Beautiful Battle Book Club: Chapter 3

The Right Story: God’s Sovereignty  The Wrong Story: Our Comfort

In this chapter, Mary DeMuth states what most of us think about spiritual warfare but are usually afraid to admit out loud.

 

“In a book about spiritual warfare, you might expect me to talk about God wanting us all to be healthy, wealthy, and perfectly happy—with favorable circumstances awaiting us around every bend of obedience. That the goal of our ardent prayers should be happiness.

But sometimes life is plain messy. And Satan isn’t behind every annoyance. It’s simplistic to think that Satan is our only obstacle on this earth, that he throws away our money, attacks us with illnesses, and revokes our prosperity. We forget the devil’s greatest schemes, tempting us to want pleasure, stuff, and achievement more than we want God.”

Often I recognize the devil’s attacks against me, but I fail to fight his long-term goal.  If I am honest, I seek victory more than I seek God.  And I fight for peace, safety and happiness, rather than pressing into the Presence of my Heavenly Father even more!  I find myself worn out from the fight.  And usually alone.  Loneliness is the only way that I can learn what God is working into or out of my life.

“It’s being near to Him even when it looks like He’s forsaken you.

It’s discipleship.

It’s learning to have joy in pain.

That’s the kind of life that stands out in a crazy, needy world.

Not the kind of faith that guarantees benefit, but one that shines brightly even when life knocks it down.”

 Happiness Addiction

The Bible says we should welcome trials as our friends.  But instead, I have to admit that I, too, have been a happiness addict.  But happiness eludes me and I wallow in discontentment.  What do I do to break this addiction to “me”?  Mary gives these ideas:

1. Serve somebody
2. Addict yourself to heaven (with the reality of heaven & it’s rewards)
3. Practice being uncomfortable
4. Take a Kingdom risk (do something you need God to accomplish—like a missions trip)
5. Give away your stuff
6. Actively rejoice when something is amiss
7. Step outside your comfort zone (do what Jesus would do even if it is hard)
8. Practice self-denial (forgo something you crave)
9. Study the countercultural beautitudes (upside-down kingdom)
10. Live the American dream in reverse (save money in order to give it away)
11. Practice contentment (learn the art of having enough)
12. Rekindle your belief in God’s sovereignty. 

I embrace the sovereignty of God when I choose to believe the truth that everything that touches my life has His authority behind it. 

And then I worship Him.  I declare my faith and hope in the One that I cannot see.

“our praise in the midst of pain deals a blow to the Enemy of our souls.  It testifies to the angels that God is strong when we are weak and needy.  That is the crux of spiritual warfare, to declare to the Enemy and his demons that God is God and we are not.” 

By doing this, we draw closer to God and pronounce that no amount of pleasure, stuff or achievement can satisfy like Him!  And the devil runs off in defeat because He couldn’t use us to hurt God.  

And may we remember that “the purpose of our suffering isn’t to have a great testimony.

No, trials and struggles and distresses simply help us become more like Jesus.

More selfless.

More giving.

More hope-filled.

More forgiving.

More abundant.”

Written by Angela Smith

WCW Director

Update on the Beautiful Battle Book Club

RECALCULATING

This is the word that my GPS says when I missed my turn.  And to say that I have missed my turn on this new book club blogging adventure is an understatement!!  

You see, I just way overcommitted myself for this summer.  Usually I take the summer off to refresh and just slow down for a few sweet months with my family.  But God put the Abounding Hope Bible study AND the Beautiful Battle book on our hearts for this summer.  I believe that God's timing is perfect because He is so faithful to prepare us for what we will face next!

So, recalculating means that I am going to adjust to schedule to something a LOT more realistic for you and me both!  Instead of covering 2 chapters each week (in order to finish this summer), I will be posting about ONE chapter each week.  

So far, we have covered chapters 1-2.  

On Monday, June 17th we will pick up with Chapter 3.  So if you haven't started reading along with us, you have time to catch up.  

And thank you for your patience with me.  I pray that all of us are learning to find a better pace so that we do things that truly matter!

Beautiful Battle Book Club: Chapter 2

Chapter 2--Satan’s Story: Understanding the Enemy Who Cowers and Towers

Key Verse: 2 Corinthians 4:4-6 NIV 

The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 

For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. 
For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. 

This chapter is so very important and full of profoundly important details.  It proved right something that I have said for a long time.  "I can handle anything as long as I know what I am dealing with".   And Mary DeMuth did an incredible job of laying all the proverbial cards on the table regarding Satan's history and his ambition.

With that in mind, I am mindful that there are many who might be reading this blog series on Beautiful Battle but are not actually reading the book along with us.  So today I am including more quotes than I originally intended so that we can all be reinforced with truth.  Truth about who Satan was & how he became what he is today.  I believe this is so very important because too often we have believed the lie that Satan is the antithesis of God, and thus have given him authority that is equal to God’s.  

Ezekiel 28:2, 12-17 is the best Biblical description of Lucifer who became known as Satan. 

Here are a few of my favorite quotes from this chapter.

1.  Once Upon a Time

• But something shifted in a hiccup of a moment.  A slight reorientation of the gaze from God's splendor to his own.  Every day the amount of time spent gazing at God ebbed in light of Satan’s newfound affection for himself, his beauty, his power. He may have reasoned, Surely there is a place in this kingdom for more than one God. He sowed discontent among other angelic servants, plotting to set up his own kingdom where the servants would follow him, revere him, extol his beauty.
• Pleasure. Stuff. Achievement.  Satan craved pleasure outside of what God provided. He saw himself as worthy of worship, and he prided himself on his ability to be like God. Since there can be only one true God, and because Satan is merely a created being incapable of creation, God’s loving act was to banish him and his cohorts.  

2. God Fashions the Earth

• When Satan saw God’s deep affection for this man, this woman, his anger ignited. He might not be able to compete with this all-powerful Creator God, but he could maim and mar the Creator’s new love.  
• His (Satan's) tactic became deception and lies and his three fallbacks. Pleasure. Stuff. Achievement.  So he slithered to the woman, whispered in her ear that God withheld pleasure. . .  He made her crave something outside of God’s stated provision. He portrayed God’s goodness as restriction, practically parading the fruit before her as evidence that God had no intention of making her happy, taunting her with achievement-oriented words, words about being like God, understanding the nature of good and evil. he deceived her until she not only wanted the forbidden fruit, but also believed she needed it.
• In that moment, he heard God’s groan—an agony that made Satan smile. So that’s all it takes, he thought. Mess with God’s crowning achievement, and you hurt Him.

3.  God Sends His Son

• Satan threw his entire arsenal at Christ during his foray on earth. In recorded history to that point, no one engaged and cast out as many demons as Jesus did during His three years of ministry on the earth. Yet He employed no tactics or gimmicks in doing so. Jesus’s exorcisms were swift and clean. It’s fascinating to study the words of demons in response to Jesus. They present the most astute, compelling theology, forced to tell the truth about Jesus every time He calls them out.

Truth To Never Forget about Satan

• The god of this world seeks to subvert the message of God. (2 Corinthians 4:3-4)
• It is important to note that Satan is in no way God's equal.  He is finite.  He is created.  He is uncreative. He can’t be everywhere; therefore it’s important not to say “Satan’s tempting me,” as he can only be in one physical place at a time. . . He is not all-knowing. He is not all-powerful. Though he roars a huge show, his ultimate position is below the blood of Jesus. He cannot stand beneath the power of the cross of the risen Christ.
• Since he creates nothing and can only counterfeit or destroy what God creates, his best weapons are to tell lies about God’s creation and incite you to believe those lies.
• And he loves to tackle new believers with his seeming favorite sin: pride. “An elder must not be a new believer,” Paul cautioned in his letter to Timothy, “because he might become proud, and the devil would cause him to fall” (1 Timothy 3:6).
• One of Satan’s names is Destroyer. Nothing delights Satan more than tearing down what God builds.  Satan does destroy. And one way he does that is to de-story us (to rework the letters a bit). He wants to rob us of the victorious story we long to share with a sin-weary world. My friend Malcolm puts it: “We insult Jesus when we live defeated lives.”  And we cower to Satan when we allow him to write our stories.

There is just so much in this chapter!  But I believe the primary issue here is our response to who he is/is not and his tactics.  This last quote is a BIG DEAL.  Do you remember what Revelation 12:11 says? "They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony (story)!"    

When we recognize that "Satan's biggest foe is not you or me by ourselves; it's our collective body as the church.  AND when we stop taking every attack personally and simply acknowledge that Satan accuses the church day and night, we will regain our footing!  You and I are The Church, and he is terrified of what will happen if we start moving forward.  So just grasp this truth:  If you’ve ever felt condemned, unworthy, shamed, dirty, stupid, or deeply embarrassed, chances are Satan had some sort of hand in it."   

Let us heed this Scripture as we leave today.  

“Stay alert!” warns Peter. “Watch out for your great enemy, the devil.

He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.

Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith.

Remember that your Christian brothers and sisters all over the world are going through the same kind of suffering you are”

(1 Peter 5:8-9)

Reflection questions

1. Do you agree with Mary that pride is Satan’s favorite sin?  Why or why not?
2. What does Peter suggest to do about the devil in 1 Peter 5:8-9?
3. What does it mean to say that Satan wants to “de-story” us?
4.  Why should we not overly worry about Satan’s plans?

 "Determine to keep moving in obedience, remaining faithful to My call on you. So much more is at stake than you know right now. I will reveal in time. Keep my word in your heart and let me strengthen you. I will not forsake you during this trial." 

(a word Holy Spirit spoke to my heart in March 2013) 

Beautiful Battle Book Club Kick Off

Go grab your book, Beautiful Battle--A Woman's Guide to Spiritual Warfare (paperback or electronic) and let’s get started!
We will be praying for you and can’t wait to see what God does as we dialogue in community over this book. We would love for you to use this journal to aide you in your growth as a mom and to foster space where you may interact with the living God!

Our Reading Schedule (download here) 

Plan to read the chapter by the date listed. We’ll start discussing that chapter on the date listed in the schedule. We have chosen to be realistic and only focus on two chapters per week – because the reality is that this is all we will have time to digest, especially if you are involved in another Bible Study.

• • • MAY 21: Kick Off & Chapter 1
    • May 23: Chapter 2  

After you have read all of Chapter 1, take time to complete  the Reflection Questions below.  The reflection questions are a great way to help process what you’ve read and apply it to your life. Don’t skip these. They are an important of the learning process. 

Please share favorite quotes, Scriptures, and “a-ha” moments from Chapter 1 in the comment section over the next few days.

Chapter 1--Our Story: The Gaping Hole and Freedom

Key Verse:  Jeremiah 2:13 NIV

“My people have committed two sins:
They have forsaken me, the spring of living water,
and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water."

Here are a few of my favorite quotes from this chapter.

1.  Defining Gaping Holes

"As long as I allow the gaping hole to remain, I will continue to struggle with this sin, this gnawing need.  What does this have to do with spiritual warfare?  Everything.  Because our raw woundedness is the primary opening the enemy uses to attack our souls.  Our own bent toward filling the gaping hole will continue to lead us to darker and more insidious situations as we claw at significance.  Obsessions form.  Hiding becomes our way of life.  Addictions flourish.  If we do not deal with our deficits truthfully in the light, Satan's darkness may be our lot.  And in that darkness, we start believing his terrible lies."  

2.  We Are the Woman at the Well

"That's where spiritual warfare begins--leaving our own methods of filling our gaping holes at the well and allowing Jesus to fill every thirsty, needy place with His Living Water.  And yet we struggle. . . Finding full satisfaction in Christ is the beginning of the spiritual warfare journey, but its not the entirety of it." 

 3.  The Dance

 "Spiritual warfare has more to do with the state of your heart before a holy God than a list of things to do or avoid.  It involves interaction,sometimes confusion, falling down, getting back up.  It involves your willingness to look foolish, to take crazy steps, to trust God's voice.  While there are principles to kow and practice, it's your ability to trust in God's power and authority that will bring about the victorious life." 

REFLECTION QUESTIONS: 

1. How does the enemy use our gaping hole against us?
2. What lies in the list on page 14 do you struggle with?
3. What is your gaping hole?  What is the only solution for your gaping hole?
4. What  are Satan’s main tactics? How does he try to use your gaping hole against you?
5. What does Jesus mean in John 7:37-38?
6. How does Revelation 12:11 tell you to live?  How can testimonies be powerful? How can they further God’s kingdom?

BEAUTIFUL BATTLE Book Club

Join us for our very first Book Club  Starting May 21, 2013

"Warfare…hell…demons…I’m just trying to drive my kids to school and stay on top of the laundry.

What does any of that have to do with me?

With passion and strength, Mary DeMuth brings balance and insight to the often murky realm of spiritual warfare. As you embrace the abundant life to which God calls his daughters, she’ll tell you why your voice matters for eternity. And on the darkest days, you’ll know that spiritual warfare is about bowing before the Creator, not cowering before the devil. It’s about finding freedom and beauty in the midst of devastation. It’s about the power of God to heal our hearts, to move mountains, to intercede when we’re weary. It’s about crucifixion and a defiant, glorious resurrection." Mary DeMuth, Author of Beautiful Battle

God has been putting this book before me for months and kept reminding me of the Scripture in Esther 4:14

"For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews (your people) will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?" (ephasis added) 

The days we are in are truly dark and the Enemy is working very hard to intimidate us with fear and anxiety.  But God has not given us a spirit of fear, but rather He has given us power to overcome the evil in this world!  Beautiful Battle is a must-read for every woman. Mary DeMuth artfully explains the reality of spiritual warfare in easy to understand terms teaching us to claim the victory that is ours in Christ without inciting fear or minimizing the realities of Satan’s work in this world. She gently and confidently reminds us of the ever important truth that God is bigger."

Book Club:  We will cover 2 chapters per week (ideally) and a brief overview & discussion questions will be posted here on Tuesdays & Thursdays.

Purchase your book here or here.  

It is our hope that you will grab a few friends & read through this book & discuss it in a small group format!  It might very well be the best gift you could give them--the power to be free from fear & draw closer to the power of Christ's Resurrection.