satan Little s

I have been in a lot of thought about spiritual warfare lately and I wanted to write a blog about what my thoughts were on this subject.  I want to share from my own experiences in the hopes that whoever reads this will become as free as the Lord intends for them to be.

Personally I feel the most free by completely ignoring the devil or whatever distractions he has up his sleeve, unless of course I'm lead by the spirit to do otherwise.

We should be led by the Holy Spirit in all things and no other spirit.  "For as many as are lead by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God."

I find freedom when I pray in faith to receive the mind of Christ or the mind of His spirit. For "the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace" and godliness. 

I also enjoy focusing my thoughts and heart on Philippians 4:8, "Finally brethren whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue and if there be any praise, think on these things " 

I realize, that in addressing some of these topics, some unbelievers might think I'm out of my head but the fact is that the supernatural realm is more real than the world we see with our own physical eyes.

There is power in not giving the devil any place whatsoever.  But if you are experiencing a lack of concentration on the things of the Lord, or if your struggling with anxiety or depression, then maybe there will be times where the Holy Spirit will lead you to bind any evil spirit coming against you. "Whatever you bind on earth is bound in heaven and whatever you loose on earth is loosed in heaven."

 It's not impossible that the Holy Spirit might someday lead you to cast evil spirits out of someone who is dealing with a lot of torment emotionally, mentally or physically. 

I have met many Christians over the years who were afraid of the devil and I used to be one of those Christians, but its important to go to God's word on these matters.  We need to believe what it says in Luke 10:18 that "no power of the evil one shall by any means harm you."

If ever it seems that the enemy's hand isn't leaving your life, you may want to ask the Lord what in your life you haven't submitted to him. James 4:7 says, "Submit yourself to God.  Resist the devil and he will flee from you."  Perhaps sometimes we can become blind to areas in our life where we haven't resisted the devil or where we haven't submitted to God.

Are we on fire for Jesus right now?  Are our hearts burning with passion for him?  Is he in all our thoughts and the focus of all our dreams about the future?  

I think if we are honest with ourselves maybe we could be in desperate need of a revival in our hearts.  I don't say this to condemn anyone, but I do pray that Jesus will be first place in all of our hearts, including my own.

Maybe you're like one of those wise virgins in the parable whose lamp never went out.  God knows your heart wherever you are in life. 

I pray we all have a heart that delights to submit to him in all things.  This could be painful to our flesh, but if we want to have a relationship with God on his terms, that is what is required of us.

How do we do that?  How do we keep our hearts pure?  Only with the help of the Holy Spirit.  But let's not forget to ask God for help as often as we need it. 

Will we fall short of the glory of God?  Always.  But as long as we are quick to repent and change our way of thinking we will experience the spiritual growth God desires for us.

It does say in the word of God that satan our enemy "prowls around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour."  Is the word of God completely true?  Yes absolutely.  It's true to me and the more I say that the more peace I feel.  We need to just see that verse in its proper context.  Speaking from my own experience, my earthly father is always warning me about things that could cause me heartache or things that could go badly for me because he cares deeply for me.  I know he just wants to protect me and help me to think things out more clearly.  This is God's heart for us and he is only trying to do the same thing.  He has given us free will to choose our own destiny, so that is why he needs to warn us.

Could the devil become a roaring lion in your life?  Yes, but only if you give him place in your life, by not submitting to God and not resisting him.  If, for example, a person smoked a pack a day for three decades and didn't resist the devil or temptation.  If they didn't submit that desire to God, its not impossible that this person could end up breathing from an oxygen tank.  Even if they did have faith in Jesus.  It's not impossible that such a person could be eternally saved, but in such circumstances, has the devil become a roaring lion in that persons life?  I think regretfully so, yes.

I don't believe God wants us to constantly be afraid because fear is tormenting.  I don't believe he wants us to be terrified of satan or what he might try against us, but he does give us a warning spoken in love. 

One of the most overlooked open doors to the enemy through which he can harass us is through un-forgiveness.  Look at the parable of the unmerciful servant. One of the easiest things for us to do as a  Christian or non-Christian, is for us to think about past hurts and to hold onto the resentment that came from it.  We can usually think of a thousand different ways to justify it.  We can even use the word of God itself as a defense to harbor un-forgiveness against someone.  I am ashamed to say I have actually done this before in my life.  We can come up with a thousand different reasons why we would think un-forgiveness is ok.  We may think it's because he or she didn't believe the same things I did about God so on and so on.  We can in fact become blind to our own un-forgiveness and years can go by that way.  But we shouldn't forget that some of the most inspiring Christ-exalting testimonies come from people who graciously delighted in forgiving those who completely did not deserve it. 

Some people even go as far as to say that the only unforgiveable sin is un-forgiveness itself, because "if you do not forgive others their sins, your father in heaven will not forgive you." 

It is something that should be taken seriously. We should be thinking of those we withhold forgiveness from and know that they might change for the better someday.  What could God do with them if he completely had his way in their life?  He could completely change them.   

Some pastors are used to heal, save, and restore thousands because they are willing to treat an ungodly person like they are the apple of Gods eye.  Not because it is always convenient, but because they can see into the distant future what God intends for that person to become.

Sometimes it could be our own un-forgiveness holding back sinners from walking into the glorious light of God's presence.  Father and son, father and daughter, reconciled for all eternity somewhere hopefully in the future.

Another way the enemy keeps people in darkness is through fear. 

For example, someone who loves God with all they have and with great sincerity of heart, but is afraid they could be misled by another spirit when it comes to the gifts of the Holy Spirit is living out of fear.

I remember back seven years ago when I had the same fears.  I thought God intended way more for my life with him then what I was experiencing as a conservative Baptist, but I myself was afraid of being misled.  I thought I would be unable to spiritually discern between spirits. 

I am happy to say I finally did experience the more abundant life God had for me, and that I believe he has for everyone.  It didn't happen until I let go of the fear that was holding me back.  After I did I didn't feel any more lack in my relationship with God.  It seemed like my faith moved to a height where I could not have my spirit quenched for long time.  It was definitely one of the best times of my life.  I was listening to praise and worship songs for hours in my apartment, and just enjoyed being completely amazed at how amazing God's Holy Spirit is.

All I can say is if you ever do get off track with God, and you honestly don't mean to, I think God knows that and he is faithful to bring you back to the straight and narrow path. 

If the fear I wrote about is what you are fearing will happen to you; if you think that you could be misled spiritually, don't worry. 

You can always look at your life and your fruit and ask the Holy Spirit to show you if are you on the comfortable broad road or if you are on the straight and narrow path that leads to life.

Jesus says don't fear those who can kill the body but rather be afraid of him who can cast body and soul into hell.  This verse seems to invoke fear. 

For a time I was unsure about this verse when it was brought to my attention. 

Some old friends who were studying the original Greek showed me that the word for hell in the original Greek is gehenna, which means a trash dump.  I later felt like the Lord brought me to the conclusion that if gehenna is an ok place to be why is Jesus saying I should fear him because he could send me there.  But hell is explicitly talked about as a lake of fire where there will be gnashing of teeth, so I that is why Jesus said that. 

If you ever feel a lack of peace with God about where your relationship is with him remember Jesus said, "Lean not on your own understanding, acknowledge me in all your ways and I will make your path straight."

So in conclusion, what I believe God's intention for us as his children, is to not be tormented with fear of satan.  To always let him be a little s in your life and not a huge horror movie S.  Be obedient to the word of God the Holy Bible because there is no other way to resist the devil. 

The devil himself is afraid because he knows his end, but if you renew your mind by the Spirit, you will find yourself becoming more and more courageous.  Satan's so-called power can become a distant memory and he can become the defeated foe.

I personally believe the only thing the Lord would have us fear is the Lord himself.   We fear God out of respect just in the same way our fathers taught us to respect them and fear the consequences of what could happen if we were disobedient to their wishes. 

Lord I pray for anyone reading this blog that you will comfort them by your Holy Spirit and unfailing love.  I pray for everyone and myself that we would walk in this life the way you intended victoriously.

In Jesus name amen :)