Too many times I encounter little Adolph Hitler’s who wanna make their own rules and then try to enforce it.
They get put into positions of power and want to create their own little prison where they are the warden and control everything.
I have encountered these people in life.
I have encountered them at work.
I have encountered them in society
And I have encountered them in my writing life.
Gatekeepers who keep the riff raff out but cannot really prove where the rules they enforce come from.
These are Karen’s who just can’t stand to let anyone get away with anything. Even when there’s no real rule to enforce.
Just rules they made up to make life harder on others.
While they sit at the gate, keeping people out.
I wanna see the real rules.
I wanna see the real laws.
Every time you encounter one of these little Adolph Eichmanns’ demand to see the actual rule or law.
Stop obeying fake rulers.
Stop giving money or time to people who make life hard.
If their rules, do not match the real rules or laws. Then stop using them. Stop submitting to them. Stop frequenting them. Let them go under.
Let me give you a simple example, that we all have seen.
COVID.
During Covid, the government gave certain directions for people to do to keep themselves, their family and others safe. Whether we agree or not.
But, when you go to a store, or a business, the business has chosen to create 10 extra rules.
In order to keep you super safe.
But then, you come back a few days later and there’s a different employee enforcing the rules. And now there’s 15 rules.
Then, you come back a different day and there’s a different employee and we are back to 10 rules, or we might even go down to 8 rules.
The actual rules are what the governing authority said, no one else.
I realize that business has the power to dictate certain things within the realm of their own influence. But, I also have the freedom to watch them go bankrupt.
But, what about the little Hitler at the door. The one who says “I’m just doing my job”
This Karen chose to add rules that did not exist, or interpret rules in a ridiculous way. Then use the little power they had to make life harder for people.
My Covid example, is a simple one to explain my point.
If people want to follow rules, then they need to follow the real rules, not create more.
Life is hard enough, we don’t need to make it harder.
We are justified in Christ There was only one law in the beginning. Just one. “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”–Gen. 2:17 People want to act like God is some eternal killjoy,…
Abide in the Lord We all face trouble in life. It is something we can all agree upon. No matter who you are, something bad will eventually come to cause you trouble. Something will break your heart. Something will break you down. Something will make you crazy, concerned or confused. When we look at the…
Satan’s Insanity If you’ve read the Bible, you know that we have a spiritual enemy. Satan fell sometime after creation. We do not know exactly when, but it was because he desired to be “like the most High”. (Isa. 14: 12-17) He wants to be God. This desire led to his fall and corruption. It…
I’ve been free of drugs and alcohol for over 20 years. God saved me and healed me. He set me on the right path.
I want to show what I do everyday and why.
I wake up and pray. I do my hygiene stuff and speak God’s promises into my life.
I eat a small healthy breakfast.
I then do my work. Whether it’s a job, ministry, purpose or fulfilling goals. I get to work on it. I fill my time with good useful activities so that I’m not filling my time with drugs and alcohol.
I addict myself to God, service and good things.
I then eat a small healthy lunch.
I then go back to work or study. Again I am filling my time with goodness. Not drugs, alcohol, parties and people who drag me down.
I cook or eat a nice filling healthy dinner. I’m not saying I don’t eat junk. Because I do. But I try to make it less. If you eat healthy small breakfasts and lunches it gives more leeway for dinner.
Why do I focus on food? Because what you consume plays a big part in your health and recovery. If you are careful with eating healthy things it will give you pause when it comes to consuming drugs and alcohol. If you care about your health, it will help you overcome addiction.
It’s the same for working out. Why try to be fit and healthy. When you’re destroying your body, mind and spirit with drugs and booze?
After dinner spend time with good family and friends or doing clean things you enjoy. I’m watching shows with my wife and dog in the evening. Things I never did as a drunk. When I drank I would have started slamming beers the minute I got home from work, then be at the bars causing trouble by seven PM. I’m thankful I no longer care about such things. I spend time building a good life.
Stay away from people who bring you down. Just don’t go there. Don’t go to places that tempt you. Do meetings or church or work.
Spend time praying. When I say praying I mean telling God about your struggles and seeking His help.
Prayer is not always a one and done thing. I’ve been praying and confessing my struggles for years. What I have found is that over time, those struggles go away.
Talking to God about it brings it up between you and Him. Then, He moves to help you and gives you ideas and more desire to overcome.
As you get stronger, you see that prayer and your recovery is working. This helps build more faith in you. This helps grow more of a desire to overcome. You see God moving, and you learn to trust Him more.
Does all of this help you overcome addiction?
It does help. But ultimately it’s you going day by day refusing to drink or use. Every day.
But, it gets better.
And what this routine does is help build the life you need after addiction. It prepares good things to keep you straight for the long haul.
If you just magically quit using today, and was free. What would you do with your time and life?
See?
Even if you are struggling and barely making it, or even failing. You are preparing for the day you succeed. The fact that you can see a future day of freedom is building faith to finally get there. And that helps give you strength to overcome.
You are filling your time and life with good things as you work on recovery. Then, as you build everyday you will discover that you and God built a life you can be proud of.
When we are walking with the Lord. “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, ……… Wait for it Wait let it sink in for a few minutes Pay attention to how much it bothers you to just rest in Christ Hold Hold Hold Ok ……who walk not after the…
The Spirit battles against the flesh This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye…
He is faithful God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.—1 Cor. 1:9 How is trust built? With anyone, whether it’s parents or friends or enemies or government or neighbors, trust is built or destroyed by relationship, and experience. It is the same with God.…
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”—Heb. 11:1
Translation: Faith is made up of hope for things we do not see and have never seen, but have evidence for.
If we rightly divide this verse we first need to understand what “Hope” is.
Hope is not a “Gee I sure hope so.”
No, it’s “more like “My only hope”. It’s like a life preserver or like a harness that a steel worker wears when he is on a high rise and needs a safety line to prevent falling.
We hope for things we have never seen, but have been given evidence of.
We have never seen God. We have never seen heaven or hell.
But, things have happened in our lives that have given us evidence of the reality of these things.
We have seen God move in our lives and answer prayer. We have seen people get healed of disease. We have seen blessings come to us and to others. We have seen the beauty of nature and the signs it holds. We have felt God in our spirit, comforting us.
This evidence is our lifeline to God. God provides this evidence so that our lifeline will be stronger and cause us to reach out to Him more and trust Him more. God Himself is our lifeline and He provides faith for it.
He gives us faith at birth, and He builds our faith to believe in Jesus Christ and put our faith and trust in Him. Then, He continues throughout our life to build our faith. If we know Him.
Hebrews chapter 11 is called the faith chapter of the Bible. This is where we can get a definition of what faith is.
The very first thing it mentions is having faith in God’s creation. Belief that God created all things out of nothing, simply by speaking it into existence.
We believe in creation because God told us in His Word that this is what happened. So, by faith we believe His Word. Our belief in His Word makes us righteous. Abraham believed God and it was counted to Him for righteousness. When we are told of Jesus Christ, we have the chance to believe or not. If we believe, then we are believing the Word of God, and we put our faith in Jesus Christ and we are declared righteous. Jesus is the living Word of God. (Romans 4:3 Rom. 3:22)
God washes us and places us in Christ. This is what happened to all the Old Testament saints. They believed God and God declared them righteous and placed them in Christ. Just like us.
Remember God is not bound by time or place. God is not filled with doubt. He knows for a fact that His plans will succeed. So, when an Old Testament saint died, having never known Jesus, God places them in Christ because they believed God’s Word.
So, if that saint was alive to today, and heard a sermon on Jesus. This saint would have accepted Him. I know this might not be liked by some believers, but every person who has ever been saved has been saved by grace, through faith. Not by works. They did the works because they believed the Word God gave them.
Grace comes from God and we see evidence, then choose to put our faith in Him at His Word.
Obedience or works are nothing without faith.
They are just rule keeping or going through the motions.
There are some things we cannot do without faith first. Like Confessing Jesus is the Lord, or believing He came in the flesh. (1 Cor. 12:3, 1 John 4:1-3 )
Like Abel sacrificing the first of his flock, as a picture of the future sacrifice of Christ. That’s what ALL sacrifices are. (Heb 11)
He did this because He received a Word from God, or believed the Word of God given to Him from Adam.
He then became a picture of Jesus, when he was killed by His brother because of envy. Like Christ was killed by His brethren for envy. (Gen. chapter 4, Matt. 27:18)
And they were sent to wander the earth.
We see that Enoch walked with God. He had a relationship with him, just like we are called to have a relationship. But, it started by first seeing evidence of God from God, or it came from a Word given from God by someone else. Perhaps from Seth, or from Adam himself. (Gen. 5:22-24)
Remember Adam often walked with God in the cool of the day.
Do you see that our faith leads us to know God and walk with Him. it leads us to seek Him and turn to Him and let Him direct our paths.
It’s a relationship not rule keeping. No one is saved by keeping the law. We are saved by knowing Him. By confessing Jesus is the Lord and having a relationship with Him by faith. (Rom. 3:20-31)
Noah built an Ark. Because He believed the Word given to Him and he acted upon it. Who in their right mind would build an ark in the front yard?
Our faith might lead us to do crazy things. It might lead us to look strange or be persecuted. But, it might also lead to the saving of our family, friends and world.
We see that Abraham believed the Word God gave Him, and he was made righteous. He went unto a land that was not his own and trusted God. He trusted God even though Abraham never saw the promise fulfilled.
There are things we are trusting God for. And we might never see it fulfilled, until we stand with him on that day in glory. When we cross into Paradise to be with Him, and we see the new heaven and new Earth to come.
We seek a city, a country, a future place with God called Home. For this place is not our home.
Sara believed that God would give her a child in her old age. Even through her doubt, God provided. Despite her laughter the promise came and she was written in this book. Because God’s promises are not based upon our faith, and obedience. But, on His might, grace, and goodness. He does it. Not us. (Gen. 18)
Our faith often leads us to reject things in this life, knowing God has a better plan.
Like Moses who chose to reject the high living of Pharaoh and suffer with His own people. Because He knew that he would be the Deliverer and knew that Christ would deliver us all. (the book of Exodus, Acts Chapter 7, Hebrews 11:26)
All of the Old Testament saints teach us that God gives us a Word, and by faith we believe that Word and follow Him.
Jesus is that Word. And when we turn to Him by Faith, He saves us and directs our paths through His Holy Spirit and the relationship we have with Him.
Even through persecutions and a tough life we keep turning to Him and calling out to Him in faith trusting His Word.
And even if we do not see the promises fulfilled in this life, we know that there is a better day.
So, since we are surrounded by the great saints of old and the lives they lived we can turn to Jesus and trust Him through faith like they did. Setting down our burdens and letting Him wash away our sin. So, we can be free to live the life with him that he called us to live. (Heb. 12:1)
Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith. He wrote it, and will bring it to pass in our lives. Not by our works but His.
And it was a joy to Him to endure the suffering and shame of the cross for us. Then sit down at the right hand of God in power. (Heb. 12:2)
Through faith we are saved and our faith grows as God builds it through our relationship. And every bad thing we face, and every good thing we receive, all works together to build our faith as we turn to Him and trust Him.
And His promises will come.
They come today. They come in the future. And they come forever.
Trust Him.
Bio: Chris Bunton is a writer, poet and blogger from Southern Illinois. He has published in several magazines, and has written a poetry eBook called “Against the Man” and an Addiction Recovery eBook called “Made Free: Overcoming Addiction“ a collection of dystopian short stories.“The Future is Coming” and his latest book “The Latter Days‘ is a book on Bible Prophecy and avoiding the deceptions to come.
It will happen in these last days “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day (The Day of The Lord) shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;”— 2 Thess. 2:3 (2 Thess 2:1-15) It seems that this event…
Have You Tested God? “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.”—Luke 6: 38 First, I wanna say that this verse and all…
He rewards those who seek him. And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. 10 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. 11 If a son shall…
Pets can help us to heal from past traumas, and become a better person if we are open to it.
Like children, who cause many parents to change their lifestyles and mindsets. Pets can do the same.
We can learn spiritual things and grow in life from interacting with our pets. Such as, unconditional love, loyalty and innocence.
Your pet loves you no matter what your past is. No matter what failures you have or heartaches you bear. Even if all of society hates you. Your pet is still there to meet you when you come home.
This love they show, can help us grow in our love for ourselves and others, if we allow it.
WWFD= What Would Fido Do?
Now of course running up to people and licking them is a no go. (Sometimes).
My pets have filled my heart and life with love and joy, which cannot help but spill over.
Our animal friends can teach us great spiritual truths.
Our love for our pets can grow into love for nature and the animals in it. When we realize how smart and caring our pets are. It should lead us to realize the same about nature.
Why do we think we are superior?
We were created to take care of and protect nature. Our love of our pets can remind us of that. If we let it.
Our pets can teach us of love, joy, duty and loyalty, that we never get from humans.
When we realize that pets, and animals in nature are often better than us. It helps to remind us that we are fallen. That we can turn to God, for healing in our lives.
The natural world screams spiritual truth, if we listen.
Bio: Chris Bunton is a writer, poet and blogger from Southern Illinois. He has published in several magazines, and has written a poetry eBook called “Against the Man” and an Addiction Recovery eBook called “Made Free: Overcoming Addiction“ a collection of dystopian short stories.“The Future is Coming” and his latest book “The Latter Days‘ is a book on Bible Prophecy and avoiding the deceptions to come.
So, we know the seasons. The Bible is 30% prophecy, as some have stated. But, when you consider that the whole thing is about Jesus Christ, and that all the stories and pictures speak of Him, His First Coming and Second Coming, I think its more like 100%. God has called all believers to be…
God works to build the Kingdom through us. James 2:14-26 In this passage. The apostle James, speaks of works being an aspect of our faith. It ends with the famous phrase “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” In the verses James shows that God commanded…
Why does God let us struggle? When we get saved, we might notice that there are things that change in us immediately. But, there are other things that do not. It’s like God saves us and removes some things but leaves other things in our lives for us to struggle with. I mean if God…
“Seek ye first my kingdom and my righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you.”–Matt. 6:33
When we read scripture we need to “Rightly divide” it. (2 Timothy 2:15)
What does that mean?
Well, every word in scripture has meaning. They can often be linked to other parts of scripture. When we want to understand or define something, we need to use scripture to do it.
So, what does it mean to “Seek ye first my kingdom”? It means to put the building of God’s kingdom first in your life. So, how does that look? Well, it means that spreading the Gospel is the most important thing to you. (Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:15-18)
You tell people about Jesus personally on a one to one basis. You tell people about Him publicly; and you support ministries and missionaries that actively spread the Gospel. You have a desire for people to get saved, and you step out in faith, to let the Spirit work through you in doing that work.
On top of that, we support and participate in Kingdom building activities, such as loving people, healing people, helping people, protecting people, growing people, serving people and feeding people. All of this is done in His name, and with an eye toward Kingdom building. Not being fake, or having an ulterior motive; but being real in our purposes. We want people to realize that there is a God who loves them and wants them saved, and that process starts now in this world.
Now when I say this, it makes it seem like I’m saying that you need to become a preacher, or go door to door, or become a missionary. I’m not saying that. God has given each of us different personalities, different gifts, and different callings on our lives. Build your relationship with God, and step out to do the small things and you’ll be shown by Him what directions to take. But, be real. You don’t have to take mission trips, or go to seminary. But, when a friend or neighbor falls on tough times are you there? Do you tell them about Jesus? Do you exercise your gifts at work? Not being preachy or holier than thou, but someone that is approachable, helpful, and keeps a confidence?
We do this out of our salvation. We do not do it to be saved, but because we want to tell people the great things God has done for us.
What is “My Righteousness”? We are made righteous, because we believe God. We believe what He has told us in His Word. We believe what He has spoken to us in our hearts; and we believe He has called us. We believe what He tells us about Jesus Christ, being the Lord, and we confess Him as our Lord. We agree with God that we are sinners and need Him.
We believe our personal relationship with Him; and the great things He has done in our lives. This causes us to live rightly as He grows us. We study and live by His Word. We seek to grow our faith and our relationship with Him. Not obeying rules, but growth through faith and relationship. Seeking His righteousness, is to seek the relationship with Him, and we grow in faith and spirit through it and Him. We cannot be righteous without Him, and faith in His Word. (Rom. 4:3, Rom. 10:9-10)
“And all these things shall be added unto you.” What things? The things we need, and even in many ways the true desires of our hearts. God knows what all humans really need and want. He also knows us personally. He is more than happy to provide these things. But, always remember that our spiritual condition, our relationship with Him, and His kingdom are paramount. Sometimes that will lead to great hardship.
God is not shocked when you desire success or abundance or any of “these things”. But, as we seek His Kingdom and His Righteousness; our desire for, and our definition of “These Things” starts to change. We become humble. We become meek, like a wild horse broken and trained for battle. We become less needy, because we have all in Him. We succeed, but our success is not apart from Him. He is always at the forefront of our minds and what we do.
Now when I say that, I’m not saying we don’t sin. I’m not saying we don’t forget God. I’m saying that He is a constant fixture in our lives, and grows in it. It’s a growth in Him. If you’re not experiencing this, ask God to give you more of Himself and He will.
John tells us that we will sin and fail, but we turn to God and ask Him to cleanse us of all unrighteousness. (Unbelief) and He will. Then, when we are washed we are as though we never sinned. god remembers it no more. (1 John 1:8-10, 1 John 3:9)
Terrible things happen in this life and in this world. But, even in the midst of these situations or places. “Seek ye first my Kingdom, and my righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.” is a promise. It might not manifest the same in everybody or in every situation. You might even be miserable for a while as He works things out in your life. To be honest, there are believers who died serving Him, and being in Him, long before any of “these things” manifested in their lives. But, I can promise you they have “these things” today with Him. I can also bet that the families they left behind were blessed. God is just. He pays His workers.
But, like most of God’s promises it requires faith to get started. Do you trust Him? Step out and start doing the little things and begin to grow. He will lead you and guide you; just go. He will move. It doesn’t matter where you are. Seek His kingdom and His righteousness. Do it from a pure heart, wholeheartedly. If you can’t, then ask Him to give you a clean heart, and help you to be pure in your motivations toward Him and others.
Then watch your views of what “these things” are change and turn to what He wants you to view them as. Your relationship is with Him; no one else. We answer to Him. Build His kingdom, and He will build yours.
Bio: Chris Bunton is a writer, poet and blogger from Southern Illinois. He has published in several magazines, and has written a poetry eBook called “Against the Man” and an Addiction Recovery eBook called “Made Free: Overcoming Addiction“ a collection of dystopian short stories.“The Future is Coming” and his latest book “The Latter Days‘ is a book on Bible Prophecy and avoiding the deceptions to come.
We are corrupt at the very core. What I am going to present to you today is something different. A different way to look at the world, and humanity. Something different than the legalism around us. As Christians we are taught and have come to understand a view of God, Scripture and the World based…
We are tempted to reject Him. When we get saved, we confess Jesus as our Lord, and believe in Him alone for salvation. We are called to Walk in the Spirit, and to abide in Him. We get great joy in the Lord. Prayers answered. Life changing experiences, and we see Him working to protect…
It’s hard sometimes This time of year, around Christmas is a very hard time of year for many people. It is not a joyful festive time, no matter how much we try to dress it up with religious zeal, and bright lights. This is the time of year we often miss those who have gone…
Christmas is a time for cheer. A time when we slow down and remember the things that matter most.
It’s a time when we celebrate the birth of a King. The birth of a savior. Jesus Christ our Lord.
As has been pointed out many times, December is not the actual date of His birth. It was probably sometime in September.
But, there is a symbolic reason for the choice of December 25th
When you consider the darkness in this world, and the shadows of evil in our hearts.
When you consider that we are in bondage to our wicked ways and the demonic forces of Satan, the usurper.
When you consider the blackness of the souls that are ruling this world and the misery they impose on us.
We can see the darkness.
The cold savage darkness full of torment.
Just before Jesus was born, King Herod commanded that all babies under two years old be slain, in order to stop the birth of the true King. (Matt. 2:16)
Herod wanted to protect his blood line’s power.
But, the demons who really rule behind the scenes wanted to keep the world in bondage to them.
To keep the world in darkness.
And what is more dark, than rulers killing children?
It was the darkest of days.
But, a light came into the world.
On that day Joy and Love came to save us from death and raise us up to be with Him.
The light came to shatter the deep and break the power of the forces of spiritual darkness in high places.
The true King was born.
And we celebrate it in a symbol.
A symbol of the light, and a symbol of salvation.
On December 21 we have the darkest day of the year.
We have the day the light goes out.
The day the light dies and goes into the grave of death.
Then, three days later the light is born.
A picture of our savior in the belly of the earth 3 days.
Dec. 22, Dec. 23, Dec. 24
December 25th the light is born. The King is come. He is born to be with us. He was born to die for us and rise from the grave, to set us free. And He will return soon to destroy the darkness, forever.
A Look at Matthew 24 “Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive…
It’s important to understand. In order to resist temptation, we must understand what is going on. If we miss an aspect of it, we cannot really resist it. We just shift it around or suffer through. “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with…
What does that look like? It’s so simple anyone can do it. That is how God designed it. I’m going to avoid magical theological words and just give it straight. As we go through life things happen to us. Good things and bad. We have excitement over good things. We celebrate victories and enjoy time…
I was born a drunk, in a family full of drunks. All of whom are now dead.
Even me.
I drank to escape. Not to escape a bad life. But, to escape boredom. It was a means of going insane for a bit.
It’s strange.
There was a moment when I drank that I was normal. Happy. Social, and able to function.
But, I could not stay there.
Then, the insanity came. A Jekyll and Hyde situation as I was called, by a respectable person who obeys the rules.
My rock bottom involved the destruction of everything, as God set me free.
But, my hate and rage for those who practiced that tough love philosophy burned every bridge forever.
I died. God slew me and raised me up again.
But, those bridges stayed burned. No matter how hard I tried to rebuild them with sobriety and a boring life.
Too much time filled with shame has passed.
Too much pride and no real reason for them to care for me.
I deserve it. I’m used to it. But, it hurts. Never forgiven. All hope gone. Holidays alone, again and again.
Does new life require the death of the old?
God brought me new life. New loves. New hope. New family.
And peace.
Holidays full of contentment and love.
Except for that tiny place in the corner of my mind. That misses you. And wonders how you are.
Bio: Chris Bunton is a writer, poet and blogger from Southern Illinois. He has published in several magazines, and has written a poetry eBook called “Against the Man” and an Addiction Recovery eBook called “Made Free: Overcoming Addiction“ a collection of dystopian short stories.“The Future is Coming” and his latest book “The Latter Days‘ is a book on Bible Prophecy and avoiding the deceptions to come.
A Deeper Meaning “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”—1 Tim. 6:10 People often misquote it as “money” is the root of all evil. But it’s not. Money is a tool. Like a…
What is it? Let us rightly divide 2 Thessalonians 2, and come to some conclusions about the near future. This book was written by the Apostle Paul. He is speaking of the last days, which we are in. I’m using the KJV. “Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ,…
He is there and will answer. We live our lives in this world, where we seem to have no control. Where we look every where for answers. Everything seems hard and we have sorrow, working our selves to death. We seek answers from gods, idols and wisemen. We seek answers from deep within ourselves. We…
Who really rules? Let’s talk about some conspiracy and spiritual truth for a moment. Because you must understand that there is only ONE conspiracy. And that’s the spiritual battle behind the scenes, that we all can see parts of, and have a feeling about, but cannot completely prove. The people who rule this world are…
It is a demon. Cast it out. Jesus said, “Fear Not” (Matt. 10:31) He said it many times. Actually, it’s a theme throughout scripture. Fear at its most basic level, is a lack of trust in God and His promises. That is a harsh saying, especially when we are dealing with anxiety. Because, often times…
A picture of us all The thief on the cross, spoken of in the Gospels of our Lord Jesus, stands as an extreme view of salvation in the eyes of some. The man who did what appears to be absolutely nothing, yet Jesus himself saved him declaring, “Today you shall be with me in…
I often run into Christians who speak of the devil as though he is powerless and weak. That he is a defeated foe and not a real enemy.
It’s almost like they haven’t actually read the Bible.
Yes, Christ defeated Satan on the cross.
Yes, God is in complete control.
But, no where in the scriptures have I found instructions for us to ignore the enemy. or act like he has no power.
As a matter of fact the Apostle Peter says, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.” (1 Peter 5:8-9)
A lion will roar, and it will cause the herd to flee. This gives the lion a chance to devour the young, weak and infirm. We have the power through faith to resist. But, it is an obvious affliction on those who are attacked.
It’s not something to be ignored, or belittled.
We are told in the book of Jude to not be foolish in how we speak of Satan, the fallen angels and spiritual forces. They have power and authority. (Jude)
Paul says That we are not to be ignorant of the enemy. (2 Corinthians 2:11)
So, we need to know what we are facing. Not to treat the enemy as if he is nothing or ignore him, but to face the enemy properly.
We are called to resist. But, how can you resist if you do not know anything about the enemy? (1 Peter 5:8-9, James 4:7)
So, let’s do a quick overview of the enemy.
It is believed that Satan fell through pride because he wants to be God. (Isa. 14:12-15)
At some point after his fall, he used a Serpent to deceive Eve, and get Adam to fall. (Gen.3)
Adam had dominion of the Earth. But, when he fell Satan took that dominion. That is how he became the god of this world. (2 Cor. 4:4)
There’s a lot more to this story, but it could lead to an entire book.
So, Satan has authority in this world.
Paul plainly states it. All the Apostles state it.
When a person is born into the world they are born in a right standing with God. They are subject to death, but not hell. Until they commit the first sin, knowing it’s a sin. Then, they are subject to hell, just like all humans.
It is also at this time that the person becomes a slave to Satan. They are his children. They are his slaves to various degrees. (Ephesians 2:2)
Here’s where some Christians will jump up and say “Yeah but he is defeated! God is in control!”
Yes, Jesus defeated the enemy on the cross. And there will be a future victory as well. (Gen. 3, Luke 10:18, Revelation)
This means that when Jesus died and rose, He defeated Satan. He set the prisoners free. ALL the prisoners or slaves under Satan’s control are free. But, only a few will hear the call and turn to Jesus to obtain it.
Saints are free from the control of Satan. We are saved and cannot lose it. But, as the Bible warns we can open doors and let the enemy back into our lives again. We can fall under that power. Take addictions as an example. (Matt. 12:43-45)
We can also still be impacted by Satan working through other people or nature.
All of this is plainly taught by the scriptures.
But, there will still be those who say “Yeah but God is in control!”
He certainly is.
Nothing can happen to us that God has not allowed.
We see this both in the book of Job, and when Jesus tells Peter that Satan has asked to sift him as wheat. (Luke 22:31-33)
Why? Why does God allow the devil access to us?
It seems that Satan has some kind of legal authority to ask, and expect an answer. We can speculate on why this is. But, we do not fully understand how things work in the spirit realms.
What we can say is that we have faith and power in Jesus Christ to resist the enemy. We have access to the King in prayer. We have God’s Word and promises we can stand on. We also have a relationship with God. We know Him. We know His character, and the Holy spirit dwells in us.
So, we know that God is always good. He seeks good always. He loves us and wants us with Him. So, no matter what happens, He is on our side, and we can use it to grow closer to God, and grow in faith. We can turn evil around for good.
But, how can you do that if you do not recognize evil? If you ignore the fact that we have an enemy, how can you stand against him or turn his attacks around for good? (Rom. 12:21, 2 Cor. 10:1-6)
If you feel that everything comes from God, then how can you call anything “Evil”?
Does God do evil?
Of course not, but He does allow things to happen. It’s our job to have faith in Him and turn to Him. Then turn the evil for good. We use it to save people or help people.
The scriptures tell us that the enemy possesses power. So, let’s do a list of what this power is. And I am in know way stating that this is everything. But, starting from the beginning of the Bible and going through we see that the enemy has the power to…
Deceive people who are walking with God and know Him, if they are not careful. If they doubt God’s Word, and Goodness. He can use our loved ones to get us to turn from God. He can use nature as a cover for his activities. We see this in Adam and Eve.
We can see in the book of Job, that Satan and his angels go about the Earth. We see that He has the power to cause a tornado to kill people. He can get humans to rob and kill others. He has the power to cause disease. He has the power to get our loved ones to turn against us. He also has the power to kill. (God would not let Him kill Job.)
The book of Job shows us that no matter what happens God is with us and we are to stay with Him. Trusting Him and His Goodness.
But, we see here that Satan is the prince of the power of the air. He apparently has power to control the weather. Which explains why we see ancient people all over the world making human sacrifices of babies to gods, so they can have good weather for crops, and fertility. We see the destruction weather and climate can cause.
He uses humans to kill, steal and destroy, obviously. How does this control occur? It’s possible that it starts with a whisper into the mind of a leader who then gets men to follow him. A leader whom Satan worked to put into a position of power.
We see that he gave Job a disease. We do not know what disease. It doesn’t matter.
All of this, the destructive weather, violence of men and disease, came upon Job and led Him into despair. So, Satan can also cause despair. (Except for God. Job continued to trust God and lean toward Him, and that’s what saved him.)
Job also shows that Satan can get our loved ones to betray us, or at least add to our torment.
I tell you this so we can recognize what is going on around us and pray properly or respond correctly. We respond with spiritual warfare. We respond with love and prayer and praise and trust in God, and His promises. We overcome evil with good. We take the bad that happens to us and turn it around to serve God and help and save people.
So, let’s fast forward to the New Testament.
Immediately after Jesus was baptized, the Holy Spirit led Him into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan. (Matt. 4:1-11)
This is a lesson for us. Have you ever considered that the moment you got saved and was baptized Satan was allowed to tempt you, and sift you as wheat?
I’m not saying he is. I’m not saying it happens to everyone, all the time.
But, the question must be asked. If you’ve never been tempted by the enemy, or faced spiritual warfare, then whose child are you?
The temptations Jesus faced are temptations we all face, except for Christ, they were far more extreme.
We learn that we can overcome these things by faith in God and His goodness, as well as using His Word.
So, we see that the enemy has the power to tempt us, and try to get us to fall. But, we can resist and if we fail we can turn to God and confess it to Him. (1 John 1:8-10)
We also see that Satan has power over the nations of the Earth. This is confirmed in the book of Daniel. (Dan. 10)
Paul also speaks of how the enemy has power in high places. (Eph. 6:12)
When we look at the ministry of Jesus we see that there are unclean spirits and demons that work in peoples lives. and we are called to wage war against them.
We also see that his greatest earthly rival was the religious leaders.
Jesus plainly said they were the children of the devil. (John 8:44-47)
So, we can say that Satan used religious leaders to kill Jesus and persecute the Church. He got these religious leaders, to use the governmental powers, to kill people, and impose laws upon them to destroy their freedom.
The Bible also says that there are false brethren, false teachers, and false prophets. (2 Cor. 11:26, 2 Pet. 2:1)
All of whom are probably listening to Satan.
Since he is the god of this world, and has power over the disobedient children. and he has power over nations, governments and religious leaders.
Then, we can say that the empires seeking to conquer the world, are doing it by his authority. That when they oppress people and persecute saints, it is by Satan’s authority, throughout history and even today.
Ok?
We see from Jesus’s ministry that the enemy can cause a friend to betray us and deny us. Even in the face of death. Even to betray us to people who will kill us.
Friends and family.
The Bible teaches that saints will be betrayed unto death by those closest to us. (Luke 21:16)
History teaches it.
We see saints dying the most horrific deaths for Christ, caused by the devil.
The enemy will attack and tempt our family in order to get them into terrible situations simply to hurt us. But, we turn this for good and tell them about Christ.
All of the apostles and saints around the world have faced persecution. And there is more to come. That is the reality, even though we might not face it in our current time.
So, as you can see the enemy has power. We are not called to belittle it, but to stand against it. We are not called to fear it, but to turn it around for good.
It is a tactic of the enemy to get believers to not wage war, by making us think he has no power.
Now, understand that through Christ we have power and authority over the enemy. Through faith we can stand on His Word. We are overcomers through Him who is in us.
But, if you think there is no enemy you won’t exercise that power.
People crack jokes and say “The devil made me do it.”
Well, maybe he did. Maybe instead of joking about it, we need to wage war and make sure of what is going on.
Maybe there is a devil behind every bush. Maybe it’s a roaring lion.
God is with us, but we are called to wage war. If we are saved we are free from Satan but we are still in a war.
God is with us. He protects us. Nothing can touch us unless it is allowed, and we can overcome it.
This life is just a moment. Every terrible thing only lasts for a second compared to eternity.
And when we die we go to be with the Lord. (2 Corinthians 5:1-8)
There’s no need for fear. There is no need to be focused on the enemy.
But, we are called to wage war.
We are called to turn to God and focus on Him, and we shall overcome.
Make sure. What does it mean to follow the real Jesus? Well, let’s look and see. Jesus’s ministry was a ministry of healing. This should tell us something about what we believe in regards to the Gospel and how we are to serve God. Because we want to be like Him. That is real godliness.…
You are never too far gone. In the books of Luke, Mark, and Matthew we see the story of the Gadarene Demoniac. (Mark 5:1-20, Luke 8:26-39, Matt. 8:28-34) He had an unclean spirit, which called itself “Legion” because there were many of the demons inhabiting this man. He lived in the tombs, crying out and…
The saints will be overcome. The scriptures are clear that the Anti-Christ will make war with the saints and overcome them. (Dan. 7:25, Rev. 13:7) I want to point out how this is likely to occur and how it is already started. I am not giving a prophecy here. I’m just pointing out some things.…
I was driving today; when I saw a Blue Heron, by a beautiful lake.
The sun sparkled; like fireworks on the water, and the bird fished in peace.
When I saw this it dawned on me, that man is the only creature of God’s Creation, who begs another man for food.
He is the only one, who is a slave, for food, water, health, and a place to dwell.
The heron took off in flight; majestic in freedom, to find a new lake.
While we are trapped, to the whims of fear, and the power of the Man.
Do you see the reality of the world we live in? This construct ruled by others? It’s a place where we struggle to produce something we never own. Like sheep for the shearer.
Bio: Chris Bunton is a writer, poet and blogger from Southern Illinois. He has published in several magazines, and has written a poetry eBook called “Against the Man” and an Addiction Recovery eBook called “Made Free: Overcoming Addiction“ a collection of dystopian short stories.“The Future is Coming” and his latest book “The Latter Days‘ is a book on Bible Prophecy and avoiding the deceptions to come.
What is the truth? I want to start with the ultimate truth, then talk about the current times, and prophecy. If you want to know God’s will on any subject you can probably find it in the Garden at Creation. There was no evil or death present. Nothing killed anything else. The humans and animals…
God is with us “Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” –Luke 12:32 “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”— 2 Tim. 1:7 “So that we may boldly say, The Lord is…
It’s important to know. Death on its most basic level means separation. It is not an end, as some suppose. The Bible teaches that we are triune, like God. We are made in His image. We have a body, a soul and a spirit. When God created everything He created it good. Evil was contained…
Free Life Blog 