Tag: Spiritual Warfare

GLORY, GLORY! HALLELUJAH!

The Battle Hymn of the Republic is a hymn that became the semi-official Civil War song of the United States Army during that great civil conflict of our nation. It was written by Mrs. Julia Ward Howe, a poet and dedicated abolitionist, who visited an army camp near Washington D.C. in 1861. She was inspired by the soldiers singing “John Brown’s Body” which was a folk tune about an anti-slavery advocate who had been hanged for his efforts to free the slaves. Mrs. Howe felt that the catchy camp tune of this song should have better words along with it, and so she wrote her own lyrics to the same melody. The song expressed her support for Abraham Lincoln, who was elected President of the United Sates in 1860 and faced fierce opposition from the pro-slavery South.

Deeply anguished at the growing conflict between her fellow Americans, and in a desire to articulate her own feelings about the dreadful division of that time, Julia Ward Howe is said to have written her inspired verses almost without looking at the paper. The “Battle Hymn of the Republic” (a.k.a. “Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory” and “Glory, Glory! Hallelujah!”) was first published in the Atlantic Monthly Magazine in 1862 as a battle song for the U.S. republic. Before long the entire nation became inspired by her text and united in singing the new words with the old tune.

I have to say, to have implicit trust in God’s faithful care and protection is never easy in times of danger or strife. Yet even in the midst of the terrible American Civil War between the United States and the Confederate States, a remarkable Christian woman named Julia Ward Howe proclaimed her confidence in God’s triumphant power for the ultimate good of all.

From the first time it was sung unto today, Mrs. Howe’s hymn has been acclaimed through the years as one of the finest national hymns of our United States of America. In fact, very early on it was sung as a solo at a large rally attended by President Abraham Lincoln himself. After the audience had responded with thunderous applause, the President (with tears in his eyes) cried out, “Sing it again!!” So it was sung again… And after more than a hundred and fifty years, patriotic Americans still join in singing with one voice, “Glory, glory! Hallelujah! His truth is marching on.”

May you all have a very happy Fourth of July and a deeply rejuvenating summertime!!!

Together in Christ, Pastor Tim

THE AUTHORITY OF JESUS

This year, St. Valentine’s Day falls on Ash Wednesday. So in 2024, we essentially have an annual celebration of love wrapped up together with an annual commemoration of mortality. Consequently, this strange juxtaposition of the romance of Valentine’s Day with the solemnity of Ash Wednesday highlights the fact that this world is often a mixed bag of the joyous and the sorrowful, the wholesome and the broken. In fact, we’ve seen this mixed-bag reality on stark display within current events, both nationally and internationally. Moreover, the Bible readings for our Sunday worship services recently have been focused on Jesus’ spiritual warfare against evil spiritual forces. Therefore, we’re reminded by everything I just mentioned above that our world’s physical conflicts, both locally and globally, are actually reflections of immense spiritual conflicts.

Throughout the Four Gospels of the New Testament, we see our Lord Jesus on the march against the demonic forces that oppress and bedevil humanity. From town to town, and from synagogue to synagogue, we see Jesus in the Gospels continually on the move to cast out demons and bring us healing. And it’s not insignificant that Jesus often used the setting of a synagogue as the arena of his spiritual combat. For even the meaning of the word synagogue has something to say about this.

Although the word synagogue describes a Jewish congregation of faith, it’s actually a word of Greek origin due to the widespread Greco-Roman influence on the ancient Mediterranean world. So, synagogue literally means “together bring” or “together gather.” And this is like other such words with the “syn“ prefix: words like synthesis (meaning “together stated” or “together put forth”) and synod (meaning “together path” or “together journey”). So, over and over in the New Testament, we see Jesus moving ever onward to synagogue with us (to “gather together” with us) and to synod with us (to “journey together” with us) in order to engage with the demonic forces of the spiritual realm, and to heal us with the good news of mercy and redemptive love freely granted to us in faith by his sacrificial death and resurrection life.

Furthermore, Jesus does this healing and restoring of our souls through three principle ways: 1) through his teachings, 2) through his forgiveness, and 3) through his rebuking of evil spiritual forces. That is, Jesus synagogues with us and synods with us in order to provide us with the deep personal healing of his Divine Guidance (his teachings), of his Divine Absolution (his forgiveness of sins), and of his Divine Authority (his absolute sovereignty over all spiritual powers). So just as Yahweh-God in the Old Testament rebuked the waves of the Red Sea to lead the Israelites into freedom, our Lord Jesus Christ also rebukes the demonic disorder and chaos of our world in order to restore us to the right-guidance and wholeness of God’s goodness. For example, when Jesus was confronted with someone who had an impure spirit in Mark 1, he immediately silenced this corrupt spirit and cast it out. And he did so with no magical incantation; no wizarding spell or potion; no sorcerer’s abracadabra. It’s simply because of his Divine Authority as the Son of God through his Word of Command.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, we all know that the year ahead is going to be a conflicted one because of a very contentious US Presidential election and a very unstable global system. But as Christians, we also know that all of these things are physical manifestations of the much larger spiritual warfare that is being fought. Yet we have a Commander and Champion who has absolute authority, always provoking and exposing any and all unclean spirits that vie for our hearts and minds — any and all impure philosophies or theologies or spiritualities we might have.

Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, constantly challenges any and all bad ideologies so that we might be healed from these demonic spirits. For Jesus wants us to be rightly-guided by the good order and original blessing that God intended for us and his whole creation from the very beginning of it all. He wants us to synagogue together and to synod together (“gather together” and “journey together”) according to his Word, knowing that whenever we begin speaking and sharing Jesus’ good news of his grace and truth to seek and save the lost ones of our world then that’s when the unclean spirits can be provoked and stirred-up. But our Lord Jesus Christ himself commands these unclean spirits to “Be silent!” and to “Come out!” By the Divine Authority of his Holy Word and the Divine Power of his Holy Spirit, our Lord Jesus frees us from the disorder and chaos of the various demonic forces we encounter within this fallen and sinful world, and he restores us by his grace (over and over again) unto his original blessing — unto the good order, wholeness and true fulfillment of God’s uncorrupted intention for his creation.

Together in Christ, Pastor Tim

DIVINE GRACE & PRESENCE

There are two ways of living… One is the way of resisting Almighty God, and the other is the way of surrender to God’s eternal grace and steadfast love. Resistance to God brings anxiety and distress, restlessness and hopelessness. Surrender to God, however, brings inner peace and joy, true happiness and hope. It really is that simple.

The worldly person is always in a state of resistance and inner conflict. The spiritual person, on the other hand, has given up the struggle through their sweet surrender to God. For as St. Augustine famously stated in his autobiographical Confessions, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.”

True religion, therefore, is about surrender, and a wonderful symbolic representation of this is the California condor. When it steps out off the cliff, it simply stretches wide its wings and floats in the rising air thermals. Likewise, as we yield to God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ our Savior, we are freed to no longer flap our spiritual wings to exhaustion. Rather, by the uplifting power of God’s Holy Spirit, we are free to float weightless on God’s limitless atmosphere.

“Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted; but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles [and condors], they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” – (Isaiah 40:30-31)

So, truly, all the weight in our hearts and minds can be tied in some way to our willful and sinful resistance to the Way and Truth and Life of God in our lives. The more you fight God, the lower you fall. The more you yield and surrender to him, the lighter you become and the higher you soar spiritually.

The Season of Lent is all about dying to our sinful rebellion, and rising up unto the abundant Life and Light and Love of our Heavenly Father. This is what our Lord Jesus meant when he declared in Luke 17:33, “Those who try to make their life secure will lose it, but those who lose their life will keep it.”

Consequently, as we move into Lent (meaning “length”) when the days lengthen toward springtime, may we ever seek to give up the fight, surrendering to the forgiveness and renewal of the Lord our God given freely to us in Christ. Moreover, may we also be ever mindful of God’s Holy Presence with us and for us in the here and now, realizing that we stand before the amazing Throne of the Eternal God each and every moment of our daily lives.

As the days lengthen and become warmer, may we come to understand more fully that the grass and flowers of the field, the trees and mountains, the rocks and rivers, Christ’s Word and Sacraments, as well as our hearts and souls, are all together the amazing Throne of God’s Presence. In reality, we stand before the Throne of God Most High now… Forever right now… So, for this Lenten Season, and for the rest of our God-given life, let us remember our most Wonder-Full Lord God every single day, the ever-present Source of all creation and salvation, in whom “we live, move and have our being” (Acts 17:28a).

Blessed Lent to All of You! Pastor Tim

CHRISTUS VICTOR!

The term Christus Victor literally means “Christ the Victorious” and it refers to the total victory of Christ Jesus our Savior over the cosmic enemies to life, light and love. As Martin Luther put it in his explanation of the Second Article of the Apostles’ Creed:

“Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father in eternity, and also a true human being, born of the Virgin Mary, is my Lord. He has redeemed me, a lost and condemned human being. He has purchased and freed me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil, not with gold or silver but with his holy precious blood and his innocent suffering and death. He has done all this in order that I may belong to him, live under him in his kingdom, and serve him in eternal righteousness, innocence and blessedness, just as he is risen from the dead and lives and rules eternally.”

Martin Luther’s Small Catechism

However, if you’ve ever felt spiritually beaten down by negative circumstances in life, as though you were under some kind of demonic attack, then it could sometimes seem like Christ’s victory over “sin, death and the devil” is insufficient. Nevertheless, the biblical good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ is that his victory over these ancient enemies is, in fact, absolute — even though it’s not yet completely manifested within our lives and world at present.

I prefer to liken this spiritual warfare to literal historical warfare, similar to the United States victory over the Empire of Japan during WWII. Even though the USA was victorious, there were still Imperial sailors and soldiers throughout the Pacific who continued to fight until they finally surrendered. Similarly, the victory of our Lord Jesus is truly won, but there is still a universal spiritual mopping-up operation going on until Jesus’ return at his great Second Advent to come.

Therefore, the victory and power and glory belong to Christ forever and ever (see Revelation 5:11-13), but we do not yet fully enjoy this great victory. In the meantime, as we await the fulfillment of the already accomplished victory, we still confront the powers of sin, death and the devil within and around us. In fact, the Church of Jesus Christ throughout the world is quite literally under attack, with the growing repression and persecution of Christians worldwide, even in our own land.

I think, from within and without, the Body of Christ is under assault, but we know that Christ is already victorious. So as we hold fast to our profession of faith and trust in Jesus, we also know that “the gates of Hades will not prevail” against the advance of the gospel (see Matthew 16:16-18). In addition, even though we often don’t see it perfectly manifested in our lives, we have the eternal covenant promise of Almighty God that, by God’s amazing grace in Christ, we are “new creations” of God.

“So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!”

Second Corinthians 5:17

While we always seek to live our lives according to the faith, hope and love of Jesus, we often fail, but then we confess our failure and repent, and receive the eternal renewal of God’s mercy and grace in Christ.

“Rend your hearts and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and he relents from punishing.”

Joel 2:13

“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

First John 1:8-9

God created us for himself. We are made to be in relationship with God, so all people need the Lord (whether people recognize this truth yet or not). And everyone needs to be set free from “unclean spirits” (as the Bible says) of various sorts from time to time, and Jesus is the Great Physician who heals us from our every ill.

In the midst of the storms and battles of life, our victorious Lord Jesus is there healing, cleansing, protecting, loving and delivering. For Christ is the Victor! So we claim this truth for our lives, community, nation and world by God’s grace and power.

The peace of Christ the Victorious One be with us always!!!

Pastor Tim