Isn’t “Spiritual” Enough?

I live in Los Angeles, California and I’ve lived all over- in the quiet, peaceful suburbs & the restless, chaotic streets of Hollywood. There’s a specific darkness throughout Hollywood- which is ironic because it’s supposed to be a place of glitter and gold. As a child, I grew up about 30 minutes from Hollywood, but I never discerned the specific principalities (Ephesians 6:12) at work in the underbelly. Disclaimer: if you're afraid of discussions about the demonic/spiritual realm... now is the time to leave this blog post.  

2 Corinthians 4:4 calls Satan the "god of this world". Now, do not get confused. He is not THEE God- Our Lord still has dominion and His purposes on the earth will happen. Nevertheless, this "fallen" world we live in is the devil's playground. Now, different cities have different "spiritual principalities" at work- in some, it's atheism. In others, it's sexual immorality. In some areas, there are heavy spiritual influences of depression and suicidal ideation. 

Los Angeles is special. It's a cocktail of demonic suppression and powers at work, but one in particular- the spirit of the new age. While I won't go too deep into what that is right now, it stirs up a lot of curiousity into counterfeit versions of Christ. It's heavily into mysticism and spiritual practices that are oftentimes mixed into a biblical framework. This means that people are practicing divinity & witchcraft… while attending church and claiming to be a Christian. This, inherently is wrong. The enemy is crafty. He wants you to believe that being “spiritual” is synonymous with being a believer in Jesus Christ. It is NOT. 

“There’s a specific darkness in the streets of Hollywood- which is ironic because it’s supposed to be a place of glitter and gold.”

There’s a misconception that’s common at play: you think Satan cares if you go to church or not. He doesn't care if you step into the four walls of a church. In fact, as long as you are a slave and blind to your sin, he doesn’t mind that you go through the surface level rituals of Christianity. His objective is to keep you delusional and powerless.  He'd love for you to join a small group or bible study- deceiving other well-meaning Christians into disobeying God. He has the same intention for our churches- afterall, a church is made up of the saints. 2 Corinthians 6:16 says, “We, believers, are now the temple of the living God!” If the saints are blinded and in covenant with idols, then God’s church is in jeopardy. 

Speaking of the church, we’re now afraid to say that we’re religious. We say instead, that we’re “spiritual”. That's like saying the sun is hot. We're all spirits. Everything is spiritual. Demons are a spirit. They’re spiritual too! It’s not even enough to agree that God exists. In fact, demons believe too- James 2:19 says, “You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!” We have to believe and commit to Jesus being our LORD AND SAVIOR. If we do, we cannot stay the same without a level of conviction to follow His voice. We should have no other God before Him!

It’s time that we, as believers in Jesus Christ, make it plain. The mini-elephant in the room is this: we have a fear of man that supersedes our holy fear and reverence for God. We’re afraid of being judged, ostracized, or losing out on opportunities. But hey… that’s another conversation for another time.

Question: Are you passionate about your identity as a follower of Jesus? If not, why? What doubts or fears are getting in the way of that confidence?