When Satan in mentioned, many minds go to a cartoon character with horns, a forked tail and bright red body. By reducing this fallen and rebellious angel to this image, the next step is to take him lightly or dismiss him from existence.
Paul didn’t do that. He was aware of this enemy whom Jesus called the Liar and Destroyer and several times mentioned how Satan hindered him.
But since we were torn away from you, brothers, for a short time, in person not in heart, we endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire to see you face to face, because we wanted to come to you — I, Paul, again and again — but Satan hindered us. (1 Thessalonians 2:17–18)
When I am praying, I’m aware that God does not need my persuasion. He is eager to bless people and do good. The Bible indicates prayer is spiritual warfare and the enemy and opposition to all that is good is Satan. He hindered the work of Paul and he tries to hinder everything that anyone attempts in service to Jesus Christ, including prayer.
Paul also knew that this enemy had various methods for stopping God’s people. Of course the big two are unbelief and sin. If he can get us to stop trusting God and tempt us to go our own way, this will effectively immobilize our efforts.
He does this in several ways. He lies. He makes suggestions that sound good at first but are contrary to the Word of God. He tries to make us think we can do good even in disobedience or that God is not interested in “this little sin.” He dares us to step out without relying on the Holy Spirit. He discredits the character of God and accuses God’s people. He tries to get us focused on minor issues, or pushes us to fight with one another. When rifts and spats happen, he knows that forgiveness is an important testimony to our faith, so he tries to stop that from happening.
Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. Indeed, what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ, so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs. (2 Corinthians 2:10–11)
He also uses false teaching and false teachers who disguise themselves as messengers of God, even as “angels of light” who appear to be genuine but are telling lies. For those, God’s people need to have sound doctrine and be very alert.
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. (1 John 4:1)
When Satan tempted Jesus, he preyed on his physical weakness and extreme need at that time (hunger). He also promised worldly authority and power. Jesus resisted and answered him with Scripture.
Satan wants to silence the gospel and stop the spread of God’s Word. When the gospel is preached or shared, he tries to blind people’s understanding so they cannot grasp the meaning of the message. He might use violence and affliction as a way of deterring faith. He certainly uses distractions like the cares of this life and worldly pleasures. He will hit our weaknesses and make us proud of our strengths.
I don’t look for Satan under every rock and think he is behind every activity that goes contrary to my plans, but I am aware that when God calls me to a task, there will be opposition. Sometimes I do not “feel” like obeying or am pulled aside by doubt, reasoning, or my own wants and wishes. However, the Spirit of God is more powerful than all of these. As I pay attention to Him, Satan’s methods begin to lose their strength. This is a very real war. I can win it by one major tactic . . .
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (James 4:7)
Faith is vital, but so is obedience. Submission to God gives me what I need to resist this enemy, and not only does he lose, he must also take flight. He cannot do anything to me when I am yielded to the Lord.
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Father, these days of blessing are also filled with war. It seems that when Your goodness is at work, this enemy intensifies his efforts to deceive, distract and destroy. Keep me alert. Lead me not into temptation, but deliver me from evil — that You and Your name are glorified.
When I prayed, I didn’t tell God how to fix the problem. Sometimes I do that, but telling God what to do is a huge insult. Instead, I presented the problem with a “surprise me” attitude and He did something unexpected and perfect for the situation. Praise His name!
Sometimes my prayers are about little things. I confess to praying for parking spaces when I’m pressed for time and the lot seems full. I also pray for wisdom when I go grocery shopping and self-control when passing the frig or the pantry.
I have friends that say this is silly; that we should not bother God with stuff we can handle ourselves. I do not agree. For one thing, where do I draw the line between what I can handle and what only God can do? To be honest, I can remember many times that my “handling” of things simply got in God’s way. He is polite and lets me try, but once I realize my solutions are neither wise nor effective, He is ready and willing to step in when I pray. So I’m learning to “pray without ceasing” and trying to eliminate the folly of that learning curve.
Also, lately my prayers include much bigger requests. They are larger in scope and in global importance. I try not to pray mushy things like, “God, bless the world” but specific requests, like “God, bring daily bread and Your peace to Your people in the Congo.” Most of the time, these prayers are less self-centered and more about those areas of need that are beyond me. I’ve no idea how God can do it; I just know that He can.
I seldom hear others praying big prayers, but Spurgeon points to one made by King David in the psalms. David said this:
Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things. Blessed be his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory! Amen and Amen! (Psalm 72:18–19)
I’ve prayed for God’s glory when I have conversations with others, during sport competitions (does He care who wins?), and when someone faces illness or adversity that seems purposeless. If God cannot be glorified in any of these situations, or any other events of life, then I might ask Him to change that situation. However, His glory is becoming more of a focus.
Also, one of my bigger prayers involves a close relative. He is in a cult and has been deceived, even brainwashed. I’ve prayed many years for his release from this bondage. Now I’ve started praying that the entire organization to which he belongs gets a wake-up call from God. God can save one soul from sin and the grasp of Satan’s lies so why not ask Him to save a multitude of souls while He is at it?
Spurgeon wonders if anyone can bow before the Crucified Jesus and not want to see their King as master of the entire world. There is no way I could love Jesus and enjoy His love for me without wanting others to know Him and His great mercy, love and grace. As my world grows bigger, then I can also pray that God will bless others with the revelation of His glory.
This can happen. The people of God must pray, both little and big prayers. We have a powerful God whose grace is sufficient to meet every need, from parking places to peace on earth. If we try to do it all ourselves, then reading the newspaper is sufficient to show the folly of taking that route.
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Father, You continually amaze and surprise me with answers to prayer. I know I’m to pray in faith, but You even answer those prayers prayed in helplessness and confusion. In fact, it seems as if You prefer me to feel weak and unable. While feeling helpless and not knowing what to do isn’t pleasant, this is far better than ignoring You and missing opportunities to see the wondrous things You do. Bless your glorious name, now and always. May the whole world, from my small corner to outer space, be filled with Your glory.
In the Greek language, love is expressed by several words, each with a different meaning. For instance, eros refers to the physical attraction between man and woman and phileo is more affection between family and friends. However, agape is a special word. It means the love that God gives. This is a love that no one can express apart from God’s power being at work in their lives.
This morning I checked a Greek dictionary and discovered a definition for agape that I’d not notice before. Besides conveying the idea of self-sacrificing service for the good of others, it also means being perfectly content with, or well-pleased with someone.
Using that definition, the following verse becomes specific about the promise that it makes. It is not for everyone . . .
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)
This promise is for those who love God and are called according to His purpose. The next verse further defines that purpose God promises to those who love Him. For all who are perfectly content with God, He will use all things to transform them into the image of His Son.
This promise to bring good out of things is not about making all turn out right so that we feel good, although that is not ruled out. Instead, it is about remaking our thinking and way of life so that we are like Jesus. Again, the “our” means those who believe in God and are content to let Him be our Savior. We don’t try to save ourselves by the trappings of religion, but are totally happy to be saved by grace.
Spurgeon adds further description to the assurance in this promise. He says those who love God in this way know that He “sits in the stern-sheets of the vessel when it rocks most.” That is, Christians know that God’s hand is on the world’s tiller. Wherever providence drifts, Jehovah God steers it.
This reassurance holds me firm. When I look over the raging waters during the great storms of life, I see Jesus walking and hear Him say, “It is I, be not afraid.”
I also know that God is wise. In Him there are no accidents or mistakes. As Spurgeon says, “If I should lose all I have, it is better that I should lose than have, if God so wills: the worst calamity is the wisest and the kindest thing that could befall to me if God ordains it.” I can say this because I know that all things work together for good to those who love God.
This is no mere theory. Throughout my forty years of walking with Him, He has faithfully worked for good all events, even those that hurt deeply. It is as my devotional reading says; the sharp cuts of the lancet have cleansed out the proud flesh and facilitated the healing.
Each event has brought divinely blessed results. God rules all. He also governs wisely and brings good out of evil. I am content with Him.
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Oh God, my heart is once again assured. You enable me to calmly meet each trial. I can also pray with assurance for others who are in the middle of a storm. Even if they do not yet know You or have not yet learned to be content with You, You still have Your hand on the tiller. Your plans are perfect and Your way is always just and right. Thank You again for reminding me that I have good reason to love You and be fully content with You.
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When life deals unexpected and difficult blows to those I love, God seldom explains what He is doing. I know that He is involved in life’s events. I also know that He is sovereign and allows affliction for a reason. Yet today I would love to read His mind and to be comforted by knowing His perfect plans exactly.
While what He is doing in someone else’s life is not really my business to know, God does understand my thoughts and concerns. He may not reveal specifics about the person whose life has been turned upside down, but He does give me an example from the past to let me know a little about how He works in the affairs of His people.
He (an invading king) shall seduce with flattery those who violate the covenant, but the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action. And the wise among the people shall make many understand, though for some days they shall stumble by sword and flame, by captivity and plunder. When they stumble, they shall receive a little help. And many shall join themselves to them with flattery, and some of the wise shall stumble, so that they may be refined, purified, and made white, until the time of the end, for it still awaits the appointed time. (Daniel 11:32–35)
This is a portion of a prophecy from God’s man, Daniel. He was given a vision of the future and of kings that would invade and rule over God’s people. In this case, a particular king would make shambles of many, yet God would use what was happening to purify their lives and their faith.
First, those who know God will stand firm under lies that sound good but are intended to lead them astray. This spiritual battle of lies vs. truth happens all the time. They did it then and are still doing it. Those who follow God through faith in Jesus Christ are continually challenged by cults, false teachers, even false teaching from others who claim to be Christians. Only those who deeply know God and His ways can stand firm and take action. But those who violate our covenant relationship with Him by disobedience are not able to stand against this seduction hiding behind flattery.
Second, those who know God (called “the wise among the people”) will help others who fall for the lies. Even though difficulties happen and during tough times, many genuine Christians will stumble, even the wisest. Yet in that falling down and confusion to our faith, God will refine and purify His people. He uses all things together for our good, to make us more like Jesus (Romans 8:28-29), so nothing ruins the plans of God. It might look like it from the external circumstances, but God is still in control and His purposes will prevail.
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Father, You know my anxiety for someone whose life seems to have been blown out of the water. However, this passage reassures me that no matter what happens to anyone, wise or disobedient, You have not turned Your face from them. You even will use their circumstances as part of Your plan to bring purity and maturity in that person’s life. Nothing is too hard for You and certainly nothing evades Your loving purposes for Your people.
Walking with Jesus is practical. For instance, how do I deal with interruptions? When I am doing something important, or on my way to an appointment, or the telephone rings while I am in the middle of something, what is to be my attitude?
Interruptions can be annoying. The telemarketer seems to know that I have both hands in a project. The politicians always call while we are eating dinner. False teachers come to the door when my work has a deadline. I have tried being abrupt, discourteous, even rude. But Jesus shows me a better way.
And there came a man named Jairus, who was a ruler of the synagogue. And falling at Jesus’ feet, he implored him to come to his house, for he had an only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she was dying. As Jesus went, the people pressed around him. And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and though she had spent all her living on physicians, she could not be healed by anyone. (Luke 8:41–43)
Jairus was a prominent man with a sick child. Jesus was on his way to help him. Any delay could mean that she would die, and there was a delay. Even though the hemorrhaging woman didn’t mean to stop him, she was like many interrupting people; she had a need. She intended only to touch the fringe of His robe, thinking that would be enough. It was. She was healed instantly.
But Jesus stopped. He said, “Someone touched me, for I perceive that power has gone out from me” (Luke 8:46). This statement interrupts my thoughts with an aside, another observation. How did He know? What kind of perception was this? Recently I’ve realized that when a Christian ministers to others in the power of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit does the work, but the believer feels exhausted. Some call it “transfer of energy” but it is more than that. It is about the Hand (God) using the glove (His people) to bless people. In the process, the Hand of course is inexhaustible, but the glove experiences wear and tear.
Although He was fully God, Jesus was also fully human. He may have felt that same sensation of being exhausted as the power of the Spirit in Him flowed to heal the woman who had interrupted Him. Perhaps that is how He knew that someone had touched Him.
After Jesus was interrupted and stopped to speak with the woman, someone came up and declared that Jairus’ little girl was dead. Of course the Giver of life had no problem with this. He continued to the man’s house, raising the child from the dead and bringing great joy to her mother and father.
This story teaches me about interruptions. Sometimes they are from thoughtless people who do not consider others but push their own agenda, convenient or not. But interruptions can also be an opportunity to bless even thoughtless people. When a telemarketer calls and I am rude, that puts me in the same category of many who answer the phone, but if I speak kindly and do whatever the Holy Spirit asks of me, that person could experience God and God’s power in some way.
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Lord, even though I know how You handle interruptions, at times I still become impatient or annoyed when they happen. Forgive me. I need to be like You, perceiving the need in the lives of those who interrupt. Help me be willing to take a moment and talk with those who jump into my life when I have other things to do. Maybe my plans are not as important as they seem, but even if they are, You are able to help me do what needs to be done after the person who interrupts me is given Your blessing.
Is God sovereign? Do I have a free will? The Bible supports both, but I shake my head trying to figure out how that is possible. How can both be true without one cancelling out the other?
In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:11–12)
For some, the idea of predestination means that God has foreordained all that will happen, especially the salvation of some and not others. This seems like we are mere chess pieces on a divine game board. Yet the last part of the above passage speaks of those who hope in Christ. Throughout Scripture, this is offered as a choice we can make. Which is it? God picked me? Or I picked God?
Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Dictionary (1995, 1986 by Thomas Nelson Publishers) offers this lengthy but helpful explanation.
Predestination is the biblical teaching that declares the sovereignty of God over human beings in such a way that the freedom of the human will is also preserved.
Two major concepts are involved in the biblical meaning of predestination. First, God, who is all-powerful in the universe, has foreknown and predestined the course of human history and the lives of individuals. If He were not in complete control of human events, He would not be sovereign and, thus, would not be God.
Second, God’s predestination of human events does not eliminate human choice. A thorough understanding of how God can maintain His sovereignty and still allow human freedom seems to be reserved for His infinite mind alone. Great minds have struggled with this problem for centuries.
Two views of predestination are prominent today. One view, known as Calvinism, holds that God offers irresistible grace to those whom he elects to save. The other view, known as Arminianism, insists that God’s grace is the source of redemption but that it can be resisted by people through free choice. In Calvinism, God chooses the believer; in Arminianism, the believer chooses God.
Although the term predestination is not used in the Bible, the apostle Paul uses a form of the same word in Ephesians 1:11: “We have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will.”
All Christians agree that creation is moving within the purpose of God. This purpose is to bring the world into complete conformity to His will. From the very beginning of time, God predestined to save humankind by sending His Son to accomplish salvation. Thus, “God would have all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4).
The doctrine of predestination does not mean that God is unjust, deciding that some people will be saved and that others will be lost. Mankind, because of Adam’s FALL in the Garden of Eden, sinned by free choice. Thus, no person deserves salvation. But God’s grace is universal. His salvation is for “everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16).
The article goes on to say that Paul declared himself obligated to take the message of the gospel to other people so they might hear and obey. The New Testament says no one is saved apart from the will of God and no one is lost apart from the will of God. It is clear that the will of God functions within an order that He Himself has established.
Nelson also adds that predestination is “a profound and mysterious biblical teaching.” No kidding! It forces me to think about divine sovereignty for which I am so grateful, but also about my freedom and responsibility. What do I do and say in response to all that God does?
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Father, those two verses from Ephesians tell me that You have given me an incredible inheritance. I know that I have not done anything to earn or deserve it. Could have I said no to the offer? It doesn’t seem so, just as it seems impossible to turn away from You now that I hope in Christ and am Your child. I don’t understand how You can be sovereign and still tell me to make choices, but I do know that You manage to use even my bad choices to teach me good things. This is a mystery.
But this is also what faith in You is about; trusting You and believing what You say even when I do not understand it. Your mind is awesome. One day I will know and understand, but today I am content to let You be God. My part is to do whatever I can to bring praise to Your name.
We had less than five days of sunshine in the month of July. For an area known for blue sky and sunny days, it was odd — and very wet!
My mother often said about the weather (and other things) that “We must need it or we wouldn’t be getting it.” Her philosophy has been part of the reason I’ve learned to look at adversity with the idea that God will use this (and all things) for good in my life. He even says so in His Word.
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. (Romans 8:28–29)
This morning’s devotional reading takes me back to Mom’s words and the weather. Instead of complaining, these verses suggest a different attitude toward all our rain.
You visit the earth and water it; you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; you provide their grain, for so you have prepared it. You water its furrows abundantly, settling its ridges, softening it with showers, and blessing its growth. You crown the year with your bounty; your wagon tracks overflow with abundance. The pastures of the wilderness overflow, the hills gird themselves with joy, the meadows clothe themselves with flocks, the valleys deck themselves with grain, they shout and sing together for joy. (Psalm 65:9–13)
While basements flood and some crops are ruined, it could be worse. We do not live in drought conditions with blowing soil and no vegetation whatsoever. We have plenty of water to drink and most of what is growing is lush and abundant. Our ground is not hard, but soft and productive. This is the blessing of God.
As God crowns each year with bounty and abundance, the psalmist describes the pastures, hills, meadows and valleys coming together as a choir, shouting and singing for joy. I am encouraged by imagining the sound of their “voices” and thinking, If they can do it, I can too.
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Lord, the sun is shining today, and also yesterday and the day before. Yes, there were showers, but instead of resenting all the rain or at least being in dismay at the marshy areas of our yard, I need to look at this as a metaphor for the blessing and abundance of Your goodness. Forgive any grumbling from my lips. May I, like the hills and meadows, shout and sing for joy that You visit my life and enrich it. Your blessings are like a river and my heart is like the once hard ground now softened by the rain showers poured down in love. My mother was right: I need it — I need Your love and blessing — otherwise You would not send it.
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