Satan is Working Everywhere

What Satan is doing with nations, he is also doing with relationships in families and communities, that is to focus on the right of ungodly people to do and say what they please while beating up on the righteous for calling them out.

John 8:44 "…43 Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you are unable to accept My message. 44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out his desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, refusing to uphold the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, because he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me!…"

Many people will focus on the chaos that is created by calling someone out for their sin, rather than the sin of the perpetrator.

How many times have we heard in the news media, a scathing report against Israel for attacking someone, when the real attacker were those who bombed Israel, while all Israel was doing was defending themselves.

How many times have we spoken truth only to be mocked and demeaned for it, while the evil doer is comforted because they were "attacked", through a challenge for their sinful behavior.

Amos 5:10
They hate him that rebuketh in the gate, and they abhor him that speaketh uprightly.

Galatians 4:16 "So have I become your enemy by telling you the truth?"

The devil is the father of lies, he will attempt to ruin anyone who speaks truth, often by accusing them of the very thing he is doing and his victims are not.

1 Peter 5:8 "8 Be sober-minded and alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in your faith and in the knowledge that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering.…"

Do you think we have escaped this in America? Think again, the same mentality that becomes angry at hearing truth in family and community of this country is the same mentality in Islam that stones to death a woman because she was raped.

The mentality that, if we said something that made others angry, we must have provoked them, justifying any contempt for us, is just as alive and well in America as it is in Islamic countries, it merely takes a more subtle and devious form.

It is easy to see and expose the acts of a particular religion burning and beheading people. It is far more insidious in a country where there is an appearance of reasonableness, however covertly executing petty bad tempered attitudes and actions.

"Plausible Deniability" has become the means by which many people operate. They make their covert actions so far under the radar that others do not notice it or others choose to give the perpetrator the benefit of the doubt because they are not sure of what they are seeing.

We all see people, including ourselves, acting badly on a bad hair day. However, when someone makes a practice of using covertly mean tactics regularly under the radar with only those for which they have contempt, but loving up to those they wish to impress, we know we are encountering a deceitful person, one who only loves those who measure up to their god like status.

Godly people act the same with everyone, even those who think a little differently or do not accept all we believe. It is one thing to disagree, it is quite another to mock and demean in ways that others can't see, in an attempt to control the emotions of another person.

Love tells the truth, but love never seeks to crush another person through manipulative intimidation. The love of Christ wants to convince someone, it has no desire to dominate and crush anyone. The purpose of covert meanness is to crush and destroy the spirit of another human being.

Proverbs 18:14
"The spirit of a man can endure his sickness, But as for a broken spirit who can bear it?"

Psalm 34:18 "18 The Lord is near to the brokenhearted
and saves the crushed in spirit."

Isaiah 57:15 "15 For thus says the One who is high and lifted up,
who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit,
to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite."

It is pride that motivates an unkind person to covertly demean and mock to control them. These people never think of the heart and spirit of the one they seek to destroy, their only concern is to dominate and harm.

John 16:33 "33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

It is clear that the more depraved the world becomes the more we will experience the tactics of ungodly people. We should not allow it to control us. It is Christ in us that we should seek to control us.

Romans 8:9 "8 Those controlled by the flesh cannot please God. 9 You, however, are controlled not by the flesh, but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. 10 But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet the Spirit gives you life because of righteousness.…"

No One Left To Impress

How to be loved by everyone all the time.

First things to do is never disagree with anyone, smile big smiles while nodding your head up and down a lot when someone speaks. When we do this we are validating everything they say no matter what it is, making them feel wonderful about themselves. The goal of the robot is to continually do everything in accordance with the culture, the family and the community so that many people will adore you.

When anything is said that is against Scripture, never challenge it, never express it in any way while keeping the head moving up and down as the smile is prominently placed on the face in stoic fashion.
If you want to be loved by all people all the time, say nothing, do nothing and be nothings. Be very careful that no one knows how you feel about anything, that way no judgments can be made, no wrong interpretations can occur and no conflict will arise.

When others are picked on by the superior bully, never ever defend the righteous one. In doing so we will receive the wrath of the bully, while losing all their flying monkeys as our friends. (flying monkeys are those who do the bidding of the superior personality without question) Those who have elevated the superior one, to god like status, believing they can do no wrong, the flying monkeys will attack with certainty anyone who does not fawn over the elevated one.

When we live this kind of life, many people will love us, they will express glowing words about us at our funeral, they will seek to be your friend, you are the one whom anyone can go to with a problem.
No solutions will ever be offered because it might make the one who is sharing feel imperfect, they may get hurt feelings and lose their elevated view of us. Solutions are not the goal for many people today, they only muck up the sense of self perfection.

When seeking full approval of others sharing solutions, especially if that solution is not something that will elevate their personal status, only damages the relationship. Solutions are never the goal, the goal is always to make the person with a situation feel special about themselves.

I wonder how many reading this have lived a life of big smiles and nodding heads? Is it possible that we live in a culture that expects this continually?

We are of no use to anyone if our goal and purpose is to make people feel good about themselves. God’s word is full of solutions, the best ones, these are what we should be sharing with our brothers and sisters.

The goal of every believer should be to help with God’s principles and solutions. The only way to do this is to walk with Him, knowing His Word…..knowing His heart.

Of course we cannot always know the perfect solution because we don’t know perfectly of all sides of a problem. We cannot always offer specifics, but we can offer principles from God’s Word, while leaving room for those in distress to seek God for the specifics.

The most frustrating relationship is one based on smiles and nods when there is need for discussion. Discussion brings out solutions. Discussion for the believer must be based on the principles of God as outlined in His Word. Without God’s principles and prayer, understanding God’s way is not possible. Our human mind regularly defers to fleshly answers to problems.

Sadly many people would rather choose to believe there is no problem, to avoid the sense that they must help in some way. When our goal is temporary happiness for ourselves, we will never be helpful to anyone. There are those who are looking for answers that work, they need for us to remind them, we need for them to remind us when we are seeking God’s answers.

The goal of the culture of today has been to make people feel good about themselves, rather than finding meaningful and lasting solutions to the problems of life. All this has produced is a lot of people walking around pretending to be something they are not, happy as little clams feeling special, until one of those Bible thumpers comes along to actually make godly sense of a situation.

So many people keep on keeping on with big smiles and nodding heads while there is a holocaust raging in their souls. They must continually get their “happy” fix that lasts as long as they are pretending, but when reality hits, they hit bottom. Believing the only way to pick themselves back up is to find those superficial head bobbing smile machines who will make them feel better, but only while they are with them, when they go home, their old self emerges, leaving them right back where they were before.

God’s solutions through prayer and Bible reading are those that last. They produce permanent changes in the way we view life. They produce more faith that changes us, we no longer need the plastic smiles and nodding heads, we can tell the truth, find a solution while our joy is full, notice I said “joy” not happiness.

When we find a person who has been in an auto accident, a gaping wound on their arm is showing, do we rush to get them an ice cream cone and put a band aide on it, or do we rush them to the hospital for the uncomfortable fix of stitches and antiseptics?

Our country has been destroyed for lack of instruction and even worse lack of desire for truth. Instruction and correction is rejected by nearly everyone because of the stubbornness of the heart. We are going to be destroyed, going down, I wonder if the smiles and head nodding will cease when there is nothing left to save and no one left to impress? Israel of the past found out what happens when a country gets to where we are right now!

Isaiah 1:2-6 “Listen, O heavens, and hear, O earth;
For the LORD speaks,
“Sons I have reared and brought up,
But they have revolted against Me.
3 “An ox knows its owner,
And a donkey its master’s manger,
But Israel does not know,
My people do not understand.”
4 Alas, sinful nation,
People weighed down with iniquity,
Offspring of evildoers,
Sons who act corruptly!
They have abandoned the LORD,
They have despised the Holy One of Israel,
They have turned away [c]from Him.
5 Where will you be stricken again,
As you continue in your rebellion?
The whole head is sick
And the whole heart is faint.
6 From the sole of the foot even to the head
There is nothing sound in it,
Only bruises, welts and raw wounds,
Not pressed out or bandaged,
Nor softened with oil.”

Psalm 147:3 “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”

2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.”

Psalm 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”

Joshua 1:8 “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”

Matthew 4:4 “But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Romans 15:4 “For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”

Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

Tell Them The Good News

In regard to the shooting in Florida!

Those who are not born again went to hell, the shooter and the victims. Those who are left need the gospel. As believers we do not coerce, force, intimidate, manipulate or murder anyone, we speak to them, sharing the good news that they can be delivered and saved for ever, through trusting Christ.

It is Christ alone who cleanses anyone from their sin. No man, no matter what technique he thinks he needs, can cleanse any other man, not even himself.

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 "Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God."

Mark 16:16 "Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned."

Matthew 7:13-14 "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."

Romans 5:7-8 "Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

Never Pour Gasoline on the Embers

Of course the devil is the accuser of the brethren, he causes trouble and then acts like the victim. We can see the devil operating increasingly as the times of the end are closer. Not only is the devil doing this in heaven he is also doing it on earth, through twisting the minds of the ungodly. His aim is to continually use those who are vulnerable to his wiles to unnerve the believer.

1 Peter 5:7-9 "…7 Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. 8 Be sober-minded and alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in your faith and in the knowledge that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering.…"

Revelation 12:9-11 "…9 And the great dragon was hurled down—the ancient serpent called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. 10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of His Christ. For the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, he who accuses them day and night before our God. 11 They have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; and they did not love their lives so as to shy away from death.…"

If we stay close to the Lord, we can endure these attacks without allowing our emotions overtake us. When we lean into our emotions we will find ourselves doing and saying things that we wish we had not. It is easier to ignore our emotions, carry on in obedience than it is to clean up the mess we caused by expressing our feelings.

Feelings come and go, they should not be what motivates us, they will pass and when they do we can look back and be thankful that we did not throw gasoline on an already smoldering fire. God knows those with whom we can share truth, we must seek Him to speak and act through us.

Proverbs 23:8-9 "…8 You will vomit up the morsel you have eaten, And waste your compliments. 9 Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, For he will despise the wisdom of your words.

There will be many people who have contempt in their heart for us because we tell the truth.  It is best to avoid them or be silent when we are unable to escape their presence.  When the encounter is over we can enjoy the peace of knowing we didn’t ignite the unrestrained passions of a contemptuous mocker.

Fear is Bondage

If we love, we do not fear! When there is love, there is no fear that we will be exposed, no fear of admitting when we are wrong, no fear in showing emotions, no fear in confessing failings of any sort. This fear that is not of faith, keeps many people in bondage, they are not delivered from the stress of keeping up appearances.

Fear keeps many people spiritual babies, pride rules while fear dominates it all.

It is fear that keeps people in bondage to appearances.

It is love that allows people to be free from appearances, free from the opinions of man and free from the effects of man's rejection of us.

It is love that allows us freedom to grow no matter what comes against us.

When we love Christ above all else, then there is no fear that motivates us to lean into the manipulation and intimidation of man.

Do we get this!!!!! FEAR IS BONDAGE, it does not allow us to love fully and freely.

Isaiah 41:10 "Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

Philippians 4:6-7 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

2 Timothy 1:7 "For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control."

Psalm 34:4 "I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears."

Desiring to be Cleansed

For those of you who have been agonizing over unsaved family members, even those family members who claim to be believers, but seem to have more interest in competing with one another than upholding one another, I want to encourage you, how others act, is not a reflection on us, but of their focus. Those who are focused on Christ will be more concerned about our walk with Christ than whether or not we follow their particular man made rules.

1 Thessalonians 5:11 “Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.”

In these last days of apostasy people, even believers, tend to be more concerned about their personal comfort and pleasures than they are about their relationships with Christ or one another.

We cannot always tell who is who, who is born again and who is not, because of the spirit of competition that dwells in so many hearts.

The Spirit in us connects to the Spirit in another believer, just like the time John the baptizer lept in his mother's womb at the presence of Christ in His mother's womb.

Matthew 18:3 “3“ Truly I tell you, He said, “unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.…”

I think that those who walk in deep pride, who have lived a superficial competitive Christianity are walking in the flesh while silencing the Holy Spirit because of their stubborn hearts. We do not sense a connection to them because they are in pride, God has quenched the Spirit.

1 Thessalonians 5:19 "19 Do not extinguish the Spirit."

Believers who walks closely with Christ desire to encourage one another in His principles not through superficial praise about worldly accomplishments, although it is not bad to acknowledge accomplishments, it just should not be all we do. The weightier matter of holiness and correct thinking should be more important and occur more frequently than praise for talents or accomplishments. The modern idea of encouragement takes the form of praise that builds pride rather the directing us toward development of holiness in the inner man.

Romans 7:22 “…21 So this is the principle I have discovered: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s Law. 23 But I see another law at work in my body, warring against the law of my mind and holding me captive to the law of sin that dwells within me.…”

Praise for accomplishments in our modern Christianity has replaced encouragement in holiness. Since we do war with the flesh we need continual redirection from one another. Those who refuse to be redirected, corrected or enjoy the input of others, cannot learn. Remaining spiritual babies they fight and kick against any suggestion that they are in need of an attitude adjustment or the rethinking of a mindset.

Hebrews 10:24-25 “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”

When we sense the inclination to fight back frequently, even if we don't do it, it is time to remove ourselves from those who are determined in provocation, to return to equilibrium. It is the goal of the devil to use these stubborn hearts to drag us away from Christ and His principles. They work to undermine what God is doing in us.

I have failed many times in this, arguing back with someone who has no interest in truth, but only in winning. My struggle has been to keep talking hoping they will actually hear me. When we discover that we are dealing with someone who does not want to hear but works merely to be elevated by winning, by intimidation or manipulation, then we must stop battling with them and move on.

Many things are not worth battling over, the rub comes when we believe someone is born again, but they don't know the basic tenets of the faith, we think we can make them understand, but they refuse to hear us.

Jeremiah 7:27 "…26" Yet they did not listen to Me or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck; they did more evil than their fathers. 27 "You shall speak all these words to them, but they will not listen to you; and you shall call to them, but they will not answer you. 28" You shall say to them, 'This is the nation that did not obey the voice of the LORD their God or accept correction; truth has perished and has been cut off from their mouth.…"

2 Timothy 4:3 “…2 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and encourage with every form of patient instruction. 3 For the time will come when men will not tolerate sound doctrine, but with itching ears they will gather around themselves teachers to suit their own desires. 4 So they will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.…”

Even though our desire is for the superficial believers to find their joy and pleasure in Christ, we sorrow when this connection is broken and must remove ourselves to continue our walk down that narrow road with Him.

There will be many who go to church, claim to be "Christian" who will never use the term "born again" to describe their new life in Christ. They do not think of themselves as having been in sin and needing to be saved from it, because they have a high sense of importance, that perhaps they weren't so bad and didn't need forgiveness. No one can become saved by joining a church, we are born again because we were broken over our sinfulness and wanted to be cleansed by Christ.
This is common, many people joined a "Christian club" to become a member of those who like to think highly of themselves, but they have never been broken over their sin. They came to the Lord believing they deserved it, rather than admitting their own sinful hearts, they consider themselves a member of the elite who deserve to be Christian. Somewhat like joining a sorority or fraternity in college, impressions are far more important than reality and a heart change. Others have an elevated view of themselves because they went to Bible school.

These people have a tendency to make special rules and judgments about others that are not Biblical. They enjoy their elevated status in their own eyes, always having to boast about the rules that they follow while condemning those who don’t' follow those same rules. Superiority was the motive to come to the churches, not a sense that they were less than nothing before God and needed to be cleansed.

I meet so many people that are stuck in the realm of impressing others with their fleshly holiness, it is shocking that their understanding of Christianity is not desiring holiness but rather "appearing" special in the eyes of those whom they have created as idols, those they elevate above others. The deserving ones are those that dress the right way, drive the right vehicles and go on the right vacations and most of all never challenge them about their own attitudes or wrong thinking. Their associations with others must be based on self-exaltation more than anything else. Anyone who does not fawn over the arrogant club joiners are targeted for covert tactics and gossip.

Those who come to the Christian gathering with this mentality cause many problems, their focus is not becoming more holy, but rather their focus is appearing special and better while demeaning anyone who does not meet with their particular brand of worldly Christianity.

Those who truly love Christ are not concerned about appearances, they mean very little if anything to the born again sold out believer. We all have our struggles, we hate any sin that we do, but in the depth of our heart we desire to continually be cleansed. Admitting our faults and failings are not something we avoid, we lean into them as we seek to learn greater lessons, knowing Christ better.

The born again sold out believer is concerned about growing in holiness. These people confess sins of the heart often, pray for continual guidance, grieved when they fail and quickly admit it.

1 Peter 1:14-16 "As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

1 John 3:6-10 "No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared, was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God.

By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother."

Those who fight against a rebuke are “kicking against the goad.” “An ox goad was a stick with a pointed piece of iron on its tip used to prod the oxen when plowing.” (gotquestions.org?) In other words the ox was rebelling against it’s master when he was being directed in which direction to walk.

It is sin to walk in pride, it is sin to be competitive with other believers or with anyone. It is sin to fight and argue when another believer has challenged us in our sin.

2 Corinthians 7:1 "Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God."

1 Peter 2:9 "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light."

The world is in the condition it is because it has rejected Christ, even in the church gatherings, there is a fleshly spirit that does not look to the Spirit of the Law, but to the Law itself. So many unnecessary judgments are being made, that are unjust because of worldly pride.

Many superficial Christians are believing lies and gossip because of this spirit of pride. Few will listen to reason. Most believe what they want to rather than what is truth. They will not even enter into reasonable discussion to discover truth, but rather enjoy their fleshly machinations.

2 Timothy 2:21 "Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work."

It is my prayer that many who are superficial Christians will repent from their arrogance and pride and those who think they are saved but are not will see their own wicked hearts to become born again, trusting in Christ for righteousness rather than themselves.

Romans 10:2-4 “…2 For I testify about them that they are zealous for God, but not on the basis of knowledge. 3 Because they were ignorant of God’s righteousness and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. 4 Christ is the end of the Law, in order to bring righteousness to everyone who believes.…”

1 Thessalonians 5:23 "Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."

1 John 5:4 "For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith."

We all need to be seeking to grow. The only way to continue to move forward is to admit things as they occur, allow the Lord to hear us crying out to Him about our failings and ask Him to change what is wrong.

There is no Pointless Lesson

May we all learn this lesson well, that ALL things work together for good for those who love Christ. It is usually not until after we have learned our lesson that we can see it's purpose.

http://www.epm.org/blog/2015/May/11/no-pointless-suffering