“In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an impure spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice, “Go away! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”
   “Be quiet!” Jesus said sternly. “Come out of him!” Then the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring him” (Luke 4:33-35).

Many people dismiss the idea of Satan and demons. For the record, I don’t think that’s wise.

-Do we believe that Jesus is the Holy One of God? Yes.
-Are we smarter than him? No.
-Did he take the demonic realm seriously? Yes.
-Should we? Yes.

Today, many Christians have been lulled into sleepwalking through life, so to speak. They are spiritually distracted from being effective on the battleground. God is on the warpath against evil, sin, and darkness—and how many of his foot soldiers are taking a nap?

This week I invite you to think about whether or not you truly acknowledge that the battle is real.

Take some time to think about it. Reflect.

In a book about spiritual warfare, Neil Anderson and Timothy Warner make this astute observation: “The difference between military warfare and spiritual warfare is that we are always in the battle, whether we realize it or not.”*

Do you realize it? Do you want to win? Do you want to know how?

The first step is acknowledging that the battle is real.

(More on this topic tomorrow…)

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—NEW blog: “A Troubling Week for the World – Specific things to pray (and work) for from January 17-23.” Click here to read it. [Listening option available.]

–*Neil T. Anderson and Timothy M. Warner, The Essential Guide to Spiritual Warfare (Minneapolis: BethanyHouse, 2000), p. 139.

–Bible quotes are from the NIV.