by David Brenneman
What we wrestle with mentally...
What we really face in the chaotic world...
What governments, institutions and agencies really are about...
"Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after He had fasted for forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” But He answered and said, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes out of the mouth of God.’”
Then the devil took Him along into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and he said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written:
‘He will give His angels orders concerning You’;
and
‘On their hands they will lift You up,
So that You do not strike Your foot against a stone.’”
Jesus said to him, “On the other hand, it is written: ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
Again, the devil *took Him along to a very high mountain and *showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; and he said to Him, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go away, Satan! For it is written: ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’” Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and began to serve Him." Matthew 4:1-11 NASB
To wrestle is to engage, to fight, to battle, to interact with.
We can easily get a "Why me?" attitude. Consider that there's really only a few types of people in this world. Those who are dead set against the knowledge of God are one group. You have those who are undecided as the next group. Next are those who have come to Christ for salvation.
Why you. An interesting question yet not one without Biblical answers. If indeed you have come to Christ for salvation, you're no longer of this world. You are now a citizen of Heaven. You're also an enemy of Satan. You're sealed in the Spirit by God until the time of your departure from this world and He brings you to Heaven. You become the workmanship of Jesus through the work of sanctification, becoming more like Christ. In Christ you have a new set of responsibilities. A new life to live for the One who saved you. We will indeed find ourselves in opposition to the world by the work of God in us and our identity in Christ.
Those outside of this life in Christ are subject, for the most part, to every whim that's permitted by God, that Satan and his minions can do. I say for the most part because if indeed you are on your way to salvation by what the Spirit is doing in your life, the Spirit will indeed fight concerning those people.
That first group is the harshest. They either knowingly or unknowingly are obeying the god of this world. They care not for the things of God. They live for themselves. They are used of Satan for his agenda. Trying to thwart the God of the Bible.
We are in a battle. Lives are indeed at stake. Heaven or Hell is the outcome.
Read the rest of the Gospel accounts and you see the war between God and Satan. You see that lives are indeed on the line. Sin and its consequences are very real. Sin has much more to do with physical ailments than chemistry. Sin has much more to do with mental issues than what is blamed on genetics or biology.
In your day in front of you today...keep in mind that real battle. The real reasons behind the struggles in this world. The real reasons why the world is doing what it's doing.
Biblical prophecy cannot be thwarted. Satan's expended countless resources to try to stop even a single event from happening that the Bible says will happen.
He is also required to obey in each part of the Bible that applies to him. He will fight and fight until that point when he is bound and cast into the bottomless pit for a thousand years, removing his influence on mankind for that time.
He tries to alter the seasons. Tries to alter the climate of the world. Truth is this physical world will also comply with the Will of the God. It's preparing for the events of the Bible that are soon about to take place. Truth be known...this physical world is eager for the 7 year Great Tribulation to be over. It's looking forward to a thousand years of Christ Jesus ruling here in person. Jesus sort of spoke to this in saying that if people would be silent about Him the very stones would cry out.
For the undecided...my Friend what's keeping you? There's nothing to fear in coming to Christ. The battle is probably harder on you than it would be if you would indeed choose Jesus. Once you receive His free gift of salvation you have His divine protection. Satan's GOT to go through Jesus to get to you.
"and I give them eternal life, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand." John 10:28-29 NASB
For those of us who are in Christ...it's imperative that we be found to be doers of the Word of God. Be found faithful to our calling in Christ Jesus. To be in the Word, be in prayer. Be praying for those who have yet to receive that wonderful gift of salvation.
There's indeed a reasonable explanation for this world's events and happenings. The Bible is where you will find it all. The chaos does have an explanation. It's found in the Bible. There's countless distractions to keep our minds from the truth, but there's only 1 truth: we need salvation in Christ Jesus alone. That choice means Heaven or Hell for everyone after they die. We cannot battle in this life on our own. That same power that raised Jesus from the dead is at work in the lives of those who have placed their faith and trust in Christ Jesus alone for salvation.
We will be tempted to go it alone. Satan's MO begins with divide and conquer. He got Eve by herself, away from Adam and Jesus. Satan's next is always subtlety. Small distractions, small thoughts, and slowly adds to them to keep people from God's truth. Justification of what we do so that it makes perfect sense to us regardless of if it's against God's Word.
Prayer is something that Satan's not able to prevent or predict. It's a direct line to Jesus. The Bible says that the fervent effective prayer of a righteous person obtains much. The more we are aligned with God's plan and purpose for us the more our prayers will be answered because we will be praying for what He's eager to do. There may still be no answers but again it's about praying that His Will be done...not necessarily ours.
Scriptures also tell us that the battle belongs to the Lord. Fight all he may, Jesus wins.
He may remind us of our failures and failings but we get to remind him of his future. He loses.
Pray up before setting out. Pray up before deciding on whatever is facing you. Nehemiah's prayer is often mine. A simple "God I need help!".
So keep your eyes open to what's really going on around you. It's probably not what you think it is. Satan wants stagnant Believers in Christ Jesus. He wants distracted Believers in Christ Jesus. He wants Believer's in Christ Jesus to be about living life for themselves. He wants them spending time, energy and effort on creating their own ideas of a Heaven here on Earth. While they do that, more people slide into Hell.
A true translation of a passage in the Bible says that the power of the Church would bust down the gates of Hell. That it would not be able to withstand the onslaught of the Church. The fervent prayer of a righteous person avails much.
Reach out to Jesus in prayer before you start your day and continue throughout your day. Let go of what's keeping you from a full life in Christ. Let go of anything keeping you from salvation in Christ if you haven't yet decided. Time is running out.
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