We have freedom in Christ to be different from the world. The world is in bondage to their own sinful hearts, we as believers have been freed from that mess.
2 Corinthians 3:17
"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom."
Friday, August 12, 2016
Know the Enemy of Our Soul
We cannot handle the enemy if we don't know how he operates. The Bible tells us how deceitful and diabolical the enemy of Christ is and what our response should be.
That enemy is the devil, not human beings, however the devil operates in human beings. His goal is to cause doubt and fear intimidating us into silence. There is nothing more pleasing to the devil than the silent believer who fears rejection of those who are expected to love them.
Ephesians 6:11-13 "…11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can make your stand against the devil’s schemes.
12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world's darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
13 Therefore take up the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you will be able to stand your ground, and having done everything, to stand."
We need to get used to calling things what they really are instead of living in a fanciful world of make believe to cause ourselves to "feel" better and to be "liked" by others.
The devil uses emotions to weaken us while making sin look attractive. He uses people to come against us, that we might be alone and unsupported. He also skews our perspective that we might wonder if we really did do wrong by obeying Christ. The more doubt and fear he can bring into our souls the greater chance we will be unusable to Christ.
Matthew 10:16-17 "16 Look, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. 17 But beware of men; for they will hand you over to their councils and flog you in their synagogues."
Often the devil, using the mouths of unregenerate people, works to cause doubt in us when we know we have obeyed God. These people will proclaim loudly that we were the ones who are disobedient, when it is they who walk in rebellion desiring to accuse us of what they are doing and we are not.
These tools of the devil will do mean things and point out our response and challenge to their tactics, as mean. They will interpret our behavior in terms of how they think rather than what really occurred.
When a mean spirited devil controlled person has contempt for Christ, that person knows their own motives are to destroy, so they think that is also the motive of everyone else they encounter.
Any attempts at bringing sense and rational solutions to life are met with hostility. When we see this happening we know our words are falling on deaf ears, then it is time to walk away and leave that stubborn heart to God.
Sadly, there are more of these resistant people than ever before in these end times. Their responses can be very intense, dedicating them to our ruin. And, to top it all off, these people who are hearing the whispers of the devil are from within the ranks of the "Christian church." We must depend on Christ to make us discerning, asking to be aware of reality as well as teaching us to respond in the Holy Spirit rather than our flesh.
James 1:4-6 "…4 Allow perseverance to finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6 But he must ask in faith, without doubting, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.…"
Our focus must be Christ always. When a human being attempts to control us or take our focus off Christ, then it is Christ we must obey.
Acts 5:29 "29 But Peter and the other apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than men."
There will be those who will attempt to place us under bondage to their humanistic rules that are not in the Scriptures, we must resist them and obey Christ alone.
When we cannot remove ourselves from these people, then we know we are being trained to be strong in spite of what we encounter. If we can remove ourselves we have permission from God and even commanded by Him to do so, 2 Timothy 3:5 is clear, "from such turn away."
That enemy is the devil, not human beings, however the devil operates in human beings. His goal is to cause doubt and fear intimidating us into silence. There is nothing more pleasing to the devil than the silent believer who fears rejection of those who are expected to love them.
Ephesians 6:11-13 "…11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can make your stand against the devil’s schemes.
12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world's darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
13 Therefore take up the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you will be able to stand your ground, and having done everything, to stand."
We need to get used to calling things what they really are instead of living in a fanciful world of make believe to cause ourselves to "feel" better and to be "liked" by others.
The devil uses emotions to weaken us while making sin look attractive. He uses people to come against us, that we might be alone and unsupported. He also skews our perspective that we might wonder if we really did do wrong by obeying Christ. The more doubt and fear he can bring into our souls the greater chance we will be unusable to Christ.
Matthew 10:16-17 "16 Look, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. 17 But beware of men; for they will hand you over to their councils and flog you in their synagogues."
Often the devil, using the mouths of unregenerate people, works to cause doubt in us when we know we have obeyed God. These people will proclaim loudly that we were the ones who are disobedient, when it is they who walk in rebellion desiring to accuse us of what they are doing and we are not.
These tools of the devil will do mean things and point out our response and challenge to their tactics, as mean. They will interpret our behavior in terms of how they think rather than what really occurred.
When a mean spirited devil controlled person has contempt for Christ, that person knows their own motives are to destroy, so they think that is also the motive of everyone else they encounter.
Any attempts at bringing sense and rational solutions to life are met with hostility. When we see this happening we know our words are falling on deaf ears, then it is time to walk away and leave that stubborn heart to God.
Sadly, there are more of these resistant people than ever before in these end times. Their responses can be very intense, dedicating them to our ruin. And, to top it all off, these people who are hearing the whispers of the devil are from within the ranks of the "Christian church." We must depend on Christ to make us discerning, asking to be aware of reality as well as teaching us to respond in the Holy Spirit rather than our flesh.
James 1:4-6 "…4 Allow perseverance to finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6 But he must ask in faith, without doubting, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.…"
Our focus must be Christ always. When a human being attempts to control us or take our focus off Christ, then it is Christ we must obey.
Acts 5:29 "29 But Peter and the other apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than men."
There will be those who will attempt to place us under bondage to their humanistic rules that are not in the Scriptures, we must resist them and obey Christ alone.
When we cannot remove ourselves from these people, then we know we are being trained to be strong in spite of what we encounter. If we can remove ourselves we have permission from God and even commanded by Him to do so, 2 Timothy 3:5 is clear, "from such turn away."
Resisting God Brings More Trouble
All suffering is for a purpose, whether to discipline or grow us in greater holiness. To deny the work of God in our suffering is to invite more.
Allow God to break your will and you will then experience more joy than you ever thought you could.
Praise Him in all things even when you don't feel like it, the cleansing will come and the light will be seen at the end of the tunnel.
Resist God and those He has sent to warn us and we invite the very thing we worked to avoid, trials and an empty unsettled spirit.
James 1:2 " 2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you encounter trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.…"
Allow God to break your will and you will then experience more joy than you ever thought you could.
Praise Him in all things even when you don't feel like it, the cleansing will come and the light will be seen at the end of the tunnel.
Resist God and those He has sent to warn us and we invite the very thing we worked to avoid, trials and an empty unsettled spirit.
James 1:2 " 2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you encounter trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.…"
Do You Rage Or Are You Humble?
Exactly! Often a mild challenge to someone's actions or beliefs will reveal their inner heart, whether they rage or are humbled show us whether they are true or false believers, or whether they are stubborn believers.
Rage and covert acts of meanness reveals a stubborn and unrepentant heart, while humility and a willingness to go and pray reveals a compliant heart that desires to know and live truth. 
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