The Spiritual Realm

Posted: Sunday, October 31, 2010 by Morgan in
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I had an interesting experience tonight. As you may notice, I am writing this on Halloween, a day that I think Satan has hijacked from Christianity (as many have pointed out, it is also Reformation Day, but it is heavily overshadowed by Halloween). It is a day of candy, "costumes," pranks, and fun surface stuff like that.


But....

There's also another side to Halloween. It is a dark, terrifying, and hopeless side. For every physical thing there is also a spiritual counterpart. There are people who dress up as scary monsters, but there are also real, tangible, evil spirits who wreak havoc on this earth. They are as real as you and I. Though Halloween may seem like an innocent holiday full of spreading candied joy around the neighborhoods, there are forces of evil at work, both physically and spiritually.

Anyway, as I was cleaning the office in my high school tonight, I was constantly overcome by an unshakable sense of fear. Now, I'm not generally a fearful person, and I've cleaned the school at night plenty of times and there would be no reason for me to be afraid. Even so, I was constantly on edge and honestly scared for no particular reason. I kept hearing little noises that I am sure I didn't make. Some stuff I stacked on a counter fell down and scared me half to death. There was once when I'm sure I heard a voice say something. There were a couple times when I just went and checked all the rooms to make sure nothing was there. I even closed and locked the front door, which I usually leave open because it gets hot inside when I'm cleaning. It was creepy.

After a while I sort of realized it was a demon. I firmly believe that it was and I will stand by that. So I just started praying, praying against Satan and his strongholds on this earth, praying against the dark forces at work in this world, praying against the actions of people who worship Satan and his demons, praying against the demon of fear that was present at the school. I recited Romans 8 over and over and over and over until I left. At first I started saying it in my head, but near the end I was speaking out loud. It held back the fear. I don't know what would have happened if God was not there with me, but I was assured of His power and faithfulness in an incredibly tangible way. We serve a powerful God.

I read the book Adam, by Ted Dekker a couple years back. It was about a psychologist working for the FBI who is tracking down a demon-possessed serial killer. I know, I know, super weird. But that book vividly illustrated the realities of the spiritual realm to me. I have also talked with people who have had encounters with evil spirits, which brought the entire issue very close to home.

Now we can discount the power of demons and we can ascribe too much power to them. But we must not relegate them into nonexistence. That would be foolish. Many of Jesus' miracles included the casting out of demons. As Christians we know that if Jesus dealt with demons (or suffering or being hated for our faith or anything else), we can be sure that we will deal the same things. "For those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son..." (Romans 8:29).

This isn't meant to scare you. It's just a reminder that there are actually evil spirits at work in this world. It's also a reminder that God is far more powerful than they are. Satan himself is on a tight leash and he will be cast into the lake of fire in the final days. This is a reminder that God wins in the end. We don't serve a "sky-fairy Jesus," as my pastor reminded us a few weeks ago. We serve the Jesus described in Revelation 19:11-16:
Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.
I'm glad he's on my side.

The Point of Friction

Posted: Friday, October 8, 2010 by Morgan in
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It's been a rough 6 weeks at George Fox for me. I've been struggling to develop relationships, to delve into my engineering studies, to stay connected with friends at Hillsdale, to discern truth from error, to settle into a church. It has been extremely difficult, especially since this summer was so good. It was a very hard summer, but I tasted God's faithfulness almost daily and my spiritual life was thriving. But now, things are hard and it's difficult to see God's hand in anything. I have been striving for moral perfection and maturity, and I realized that it won't do me any good. I have been focusing on sins rather than sin. God won't love me because I am good. Sin is not an action, it's a state of being. We were all born with it and we can't get rid of it through simply avoiding sins (Romans 5:12-13), and even if we were morally perfect, we would still owe our lives to God. Instead, God provided a perfect high priest to atone for our state of sin: Jesus Christ and His death and resurrection (Hebrews 10:12-14).


We are not sinful because we sin, we sin because we are sinful. Conversely, we are not made righteous because we do good, but we do good because we have been made righteous through Christ.

I realized something like that this morning. I realized that I was sinful, prideful, selfish, weak, and impatient and that I couldn't do anything to change that. So, I went for a drive. I drove out to the Newberg countryside, parked on the side of a gravel road, and sat in God's creation, looking for answers. I didn't find anything except vast plainlands, wire fences, clouds, smoke from burnpiles, and brown grass. God seemed silent. I stayed there awhile and then gave up and went home. I was discouraged.

It wasn't until later (a few minutes ago, actually) that the answer came. I picked up My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers and read the entry for October 2nd. It was called "The Place of Humiliation," and it went a little like this:

After every time of exaltation we are brought down with a sudden rush into things as they are where it is neither beautiful nor poetic nor thrilling. The height of the mountain top is measured by the drab drudgery of the valley; but it is in the valley that we have to live for the glory of God. We see His glory on the mount, but we never live for His glory there. It is in the sphere of humiliation that we find our true worth to God, that is where our faithfulness is revealed. Most of us can do things if we are always at the heroic pitch because of the natural selfishness of our hearts, but God wants us at the drab commonplace pitch, where we live in the valley according to our personal relationship to Him. Peter thought it would be a fine thing for them to remain on the mount, but Jesus Christ took the disciples down from the mount into the valley, the place where the meaning of the vision is explained."If Thou canst do any thing..."

It takes the valley of humiliation to root the scepticism out of us. Look back at your own experience, and you will find that until you learned Who Jesus was, you were a cunning skeptic about His power. When you were on the mount, you could believe anything, but what about the time when you were up against facts in the valley? You may be able to give a testimony to sanctification, but what about the thing that is a humiliation to you just now? The last time you were on the mount with God, you saw that all power in heaven and in earth belonged to Jesus - will you be skeptical now in the valley of humiliation?

It all became very clear. God answered my cry for help. The place I am at right now is the valley of humiliation. This is the place where real life is lived. This is where my trust in Him is tested. This is where the rubber meets the road. This, ladies and gentlemen, is the point of friction.

There's no telling how long this point will last. Will it be a day? A couple weeks? Three years? A lifetime? Will I continue to trust God in the midst of the valley of humiliation? I must. The only alternative is to trust in myself, and I've seen where that leads. I have no choice. It's more difficult than it sounds, and it's going to be a long road, but I know God is with me even if I can't see Him all the time.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths." Proverbs 3:5-6

Christian Metal

Posted: Thursday, October 7, 2010 by Morgan in
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This is an issue I've been involved in for quite some time. Some people think hardcore metal is demonic. Others could take it or leave it. Still others think it's a great form of worship and witness. But is it?

I believe so.

Is metal worshipful? In a moral sense, metal is not evil in and of itself. Just like money is not evil in and of itself. Both can (and are) misused, but in the same token both can be used very effectively for the kingdom of God. In more aesthetic sense, two people can be singing the same song in church. One can be raising his hands and belting out the song while the other is simply singing with his hands at his sides. One (it doesn't matter which) can be truly worshipping while the other is just making sounds or movements because that's what everyone else is doing. I've been in both places. Christian metal can be much the same way: that is, some can use it as a means of worship while others just hear noise.

Ok, so it can be worshipful, but is Christian metal a good witness? Well, it seems that many Christian metal bands do fall prey to the same downfall of mainstream Christian pop and rock bands do. That is, they try to "hide" Jesus in their lyrics. I am often forced to search very hard for a Christian meaning in many lyrics, and I often come away disappointed. Some of these bands have Christian overtones in their lyrics, but often they just end up being Christians who happen to be in a metal band. They separate their faith from their music. I might be stepping on some toes here, but some of these bands include Demon Hunter, The Devil Wears Prada, and As I Lay Dying (which used to be my favorite Christian metal band).

But, there are bands that have solid theology and a good witness, and they're doing a heck of a lot more witnessing than many of us. I was introduced to one of these Christian metal bands (For Today) by a good friend of mine. They are not ashamed of making blatantly Christ-centered music (even using words like God, Christ, the Lord, etc.). Again, like Christian rap, they sing about real issues that Christians face, like surrendering to Christ, the judgment of God, victory over sin, and hope in heaven. I have been inspired by their witness and encouraged by many of their songs. They're reaching out with the love of Christ to people who (let's be honest here) we would avoid like the plague. They are being lights in a very, VERY dark place. Many (or all) mainstream metal bands (much like mainstream rappers) have horrible content and an utterly despairing message in their music, and the people who are immersed in this culture may never have real contact with a Christian aside from the music they listen to. Keep it up boys.

On the off chance that you're interested in what quality Christian metal looks and sounds like, here's one of their music videos of a song called Saul of Tarsus.

Here are the lyrics...
Saul of Tarsus (The Messenger):
Let the world know that I am yours, I will never be silenced. (x2)
I will never be silenced (x4)

I will resist my sin to the point of blood, and I will wear my scars like badges of honor.
But let my hope cry out that my God is greater than the pain of persecution.
My God is greater than this world.
There will never be another chance to live today for God.
There will never be another name that can save us from ourselves.

And so, steadfast and undeterred, I will proclaim the name of Christ to a dead and dying world.
I am not ashamed. (x3)
We will resist our sin to the point of blood, and we will wear our scars like badges of honor.
But let our hope cry out that our God is greater than the pain of persecution. Blinded, I saw that Christ is Lord.
Now, may the world see You through open eyes.
God, my Father, reign!

"Be exalted, O LORD, in your strength! We will sing and praise your power." Psalm 21:13