 16 - 24. Jesus is telling us we can't serve God and money. Where are treasure is, we'll find our heart.

It's true. The idea that what you give yourself to will draw in your heart. I used the example of a television show. Before we cut off Direct TV, I'd look forward to certain shows, even feel those happy endorphins surging through me.

I had affection for these shows. I was starting to believe I needed them to enhance my life. How could I keep up with pop culture if I wasn't tracking with Idol or The Office?

For me, affection for "Hollywood" stifles my affection for Jesus. I was squeezing in prayer and the Word, which are really inner passions of mine, so I could "relax" and watch a show or two. Crazy!

My treasure was becoming something so invaluable, so shallow, so not eternal as entertainment. I'm not against entertainment, I'm against my affections being attached to it.

Where are you struggling? To get time with the Lord? To get away from a sin issue? To love your spouse, or your kids?

Are you considering them treasure? Are you spending time with what you value? Sin or righteousness, where you spend your time, your heart will follow.

We have to choose to turn toward good, to love, to give, to spend time in prayer, or in exercise or whatever, then your heart will follow.

Too much, we want our feelings and affections to lead the way. So we don't manage our time and affections well and we wonder why we're not achieving what our mind tells us we should. :)

Since cutting off the Dish, my entertainment treasure chest is shrinking. In fact, I'm annoyed at a lot of what I see coming out of Hollywood. Hubby and I do enjoy a DVD series now and again, but ah, we could do without it.

But in reality, we have to give our time and thoughts toward loving the One who loved us first. As we do, our treasure will be in Him. We will feel affection for Jesus, feel His affection for us. Isn't that so cool.

God is love. Make no mistake...