Appalling news from Nigeria. This week while worshipping their Lord, hundreds of people were killed when the roof collapsed in their half built church.
When I heard of this horrible tragedy, I couldn't help but think back to the ancient book of Job in the old testament. Poor old Job had more than his fair share of tragedies in his family. Among the many horrible things to happen to him was that a roof collapsed and killed all of his seven children.
Satan is alive and well and, I feel, starting to get desperate in trying to dissuade God's people to turn from Him and rely on the world to save them and give them lasting happiness (which is exactly what everyone is hoping to find.)
Once we have given our lives to Christ ~ repented of our sins ~ accepted His gift of forgiveness and started our walk with Him on a daily basis, then deep seated and lasting joy and yes even happiness can be ours.
Of course God has never promised as a trouble-free life. On the contrary, He said whoever comes to Him must be prepared to 'take up his/her cross and follow Him.' This obviously involves putting ourselves out there in the world ~ acknowledging that we are now Christs and obeying Him no matter what.
Once we have made that commitment, then in lots of ways, all hell will break loose in our lives. As sure as there is God in Heaven, there is satan here on earth, just waiting for us to let our guards down so that temptation and disaster can come our way. In lots of ways we become even more vulnerable to all sorts of trials when we stick it out with Jesus and become His.
But on saying all of that, there is still that contentedness and peace in our souls deep down because underneath off all the tragedy that life throws at us we know that God will never leave us ~ He will never let us down to the point of no return to Him. He has promised us that even when the very worst things happen to us, He will be there to guide us and set us back on the way with Him.
Satan loves to throw us curved balls and temps us constantly in areas which he knows are our weaknesses ~ he seems to hone in on them especially when you feel confident, in your heart, that God and you have conquered this and just when your heart feels free ~ Whammo! he strikes.
Many many Christians have unfortunately given up on their walk with Christ due to this very reason -~ exactly what satan wants to achieve. My last blog was centred around this very point ~ don't give up ~ keep walking with God no matter how many times you fail ~ Grab hold of God's promises and keep stepping out boldly with Him.
There was an episode in my own family where a very close relative was so hurt that they weren't invited to an event, that their hurt manifested itself in the extreme. As the years went by the hurt turned to anger and resentment.
Anyone from the 'offending' family daring to contradict or communicate in any way to the offended was quickly 'shot down in flames' and was secluded. Satan used this time to whisper, cajole, accuse and lie to the detriment of all concerned, Finally the offended person decided to believe the lies and went about isolating the family from the rest of the siblings. A horrible and degrading time and one where satan wallowed in his success and continues to turn family members against each other.
Yes! satan is still out there roaming around as a roaring lion seeking who to devour next (1 Peter 5:8).
Looking at the world today, you would have to be totally immune to satan and his wiles not to recognise his schemes and activities. They are all around us and today more than ever we need to be forever watchful ~ forever aware of the nearness of God and our even mounting need of Him. We cannot achieve living here in satan's domain if we take our eyes of Jesus ~ even for a fleeting moment.
I personally have been so blessed by social media ~ it was during one of my lowest times that I turned to twitter to see what I, just maybe, could glean from other Christians. Surely there were others that were struggling with what I was struggling ~ surely others going through the same times of testings and doubts.
That was when God directed me to TweetingGodsLove.com and I was led to a very special family of which I am now totally indebted and one where I have been truly blessed. Just yesterday during one of our many Bible chats we talked about the many many ways satan gets us to move away from God and doubt His amazing saving grace.
My beautiful friend Christie tweeted this and I quote
" One tactic of the devil is to twist Scripture to confuse us. We battle that with knowing the Word ourselves"
Christie points out to us that satan even uses Scripture to confuse and bewilder us into disbelieving His Word.
And then this quote from Cheri, again which confirms that satan is everywhere and attacks us when we are weak and have taken our minds and wills off God.
"Satan is a liar, he prowls to attack us when we are weak or builds us up so we think we don't need God"
WOW! So here Cheri reminds us that he actually can build us up ~ giving us self-confidence in ourselves. A very slippery slope indeed.
While out jogging today I heard this song from Mercy Me and it sort of says it all for us Christians ~ we HAVE to keep moving on with Him, singing and praising God no matter what is happening in our lives. We can't let satan dictate to us and start believing his lies. He is the master of deceit ~ the master of lies and the master of implanting doubts in our minds.
God bless you all this week as we take up the armour of God and surround ourselves with the promises and grace of Jesus.
Mercy Me ~ Keep Singing lyrics:-
Another rainy day
I can't recall having sunshine on my face
All I feel is pain
Al I want to do is walk out of this place.
But when I am stuck and I can't move
When I don't know what I should do
When I wonder if I'll ever make it through
I gotta keep singing
I gotta keep praising Your name
Your the one that's keeps my heart beating
I gotta keep singing
I gotta keep praising your name
That's the only way that I'll find healing
Can I climb in your lap
I don't want to leave
Jesus sing over me
I gotta keep singing
Oh you're everything I need
When I heard of this horrible tragedy, I couldn't help but think back to the ancient book of Job in the old testament. Poor old Job had more than his fair share of tragedies in his family. Among the many horrible things to happen to him was that a roof collapsed and killed all of his seven children.
Satan is alive and well and, I feel, starting to get desperate in trying to dissuade God's people to turn from Him and rely on the world to save them and give them lasting happiness (which is exactly what everyone is hoping to find.)
Once we have given our lives to Christ ~ repented of our sins ~ accepted His gift of forgiveness and started our walk with Him on a daily basis, then deep seated and lasting joy and yes even happiness can be ours.
Of course God has never promised as a trouble-free life. On the contrary, He said whoever comes to Him must be prepared to 'take up his/her cross and follow Him.' This obviously involves putting ourselves out there in the world ~ acknowledging that we are now Christs and obeying Him no matter what.
Once we have made that commitment, then in lots of ways, all hell will break loose in our lives. As sure as there is God in Heaven, there is satan here on earth, just waiting for us to let our guards down so that temptation and disaster can come our way. In lots of ways we become even more vulnerable to all sorts of trials when we stick it out with Jesus and become His.
But on saying all of that, there is still that contentedness and peace in our souls deep down because underneath off all the tragedy that life throws at us we know that God will never leave us ~ He will never let us down to the point of no return to Him. He has promised us that even when the very worst things happen to us, He will be there to guide us and set us back on the way with Him.
Satan loves to throw us curved balls and temps us constantly in areas which he knows are our weaknesses ~ he seems to hone in on them especially when you feel confident, in your heart, that God and you have conquered this and just when your heart feels free ~ Whammo! he strikes.
Many many Christians have unfortunately given up on their walk with Christ due to this very reason -~ exactly what satan wants to achieve. My last blog was centred around this very point ~ don't give up ~ keep walking with God no matter how many times you fail ~ Grab hold of God's promises and keep stepping out boldly with Him.
There was an episode in my own family where a very close relative was so hurt that they weren't invited to an event, that their hurt manifested itself in the extreme. As the years went by the hurt turned to anger and resentment.
Anyone from the 'offending' family daring to contradict or communicate in any way to the offended was quickly 'shot down in flames' and was secluded. Satan used this time to whisper, cajole, accuse and lie to the detriment of all concerned, Finally the offended person decided to believe the lies and went about isolating the family from the rest of the siblings. A horrible and degrading time and one where satan wallowed in his success and continues to turn family members against each other.
Yes! satan is still out there roaming around as a roaring lion seeking who to devour next (1 Peter 5:8).
I personally have been so blessed by social media ~ it was during one of my lowest times that I turned to twitter to see what I, just maybe, could glean from other Christians. Surely there were others that were struggling with what I was struggling ~ surely others going through the same times of testings and doubts.
That was when God directed me to TweetingGodsLove.com and I was led to a very special family of which I am now totally indebted and one where I have been truly blessed. Just yesterday during one of our many Bible chats we talked about the many many ways satan gets us to move away from God and doubt His amazing saving grace.
My beautiful friend Christie tweeted this and I quote
" One tactic of the devil is to twist Scripture to confuse us. We battle that with knowing the Word ourselves"
Christie points out to us that satan even uses Scripture to confuse and bewilder us into disbelieving His Word.
And then this quote from Cheri, again which confirms that satan is everywhere and attacks us when we are weak and have taken our minds and wills off God.
"Satan is a liar, he prowls to attack us when we are weak or builds us up so we think we don't need God"
WOW! So here Cheri reminds us that he actually can build us up ~ giving us self-confidence in ourselves. A very slippery slope indeed.
While out jogging today I heard this song from Mercy Me and it sort of says it all for us Christians ~ we HAVE to keep moving on with Him, singing and praising God no matter what is happening in our lives. We can't let satan dictate to us and start believing his lies. He is the master of deceit ~ the master of lies and the master of implanting doubts in our minds.
God bless you all this week as we take up the armour of God and surround ourselves with the promises and grace of Jesus.
Mercy Me ~ Keep Singing lyrics:-
Another rainy day
I can't recall having sunshine on my face
All I feel is pain
Al I want to do is walk out of this place.
But when I am stuck and I can't move
When I don't know what I should do
When I wonder if I'll ever make it through
I gotta keep singing
I gotta keep praising Your name
Your the one that's keeps my heart beating
I gotta keep singing
I gotta keep praising your name
That's the only way that I'll find healing
Can I climb in your lap
I don't want to leave
Jesus sing over me
I gotta keep singing
Oh you're everything I need
Hi Bruce.
ReplyDeleteGood post here. Two scriptures came to mind that reinforce your message. First, regarding the devil prowling around, especially in these latter days the bible says:
9 The coming of the lawless one by the activity of Satan will be with all power and with pretended signs and wonders,
10 and with all wicked deception for those who are to perish, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.
11 Therefore God sends upon them a strong delusion, to make them believe what is false (2 Thessalonians 2:9-11)
We are in the last days & the devil is ramping up his attacks on the world & especially on the followers of Christ. But we can take comfort from scriptures like this:
7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
8 Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you men of double mind. (James 4:7-8)
The devil will flee when we draw near to God because he cannot stand to be in God's presence. Despite the increasing activity of Satan, when we draw near to God, we have the victory.
God bless & keep up the good work & the good fight of the faith.
John
Brother Bruce,
ReplyDeleteYour words are the encouragement that we share as Christians. Thank you Jesus, for putting such grace into Bruce that it can be reflected to one so poor as me. We share in the ministry of Christ in ways unimaginable. Go with God dear friend.
We give the devil NADA!! All goes to Him our GOD and Savior! Fight with all you have because we do not fight alone God has given us ARMOR!! Praise His Holy Name!!
ReplyDelete