The mouth of the dragon

Today, I could not pull back the sheets and put on my slippers except for the love and grace of God. An unspeakable tragedy has brushed against our family and we are shaken. A friend, a new Christian, succumbed to old ways of coping.

Those old ways often look comfortable. But, like when we turn over a rock in the garden, the ugliness of the old ways is exposed.

Evil masquerades as light, lust as amusement We step into the mouth of the dragon, believing it to be a fun house.

Never have I seen the warfare as strongly as I see it today. Satan is not a cute little red devil having a good time. We think he looks a little naughty, but that’s part of his charm. We are seduced by his appearance and rationalize any consequences: why can’t we have a little fun? Why is God taking away our freedom and our pleasure? Satan wants to cut our throats and utterly deceive us.

We can’t play church – and tickle our own ears a little bit. Our loved ones are getting picked off by snipers and we’re hiding like ostriches because we don’t want someone to smirk at our faith.

A soldier knows his captain. A warrior knows his leader. We have to know our Leader and we have to show some grit.

Avalon has a song entitled, “I will testify to love.” The chorus challenged me this morning:

For as long as I shall live

I will testify to love

I'll be a witness in the silences when words are not enough

With every breath I take

I will give thanks to God above

For as long as I shall live

I will testify to love

And I’m reminded, too, of the demon-possessed man at Gerasene. After Jesus set him free from a legion of demons, the man wanted to go with Jesus. But Jesus left him behind with these instructions:

"Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you." So he went away, proclaiming throughout the city how much Jesus had done for him. Luke 8:39

As warriors, those are our orders as well: declare what God has done. Testify to his miraculous work in your life and in others. Be a witness to his love.

We have been left behind for now to proclaim Jesus. Not to trust good works or nice platitudes or will power but to proclaim Jesus. Today, be like the Gerasene man set free: return to your home and declare how much God has done for you.