I believe that God lines things up, brings things in bunches, so that I can realize that it's really from Him. I have been reading a fiction book about spiritual warfare. I know there are some who don't believe that it is as powerful and true as I do. All I can say is once you have experienced it for yourself you can no longer deny it is real. And if you haven't experienced it for yourself you might need to be concerned that satan doesn't consider you enough of a threat to bother attacking you.
Anyway, back to the point. I have been reading this book, praying more intensely for my students, and had some ask me about some books that were "spiritual". See, He brings it in bunches like I said. Well, the book I'm reading has reminded me that I do not fight against flesh and blood although it sure feels like it at times. Ephesians 6:12 says "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places." ESV
There are so many "christians" who don't believe in evil or hell or demons. The Bible clearly says that there are and that we are wrestling with them! That "we" in the verse is Christians. We tend to think once we are saved satan can't mess with us. Jesus has defeated him so I don't need to worry about him. Jesus did defeat him, but until the end of this world he is going to keep trying to take people down with him. Yes, you are wrestling against him!
So this week I went to work for three days due to the killer cold keeping me out for two. During those three days I have prayed in my room before the kids came in and commanded certain spirits that they have no authority in my room, in the name of Jesus. Well, they weren't happy about it and it was three rough days. I even had a serious issue of girl drama and I haven't had any of that all year! Some demons are wrestling back. I can't give up though and Monday I will enter my room and pray again. I will continue to fight the enemy on the spiritual level.
I looked into the "spiritual" books shared with me and saw false religion all over it. The Bible tells us that there will be people who come along and pervert the Gospel. People says things that sound right, smart, logical. Yet these people are leading others away from the Truth. The book of Jude is just one place you can read about these people. We have to be so very careful of what we expose ourselves to. The thing that really bothered me about these books, besides the attempt to take people away from the Truth, was that they are written for hurting people. The very people who satan has messed with and caused them pain and know he is trying to "heal" them. He can't heal anyone. The only one who can bring healing, and no his name is not time, is God. He is the one who heals the brokenhearted. See Psalm 34:18 and Psalm 147:3 and Isaiah 61:1 and there are more verses that speak of His healing.
The real reason I sat down to write this post was this revelation God gave me. Christians think we can't be hurt by satan.We think we can't be deceived by him. We think of him as defeated and a joke. He likes that, no he loves that. Because it allows him to freely reek havoc amongst us. God showed me that even the closest ones to Him can be deceived.
Eve walked and talked with God on a daily basis. She saw God! She actually saw Him and talked to Him! You can't get much closer to Him than Adam and Eve were. She heard Him say, "And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, 'You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.'" Genesis 2:16 ESV.
Satan shows up one chapter later with, "He said to the woman, "Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.'” Genesis 3:1-5 ESV.
Do you see it? Eve heard God say you can't eat of the tree, not that you can't touch it. Do you see that satan doesn't correct her mistake, he compounds it by telling her that she won't die. She walked and talked with God and even she misquoted Him and even she believed the lies of satan. We Christians misquote the Scriptures all the time! Why do you think there is so much division and pointing-down-your finger going on in the church? Because we misquote God and satan jumps on it. He runs with it. He causes death from it.
We need to stop putting our heads in the sand and acting like satan isn't at work in our world, in our churches, and even in our lives. Not that we can start claiming "the devil made me do it" either, but we need to bury our head in His Word and check. We need to check to see if what our pastors are preaching is Truth or does it just sound good or go along with our denominational thinking. We need to check out organizations that are promising healing and see if they line up with the Word. We need to check what we say and what we believe and see if it actually lines up with the Word of God. We need to realize that yes, people are fleshy and act out of their own desires, wants, and selfishness, but they also are being used by satan. Anything, a-n-y-t-h-i-n-g, that doesn't line up with the Word of God that we say or do can and will be used by satan to cause division, strife, fear, hurt, destruction, shame, loathing, anger, and so on an so one, ultimately leading to death.
The good news is the Good News! We have the Word of God that we can turn to, stand on, and proclaim to help defeat the work of satan. We can pray and it has great power. James 5:16b tells us "The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working." ESV. We can speak against the enemy in the name of Jesus and the enemy will flee, it may take time but it will happen. (Acts 16:18)
Not sure how to close this. Someone asked what I did instead of attending formal church and I told her spend time with Jesus. This is what happens when I do. He speaks to me! :)
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