Joshua's Way: Spiritual Warfare Lessons for Today's Battles

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I am grateful to my friend and colleague Archbishop Michael Owen for reading and responding to my manuscript. His thoughtful responses have always added insight. There are a number of others who have taught me so much about evil by insisting that they are speaking for God while hurting others with their malice and destructive intent. However, we will let those dogs be. They must contend with their own fleas, which I’m sure are multitudinous.

INTRODUCTION

(Hey! Don’t Skip over This Part. It’s Important.)

This book is written for people who don’t believe in what I’m talking about. An increasingly secular mindset has swallowed many of the convictions normally held by churchgoers. The man on the street who never darkens a church door except for funerals and weddings won’t have any idea what I’m discussing beyond what he’s seen in horror movies. Those are the folks that I hope to connect with. Friends tell me that it won’t be an easy task.

As far as good, church-attending believers are generally concerned, this subject will be challenging. As I have been developing these chapters, I’ve had numerous conversations with church people concerning their opinions about evil, the devil, and demons. A high percent either had virtually no idea what I was talking about or saw the subject as an antiquated vestige of the old theology. Generally, they thought in psychological categories that made demonic entities unacceptable. To put it another way, they didn’t believe.

Let’s see if I can change any minds.

The chapters are not necessarily arranged to logically follow one another. Each unit is complete unto itself but some areas may be in sequence with the chapter before it. Rather than progressing numerically, the material is arranged as if you were walking around a statue and considering all sides. When the viewing is done, hopefully you’ll be able to say that you’ve considered all aspects of the subject matter.

In this journey, I have used a number of Bible translations, because they express different nuances of the Greek text that bring us closer to the basic meaning. The Revised Standard Version is generally referred to as it is a highly reliable translation. However, I find the Phillips Translation to be helpful, as well as the New King James Version. At some points, I have referred to the New International Version and the Living Bible Paraphrased. This wide range of biblical texts will help us get to the bottom of what the Bible is saying to us.

My references to evil, the Evil One, the devil, and Satan reflect my own theological preferences. The names devil and Satan may conjure up images that I want to avoid. Consequently, I write the Evil One to suggest the personification of evil in terms we can envision, as we do with angels. Satan and the devil are biblical names for the same entity, but we’ve certainly conjured the creature into an image of our own choosing. I want to make sure we are not misled by wrong ideas. When Evil is capitalized, it refers to the devil or Satan. Small case evil implies a destructive force that is harmful to us. However, evil may refer to Satan, or be used as a collective for all of the demonic. Because the Evil One is without gender, I will often use the pronoun it. Using the pronouns for male and female implies the ability to have affectionate relationships, and the Evil One has no capacity for loving concern.

By the end of our journey together, I hope I will have challenged those with a secular mind-set to considering the possibility that our contemporary view lacks a most important dimension that only Scripture can supply. If so, you’re going to be glad you’ve taken this trip with me.

CHAPTER ONE

TAKING EVIL SERIOUSLY

From Auschwitz to Your Backyard

We have a bad habit of not taking evil seriously.

Americans thought World War I was bad until World War II blew Hiroshima and Nagasaki off the map. The carnage in that war became so bloody, horrendous, and overpowering that returning soldiers didn’t speak of it for decades. The remembrances remained too grim. They had stood toe-to-toe with evil.

The amazing aspect of such a frightening conflict was how quickly society returned to indifference about what had occurred. We simply shoved it under the rug. Frenchman Albert Camus couldn’t. His allegorical novel The Plague used a deadly disease to represent the Nazis. However, the point of the book was that, once the plague ended, everyone returned to their normal routine with no reflection on what had occurred. The book ends with the insight that evil can remain dormant for years before it returns with ghastly and devastating impact.

We dare not forget.

Consider how Evil might live in your backyard.

Making a Friendly Comment

Martha leaned over in the pew and whispered in Sally’s ear. I think our pastor has gone stale. I don’t like what he’s preaching this morning. Actually, it’s been some time since I heard him say much.

Sally nodded. I agree.

Sally’s husband, George, had been the chairman of the church board for three years. An intelligent man, he was the head of his family. Except when Sally told George what to do.

Sally put her hand over her mouth while she murmured to her husband. Really, George. Pastor Bob has got to go. His sermons have gotten so empty. You’re in charge; start the process to send Bob on his way to somewhere else.

Please, George whispered. Many people are really helped each week by his sermons.

You’re not paying attention, Sally growled. Most of us don’t like him anymore.

Would you detect evil working in this situation?

A Little Internet Interaction

Jack kept a stash of Playboy magazines hidden in a locked cabinet in the back of the upstairs closet. A well-liked man around the neighborhood, he had this one hole in his armor. His wife knew about them but never mentioned the collection to anyone. In the evenings, Jack watched pornography online when no one was paying attention. One evening, he stumbled onto a webcam that featured nude women talking live to men over the Internet. Jack tuned in big time.

Hi, the sweet young thing said. I’m Stella.

Hello, Jack typed back. You’re gorgeous.

Well, thank you, sweetie, Stella replied. Where have you tuned in from?

I live in Dallas, Texas.

You’re kidding! I’m sitting here on my bed in Plano.

That’s just down the street from me, Jack replied. You’re not far away.

Stella leaned into the camera. How about getting together. We could meet at the El Rancho restaurant on I-35.

Jack looked around the room to make sure his wife wasn’t near. What a deal! You tell me when!

Evil working on Jack? Hmm.

Just Can’t Stop Talking

Mary’s husband Al had a career as a hard-working carpenter, and he wouldn’t stop working even when he developed heart trouble. One afternoon he tumbled over while sitting at the kitchen table and was gone in seconds. At the funeral Mary seemed composed, but during the ensuing months Mary couldn’t stop talking about Al, even though she had seldom mentioned him in earlier years. The months turned into years. Her friends tried to tell her that her constant obsession with Al was unhealthy, and it bothered them to hear her constantly chatter about the long-deceased carpenter. A number of people suggested that she seek counseling. Mary became increasingly angry and eventually lost her job because of her never-ending conversation about Al at work. Her incessant talking about Al during church services ended with a visit from the leaders asking her to seek help and not interrupt others in their worship. She left the church. The constant recollections wouldn’t stop.

Her problem? Grief? Repressed hostility? Sure. Those factors were there, but could her ongoing anger and resentment over her husband’s death have caused her friends to believe she had also opened her heart to an invasion of evil that turned her behavior into a compulsion.

Evil? Absolutely.

The Worst

Americans were shocked in early February 2012 when they woke up to the news of Josh Powell grabbing his small sons, Charlie and Braden, assailing them with an axe, and then destroying himself, the boys, and their house in a fireball explosion. Earlier, evidence seemed to implicate Powell as his wife’s murderer. Perhaps the authorities were closing in. Who knows? One fact is clear. Powell had become contaminated by evil and acted in a blind rage, reflecting the worst form of draconian wickedness.

Could anyone doubt that evil had a hand in this tragedy?

Time to Wake Up!

In describing these situations, I am not suggesting that these people had no responsibility for their behavior. What they said and did remained their problem, and they couldn’t let themselves off the hook by claiming that a malevolent force was at work in their motivations. At the same time, their behavior did come under the influence of evil, and they had become tools for the Adversary. We do well to pay attention to how evil insidiously invaded their lives.

Unfortunately, the subject of spiritual warfare simply isn’t an in topic these days with many people who need to listen. Back in the ’70s when the Charismatic movement was hot, spiritual struggle was an important topic. People were concerned because they hadn’t known that personal attacks by evil occurred in the lives of everyday folks. In earlier decades, the idea of a devil interacting with individuals hadn’t been considered. Then, the movie The Exorcist scared the pants off people. Satanic cults popped up. Anton Vey claimed to run a Satanist worship center, and a number of hippies signed on. The idea of Satanic influence became big. John Wember produced an important teaching on how to identify evil and resist the Adversary. Christians definitely tuned in. Their heightened spiritual awareness had taught them that an invasion by evil was a definite reality.

But that was yesterday. Times have changed. Or so we think.

Sorry, century after century bears witness that evil takes many forms and attacks when humanity is least aware. The time has come to pay close attention again.

Joshua’s Warning

Let’s go back to Scripture and discover the facts. The book of Joshua is a good starting place. Joshua 24 warned Israel not to forget where they had come from and the lessons their journey through the wilderness had taught them. This great warrior and leader of God’s people had important insights to impart. Joshua knew that forgetting could pose a grave danger. And his concern remains with us even to this hour. Today, the nation of Israel attempts to follow the ancient faith and allow its lessons to guide them in their current military struggles. We can learn much from them as well.

Our society has become historically uninformed. We don’t read much history. What the church learned twenty years ago has disappeared for a load of people under thirty. Many of us only remotely remember the assassination of John F. Kennedy. World War II recollections disappeared, and World War I has become ancient history. We’re interested only in what’s happening today . . . and maybe tomorrow. The day after tomorrow? Forget it.

This tendency is exactly what worried Joshua. Forgetting makes us vulnerable to attack. Our Enemy disappears into the forest and looks like only another tree. We don’t give him another thought until a tree branch whacks us in the head. Lying on our backs and writhing in pain, we ask ourselves for the first time, Did I miss something?

Yeah, we did. The Evil One never slows down. Invisibility doesn’t equal ineffectiveness. It’s time to rediscover spiritual warfare.

Spiritual warfare concerns what happens inside us. We may get riled up over international events or contemporary politics, but we don’t stop to consider unbridled anger as an invitation for personal attack. When the opposite sex turns our lights on, we boldly might attempt to go where no man has gone before. Could that be a runway opportunity for evil to land on in our life? Absolutely. That’s where spiritual warfare begins. The temptation to stay angry, to not forgive, to gossip, to get lost in pornography, and so on opens the door to attack. Spiritual warfare begins when temptation is pandered. The issues may seem minor or not particularly important, but they short-circuit the wiring inside our hearts and souls. The battle begins!

Joshua warned Israel. Look out! Your life hangs in the balance. We need to listen.

Here’s Something New to Worry About!

Joshua didn’t have to worry about the Internet. We do.

Every day more than one billion people access the Internet. Two hundred and twenty million Americans use this form of electronic communication. Children tap in for entertainment, information, and whatever pops up. Research indicates this method of information exchange has opened unexpected opportunities for evil. Do you know:

Women use the Internet more than men. Research indicates they too watch porn.

50 percent of users lie about their age, weight, job, marital status, and/or gender.

20 percent of users experience a negative impact on their lives.

20 percent experience personal neglect, isolation, depression, marital problems, academic failure, sexual addiction, and gambling.¹

Children have as much access to pornography as anyone else. They simply hit the keys.

Could the world of electronics be a new realm where evil can dwell? The statistics suggest we need to pay close attention. It is startling to learn that the Internet is a contributing factor in nearly half of all marriage and family problems. Women file for divorce claiming their husbands are involved in sex online or absorbed in pornography. Cyber brainwashing offers new opportunities for evil to attack. These are examples of the new strategy that evil uses as the times change. There’s always something unexpected we need to be aware of. Your backyard simply isn’t off limits.

Subsequent chapters will offer ten important insights as well as additional commentary on evil that will be necessary to remember if we are to endure the conflict. Our study of Joshua 24 also offers a strategy for victory. We’re going to pursue Joshua’s insights because they’re as important today as they were four thousand years ago.

Evil Never Stops

No one can escape the onslaught of evil! Our world is immersed in constant battles running from family disputes to terrorism. As horrible as the Auschwitz concentration camp murder scene was, it’s only one chapter in a story filled with murderous events. The unexpected twist in the story is that at the other end of the scale seemingly minor infractions can also lead to destruction. Unless believers are alert, they remain incapable of overcoming the enemy’s constant assaults. If believers don’t stay on guard, they become pawns for evil in their homes, their churches, and the workplace at large.

Recently, a young school teacher came to my pastoral offices for help because he’d gotten himself in trouble. Jack’s ex-wife had picked up a boyfriend who taunted Jack, and it ended up in an old-fashioned slugfest. She called the cops, and it was a downhill slide from there. Assault and battery charges could put Jack out of the teaching business. His long-term problem was governing his temper. Anger turned him upside down. For a number of sessions, we talked about why he couldn’t seem to control his