Silas
Beloved of All
The pain you are carrying is heavy, and the betrayal cuts deep because it comes from those who share the same pews and speak the same creeds. When the attack moves from outside enemies to fellow churchgoers, the wound festers in a unique way. Nehemiah understood this. While rebuilding the wall, the real discouragement did not always come from Sanballat and Tobiah outside; it came from within his own people, when Judah said the strength of the workers was failing and there was too much rubbish. That internal erosion is often the most dangerous. Yet Nehemiah did not drop everything to expose every hypocrite by name. He set a watch, armed the laborers, and declared, “Our God shall fight for us.” You can do the same.
What these people are practicing, voodoo, Santeria, any form of witchcraft, is an abomination that places them squarely under the curses once cried from Mount Ebal. When Israel stood in the valley, the Levites shouted the curses for breaking God’s covenant, and all the people answered “Amen,” agreeing that God’s judgment is just. Those who secretly serve other spirits while mouthing hymns have turned from the voice of the Lord to serve gods neither they nor their fathers knew. The wicked are indeed reserved for the day of destruction; they will be brought forth to the day of wrath. Justice belongs to God, and He needs no human vigilante to enforce it. Entrust them to the One who understands the way of judgment, even when it stays hidden from our sight.
That does not mean the church should turn a blind eye. Paul commanded the Corinthians to remove from among them the man practicing brazen evil, not for revenge but to keep the body pure and to prompt repentance. True church discipline is a protective act, like the walls that guard a city. Pray that God would raise up faithful leaders with the courage to name sin and the compassion to restore those who will turn. But your immediate calling is not to lead that charge. It is to guard your own soul and refuse the enemy’s work.
Learn to respond with the three R’s: Recognize this as a direct attack of Satan, Refuse it in the name of Jesus, and Rejoice that God has given you the power of His Spirit. You are not an Israelite trembling before the enchantments of Egypt. Your deliverance from the iron furnace of sin is complete through the Lamb. Your baptism pictures that passage through the sea, a decisive break from bondage. Satan cannot lay hold of what belongs to Christ, so you do not have to accept a single one of his threats. When the shadow feels oppressive, lift your heart in praise. The prison letters Paul wrote, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, were born in chains, yet they overflow with glory and peace and faith. God uses even hardship to bless His people.
The shunning you suffered over your appearance, your finances, or your social standing is another expression of the evil these people have sold themselves to do. God’s law never showed partiality; anyone who treats the body of Christ like a country club is defying the very covenant they claim to keep. It is so easy for groups to become like a speckled bird pecked to death by its own flock, feeding only on themselves and losing their light in the community. But do not let their hypocrisy provoke you into turning aside from the Lord’s commandments to the right or to the left. Your safety rests on heeding God’s voice diligently.
Stay at the work He has given you. When Nehemiah’s men held a sword in one hand and a trowel in the other from the rising of the morning until the stars appeared, the wall got finished. The enemy loves to stall the work of God in your life, but you have a trumpet blast sounding that rallies every believer to the fight of faith. Do not be weary in well doing. Keep your eyes on Jesus, and let the peace, love, and faith from the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ anchor you. Grace be with all who love our Lord in sincerity.
What these people are practicing, voodoo, Santeria, any form of witchcraft, is an abomination that places them squarely under the curses once cried from Mount Ebal. When Israel stood in the valley, the Levites shouted the curses for breaking God’s covenant, and all the people answered “Amen,” agreeing that God’s judgment is just. Those who secretly serve other spirits while mouthing hymns have turned from the voice of the Lord to serve gods neither they nor their fathers knew. The wicked are indeed reserved for the day of destruction; they will be brought forth to the day of wrath. Justice belongs to God, and He needs no human vigilante to enforce it. Entrust them to the One who understands the way of judgment, even when it stays hidden from our sight.
That does not mean the church should turn a blind eye. Paul commanded the Corinthians to remove from among them the man practicing brazen evil, not for revenge but to keep the body pure and to prompt repentance. True church discipline is a protective act, like the walls that guard a city. Pray that God would raise up faithful leaders with the courage to name sin and the compassion to restore those who will turn. But your immediate calling is not to lead that charge. It is to guard your own soul and refuse the enemy’s work.
Learn to respond with the three R’s: Recognize this as a direct attack of Satan, Refuse it in the name of Jesus, and Rejoice that God has given you the power of His Spirit. You are not an Israelite trembling before the enchantments of Egypt. Your deliverance from the iron furnace of sin is complete through the Lamb. Your baptism pictures that passage through the sea, a decisive break from bondage. Satan cannot lay hold of what belongs to Christ, so you do not have to accept a single one of his threats. When the shadow feels oppressive, lift your heart in praise. The prison letters Paul wrote, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, were born in chains, yet they overflow with glory and peace and faith. God uses even hardship to bless His people.
The shunning you suffered over your appearance, your finances, or your social standing is another expression of the evil these people have sold themselves to do. God’s law never showed partiality; anyone who treats the body of Christ like a country club is defying the very covenant they claim to keep. It is so easy for groups to become like a speckled bird pecked to death by its own flock, feeding only on themselves and losing their light in the community. But do not let their hypocrisy provoke you into turning aside from the Lord’s commandments to the right or to the left. Your safety rests on heeding God’s voice diligently.
Stay at the work He has given you. When Nehemiah’s men held a sword in one hand and a trowel in the other from the rising of the morning until the stars appeared, the wall got finished. The enemy loves to stall the work of God in your life, but you have a trumpet blast sounding that rallies every believer to the fight of faith. Do not be weary in well doing. Keep your eyes on Jesus, and let the peace, love, and faith from the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ anchor you. Grace be with all who love our Lord in sincerity.
