Believers love Jesus with a deeper affection than they dare give any other being. They would sooner lose their father or mother than to part with Christ. They hold all earthly comforts with a loose hand, but they carry Jesus tightly in their embrace. They voluntarily deny themselves for His sake, but they cannot be driven to deny Him. It is a limited love that the fire of persecution can dry up—the true believer’s love is a deeper stream than that. People of every era have worked to divide the faithful from their Master, but their attempts have always been fruitless. Neither crowns of honor nor frowns of anger have untied this more-than-Gordian knot. This is no everyday attachment that the world’s power might ultimately dissolve. Neither humans nor demons have found a key to open this lock. Never has the deceitfulness of Satan been more blameworthy than when he has used it to try to divide this union of divinely welded hearts. It is written in God’s Word—and nothing can remove the sentence—how right they are to adore you. Christians’ love, however, should not be judged by its intensity but by what we long for. It is our daily regret that we cannot love enough. If only our hearts were capable of holding more, and reaching further! Like Samuel Rutherford, we sigh and cry, “Oh, for enough love to go around the earth and over heaven—yes, the heaven of heavens, and ten thousand worlds—that I might let it all out on the beautiful, beautiful, only beautiful Christ.” Sadly, our longest reach is just a few inches of love, and our affection is only a drop in a bucket compared with what He deserves. Measure our love by our intentions, and it is large indeed; we trust that the Lord will judge this to be true. Oh, that we could give all the love in all our hearts in one great whole—a gathering together of all love to the One who is altogether lovely!
- C.H. Spurgeon Morning and Evening
Romans is where God still has me...upon reading Spurgeon this morning, a different passage than what he chose comes to mind.
Romans 8:35 "What will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?"
It was an eyebrow raiser to read "People of every era have worked to divide the faithful from their Master, but their attempts have always been fruitless."
Every era has people who are under the influence of Satan, trying to separate Christians from the relationship with their Savior.
Every generation. Every one! Look at the Old Testament examples. Within a generation the people of Israel forgot the lessons learned or the blessings received or the triumph gained through their parents relationship with the Lord Jesus.
Every election for the last several it can be found said that we are one generation away from anarchy. One generation away from losing what we have.
Satan is in this battle for souls whether or not you believe it or not.
If you are a believer, he is out to shut you down or if achievable, get you discouraged enough not to follow Christ at all.
If you are not a follower of Christ, his aim and goal is to keep you there.
The Scriptures are plainly understood we battle not against flesh and blood!
Ephesians 6:12 "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places."
Mankind is never going to achieve true peace apart from God. Even during the thousand year reign of Christ, mankind will hide its animosity and resentment of the rule of Christ. When Satan is released at the end, multitudes will gladly join Satan in the last rebellion.
There is no peace apart from God and Satan does not want anyone to find it!
He has been at it since Adam and Eve to separate man from God.
Whether or not you believe is irrelevant. Truth is truth. The fact that you choose to ignore the facts doesn't alter the truth. You can be a firm believer in your heart of hearts that something is real and all evidence to the contrary you won't change your mind. But the Spirit can. He can show you what truth really is...if you ask.
It's no where near a Christian film but some of the questions, answers and interactions are the same. The Matrix.
Neo: I can't go back, can I?
Morpheus: Knowing what you know now, would you want to?
When you experience the truth of God, things cannot and should not be the same for you.
We get so wrapped up in rights and privileges yet neglect what we deserve and haven't received. We don't deserve the rights and privileges we have in this life. We deserve what is the wages of sin: death. Granted that which we do not deserve: mercy. Granted God's unmerited favor: grace.
We who are in Christ are no longer under the jurisdiction of Satan. We are visiting Earth only. Our Citizenship is of Heaven with God....and as this post is trying to show....nothing Satan has the powers to do...will ever change that. His schemes are checked at the door by Jesus. He cannot touch a believer without permission. He cannot do anything to us without the say-so of our Savior.
If Christ said, and He did, that even a sparrow doesn't fall to the ground without His Father's knowledge, how much more does He watch us? Matthew 10:29
Regardless of what you see in this life, you are in a war....for souls.
In this life, this quote keeps coming back to me from another movie, Sneakers.
It's all about the information. What we see what we hear, it's all about the information. Satan wants control. That way in physical terms is full blown socialism. Full control over people so that they do not have the capacity or capability to think and act for themselves. That's Satan's agenda. You find that the way Heaven is run is completely different.
So if you heart is troubled these days there is a person to go to. It's Jesus. The Number One person that Satan doesn't want you going to. Because for thousands of years everyone who has come to Christ, Satan has lost. Every. One.
You will gain things in this life and lose them. What you have in a relationship with Jesus is guaranteed never to be broken.
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