That’s a strong title, but I’ll back it up.

There are so many points that will be made on social media and news outlets over the coming days and weeks. I’m certain that almost all of them will be made by people who are much smarter than I am in the arena of geopolitical realities.

But none of the things that you and I will hear from mainstream media (or “side-stream media” for that matter) will be the most important lesson that we must learn from the invasion launched by Vladimir Putin last night on the Ukrainian people. What is it, you ask?

Our enemy never went away.

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8)

The discussions people will have about Russia will reveal rather quickly what the generations think about the country. Many who only know Russia in her current state will struggle to understand why the older generations only think of Ivan Drago and the former Soviet Union when they hear about Russia.

Only one of those groups is surprised today about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Many followers of Jesus view Satan the same way our current culture has viewed Russia: he’s around us, but probably isn’t as bad as others have tried to make him look. The devil is seen as this kind of misunderstood figure who likely had something bad happen to him that made him the way he is today. This is what happens when a generation consumes origin stories like candy. But the origin story for Satan is a quick one: he wanted to be God, he tried to take over from God, and now he’s fighting against God.

He may be defeated, but it doesn’t mean he isn’t dangerous. He is seeking to devour, and when we think of him in any other way than that, we let down our guards and become his target.

Russia has prowled around the border of Ukraine for decades, and the world has been lulled to sleep. Satan has used the same tactic, and the church has stopped believing he’ll ever do anything more than just prowl around.

But prowling isn’t Satan’s endgame, any more than just being near Ukraine was Russia’s. He wants a complete take-over, and the easiest way for our enemy to invade us is to convince us that he never will.

But he is patient, and he will wait as long as it takes.

The truth that our enemy never went away isn’t supposed to fill us with fear. Instead, it must fill us with vigilance. The verse doesn’t say to “be afraid” because he prowls around, but rather to “be alert” because of it.

It’s time to wake up, Church. It’s time to admit that we have played with fire and been burned. We’ve gone swimming with sharks and called “foul” because they attacked, without realizing the inevitable outcome of swimming with creatures that attack.

We’ve allowed the enemy to roam around our borders too long, and we’ve forgotten that he only prowls until he finds something to devour. Both personally and corporately, it’s time for followers of Jesus to inspect the conditions of their walls (see Nehemiah 2:15), and begin rebuilding the low places that our very real enemy wants to access.

Watch the news. Listen to the talking heads. But in all of it, please learn the ONE thing that matters most: our enemy is still looking for a way to devour, and we are the standard that God wants to raise up against him.

Reading Time: < 1 minuteJoel Osteen, the pastor of Lakewood Church, the largest Protestant church in America, admitted in a shocking interview that he really isn’t happy as he appears.

“I remember joking around when I was a kid,” Osteen confessed, “and at one point I snuck up behind my mom, tapped her on the shoulder, and when she turned around I had this big, toothy grin on my face hoping to get a laugh out of her.”

What he got was a whole lot worse!

“She looked at me, frowned, and then she pointed her finger at me and scolded (like only moms can), ‘Joel Scott Osteen, your face will freeze like that!’  Now, it has.”

I tried to reach Joel Osteen to verify the truth of this story, but he didn’t respond to my inquiries.  I also had no success trying to find anything on Wikipedia.  If you also can’t find any truth to this tale, I’d suggest you just chalk it up to April Fool’s silliness and a curiosity to see how something like this could impact a person’s blog stats.

Reading Time: 2 minutes

So apparently, Apple Maps has twice now given turn by turn directions to drivers who ended up crossing an active runway at the airport in Fairbanks, Alaska.  Having used maps quite a bit and once been taken to a home owned by “Lana Bowling” when I was looking for a “Bowling Alley” I have to admit that I can see how this could happen.  But to me, the crazy part of this whole story isn’t that a map application failed to give good directions, but that the headlines for the story focus on the app INSTEAD OF THE DRIVER!

Who takes their GPS unit or their map app of choice so literally that they actually drive across an active airport runway??  “Oh look, there’s a really large jet landing.  I guess we should cross here anyway!” – said no one EVER (unless, of course, they’re one of the 2 yahoos driving in Fairbanks looking for the airport).  And if you see airplanes on a runway, wouldn’t that be some kind of clue that you’re, oh, say, AT THE AIRPORT??!  Couldn’t you then just LOOK AT THE SIGNS to find your way to the terminal?  Most airports have those (terminals AND signs that direct people to them).

And if you don’t want to put the responsibility on the shoulders of the iPhone loving drivers, you’ve still got another choice long before you blame a piece of software.  How about the Fairbanks International Airport for not having fences or gates to restrict access to a road where JETS ARE LANDING??  Seems like that shouldn’t be an option to drivers, no matter how bad the turn-by-turn directions may be from a small phone in the car.

Thoughts?  Opinions?  Planning a trip to Fairbanks to try the directions for yourself?  Weigh in on the matter in the comments below.