The Power Of The Devil

 The Power Of The Devil

What does the Bible say?

 

I often run into Christians who speak of the devil as though he is powerless and weak. That he is a defeated foe and not a real enemy.

It’s almost like they haven’t actually read the Bible.

Yes, Christ defeated Satan on the cross.

Yes, God is in complete control.

But, no where in the scriptures have I found instructions for us to ignore the enemy. or act like he has no power.

As a matter of fact the Apostle Peter says, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.” (1 Peter 5:8-9)

A lion will roar, and it will cause the herd to flee. This gives the lion a chance to devour the young, weak and infirm. We have the power through faith to resist. But, it is an obvious affliction on those who are attacked.

It’s not something to be ignored, or belittled.

We are told in the book of Jude to not be foolish in how we speak of Satan, the fallen angels and spiritual forces. They have power and authority. (Jude)

Paul says That we are not to be ignorant of the enemy. (2 Corinthians 2:11)

So, we need to know what we are facing. Not to treat the enemy as if he is nothing or ignore him, but to face the enemy properly.

We are called to resist. But, how can you resist if you do not know anything about the enemy? (1 Peter 5:8-9, James 4:7)

 So, let’s do a quick overview of the enemy.

It is believed that Satan fell through pride because he wants to be God. (Isa. 14:12-15)

At some point after his fall, he used a Serpent to deceive Eve, and get Adam to fall. (Gen.3)

Adam had dominion of the Earth. But, when he fell Satan took that dominion. That is how he became the god of this world. (2 Cor. 4:4)

There’s a lot more to this story, but it could lead to an entire book.

So, Satan has authority in this world.

Paul plainly states it. All the Apostles state it.

When a person is born into the world they are born in a right standing with God. They are subject to death, but not hell. Until they commit the first sin, knowing it’s a sin. Then, they are subject to hell, just like all humans.

It is also at this time that the person becomes a slave to Satan. They are his children. They are his slaves to various degrees. (Ephesians 2:2)

Here’s where some Christians will jump up and say “Yeah but he is defeated! God is in control!”

Yes, Jesus defeated the enemy on the cross. And there will be a future victory as well. (Gen. 3, Luke 10:18, Revelation)

This means that when Jesus died and rose, He defeated Satan. He set the prisoners free. ALL the prisoners or slaves under Satan’s control are free. But, only a few will hear the call and turn to Jesus to obtain it.

Saints are free from the control of Satan. We are saved and cannot lose it. But, as the Bible warns we can open doors and let the enemy back into our lives again. We can fall under that power. Take addictions as an example. (Matt. 12:43-45)

We can also still be impacted by Satan working through other people or nature.

All of this is plainly taught by the scriptures.

But, there will still be those who say “Yeah but God is in control!”

He certainly is.

Nothing can happen to us that God has not allowed.

We see this both in the book of Job, and when Jesus tells Peter that Satan has asked to sift him as wheat. (Luke 22:31-33)

Why? Why does God allow the devil access to us?

It seems that Satan has some kind of legal authority to ask, and expect an answer. We can speculate on why this is. But, we do not fully understand how things work in the spirit realms.

What we can say is that we have faith and power in Jesus Christ to resist the enemy. We have access to the King in prayer. We have God’s Word and promises we can stand on. We also have a relationship with God. We know Him. We know His character, and the Holy spirit dwells in us.

So, we know that God is always good. He seeks good always. He loves us and wants us with Him. So, no matter what happens, He is on our side, and we can use it to grow closer to God, and grow in faith. We can turn evil around for good.

 But, how can you do that if you do not recognize evil? If you ignore the fact that we have an enemy, how can you stand against him or turn his attacks around for good? (Rom. 12:21, 2 Cor. 10:1-6)

If you feel that everything comes from God, then how can you call anything “Evil”?

Does God do evil?

Of course not, but He does allow things to happen. It’s our job to have faith in Him and turn to Him. Then turn the evil for good. We use it to save people or help people.

The scriptures tell us that the enemy possesses power. So, let’s do a list of what this power is. And I am in know way stating that this is everything. But, starting from the beginning of the Bible and going through we see that the enemy has the power to…

Deceive people who are walking with God and know Him, if they are not careful. If they doubt God’s Word, and Goodness. He can use our loved ones to get us to turn from God. He can use nature as a cover for his activities. We see this in Adam and Eve.

We can see in the book of Job, that Satan and his angels go about the Earth. We see that He has the power to cause a tornado to kill people. He can get humans to rob and kill others. He has the power to cause disease. He has the power to get our loved ones to turn against us. He also has the power to kill. (God would not let Him kill Job.)

The book of Job shows us that no matter what happens God is with us and we are to stay with Him. Trusting Him and His Goodness.

But, we see here that Satan is the prince of the power of the air. He apparently has power to control the weather. Which explains why we see ancient people all over the world making human sacrifices of babies to gods, so they can have good weather for crops, and fertility. We see the destruction weather and climate can cause.

He uses humans to kill, steal and destroy, obviously. How does this control occur? It’s possible that it starts with a whisper into the mind of a leader who then gets men to follow him. A leader whom Satan worked to put into a position of power.

We see that he gave Job a disease. We do not know what disease. It doesn’t matter.

All of this, the destructive weather, violence of men and disease, came upon Job and led Him into despair. So, Satan can also cause despair. (Except for God. Job continued to trust God and lean toward Him, and that’s what saved him.)

Job also shows that Satan can get our loved ones to betray us, or at least add to our torment.

I tell you this so we can recognize what is going on around us and pray properly or respond correctly. We respond with spiritual warfare. We respond with love and prayer and praise and trust in God, and His promises. We overcome evil with good. We take the bad that happens to us and turn it around to serve God and help and save people.

So, let’s fast forward to the New Testament.

Immediately after Jesus was baptized, the Holy Spirit led Him into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan. (Matt. 4:1-11)

This is a lesson for us. Have you ever considered that the moment you got saved and was baptized Satan was allowed to tempt you, and sift you as wheat?

I’m not saying he is. I’m not saying it happens to everyone, all the time.

But, the question must be asked. If you’ve never been tempted by the enemy, or faced spiritual warfare, then whose child are you?

 The temptations Jesus faced are temptations we all face, except for Christ, they were far more extreme.

We learn that we can overcome these things by faith in God and His goodness, as well as using His Word.

So, we see that the enemy has the power to tempt us, and try to get us to fall. But, we can resist and if we fail we can turn to God and confess it to Him. (1 John 1:8-10)

We also see that Satan has power over the nations of the Earth. This is confirmed in the book of Daniel. (Dan. 10)

Paul also speaks of how the enemy has power in high places. (Eph. 6:12)

When we look at the ministry of Jesus we see that there are unclean spirits and demons that work in peoples lives. and we are called to wage war against them.

We also see that his greatest earthly rival was the religious leaders.

Jesus plainly said they were the children of the devil. (John 8:44-47)

So, we can say that Satan used religious leaders to kill Jesus and persecute the Church. He got these religious leaders, to use the governmental powers, to kill people, and impose laws upon them to destroy their freedom.

The Bible also says that there are false brethren, false teachers, and false prophets. (2 Cor. 11:26, 2 Pet. 2:1)

All of whom are probably listening to Satan.

Since he is the god of this world, and has power over the disobedient children. and he has power over nations, governments and religious leaders.

Then, we can say that the empires seeking to conquer the world, are doing it by his authority. That when they oppress people and persecute saints, it is by Satan’s authority, throughout history and even today.

Ok?

We see from Jesus’s ministry that the enemy can cause a friend to betray us and deny us. Even in the face of death. Even to betray us to people who will kill us.

Friends and family.

The Bible teaches that saints will be betrayed unto death by those closest to us. (Luke 21:16)

History teaches it.

We see saints dying the most horrific deaths for Christ, caused by the devil.

The enemy will attack and tempt our family in order to get them into terrible situations simply to hurt us. But, we turn this for good and tell them about Christ.

All of the apostles and saints around the world have faced persecution. And there is more to come. That is the reality, even though we might not face it in our current time.

So, as you can see the enemy has power. We are not called to belittle it, but to stand against it. We are not called to fear it, but to turn it around for good.

It is a tactic of the enemy to get believers to not wage war, by making us think he has no power.

Now, understand that through Christ we have power and authority over the enemy. Through faith we can stand on His Word. We are overcomers through Him who is in us. 

 But, if you think there is no enemy you won’t exercise that power.

People crack jokes and say “The devil made me do it.”

Well, maybe he did. Maybe instead of joking about it, we need to wage war and make sure of what is going on.

Maybe there is a devil behind every bush. Maybe it’s a roaring lion.

God is with us, but we are called to wage war. If we are saved we are free from Satan but we are still in a war.

God is with us. He protects us. Nothing can touch us unless it is allowed, and we can overcome it.

This life is just a moment. Every terrible thing only lasts for a second compared to eternity.

And when we die we go to be with the Lord. (2 Corinthians 5:1-8)

There’s no need for fear. There is no need to be focused on the enemy.

But, we are called to wage war.

We are called to turn to God and focus on Him, and we shall overcome.

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Bio: Chris Bunton is a writer, poet and blogger.

Follow Him on Medium: https://chris-bunton.medium.com/

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Being Taught By The Spirit

 Being Taught By The Spirit

Do You Know Him?

 

 “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.”—Hosea 4:6

When you read this verse in context, you will find that the people of ancient Israel at this time did not know God.

They had all kinds of information about God. They had priests and prophets. They had God’s Law. But, they did not know God.

God is not concerned about whether we have knowledge of Him, or His laws. He wants us to know HIM. When we know HIM. We grow in our ability to Walk in the Spirit. Which means we grow in our ability to obey His laws. Because like Jesus said,

“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”— Matt. 22:37-40

When you love. You are obeying. When we know God and are taught by the Spirit, we are in relationship with God. This is Walking in the Spirit.

It’s not about trying to beat yourself up to obey a set of laws because God is going to get mad at you or get His heart broke. That’s what knowing ABOUT God does to you.

But, when you know God, and have a relationship with Him. It’s not about obeying a set of laws. It’s about Him working in your life to grow you, so that you are just walking in the Spirit with Him.

The people of Israel at this time did not know God, and this allowed terrible trouble to come into their lives. Israel had made a commitment to be God’s people. They were supposed to be a shining light on a hill, designed to draw all people in the world to know God.

 Every person in Israel was supposed to be so learned of God, and know Him so intimately that they were ALL considered priests, in essence. But, the fact that they did not know God, opened doors for destruction into their lives.

Basically, since the parents didn’t know God. The children would suffer from it. Drunken parents who don’t know God, lead to drunken kids, who do not know God. And when the kids hit rock bottom, they do not know who to cry out to because they were never led to know God.

As Christians we are grafted in to Israel. That means that on a spiritual level; in the eyes of God, we are adopted children. We are in the covenant. We are treated as equals and joint heirs. (Romans 11)

So as believers we look at what happened in the past and we learn truth from it. Paul said,

“For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.” —Rom 15:4

So, we can apply this verse in Hosea to ourselves, and what we see in our churches and our own households, and nation.

We are destroyed because we do not know God. We know about Him. We have heaped to ourselves teachers. We go to Church, Bible Studies, and read the latest fad book, from the best Christian authors. But, do we know Him? We sit in our church or car and clap to our favorite Christian music, but do we know Him?

If you knew Him, you could not help but tell others. You could not stop telling about the good things God has done for you. You could not help but want to grow closer to Him.

Do you tell people about Jesus? Have you read the entire Bible, or is all your Bible knowledge from what your Church told you?

You cannot know Him, unless you are born again and let the Holy Spirit teach you.

“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” Is not about more information. It’s about knowing Him.

Are you saved? Ask God to save you and grow you. (Acts 2:21)

Turn to God and confess to Him that you believe Jesus is the Lord, and you want Him to be your Lord. Believe that He rose from the dead. This is believing God. It is believing what God has told you in His Word. (Romans 10:9-10, Romans 4:3)

Ask God to fill you with His Holy Spirit and teach you. (Luke 11:11-13, John 16:13)

The Bible says, “But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.”—1 John 2:27

This means that God himself is perfectly capable of teaching you. Believe this. Trust this, and let Him. This is the relationship.

Just talk with God. Just be real in prayer. Do you believe He is real? Do you believe He is with you always? Then, talk to Him like He is. Do you believe He is your father and friend? Then, talk to Him like He is. Be real with Him.

Do you really believe He can teach you? Then treat him like your teacher.

When you read your Bible. If you do not understand something. Or get confused. Instead of running to the preacher, or a friend or the commentaries. ASK GOD.

Pray about it. This is part of the relationship and growth. Ask Him. Then trust that He hears you and will open the scriptures to you. Then, move on. Keep reading and living and praying.

 It might take time. This is part of learning patience, and learning to trust God. But, as you read and study, one day you will come across a verse that will jump out at you. This is called “Quickening”. The Word comes to life.

Then, the question you asked will be opened up to you, and this new verse, will make connections to the verse you asked about and it will make perfect sense. It will be an “Aha!” moment. This is God teaching you. Not only does this teach you. But, it builds your relationship with God, and strengthens your faith.

But if you run to the pastor, and ask them about the verse or question. You miss the chance to know God. It becomes head knowledge about the author of the Word, instead of knowing the Author. When you take time and care to know the writer, a transfer of relationship occurs. God will teach you. Trust Him.

You must remember that on Judgement day. The worst thing to hear is “Depart from me I never KNEW you.” (Matt. 7:21-23)

What I am telling you is how you come to know Him. Did you really get saved? Or is it just words you spoke and words you hear every Sunday? Our salvation, opens the door to knowing Him. If you never got saved, then you can’t know Him. If you don’t care to know him. Then, you probably did not get saved.

Jesus said, “Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.”

If you won’t tell people about Jesus, then you gotta ask if you really know Him? Are you really saved?

Look at the story of the Gadarene demoniac. (Luke 8)

Jesus cast demons out of a man and saved his life. Jesus then told Him “Return to thine own house, and shew how great things God hath done unto thee.”

That is our testimony. That is how we overcome the enemy. We tell people about Jesus. We tell people about the great things God has done in our lives. (Rev. 12:11)

But if we cannot do this, we gotta ask ourselves, why? Do we really know him? Have we really seen Him doing great things in our lives? Or are we just going to church?

If every Christian told all their friends and family and Facebook friends about the great things God has done in their lives, what would our country look like?

But, you can’t tell others if you don’t know Him.

How else does the Spirit teach us? He teaches us through our lives. If we read scripture and do not understand something, we can ask God. Now, sometimes God might show us in the Word. Or He might bring a teacher to us. Or He might open something else up to teach us from our lives.

For example, we can learn a lot about how God loves us and treats us by looking at how we love our own kids. We are His children. If we love our kids, how much more does he love us?

Does this lead to more questions? Then, ask God and He will show you.

God has gifted people to be teachers of the Word. Teachers of the Spirit. God will lead you to the ones He wants you to learn from. Again, this is something between you and God. HE is teaching you. But, He has led you to someone that is teaching what God wants you to learn. God can lead you to different teachers or many teachers. But, it is God who is teaching, if you let Him guide you to the one He wants you to learn from.

You are not here by accident.

 There are times of trouble which can come into our lives. If we turn to God, He will help us and can use it to show us things about Himself. Again, we want to KNOW God. Not know about Him. When we face trouble, and draw closer to God we learn of HIM, when we see Him move in our life.

Our life turns to shambles, when we don’t turn to Him and know Him. This shambles is a call to turn to Him. It’s a chance to know Him.

Do you know Him? Let Him grow you.

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Bio: Chris Bunton is a writer, poet and blogger from Southern Illinois. He has published in several magazines, and has written a poetry eBook called “Against the Man” and an Addiction Recovery eBook called “Made Free: Overcoming Addiction“  a collection of dystopian short stories.“The Future is Coming” and his latest book “The Latter Days‘ is a book on Bible Prophecy and avoiding the deceptions to come.

Follow Him on Medium: https://chris-bunton.medium.com/

Follow Him on Free Life Blog: https://myfreelifeblog.com/

Read His Spiritual Writings on Blogger: https://chrisbunton.blogspot.com/

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The Truth of the Gospel

 The Truth of the Gospel

A Word on How God Works in Our Salvation.

 

In order to understand the Gospel. We must accept God's power and authority. God has awesome power and can save whoever He wants. However He wants.

1. God calls us. No one is saved without first being called by Him. If you are saved. Then you are called. God calls everyone. If you are reading this, then you are being called. God uses many methods to call us and draw us to Himself. He might call us many times in life. He calls everyone. 

 

God speaks into our mind and hearts. When He calls we hear it and we know it's Him. We can either accept or reject.

We might not understand. We might not want to hear Him. We might put it off, or reject, but we cannot say He didn't call, and we didn't hear. He is God. He knows. Be real.

But what about the guy in the jungle somewhere?  Yes. God has called him somehow, and he has heard. Perhaps he looked at a starry night and thought someone made this, and God spoke to him and said "I made it" and the man believed and wanted to know more.  

 

Whether he accepted or not is between him and God. Not all saved people will look like you.

God is working. Trust Him.

2. Belief!  A person hears the call and believes it's from God ( Full understanding is not required) and the person turns to God (repent) God knows, God sees, God understands. Whether we do or not is irrelevant. 

The picture in the scriptures is Jesus calling His disciples. He said, "come follow me" and they knew they should listen and they followed. They did not know the cost. They just heard and followed. Jesus did not require anything else.

Another picture is the prodigal son. He "comes to himself" and goes home in humility to the father, and the father comes running. The father demanded nothing. When the son woke up, that is what happens when we hear the call. We realize the Truth.

Another picture is the thief on the cross. He was guilty. He knew it. He was one step above death. And he realized who Jesus really was. He heard the call in his heart and woke up. He called Jesus "Lord" and put his faith in him. Nothing else.

Just turn to God and trust in Him. Be real with Him. Just ask.

3. God will bring you to Jesus Christ. It might happen immediately or it might happen later. But, God will show you that Jesus Christ is the Lord. When we see it, we confess Jesus is the Lord and believe God raised Him from the dead. ( Roman's 10:9-10)

When you hear the call, then turn to God and confess Jesus is the Lord, putting your faith in Him for salvation you are saved. You cannot lose it or give it away. God holds it. He owns you. Your salvation is totally on God. Not you.

4 What about works?  Faith without works is dead?  Well, confessing Jesus is Lord with your mouth is a work. And that's all God requires. Your faith and confession of Christ.

When you get saved The Holy Spirit comes to dwell in you and He teaches you. He grows you. He helps you in your relationship with Jesus.

He leads you into works. He leads you into Baptism which is a work..  He leads you into Communion which is a work. He leads you into Fellowship with other believers . He gives you a hunger to read God's Word.. The Holy Spirit helps you to Love God and others. He gives you a ministry to serve God and others

 

5. Sin and sanctification. Notice I said nothing about sin so far. Because before we are saved we do not really know how fallen We are. We do not know how wicked we are. Sure we might realize something is wrong. Or that we do things wrong. But we do not fully know.

And we are not required to. God knows. He calls us, and loves us anyway. He wants us to turn to Him and confess Jesus is the Lord, so He can save us and cleanse us.

But we are not required to understand all that. We might know we sin. We might know we fail. We might know we need Him. But, we might not understand. We just know He called us. And we need Him.

After we get saved. God washes us in the Blood of Christ. This cleanses us of all sin. Forever.

 

It is finished.

Then as we walk through our lives, the Holy Spirit teaches us and grows us. He molds us and shapes us and we become different people. We sin less and less as He sanctifies us. But, we were already forgiven the day we were saved.

When we sin we confess our sins to God. This is a work. This brings it up between you and Him. And as you keep confessing over time, the Lord changes your mind and heart and you find that you no longer do those things. Confessing sin to God and growing and abiding in Him is a work. But you were saved the minute you turned to Him.

It's all totally God. Not you. We are to turn, believe, confess and abide.  All of which He helps us to do.

Praise Jesus. God does it. He has made it as simple as possible. We have no excuse.

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 Bio: Chris Bunton is a writer, poet and blogger from Southern Illinois. He has published in several magazines, and has written a poetry eBook called “Against the Man” and an Addiction Recovery eBook called “Made Free: Overcoming Addiction“  a collection of dystopian short stories.“The Future is Coming” and his latest book “The Latter Days‘ is a book on Bible Prophecy and avoiding the deceptions to come.

Follow Him on Medium: https://chris-bunton.medium.com/

Follow Him on Free Life Blog: https://myfreelifeblog.com/

Read His Spiritual Writings on Blogger: https://chrisbunton.blogspot.com/

Support the work for the cost of a Coffee

Support the work through Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=13514235&fan_landing=true&view_as=public

Photo by the writer.

Love One Another

 Love One Another

Do You Back Up The Saints?

 

 

The early church had three things that helped them grow and take over the Roman Empire.

First, they had the Holy Spirit. They were saved and filled with the Holy Ghost, who led them and guided them in their work.

If your church never speaks of or teaches the Holy Spirit. If they do not listen to or operate through the Holy Spirit. That should be a big red flag. Especially in these last days.

Second, the saints of old were willing to die for what they believed. They faced terrible persecution. They were fed to lions, crucified and burned. They faced it with joy. This led the people of Rome to see that they really believed, and therefore the Gospel might be true. The early church put their money where their mouth is, so to speak.

Now, many have faced death for what they believe. But, the difference is that the early church saw death as a door to going home to be with the Lord. Their belief was real. Our attitude towards death is to be different than the world’s. We see death as an escape from this world, and being with Christ. (Phil. 1:21-30)

We get saved, and the Holy Spirit works in our life. We see that God is real and we trust Him. This leads us to see death as a gateway to new life. We are going home.

The third thing is love. The Holy Spirit works in our life and develops love in us. It is a love that defies our fleshly reason. Love that speaks against our corrupted nature.

The early church grew because of this love.

The ancient world was harsh. It is said that over 90% of Rome were slaves. We could say the same about modern America. These slaves were totally controlled by their masters. They had to ask permission for everything. They could be fired (Killed) for no real reason. Every aspect of their lives was controlled by the master. They were considered a reflection of the master (business)

 I say this, to make the connection between conditions then and now. They were very similar in spirit. The same Demon or Spirit that ruled behind the scenes in Rome, still rules today around us.

These slaves had nothing of their own. It was all owned by their master. (Bank/State)

So here comes the early Christians. They acted weird. They had faith which made them willing to die spiritually and physically to this world. They showed crazy love, not abuse. It was so much different than the world around them. Not because they stopped sinning, but because they loved and had faith.

They had church gatherings where they shared food and money to help each other succeed. They sold everything for this cause. They jumped in with both feet, loving each other and the cause of Christ.

The other slaves were drawn by the Holy Spirit to be a part of this. They wanted to know what this was. Of course some wanted to take advantage, but many were for real. And even those who wanted to take advantage were loved and got saved because of how they were treated in comparison to how the world and the system treated them. They saw the Holy Spirit working, they saw the faith, they saw the love. Real love.

Jesus said, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”—(John 13:35)

Our success as believers comes through the Holy Spirit, Faith and Love. It comes from God. We cannot do any of these things without Him. We cannot love the way we should without Jesus. Without the Holy Spirit growing and molding us.

Our success in this life as believers comes through the love and support we give each other by the power of the Holy Spirit through faith.

We see someone hurting and we help. We see someone fallen, and we help them rise back up because the Holy Spirit leads us to show love to them. We do this to everyone.

But, how much more should we help other saints?

Our love for our fellow saints shows whether we are even saved or not.

When we see someone who goes to our church hurting, suffering, fallen or in need; do we help them or ignore them? Do we cast them aside because they fell or do we go to them? Do we support them in ministry, business and life? Or do we ignore them because they don’t measure up to traditions of men? I shouldn’t even need to post bible verses to prove it.

Shouldn’t the leaders of the church be leading the church in love? To help others? to support the saints in life and in their ministry work for Christ? Not to be seen of men or to look good because you’re supporting the latest fad. But, to help those people Jesus speaks of in Mathew 25. It’s easy to love children in need. But, our love is supposed to be big enough to love the prisoner. To love the enemy.

This love can only come by the Holy Spirit. Course, if your church doesn’t really believe in the Holy Spirit, that could be a problem.

All saints are gifted for service. Our service comes by the Holy Spirit working through us and developing the fruit in us. Is that happening in you or in your church? Does all your church love terminate on a few “obedient” people?

Do you have little cliques in your church? Groups of people who control everything and no one else can get inside or be a real part of? Are you a respecter of persons? Like James spoke about; embracing the rich while destroying and ignoring the poor or lower class? (James 2:1-9)

Is that love?

 Real love is shown in Christ, when he died for those who hate Him, and forgave them.

Love is explained in First Corinthians chapter 13.

Love is shown throughout the Word.

Love is shown in how God has loved you.

Love is shown by doing unto others what you would have them do to you. (Luke 6:31)

We are to overcome evil with good. (Rom. 12:21)

Loving others, is good and is a form of spiritual warfare. When we see evil such as poverty, or oppression or disease, we respond with love. We don’t victim blame. or make unrighteous judgements. We help. When evil is done to us we turn it around for good, by faith and love with the Holy Spirit.

We are saved by Grace,through faith. Not by works. (Eph 2:8-10)

We are not saved by Love. We are saved by God’s love and grace, but not our own. However, our love for the saints and others is a reflection of what God has done for us. It is a reflection of Jesus. It is the Holy Spirit working in and through us.

We win the fight of faith through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit in us. Our love is through Him. All our failures work to lead us and grow us in Him if we turn to Him. These failures and hurts teach us to love, and have faith in Him. (Rom 8:28)

We succeed in Him.

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Bio: Chris Bunton is a writer, poet and blogger from Southern Illinois. He has published in several magazines, and has written a poetry eBook called “Against the Man” and an Addiction Recovery eBook called “Made Free: Overcoming Addiction“  a collection of dystopian short stories.“The Future is Coming” and his latest book “The Latter Days‘ is a book on Bible Prophecy and avoiding the deceptions to come.

Follow Him on Medium: https://chris-bunton.medium.com/

Follow Him on Free Life Blog: https://myfreelifeblog.com/

Read His Spiritual Writings on Blogger: https://chrisbunton.blogspot.com/

Support the work for the cost of a Coffee

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Not As The World Gives

 Not As The World Gives

God Is Not Like This World

Jesus said. "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."---John 14:27  (John 14:1-31--in context)

When God calls us, and we turn to Him, confessing Jesus is the Lord, asking Him to save us and putting our faith in Him.

 
He saves us, and fills us with His Holy Spirit, washing us clean.

This brings us peace. Not our peace. But HIS peace. This must be understood. Because we do not nor cannot maintain this Peace ourselves. He does it as we continue to turn to Him and grow in Him, and know Him. The Word He gives us is Jesus. The Word He gives us are His Promises.

The second part of the verse is what I want to focus on.

"Not as the world giveth, give I unto you"

Because God doesn't give as the world gives. (You've lived in this world long enough to know how this world and the people of it give.)

When God gives, it's free to you. He paid for it.

It's a gift not a loan. There is no interest and it doesn't have to be repaid.

He doesn't take it away from us if we fail.

He doesn't use it against us.

He doesn't use it to guilt trip us.

He doesn't hold it over our head.

He doesn't give us something cheap and shoddy.

He doesn't give us a hand me down.

He loves us. He understands us. He works with us. He knows us, if we choose to know Him.

 

He fixes us and helps to grow us. He doesn't cast us aside.

He is with us always even till the end of the world.

And that's why we have the peace that defies all understanding. (Phil. 4:6-7)

Praise Jesus.

So what do we do?  We remind ourselves of his promises. We speak them aloud to hear them and drive the enemy away. We remind our selves of the great things God has done for us. We thank and praise Him for it. This brings peace as the Holy Spirit works in us.

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Bio: Chris Bunton is a writer, poet and blogger from Southern Illinois. He has published in several magazines, and has written a poetry eBook called “Against the Man” and an Addiction Recovery eBook called “Made Free: Overcoming Addiction“  a collection of dystopian short stories.“The Future is Coming” and his latest book “The Latter Days‘ is a book on Bible Prophecy and avoiding the deceptions to come.

Follow Him on Medium: https://chris-bunton.medium.com/

Follow Him on Free Life Blog: https://myfreelifeblog.com/

Read His Spiritual Writings on Blogger: https://chrisbunton.blogspot.com/

Support the work for the cost of a Coffee

Support the work through Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=13514235&fan_landing=true&view_as=public

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Praying In Jesus Name.

 Praying In Jesus Name

Why do we do it?

 

Ok, so it’s obvious that when a Christian prays they pray in Jesus name. But, why do we do that?

Well, it comes from this verse. Jesus said,

“If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.”— John 14:14, (John 14:13, John 15:16, John 16:23,24,26)

Jesus told us to do it. That should be enough. But, let’s dive deeper.

In the spiritual realms who you know and who you are, matters more than what you’ve done and how much money you have. Your earthly position or name does not matter in the spirit.

It is not like this world. It’s based upon truth, and your name. It’s based upon who you know.

Why do I say this.

Read this passage in Acts Chapter 19

“Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth. And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so. And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye? And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. And this was known to all the Jews and Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.”

Some religious people tried to cast out a demon. They did not use Jesus’s name. They tried to cast out the spirit “by Jesus whom Paul preacheth”. Not because they knew Jesus, but they wanted the power.

The spirit said. “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye? “

This demon did not recognize their authority because they had none. They were not known.

This matters and will be explained.

Understand that these sons of Sceva, were professional exorcists in Judaism. They had standing in their nation and religion. They had standing in their blood. They were the sons of a chief priest, they had standing in this world.

But, not in the Spiritual Realms.

You must understand that humans are fallen. We are totally depraved. Our standing is less than dirt. We are sitting in the camp of Satan, just waiting for Judgement, Hell and the Lake of Fire. We are sinners. We have a corrupted nature. We do not know God. Until we turn to Him. (Romans 3:10-18)

God calls us to be saved. (Romans 1;1, 1:6, Romans 8:28-30)

When we hear that call we turn to Him and ask Him to save us. (Repent) (Acts 2:38)

The picture is when Jesus came to the disciples, and said “Follow me”.

They dropped everything and left it behind and followed Jesus. ( Matt.4:17-23)

So, we confess “Jesus is THE Lord”. (Romans 10:9-10, 1 Cor. 12:3, 1 john 4:1-3, Matt. 16:13-19)

We give ourselves to Him, and we are born again, washed in the blood. We die to this world and are now known BY Him. We are in Christ. We are no longer our own. We are bought with a price. He died to purchase us from Satan who is the god of this world. (John 3:1-36, Romans 5:9, Romans 6, 1 Cor 6:20, 2 Cor. 4:4 )

Jesus is God. He is Lord. He is equal to the Father and the Holy Spirit. They are God.

So, we become known by Jesus. We are in Him, and what we do is by HIS name. Not our own.

The idea is a servant who does his Masters work. He does it in the name of the Master.

Without Jesus, we can do nothing.(John 15:5)

God the Father, and all things spiritual do not recognize our position and authority. We have none. But, they recognize that we are a servant of Jesus’s.

Now, we become known because we are in Christ. This is why Paul was known. Not for his deeds, or righteousness or good works, but as a servant of Christ.

When we know Jesus, and have a relationship with Him, we become known in Him.

On Judgement day, we stand before Christ and it matters whether He knows us or not.

Did we climb up some other way? Did we not have on the proper wedding garb? Did we have the oil of faith in our lamps? Did we really know Him? (John 10:1-18, Matt. 22:1-14)

Or does He say, “Depart from me I never never knew you.” (Matt. 7:21-23)

So, this is why we pray in Jesus name.

We are obeying Him.

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We are acknowledging our fallen status and our submission to Him as our Lord.

We are showing that our name means nothing, it is by his name that we receive anything.

We are showing that we are His servants, and put our faith and trust in Him for our salvation and for everything.

It is a sign of who owns us and who we worship.

It is a witness to the saints, that you are truly in Christ.

Any prayer given, that is not in Jesus, name does nothing.

Do you know Him?

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Bio: Chris Bunton is a writer, poet and blogger from Southern Illinois. He has published in several magazines, and has written a poetry eBook called “Against the Man” and an Addiction Recovery eBook called “Made Free: Overcoming Addiction“  a collection of dystopian short stories.“The Future is Coming” and his latest book “The Latter Days‘ is a book on Bible Prophecy and avoiding the deceptions to come.

Follow Him on Medium: https://chris-bunton.medium.com/

Follow Him on Free Life Blog: https://myfreelifeblog.com/

Read His Spiritual Writings on Blogger: https://chrisbunton.blogspot.com/

Support the work for the cost of a Coffee

Support the work through Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=13514235&fan_landing=true&view_as=public

What is Predestination?

 What is Predestination?

Don't be Confused.

 

There are some verses in the Bible which speak of predestination and have led to many false and confusing beliefs in regards to it.

“Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,”—Eph 1:5

“In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:”—Eph. 1:11

There are folks who have used these verses to justify and teach the belief that God; being sovereign allows people to be born, who are predestinated to be thrown into hell. There is nothing to be done by them to change it.

Likewise some people are born to be saved, they claim.

I have never believed this. Something in this doctrine causes my spirit to reject it. It makes the idea of preaching and spreading the Gospel, or trying to follow God, pointless.

I know those people who believe in predestination have their arguments and verses.

But, I’d like to show what I perceive to be true, from the Word. Of course we cannot prove for a fact any of these things. But, I’d like to get as close to God’s character and the Word as I can.

ALL humans are predestinated before and at birth to be saved. They just don’t all make it through. Don’t fly off the handle, I’m not speaking of a general salvation here. keep reading.

“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Pet. 3:9)

This is Peter talking. He walked with the Lord. If everyone is predestinated at birth to Heaven or Hell, then whats the point of this verse? What’s the point of God desiring for all humans to turn to Him, if they are already doomed or saved from birth?

What I’m going to teach here will probably be different than what you’ve heard or been taught. But, we are called to avoid false teaching. This subject has a lot of false doctrine around it.

Look in the Bible. When God created the Earth He predestinated that all humans would be with Him. He made everything “Good”. All humans would be in the Garden of God with God forever. But, the fall came and corrupted humans. It destroyed the original plan. God’s original intent is that we would be with Him.

Now apply this same concept to each of our lives. We are created in the womb and born in a right standing with God until we fall personally. We are all subject to death because of Adam, but we are only subject to Hell because of our own personal fall. Just like the creation story. It is a picture of our own spiritual life.

Adam and Eve, and all of creation has Free Will, but God made everything as though humans would never fall. He still treats us as though we will be with Him. Even though He knows the future. That’s love.

Even though God knows the future and knew Adam and Eve would fall. And He knows each of us will fall. He does the good, loving thing anyway.

God is Love. He does Good, no matter what. All things work for the good of those who love God. But, His good turns to bad in those who are opposed to Him.(1 John 4:8, Romans 8:28)

Have you ever heard of the Book of Life? (Phil. 4:3, Rev. 3:5, Rev. 13:8, Rev. 17:8, Rev. 20:12-15, 21:27, 22:19)

This is a book that holds the names of all the people who are saved.

It’s my belief that God put every humans name in the Book of Life.

All humans are predestinated for salvation.

Do babies go to hell?

No. They have a right standing with God. 

They face death because of Adam’s fall, but they do not face eternal separation until they reach the age of accountability and willfully, knowingly choose to Sin. They do not understand law and consequences. (Rom. 5:13)

When a person reaches the age of accountability and chooses to willfully sin, their name is blotted out of the book. They die spiritually and are headed for hell and the lake of fire. This is eternal separation from God, because they have become corrupt and defiled by Sin. That’s what death is. Separation. Eternal death is a quarantine. (Ex 32:32-33, Psa. 69:28, Rev. 3:5)

All humans sin, fall and face Hell. Until they hear God’s call and turn to Him, for salvation, confessing Jesus is The Lord. (Romans 10:9-10, Romans 1:6-7, Rom. 2:4, )

The moment a person’s name is blotted out of the Book of Life, God immediately starts to pursue them in Love. Seeking to save them. Calling them to turn to Him.

If they hear, and turn, God saves them. Then, they can see the predestination. They can see that God originally had them, then pursued them and woke them up.

Once saved a person can see this. They can see how God worked in their life and that He was always with them and trying. Then God, guides them into the life He predestinated for them. (Eph 1:5, Eph. 1:11)

They receive a new life. They are a new person. They are born again. They have a new name written in the Lambs Book of Life. (John 3:3-5, 2 Cor. 5:17, Isa 66:2, Rev. 2:17. Rev. 3:12, Throughout scripture the Lord has given the Saints new names.)

BUT…

Many people refuse to accept God’s call. All people hear it. But, not everyone turns to God. (Matt. 13:3-23)

God keeps trying. But, not everyone makes it. Not everyone turns to Him. (repent)

God predestinates everyone to salvation. But not everyone accepts it.

Why does this matter?

Because people need to know that they have free will.

They have a choice and can choose God and be saved and set free.

Many of the teachings of predestination, lead people to believe that there’s no way to change things. They are just doomed, or a loved one was just condemned, with no hope.

That is not the case.

God calls everyone to turn to Him and be saved.(2 Pet. 3:9)

Have you called on Him? (Rom. 10:13)

What I’ve told you here is what the Bible seems to teach on Predestination. It is based in God’s character. He loves us and acts in such a way to assume we will not fail and will be with Him. He pursues us and works to save us. Then, when we turn to Him we can see how He has worked in our lives and we know He was always there, trying. That is what Paul means by predestination. That is what I’m speaking of here. (Eph 1:5, Eph. 1:11)

Turn to God. He is there.

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Bio: Chris Bunton is a writer, poet and blogger from Southern Illinois. He has published in several magazines, and has written a poetry eBook called “Against the Man” and an Addiction Recovery eBook called “Made Free: Overcoming Addiction“  a collection of dystopian short stories.“The Future is Coming” and his latest book “The Latter Days‘ is a book on Bible Prophecy and avoiding the deceptions to come.

Follow Him on Medium: https://chris-bunton.medium.com/

Follow Him on Free Life Blog: https://myfreelifeblog.com/

Read His Spiritual Writings on Blogger: https://chrisbunton.blogspot.com/

Support the work for the cost of a Coffee

Support the work through Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=13514235&fan_landing=true&view_as=public

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You Are Not Cast Out

 You Are Not Cast Out

God is working, even when it doesn’t seem like it.

 

Verse:  ^“All that the father gives me shall come to me; and him that comes to me I will in no wise cast out. —John 6:37

I failed in my life; and like so many others I had asked God to save me when I was young.  I went to church and I asked God to save me as a child, but then life happened, and I got worse and worse. I’m not the only one. I have spoken to so many people who have asked God to save them, and help them. But, then they failed; and they could not keep right, not even for a day. They could not measure up to the standards the church people or family or friends put them under.  I was the same.

We start going to church and we see the people who pretend to be perfect, and we don’t measure up. Our life is rough. We don’t have all the church boxes marked, so we feel judged. We feel that we cannot do what God wants us to do. We hear sermons, where we are constantly beat down and fail. So, we quit. We just give up and go back to living. We can't do the church thing.

But, God did not give up on me. Every tough time in my life, was God working in me trying to get me to listen to Him. Every good time, was God showing me He cared. He was with me, even though I ignored Him until I really needed Him. There are so many people walking around who think God has cast them out. He hasn’t. If you asked Him to save you, He has, and He is working.

Now, imagine you hired a contractor to save your crumbling house, and make it great. But, you forgot you hired someone. Yet, you come home and trip over boards lying around. You step in wet concrete. You get mad because of the noise, and cannot figure out what’s going on. Your roof is gone one day, and some unexpected rain gets in the house. Another day, you feel nice and warm because all the drafts have been sealed, and you have new windows, and new insulation.  You never see someone working, but something is up.

You can’t figure out what’s going on because you forgot that you made a contract with a Master Builder. He comes and works every day. But, even when he leaves the project to sit for a while, it’s for a purpose. The concrete is drying. The drywall mud is drying. The landscaping is growing. But, the Contractor is still working.

This happened to me, I prayed to receive Christ when I was young, and I got worse. I never realized the truth of it. But, I knew that He answered my prayers. Finally, He woke me up, through life’s breaking power, and I threw myself on Him. Then I started to learn of Him, and grow in Him. Now I see the boards on the ground, and the wet concrete. I enjoy seeing the landscape grow; because I’ve let Him teach me, and wake me up. I’ve studied The Builders Manual. I’ve been taught by the Spirit.

Now I can look back at my life and see that He was there, and working all along. No matter what family said, no matter what the church said, no matter what friends and enemies said. God was there working, and He never abandoned me. No matter how bad I am, He is there working as He promised. Even still today, He is there. Everything that happens to me is Him working in some way. Turn to Him, and learn of Him. Ask Him to save you and teach you His ways. Listen to His still small voice and follow Him. I know it’s hard. Tell Him it’s hard, and that you need Him to do it. Then, watch Him move.

He works on us. He grows us. He does not cast us aside.

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Bio: Chris Bunton is a writer, poet and blogger from Southern Illinois. He has published in several magazines, and has written a poetry eBook called “Against the Man” and an Addiction Recovery eBook called “Made Free: Overcoming Addiction“  a collection of dystopian short stories.“The Future is Coming” and his latest book “The Latter Days‘ is a book on Bible Prophecy and avoiding the deceptions to come.

Follow Him on Medium: https://chris-bunton.medium.com/

Follow Him on Free Life Blog: https://myfreelifeblog.com/

Read His Spiritual Writings on Blogger: https://chrisbunton.blogspot.com/

Support the work for the cost of a Coffee

Support the work through Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=13514235&fan_landing=true&view_as=public

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Hearing From The Spirit

 Hearing From The Spirit

How The Holy Spirit Works in Our Lives

 

 

How The Holy Spirit Works In Our Lives.

After we get saved, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in us. He then starts to lead us into all truth. He starts to sanctify us and mold us and shape us into the likeness of Jesus. (John 14:16, John 16:13. 1 John 4:4, Romans 12:1-2, Phil. 2:5)

He shows us when we sin, and leads us to confess it to the Lord. Then, we are cleansed of all unrighteousness. This confessing and cleansing and growing is part of the relationship. (1 John 1:9)

But, that’s not all He does. He hears our prayers and He translates them into heaven and we see answers around us. We see our lives changing as He works in us and around us. (Romans 8:26)

He also works through us. The fact is that our works of righteousness are as filthy rags, because we are sinners with a corrupted nature. This doesn’t change. We are just saved. Even as the Holy Spirit works on us we still have things that corrupt us. (Isa. 64:6, Romans 7:14-25)

So, the Holy Spirit works THROUGH us as well, and we get credit for it.

What does that mean?

Well according to the scripture, on judgement day, our works will be judged. It will pass through the fire. Hay, wheat and stubble will burn. All that will remain will be gems and gold. (1 Cor. 3:1-15)

What does that mean?

Well, the works that I do in the flesh, no matter how great are stubble. Because I had wrong motivations, I had fear, I had doubt, I had lust and flesh. Because I’m a sinner with a corrupt nature.

But, if I listen to the Holy Spirit, and follow His guidance, then the works I’m doing are from the Lord, and are pure. It’s not me. It’s Him, and the works that I do under His guidance are gems. See?

You will hear preachers say “Do Do Do”. Their doctrine is all about works. (Eph. 2:1-10)

But the real works, are to wait upon the Lord, and follow the Holy Spirit as he guides. (Isa 40:31, Proverbs 3:5-6, I John 2:27, Romans 8:14, Gal. 5:18)

We are called to abide in Him. (John 15, 1 John 2:28)

Jesus said, “My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matt. 11:30)

Does it feel easy and light?

It is easy and light. It’s a fact. The reason we don’t feel it is because we don’t believe it and we are trying to do the works ourselves. This is not a condemnation. It’s what our flesh does. It’s what the enemy tries to do to us.

But, Jesus has already done it. He has already saved us. Quit trying to save yourself. Quit trying to please God by following rules. You cannot please God. Jesus Christ has already done it. The Holy Spirit in us does it. Our faith does it. When we try to do it in our flesh it cannot please Him. Only by faith, which means following Him. (Heb.11:6)

He wants a relationship. He wants to work through us, while we follow the Spirit.

So, how does this work?

Well, let’s say the preacher asks for a love offering to help a missionary.

Did you feel led to help? Did a number jump into your head? 10 bucks? 20 bucks? God knows what’s in your wallet.

That’s probably the Holy Spirit guiding you.

Then the very next thought was fear, doubt and concern? You wanted to take the kids to McDonalds. You needed to buy a new plant for the garden, or even pay a bill.

The Holy Spirit led you, and then a demonic entity tried to stop you. A spirit of fear. (2 Tim. 1:7)

Have you ever seen the old cartoon image of the angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other? That’s far more accurate than you realize.

Let’s say, you see a homeless person and they have a sign asking for help, and you feel led to help.

But, fear jumps up and says, “He might be a bad guy.” or “I see him here every week. I heard he drives a Lexus.”

So what?

A thought or a friend says “Well, other people who really need it, could be getting help and this guy is taking it”

Are you helping those other people? Why not help both? Why not divide the measly 5 bucks you were going to give and help the whole world?

Listen, just follow the Spirit as He guides. Do not second guess. Do not let the left hand know what the right hand is doing. Do not count the cost. Just follow and do as He leads.(Matt. 6:3)

Paul says, ” When I seek to do good, evil is with me.” We get led by the Spirit to serve, but the enemy pops up to keep us from it. We get distracted, we have fear. We have false thoughts. Our flesh listens to the enemy tempting us and we have doubt. We don’t trust that God can provide or protect.( Romans 7:21)

Here’s the deal. God wants us to do what is right.

Let’s say a man asks for money and you give it to him and he goes and buys booze.

You followed the Holy Spirit and showed love to this person. You followed.

God can use that. When that person is struggling and telling God, ” I’m in this mess because of you! You never helped me!” God can bring you to their remembrance.

God did send help, and kindness. He sent YOU.

If you do the works of God with your flesh, you will do works of the flesh. Your motivations will be flesh, your plans will be flesh. Your fears and your love will be flesh. It will all be filthy rags because it is not God working through you.

Learn to hear His voice and guidance. Learn to follow the Spirit.

It gets easier over time as you hear and follow. When you feed faith it grows, instead of fear.

I have watched God bring a chance to serve to a group of people, and saw them talk themselves totally out of doing anything to help the person in need. Over and over again.

I’m not saying that we should abandon wisdom. But, turn to God in this as well, and He will give you a word of wisdom.

Let’s say a friend pops into your head and you want to call them and say “Hi”.

Do it.

The Lord might be working on them and you could have helped. But, don’t let the enemy distract you. I learned years ago, that when God calls, you drop everything immediately and go do it. If you wait, at all. The enemy will work to distract and bring in fear or other things. Do not give him a chance.

Let’s say you are thinking about going on a mission trip somewhere. The idea just popped into your head. Then, low and behold, a friend says “Hey we are going to Africa for a week to hand out blankets.” That’s the Holy Spirit, leading you. Calling you.

Here’s an example from my own life.

I had a trip planned. I took the time off and was ready to go. But, my plans fell apart. So, I prayed, “Lord, what should I do now.?” Then, I started thinking about maybe doing a mission trip. And I prayed “Lord. I really don’t know anything about that. What would you want me to do?” And it wasn’t a week later when a friend invited me to go on a mission trip. It was during the exact time I had set for my original trip.

God leads us if we listen.

I really had no excuse now. So, I went and it was one of the best things I’ve done. God teaches us and builds the relationship through our listening and following His guidance.

Let’s say you are driving in your car alone, and a Bible verse jumps into your head, and you spend the rest of the morning thinking about the verse. That’s the Holy Spirit teaching you. Then later on that day, something happens that has a direct correlation with the verse you chewed on all morning. The Holy Spirit again.

Like sheep following the Master, we chew the cud of His Word, while standing on the cloven feet of Spirit and Truth. He leads us into all truth. He leads us in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

We are to be Spirit led. The Spirit brings to life. He is life.

The Breath of Life.

Our entire walk with Christ, is to abide in Him and have a relationship with Him. That comes by hearing His Spirit and following Him.

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Bio: Chris Bunton is a writer, poet and blogger from Southern Illinois. He has published in several magazines, and has written a poetry eBook called “Against the Man” and an Addiction Recovery eBook called “Made Free: Overcoming Addiction“ His newest book is called “The Future is Coming” and is a collection of dystopian short stories.

Follow Him on Medium: https://chris-bunton.medium.com/

Follow Him on Free Life Blog: https://myfreelifeblog.com/

Read His Spiritual Writings on Blogger: https://chrisbunton.blogspot.com/

Buy a cup of Coffee

Support the work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=13514235&fan_landing=true&view_as=public

Our Warfare

 Our Warfare

A Word on Spiritual Warfare

 

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”— Eph 6:12

“(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)”—2 Cor. 10:4

The Bible teaches that we have a spiritual enemy, and we use spiritual means to combat them.

I felt led to write this because I’ve seen lots of opinions lately attacking the idea of demonic entities impacting our lives.

There’s a view in some Christian circles, that there is no spiritual enemy to fight. That it’s just us and our fleshly nature. No demons. Just our sin and disobedience to God.

But, that leaves out large parts of scripture. It throws a monkey wrench into the gears of what spiritual reality is.

Our flesh impacts us. But, there’s also a spiritual component that comes at us as well. There’s something outside the body that works against us. We see evidence and the scriptures warn us of it. (1 Pet. 5:8)

If we had a house with a rat problem, we would solve it and work to prevent it.

But, would we just blame the people who live in the house? That’s what we often do. It’s their fault. We accuse them and beat them down for having rats. We gossip, and judge and accuse.

The tenants do need to clean up. This is true.

But to solve the problem, the landlord needs to organize the cleanup and take care of things the tenants cannot. Like wise, the city needs to deal with things outside of what the landlord can do.

Finally, the rats must be dealt with and prevented. 

Many folks want to solve the problem by just telling people to live cleaner. But, that won’t solve it, totally. They need saved. They need prayer. They need the Holy Spirit, and Spiritual Warfare waged. They need love and help, which is part of our warfare.

This is what goes on in many churches. They tell.people not to sin, but ignore the spiritual reality of the war we are in.

I know churches, where they never mention the Holy Spirit or possible demonic activity.

People are suffering. Our world is getting darker, while many believers want to play church. People are dying and going to hell while churches sing songs.

The Lord says, “Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols. But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.”    (Amos 5:21-24)

He desires mercy for people. He seeks to save and help the lost, and hurting. That’s His heart. He did not come to demand your worship or sacrifice. We worship by waging spiritual war, saving people and helping them. (Matt. 9:13)

We have an enemy. If Satan can get us to think he doesn’t exist or doesn’t fight, then he wins because we do nothing.

It’s far wiser to fight the rats than to pretend they don’t exist, or hope they will just go away.

The first step in spiritual warfare. Is to believe God and His Word, over everything your senses tell you and everything the World tells you.

If you cannot believe God, then you are not saved and you are powerless against spiritual forces.

You must believe the Word given unto you, in order to accept it. Now I’m not saying that you must accept every word the preacher tells you. 

I’m saying you need to believe the Word of God as He leads you through the Holy Spirit.

Are you reading and studying the Bible? Listen to it while you drive or work. You need to be in the Word. That’s where you learn Truth.

Memorize verses. Especially verses that tell you about salvation and God’s promises.

Decide that you are going to trust God’s Word no matter what.

If the Bible says God created the Earth in seven days, thousands of years ago, then that’s what you believe.

If you cannot believe in creation, then how can you believe God raised Jesus from the dead?

And if you cannot believe Jesus rose from the dead, then you are not saved. (Rom. 10:9-10)

The same Bible speaks of both.

Trust the Lord. He will show you.

The Word of God is the Sword of the Spirit. If you do not know the Word or believe it, then you are not armed in this war. (Heb. 4:12, Eph. 6:12-17)

You might not even be saved, truth be told.

We are made righteous by believing what God tells us.(Gen. 15:6, Rom. 4:3)

All the armor we have in this war is directly related to God’s Word and the belief and trust we put into it, and Him. If you cannot believe and trust God and His Word, then you have no armor, or sword. (Eph. 6:12-17)

Now realize, that it is the Holy Spirit in us. It is not our fleshly selves. It’s God that does all of it. It’s His authority.

So when we wage war, it is God in us doing it. Do not think it is your own power. That is the enemy trying to put pride in your heart for something that is not yours.

Understand?

We have an enemy, and if He can get us to ignore him. Or not believe he is real or not wage war, then he is victorious.

How many people have been lost because we did not wage war?

How much pain and suffering have we allowed to continue to torment people because we refuse to see the demons harassing them, and pray for them and help them instead of condemning them?

That addicted child? 

They could be under the influence of demons. Wouldn’t it be good to know how to pray? To know how to fight for your child. As a matter of fact there is a large demonic aspect to addiction.

That person who always falls on hard times?

Could be demons, harassing them. Maybe they try to get right but always get led astray?

That person who is facing mental issues. Anxiety? Struggles?

Demons? Maybe? Maybe not. But it never hurts to pray for them properly.

Here’s something you must get straight. Demons harass or tempt or attack everybody.

It is not an indication of wrong doing.

Didn’t Jesus get tempted by the devil? (Matt. 4:1)

Didn’t Jesus get harassed by demons using the pharisees to tempt Him? (Matt. 22:18)

Didn’t He face demons during His ministry. (Luke 8:26-39)

Didn’t Judas get filled with the devil to betray Christ? (John 13:26-27)

Didn’t the demon princes of this world kill Him? (1 Cor. 2:8)

Jesus was perfect.

Therefore, demonic attacks or harassment have nothing to do with sinfulness.

We are all tempted. We all sin and we all face attacks in this war if you are saved.

It is a deception of the enemy to pretend that we don’t, or that only those sinners over there get tempted.

Stop being like the Pharisees, and start being like Jesus.

Learn to stand. Not turning a blind eye.

Ask God to show you.

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Bio:Chris Bunton is a writer, poet and blogger from Southern Illinois. He has published in several magazines, and has written a poetry eBook called “Against the Man” and an Addiction Recovery eBook called “Made Free: Overcoming Addiction“ His newest book is called “The Future is Coming” and is a collection of dystopian short stories.

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