The enemy within

Two nights ago was one of those odd nights when I woke up in the middle of the night with my mind running.

The thoughts I had have stuck with me these past two days and on the chance they mean something to those of my family and friends who frequent this site, here are a few of those thoughts. These were personal thoughts and I hope they won't come across as preachy or pretentious. They probably apply more toward guys in my circle, and finally, they may be a bit scattered (that's what comes of 3AM thoughts)...

I was thinking of my responsibility as a father and as a husband to raise God's standard over my home, to be a shield for my family, and to do the work of building God's kingdom. A tangible picture would be that of a military unit constructing a wall or fence for a perimeter and setting up camp within the perimiter. Within that perimeter there is the safety to rest and build strength.

Here's the point I and my brothers must consider as the "man of the house"- Have we invited elements into our homes which directly seek to tear down the kingdom of Christ, and to rob our wives and children of innocence and steal their peace?

On the surface it's only too obvious that we've failed as gatekeepers of our perimiters (the "we" being Christian men in our society, me included). Think about the music, movies, shows and books we have brought into our doors. These are now literally in our homes. The perimiter is breached and what's worse, we welcomed the enemy with open arms. Besides those, I haven't even mentioned the more subversive tools of the enemy in our thought-life and attitudes.

"Come on in, and take what you'd like! Make yourself comfortable!" Would we ever say that to someone who threatened our wife or children physically? Now we have to ask ourselves, have we done so with elements that would threaten them spiritually?

As I had these thoughts, I remembered the story of Hezekiah (2 Kings 18). The Israelites had welcomed the enemy and had set up "tents" for them. That is, they set up places of idol worship which were high up and were called the "high places". Hezekiah realized the nation needed to turn to the Lord and...(quoting from NIV ...2 Kings 18 3-5)

"3 He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father David had done. 4 He removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it. (It was called Nehushtan.)
5 Hezekiah trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him."

Hezekiah literally tore down the elements inside his perimiter which were contrary to the kingdom of God. He went on the offense.

I am convicted of just the same need for action. It's a choice, and we can't fool ourselves. A choice not to act is a choice against God's kingdom as it is a choice to allow evil to gain a festering foothold in our homes. I simply can't bear the thought of choosing to expose my innocent son and pure wife to evil within my perimiter. So as Joshua so definitively said (Joshua 24:15)

"15 But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."

So I'm now asking myself. Where are the high places I must go to and tear down the enemy's standard in order to raise that of Christ? At all costs I must protect the innocence and purity of my children and wife and offer them a safe perimeter to grow in and be nurtured. A place they can go out into the world from to minister to others' needs and always come back to for rest and safety.

So what must be done then? Remove anything that opposes Christ as Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 10:4-6.

"4The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 6And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete."

Amen?