And the god of this world rejoiced.....

Sunday, November 3rd.  12:37am, local time. Ghaziabad, India. I lay in my bed, trying to drown out the sound of constant M-80 size fireworks outside. I'd never heard so much noise in my life. The whole nation of India was celebrating Diwali.

And I think the god of this world was celebrating, too.

"Diwali" is the Hindu festival of lights. Each November, Indians hang Christmas lights on their houses and light fireworks to celebrate Kali-Mah, the goddess of death and destruction, and her victory over a demon, as well as to praise Shiva, the god of light.

During my two trips to India thus far, I've been able to see both Kali-Mah and Shiva. I once heard an Indian pastor we support talk about the massive bronze statue of Shiva next to the Ganges River. A friend of his had walked by it, and had nightmares about it for weeks afterward. "When you look at the Hindu gods," he had said, "There's more than just a piece of clay that's been cleverly painted. They're powerful, and real."  C.S. Lewis alludes to this idea, too, in Book 7 of the Narnia series: The Last Battle.

               "In the shadow of the trees on the far side of the clearing something was moving. It was gliding very slowly Northward. At first glance you might have mistaken it for smoke...but the deathly smell was not the smell of smoke. ..... It was roughly the shape of a man but it had the head of a bird; some bird of prey with a cruel, curved beak. It had four arms which it held high above its head, stretching them out Northward as if it wanted to snatch all Narnia in its grip; and its fingers--all twenty of them--were curved like its beak and had long, pointed, bird-like claws... It floated on the grass instead of walking, and the grass seemed to wither beneath it. ........... 'I have seen it once before,' said Tirian. 'But that time it was carved in stone and overlaid with gold...[in] the great temple of Tash. .......... It seems, then, that there is a real Tash after all."

It all seemed a little far-fetched to me.... until I saw that very same bronze statue of Shiva near the Ganges, four years ago. The feeling hit me again just last month, as I found myself looking into the fierce eyes of a Kali statue in a Buddhist monastery. There's something terrifyingly real about them. People aren't just hallucinating when you hear things like that. And, as Christians, those statements make sense. After all, God has an Enemy. And he's not just interested in waiting around in hell for the final battle. He's roaming the earth (Job 1).  In fact, he is, in the apostle Paul's words, "the god of this world" (2 Cor. 4:4). Satan has power in those idols. He has power in Muslims and extremists. He has power in atheists, and new age pantheists. And he has power in Christians.

Guys?  It's not supposed to be that way.

The Church is supposed to be the Light of the World. When people look at us, they're supposed to see the life and hope and LOVE of Jesus Christ.

Instead?

"I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ."

-Mahatma Gandhi (unsaved)

Recently, I found an article on the Huffington Post entitled "10 ways Christians fail at being Christians". The general consensus from the article and comments following was that Christians are quick to point fingers, are more focused on politics than faith, and, while attempting to follow the teachings of Jesus (although most thought this was failing, too), Christians are abandoning the person of Jesus, and don't even care about learning from who He was. One of the boldest comments was:

"Personally, I think that once the church became a political entity and 'weapon' it all pretty much went out the window. But that's just me. Hence my hatred for them."

-Internet User (probably unsaved)

Guys.... WHAT HAPPENED?!?!?! 

People are dying out there right now, rejecting Jesus, because the "light of the world" cares more about condemning, being politically correct, and pointing fingers than we do about reaching across the lines, and loving the broken like He did. Jesus gave His life so the world could see the Light. Instead, we're giving Satan full access to our lives. Sadly, most of us aren't even trying to fortify ourselves against him. So often, I make up my mind to fight for Jesus, and not let Satan have the upper hand in my life. But once my life routine sets in, I forget that I'm even trying to protect my heart. It's no easy struggle. After all, Satan doesn't want us to fight in God's strength because, when we truly allow that to happen in our lives, he loses. So he fights to make us let our guard down and let him in. And, 90% of the time, he wins.

Satan is deceiving people everywhere, through apathy, regret, guilt, blindness, etc. And his power is real..... you can see that, even without looking into the eyes of a Hindu god.

But the power of Jesus Christ is stronger.

And God will have the final say.

As the fireworks of Diwali exploded overhead, thousands of Americans on the other side of the world settled down to their lunch meetings, ignoring the light, while, at that very moment, hundreds of Indians faced death having never seen that light. And the god of this world rejoiced.

Where's the Intercessor?

Ellerslie Mission Society Short Film:

Intercession