Some Kind of Zombie

"And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others."
Ephesians 2:1-3

I borrowed the title to this devotional from the Christian rock band Audio Adrenaline. It was the title of one of their cd's. I have always like the title. We who are believers are just a bunch of dead men (and women) walking around. We were dead in our trespasses and sin. We were in bondage to our sins, and we were headed for hell. And now the dead have come alive, through Jesus Christ.

But these verses tell us something else as well. They verifiy for us, that there is, in fact, an enemy out there, who influences behavior, by telling us to fulfill the desires of the flesh, and to fulfill the desires of the mind. He is called here the prince of the power of the air. Other places in Scripture, he is called the dragon, the god of this age, and the devil. His name is Satan, and he wants to destroy your soul. Many of us as believers, just brush that off and go on with our lives. But for the Bible to bring it up and talk about him means that he is real, and his purposes are real, and we believers shouldn't be too casual.

There is an influence in this world that is motivated by the devil. It shackles people to sins and behavior that lead to bondage and destruction. And as believers, we once walked according to this influence. We were dead. We thought nothing about walking after the lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eyes, and the pride of life. The mantra in the 1970's when I was young(er) was "sex, drugs, and rock 'n roll." That epitomizes pursuing the lusts of the flesh and eyes. But as my generation got older, it easily transformed into pursuing the pride of life: position, power, prestige, and prosperity (money). The right job, with the right company, driving the right car, marrying the right spouse, living in the right neighborhood. Pretty soon we wake up and wonder how in the world we got where we are, a slave to our own life. But there is a way out of that bondage. Satan wants us to think, that when we come to the end of ourselves, there is nothing more than despair and despondency and depression. That is a lie from the pit of hell. When we come to the end of ourselves, God is there, waiting for us. The next couple verses in Ephesians tell us:

"But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus." Ephesians 2:4-7

We who were dead are now alive. We who were once children of wrath and sons of disobedience, are now made alive in Christ Jesus. We have been made alive through the gift of the grace of God. We are saved. Thanks Audio A, we truly are Some Kind of Zombie. Shalom.