2002-01-01
Good Morning Dear Ones,
You might be wondering why this particular segment of my message, “truth matters,” is so lengthy. We need only look at it’s title to figure out why. The Father in heaven knows just how important it is that we delve deeply into the issue of keeping the truth of His word as a “treasure to be guarded” [2 TIM 1: 13-14]. We have been entrusted with something so valuable that our very spiritual lives depend on it. The value is not only to us, who receive the blessing of eternal life for enduring in our faith, but it is also to God, Who loves each of us dearly. He wants nothing more than to see as many of us as possible come to Him for a life of eternal joy and fellowship.
We have been looking at God’s response to the fact that Satan’s favorite point of attack is our minds. God doesn’t take this sitting down, not for a minute. Let’s continue looking at what God has to say. When the resurrected Christ encountered Cleopas and his friend walking along the road to Emmaus, these two were talking about how their hope was that this man from Nazareth would be the One Who would set Israel free. Then they spoke of how the tomb had been found empty. LK 24: 25-27, “Then Jesus said the them, ‘How foolish you are, how slow you are to believe everything that the prophets said! Was it not necessary for the Messiah to suffer these things and then to enter His glory? And Jesus explained to them what was said about Himself in all the Scriptures, beginning with the books of Moses and the writings of all the prophets.” It was not until later when Christ broke bread and gave it to them that their eyes were opened, and they recognized Who He is. Then, Christ disappeared from their sight. I am led to share this story, because of our own seeming inability at times to see the Lord in what is around us, the things He is doing, and the people He sends into our lives. We too are like Cleopas and his friend, and must open our eyes to Him and the power He has given us to fight of Satan’s attack on our minds.
Another example of having been given crucial “combat intelligence” and not recognizing it occurs in MT 12: 38-42, regarding the demand for a miracle. “Then some teachers of the Law and some Pharisees spoke up, ‘Teacher,’ they said, ‘we want to see you perform a miracle.’ ‘How evil and godless are the people of this day!’ Jesus exclaimed. ‘You ask Me for a miracle? No! The only miracle you will be given is the miracle of the prophet Jonah. In the same way that Jonah spent three days and nights in the big fish, so will the Son of Man spend three days and nights in the depths of the earth. On the Judgement Day the people of Nineveh will stand up and accuse you, because they turned from their sins when they heard Jonah preach; and I tell you that there is something here greater than Jonah! On the Judgement Day the Queen of Sheba will stand up and accuse you, because she traveled all the way from her country to listen to King Solomon’s wise teaching, and I assure you that there is something here greater than Solomon!’” [For further background, see MT 16: 1, 4; MK 8: 11-12; LK 11: 16; JON 1: 17 & 3: 5; 1 K 10: 1-10; 2 CH 9: 1-12]. Christ, in His infinite wisdom here, chose to answer the Pharisees and law teachers with issues they should have already studied, become familiar with, and understood. Their efforts to trick Christ went awry. More importantly, it points up the human propensity to avoid the truth when it is staring them in the face. That truth really is “combat intelligence” for all of us, designed by the Father to bring us to a stronger, more informed faith. Until and unless a person is willing to use his God-given ability to see the truth, Satan is successful in convincing him of his lies.
Christ was teaching about divorce in MT 19: 3-6, when another incident of refusing to see the truth by some Pharisees happened. “Some Pharisees came to Him and tried to trap Him by asking,’ Does our Law allow a man to divorce his wife for whatever reasons he wishes?’ Jesus answered, ‘Have you not read the Scriptures that say that in the beginning the Creator made people male and female [GN 1: 27; 5: 2]? And God said, “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and unite with his wife, and the two will become one [ GN 2: 24].’ So they are no longer two, but one. Man must not separate, then, what God has joined together.’” Once again, Christ goes back to OT issues which the Pharisees should have long ago understood. Who kept them from that understanding? It’s clear; Satan’s attack on their minds. We must keep in mind that with faith in Christ and repentance, we have been given the power over this attack on our minds by the adversary. I know I’m repeating myself, but this is important, Dear Ones. It’s the same power that the Father used to raise Christ from death to life [EPH 1: 18-20]. Each of us has it, so we are fully equipped to not only see the truth, but to fight for it against Satan, and keep our understanding of it accurate to God’s word.
PRAYER: O Lord, it is a dark path that the temptations of the devil try to make us travel. PS 119: 105, “Your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light for my path.” All along the way, the devil is like a modern-day enemy, who plants land mines in our path. He knows that if we step on one, our spirits will be destroyed. Some of these “land mines” are anger not dealt with constructively, jealousy, materialism, greed, lack of ethics, sexual immorality, and the list of sins goes on. Some of these sins seem rather small, the ones like getting tattoos [LV 19: 28], but they reflect Satan’s attack on the mind in progress. Others are horrific, like the string of kidnappings, rapes, and killings of young girls that has recently been in the news. A sin is a sin, and we must realize that because You are a righteous God, You will adjudicate each one in Your own wise way [RO 3: 26]. You have not left us without a defense against the enemy. PS 31: 3-5, “You are my Refuge and Defense; guide me and lead me as You have promised. Keep me safe from the snare that has been set for me; shelter me from danger. I place myself in Your care. You will save me , Lord; You are a faithful God.” When David wrote these words, he revealed what is in our hearts today. His acknowledgement of Your power to protect us is also ours. We seek You out, as You have commanded us, as our first defense, not our last. We accept that even though we are saved, we are still vulnerable to Satan’s attacks on our minds, and therefore in great need of Your power in our lives. We dedicate ourselves to gaining discernment from Your word, prayer, and what You teach us through the circumstances of our lives. We approach You in humility to confess our sins and to ask the Holy Spirit to fill us and pilot our lives. We are Your servants who adore, worship, profess loyalty and diligence to You, pledge You our trust and obedience, and who offer You praise and thanksgiving. In Christ’s name, amen.
In tomorrow’s message I am led to look at what God says we should do when Satan attacks our minds. There are some key truths that we must always keep in mind. God reminds us of these. Our greatest goal in “living in Christ” is to keep in mind the big picture at all time. What I mean by this is God’s plan for us. We must not only consider our lives as individuals, but we must also consider our lives as members of congregations. I would also like to think of the supernatural link that should be present between all congregations of true believers, be they Christian or Messianic Jewish ones. We can’t really obey God and only concern ourselves with our own little bailiwicks. We are part of the larger Body of Christ. One more truth exists. God has not told us which non-believers that we encounter are potential believers. That places the burden on us to reach out to non-believers in love and sensitivity, so that those who are potential believers will come to faith. The Father has set up this situation our of His profound love for us, His desire to strengthen the faith of believers, and His plan to bring potential believers to faith too. Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn