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He is permeating the world with the means of propagation. It is becoming increasingly difficult to avoid exposure to this innocuous, pervasive atmosphere. In nearly every store, eating establishment, public buildings, workplace, construction site and even in every home we are surrounded with media intended to manipulate and infiltrate our minds. It is now fashionable to attach all sorts of appendages to our bodies to more easily facilitate our brain-washing and conditioning.
When Jesus said to the disciples just before he was betrayed and crucified that the enemy was coming but would not find anything in Jesus, He was referring to His heart and mind. The enemy could not find any implanted “cookies” or viruses in Jesus that would respond to external stimulus. James 1:14 points out that each of us is tempted when the lust inside of us responds to an external attraction. That sets up a chain reaction culminating in death.
Words, pictures and music work together to implant powerful images designed to reproduce some attribute inside the soil of our soul. Very often we are allowing both good and bad seed to be sown in our hearts. We have unconsciously bought into the lie that if we spend some amount of time exposing ourselves to times of “good” implantation that it will somehow counteract or neutralize the seeds of corruption that we want to enjoy. But it doesn't take a rocket scientist to observe that weeds tend to outgrow and out-produce food plants in our garden. Without intentional and persistent action to eliminate weeds and nurture the plants we desire, our gardens become suffocated with whatever is blown in from the surroundings.
This is all out war. But part of the strategy of the enemy is to not only try to prevent us from understanding his plots, but if he is exposed, to neutralize our alarms and defenses to leave him free to operate within us. He is like the computer hackers who design unseen worms that infect thousands of computers via the internet and takes over control of them to use for his purposes unbeknown to the owners. Or, if we do become aware of his infiltration we are overcome with “laughing gas” that causes us to be indifferent.
Nitrous oxide, or laughing gas, has a very interesting way to neutralize our response to pain. It actually does not block or remove one's awareness of the pain at all. While under it's influence you will feel pain fully and undiluted. What it does however, is to disable the part of the brain that cares about it and takes action to do something about the pain. So a person under this drug can suffer immense pain and suffering but will not care at all about stopping it or doing anything about it.
This is a very accurate description of the condition of many of us today. Satan through various means had filled our souls with laughing gas so we can be clearly shown our desperate condition before God but can choose to live in the pain and not attempt to avail ourselves of God's deliverance. We simply don't care anymore. We will continue to indulge in the feeding frenzy that brings temporary bits of pleasure while ingesting more and more viruses that embed our souls with lies.
These lies are at root ultimately lies about God and about ourselves. Many of them are like land-mines implanted beneath our consciousness waiting to be triggered and explode in our hearts. This is the true nature of the war we find ourselves in. Jesus exposed the true desires of Satan for every one of us. He clearly laid out the real character of the two opposing sides in the battle over our souls. "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly." John 10:10.
I am observing this intense battle taking place within me and in the minds of my family and friends. I am becoming more aware of the messages, “cookies”, being implanted in my mind by music pumped through the speakers in a store, a garage or even a passing car. Television is almost completely obsessed with mind control and manipulation and is very fast and efficient at inserting thousands of viruses an hour. The news infects us with a spirit of anger, rage, indignation and apathy. It puts an obvious “spin” on any information passing through it but gives the receivers the illusion that they are relying on unbiased sources. Or we may believe that we can ignore the obvious bias or counteract it by listening to another source with an apparent opposite bias.
As I am becoming slowly more aware and capable of listening to my own heart, I am starting to realize how quickly it is affected by some of these influences. Having a great deal of religious knowledge does nothing to preclude the destructive effects on my heart from the bombardment of the media all around me. My only choice seems to be to lessen my exposure to these contacts which sometimes creates animosity in those close to me. This taps back into the issue of fear and rejection and identity.
Fear is the most effective enemy that blocks us from living from our heart. That is why the God who primarily wants to connect with our heart always has to remind us to disarm this block before He can effectively communicate with us. Fear is anti-love. Fear is the primary attribute of the counterfeit system Satan has imposed on us. Fear withers our defenses and our ability to think and reason and relate. Fear is like a dictator that sucks the life out of us and those around us.
I woke up this morning about 4 AM with another fearful dream. I realized right away that it was an implant from my exposure to some TV shows I was exposed to just a few hours previous. As I had observed the show glorifying some celebrities-turned-police freely abusing people and worshiping the god of force, the life-long virus in my heart flared up in response with anger and rebellion. I recognized the familiar symptom and as I thought about it in bed this morning I asked God to address this deep fault in my heart.
I realized long ago that rebellion is not removed by censure and condemnation. In fact, that's usually how it is implanted in the first place along with force, abuse and shame. I also realized that intense and deep-rooted fear is the glue that holds these lies in my soul. It helps to understand this, but the only means of deliverance is to focus my attention with great intensity and deliberate choice on the presence and nature of God Himself.
As I focused on the truth about God, telling Him and thanking Him for the various liberating attributes of His character like His goodness, fairness, everlasting loving-kindness, His power and desire to free me from anything that makes me afraid, I found myself returning to peace that passes all understanding. At first I felt an impulse to jump up and write down what I was experiencing, but then I realized that sometimes that becomes an escape from staying in my heart and receiving more from the Lover of my soul. There are times when I need to stay fully in my heart without a lot of analyzation of how and why this is happening. There is time for that later. My left brain needs to loosen up control sometimes and allow my heart to connect and worship and marinate in the love of God for me personally.
Even during the times when I am writing or trying to express what I am learning and experiencing, I am trying to learn more to stay connected and aware of the condition of my heart. There are many times when my heart is trying to tell me something and my head is too busy running ahead or expostulating to listen and receive warning of a problem. My heart is the primary receiver for messages from God. It is no wonder that Satan is launching such a massive attack to damage and distort my heart. What better way to destroy the plans of God for humanity than to infiltrate and disable the receiving equipment and fill it with viruses so it cannot respond to love.
I decided to launch a bit of a counter-offensive of my own. Yesterday I went ahead and signed up to attend a Marriage Covenant Weekend in Missouri next month. I have learned enough about the underlying principles that will be taught there to know that it can very well be a life-changing event for us. I also trust the people who will be leading out and believe that God is using them to bring life, hope and increasing truth into thousands of lives. I am looking forward to experiencing deep heart-worship of my awesome God together with others who are growing in grace and truth. I am hungry, very hungry for deeper bonding with other believers. I am in great need of the power that can come with full commitment and much deeper bonding in my marriage relationship.
When I first received the teaching about covenants and how they apply in marriage about a year or two ago I realized that my heart, or at least some part of my mind, was not quite ready to release some things in this area. But since that time a number of events have transpired in my experience to where I believe I am ready to be led to enter in to whatever this means for me. I am starting now to pray for God to prepare both of us in every respect so that we can receive the most of what He has in store for us.
Loving God, my Creator, Redeemer and awesome Lover, you are always faithful and unfailing in your love and commitment to us. Your mercies are new every morning and I immerse myself in them right now. Your word says that if I confess my sins that you are faithful and just to forgive all of them and cleanse me from all unrighteousness. I am starting to see that that means cleansing me from all the viruses, cookies and land-mines that are buried inside of me. These are the roots that allow the false gods to operate inside me and ruin my life with self-defeating behaviors and ideas. Your promise to me in Ezekiel 36 also says you are committed to removing all the idols and the related filth they produce in me. You are doing this for your reputation, not for mine.
This is an incredible arrangement you have for me. I accept it and ask you and give you full permission to incarnate yourself inside my heart and take full possession of all my affections and desires. You created me for your pleasure and to find my fullest joy in intimate relationship with you. Continue this process in me to its full conclusion, for I am not capable of being faithful of myself. Thank-you for your faith in me. Thank-you for your love for and in me. Transform me into the new man that you promised in your prophetic word for me in 1 Samuel 10:6,7. Let me become the loving king that you had planned for Saul to become. Keep me from the fear and independence that caused him to miss experiencing your plans for his life. Fill me with you peace, your constant presence and with boldness to openly share the truth about you without shame or fear.
Father, use this web site to honor your reputation and increase your power and presence in other hearts and live. Let me not draw honor to me but to be honest about what you are doing inside of me. Make me a more open, clear channel so your love and glory can more quickly fill the whole earth.
