I have been writing The Daily Article for twenty-one years, but this is a first: I am reporting on an article in the men’s fashion magazine GQ. I have not read one of their articles before today, but this title caught my eye: “Prayers Up: How God Became the Hottest Thing in Fashion.”

The article tells us about an Instagram platform called “I NEED GOD” now offering a webstore with some interesting merchandise. For example, they are selling a sweatshirt bearing the message, “God loves me and there is nothing I can do about it.” And a shirt with a direct quote from Justin Bieber’s Instagram: “God is obsessed with you!” (Other products are far more ironic or, some might say, inappropriate.)

Here’s another story you might not expect: a church in San Antonio, Texas, recently held a mass wedding. This is not a cult—it’s actually one of the largest churches in the city. Their pastor and staff became concerned about couples who were unable to marry during the pandemic. So they offered to reimburse couples for their marriage licenses ($81 in their county) and gave them $500 in cash to go toward a honeymoon.

Their commitment had a condition, however: the couples had to go through premarital counseling with the church. Fifty-two couples completed counseling and were married in a joint service last month.

Pledging allegiance to the Pride flag

This week we’re discussing ways to fight fear with faith. Each day’s news reinforces the need for such faith.

For example, a California teacher has been removed from her classroom after instructing her students to say the Pledge of Allegiance, not to an American flag, but to a Progress Pride flag.

A dermatology professor at Harvard Medical School reports a spike of patients seeking cosmetic interventions. The reason: they saw their faces on conference calls all day during the pandemic and now want to make improvements to their appearance, a phenomenon being called “Zoom dysphoria.”

Consumer confidence is down; trust in media is cratering; religion is declining in many places around the world.

In days like these, believers need to use every means at our disposal to offer our culture the life-changing good news of God’s love in Christ. The apparel we discussed earlier is correct theologically: because God is love (1 John 4:8), he does indeed love you, and there’s nothing you can do to change his character or the fact that he is “obsessed” with you.

However, there’s another side to the story.

“The sine qua non of spiritual fruitfulness”

Jesus told his followers, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser” (John 15:1). According to renowned Bible scholar D. A. Carson, our Lord employed a symbol found throughout the Old Testament describing Israel as a vine (cf. Psalm 80:9–16; Isaiah 51:1–7; Jeremiah 2:21; Ezekiel 15:1–8).

However, Carson notes, “whenever historic Israel is referred to under this figure, it is the vine’s failure to produce good fruit that is emphasized.”

By contrast, Jesus calls himself the “true” vine, i.e., the one that produces true and good fruit. His followers are “branches” stemming from him as their source. As a result, he calls us to “abide in me, and I in you” (v. 4a).

Here’s the catch: “As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me” (v. 4b). Consequently, “Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing” (v. 5, my emphasis).

Carson asserts: “Continuous dependence on the vine, constant reliance on him, persistent spiritual imbibing of his life—this is the sine qua non of spiritual fruitfulness” (his italics; the Latin phrase means “that without which there is nothing”).

The first time I heard the gospel

So, what does it mean to “abide” in Jesus?

We could take the rest of the year to explore this vital question, but for today we’ll note that it means at least the decision to surrender every dimension of our lives to his lordship. Whatever the cost, whatever he asks, whatever it takes.

Oswald Chambers describes such total surrender as the path to joy that repays its cost and more: when we abandon ourselves to Jesus, “the Holy Spirit gives us a taste of his joy. . . . the thought of self-sacrifice never crosses our minds, because sacrifice is the Holy Spirit’s ultimate expression of love.”

Here’s the problem: there is often a gap between surrender and the joy that repays its cost. A soul-numbing, faith-discouraging, temptation-amplifying gap. A gap between our fear of surrender and God’s transforming response to our faith.

I remember clearly the first time I heard the gospel. I was in the seventh grade; a friend invited me to ride his church’s bus to a Christian event in downtown Houston. The preacher seemed to be looking right at me when he challenged us to confess our sins and give our lives to God.

That night, walking home after getting off the bus, I looked up into the starry night and told God “no.” I remember being afraid that if I gave my life to him, he would make me miserable. He would probably make me a missionary to some distant land and keep me from doing the things I wanted to do.

I was afraid to surrender my life to him that night. I still feel that fear today. I am guessing you do as well.

“I believe; help my unbelief!”

However, here is how abiding in Christ works: we must pay its price before we experience its results.

When we order products online, we are usually required to pay for them before they are delivered. It works in the same way here: we must choose holiness before we want to be made holy. We must choose to abide in Jesus before we want to give up what it takes to abide in Jesus.

This is because Satan is a brilliant tempter, customizing his offerings to what our fallen human nature desires. We should not be surprised that we want what he is tempting us to do. If we wait until we don’t want to sin before we choose not to sin, we’ll be waiting for the rest of our lives.

If alcoholics wait until they don’t want to drink before they start sobriety, most will never get sober. If we wait until we’re not afraid to surrender our lives to Jesus, most of us will never surrender our lives to Jesus.

So, a foundational key to abiding in Jesus is asking his Spirit for the strength to choose to abide in him. It is asking for the faith to have faith, echoing the prayer of the man who prayed my favorite prayer in Scripture: “I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24).

It is asking for the courage to trust Jesus before we see the first results of such trust. It is stepping into the river before God stops the flood, marching around the fortified city before God destroys its walls, choosing the lions’ den before God stops the lions’ mouths.

Are you afraid that if you give your life fully to Jesus, he’ll make you a missionary to some distant land or otherwise keep you from doing what you want to do? The fact is: If he sends you to be a missionary, this is because being a missionary is absolutely what is best for your life. If he keeps you from doing what you want to do, this is because he knows that what you want to do will harm you in ways you cannot yet see.

So, what fears are keeping you from surrendering your life fully to your Savior? Do you need to ask the Spirit to help you choose such surrender today?

Why Satan lets us “get away with” sin

Here’s a second barrier to abiding in Christ: we must surrender every dimension of our lives to experience the transforming power of our Lord.

Our culture so easily separates Sunday from Monday, the spiritual from the secular, religion from the “real world.” From the time we begin attending church or doing anything else spiritual, our fallen society begins urging us to keep such activities to ourselves. God can be your hobby, they assure us, so long as you don’t force your hobby on anyone else.

As a result, we are easily deceived into believing that we can tolerate private sin with the confidence that it will never become public. But, like the sons of Samuel who “took bribes and perverted justice” in their personal dealings, our private sins will inevitably be exposed (1 Samuel 8:3–5).

In fact, if you are “getting away with” unconfessed and unrepented sin today, it’s likely because your enemy is waiting until your sins will do even more damage when they are made public. The further you climb up the cultural ladder, the farther you will fall one day, and the more your fall will injure yourself and others.

The Bible makes following Jesus incessantly and insistently holistic: taking up our “cross daily” (Luke 9:23), being “crucified with Christ” (Galatians 2:20), presenting our “bodies as a living sacrifice” (Romans 12:1). Roman crucifixion killed every part of your body, not just your arm or leg; the Jewish sacrificial system required every part of the animal, not just its hoof or tail.

Are you leaving part of your “body” off your altar, separated from your cross? That’s like telling a surgeon there’s part of the cancer in your body you don’t want her to remove. God can heal only what we allow him to touch. He can lead into his perfect will only those who will follow.

Is there a part of your life you are afraid of submitting to Jesus? Once again, you are not yet in position to experience the results of such holistic surrender to your loving Lord, so ask his Spirit for the strength and courage you need.

And know this: the more we abide in Jesus, the more fruit we will bear for his eternal glory and our greatest good.

“You are the Beloved of God”

It comes to this: if we see ourselves as children beloved by our Father, we will see the price of obedience as the privilege of love. We will position ourselves to experience all he can give to those who trust fully in him. And others will see the reality and relevance of our faith and be drawn to its Object and Source.

Henri Nouwen observed:

“The world is only evil when you become its slave. The world has a lot to offer—just as Egypt did for the children of Jacob—as long as you don’t feel bound to obey it. The great struggle facing you is not to leave the world, to reject your ambitions and aspirations, or to despise money, prestige, or success, but to claim your spiritual truth and to live in the world as someone who doesn’t belong to it.”

As a result, Nouwen continues, “All the good things our world has to offer are yours to enjoy. But you can enjoy them truly only when you can acknowledge them as affirmations of the truth that you are the Beloved of God. The truth will set you free to receive the beauty of nature and culture in gratitude, as a sign of your Belovedness. That truth will allow you to receive the gifts you receive from your society and celebrate life.

“But that truth will also allow you to let go of what distracts you, confuses you, and puts in jeopardy the life of the Spirit within you.”

Will you claim your status as God’s Beloved today?

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Tesla unveiled their plan to create a humanoid robot at its AI day conference. It will be able to help around the house with tasks, get groceries, and . . . well, it’s hard to say how useful it would actually be, but it looks sleek (and existentially frightening if we think about the plot of most sci-movies on the subject).  

It’s built around the same AI technology as Tesla’s self-driving cars. They claim a prototype will be available “sometime next year,” though the technology still faces immense hurdles and will probably take longer.  

A company called Boston Dynamics already builds humanoid robots that continue to improve over time. In one video, they show off their prototype robots by having them do preprogrammed parkour. Their incredible routine ends with a backflip.  

At present, Boston Dynamics already mass manufactures robots on four legs, affectionately called “Spot.” The owner can automate Spot to accomplish tasks on its own or control it themselves. Companies in mining, oil and gas, construction, utilities, and even NASA use these robots to perform all kinds of tasks, often ones that are dangerous for humans.  

If all of that sounds terrifying, don’t worry: they’ve made sure that “humans can outrun them.”  

Isn’t that encouraging? 

Some more positive areas of futuristic development include: 

• A cranial surgery was successfully performed on an epileptic child in 2019 with the help of a robot. 
• Some robots being developed are nearly microscopic and help eliminate cancer cells.  
• In New Zealand, a company is testing drone deliveries for things like pizza. 
• Self-driving cars and humanoid delivery robots continue to be developed. 

It seems like technology is catching up to The Jetsons. 

Will humanity be “terminated”?  

The takeover of Schwarzenegger-like Terminator robots is probably not going to happen, but the movie’s AI network known as Skynet may pose a greater danger. To understand why, we need to clarify some terms. Three kinds of technology can get easily confused:  

• Robots: Robots simply do repeatable tasks. These have been used for years to make factory assembly lines more efficient and sometimes entirely automated. They can also be dancing toys for kids.
• Specific or Narrow AI: This is a program that learns and adapts. These kinds of AI can already beat humans in some of the most complex games. An AI defeated the human champion of the notoriously complex Chinese game Go. Such AI is used in self-driving cars, and, more vitally, in social media and Google. One will also find the term “deep learning,” which refers to the depth of layering in the AI’s program. Sometimes people will use the term “algorithm” to avoid confusion with artificial general intelligence.
• Artificial general intelligence (AGI): No one has developed an AGI (at least, not publicly). AGI would perform a wide range of cognitive tasks at the same level or better than humans. AGI could learn, like a child, how to play multiple kinds of games and navigate different problems fluidly. This could conceivably mean that the AGI would experience creativity and even emotions. 

Though AGI is what most people think of when they hear the acronym AI, companies that use AI are utilizing narrow AI. AGI raises philosophical questions: Would it be self-aware? Would it have a mind? Would it be “alive?” Though interesting, we’ll put off those inquiries for another time. 

Physicist and machine learning expert Max Tegmark argues that humanity will probably not be overtaken by robots. If an AGI were set on gaining power, it wouldn’t need robots. It could just influence people through their phones, control computers, and leverage the economy. That concept is a bit more frightening than skull robots with machine guns if you ask me.  

That said, Tegmark is optimistic about the positives of AGI if we control it well. Some experts doubt whether AGI will ever exist, though surprisingly most think it will be invented in the next century.  

The far more prevalent issue of today is companies’ usage of narrow AI.  

How TikTok employs machine learning to keep you watching  

The key component of AI is “machine learning,” which makes predictions based on large amounts of data. Give it data about how long one hundred million people spent watching a cat on YouTube and it will interpret that data to know who else might like to watch that video.  

The site that probably utilizes this most efficiently is TikTok. In TikTok, people refer to the narrow AI as the algorithm. The ubiquitous algorithm learns the user’s preferences over time so that the content changes to exactly fit each person. Their feed will become dominated by what they spend the most time watching, whether it’s cooking, political, informational, DIY, funny, or even ironic videos making fun of TikTok itself. The variety of TikTok content is astounding; it has something for everyone.  

Endless swiping and millions of creators provide nearly limitless content, and what’s presented is actively personalized by a massive AI network. It’s no wonder that TikTok users spend an average of one hour per day on the app and that 90 percent of TikTok users view it daily.  

This strategy leads to some predictable downfalls. 

If someone watches conspiracy videos from certain creators, the AI will begin showing the user what they want to see—probably more conspiracy videos. Just like in other social media sites, this can lead to inbred thinking. On TikTok, though, the effective AI makes it particularly compounded.  

Additionally, though TikTok technically regulates pornography, the content is nonetheless often heavily sexualized, and loopholes to pornography exist, especially for users who want to see it. Many users won’t see any sexual content on TikTok, but that’s because each individual’s feed is personalized to them.  

TikTok’s explosive growth demonstrates the power of AI.  

AI is everywhere  

Though TikTok is a prevalent example, narrow AI’s influence is not limited to that demographic. Essentially every major media site now uses targeted advertisements with the help of AI. 

• Amazon predicts what purchases their shoppers will want, personalizing the home page to incentivize buying.
• Netflix predicts what shows will keep its users on their site. The AI can also choose a still shot from a movie to show as the cover seen on the homepage and changes it to renew interest in its users. This is why Netflix’s homepage appears differently for different people. 
• Gmail and Google Docs will often predict the next word a writer will type (and is, in fact, doing so as I write this article).
• Facebook identifies people’s faces and interprets the content of posts to target advertisements based on conversations. 
• Google uses AI for translation. The AI learns and improves over time so that Google Translate will improve year over year.
• YouTube uses AI to flag videos, recommend the next videos, and, again, target ads.
• Spotify uses machine learning to customize each listener’s experience. 

The list goes on. I recommend this article for a helpful summary. 

Remember, each of these AIs are narrow and specifically designed for each task. Each company is not using one universal AI and applying it to their goals. That would require AGI.  

Nonetheless, AI is a powerful tool. In certain applications, AI, just like robots, efficiently solves problems and works for everyone’s benefit. At the same time, tools in the hands of sinful people will lead to abuse.  

AI does whatever it is designed to do very, very well. If AI is designed to keep people watching TikTok and YouTube, it will do that. Predictably, the better machine learning has become, the better it keeps people on their phones. The negative effects of high screen times have been written about widely.

Does the Bible speak to this modern invention?  

What does the Bible say about AI?    

The biblical implications of AGI, a conscious artificial mind, would take far longer to cover (though it may become necessary at some point). For now, we’ll just cover narrow AI and two dangers Christians should be aware of.  

AI magnifies temptation

Since AI has the unique ability to magnify what users want, it, therefore, magnifies fleshly desires. Certainly, this is true of sexual temptations. It is also true of countless other sins: jealousy, self-indulgence, etc. AI will follow whatever vice it gets a hold of. It knows to sell alcohol to alcoholics; it knows to peddle sin to sinners.  

The Bible says to flee sexual immorality and the desires of the flesh (1 Corinthians 6:18; Romans 8:5). If certain platforms cause temptation, throw them away or limit them. Know that Satan can use algorithms to magnify temptations. 

Someone I know became addicted to buying unnecessary things from Amazon and had to impose restrictions on his own bank account. 

If the hand causes sin, cut it off (Matthew 5:30).  

AI magnifies time-wasting

Fasting reminds us of God’s provision and leads to thankfulness. Fasting from social media can create the practical effect of detaching us from the grip of its influence. 

This past week, I spent a ludicrous amount of time on YouTube, and so decided to take a break from it for at least a week. In the past year, my mother completely deleted her Facebook account due to having wasted too much time on the site. 

Paul writes, “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is” (Ephesians 5:15–17). 

Don’t let this become legalism or judgmentalism, and certainly do not fast so that others will see you—social media isn’t evil. Nonetheless, we must be wise with our screen time and remember that algorithms are actively trying to keep us online.  

It’s clear that AI is used for good in many of its applications. As Christians, however, we must be aware of its grip and know that Satan can use it against us. Let us be “crafty as serpents and innocent as doves” and honestly know ourselves and our own sin (Matthew 10:16; Lamentations 3:40).  

Before we turn our eyes to screens, let us turn our eyes to Christ.

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Who are your heroes? Let me nominate a few more today.

An all-volunteer group of American veterans of the Afghanistan war launched a mission last Wednesday to shepherd hundreds of at-risk Afghan elite forces and their families to safety. ABC News reports that the group, dubbed the “Pineapple Express,” launched their rescue “after nightfall in near-pitch black darkness and extremely dangerous conditions.”

Working unofficially in tandem with the US military and American embassy, they moved people inside the wire of the US military-controlled side of Hamid Karzai International Airport. As of Thursday morning, the group said it had brought as many as five hundred Afghan special operators, assets, and enablers along with their families into the Kabul airport, handing each of them over to US military protective custody.

Their operation was an element of “Task Force Pineapple,” an informal group whose mission began August 15 as a frantic effort to rescue a former Afghan commando who had served with them and was being hunted by the Taliban. These current and former US special operators, aid workers, intelligence officers, and others with experience in Afghanistan ended up smuggling more than 130 people over ten days into the airport.

When we face an enemy more powerful than ourselves, we need the help of someone more powerful than our enemy.

This fact is true not only in Afghanistan but where you live as well.

Harvard’s atheist chief chaplain

By now, you’ve probably seen reports that Harvard University’s new chief chaplain is an atheist. Greg Epstein, who has been the university’s humanist chaplain since 2005, is author of the book Good Without God.

In a day of “angry atheists” such as Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens, I expected such vitriol from him. But when I read his book a few years ago, I was impressed with his purpose:

“If this book accomplishes one thing for or on behalf of the billion nonreligious people, let it not be that we learn how better to convince others that there is no God, or that religion is evil. May we encourage more hospital visits by the nonreligious, both literally and metaphorically. May we do more good work together and build something positive in this world—the only world we will ever have. May we focus more on the ‘good’ than on the ‘without God.’”

Epstein is confident that nonreligious people can “build something positive in this world” because of his “informed conviction that humanity has the ability to progress toward its highest ideals.” He adds, “The responsibility for our lives and the kind of world in which we live is ours and ours alone.”

The thesis of his book and his work is simple: “We don’t look to a god for answers. We are each other’s answers.”

However, let’s ask Dr. Phil’s question: How’s that working for us?

A diplomat’s daughter beheaded in Pakistan

Officials in Louisiana have begun surveying the wreckage left by Hurricane Ida. At one point, more than a million people were without power. At least one death so far has been attributed to the storm. Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Kate has formed in the Atlantic and constitutes the eleventh named storm in this busy hurricane season.

In Brazil, bank robbers strapped hostages to their getaway cars as human shields, targeting three different banks Monday and tying victims to the roofs and hoods of ten vehicles. The United Nations atomic agency is reporting that North Korea appears to have restarted its main nuclear reactor used to produce weapon fuels, openly threatening to enlarge its nuclear arsenal.

A diplomat’s daughter was beheaded in Pakistan. A man in Uganda who had converted from Islam to Christianity was tied up and murdered by his father after refusing to forsake his faith in Jesus.

And stories of atrocities and violence continue to surface daily from Afghanistan. For example, a former interior minister reported that the Taliban “brutally killed” a popular folk singer days after claiming that “music is forbidden” in Islam. And a human rights group is warning that “an estimated ten thousand Christians, many of whom are ‘guilty’ of converting from Islam,” are at risk of being “targeted with deadly violence” in the country.

“Reproductive Freedom Congregations” in Texas

To repeat: when we face an enemy more powerful than ourselves, we need the help of someone more powerful than our enemy.

Yesterday, we identified ways you and I can help people facing the storms of life. Today, let’s identify the enemy behind these storms and the only One more powerful than he is.

Satan is the original terrorist. Jesus called him “a murderer from the beginning” (John 8:44). Speaking of the devil, our Lord warned us that “the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy” (John 10:10). When we see stealing and killing and destroying, we can know that our enemy is at work.

He is the “god of this age” (2 Corinthians 4:4), the “prince of this world” (John 12:31), and the “deceiver of the whole world” (Revelation 12:9). Jesus declared: “When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44).

This verse is especially relevant to the trials we face today: “The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Corinthians 4:4).

For example, Satan has so “blinded the minds” of ISIS and other jihadist groups that they think they are serving God by killing Christians. He has so blinded the minds of atheists like Greg Epstein that they think they can solve our most intractable problems without the help of an omnipotent God. He has so blinded the minds of postmodern secularists that they think “their truth” is “the truth.”

Satan can deceive those who claim to be Christians as well. For example, Religious News Service reports that “Reproductive Freedom Congregations” in Texas are “publicly declaring their support” for abortion. And stories about clergy accused of sexual abuse tragically make the news seemingly every day.

Four steps to spiritual victory

Satan is very real and very dangerous. For that reason, we’ll close with practical ways to win the spiritual battles we face. Let’s identify four essential principles.

One: Expect to be attacked.

Scripture warns: “Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). “Your” is addressed to Christians. If Jesus is your Lord, Satan is your adversary.

Two: Admit that you cannot defeat him in your strength.

The devil is better at tempting than we are at resisting. Just as he “deceived Eve by his cunning” (2 Corinthians 11:3), so he deceives and defeats those who try to withstand his assaults with human capacities.

Three: Surrender to the power of God.

This verse is key: “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). Note the order: submit and then you can resist.

And note God’s promise: when you submit to God and resist the devil, “he will flee from you.” There is no temptation you cannot defeat in the power of your Lord. His word is clear: “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).

So begin every day by being “filled” with the Spirit (see this article for practical steps to take each morning). Then surrender your temptations and trials to the One who “is greater than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).

Four: Turn temptation into immediate prayer.

Scripture warns us: “Do not give the devil a foothold” (Ephesians 4:27). Here’s how: develop the reflex of taking your temptations instantly to God, submitting them to him and seeking the power of his Spirit.

Erasmus was right: Satan hates nothing so much as for his evil to be used for good. When you use temptations as opportunities for trust, you glorify your Lord and frustrate your enemy.

“Don’t let the storm turn you inward”

I just finished Max Lucado’s encouraging book, You Are Never Alone: Trust in the Miracle of God’s Presence and Power. Let’s close by claiming some of his insights about God’s provision and grace as our Father’s gifts to us today.

Max notes: “You’re stronger than you think because God is nearer than you know.” When we trust our temptations and challenges to our Lord, “Your problem becomes his pathway. The challenge you face becomes a canvas upon which Christ can demonstrate his finest work.”

As a result, he counsels, “Don’t let the storm turn you inward. Let it turn you upward.” But Max also reminds us that we must truly trust our storm to our Savior, warning us that “contingent faith is the faith of sidewalk chalk: it’s beautiful when the sun shines, but it washes away when the rain falls.”

And he also warns us against self-sufficiency that trusts more in ourselves than in our Lord, quoting Charles Spurgeon: “It is not our littleness that hinders Christ, but our bigness. It is not our weakness that hinders Christ; it is our strength. It is not our darkness that hinders Christ; it is our supposed light that holds back his hand.”

By contrast, Jesus is “able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us” (Ephesians 3:20). This “power at work within us” is the Holy Spirit who already indwells every Christian (1 Corinthians 3:20).

In other words, you already have within you all that you need to trust the God who is for you to defeat the enemy who attacks you.

My youth minister was right

You and I live in a world filled with spiritual conflict: “We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12).

My high school youth minister was right: we are either running into Satan or we are running with him.

There is no third option.

However, be encouraged: when you run into Satan, this means you are running with God.

With whom will you run today?

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