Dare to Believe Inc.

Behind the Scenes

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I don't think that this is a totally foreign concept or something that needs a long description, but it's definitely one that I need to remind myself of daily.  We are in a battle between good and evil.  We often see the conflict in the world as people against people, and that’s what it is right?  Well, I remember the first time I heard this good and evil talk. It felt totally wacky, but a major light bulb went on.  So what were saying is that if we could peal back the curtain we’d see a whole other thing happening.  I get that when you even talk about this spiritual good and evil stuff you often get the look like you are talking about aliens or Bigfoot, but it’s true, and it even makes sense once you start looking at the world through that lense.  It changes my entire perspective when I remember this.  Even the worst people go from enemies to teammates that you want to help. 

 

Let me give you one example in the Bible that may surprise you.  I've read through the Bible numerous times, however, it was still a surprise when this was pointed out to me.  OK, picture this.  We're in Exodus right now and you know the story.  The Israelites are in Egypt because of the famine, Joseph interprets the dreams and saved everyone, and Egypt becomes super powerful in the process.  Generations go by and the new Egyptian pharaoh doesn't have an appreciation for that history and just sees the Israelites as a threat to his power and an untapped resource so he forces them to into slavery.  God shows up to rescue His people and the powers prepare to go at it.  So here is the question.  Who was the battle between?  The Israelites and Egypt right? ... or God and Egypt, no, maybe the Israelites and pharaoh, or Egypt and the frogs, ... wait final answer ... God and pharaoh.  Well, surprisingly it's none of the above.   

 

"against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment..."

- Exodus 12:12

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So it's God against a bunch of statues and pictures?  Seems like pharaoh would be a more worthy opponent.  Well, now look through the lense from above.  We are in a battle between good and evil.  Behind the curtain bad is really an actual being.  Satan and all the forces of evil trying to pull attention away from God is what is really happening here.  Picture two armies with massive firepower (one clearly stronger of course which we will see play out here) and we are running around on the battlefield in between them and amazingly many of us are unaware that this battle is even going on and we're beating each other up instead.  Here in Egypt we see evil's influence is resulting in a system of oppression and slavery.  That is not God's way.  Back to the story.  So what does God do?  He goes after each Egyptian god separately with each plague.  The plagues seem a lot less random now don't they?  The god Hapi was the god of the Nile so God turned it to blood to show who is really in charge of the Nile.  Heket was the frog god, and guess what, frogs came out of the Nile and caused total chaos.  Ra was the sun god, so God took away the sun and so on.  But why?  

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Then I will take you for My people, and I will be your God; and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.

- Exodus 6:7

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The Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch out My hand on Egypt and bring out the sons of Israel from their midst.”

- Exodus 7:5

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To rescue and be known.  There are different levels of knowing in the original language.  This one is not just head knowledge.  This one is to know by experience.  The Israelites would be used to reintroduce God to the world who had forgotten Him and to rip the world out of Satan's clutches and institute God's way of doing things which is what He teaches the Israelites while out in the desert.  This new system is the opposite of oppression and slavery and promotes the deepest love for one another AND He actually foretold the most amazing future example of this with the last plague.  It's been messy since and downright brutal at times as this spiritual war rages on and God refuses to give up on His creation even as we repeatedly drift from Him, but it clearly says how it will end.  We just need to pick a side.  Anyway, look things that way.  It makes a big difference.  It this interests you, Exodus is totally loaded with this good stuff.  For more about this check out Ray Vander Laan's videos.

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