Confusion

Yesterday I witnessed a person under the influence of a spirit of confusion. During a meeting this person kept confusing the issue and it was so tiring. I know that different spirits or demons attach themselves to people and even possess people. It’s not always plain to see though. This time it was absolutely crystal clear. We have to realise that even Christians can be influenced by all kinds of deceiving spirits that want to lead us astray. The bible says that in the end times people won’t be sure of the truth.

2 Timothy 4:3-4, For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, and they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.

All of us have heard or at least heard of people who call themselves preachers of the Word but who twist the scriptures to suit themselves. That can be incredibly confusing if we aren’t familiar with the Bible. And by familiar, I mean we have to know the Bible properly. The only way to know the Bible properly is by reading it, or by hearing it. We really have to be well enough acquainted with the Bible so that when a preacher, or anyone else for that matter, says something that isn’t true, we can immediately pick up on it. I don’t think that this is really negotiable if we are serious about our faith.

Romans 10:17, So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

If, for any reason whatsoever, you cannot read the bible, then you have to listen to it. Let someone read out loud to you, or use an audible bible on the bible app which you can download onto your cell phone or computer. There are also CD’s available where the bible has been recorded being read out loud. Never before has technology made the bible so available to everyone, and I’m guessing that never before are so few people actually making use of it. The devil, who is your enemy, doesn’t want you to read, or listen to the bible, so he is going to try and divert you, and distract you, and keep you so busy that you aren’t going to have time for it.

1 Peter 5:8, Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he might devour.

Even though the devil isn’t a lion; he is LIKE a lion, he is still going to devour you.

The dictionary gives the meaning of ‘devour’ as:

To eat something eagerly and in large amounts so that nothing is left, and

To destroy something completely.

Unfortunately the enemy isn’t stupid. He knows what we’re doing and even though he can’t read our thoughts (well, that’s what I’ve heard) he can certainly plant thoughts in our minds. Those thoughts are so well disguised as our own that we have to be extremely vigilant and discerning. If we don’t know our bibles we aren’t going to be able to discern a lot of the time. This verse says be sober. Does that mean we shouldn’t drink alcohol and get drunk, or does it just mean we should have presence of mind? I would say both, because I don’t think a person who is drunk with alcohol has much presence of mind.

There are three things that are going to help us. The first is faith:

Hebrews 11:6, But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

The second is prayer.

Ephesians 6:18-19, Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints- as for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel.

The third is resistance.

James 4:7, Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

Friends, we cannot allow the devil into our lives at this time. If you are confused about your faith or your salvation please speak to your pastor, or another Christian that you trust. Now is the time to stand and be counted.

War

War

 

I received a Whatsapp message from a dear friend. It was one of those pictures with little angels and harps and fluffy clouds. The message printed on the picture was something like “the angels are going to sing you a lullaby so that you can sleep peacefully.” It’s a very nice and peaceful thought but what went through my mind when I received it was that we are involved in a war and I think angels are doing far more serious things than putting us to sleep.

We are in a war with the devil if we want to recognise it or not. People are not our enemies.

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.

1 Peter 5:8, Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour

John 10:10, 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.

The devil is not an opponent to be disregarded or ignored. I have so often heard people say that because they don’t believe in things like demons or evil spirits, they cannot be affected by them. I have also heard people say that things like evil spirits do not exist and are all in the mind.  It’s like saying that because I don’t believe in earthquakes they can’t affect me. When you are in the vicinity of an earthquake and you don’t take the proper precautions, you are going to be affected by it. Evil spirits or demons can affect you and even enter you when you leave doors open. If you are constantly drinking too much you can invite a demon of addiction into your life, and it won’t leave until you resist it.

James 4:7,  Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

It doesn’t matter how upset you are at someone who did something to hurt or offend you, that person is only the conduit through whom the devil works his schemes.

The whole world is fighting against each other part of the time for whatever reason. I don’t think there has ever been a period in history when there hasn’t been conflict. People are constantly fighting with each other and fighting each other’s beliefs and ideologies.  They don’t realize that the enemy isn’t the other person or the other country. Religions, races, languages, countries and systems are all entangled in the web of deception that the devil weaves. It isn’t going to end any time soon. The devil isn’t about to give up on his campaign of sowing conflict and hate. He isn’t going to suddenly change and become good. He is a liar and a murderer.

John 8:44, You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He 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.

If Jesus is our shepherd we are going to have to learn to hear His voice. That is the only way we are going to know when it’s the devil and his demons whispering sweet nothings into our ears. A baby consumes milk for the first six months of its life and then starts eating solids and soon enough can follow instructions and before you know it that baby is a toddler and if you look away and blink and adult appears. Well, that’s how it feels anyway. That is the way with a believer. You can’t be satisfied with hearing from others what God is saying. You have to start to learn and listen. We have to put on the armour that is prescribed in Ephesians 6:10-20 and be ready for battle. If you don’t think there’s a battle, just start reading your bible and speaking about your faith to others. You will very soon be right in the middle of the war. So be bold and strong because the Lord is with you.

Abortion

Facebook has been bombarding us with anti-abortion posts. I think its high time that people take a stand against abortion. Its high time people stand up for what they believe in regardless. Taking a stand and standing with what you say is always better than sitting on the fence.

I was thinking about what I would do if someone close to me were to decide to have an abortion. I know that I wouldn’t like it, but I also know that I wouldn’t be able to judge her. Firstly if I only found out about it after it was done I wouldn’t have been part of the process and thus had no insight into the situation. I wouldn’t know how much fear she possibly went through. Secondly I am not allowed to judge. James 4;12 says, “There is one Lawgiver, who is able to judge to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?” Romans 2:1, “Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.” It’s like the woman who was caught in adultery in John 8:1-11. Jesus told her accusers that the one who is without sin, should cast the first stone. Everyone dropped their stones and left. Not one of us is perfect and we do not have the right to judge anyone else. So is abortion wrong? Yes, most decidedly so. Abortion is murder and murder is always wrong. But, as I’ve illustrated, so is judging and as far as I can discern there isn’t a difference between sins. A sin is a sin is a sin. We should hate the sin, but we need to love the sinner. Jude 1:22-23, “And have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.”

How should we treat a woman or a girl who has had an abortion? Just like any other person. We should love her so much. We should love her so much that she can overcome the fear that drove her to have the abortion. 1 john 4:18, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts our fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.” That is so absolutely frightening. I  can just imagine the grotesque faces of the demons who inflict the kind of fear that drives a person to ending the life of their own baby. I want to weep when I think about it. We, who are believers, are failing those who are living in fear. Fear of the consequences. Fear of what people will say. Fear that she won’t be able to take care of a new life. Fear of what her husband or boyfriend’s reaction will be. Fear that she won’t be able to complete her studies and that she will be a disappointment to her family. Those are the kind of things that are being whispered to her. The verse says hear involves torment. The Oxford Dictionary gives the meaning of torment as, “Severe physical or mental suffering.” Fear is very real and fear is from the devil. Hebrews 2:14- 15 says that Jesus will destroy the devil and release those who through fear of death were subject to bondage throughout their lives. 2 Timothy 1;7, “ For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”  The ESV version says, “for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self control.” I would think that a sound mind would practice self control.

If we show love to this poor girl who has been through all that trauma we are doing the will of God. That is the only way she is ever going to have a chance to get away from the torment of the enemy. If we were to push her away and judge her as a sinner and mark her as a bad person she is not going to have a hope and a future. Who is she going to turn to if she can’t turn to believers when the tormentors don’t stop tormenting her. And they won’t stop. The devil is a liar.  John 8:44, (paraphrased) “…the devil was a liar 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.“  So, as I see it, the devil or rather one of his demons sets about tormenting someone who is vulnerable. Then, once they are good and scared, he tells them that the only way out of the situation is the abortion, then everything will be okay because it will be over, there will be no consequences and nobody will even know. She goes ahead with the procedure but she doesn’t realize that the torment won’t stop. She will have feelings of guilt and failure. Until she is set free by the love of Jesus she will not be whole.

Our duty is to show her that love and to guide her into perfect freedom.