An Enemy Lies Within – Book Cover and Excerpt

Many thanks to everyone who participated in the voting for the cover of An Enemy Lies Within. Cover #3 received slightly more votes that Cover #1. We are hoping to have the eBook available by the end of the year; your prayers are appreciated. The following is an excerpt from the book.

The Hidden Enemy

“The devil made me do it”, popularized by Flip Wilson in the 1970s, has found its way into the American church. It’s the way we like to think. The devil is our most popular enemy.

If we cannot blame the devil, there is always the world to point our finger at. Our government is a particularly favorite scapegoat. I experienced this several years ago while discussing the decline of Christian values in society with a brother in the Lord. Expressing a genuine and deep-seated frustration, he pointed in the direction of Washington, D.C. and said, “If they just hadn’t taken prayer out of school!”

I started to agree and then it occurred to me: If Christian parents taught their children the importance of prayer before every meal (and every class), prayer would still be in school. If Christian parents encouraged their children that God answers their prayers, students would be praying for every sick friend and teacher. God would be glorified!

Only Christians have the power to take prayer out of school. Depending on the government to keep it there is submitting to the wrong authority. Pointing our fingers at the government is blame-shifting. It’s all a bunch of bad thinking – and we don’t think twice about it.

It is time we came to terms with the enemy that lies within. It is time we recognized that we have three – not two – enemies trying to deceive us.

The Enemy Lies Within – Preface

This book may not be for everyone. If your mind is completely renewed and continually set on things above, and if you continually take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, then you will not profit from the revelations and strategies offered here.

For the rest of us, there is a desperate need to give attention to the carnal mind’s methods and maneuvers; it’s deceptions and distractions. I know this first hand. My carnal mind has played tricks on me for the entirety of my life. God continues to reveal the foothold it has established and the damage it has done.

There are others who would rather not be bothered and challenged by self-examination. They are holding on to the possibility that these things will work themselves out without too much involvement and effort on their part. Some have gone so far as to assume that the war for our souls is over.

Beware! This is exactly what our carnal minds would have us accept and believe. Passivity and procrastination are two of its favorite weapons; for they draw very little attention – allowing our carnal mind to remain undetected within the camp. Again, I speak from personal experience.

This hiddenness is quite the phenomenon, particularly when you consider the power and importance that has been awarded to the canal mind in this Age of Reason. Indeed, the carnal mind has been placed upon something more than a pedestal. The carnal mind now occupies a throne!

And who do you think put it there? WE DID! The carnal mind – our collective carnal minds, to be exact – has managed to place itself on a throne for all of mankind to worship.

This truly is an incredible accomplishment. Think about it. Consider our carnal minds’ creative trickery in the Western education system. From kindergarten through high school, we are trained to depend on our ability to reason until finally, at the university, that reason is worshipped. Indeed, mankind believes – more than anything – in the power of the reasoning mind. Few question the destruction it has wrought.

That brings me to the purpose of this book – to encourage Christians to think about how they are thinking; to recognize we not only allow the enemy to reside in the camp, but we turn to it for counsel and advise. It is no wonder we cannot get the lost world to think differently. Generally speaking, we are not thinking right ourselves.

Workplace Ministry Tip #42 – Dealing with Anxiety

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. 2Timothy 1:7

Professional golfers get nervous standing over a 3-foot putt to win the tournament. They’ve managed to control their nerves, however, because they’ve practiced the shot thousands of times. They rely on muscle memory to help them manage their nerves. This works for a time, but dependence on the flesh eventually fails us.

It’s the same with public speaking. The more you speak, the more comfortable you’ll be. If you only give one presentation every six months, of course you’ll be nervous. It feels unnatural because you don’t do it that often. The world’s solution: Speak often. However, practice does not make us perfect.

Similarly, you may have heard some form of: “You’re only as successful as your ideas. Landing a dream job, persuading investors, inspiring employees, and attracting customers require the effective transmission of those ideas. Don’t let your nerves get in the way of achieving your full potential.”

This sounds great, but it is not the truth for Christians in the Workplace. There is something far more important for our success than our ideas, controlling our nerves, or practicing until we are comfortable.