Stream of Consciousness of Spiritual Warfare

For greater thing have yet to come
and greater things are still to be done in this city.

The fall of man. The tower of Babel. The Fall of the Roman Empire. The Barbarics. The Vikings. The Crusades. The Discovery of the New World. The persecution of the middle eastern church.

History is moving towards something. Towards the day when the Glory of the Lord will fill the earth in its entirety and every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
Each day is strategic and purposeful in being a part of His Kingdom Come.

I learn all these things anew every day. The way Jeff put it in class today made sense... Rather than ask what is God's will for my life, we are to ask, How can I use my life to be a part of your story. From our prayers of guidance and strength for ourselves, to our topical reading of scripture, we have been a part of a very individualistic expression of the church. After experiencing the Word alive in other nations... how then do we return and fall back into routine of reading for the sake of reading. Of praying for the sake of hearing our on voice. Of loving when it is convenient. I am not criticizing "the church"... but myself. It is not "a revelation" that i lack. There is no altar call that fits my need today. I do not need to "recommit my life to Christ"... that is a daily decision to die to myself... a decision which I do not even completely understand.

What is it that I currently lack?

Consistency.

Even in the midst of the sickness that seems debilitating. The Holy Spirit is still alive and moving, why am I so unaware of little outside of myself simply because I am sick?

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A thought from Russian Literature for the day.

"The demon of comparison is a very petty demon but one of the most dangerous. He does not attach himself t the strong - there is not much to be gained from them; but he likes to seduce the little ones. And his seductions are, for the little and weak ones, irresistable"
- In Bondage by Feodor Sologub

Something that has been coming up so often in conversation lately is the fact that here in Southern California, the main darkness is that of materialism. Of comfort and apathy. For some reason the light has a harder time penetrating this darkness... because it is disguised by a light of its own. A friend recently had a dream that put this picture together in my mind. (I hope she doesn't mind me sharing!)
The light looks attractive. Harmless. Comfortable. Attractive. Easy. Fun. Succesful.
There are no danger signs warning us that as soon as we get drawn in we will never be satisfied until we experience more. Even then this path will eventually find an end as it dims into darkness for eternity.
Not until we experience the true light coming from the opposite direction can we see that this light had nothing to offer in the first place.
How could we be so decieved? How could we not have seen that there is no way to seek two different lights at the same time? How could we have settled to put ourselves in the position to look at the great light, while creating our garden comfortably and cooly in the midst of the imitation?

How I ask - Have so many settled for less than the fullness of peace hope and joy that comes when following the true light?

HOW?

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. - Ephesians 6

Yes, even here in our "modern and civilized democracy" this reality is true. The fake light has succeeded in making many comfortable with settling for status quo while the rest of history moves towards something great.