Unbridled

Water. Fire. Guns. Knives. Sex. Money. Freewill. The list is inexhaustible. What do these things have in common? They all have the power to be both useful and destructive, depending upon in whose control they find themselves. At their basic core, perhaps we should say that this short list is even necessary to human existence for survival. Water and fire provide life. Guns and knives provide protection and the means with which to hunt for food. Sex provides for procreation. Money provides wellbeing. Freewill provides strength for the spirit.

As I sit writing this devotion, I am looking out onto the Atlantic Ocean. The day is beautiful, and the waves are gently rolling upon the sandy shoreline. The sun is glistening across the water like stars I have imagined as falling from the sky when night gave way to the morning. I have, however, looked out on this same ocean during a hurricane when the view was quite different. The wind blew and the water swelled violently breaking over the dunes put in place as a boundary intended to hold back rushing water that now refused to abide by the “rules!”

“We use our powerful God-tools for smashing warped philosophies, tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God, fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ.” We live in a time when “warped philosophies” have taken control and threaten to smash over the very boundaries set up by God for our protection.

So, what are the “powerful God-tools” given to “tear down barriers erected against the truth of God?”

Ephesians 6:10-18 explains the “…full armor of God…Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray…” (NIV, emphasis mine).

Friend, make no mistake. The “god” of these “warped philosophies” is as old as the Garden of Eden, when he said to Eve, Did God really say…? God loves us and has given us boundaries for our protection. To which God are you listening? Pray in these days, that we will not be deceived.