Sleeper Cells in the Sanctuary

Have you ever had one of those “aha” moments while reading Scripture—where you think, How have I missed this all this time? That you are like completely floored! Let me tell you, I was reading in the book of Jude this week, and I’ll be honest—some passages take time for me to really sit with and understand what the writer is trying to communicate. Jude doesn’t waste words. He gives a warning that feels just as relevant now as it did then: there are people who quietly slip into our gatherings, our sacred spaces, even our most vulnerable places, pretending to belong… but carrying entirely different intentions.

And for some reason, the phrase that came to my mind was “sleeper cells.”
I know… maybe I read too much. But stay with me.

Think about it—sleeper cells lie dormant. They don’t draw attention to themselves. They blend in. They observe. They wait. And then, suddenly, they disrupt everything in ways you never saw coming. By the time the damage is visible, they’ve already been present far longer than you realized. The passage about infiltrators felt so timely, so relevant to what’s happening in our world and culture right now. It’s amazing—and a little humbling—how Scripture can speak so directly to our present day, if we’re willing to really see it.

Let me make that plain.

Twenty years ago, as I’ve shared before, my former husband abruptly left. What I didn’t know at the time was that his exit had been carefully planned for years. Years. While we were living life, raising our girls, and building what I believed was a shared future, there was a quiet unraveling happening behind the scenes.

The ink was barely dry on the divorce decree when he contacted our daughters to tell them he had remarried.

And just like that, the questions came flooding in:
Who is she?
How did he meet her?
Where does she live?

Questions that any child—any family—would naturally ask.

But here’s the part that still feels surreal… none of those questions were ever answered. For over ten years, he disappeared from their lives without contact. And to this day, not one of them has ever seen this woman.

Even when they eventually discovered the state where their father was living—and drove hours just for the chance to see him—they still were not given the opportunity to meet her.

A presence that existed.
A life that overlapped ours.
A relationship that was built in secrecy.

A sleeper cell.

Not in the dramatic, cinematic sense—but in the quiet, deeply personal way that something (or someone) can enter your life unnoticed, take up space without your awareness, and alter your reality before you even realize what’s happening.

And if I can be honest, I see a similar pattern unfolding in a different way today.

With the rise of what many are calling “Christian nationalism,” there is a growing movement that has been slowly, almost imperceptibly, infiltrating churches and gatherings for years. It didn’t arrive loudly. It didn’t announce itself. It blended in—using familiar language, Scripture, and shared spaces. But over time, it has begun to reveal a version of Christianity that looks very different from the life and teachings of Jesus.

A version rooted more in power than humility.
More in control than surrender.
More in fear than love.

And that should give us pause.

Because this is exactly why the apostle Paul urged believers to “study to show yourself approved… rightly dividing the word of truth.” Not for head knowledge. Not for debate. But so that we would not be easily shaken, misled, or manipulated by those who use Scripture for their own purposes.

If we are not grounded in the Word—if we are not spending time reading it, understanding it, and yes, even committing it to memory—we leave ourselves vulnerable. Vulnerable to teachings that sound right but are not rooted in truth. Vulnerable to voices that carry influence but not integrity.

And before we point fingers outward, this is also an inward call.

Discernment isn’t just about recognizing what’s wrong “out there.”
It’s about being so anchored in truth that we can recognize when something is off—even when it’s wrapped in the language of faith.

Jude warned us.
Paul instructed us.
And Jesus showed us what truth actually looks like—lived out in love, humility, and sacrifice.

So maybe the question isn’t just what has been quietly infiltrating our spaces…
but also, have we been paying attention?

Because not everything that carries the name of Christ reflects His heart.

And in a time like this, we don’t need louder voices—we need deeper roots.

Mama Wisdom Reflection:

“Lord, give us discernment. Help us to know Your Word, not just hear it. And guard our hearts from anything that looks like You… but isn’t.”