Thursday, May 18, 2023

Listen to the Word

“…on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.”  (Matthew 16:18)

Spiritual warfare is something we discuss sometimes as Christians. The way we usually talk about it, I get a mental picture of a Christian cowering behind a shield, with Satan pounding on them. I picture the Christian as the one being attacked. But notice how Jesus describes the battle. He doesn’t say the arrows of hell won’t overcome the church. He doesn’t talk about the swords of hell or the tanks of hell. He talks about the gates. A gate is a defensive thing.

The way Jesus describes it, the church is on offense. He paints a picture of the church storming the gates of hell! Jesus expects us to be light actively pushing back darkness, life pushing back death, hope pushing back despair, truth pushing back lies, freedom pushing back bondage.

It would be amazing enough if Jesus promised that the church could withstand the attacks of hell. He promises something even more impressive: that hell cannot withstand the attacks of the church!

Live the Word

Think of a way you can “take the fight to the devil” by serving someone in Christ’s name in a specific way today. Make arrangements to complete that act of service.