Hey y’all, and welcome to Monday Manna!
We’ve had a few posts take off since we started this Substack back in March, but nothing like this one.
”7 Satanic Trends Christians Need to Stop Following” has gone to a whole new level, and it’s confirmed something that has been on our hearts for a while.
Today, we’re going to unpack that…
We’ve Under-Spiritualized the Spirit World
We just posted “6 MORE Satanic Trends Christians Have Been Tricked to Live By”, and this time we lay it all out there: Santa, Halloween, medication and environmental toxins. If you thought Part 1 was rocky, grab your hard hat for this one! We’ll share the feedback we get in next week’s Monday Manna. :)
“7 Satanic Trends Christians Need to Stop Following” caused some ‘aha’ moments for people. A lot of people, in fact.
But here’s the thing: we’re not saying anything revelatory. We’re just pointing out a hard truth few Christians are willing to say out loud.
The devil is the little-g “god” of this world.
That’s not our phrase. It’s Paul’s:
“In their case 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
And Jesus called him “the ruler of this world” more than once (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11).
Yet in America especially, we’ve under-spiritualized the spirit world. We either don’t recognize the impact the devil has on our culture and our daily lives, or we flat-out refuse to.
Dr. Z here for a moment…
When I was a young Christian, 23 years old, I met a young woman at church who was working as an au pair from South Africa. She was here on a two-year visa, getting a fresh start after a hard season back home, and she was a sweet girl.
We got to talking one day, and she told me how shocked she was that Americans are absolutely oblivious and blind to the spirit world.
Then she told me how aware people back home were of the demonic, and how intricately it was woven into everyday life:
Their culture.
Their music.
Their healthcare.
Their traditions.
That conversation has stuck with me for more than two decades.
So this isn’t really a Christian phenomenon. It’s more of an American one.
And we see the same thing across other Western, science-first cultures, where God and the spirit world get largely ignored.
But since the beginning of mankind, people have recognized that spiritual forces are at work in their lives. Scripture never pretended otherwise:
“For 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
So when someone posts something like “7 Satanic Trends Christians Need to Stop Following,” it makes some waves. At the very least, it creates a ripple in the still pond we call church today.
And the only reason it is a still pond is because the church is largely afraid to create waves in the first place!
The trends in that post aren’t just bad habits or cultural quirks. They’re spiritual. And as long as we treat them as neutral, we’ll keep following them without a second thought.
That’s why the post struck a nerve.
Most Christians can feel the battle. Very few are willing to name it.
So this week, we want you to name it.
When a trend shows up in your feed, your home or even your church, ask: is this leading me toward God’s truth or away from it?
If it’s leading you away, call it what it is, and refuse to follow it.
Then don’t sit in fear. Submit to God and resist.
“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” — James 4:7
Wake up to the battle. Don’t be afraid of it.
And stop following what the enemy is selling.
The devil may be the god of this world, but he isn’t the God of your home, amen?!
If you haven’t read it yet, here’s the post folks are talking about:
YOUR DAILY MANNA
“I do not ask that You take them out of the world, but that You keep them from the evil one.” — John 17:15
This is Jesus praying for us, hours before the cross.
Notice what He doesn’t pray. He doesn’t ask the Father to pull us out of the world. He asks the Father to keep us from the evil one.
That one line answers both mistakes we see in the Church today. Some Christians pretend the evil one isn’t real. Others are so afraid of him they want to hide from the world. Jesus does neither. We stay in the world, and the Father keeps us.
And just two verses later, He tells us how: “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth” (John 17:17).
That’s why “your truth” is the lie behind all the others. The enemy’s oldest strategy is still the one he used in the garden: “Did God actually say…?” (Genesis 3:1).
So here is your one thing this week.
Pick one of the seven trends you know you’ve been living by, even a little. Then find one verse that speaks to it, write it down and put it where you’ll see it every morning.
Stay in the world. Stay in the Word. He keeps us.
What We Are Loving This Week
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Featured Posts
Everything we’ve published since Manna #22, all three pieces, right here.
If you only have time for one, start with 7 Satanic Trends. Then go deeper with “Your Truth” Is the Lie Behind All the Others, our deep dive on Trend #1.
Inner Circle
Inner Circle members, Week 2 of our 41-Day Nervous System Reset was The Spiritual Battle on Your Screen. (Fitting for this week’s Manna.)
Tap below to find your weekly workbook, Bible Health Blueprint Course Manual and this week’s affirmation & prayer card:
![[LIVE] Week 2 Nervous System Reset: The Spiritual Battle on Your Screen](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!2UKb!,w_140,h_140,c_fill,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep,g_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-video.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fvideo_upload%2Fpost%2F218242059%2F6ab259ce-9aef-418a-897b-186cb9608f23%2Ftranscoded-00001.png)
From Natural Living Family
Bible Health is where we teach the why. Over on Natural Living Family this week we taught the how. Here are three favorites worth your five minutes…
Gentle Parasite Cleanse + Easy Decluttering + Top 10 Essential Oils + Heirloom Seeds
101 Essential Oil Uses + DIY Pollinator Garden + Biblical Self-Love + Mashed Potatoes
Geranium Essential Oil + Instant Stress Relief + Emotional Healing + Vegan Caesar
Want more from our Natural Living Family Substack?
The god of this world would love for the Church to stay asleep. Jesus has already overcome him, and He calls us to stay awake.
If you are just joining us, start here. It is the piece that explains why we say the hard things out loud…
Upgrade and learn what God’s Word says about every area of life
and how to live it. That’s what Bible Health is all about.
Walk each 6-week live group study the day it opens.
Get the Blueprint and every weekly Swap.
Follow Jesus, not trends, in every area.
As always, our hope and prayer is that you experience the abundant life.
~ Dr. Z & Mama Z
Pray for my town Pensacola, FL. 🙏 We are going to be hit by Isaias. My wife and I are on vacation in the Philippines, watching anxiously for the storm to pass in about 16 hours from now. It looks like, in the forecast that wind shear is going to knock it down real fast and it will be moving at about 15 miles per hour, so it won’t be hanging around like Ivan 22 years ago or Sally 6 years ago. None the less, pray for our community. Thanks