In an early post, entitled "If I may interrupt myself?" I told you about a dream I had before going to Shell. In the dream, there seemed to be evil trying to find its way in. (Look up that post and see the context.) I want to tell you a bit about a day - just one day - in which Evil's troops decided to make their presence felt in the missionary community in Shell in an unforgettable way.
I don't remember the order in which these things occurred, and I don't think I've remembered them all, but they were out-of-the-ordinary events, things which pretty much "never happened", especially all on one day!
1) A missionary man somehow oddly got his head whacked really hard with a piece of lumber.
2) A missionary youth fell from his bike and really scraped up his arm badly crossing a little bridge...that was only a few feet long and took only a second or two to cross!
3) Another missionary youth broke his leg. But who breaks his leg playing ping-pong?
4) Germán's maintenance team found a mother snake - very venomous fer-de-lance - actually on the compound grounds, along with something like 18 little very-alive babies. Even babies are dangerous. They very rarely come out into the clearings, much preferring the familiar terrain of the jungle. And suddenly there were 19 of them in our back yard!
I'm sure anyone who was living there at the time remembers these things well. Our whole community was on the alert, since this wasn't normal. We wondered at these things happening all on the same day, one right after another. Then we found out why...
One of the missionary colleagues was holding a workshop on spiritual warfare with some of the indigenous people who had come in from the jungle. Witchcraft is rampant in the indigenous tribes, and doesn't appreciate being countered...especially by teachings from the Word of God on how to defeat them! No, Satan's minions couldn't let that go by, so they decided to throw a tantrum and "strut their stuff" for us! Of course, they only made us pray all the more for the workshop in progress!
One of our Enemy's favorite activities is trying to mess up believers' lives, by whatever method works. What we witnessed in Shell that day was out in the open. But we have to keep alert to the fact that most of his work is "undercover", and much more difficult to pin down, but it's a constant, and his purpose is always to do what he can to lure you away from God. So keep your Sword sharp, you armor rust-free, and your Shield in good repair.
Other Gods
Other gods around me whisper, "Feed on me!"
They're stirring up a double batch of devil's-food puree.
They offer crisp confusion served with insincerity,
the sweet-and-sour promises
of things that will not be.
Other gods around me whisper, "Drink of me!"
They dip into their potion spiked with chilled adversity.
They're brewing up a pot of irresponsibility,
with sweet-and-sour promises
that curdle and deceive.
Other gods around me whisper, "Live for me!"
They're offering their masterpiece of inconsistency:
the mystic, mindless methods of their mediocrity,
the sweet-and-sour promises
of chains that have no key.
But You, Lord - You alone - must feed my creativity,
for other gods would cost my heart its receptivity
to love and laughter, light and life, to authenticity,
to never-broken promises
that keep my spirit free.
You alone must always be my heart's security,
my fortress when bombarded by these "cool commodities",
the soul-spring of this headiness of unrestricted glee
that joys away the other gods
till only You I see!
-Becky Rhon
("for the joy of the Lord is your strength" -
Nehemiah 8:10)
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May God be the One that "feeds" you always! Stay alert! See you next time.
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(By the way, this poem has an alternative title: The Menu.
If you would like to use my poetry, PLEASE let me know! Thanks!)
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