two realms

God created many things. He created the heavens and the earth. Angels are as much His creation as a tree or a turtle. Nothing was before Him, and nothing exists outside of His hand, whether physical or spiritual. Large, small, holy, or common: all of creation was effortlessly designed by His good will.

However, mankind is the only creation designed to interact and reside in the physical and spiritual realms. We have been given the faculties to reason through our five senses as well as discern and know spiritual things. The majority of us will choose to ignore or deny the latter. Those that do not will see a world vastly different.

I tell people all the time that there are some things you cannot un-experience. Having shared a room with a demon-possessed man and having seen the power and authority our Lord holds over this has changed me. I can no longer miss the enemy's tactics nor look past the spiritual death of the unbelieving world. When the reality of the spiritual realm is known, we are given the choice to engage or cower in fear. To those that resist its existence, the enemy is best served to maintain their ignorance.

Were you to travel to remote South America or Western Africa, you would struggle to find those that deny the spiritual realm. Witchcraft and idolatry is a daily part of life, and the people cannot question the existence of a spiritual realm. To them, the question is not if, but which one. Which lord demonstrates greater power than another? What is the personal benefit of worshiping that power? How do you not fear such a thing?

People from these countries do not want to be convinced of an Almighty God; they have been ruled by many others that manifested great power. They want to know whether your God holds ultimate authority over any principality that would oppress. Only then can He change their lives.

Consider that most American believers have never encountered their God in this way. We are told we have an enemy in scripture, but he too is a distant idea. All the while, the world is dying. Our ignorance or resistance is at the expense of enemy domain and acquisition; he builds strongholds while we interact with the physical like nothing is amiss. We do not see the lies that bind the world around us, yet we wonder what keeps mankind from accepting our God with open arms. We fight our battles in courtrooms while the enemy claims spiritual space. We gather for coffee and donuts while the dead reside outside our walls.

Without an enemy, we have no urgency. If salvation can be found through a good presentation, this is much easier than freeing the captive from a life of spiritual bondage. If the Christian life is good deeds, this is much cleaner than pleading the blood of Christ over the chained. We can walk away and feel good about our purpose; physically, this is perfectly suitable. But for those that cannot un-see the enemy's diligent hate, it's due time to fight the battle in your own backyard. Trust me, it's just beneath the surface.