With What Love Do We Love the Truth? By David Townsend

My heart breaks for my generation and culture right now. The way we respond to the truth especially concerns me. If the truth was a person (and It is), it seems like we might consider Truth to be a good friend from high school. Nostalgia is great, and we love catching up, but “hey man, the kids are calling. I’ve got to go,” we would say. In other words, it’s nice to know Truth, and we had some great times, but He’s got His life and, well, I’ve got mine. Truth is relegated to a “really good idea,” but not something that I center my life around. And let me be clear, I’m not talking about the lost here. They are doing exactly what they know to do right now. When I say “my generation and culture,” I mean Christians, specifically those under age 35 or so.

The mentality I’m referring to is the same one the disciples had before the cross. It’s the result of confidence in the strength of human love, as if it were the supernatural love of God because we’ve confused the two. Before the Cross, every one of the eleven disciples was absolutely convinced that they would die before they would abandon the Lord (Matt. 26:35). But before the night was over, all of them did, and only one came to the Cross. In the previous three and a half years, they had heard the Lord’s words; followed Him; watched Him heal, deliver and do miracles; they had even done signs and wonders in His name—yet the love that they had for Him did not keep them from abandoning Him. I would submit that many, many of us in the Church are right here. And we’re headed for trouble.

Spiritual Warfare: Two Views in the Church By Mike McClung

Luke 4:18-19: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; he has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”

Acts 10:38: “…how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.”

I John 3:8: “He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.”

Eph. 6:12: “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

The Lord created both the earth and man, good. Both have been seized by hostile, evil forces that are seeking to destroy both earth and man, and also God’s plan and design for time and eternity. The Cross of Christ has completely defeated Satan, all of his minions, and every work of the enemy. The church is now the means by which this defeat is to be enforced and all the powers of darkness subjugated to the will of God.