It Is Written

God speaks to me in dreams and in the waking state just before rising each day. This morning, I received a warning.                                                       

In the dream, I saw the image of a demonic being. It was Hollywood-like, an alien life form with a human face. The demon was approaching someone opening its large gaping mouth and exposing its sharp and deadly teeth. Just when it appeared the person was about to be consumed, they picked up a Bible and reached into the demon’s mouth and placed the Bible on his tongue. The moment the Bible touched the demon’s tongue the demon began to melt and fade away leaving only the Bible in the image.                                                                                    

For some believers, human opinion, someone’s devotional insight or even a prophetic word, have been allowed to displace God’s Word. This is a powerless way to live a life of faith. It leaves us defenseless. Jesus, when undergoing His wilderness temptation, repeatedly used the phrase, “It is written,” to confront the lies of Satan. Jesus is our primary model for any form of spiritual conflict. To fight such a strong adversary without the confidence of “It is written” is a recipe for disaster.

This is not a call for a slavish or fear-based reading of Scripture. It is an appeal to reestablish the primacy of Scripture in the life of each follower of Jesus Christ. The Scripture, not any supporting word or material, should be our first line of defense against any spiritual attack. I write this with my Bible lying open on the desk next to my writing chair. I have come to have tremendous confidence in the truth contained in its pages and very little confidence in anything else in this life.