Tag Archive | Faith

Stop letting the devil steal your joy!

Jun4

Question: Once again, just before my husband and I tried to go out for a “date” night, we got into an argument over something minor and it ruined the whole evening.  How do we stop this depressing pattern?

Answer:  First you and your husband should discuss the fact that this pattern of behavior happens.  Then, pray together that God would guide your conversations with each other and bless you to communicate with each other in a way that would be pleasing to Him.  Seek out good Christian resources to help you with this like the ones found on the Focus on the Family web site, www.focusonthefamily.com.   Bottom line: you’ve got to stop letting the devil steal your joy!

You see, having the devil interfere in your life trying to cause trouble is nothing new.  Satan works to cause us trouble.  He even tried to cause trouble for Jesus Christ, Himself.  Matthew 4:10 tells of the time when Satan tried to tempt Jesus to serve him instead of serving God. Satan took Jesus up on a high mountain to show Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. Satan promised to give Jesus all the kingdoms if Jesus would worship him.  But Jesus said, “Away with you, Satan!  For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.'” ( NKJV)  Like Jesus, we too should be ready to speak the power of the Holy Word against the devil when we see he is trying to disrupt our lives.

There will be other times when we believe we are following God’s plan for our lives and Satan will try to get us off track.  He may even do this by using someone in our lives we trust to try to derail us.  He attempted this against Jesus.  When the time came for Jesus to be crucified — to take the punishment in our place that we deserved for our sins — He began to explain to His disciples what was going to happen.  That’s when His disciple Peter, “took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, ‘Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to you!'” But Jesus recognized these words of the devil speaking through Peter.  So Jesus pushed back by saying to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan!  You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but of the things of men.” (Matthew 16:23)  Again, like Jesus, we must be on guard against sinful advice even from those we consider friends.  We must understand that it is the devil who is trying to use them to pull us away from God.

Therefore, when you can sense, for example, that an unhealthy argument is coming on between you and that other person — be it a spouse, child, parent, friend, or even a stranger — be on guard.  Recognize this for what it really is, the work of the devil trying to destroy the joy of your relationship.  Stop and pray to God to give you the right words to say.  And, remember Ephesians 4:26-27, “‘Be angry, and do not sin,’ do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil.”  Remember, Satan wants to destroy our positive relationships and cause all kinds of trouble in our lives because he is evil.  He wants us to be miserable and defeated just like him.

Above all, Satan wants to stop you from accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, from joyfully living your life to please God, and from having everlasting life in Heaven.  Don’t let him do it!  Accept Jesus Christ as your one and only Savior and ask Him to forgive you of your sins. Turn away from your life of sin and start enjoying the blessed life God wants for you.

Jesus wants us to take comfort in His Words from John 10:10.  “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.  I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”  Take comfort in His words and stop letting the devil steal your joy!

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Have you read the end of the Book? God and His people win!

May1

Question: Are Christians wasting their time in continuing to fight against our society’s downhill slide into moral decay?

Answer:  Absolutely not!  Remember that nothing going on in the world today comes as a surprise to God.  God is all-knowing, so He already knows what’s going to happen.  And, despite what we see happening in our world now, God is still in control!  We as Believers are to stay faithful to His Holy Word.  “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.” (Galatians  6:9  NKJV )

God did not promise that life for the Believer was going to be easy.  In fact, Jesus reminds us in John 15:18 that, “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.”  So, we should not be surprised when the world mocks our commitment to standing for the truths of God’s Word.  In fact, it’s gotten to the point where unbelievers are going beyond just mocking our beliefs as being intolerant and unintelligent.  Now, they want to force Believers to support sinful behavior.

Disregarding our Constitutional First Amendment right to Religious Freedom,  they are creating new laws that will punish Christians if we do not go along with behaviors God calls sin.  They see Believers as being wrong in standing for the traditional moral teachings of God’s Word, especially on two of the most “hot button” subjects of today: abortion and homosexuality.  Instead of agreeing with God’s Word in calling these things sin, they say these things are just fine.  But,  Isaiah 5:20 says “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil…”  Verse 21 goes on to say, “Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes.”  Only God Almighty says what things are right and what things are sin, not man!

Know that the Word says in Galatians 6:7, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows that he will also reap.”  So, whether or not people accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior, the Bible assures us of what is going to happen.  Philippians 2:9-11 says, “Therefore God has also highly exalted Him (Jesus) and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

By reading the Bible through to its final Book of Revelation, you will see how the Word says things will be in the end. For example, in Revelation 21:6-8 the Lord says, “…It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.  I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.  He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son.  But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

Therefore, by reading the end of the Book, you know that God and His people win!  Praise the Lord!  You should also recognize that we need to continue to pray for those who are unbelievers.  It’s not God’s desire that anyone be lost “but that all should come to repentance.”  (2 Peter 3:9)   So, let’s be evermore steadfast in following the Great Commission given by Jesus in Matthew 28: 19-20.  He said to “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations…” For as long as there is life, there is hope!  Amen!

Follow me on Twitter: @valclarksplace