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Satan’s Snipers

19 May

Satan’s Snipers

2 Corinthians 10:4-6 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,6 and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.

Why should I act like I have it all together? Why should I put on my happy face and make you think that all is well in my world? As a disciple of Jesus, you might expect me to live some lofty life; some carefree seemingly endless seam of blessing full of the joys found in this world. Why would a Christian suffer, if Jesus is so good? Many a false teacher is proclaiming that false gospel today; “if you are not living blessed by God you do not have enough faith in God.” I am not sure if their Bible has in it John 16:33 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” The man who God used to write most of the New Testament suffered greatly for God; even at his salvation God told Ananias how, For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake. (Acts 9:16) As a Christian you are at war with the limited ruler of this world and Satan is not about to let you off easy. You have waged war against evil itself, but you are now fighting on a spiritual plain that is in an invisible world. You cannot see nor defeat by your own strong will and power; you must rely on God and the power of his Word; you must understand that you are fighting a defeated foe.

Spiritual warfare is so real but recognized by so few. This warfare comes at you cunningly by the father of lies and deception, always seeking to weaken your faith. His tactics are endless and extraordinary. The stronghold in your life are his snipers behind battle lines. I know the Lord has clearly been speaking to me on strongholds he has in my life; only you and God know your weak positions. Satan’s snipers are deadly; they kill from within for they weaken our testimonies and faith. The world reaches out and grabs our attentions and suddenly we are in pursuits of the pleasures of the world. Only a heart, mind, body, and soul pursuit of God daily can defend against these attacks. We cannot win on our own accord, but the strength found only in prayer and diligent study of God’s Word can, and already has won the spiritual war.

Strongholds…..what are yours? Where has Satan placed a sniper in your life? You know, and likely he is trying to get you to deny it’s existence, or maybe lessen the importance of it’s existence. Listen to Jesus’ words about Satan as he condemned the religious leaders of the day. 44 You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. Go to God in prayer and his word to fight the good fight against the enemy. Joy is not found in this world; it is found in eternity with Jesus and all that Satan tempts you with is to take your eyes off that reality. It takes a diligent daily pursuit of God to fight this spiritual war; laying down your guard let’s the snipers in. Fight the good fight in prayer and his Word and know that only he can defeat that stronghold in your life.

 
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Posted by on May 19, 2015 in Daily Devotions

 

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he told me to _________

15 Apr

he told me to _________

James 1:12-13 Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. 13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.

You really ought to have a bookmark in your Bible for the first chapter of James. It is such clear, practical teachings of what you deal with in daily life. James speaks about how the world reaches out and grabs our attention, and how we struggle with so many temptations of the world that take our eyes off Jesus. James talks about the trials of life that God designs, or allows for our spiritual growth and maturity. James talks about the struggles of sin that Satan uses to draw us deeper into sin. James talks about the value we put on wealth, and clearly states that earthly wealth is temporal and will fade away just as the suns heat fades flowers in the field (James 1:11)

James moves to from talking about the trials, to the temptations that may play a role in them. God either designs or allows every single thing you face, every single day in your life. Let me be clear here; God does not tempt you to sin in any way, but Satan has asked God to tempt you with any sin that you face. God would be going against his holy nature if he enticed you to sin; his goal is to transform you into the image of his Son. Romans 8:29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. You are born into sin, you have a sin-nature because you are a descendant of Adam; you are enticed to sin because Satan tempts you with the pleasures of sin. We all know that sin has a temporary pleasure, but the conviction of the sin carries a weight or a penalty with it that is eternal. We must answer for every thought, word, and action of our life here at the judgement seat of Christ. We will either be kneeling before him forgiven, or we will be kneeling before him condemned, because we never repented of our sin and lived our lives full of temporary pleasure. Then we will pay eternally for our mistake.

The struggle with sin and the temptation of sin are with us until we reach heaven. The closer you draw to God, the deeper your desire to remove yourself from sin becomes. Satan will continually seek to tempt you; he will continually raise the level of your temptations and the trials of life to try and get you to renounce your faith in God. Do you remember how the trials of Job escalated? Even those closest to Job begged him to renounce his faith. Job was rewarded with earthly pleasures and likely and an incredible heavenly reward for the depth and steadfastness of his faith in God. As children when we got in trouble, likely we blamed it on somebody else. We claimed they were at fault for our fault. Satan is at fault for your sin, but by seeking God daily in prayer and his Word, he will give you the strength to resist. 1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.

Paul also wrote in his epistles how we were not to continue in sin; sadly today many live misunderstanding grace, and think they have a pass to sin. Don’t let Satan convince you of that untruth. Spend enough time with God to recognize what is truth and error. Spend enough time with God that your only desire is to not sin. That desire is the strength to face the sins and temptation of the world with your shield of faith; to resist the schemes of the devil, and to stand fast for truth. You will become a light in a dark world that God uses to draw others to himself. You will become a Job of sorts, enduring trials and temptations, and drawing glory to God through them. Instead of blaming the other kid on the playground, you will be saying your faith in God gave you the strength to endure this trial of life.

 
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Posted by on April 15, 2015 in Daily Devotions

 

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Oh crap; they are up!

16 Sep

Oh crap; they are up!

Mark 9:23-24 Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” 24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”

I struggle with memory greatly, and that might be the understatement of the year. I can read something, comprehend and be moved by it, and when I am done with it, I cannot recall it to you. I do believe stress is a great factor in this struggle with all of us, and I pray that the DNA in my family line with ALZ is not coming to play an early role. This is one of those underlying fears that shapes me; no different from you in what makes you who you are. A good friend of mine on a mission trip told us, “There is more to see, than what you see.” A few words in a short sentence that have very deep meaning to us all.

In the passage above, Jesus was about to heal a boy possessed by a demon spirit. The disciples had not been able to, and the boys father was pleading to Jesus through tears to help his son. Jesus saw the faith of the father and the boy was healed! Doubt was coming into play in this situation, and Satan was at work greatly in it, but who has the power over him? Jesus does, and if you are a child of God you must come to fully understand that whatever struggle you are dealing with is passing through His hands. 1 John 4:4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. Satan is worming his way into your life through doubt, which is rooted in fear, which is not from God. 2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. Satan may be content with letting you believe a little, but he is determined to limit the level of your belief because that threatens him and his kingdom. Satan is content with you feeling good about yourself on Sundays, but he fears one who spends every day seeking God in prayer and His Word. Does the alarm in hell go off every morning when your feet his the floor?

God gave me this passage in prayer time just after 5am out on my front porch. I go there most mornings for peace and solitude with him to start my day. I was talking to God about some big things going on in my life and how memory affects it. The Holy Spirit reminded me of this passage in Mark. As I came in and spent time in the Bible digging deeper into that passage, my faith was strengthened. He will do the exact same thing for you; there is nothing special about me. When you are in doubt, spend time with the One who stomps out that fear welling up inside of you. This is a daily battle; that means seven days a week; not just Sunday.

 
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Posted by on September 16, 2014 in Daily Devotions

 

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Wheat

11 Mar

Wheat

Luke 22:31-32   And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. 32 But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.” 33 But he said to Him, “Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death.”

Sometimes the Holy Spirit just really presses a scripture on my heart. I believe from the bottom of my heart for the power of entering God’s Word through prayer. Yesterday, this passage really stood out to me; so much so I could not write, so much so I was back on it this morning, so much so it will be Sunday’s message. What God has planned for this, I do not know; I only seek to abide. Will you join me in the study of this passage? Will you look deeper into the understanding of the Sovereignty of God for your life? Will you look deeper into the trials such as Job? Will you look deeper into the pride and zeal of Peter? Will you look deeper into the security found in God not only allowing it, but Christ praying for you through it?

Sifting is the violent action of separating the good from the bad; separating the useful from the useless; separating that which will produce from that which will not; separating that which will produce a hundred-fold from the singular one. Have you been sifted for God; do you need to be? We all think we may have been, and likely we have been as the beginning of sanctification at the point of salvation. We are to become regenerated; to live a new life; most likely that will not be an easy process for our roots are steep in sin. We need to be shaken violently to begin to remove the sin from our lives.

You can picture Satan and all his evil plans going to God to reek havoc in your life. On the contrary in God’s incomprehensible Sovereignty, he sees the good that will come of it. He may grant Satan a limited reign of testing, all to draw you closer to Him. Satan ALWAYS has to ask permission, always. There is nothing that ever happens in your life that did not pass through the hands of God. God has either by design, or permission, allowed all that you face every day. Rest in that understanding. Draw closer to him in that understanding. In the midst of the violence, there can be an inner calm and peace in the storm.

 
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Posted by on March 11, 2014 in Daily Devotions

 

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Woe is me if I ____________________

10 Jan

Woe is me if I ____________________

1 Corinthians 9:16 For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!

We all have had days and even weeks like I am having this week. I call them, “Murphy’s Law” weeks, for it has seeming went wrong at every turn. I could just start a pity-party rant of my list of woes that I have been dealing with this week. Sometimes it gets so bad you just have to almost laugh to keep from crying. Stresses and strains of every day life that we all deal with when they seem to take an elevated turn. I hear these type stories from many of you as a HVAC repairman. “You would not believe all that has happened to me this week, now I come home to no heat at my house…….” I had a sermon this past Sunday where we were looking into developing that daily time with God in prayer and his Word. I am sure Satan sent his army to discourage any of us that were pursuing God more than we did the day before. He excels at giving us many reasons to not spend that time with God. The Bible puts it this way; 1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Do you remember in the book of Job when Satan was approaching God asking permission to attack Job? This was how God greeted him and Satan’s answer; Job 1:7 And the Lord said to Satan, “From where do you come?” So Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.” Not everything that happens in your life is spiritual warfare, but you must also realize that some of it is. When you are pursuing God, there is a good possibility that those distractions are.

I told a good friend of mine yesterday when I have times like this, I always think of the apostle Paul. For all that he suffered for Christ, yet in all of it, he glorified Christ. Paul’s list of sufferings are immeasurable, but beatings, shipwrecks, and imprisonments were the norm. Paul was speaking in this context of 1 Corinthians about his humility, and he even uses it to glorify Christ. He could even brag about the level of his sufferings for Christ. When you truly set your mind on eternity, all things here will take a temporal level in your life. Colossians 3:1 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. When life comes at you hard, just remember that pain here is temporary; you will leave this temporal life and spend eternity without sin and pain when you come to know Jesus Christ as your Savior. You only have this life to make that eternal decision. Do not wait until it is too late.

 
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Posted by on January 10, 2014 in Daily Devotions

 

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Don’t take a sword to a gunfight

03 Dec

Don’t take a sword to a gunfight

Matthew 4:10-11    Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ” 11 Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.

Christ had went to John the Baptist and been baptized in the Jordan River by immersion. Christ had risen from the water, a dove had landed on his shoulder, and God had spoken from heaven regarding his son. Afterwards the preparation for his ministry began as Christ was lead into the desert to fast for 40 days. No details of that time seem to be known, but yet Christ in his earthly form, surely drew closer to God in prayer and solitude like never before. Then at the end of the fast, when he was close to God in earthly form, Satan came on the attack. Christ was tempted by Satan as we know, and Christ refuted Satan with only one thing; the Word of God. In all three temptations, Christ quoted Scripture to battle the enemy. The Word of God is our only offensive weapon in the realm of Spiritual Warfare. How will you do battle if you do not know how to fire the gun?

Only a short time ago I experienced a warfare on an elevated plain. Looking back on how I handled it, I failed miserably. My enemy got the best of me, and anger was what came forth, not the Word of God. I felt like Peter in the Garden of Gethsemane lashing out with my sword; I felt the Holy Spirit say to me, “sit back down”. I am passionate, and my emotions will sometimes get the best of me. I have so much to learn; and it is all found in time spent in God’s Word. The more time you spend there in tireless, prayerful pursuit; the more you are prepared to meet whatever the world throws you. 2 Corinthians 10:3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, 6 and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.

What are you doing this morning? Is your day hurriedly trying to meet the deadlines? Has it started out at a stopwatch pace? In my study of this scripture this morning I was lead to Luke 11:21-28. There are many roads to go down in that passage, but at the root of it is the pursuit of God. In that pursuit is found the strength to fight the enemy. The enemy is lurking all around you today. 1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. You must be prepared to defend yourself, you must know how to also be offensive; how to fire the gun, the Word of God.

 
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Posted by on December 3, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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Wrestling

23 Nov

Wrestling

2 Corinthians 11:12-15     But what I do, I will also continue to do, that I may cut off the opportunity from those who desire an opportunity to be regarded just as we are in the things of which they boast. 13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. 15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.

I am mentally exhausted. Part of me wants to write about the reason why, part of me does not want to share. If this blog is truly sharing my journey with Christ, then I must share whatever road he has me going down, for on each journey I seek to point you to him. I am living proof of the power of God’s grace and mercy. I have been given a gift in both of them that at my hearts core I seek to share the hope and understanding with you that it is available to all of you. There ain’t nothing special about me; I am nothing but an ol’ country boy with a heart for God. But in that understanding, comes the understanding that my enemy knows this also.

Last night I went toe to toe with one as such described in the scriptures above. Spiritual warfare on a tangible plain that was evident to all. It provoked me in a way I have not been provoked. It was scary to say the least; it was very real. Me and one other person somewhat grasped the spiritual warfare of what was unfolding. The details of the encounter are not important, and to be honest, even seem a blur this morning. What I seek to share with you is the reality of your life as a Christian; in that reality that you have an enemy. Ephesians 6:12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. When you answer that tug God has placed on your heart, repent of your sins, and make Jesus the Lord of your life, you step out into traffic in this world. You are no longer under the ruler of this world (Satan), you are a child of God forever sealed into eternal paradise. But that does not mean it will be an easy ride for your time here.

I have only experienced one other encounter such as this; it left me just as confused as this. Satan and his angels are the greatest manipulators, great deceivers, and very intelligent in their tactics. God will protect you through them, you are secure in Him. Through them you will come to see a deeper need for Him; you will come to a desire to pursue Him more in his Word and prayer. The more time you spend daily with the God in prayer and his Word, the greater your discernment becomes. The greater your discernment becomes, the less likely you are to being deceived. In this dark world in which we live, discernment is as vital for survival.

 
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Posted by on November 23, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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