[Note to our readers: for the next several weeks, our Thursday posts will be by Kyle Frank, a friend and brother in Christ, who graciously consented to be a “guest-blogger” for us once a week.]

We, as the children of God, are operating in hostile territory. The Apostle Peter tells us such when in 1 Peter 2:11, says “Beloved, I beseech you as sojourners and pilgrims, to abstain from fleshly lust, which war against the soul;” A sojourner or a pilgrim is traveling through unfamiliar, and often hostile lands.  We are in enemy territory and as such we are to be cognizant to whatever the enemy has at his disposal. This world that we live in, although originally created by God, has been taken prisoner by the Evil One when sin came into the world through Adam and Eve. It now really is hostile, dark and in bondage. Romans 8:21-22 says that

“the creation itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the liberty of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.”

That is painfully clear. Since we are in fact operating in enemy territory, it behooves us to be very alert and watchful of the path we are on and what is actually occurring around us. This present dark world is full of traps, distractions and anything else in which the enemy can mislead, misdirect or simply distract us from the real reason for our still being here. I have heard babes in Christ say that they wish that after baptism, they could just “go home” and not have to deal with the treachery inherent in this world. I concur….except that we are servants of the Most High, who has saved us to serve, to hold forth the light and be

“a(n) elect race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for (God’s) own possession, that ye may show forth the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light:10 who in time past were no people, but now are the people of God: who had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.”

1 Peter 2:9-10. What more could we hope to be, or hope to do than to be involved in such? What a blessing-to be involved in the rescue of our captive race. We will be involved in the redemption and plan of salvation as given by our blessed Lord who has loved us with a indescribable love. The selfishness in each of us works against us, and against our loving Creator and redeemer. This again, is used by the enemy and we need to be on guard against this.

Another way of looking at this present dark world is by looking at it through the lens of the Bible. We know it to be truth by a myriad of proofs and evidences as has been previously showed. Scripture tells us that there is more to creation than just the world we live in. There are other realms that are invisible to our  physical eyes. The spiritual realm-the PRIMARY realm is beyond our present sight.  2 Corinthians 5:1-4 tells us:

“For we know that if the earthly house of our tabernacle be dissolved, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal, in the heavens.  For verily in this we groan, longing to be clothed upon with our habitation which is from heaven:  if so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked.  For indeed we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened; not for that we would be unclothed, but that we would be clothed upon, that what is mortal may be swallowed up of life.”

It IS there, it IS beyond our physical sight but if we use the eyes of faith we can see that it is there beyond our current condition.

-Kyle Frank