My love for you is endless. My desire for you is deep. I want you to rest in My love and let your mind be at peace. Do not let Satan steal your peace. Resist him. Be firm in your faith. Know that my plans for you are established. I have gone before you to make your way straight. Just stay the course. Stay surrendered to Me. I have My best for you. Do not settle for less than My best. Wait on Me. Abide in Me and rejoice knowing that My timing is perfect. Place your life in My hands and obey Me. My love and peace will win many. Do not be discouraged. Press on and keep believing.
Tag Archives: Satan
Thoughts
My child, what ever you focus on, you become. Be careful what you think about. Take your thoughts captive. Think and meditate on My word. Your mind is where Satan tries to mess with you. Don’t let him. Continue to believe Me. Trust My word and walk in faith. You please Me when you believe Me.
Proverbs 23:7 2 Corinthians 10:5 Hebrews 11:6
Believe Me
My child, I love you with an everlasting love. I am for you and have given you My Holy Spirit as a seal. You can do all things through Christ who gives you strength. Never think that I am not with you or for you. Don’t believe Satan’s lies. Believe Me and believe My word. Start putting My truths in your head and do not meditate on the deception that so easily comes into your mind. Gird up your mind and keep it set on Me.
Jeremiah 31:3 2 Corinthians 1:22 Philippians 4:13 1 Peter 1:13 Colossians 3:2
Strategy of Deceit
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In his endeavor to bring us down, Satan wields a two-edged sword: “It only makes sense that God would expect you to perform for your salvation,” he says. And on the flip side, “Give it up! You’re a failure! You’ll never be able to overcome that sin. You can’t please God unless you work at this thing a little harder.” His devices really shouldn’t surprise us, though. He is unambiguously described in Scripture both as the deceiver and the accuser of God’s people.(Revelation 12:9-10)
Satan’s tactic of accusation is always rooted in lies. Jesus said it well in John 8:44, “…Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” The devil is a master of manipulation, having perfected his methods of deceit and accusation through the combined experience of thousands of years of both observation and application.
But Paul knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that we cannot earn our way into good standing with God. Through Christ, God made provision for our righteousness in spite of our sin, and in so doing He also chose to override the necessity of performing good works in order to satisfy Him. So it’s not hard to see why the utmost desire of Paul’s heart, both for himself and for others, was to be found in Christ—having a righteousness anchored in God’s provision rather than our own efforts.(Philippians 3:9)
Excerpted from: Free from the Power of Sin: The Keys to Growing in God in Spite of Yourself
No Escaping it!
As a matter of course, man without God is drawn into the world system made ever more powerful at the direction of demonic powers. Here we find those who have worked their way into positions of advantage (power), aiding and abetting the enslavement of their fellow men. Though the conflicts and challenges we experience in life may seem on the surface to be with people themselves, ultimately our struggle is against Satan himself as he goes about manipulating us through the world system he has developed and refined.
We dare not forget what Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:12: “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”
Now it’s not hard to see how such captivity can happen to those who have little or no knowledge of God.(Ephesians 4:19) But what about those of us who have come to know, love and serve God? What is the effect of this powerful world system on our lives? The truth is that its impact is clearly oppressive for us as well. So we would be foolish to think that we could remain untouched while living in a world infected by such sin.
Excerpted from: Free from the Power of Sin: The Keys to Growing in God in Spite of Yourself
Satan & the World System
Knowing what we now do about the motivating forces of pride, self-will and self-interest, it’s not hard to see how Satan can easily manipulate our weaknesses to his advantage. He does this mainly by influencing people through the world system, which he has established with the help of man. What is this world system? It is a structuring of society—politics, the economy, arts and entertainment, education—in such a way as to provide an alternative to mankind’s innate God-created spiritual need.
Even if the devil were never involved, society would need to function in such a way that people could cooperate in an interactive system of some sort. So we shouldn’t think that participating in the world’s social order is somehow disgraceful in God’s eyes. Otherwise, we would have to retreat from society altogether. That doesn’t seem very practical, nor is it the real issue. Rather, where we place our hope is what’s truly important: do we try to find fulfillment mainly in what the world has to offer, or is our hope rooted in Christ and His kingdom?
It’s extremely helpful, though, to understand how Satan has tweaked society for the purpose of serving his deviant objectives. Let’s think for a moment about how he uses the world system to enslave people through the power of sin. Take, for instance, the sin of greed. It’s not too hard to see how financial systems throughout the world have been structured in such a way as to bring about enslavement to greed. Or how about our sexuality? Can you see how what is deceptively called “adult” entertainment (pornography), or even something seemingly so innocuous as fashion works toward enslaving people under ever more serious sin? The media is awash with titillating images designed to ensnare us for the purpose of boosting their ratings. Another massive pitfall is man’s desire for power—born out of his inherent sense of pride. Political and corporate systems have been developed and routinely manipulated by Satan to entrap people in power’s insatiable grip. And the list goes on.
As a matter of course, man without God is drawn into these powerful systems. And there we also find those who have worked their way into positions of advantage (power), aiding and abetting the enslavement of their fellow men. Yet though the conflicts and challenges we experience in life may seem on the surface to be with people themselves, ultimately our struggle is against Satan himself as he goes about manipulating us through the world system he has developed and refined. We dare not forget what Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:12: “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”
Watch out for Satan!
Our difficulty in choosing God over self is complicated all the more by the presence of a powerful adversary. When God banished Satan from heaven, He sent him here. Have you ever asked yourself why God, who “knows our frame” and is “mindful that we are but dust,”(Psalm 103:14) would place us in a world controlled by Satan and his minions? Outside of God’s intervention, such a world leaves domination by Satan as the only reasonable prospect.
We don’t have a chance without God! Even with the power of God’s Spirit residing within, our ongoing struggle with self-will is greatly affected by the challenges Satan presents. So it’s critical that we understand Satan’s role in bringing about the domination of sin over people’s lives.
The enemy presents sin as good and pleasurable—concealing the bondage, fear and unhappiness it always brings. By its very nature, sin stirs up hope in the human heart. It’s a lot like the hope inspired by the promises Hitler made, which ultimately led to the loss of some fifty million lives in World War II. The Nazis offered the German people prosperity and future peace in return for allegiance to Hitler and his cause. But all along their hidden agenda was complete domination, not only of the world but of their lives as well. The destruction their collaboration ultimately caused is a graphic reminder of the consequences sin always brings in the end.
Excerpted from: Free from the Power of Sin: The Keys to Growing in God in Spite of Yourself
Self-Will
A commonly taught principle relevant to God’s purpose for man is that he is endowed with free will. It is said that man is a free moral agent, meaning he possesses unrestricted power in making moral choices.Indeed, how could God possibly have designed man devoid of the power of choice? He had to give him the ability to choose—not merely between right and wrong, but more importantly choice in regard to the lordship of God over his life.
Yet what appears on the surface to be the ability to choose freely, is in a very real sense something more than merely free will.
Man’s rejection of God as Lord of his life does not in any way mean that he possesses the ability of free choice in regard to everything else. Rather, in refusing to accept God’s purpose and plan for his life, he inevitably opens himself up to control by some other outside force. And this force is ultimately Satan. But the tool the devil uses to subjugate mankind is man’s will—a will inherently rooted in self-interest. So we should instead think of this self-serving attribute of man’s nature—what we commonly call free will—as self-will.
Excerpted from: Free from the Power of Sin: The Keys to Growing in God in Spite of Yourself