Recently I was driving a stake into the ground in order to place a tent out front for my grandchildren to sleep in. As I drove the stake in the ground, one of my grandchildren made the comment that it looked like I was driving the stake through some fabric. I took advantage of the moment and told him that sometimes things we see with our own eyes can be deceptive.
A great piece of advice I received as a child was that I should not believe everything I hear with my own ears, read for myself, or see with my own eyes. It took me some years before I fully appreciated that advice. Everytime I hear children playing the game 'do you see what I see?', I am reminded that our eyes don't see the same things as everyone else. We all have our own 'point of view'.
This morning, I found myself in 1 John, Chapter 4 and wouldn't you know it. That same type of advice is in the bible!
[1] Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. [2] By this you know the Spirit of God; every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; [3] and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world. [4] You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. [5] They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them. [6] We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
I am always intrigued by those who not only doubt who Christ is, but those that also doubt that the evil one is in this world. Not only is he here, he is active! When you pick up your bible and read it you soon realize that Satan is mentioned time and time again; almost as often as Jesus. Not only does Jesus talk about him, Satan engaged Jesus in the desert and tried to tempt him! What I find most interesting about this story is the way in which they spoke to each other. Allow me to take you back in time:
[1] Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. [2] And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. [3] And the tempter came and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread." [4] But He answered and said, "It is written, 'MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD'."
[5] Then the devil took Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, [6] and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written, 'HE WILL COMMAND HIS ANGELS CONCERNING YOU; and 'ON their HANDS THEY WILL BEAR YOU UP, SO THAT YOU WILL NOT STRIKE YOUR FOOT AGAINST A STONE'." [7] JESUS SAID TO HIM, "On the other hand, it is written, 'YOU SHALL NOT PUT THE LORD YOUR GOD TO THE TEST'."
[8] Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; [9] and he said to Him, "All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me." [10] Then Jesus said to him, "Go, Satan! For it is written, 'YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD AND SERVE HIM ONLY'." [11] Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him. (Matthew 4:1-11, NASB)
You see, Satan quoted Scripture back to Jesus. Just let that truth sink in for a moment. We even have a story of a demon inside the church who sat in the pews and listened to what was being taught! We also have false teachers that twist Scripture in order to make the points that they desire to make. In some scary movies we are shown that people protect themselves with holy water or by holding up a cross.In the bible, we don't see Jesus throwing holy water at Satan or even holding a cross up. Instead, we read that he used a vital piece of armor as protection; the Word of God. If you don't know what your spiritual armor is, allow me to share that with you as well so that you too can stand firm against the schemes of the devil:
[13] Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. [14] Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH THE TRUTH, and HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, [15] and having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE; [16] in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. [17] And take, THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. (Ephesians 6:13-17, NASB)
We live under several truths, evil is in this world. Satan walks among us and his only desire is to steal, kill and destroy the children of God. Don't be fooled into thinking that you he can't reach you. He is the tempter, the evil one, the whisperer of lies. He is shrewd. For all of these reasons, you must dress in your full armor daily.
I know in times that I have neglected putting on my full suit of armor, I have been pulled into what I call the crocodile roll. Satan is quick and you can find yourself in a battle for your life before you even realize the first fiery arrow has been launched your way!
Take the advice of the Word of God; don't believe everything you hear and see. Test it all against the Word of God. If what you think you see and hear does not line up with the truth, ignore it. Keep your focus on the truth. Keep your thoughts on the things Paul suggests we all focus on:
[8] Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. (Philippians 4:8, NASB)
Today I pray that you are fully dressed in your spiritual armor. I pray that you indeed focus on all mentioned in Philippians 4:8. I pray that your eyes and ears are opened to the truth so that you can indeed see the schemes of the devil and that they have no effect on you. May you be so well braced for the daily battle that you are able to help others who are not prepared for the fight. I pray that countless others begin to wake up and see the truth for themselves. May the body of Christ recognize the body of Christ and may we begin to function at 100%. In Jesus name I pray! Amen!
Wendy, Mom of Many, walks with God
© Wendy Glidden, 2015
A great piece of advice I received as a child was that I should not believe everything I hear with my own ears, read for myself, or see with my own eyes. It took me some years before I fully appreciated that advice. Everytime I hear children playing the game 'do you see what I see?', I am reminded that our eyes don't see the same things as everyone else. We all have our own 'point of view'.
This morning, I found myself in 1 John, Chapter 4 and wouldn't you know it. That same type of advice is in the bible!
[1] Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. [2] By this you know the Spirit of God; every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; [3] and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world. [4] You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. [5] They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them. [6] We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
I am always intrigued by those who not only doubt who Christ is, but those that also doubt that the evil one is in this world. Not only is he here, he is active! When you pick up your bible and read it you soon realize that Satan is mentioned time and time again; almost as often as Jesus. Not only does Jesus talk about him, Satan engaged Jesus in the desert and tried to tempt him! What I find most interesting about this story is the way in which they spoke to each other. Allow me to take you back in time:
[1] Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. [2] And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. [3] And the tempter came and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread." [4] But He answered and said, "It is written, 'MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD'."
[5] Then the devil took Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, [6] and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written, 'HE WILL COMMAND HIS ANGELS CONCERNING YOU; and 'ON their HANDS THEY WILL BEAR YOU UP, SO THAT YOU WILL NOT STRIKE YOUR FOOT AGAINST A STONE'." [7] JESUS SAID TO HIM, "On the other hand, it is written, 'YOU SHALL NOT PUT THE LORD YOUR GOD TO THE TEST'."
[8] Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; [9] and he said to Him, "All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me." [10] Then Jesus said to him, "Go, Satan! For it is written, 'YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD AND SERVE HIM ONLY'." [11] Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him. (Matthew 4:1-11, NASB)
You see, Satan quoted Scripture back to Jesus. Just let that truth sink in for a moment. We even have a story of a demon inside the church who sat in the pews and listened to what was being taught! We also have false teachers that twist Scripture in order to make the points that they desire to make. In some scary movies we are shown that people protect themselves with holy water or by holding up a cross.In the bible, we don't see Jesus throwing holy water at Satan or even holding a cross up. Instead, we read that he used a vital piece of armor as protection; the Word of God. If you don't know what your spiritual armor is, allow me to share that with you as well so that you too can stand firm against the schemes of the devil:
[13] Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. [14] Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH THE TRUTH, and HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, [15] and having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE; [16] in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. [17] And take, THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. (Ephesians 6:13-17, NASB)
We live under several truths, evil is in this world. Satan walks among us and his only desire is to steal, kill and destroy the children of God. Don't be fooled into thinking that you he can't reach you. He is the tempter, the evil one, the whisperer of lies. He is shrewd. For all of these reasons, you must dress in your full armor daily.
I know in times that I have neglected putting on my full suit of armor, I have been pulled into what I call the crocodile roll. Satan is quick and you can find yourself in a battle for your life before you even realize the first fiery arrow has been launched your way!
Take the advice of the Word of God; don't believe everything you hear and see. Test it all against the Word of God. If what you think you see and hear does not line up with the truth, ignore it. Keep your focus on the truth. Keep your thoughts on the things Paul suggests we all focus on:
[8] Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. (Philippians 4:8, NASB)
Today I pray that you are fully dressed in your spiritual armor. I pray that you indeed focus on all mentioned in Philippians 4:8. I pray that your eyes and ears are opened to the truth so that you can indeed see the schemes of the devil and that they have no effect on you. May you be so well braced for the daily battle that you are able to help others who are not prepared for the fight. I pray that countless others begin to wake up and see the truth for themselves. May the body of Christ recognize the body of Christ and may we begin to function at 100%. In Jesus name I pray! Amen!
Wendy, Mom of Many, walks with God
© Wendy Glidden, 2015