That time I met a Demon

You read correctly. I feel for certain I looked into the eyes of a man possessed by a demon. Let me explain.

It was years ago in rural Kentucky. A team and I were going door to door inviting kids to our week-long vacation bible school (VBS). We would go in pairs, taking turns talking to the folks hidden behind their screen doors fighting off the indoor monster of a dog. It was scary enough experiencing that.

This morning (or was it evening?) was just like the other times for my partner and I. We knocked on the door and spoke to the homeowner hopeful for more than just a snarling dog. For my teammates two doors down however, it was a very different encounter. According to the lady at the door they had just interrupted a suicide attempt. Her boyfriend was just about to top off his intoxication with a bullet. The tension was rising.

I looked over to them as my partner and I descended the steps. Something was wrong. One of them motioned us over. Whatever was going on was bad. They needed our help.

The man was not large. He was stumbling and slurring words all about. Clearly drunk. He talked as most drunks do, right up in your personal bubble allowing you to all but taste his breath. Tears streamed down his face as he spoke in broken sentences. It appeared the words of the lady were true. He was at his end.

My first thought wondered where the gun was, but there was none that I could see. My next thought was getting the teammates away and back to the rest of the team in the van nearby. This would allow my teammate and I to calm this guy down.

That was when he grabbed me. I have to say, at the time I was a pretty strong guy. I had been preparing to play college football, eating substantially, and working out even more. But this little guy grabbed me and just about crushed my biceps like a mini Coke can. Our eyes met and this is when I realized, there is something more going on here. I saw the purest evil I had ever seen bursting out in pools of black and red nestled in those sockets. I was terrified.

He held onto me with the strength of a giant. But this was not all. He whispered in my ear, “Help me bubbie. Help me bubbie”. Leaning his full weight on me repeating this in sputtering slurs.

By this time others from the team had come over and helped us away from the situation that appeared to be getting more bizarre. I cannot say we did anything more than pray for them, give them some material, invite them to the VBS, and went on our way. We did let the leadership know of the situation, where we were, and all the rest. I am not sure if any follow up attempt was made. I pray that something was done to point this man to Christ.

I was just a kid, but I’ll never forget the day I met a demon. We often forget demons are among us. We think they are confined to the pages of scripture and cast off earth some two-thousand years ago. Yet, Paul reminds us we wage war not with flesh and blood, but with principalities, against prowess, against rulers of darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12). We must put on the full armor of God because if we entertain angles unawares, surely we shall meet demons.

March 20, 2020 1

The Whole World is Afraid and Why Christians Shouldn’t Be

Pandemic! Who woulda thought? Not me and probably not you either. Just a few short months ago we were all going along with our lives happier than a pig in mud. Well, mostly happy anyway. We will all probably be happier when we can get back to all we took for granted. Maybe somethings are best left to their state now; just to give us a little lesson in thankfulness.

I do hope some things go back to how they were. I must tell you of a sight yesterday. People flowing down market isles at distance. Masks met your eyes instead of smiles —I do miss smiles— as one cascades through the maze that is the grocery store. Each seem to wince at the prospect of passing by you. That same wince once felt as a new driver meeting oncoming traffic.

There is terror in their eyes. Legitimate fear in each pair of unveiled eyes. I don’t know what to make of it. I’m with you Alice, “Curiouser and curiouser”. I do not want to play down this virus. Many have died and many more sick. Yet, the terror I have seen some put themselves in has been all the more concerning for me. I can’t say I feel it. I do not fear as I see some do.

Why? I am sure you are looking for the obvious answer that Jesus is my Savior and that I certainly do not fear death. While that is true, I can say I do feel a bit of concern for exactly how I may kick the proverbial bucket. But the transition from this world to the next really does not concern me. For that is the door all must go through. Mine leads to Christ for He is the door (John 10:9). My salvation is secure. But that is not exactly what I mean. I am not afraid to die which means I am not afraid to live.

There are risks all around. Certainly I could succumb to any manner of tragedy just by stepping outside my door and that being pre-COVID. The reality of knowing God is sovereign changes the way one leads life. The God who knows the hairs on our heads, the molecules in the oceans, and the actual number of COVID-19 cases has my days in His hands.

As Steve Urkel once said, “Don’t sweat my pet!” We are going to get through this. Christ is on His throne and making His enemies His footstool. Nothing takes Him by surprise. Even this can and will be used for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purposes (Romans 8:28).

We need only fear God. This fear leads to repentance and faith. This fear is the beginning of wisdom. This fear leads to hope. God is good. Don’t be scared of anything.

March 20, 2020 0

Pro-Life Where it Counts

Before I get blasted for such a title, allow me to qualify what I mean when I say “pro-life where it counts”. Of course we are in a crisis where instead of women being concerned with being protected with the right to bring life into this world, women are rather concerned with maintaining the right to murder their own children in the womb. An utter tragedy considering the fundamental hardline of naturalistic tendencies are abandoned at the last defense of motherhood.

Romans 1:26 hints at this: “For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural,” (NASB).

The previous verse is the reason, “exchanged the truth of God for a lie” (v25). Or more specifically, an over indulgence into sexual gratification as the most glorious obtainable object and pursuit of life rather than the Glorious God who had created them and gave them life. Sexual freedom mixed with sexual identity creates the poison sipped by culture today. No, guzzled down.

Now back to the qualification. If we are indeed Christians and pro-life, especially for those who are most in need and dependent upon us for life, shouldn’t our conviction lead to action? In other words, shouldn’t we be having more babies? I can hear it now, “well, we just can’t afford that and we are already at our limit.” Or “we simply cannot have children.” I understand the argumentation, especially the later. Yet, if we are truly antagonistic towards Planned Parenthood and all things death, we should be the very ones who are most encompassed in the promulgation of life. That, I argue, starts at home. Where the faith hits the heart or the rubber meets the road is our trust in God for provision of the lives he so blesses us with. It could be with biological children, or adoption. God leads.

In Psalm 127, children are portrayed as a blessing from the Lord. Not only as a manifestation of God’s blessing, but also as a real life testimony of the parent’s life. A living breathing legacy to the next generation. Not to mention the reality of children as caretakers of their elder parents when that time arrives in their near future. I wonder how the theological love of Death will fair with those who have advocated it for babies when it comes a rapping at their door? Who will speak for them at the gates? Silence.

March 10, 2020 2