Continuing: Satan's greatest masterpiece, the religious Christian
Greetings in the name of Jesus:
How does Satan work in today's Christian settings? It's funny how the basic sinful nature of mankind plays such a role in Satan's ability to sway us into behavior that leads to his ability to control us even in the setting of worship of God. Emotions play such a huge role in our lives the way we feel is a major governing control factor in what we do and what information we either reject or accept in our lives. We must continuously be on the outlook for tricks from Satan in using emotional pleas against us. I can't help but remember that when Jesus spoke to the disciples they always felt the power of God in their midst. It was a valid emotion, but Satan will try to get us to accept physical emotion as a genuine spiritual experience I believe that is why so many times those who are seeking the emotional experience through signs and wonders of the Spirit always have to come back to be filled again and again.
I don't believe this is because they are not seeking after God, but because they are allowing themselves to settle for simple human emotion rather than the true filling of God's love in their lives. While some people need then spiritual high to feel God in their life we must realize it is just another pre-conditioned response, and can be duplicated by this world very easily so we need to be careful and make sure it is real before we buy into it. When we deal with the trickery of Satan in the church we must realize that he is going to be more elusive in the midst of Christians then anywhere else in this world because it is his most important work. Along with the emotional parts of our Christian experience the enemy also works hard in the areas of our desire to have familiar surroundings. We must realize that Satan only works with a few nasty little tricks, but he's very good with them. Things like lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, the pride of life are at work in us more than we want to admit. The enemy knows that we will be susceptible to these things above all other areas in the church. Right now I am sure that you may be raising your eyebrows what I am saying, but think with me for a moment about the things that cause the greatest amount of trouble in your church setting. Competition in our churches is becoming more and more prominent as we attempt to increase our church funds. We have gotten less dependent on God to give us the increase we need to do a ministry, and now rely more on the techniques of today's business management. We continue to fill our churches with programs to attract people who will then give more money so that we can do, but is that the reason we are here?
Like it or not if we look around us we can see the lust of the eyes at work as we continue to build bigger and better facilities just like any other business in this world, but for one purpose? You see when we have something like that out to us many times we still have another earthly reaction to it which is pride of life, which simply means we get indignant that someone would question our religious reasoning behind what we do. My point is that all of these things are directly hooked into the tricks that the enemy pulls on the churches to keep us separated from one another, and once divided we are very weak in power of the Holy Spirit to do anything great measure in Christ.
Imagine that you and the Lord are walking down the road together, and for much of the way the Lord's footprints go along Studley, consistently and rarely varying in place, but yours are disorganized mess zigzags, starts and stops, turnabout's, circles, departures and returns. For much of the way it seems to go like this, but gradually your footprints come more in line with the Lords, and soon paralleling his consistently. You and Jesus are walking strewn friends. Even though this is good something different starts to happen because the footprints that walked alongside Jesus now are starting to walk in the exact footsteps of the Lord; his larger than yours and you can see that you and Jesus are becoming one. This goes on for many miles, but then there's another change; the second set of footprints is back and this time the zigzags are even worse as the Prince go every direction was stops and starts and gashes and sand! It is a mess! Then your dream's and. Now you pray to God; Lord I understand the first zigzags, it was because I was a new Christian just learning, and when the footprints were inside of yours I was actually walking in your steps because I followed you so closely, but when the footprints were even worse than the first time I don't understand? The reply comes back from God....THAT IS WHEN WE WERE DANCING! May you richly bless God through your life in him.
THE UNWORTHY SERVANT
How does Satan work in today's Christian settings? It's funny how the basic sinful nature of mankind plays such a role in Satan's ability to sway us into behavior that leads to his ability to control us even in the setting of worship of God. Emotions play such a huge role in our lives the way we feel is a major governing control factor in what we do and what information we either reject or accept in our lives. We must continuously be on the outlook for tricks from Satan in using emotional pleas against us. I can't help but remember that when Jesus spoke to the disciples they always felt the power of God in their midst. It was a valid emotion, but Satan will try to get us to accept physical emotion as a genuine spiritual experience I believe that is why so many times those who are seeking the emotional experience through signs and wonders of the Spirit always have to come back to be filled again and again.
I don't believe this is because they are not seeking after God, but because they are allowing themselves to settle for simple human emotion rather than the true filling of God's love in their lives. While some people need then spiritual high to feel God in their life we must realize it is just another pre-conditioned response, and can be duplicated by this world very easily so we need to be careful and make sure it is real before we buy into it. When we deal with the trickery of Satan in the church we must realize that he is going to be more elusive in the midst of Christians then anywhere else in this world because it is his most important work. Along with the emotional parts of our Christian experience the enemy also works hard in the areas of our desire to have familiar surroundings. We must realize that Satan only works with a few nasty little tricks, but he's very good with them. Things like lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, the pride of life are at work in us more than we want to admit. The enemy knows that we will be susceptible to these things above all other areas in the church. Right now I am sure that you may be raising your eyebrows what I am saying, but think with me for a moment about the things that cause the greatest amount of trouble in your church setting. Competition in our churches is becoming more and more prominent as we attempt to increase our church funds. We have gotten less dependent on God to give us the increase we need to do a ministry, and now rely more on the techniques of today's business management. We continue to fill our churches with programs to attract people who will then give more money so that we can do, but is that the reason we are here?
Like it or not if we look around us we can see the lust of the eyes at work as we continue to build bigger and better facilities just like any other business in this world, but for one purpose? You see when we have something like that out to us many times we still have another earthly reaction to it which is pride of life, which simply means we get indignant that someone would question our religious reasoning behind what we do. My point is that all of these things are directly hooked into the tricks that the enemy pulls on the churches to keep us separated from one another, and once divided we are very weak in power of the Holy Spirit to do anything great measure in Christ.
Imagine that you and the Lord are walking down the road together, and for much of the way the Lord's footprints go along Studley, consistently and rarely varying in place, but yours are disorganized mess zigzags, starts and stops, turnabout's, circles, departures and returns. For much of the way it seems to go like this, but gradually your footprints come more in line with the Lords, and soon paralleling his consistently. You and Jesus are walking strewn friends. Even though this is good something different starts to happen because the footprints that walked alongside Jesus now are starting to walk in the exact footsteps of the Lord; his larger than yours and you can see that you and Jesus are becoming one. This goes on for many miles, but then there's another change; the second set of footprints is back and this time the zigzags are even worse as the Prince go every direction was stops and starts and gashes and sand! It is a mess! Then your dream's and. Now you pray to God; Lord I understand the first zigzags, it was because I was a new Christian just learning, and when the footprints were inside of yours I was actually walking in your steps because I followed you so closely, but when the footprints were even worse than the first time I don't understand? The reply comes back from God....THAT IS WHEN WE WERE DANCING! May you richly bless God through your life in him.
THE UNWORTHY SERVANT
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