Eagle Point Church: Jacksonville, AL

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.” (Eph. 6:10-13)

The schemes of the devil never end this side of eternity. He will never stop in his efforts to disrupt and derail any work for Christ. He never takes time off to rest. He never enjoys a holiday. He never honors Sunday as a day of worship. In fact, he will walk right through the doors of the local church, seek out any heart that is not entirely sold out to the cause of Jesus Christ, and fire away with his full arsenal in an all-out effort to destroy.

Yesterday before our first worship service Bob Slay (El Heffe), the leader of our Honduras Mission efforts, shared an email with me from Dr. Eddie Gibson, one of the key directors who oversees all work at the “Baptist Medical Dental Mission” in Honduras. It seems the Honduran government is “trying to hit the mission with thousands of dollars of back taxes and fees.” The mission has always done everything they have been required to do to remain in compliance. They have worked hard to meet all necessary requirements.

Now it seems the government is not satisfied with compliance. They now want the mission to pay thousands more that they do not owe. Dr. Gibson stated in his email that the government has become more and more difficult to deal with “in spite of the fact that we are pouring hundreds of thousands of dollars of donated goods into Honduras each year to help poor people. They continue to make it more and more difficult for us to operate there.”

The one sentence in the email that stood out to me in his correspondence to all the board members and team leaders stated:

If it were not for hurting those who need the help the most, it would be tempting to just quit shipping anything into Honduras, but I know we all want to do everything we can to meet the physical needs of the poor as we help them recognize their spiritual needs.

One of Satan’s primary schemes is cause Christians to grow weary and discouraged in hopes that we will quit trying to accomplish anything for the cause of Christ, whether that be right here in Jacksonville or to the poor of Honduras. I believe the Honduran government’s request for “thousands and thousands of dollars” is a demonic request and we must remember that our enemy is flesh and blood. Our enemy is not the Honduran government. Our enemies are the demons of hell that are pulling their strings. This is nothing more than a satanic attack!

Therefore, we must put on the full armor. We must pray hard at all times. We must be strong in the Lord. We must stand firm. So, pray hard for the mission in Honduras today. Pray hard for Michael and Alba Anderson. Pray hard for Sr. Eddie Gibson and the Board of Directors for the Baptist Medical Dental Mission of Honduras. Pray for all the teams, like ours, that are making spiritual preparation for their mission to proclaim the true gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ in Honduras.

Remember, our adversary is seeking to devour all who give in, give out, give up. STAND STRONG! The devil can have no victory in our lives and in our ministries unless we allow it! He is already a defeated foe. His end is already mapped out by the Sovereign God of the universe. Let’s give him no short-term victories in either Jacksonville or Honduras!

Derek