2002-01-01
Good Morning Faithful Ones,
We should find real comfort in knowing that only the personalities of the Trinity are omniscient and not Satan or his unholy cohorts, the antichrist, the false prophet, or the evil angels that were cast down from heaven with him. This gives God the advantage in the adversarial relationship that He, Christ, the Holy Spirit, and all believers have with the unholy ones. It’s easy for us to forget this precious truth when we are feeling the pain of suffering, illness, and loss at Satan’s hand. Pain brings on impatience, interferes with concentration, makes us angry, depresses us, keeps us from seeing things in realistic, godly perspective, torments us, makes us want to behave in response to our body’s fleshly desires instead of letting the Holy Spirit be in control, and leads us to sometimes sin. But, we mustn’t lose sight of the fact that God’s power is greater than all that which the evil one loves. Because of Christ’s death on the cross, we no longer have to be slaves to the enemy’s temptation, deceit, and evil-doing. Another way of saying all of this is that Satan may win a battle, but he will definitely lose the war.
Let’s look at some citations that will illuminate this important truth. As I have often said, there is nothing wasteful or accidental included in the Scriptures. GN 3: 20, “Adam named his wife, Eve, because she was the mother of all human beings.” The name “Eve” in Hebrew means “life.” The importance of this fact lies in the fact that through Eve, the stain of the original sin is passed on to all mankind. However, God has a plan. PS 51: 5, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me.” We know from COL 1: 19-20 that God understood before the world was created that He would need a way out for mankind who inherited sin through Adam and Eve. “For it was by God’s own decision that the Son has in Himself the full nature of God. Through the Son, then, God decided to bring the whole universe back to Himself. God made peace through His Son’s death on the cross and so brought back to Himself all things, both on earth and in heaven.” 1 PET 1: 20-21, “He had been chosen by God before the creation of the world for your sake. Through Him you believe in God, Who raised Him from death and gave Him glory; and so your faith and hope are fixed on God.” 1 JN 5: 19, “We know that we belong to God even through the whole world is under the rule of the evil one.” Yes, it’s true that Eve was deceived by the serpent and that she and Adam were expelled from the Garden of Eden. It’s also true that throughout their history mankind has been made to suffer at the hand of Satan and his followers. However, we must keep our eyes on the larger truth, that Satan will eventually be sent to the lake of fire and sulfur, and those who endure in their faith will enjoy eternal life.
God’s plan is announced in GN 3: 15, so Satan already knows his fate. That’s why he is angry enough to hate God and mankind and to “roam around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” [1 PET 5: 8]. It is also why his anger is fueled by knowing that his time to do his evil is limited [REV 12: 12]. If you wonder why I keep repeating certain Scriptures so often, it is because while we are amidst the pain Satan causes it is that much easier for us to lose sight of God’s big picture. RO 5: 12, “Sin came into this world though one man [Adam], and his sin brought death with it. As a result, death has spread to the whole human race, because everyone has sinned.” That’s the same message we get from RO 3: 23, “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God,” and RO 6: 23a, “The wages of sin is death.” But, Dear Ones, there is RO 3: 24-25, “But by the free gift of God’s grace all are put right with Him through Christ Jesus, who sets them free. God offered Him, so that by His death He should become the means by which people’s sins are forgiven through their faith in Him.” And there is RO 6: 23b, which tells us, “But, the gift of God is eternal life in union with Christ Jesus our Lord.” This is explained in very clear terms for us in RO 5: 18-19, “So then, as one sin condemned all mankind, in the same way one righteous act sets all mankind free and gives them life. And just as all people were made sinners as a result of the disobedience of one man [Adam], in the same way they are put right with God as a result of the obedience of the one Man [Christ].” The Holy Spirit writes this message to each of us, so that we can keep our eyes focused on God’s plan, His sovereign supremacy, His eternal love and compassion, and His wonderful presence in our lives as we endure the challenges to our faith that spiritual warfare yields. The Good News of this Easter season is that Satan may win the battle, but in the end he will lose the war!
PRAYER: O Lord, when You finally spoke to Job in JOB 38-41, You asked him many questions, questions designed to reveal to him and to us Your ultimate sovereignty and supremacy. While we know that you blessed Job in the end by allowing him to once again become healthy, have a family, and be materially wealthy, You taught him and us a more important lesson-our utter need for You to be the Leader of our lives. By giving this lesson, You allow us to know how to help ourselves in times of trouble, by turning to You and by not allowing Satan to deter our faith in You. You have made us look at a beautiful example of how Satan my win a battle, but ultimately loses the war. We revel in David’s words and add ours to his in PS 29: 1-4, “Praise the Lord, you heavenly beings; praise His glory and power. Praise the Lord’s glorious name; bow down before the Holy One when He appears. The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars, even the cedars of Lebanon. He makes the mountains of Lebanon jump like calves and makes Mount Hermon leap like a young bull.” We praise You, O Lord, for Your wisdom and goodness, and we have faith that You will always be there to help those who love You when they are in need, just as You did Job and so many others. We know that the Psalmist’s words in PS 127: 1-2 are true, “If the Lord does not build the house the work of the builders is useless; if the Lord does not protect the city, it does not good for the sentries to stand guard. It is useless to work so hard for a living, getting up early and going to bed late. For the Lord provides for those He loves, while they are asleep.” Today in humility, we offer You our confession, present ourselves to You so that You will fill us with the Holy Spirit, and pledge You our devotion, adoration, worship, loyalty, diligence, trust, obedience, glory, honor, praise, and thanksgiving. In Christ’s name, amen.
Tomorrow’s message will deal with why Christ can say the devil has no power over Him and how that impacts what Christ does for us. Our Abba’s love for us sometimes leads us to uncharted territory where we are called upon to make sacrifices or do things we didn’t know we could do. However, He never takes us to those places without a just and righteous cause. When we obey Him, we show Him how much real love we have for Him and how willing we are to honor our covenant commitments to Him. For that reason and because God really deserves it, we should always praise Him and be grateful for His presence in our lives. Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn