SHIELDS UP !

"Shields Up!"
you know this is a fave of mine, the Star Trek fan that I am!!!
There are few TV series that have become more a part of the culture than the one that portrays the voyage of the Starship Enterprise - yep, Star
Trek. The original show has spawned two or three other series and several major movies. So, many people know about the transporter which beams your
molecules up and down to another location or the weapon the Trekkies call a phaser. And maybe you remember the command the captain gives whenever the
Enterprise is coming under fire ... it's the directive that activates the invisible protection around their ship - "Shields up!"

Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A WORD WITH YOU today about "Shields Up!"

If you are trying to make any kind of difference for Jesus Christ, you know what it is to come under enemy fire. After all, "your enemy the devil
prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour." (I Peter 5:8) And that warning is in a passage addressed to spiritual
activists. It's followed by this command - "Resist him." Shields up!

There's a time when we are particularly vulnerable to our enemy's attack - the time when we are most likely to have our shields down. Strangely
enough, we are often most vulnerable immediately after God has done something powerful for us or through us. Think about Elijah - when was he
suddenly so depressed he didn't even want to live anymore? Immediately after he challenged and defeated 450 false prophets in that
fire-from-heaven showdown.

How about Moses? He's just met Jehovah on the mountain, and he's received the laws of God from God's own mouth. And he comes down from the mountain
to his people and they're worshipping the golden calf. Or think about Jesus. When does Satan come in and blast Him with relentless temptations -
right after Jesus' greatest spiritual moment, His baptism when Heaven came down on Him. The disciples came down from seeing Heaven on a mountain with
Jesus, only to be confronted with the devil at the bottom of the mountain - in the form of a demon-possessed boy.

One reason we're so vulnerable to Satan's attacks after a spiritual victory is this: We go into the battle with our shields up, spiritually
alert, deeply dependent on God. But when the battle's over and we've won, we tend to lower our guard. We felt our need for the Lord going in - we
forget how much we need Him coming out. So the devil is all over us after the victory. He knows we're too close to God during the battle itself - so
he waits until the battle is over and we're spiritually relaxed.

That's when he hits you with that temptation ... that discouragement ... that depression ... that problem at home or at work ... that conflict ...
those doubts. Sound familiar? You may be in the middle of that kind of attack right now. If it was during the big battle, you would instinctively
know it was Satan and you'd fight back with everything you've got. But because it comes after the battle, you don't use your spiritual
weapons. You tend to fight it as "flesh and blood" instead of "the spiritual forces of evil." (Ephesians 6:12) And you lose a battle you
should be winning.

So, I love our word for today from the Word of God in Isaiah 52:12 - "The Lord will go before you, the God of Israel will be your rear guard." God
promises not only to look out for you as you're going into the battle, but also to be your "rear guard" after the battle. So when God has worked
mightily, when God has used you significantly, don't get spiritually careless. That's the time to give yourself that all-important order - "Shields up!"