The "god" of This World

 

Before God created the Universe, He created angels (Revelation 5:11-14; Hebrews 1:14). Lucifer rebelled against God, and God cast him and his followers to earth. Then, Adam's sin forfeited dominion over the earth to Satan (1 Peter 5:8; John 10:10; Revelation 12:10). However, we live in a scientific age now, where technology reigns and thoughts of the devil seem more like a medieval fairytale.

Most people today doubt the existence of the devil. They even discount the Bible’s teachings about the devil and demons and demonic activity in spiritual places. The world pictures Satan as an impotent, little red demon with a pitchfork, a long tail, and horns coming out of his head. Most people who believe in God still do not believe in the devil.

One of Satan’s greatest triumphs is in causing people not to take him seriously. He deceives people by masquerading as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14; Isaiah 14:12). Satan will do anything he can, and use any means at his disposal to oppose and try to destroy the work of God and to take people to hell with him. Hell is a place that is prepared for Satan, his demons and unbelievers (Matthew 25:41; John 3:18).

Many people are actually ignorant and blind to Satan's strategy, power and plans. Our self-confidence overestimates our own abilities and underestimates the power of our spiritual enemies. Yet, other people see the devil and demons behind every rock and in every person. Some churches preach about Satan more than they exalt our Lord, Jesus Christ. They have more fear of the devil then they have faith in God.

Satan cannot do anything to us without God's permission. Then, God uses that trial for our ultimate good (Job 1:6-12; Romans 8:28). God advises us to put on His armor to withstand our spiritual enemies (Ephesians 6:10-18). He gives great spiritual power to those who believe (Ephesians 1:19). Ultimately, Christ in us is greater than any demon or person in the world (1 John 4:4).

Prayer:

Father God, the devil targets lost sheep, in order to keep them addicted to the world, the flesh and his wiles (Ephesians 2:1-3). He walks about the earth as a lion, seeking people to destroy (1 Peter 5:8). Help us to take Your warning seriously about Satan being a thief who comes to pilfer, wound and mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually annihilate anyone silly enough to follow his plan for their life (John 10:10).

Thought for the Day:

The Bible makes it clear that Satan is still alive and well on planet earth; and he successfully infiltrates the mind of unbelievers and deals a mighty blow to each successive generation.

Read: http://www.amazon.com/Satan-Alive-Well-Planet-Earth/dp/0310277914

Satan’s Names:

Abaddon (“destroyer”) (Revelation 9:11)

The god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4)

Accuser (Revelation 12:10)

Great Dragon (Revelation 12:9)

Adversary (1 Peter 5:8)

Lawless One (2 Thessalonians 2:18)

Apollyon (“destroyer”) (Revelation 9:11)

Liar (John 8:44)

Beelzebul (Matthew 12:24)

Lucifer (Isaiah 14:12)

Belial (2 Corinthians 6:15)

Murderer (John 8:44)

Deceiver (Revelation 12:9)

Prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:2)

Devil (Luke 4:13)

Ruler of this world (John 12:31)

Enemy (Matthew 13:28, 39)

Satan (Acts 26:18)

Evil One (Matthew 13:28, 39)

Serpent (Revelation 12:9)

Father of lies (John 8:44)

Tempter (1 Thessalonians 3:5)

Horrible Horoscopes

The Bible states that consulting stars and other occult practices is dangerous for everyone. The Word cautions us not to seek out fortune tellers, mediums, and practitioners of the occult. Most of the horoscope predictions we see are too general to be any specific help to anyone. Millions of people read them every day, and one fortune cannot possibly fit them all. We gain more personal, focused direction from God in prayer (Deuteronomy 4:19).

The main concern occurs when a professing Christian looks to astrology for advice instead of to God (Isaiah 8:19). God considers this an act of prostitution, and He will set His face against anyone who does it (Leviticus 20:6). He specifically commands that we look to no god other than Him (Exodus 20:3; Leviticus 18:11). Horoscopes also open us up to follow other demonic practices (2 Kigns 21:6). God created the stars and He knows the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10).

Reading horoscopes just to see what they say is not a harmless practice. If Christians look to astrology first, then they are taking their eyes and trust away from God. You may consider horoscopes and the occult as harmless, but they open the door of our life to Satan and give him permission to inflict his havoc on us (Leviticus 19:31). He also plants his lies in our subconscious mind and we believe them instead of God’s Word.

It is a waste of time to go to fortunetellers and to read horoscopes. They cannot save us from what is going to happen (Isaiah 47:13-14). We have better results when we pray and read the Bible instead of reading our horoscope each day (Daniel 2:27-28). The Holy Spirit leads us in God’s truth and gives us His wisdom and joy and directs our every step (Proverbs 3:5-6). God gave us the heavens to show us the wonders He created and to give us an inkling of what He has in store for us (Psalm 19:1).

Prayer:

Father God, we often lack patience to wait on You for Your direction and provision in our life. We go to Satan and his emissaries and trust in them, because they are flesh and blood. They tell us things, which are true and actually pertain to us, but they do it by the power of the devil. We can only reap destruction for consulting them (Isaiah 47: 10-14). Give us the faith and courage to wait on You and to realize that You do all things wonderfully in Your time (Mark 7:37).

Thought for the Day:

If we wait on God’s timing and trust in Him with our whole heart, He will cause all things to work out for our good. – Romans 8:28

Part 1 - Is Satan Real?

 

Satan is not a little man in a red suit with a pointy tail and pitchfork, but he certainly is real. God created him as an angel of light with mighty power (Isaiah 14). Yet, this was not enough for him. He led a rebellion of angels against God and he lost (Isaiah 14:13-14). He was demoted as the “ruler” of this world (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11), the “spirit” of this world (1 Corinthians 2:12), the prince of the “power” of the air (Ephesians 2:2), the “enemy” (Matthew 13:25,28,39), and the “god” of this age (2 Corinthians 4:4).

Due to his rebellion and unbelief, Satan will spend eternity bound up in the lake of fire, along with every other rebellious unbeliever on this earth (Revelation 20:10). For now, Satan inspires human beings to seek worldly gratification, ambition, status and riches to the detriment of our relationship with God and our family. He encourages us to enable and rescue others, to boast with pride, to take whatever we want, to surrender to the desires of our flesh, and to make life miserable for everyone around us (1 John 2:16).

Satan whispers lies into our mind about other people, and we react to them with accusations, unforgiveness, bitterness, spitefulness and revenge. He keeps us living in fear. Therefore, we often abandon our responsibilities, thwart our blessings from God, and escape into the fantasy of addictions. Self-preservation causes us to build walls around our heart, which makes us run when confronted or easily angered to keep people from hurting us. Self-indulgence is our motive behind our every action.

Satan condemns us until we hide behind masks, because we are afraid for people to see who we really are (Matthew 4:1; Mark 1:13; Luke 4:2; 1 Corinthians 7:5; 1 Thessalonians 3:5). The last thing Satan wants us to realize is that although we live in the world, we do not have to live as part of the world (John 17:11,14,16). He encourages us to fit in with the crowd, and to covet our neighbor’s wife and goods (Exodus 20:17). He tempted Jesus too, but our Savior contradicted Satan’s accusations with the Word of God (Matthew 4:1-11).

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, we can follow in Your footsteps when we deal with the devil. You were tempted in every area that Satan tempts us (Hebrews 4:15), with the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life (1 John 2:16). Yet, You remained faithful. We too can stand against the wiles of the devil by the dynamite power of the Trinity within us (Colossians 1:27). I am so glad that Satan does not have Your powers of omnipresence, omnipotence and omniscience.


Thought for the Day:

Spiritual warfare is very real and constant, but Satan would rather make you believe that it does not exist at all. - Ephesians 6:10-20

 

 

 

No Degrees of Sin

 

In the Biblical definition of sin, there are no degrees of evil. Some religions use a scale to classify their sins. The Bible does not do this. To God, murder is equally as evil as hate, and lust is the same as adultery (1 John 3:15; Matthew 5:28). There are no mortal and venial sins in the Bible. It clearly states that unrepentant sinners will spend eternity in hell; however, anyone who repents of their sins will be saved and spend eternity in God’s presence (Romans 3:23, 6:23).

God did not send Jesus to condemn the world, but in order for us all to be saved by faith in Him (Romans 3:10). God does not throw anyone into hell (Job 34:12). It is our unbelief that sends us to hell and our belief that guarantees us a place in heaven (John 3:18). A believer will not live in a sinful lifestyle (1 John 1:6, 3:9). The Bible shows us clearly that God feels the same way about all sin. Take homosexuality for instance: 

Jesus said about marriage: “And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ “and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh?’” (Matthew 19:4.)

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 states, “Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortionist will inherit the kingdom of God. And such WERE some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.”

1 Timothy 1:10… “Yes, these laws are made to identify as sinners all who are immoral and impure: homosexuals, kidnappers, liars, and all others who do things that contradict the glorious Good News of our blessed God, whose messenger I am.”

Hebrews 13:4… "Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge."

Please notice, God does not single homosexuals out. However, any kind of sexual immorality such as adultery or rape is just as bad in God's eyes as homosexuality. In fact, God does not distinguish between sexual sinners and thieves, drunks, slanderers, swindlers, kidnappers, liars, etc. God does not single out any sin, or judge any sin by degrees of evil. Sin is sin in God’s sight.

Now, in case you believe that God does not care about a person’s sexual preference, here are a few more verses concerning lesbian and gay behavior:

Leviticus 18:22 - "Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable." (NIV)

Leviticus 20:13 - "If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads." (NIV)

This verse includes lesbians:

Romans 1:24-27 states, "Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonor their own bodies between themselves: who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, Who is blessed forever. Amen. For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which they deserved."

Jude 7 says, “And don't forget the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring towns, all full of lust of every kind, including lust of men for other men. Those cities were destroyed by fire and continue to be a warning to us that there is a hell in which sinners are punished.”

However, the good news is that anyone can be freed from any sin merely by repenting and by asking God to forgive us and to break sin’s hold on us. The heart is deceitfully wicked and only a person in deception follows what he/she thinks their heart says it is okay to do (Jeremiah 17:9). Satan is an angel of light and he will disguise himself and give us peace to disobey the plain truth of the Word of God (2 Corinthians 11:14).

If we discover the customs and original language of a Bible verse and still disobey it, because we feel peace in our heart to do so, we are foolishly walking in disobedience. I want to encourage everyone not to excuse any sin in your life. We do not condemn anyone, we pray for everyone now and always to be set free from the law of sin and death and for God to set us all free to live in the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus (Romans 7:21-8:2).

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, the world is so deceived and blinded by satanic perversion of truth (2 Corinthians 4:4). I pray for the eyes of our understanding to be enlightened and for the scales to fall off our eyes, so we can walk in Your truth (Acts 28:27; Ephesians 1:18). We pray for those who walk in sin to find healing for the wounds in their soul that encourages these sins. We pray that we will all walk in holiness and bring honor and glory to Your name.

Thought for the Day:

We love everyone unconditionally and always will, but the Word of God is the standard for our faith, beliefs and practice.