Humility Cures Worldliness

Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners;
and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep!
Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.
Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

James 4:7-10 (NKJV)

Although God and the Devil are at war, we don't have to wait until the end to see who will win. God has already defeated Satan (Revelation 12:10-12), and when Christ returns, the Devil and all he stands for will be eliminated forever (Revelation 20:10-15). Satan is here now, however, and he is trying to win us over to his evil cause. With the Holy Spirit's power, we can resist the Devil, and he will flee from us.

~

Can you imagine Michael Jordan coming back to the bench talking about, “I could score a whole lot easier if I didn't have that other guy putting his hands up in my face all the time”?

Michael's coach would tell him, “Michael, if there were no opponent, it would be easy to score. We're paying you millions to score with that guy in your face.”

As Christians, we have an opponent in our face too. Whenever you decide to do something significant for God, Satan will show up, usually in the person of people like Sanballat and Tobiah (reference Nehemiah 2). Not everyone wants their culture transformed by the influence of godly people. It displeased these men that Nehemiah had come to seek the welfare of Israel. They took it upon themselves to stop him. See, Satan's job is to keep God's people from carrying out God's will.

By the way, this isn't just true for the big projects such as rebuilding a community. Satan's job is to destroy you and your family because he knows Christian families populated by committed Christians are the foundation to transforming society. So he spends day and night plotting your demise. Just like we have angels assigned to us, Satan has demons with our names and addresses on their “to do” lists.

That is why the Bible says, “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood” (Ephesians 6:12). Do we need to fear Satan and his demons? No, not at all. We need to resist and overcome them in the power of Christ.

Nehemiah wasn't afraid of his adversaries, but neither did he take them lightly. For the rest of his rebuilding project and well beyond it, he kept a close eye on those characters.

But too many of us are like puppets on a string to Satan. All he has to do is yank our string a little, and we go where he tells us to go and get mad when he tells us to get mad. Once you understand what Satan is up to, you will get down on your knees and say, “Not today, Satan. Not me, not my marriage, not my family, not my community - because we are submitting ourselves to God.”

Stand firm for God and against Satan, and the Sanballats and Tobiahs of this world will melt like snowmen in summer.

Excerpts from: "Life Application Study Bible" by Tyndale House Publishers and "Time to Get Serious" by Tony Evans

Scripture: 1 Peter 5:6-11

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

~

Our nation is faced with a crisis of social deterioration the likes of which we would have thought unimaginable a generation ago. We seem to be a culture gone berserk.

To say that our society is in need of radical transformation is to state the obvious. We're in a “culture war” today, but before we go off waving our swords, we need to know who the real enemy is.

The real enemy isn't school administrators or the media or liberals. The one behind the scenes pulling the strings is the evil one, Satan himself. He's the enemy.

One reason there is so much satanic influence in schools, media, and government is that Christians have abandoned the culture and handed it over to the world. If you hand culture over, Satan will take it over.

The Bible calls him a “roaring lion” because, like real lions, Satan rules by intimidation. Lions roar to scare and intimidate their enemies. They roar after the kill so the jackals and hyenas will be too afraid to run up and snatch it away, even though they can if they work together. Satan rules our society with a lot of noise, because he knows he cannot stop the people of God from taking society back if we ever decide to be the people of God in society. But we're intimidated by the roar. The reason our culture is deteriorating is that Christians are nowhere to be found except in church. There is no morality being handed down anymore.

When we were growing up, even if your mama and daddy didn't give you a moral frame of reference, your schoolteacher did. Or the people next door did. Why? Because Christian morality permeated the culture. Not everyone was a Christian, but most people had a moral frame of reference by which they made decisions. That is no longer the case, because the influence of God is no longer being felt in the culture. We've got to raise a whole new generation of people who know and follow God.

If we Christians will humble ourselves under God, He will give us the power to take our culture back.

Excerpt from “Time To Get Serious" by Tony Evans

Condemning Thoughts

...He [the devil] 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.

John 8:44 (NKJV)

Do you ever question if you’re good enough? Are you more likely to dwell on what’s wrong with you than what’s right?

Me too. One day I was scrutinizing myself to find out what my problem was, but the more I picked myself apart, the more it dawned on me: Another voice was egging me on. It was the voice of the enemy, Satan. As I listened to his lies, they zapped my sense of worth and security.

For a long time, I didn’t recognize the enemy for who he was. The negative thoughts and deceitful suggestions sounded like my own voice.

Now I see that from the start, Satan’s goal has always been to trick and deceive God’s people. The Bible opens with a serpent who slithered into the lives of Adam and Eve and filled their heads with lies they believed, lies that separated them from God. John 8:44 tells us Satan "was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies."

This liar also tempted Jesus. Our Savior was always ready, though, to defeat the evil one. In Matthew 4:1-11, He did it with the Word of God, countering Satan with, “It is written …” (NIV).

We, too, have this weapon in our arsenal. As we fill our hearts and minds with Scripture, we can defeat the lies we tell ourselves and the lies Satan and his dark forces whisper in our thoughts.

When I compare my negative thoughts to God's Word, the differences amaze me:

I think, I’m lost.
God’s Word says He watches my paths and establishes my ways
(Proverbs 5:21; Proverbs 4:26).

I think, No one loves me.
God’s Word says He loves me more than life
(John 3:16).

I think, I’m ugly.
God’s Word says I’m wonderfully made
(Psalm 139:14).

I think, I’m alone, and no one understands me.
God’s Word says He will never leave me and He has plans for my life
(Deuteronomy 31:6; Jeremiah 29:11).

I think, I’m just not good enough.
God’s Word says I was created in His image
(Genesis 1:26-27).

When the enemy tries to slither in with false accusations, we must be ready to combat him with what God’s Word says about us. To get started, evaluate your thoughts and pray for wisdom to distinguish the voice of the enemy. Condemning thoughts that steal your confidence in who you are in Christ aren’t from God.

Let’s commit to renew our minds with the Word of God each day and replace those worn-out, destructive lies with His Truth.

Dear Lord, thank You for Your life-giving Truth. Please fill me with Your Word so I can live in freedom and confidence! In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

- Melissa Taylor
Provided by "Proverbs 31 Ministries"

Application Of God's Word: Ephesians 6:12

Verse: 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.

Application:

These who are not "flesh and blood" are demons over whom Satan has control. They are not mere fantasies - they are very real. We face a powerful army whose goal is to defeat Christ's church. When we believe in Christ, these beings become our enemies, and they try every device to turn us away from him and back to sin. Although we are assured of victory, we must engage in the struggle until Christ returns, because Satan is constantly battling against all who are on the Lord's side. We need supernatural power to defeat Satan, and God has provided this by giving us his Holy Spirit within us and his armor surrounding us. If you feel discouraged, remember Jesus' words to Peter: "Upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it" (Matthew 16:18).

The purpose of putting on God's armor is to be able to stand against the schemes or stratagems of the devil or adversary. Christians are not to attack Satan or advance against him; they are only to “stand” or hold the territory Christ and His body, the church, have conquered. Without God's armor believers will be defeated by the “schemes” of the devil which have been effective for thousands of years.

The struggle is not physical (against flesh and blood); it is a spiritual conflict against the spiritual “Mafia.” Though the ranks of satanic forces cannot be fully categorized, the first two (rulers and authorities) have already been mentioned in Ephesians 1:21 and 3:10. Paul added the powers of this dark world and the spiritual forces of evil. Their sphere of activity is in the heavenly realms, the fifth occurrence of this phrase, which is mentioned in the New Testament only in Ephesians 1:3, 20; 2:6; 3:10; 6:12. Satan, who is in the heavens (Ephesians 2:2) until he will be cast out in the middle of the Tribulation (Revelation 12:9-10), is trying to rob believers of the spiritual blessings God has given them (Ephesians 1:3).

Resources:

"Life Application Study Bible" by Tyndale House Publishers
"The Bible Knowledge Commentary" by John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck

Public Enemy Number One...

If you are facing heavy spiritual attacks right now discouragement, temptation, chaos - take it as a compliment. A thief doesn't break into an empty house; he only targets a house that has treasure inside.

​The enemy is attacking you because he sees the value of what God has placed in you. He knows that if you keep going, you are going to do damage to his kingdom. He is trying to stop you now because he is terrified of who you are becoming.

The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.

I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

John 10:10 (NKJV)
Provided by "Devine Insight"

Meme: Wolves Inside Sheep's Clothing

Spiritual Enemies

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.

Ephesians 6:12 (NKJV)

These who are not "flesh and blood" are demons over whom Satan has control. They are not mere fantasies - they are very real. We face a powerful army whose goal is to defeat Christ's church. When we believe in Christ, these beings become our enemies, and they try every device to turn us away from him and back to sin. Although we are assured of victory, we must engage in the struggle until Christ returns, because Satan is constantly battling against all who are on the Lord's side. We need supernatural power to defeat Satan, and God has provided this by giving us his Holy Spirit within us and his armor surrounding us. If you feel discouraged, remember Jesus' words to Peter: "Upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it" (Matthew 16:18).

In a battle, it is imperative to identify your enemy. If you are not aware of the point of your attack, you are vulnerable. Paul had many enemies. Some resented him, others hated him, and others wanted to kill him. Some, who were supposedly on his side, sought to harm him and his ministry (Acts 9:23; Philippians 1:17; 2 Timothy 1:15; 1 Timothy 1:20; 2 Timothy 4:14). In spite of the persecution he faced, Paul never lost sight of his real enemy. Paul was wary of Satan. When people attacked him, he knew they were not his real opponents. They were simply unwitting instruments of the spiritual forces of darkness.

When you meet opposition to your faith, your first reaction may be anger toward your antagonist. This may divert your attention from the deeper, spiritual dimensions of your conflict. Your adversary may be hopelessly in bondage to sin. Rather than retaliating, you should immediately and earnestly intercede for that person. Your opponent's hostility is your invitation to become involved in God's redemptive work to free him or her from spiritual bondage.