Day 07 - Between Dan and Pan

Today reminded us that following Jesus always places us in the middle of a battle.

We were reminded again that we are living in a spiritual battle, and that faithful following of Jesus is not easy. Freedom is real. Resistance is real. And, the tension between the two has always existed.

Our day began on the eastern shores of the Sea of Galilee, where with a word Jesus healed a man tormented by a legion of demons. This was not symbolic. Nor was it abstract. It was spiritual warfare on display. Darkness confronted by light. Bondage met by authority.

Jesus came to set people free. The Apostle Paul later echoed this truth plainly in Galatians 5:1: “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.” We are called to stand in that freedom.

And yet, there are always other voices.

Voices that urge us to soften conviction.

Voices that encourage us to add substitutes to Jesus.

Voices that tell us to trust our own understanding, choose comfort, avoid tension, and take the easier path.

This struggle is not new.

We reflected on the story of the Tribe of Dan. God placed Dan in the Shephelah, a contested and difficult region, calling them to press into dark places and bring light. But, the task was hard and resistance was strong. Rather than trusting God, they chose comfort and compromise. Dan migrated north, settling near the edge of the land.

Comfort often masquerades as wisdom.

Compromise often disguises itself as peace.

Comfort and compromise always distort worship.

From the very beginning of the northern kingdom, under Jeroboam I, worship became polluted with golden calves and mixed loyalties. God plus something else. What began as convenience led to corruption, and what began as compromise ended in collapse. In 722 BC, God allowed the Assyrians to scatter the ten northern tribes.

Then we fast-forward to the New Testament.

Just down the road from Tel Dan lies Caesarea Philippi, a place saturated with pagan devotion. Here, gods were honored. Pan, the half-man half-goat god of fertility, was worshiped. Sexual rites, agricultural magic, political power, and false spirituality converged.

It was here, in this place of distortion and darkness, that Jesus spoke one of His boldest declarations.

In Matthew 16, Jesus said, “I will build my church.”

Not in a safe place.

Not in a comfortable place.

But, in a place where truth would be contested.

Jesus reminds us that the church is not called to drift, dilute, or disappear. We are not called to surrender truth for comfort or trade conviction for convenience. The church is built through courage, faithfulness, and obedience, even when standing for what is right means standing against the current.

The promise still stands.

The church will not fall.

The church will not fail.

The church will not vanish.

Christ will build His church until the world knows.

And we have a part to play.

Just like the man healed on the eastern shores of the Sea of Galilee. Once freed, he went and told the ten cities of the Decapolis what Jesus had done for him. And the name of Jesus spread. People listened. Hearts opened.

Everyone has a story.

Someone needs to hear it.

You have a story.

Someone needs to hear it.

Go tell the story.

Shalom,

Jerrell