The Unseen World

Series on “I am Joe’s Favorite Verses”
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Ephesians 6:10-20

[Many years ago, there used to be articles in the Reader’s Digest titled “I am Joe’s ___” with the blank being filled with a body part or organ. Over the years, I’ve written down verses that are meaningful to me on 3x5 cards. In this series we’ll be looking at some of my favorite verses. In other words, “I am Joe’s Favorite Verses”.]

 

When I was a teenager, I loved horror movies like Frankenstein, Dracula, The Mummy and Wolfman. Every Saturday night there was a TV show called “Shock Theater” hosted by Christopher Coffin. I never missed an episode.

 

I loved movies like House on the Haunted Hill starring Vincent Price and Beast with 5 Fingers with Peter Lorre. There was a TV series called The Twilight Zone hosted by Rod Serling. Edgar Allen Poe was my favorite author. Anything that involved the supernatural or the unexplainable fascinated me.

 

In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul encouraged them to “be strong in the Lord”. Then he warned them about something that sounds like it could have come straight out of one of the movies that I watched as a kid.

 

¹² For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.         NLT

 

Our Western culture doesn’t embrace the concept of spiritual warfare. We would rather attribute life’s struggles to circumstances, mother nature, the environment, science or some other logical reason. But Paul clearly stated that there are spiritual battles.

 

For example, when he was in Ephesus for two years, there was a riot started by a silversmith who made shrines of the Roman goddess of Diana. Paul’s ministry was hurting his business. On the surface, it appears that the root cause of the riot was greed and jealousy. But underneath, it was a spiritual battle.

 

The book of Job is a classic example of a spiritual battle that on the surface appeared to have worldly causes: The Sabeans killed his servants and stole his oxen and donkeys. A windstorm caused a house to collapse killing his sons and daughters. His wife turned against him and told him to “curse God and die”.

 

But previous to this, unseen by Job, there was a conversation between God and Satan. The Lord pointed out the faithfulness of Job. But Satan claimed that it was only because God had blessed him with so much that Job was faithful.  

 

So, God allowed Satan to attack his servant Job to prove that he was faithful. On the surface, it appeared to be natural causes. But below the surface, in the unseen world, it was spiritual warfare.

 

When Paul wrote his letter to the Ephesians, he was under arrest and chained to a Roman soldier. So, it’s not surprising that he would use the armor of his jailer as a metaphor to encourage the Ephesians to stand strong.

 

¹³ Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.                      NIV

 

After he details what the “full armor of God” is, he closes with this statement.

 

¹⁸ Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.       NLT

 

In Ephesians, Paul teaches us that our ultimate struggle is not against human enemies, but against "spiritual forces of evil". But the good news is that we don’t have to face them alone. The Holy Spirit is always with us and makes God’s power available to us.

 

 Copyright 2026 Joseph B Williams

Feel free to share this blog with others.

www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

 

Hold on for Dear Life

A series on meeting God – Mary Magdalene
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
John 20:11-18 

[We all have a story about how we met God. Some are more miraculous than others, but none more amazing than the mere fact that the Living God, our Creator, reached out to bring us into relationship with him. In this series, we will be looking at how people in the Bible met God, and what that means to you today.]

  

Hollywood loves scary movies. According to my computer’s AI, it all started in the late 19^th century. Then the “Golden Age of Horror” followed in the 30’s. This included the iconic monsters of Frankenstein, Dracula and The Mummy. In the 60’s, there was a shift to psychological thrillers like Psycho.

 

But in 1973, The Exorcist redefined the genre of horror movies. Based on a true event, it told the story about a young girl who was possessed by a demon and the two priests who attempted to save her by exorcising them. It was the first horror movie ever nominated for the Academy Award of Best Picture.

 

There are a number of stories in the Gospels about Jesus driving out demons. One of the most dramatic is about a demon possessed man in the region of the Gerasenes. It reads like a Hollywood movie script.

 

The man was homeless and naked, living in burial caves. Even when the local people tried to bind him in chains and shackles, he simply broke them a part. Day and night he wandered in the caves howling and cutting himself with sharp stones.

 

But when the man saw Jesus approaching, he ran up to him, fell to his knees and shrieked, “In the name of God, I beg you, don’t torture me!” There were many demons inside of him, so Jesus drove them out and into a nearby herd of pigs who promptly ran into the lake and drowned.

 

However, not all of Jesus’ exorcisms were this dramatic.

 

^1b Jesus took his twelve disciples with him, ² along with some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases. Among them were Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons…      NLT   Luke 8

 

The number ‘seven’ signifies completeness, so we can assume that Mary Magdalene was completely possessed and controlled by demons. Beyond that, we don’t have any details such as how the demons manifested themselves through her behavior, or how Jesus drove the demons out.

 

But we do know that she became a dedicated follower of Jesus. Not only was she traveling with Jesus, but she also financially supported his ministry. And when Jesus was crucified, she was there; when he was buried in a tomb, she was there; and the morning following his death, she was there and discovered that his body was gone.

 

She assumed that someone had taken it. As she stood by the opening of the tomb, crying in her grief, she saw who she thought was the gardener and asked if he knew where Jesus’ body was. To her surprise, it was Jesus himself. He was alive!

 

She must have spontaneously run to him and wrapped her arms around him so tight that Jesus said, “Do not cling to me”. He then told her to return to the other disciples and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

 

Like Mary, there are times when we don’t realize that Jesus is at work in our lives. We don’t recognize him. But, also like Mary, we need to stay close to him and when we do see him… run to him and hold on for dear life.

 

⁴ You are to follow only God, your God, hold him in deep reverence, keep his commandments, listen obediently to what he says, serve him—hold on to him for dear life!                 MSG   Deuteronomy 13

 

Copyright 2025 Joseph B Williams

Feel free to share this blog with others.

www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

The Chosen

This fictional scene shows Jesus' healing of Mary Magdalene.