I Don't Fight Alone

I have an enemy, of this I'm sure. He hates me and wants me to fail. And sometimes I feel like he's very close to winning.

It seems like the more I start to focus on what it is God's doing in my life, the more opposition I face. It's very hard to make any forward progress when I'm constantly fighting off attacks. I truly don't know how I'm ever going to succeed.

Why is it that life doesn't become easier when I'm on the right track? Honestly, I could use a little covering. Some sort of protection from the devil as I'm trying to learn how to fight.

I know this isn't the case, but I often feel like I'm all alone in this battle ... like God's sitting on the sidelines, cheering me on from afar. But I don't need a cheerleader. I need a teammate. I need a defender. Him by my side, in the arena, fighting with me.

Because I will be defeated on my own, I know this.

I wish I could see the real battle. I wish I could see, even just for a minute, what I know is the truth ... that God is fighting with me. For some reason, though, He's chosen to hide reality from us right now. And this makes it so hard to fight with strength, perseverance and courage.

I'm struggling to remember that what I think is reality, that I'm alone in this battle, is not actually real. It's a lie.

The truth is, I do have a Warrior by my side. I have a Defender. I have the King of the Universe, the Creator of all Heaven and Earth, with me in this.

I'm not alone. And the victory is already ours.

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
~Ephesians 6:12 

For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face.
~1 Corinthians 13:12

Hey Mr. Pullman, get your own story.

I'm in the middle of reading the book The Golden Compass, by Philip Pullman.

I put my name on the waiting list for it at the public library after I saw the preview for the movie several months ago, back before any of the controversy. When I started getting email warnings forwarded to me about the movie and heard about all the Christians that were getting t.o.'d about the subject of the book and certain statements the author made, it made me want to read it even more.

I'm only a few chapters into it, but already I've found so many blatant similarities to C.S. Lewis' The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe that I honestly can't believe that Pullman ever got this published! Check this out:

1. In Lewis' book, the main character is a young, adventurous girl named named Lucy. In Pullman's book, the main character is a young, adventurous girl named Lyra.

2. While set in England, the majority of Lewis' book takes place in Narnia, a cold, harsh wintery landscape. While set in England, the majority of the Golden Compass is set in what's simply called The North, a cold, harsh wintery landscape.

3. In the first chapter of Lewis' book, Lucy hides in a wardrobe. In the first chapter of Pullman's book, Lyra hides in a wardrobe.

4. In Lewis' book, the main antagonist is the White Witch, a beauiful, exotic, yet terrifying woman. In Pullman's book, the main antagonist is Mrs. Coulter, a beautiful, exotic, yet terrifying woman.

5. In Lewis' book, Edmund meets the White Witch and is both scared and intrigued by her. She convinces him to go with her by offering him Turkish Delight. In Pullman's book, Tony meets Mrs. Coulter and is both scared and intrigued by her. She convinces him to go with her by offering him Chocolatl.

Coincidence? I think not. And that's after only five chapters.

As my friend Suzanne so astutely pointed out the other day when I was telling her about this, isn't that always how the devil works? He can't even come up with his own original material. He takes truth and twists it just enough to serve his own purposes.

In 1950, C.S. Lewis was inspired to write a fantastic piece of fiction that told the story of the gift that God gave us in his Son.

45 years later, Philip Pullman took that story and twisted it for his own atheistic agenda. In Pullman's words, "I'm trying to undermine the basis of Christian belief."

Undermine all you want, Mr. Pullman, but do it with your own story. Don't steal someone else's.

CNN article on The Golden Compass