{"id":3452,"date":"2024-03-05T08:37:10","date_gmt":"2024-03-05T13:37:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/js1cd06kre.onrocket.site\/?p=3452"},"modified":"2024-03-05T08:37:10","modified_gmt":"2024-03-05T13:37:10","slug":"truth-encounters-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/2024\/03\/05\/truth-encounters-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Truth Encounters"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast,\u00a0<\/em>click here<\/a>
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Every day during this season of Lent we\u2019re looking at the miracles of Jesus \u2013 his spectacular displays of supernatural power that are reported in the Gospels.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/em>
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In his book The Dust of Death<\/em>, theologian and social critic Os Guinness recounts a trip he made from his home in Switzerland to England, where he gave a series of talks.
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The very first night he noticed in the crowd a woman with an odd expression on her face.\u00a0 Guinness felt prompted to pray silently that this woman would not create some kind of scene.
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As soon as he finished his presentation, she was on her feet.\u00a0 “What kind of spell did you cast on me tonight?” she asked.\u00a0 Os answered that he had no idea what she was talking about.\u00a0 She responded that she had been dispatched by a local coven of witches to disrupt his teaching, but had felt powerless throughout the evening.\u00a0
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Later, when Guinness returned to Switzerland, he was approached by a young lady in his church.\u00a0 “I was thinking about you the other day,” she said.\u00a0 “As I stopped to pray about the talk I knew you were giving in England, I saw in my mind’s eye a woman with a very odd look on her face.\u00a0 I didn’t know what to make of it, so I just prayed that God would make everything all right.”
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John G. Paton, who served as a mission worker last century in the New Hebrides Islands, reported that hostile natives surrounded his small house one night, intent on burning Paton and his wife to death.\u00a0 The couple prayed intently.\u00a0 When morning came they were surprised to see the attackers walk away.\u00a0 They thanked God for deliverance.
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About a year later one of the tribal chiefs became a believer in Jesus.\u00a0 Paton, remembering what had happened, asked the chief what had kept him and his men from torching the mission house.\u00a0
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The chief replied in surprise, “We didn\u2019t attack because of all those men you had with you.”\u00a0 The missionary answered, “We had no men; there were only two of us.”\u00a0 The chief argued that that wasn’t so.\u00a0 He and his warriors had seen many men standing guard \u2013 hundreds of big men in shining garments with drawn swords in their hands.\u00a0 They had circled the mission station and made it impossible for the natives to attack.\u00a0
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Paton thanked God for his angels.
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These two anecdotes are noteworthy not because the central characters were religious extremists, but because Guinness and Paton were anything but.
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Like many followers of Jesus, however, they experienced from time-to-time what Celtic Christians came to call \u201cthin places\u201d \u2013 moments in space and time when it seems as if we can see through the fabric of reality and catch glimpses of an invisible world.\u00a0
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Numerous intellectuals of the European Enlightenment (roughly 1650 through 1800) doubted such reports.\u00a0 It was time for reasonable people to abandon superstition. \u00a0Bible scholars openly dismissed the validity of the Gospel accounts of miracles, healings, and exorcisms.\u00a0
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The problem is that there are just so many of them.\u00a0 If we try to find a \u201cmiracle-free Jesus\u201d in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, there\u2019s not much Jesus left.\u00a0
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Matthew 8:16-17 is a good example: \u201cWhen evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick.\u201d
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The Gospels occasionally zero in on a single case of demonization, such as the Gadarene demoniac, whom we will encounter tomorrow.\u00a0 But there are multiple texts like the one above in which it seems Jesus confronts spiritual evil for an extended period of time, and in a number of individuals.\u00a0
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What\u2019s missing here?\u00a0 There\u2019s no thunder and lightning.\u00a0 \u201cHe drove out the spirits with a word\u2026\u201d
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Jesus dismisses the presence of spiritual evil with a word of authority.\u00a0 How can he do this?\u00a0 Jesus represents the One who rules both the seen and unseen worlds, and the True King\u2019s identity and power are not in doubt.
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The apostle Paul writes, \u201cFor our struggle is not against flesh and blood,\u00a0but against the rulers, against the authorities,\u00a0against the powers\u00a0of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms\u201d (Ephesians 6:12).\u00a0
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Hollywood has conditioned us to think that this struggle is a power encounter<\/em>.
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Evil forces are portrayed as super-strong entities that chase us around the house, levitate our furniture, and cannot be finally vanquished. \u00a0When the resourceful babysitter Jamie Lee Curtis stops the psychotic killer at the end of the movie Halloween<\/em>, she assures the kids under her care that all is well.\u00a0 She killed the boogeyman.\u00a0 Little Tommy replies, \u201cBut you can\u2019t kill the boogeyman!\u201d
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In the background, at that very moment, we can see the monster coming back to life.\u00a0 This scene not only launched a handful of Halloween<\/em> sequels, but made it clear that when it comes to evil, we can run but not hide. \u00a0The advertising tagline of a recent Christian novel seems to agree:\u00a0 Fear no evil is no longer an option.\u00a0 <\/em>I agree with Bible scholar Klyne Snodgrass that that line borders on blasphemy.\u00a0
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That\u2019s because the Bible instructs us to fear God, not demons.\u00a0 According to the New Testament, the battle against spiritual evil is always a truth encounter<\/em>.\u00a0 \u00a0
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None of us is stronger than Satan.\u00a0 But it doesn\u2019t matter that we fail to match his might.\u00a0 Even though evil is real, Jesus has already won the ultimate spiritual battle on the cross.\u00a0
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Therefore, Peter counsels us to \u201cbe alert\u201d (I Peter 5:8).\u00a0 Notice that he doesn\u2019t say, \u201cBe afraid.\u201d\u00a0 And James declares, \u201cResist the devil and he will flee from you\u201d (James 4:7).\u00a0 We don\u2019t run from Satan.\u00a0 He runs from us<\/em>.\u00a0 Scripture tells us to flee temptation, but to stand up to the Evil One \u2013 at which point he has to leave.\u00a0 \u00a0
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How exactly do we live this out?
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Our faith is not in crosses (even big gold ones), strands of garlic, or holy water.\u00a0 That\u2019s movie stuff.\u00a0 We resist evil by defining reality according to the truths of Scripture.\u00a0 When we embrace the genuineness of Christ\u2019s victory and affirm our own status as God\u2019s children and thus his representatives, we will win the truth encounter.
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Sometimes that comes down to speaking the truth out loud.
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On three occasions I have been part of a small group that came together to help an individual experience spiritual deliverance. \u00a0
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We had received some wise counsel.\u00a0 The demonized person, who in the past had made personal oaths of loyalty to multiple spirits, needed to affirm, out loud, their desire to belong to Christ and Christ alone. \u00a0Were there some dramatic moments on the way to making that happen?\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0 \u00a0
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But in the end it was that person\u2019s spoken word of authority \u2013 an authority delegated by Jesus, not unlike the words spoken by Jesus himself in the Gospels \u2013 that brought lasting freedom.\u00a0
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Perhaps you\u2019re in a season of profound discouragement, fear, or confusion.\u00a0 When it comes to connecting with God, it feels as if there\u2019s always static on the line.\u00a0
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Here\u2019s something you might try.\u00a0 Find a place where you can be alone.\u00a0 Surrender yourself, as best you can, to God\u2019s care.\u00a0 Then calmly speak aloud words like these: \u201cBecause I know I am God\u2019s child, dark powers have no power over me.\u00a0 Go away in the name of Jesus.\u201d
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You may feel like a fool.\u00a0 You may be glad that no one was there to hear you.\u00a0
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But God always hears.\u00a0
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And he is the one who has told us to resist the dark powers that tend to attach themselves to our discouragement, fear, and confusion.\u00a0
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That\u2019s more than just a word of hope.
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It\u2019s the truth.\u00a0<\/em>

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To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast,\u00a0click here\u00a0Every day during this season of Lent we\u2019re looking at the miracles of Jesus \u2013 his spectacular displays of supernatural power that are reported in the Gospels.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In his book The Dust of Death, theologian and social critic Os Guinness recounts a trip he made from his home in Switzerland to England,… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3453,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[696,11,386],"class_list":["post-3452","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-exorcism","tag-miracles","tag-satan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3452","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3452"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3452\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3454,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3452\/revisions\/3454"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3453"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3452"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3452"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3452"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}