2002-01-01
Good Morning Dear Ones,
As we continue examining Satan, the Accuser, it is helpful to see just how Satan affected Saul of Tarsus and to take a deeper look at the devil’s tactics. This will allow us to learn more about how we can recognize his attempts to affect our own behavior and attitudes. Our loving Abba reveals this information to us to give us the power and the discernment to fend off his attacks and even nip them in the bud at times. Let’s begin with the familiar story of the conversion of Saul of Tarsus in AC 9: 3-6. Remember that this is the same man who in AC 7: 58, we are told, witnessed the stoning of Stephen. “As Saul was coming near the city of Damascus, sudden a light from the sky flashed around him. He feel to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul! Why do you persecute Me?’ ‘Who are You, Lord?’ he asked. ‘I am Jesus, Whom you persecute.’ The voice said. ‘But get up and go into the city, where you will be told what you must do.’” This is quite an extraordinary event when we understand some facts surrounding it. To begin, Saul of Tarsus held a respected position with the Jewish ruling council, the Sanhedrin. He was in charge of finding those Jews who had converted to Christianity, bringing them to the Sanhedrin from wherever they were, and seeing to it that they were punished and imprisoned for their beliefs. That was Saul’s very purpose when Christ’s voice struck him down on the road to Damascus. If we look at this citation, we can also see something else extraordinary. Initially, Saul didn’t know Who the voice belonged to, yet he addressed it as “Lord.” The sheer power with which Saul was struck down was unmistakable at that point, which might be the explanation for this. Of course, Christ went on in the next sentence to identify Himself, so it was no longer possible for Saul to deny Him. When we ask ourselves: who is the one who motivates prejudice and intolerance, one answer must emerge, Satan. That means that up to the point when Saul was struck down on the road to Damascus, Satan had a stronghold in his life. Note the change that takes place once this event transpires. Where is Satan then? Who has the superior power, Satan or the Lord Jesus Christ? The answer is obvious. Now consider how that fact impacts our own lives.
Our conflict with Satan may be hand to hand, or it may be more subtle. But, make no mistake, we do have to engage against him. Satan is insidious, but he is not more powerful than the Father and the Son. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out which is the better side on which to be. Even when our pain is at its worst, we must not loose sight of that fact that God has given us the power to win this war. We must keep on fighting and not give up. One of Satan’s favorite tactics is to separate us from God through tempting us to sin and by separating us from other believers in any way he can conger. EPH 2: 11-13 shows us how we were apart from Christ due to Satan at work in our lives in the past. “You Gentiles by birth-called ‘the uncircumcised’ by the Jews who call themselves the circumcised (which refers to what men do to their bodies)-remember what you were in the past. At that time you were apart from Christ. You were foreigners and did not belong to God’s chosen people. You had no part in the covenants, which were based on God’s promises to His people, and you lived in this world without hope and without God. But now, in union with Christ Jesus you, who used to be far away, have been brought near by the death of Christ.” In this description, the first thing one sees is the artificial barrier between Jews and Gentiles that was set up by mankind. In Christ’s time the prejudice exerted was to the extent that Jews refused any contact with Gentiles, calling them “Gentile dogs” and thinking of them as something beneath their feet. This is a far cry from the command Christ gives us in JN 13: 33-34 to love one another. That is why Christ’s own disciples were so taken aback when their Lord deigned to speak to the Samaritan woman at the well in JN 4. It is also why God inspired Paul to chastise the Jews for their hypocrisy and revealed to us the concept of circumcision of the heart in RO 2: 28-29. Surely Satan is also responsible for the practice of the occult and polytheism [worship of multiple false gods] that marked the Gentiles before they accepted Christ as their Savior too. All of this separated these unfaithful people from their Creator, the only God Who was to provide them with a way out of this separation with Christ’s Atonement.
There is much more to say about this aspect of Satan’s tactics, which I will take up in tomorrow’s message. For now, it is important for each of us to examine our lives and ask the following question: Does Satan have a stronghold in my life that is keeping me separated from God? That’s not an easy question to answer, but it is one which our loving Abba helps us to answer by providing much crucial “combat intelligence” in the Scriptures that is needed to give us the power and the discernment to show Satan Who is the boss in our lives.
PRAYER: O Lord, When we look at IS 65: 1-2, You reveal Your will for us and Your willingness to bring us out of slavery to sin. “The Lord said, ‘I was ready to answer My people’s prayers, but they did not pray. I was ready for them to find Me, but they did not even try. The nation did not pray to Me, even though I was always ready to answer, ‘Here I am; I will help you.’” These most extraordinary words were always with us, yet in the past when we made sin a lifestyle, we never listened for them. How many times and in so many ways, You, Dearest Abba, have called to us. Where were we? We were under Satan’s power, not having the faith we needed to recognize how much greater is Your Power. David taught us to pray for deliverance in PS 60: 11-12, “Help us against the enemy; human help is worthless. With God on our side we will win; He will defeat our enemies.” When we came to faith in Christ, faith which out of the compassion in Your heart You gave us, we repented and accepted Christ’s leadership in our lives. At last we had walked through that narrow gate on the hard path to eternal life. And yet, we are still imperfect sinners, much in need of Your love, power, and guidance to stay the course. Without You in our lives, we are indeed helpless. PS 97: 1-6 gives us the right words to acknowledge the dawning recognition of Your truly supreme power and our need for it. “The Lord is King! Earth, be glad! Rejoice, you islands of the seas! Clouds and darkness surround Him; He rules with righteousness and justice. Fire goes in front of Him and burns up His enemies around Him. His lightning lights up the world; the earth sees it and trembles. The hills melt like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of all the earth. The heavens proclaim His righteousness, and all the nations see His glory.” We bow before You in humility and offer You our adoration, worship, glory, honor, trust, obedience, diligence, loyalty, praise, and thanksgiving. In Christ’s name, we pray. Amen.
As promised above, we will continue looking at Satan’s tactics in tomorrow’s message. In the meanwhile, our prayer cracks open an important door at one time closed to us. The door to the recognition of God’s supremacy and why it is such a blessing to us as believers. Keep believing, as the Scriptures reveal we can, that we can crush the serpent’s head as GN 3: 15 promises us. Never lose sight of God’s plan and how we are commanded to be part of it. This whole plan is one great manifestation of the profound love that our Lord and Covenant Partner has for us. Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn