Satan is an absolute villain… He has been granted limited authority over the earth to attempt to “deceive the whole world” (Revelation  12:9).  He takes the truth of God’s word, lifts it out of context, then twists and distorts it to try to make it say things contrary to God’s will; as when he tempted Jesus in the wilderness by quoting scripture (Matthew 4). He tries to make the beautiful bride of Christ, the Church, look like a bunch of egotistical, biased, hypocritical bigots because we seek to hold to the teachings of God’s word and refuse to call evil, “good!”  He takes God’s beautiful gifts—our capacity for learning, our social connections, the desire for health and wellbeing, our material wealth and possessions, faith, family, food, love, even rainbows—and tries to corrupt and turn them all into something ugly.

So, how do I handle Satan’s onslaught? Do I run and hide? Do I shy away, shrink back, and refuse to take a stand? Do I sit back and allow the adversary to desecrate God’s beautiful gifts right before my very eyes? Or do I stand up with those who dare to “fight the good fight of faith” (I Timothy 6:12)?  Because no matter how “nice” and “socially acceptable” I may want people to see me as being, still, God’s word condemns “the cowardly” (Revelation 21:8). We may want to ask ourselves, “Am I ashamed of being seen as a member of the beautiful family of God, the church? Am I ashamed of Bible teaching? Am I willing to compromise God’s word for the sake of fitting in, escaping persecution, or having a peaceful life? Am I really afraid of rainbows?”

I’m thinking, it’s time, past time, for all God’s children to, “put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11).

Standing hand-in-hand with you! ~ Phil