The Holy One calls me this morning. The night wrestles have been brutal as the dark lords spew their lies. Believers everywhere are under attack, not necessarily for their faith or Biblical world view directly, but circumstantially to distract us from the real battle that rages.
The darkness that covers the land is assaulting our families. God's Divine Covenant called marriage and the children of those unions are being put through a thrasher. The end game is ancient but rarely recognized in the emotional chaos of our society.
The goal of the enemy is the same goal as when he sat among the angels God created to serve His Sovereign purposes. This being created with the same free will that we have been born with, turned on the Creator and launched a mutiny taking 1/3 of the Heavenly Host along with him.
These "angels" who once served in the Heavenly Court, are now inciting rebellion on earth. Working in the unseen realm of the spirit, these beings are responsible for manipulating humans to do their bidding and rebel against the will and Divine purposes of God.
While we are not to get our focus on demonology, we must acknowledge that the gospel record of Jesus' life as one of confronting those beings known as "demons" and their leader known as "Satan" the adversary of men.
Jesus' life on earth was to re-take dominion the first Adam surrendered to the enemy of the Creator God. Jesus did what the original man failed to do: Follow the directives of the One who spoke all things into existence and created the human to co-govern in His created universe.
Having failed to repent for original rebellion, Adam and Eve set their minds to blame shift with a little help from the "talking serpent". This sheds some light on the "tempter" and his inner-action with us since the beginning of time. Without an understanding of the tempter's role, we get confused and then victimized by the voices in our heads suggesting everything from wrong perspectives to evil acts.
Jesus came to rescue us . He was the "human" sacrifice sent to pay the ultimate debt for the human sin of rebellion. From the very onset of His earthly ministry and mission, we see Him exercising dominion over the tempter.
His 40 days in the wilderness (as recorded in Matt 4) with the presence of the devil, reveals this fact. There was presented to Him, every temptation to complete the mission for which He was sent, under the power of darkness rather than in the Power of Heaven. His flesh was the point of challenge just like ours is today:
The carnal mind was presented an alternative
The carnal emotions were incited
The carnal body was hungry
Yet through it all, Jesus kept focus not only on the Will of God from the written Word, but on the Ways of God as well. God has His Will but also has a way that He desires His Will to be enacted by and through us.
The enemy of our soul has a will also, and he works through the flesh of the human to enact it. The devil' will hasn't changed. His rebellion and subsequent eviction from the "paradise" of his creation and the lost honor he once enjoyed as the most beautiful of all God' angels, is to destroy God's Beloved human and separate us from our Creator.
Jesus came to rescue us from that dark dominion of Satanic control by bringing us back to our original peace in relationship with our Father in Heaven. The Creator started off as a Father. Rebellion by the human turned Him into a "God", not as in ultimate Sovereignty, but as in relational distance, impossible to reach and impossible to understand. Since then, humanity has created and turned to many 'gods" yet, none but One, can be called "our Father".
Today, as I ponder the salvation of our souls, the rescue from the dominion of darkness and the Presence of the Holy One in my life, I see the need to surrender to His Lordship in all ways. Having the mind of Christ is imperative to gain the perspective I need over all the conflict I see.
As I counsel with the Holy Spirit of Wisdom, He tells me to surrender my emotions as well as my mind to the Lordship of Christ. I am emotionally devastated by all I see and I am "emotionally" motivated to act out of a hurting heart.
His sweet counsel today takes me to re-call the fruit of His Spirit in Galatians 5:22. When the situations of this life ratchet up the heat, and confuse the heart, I am to remember that He is the source of all my appropriate emotional reactions.
When anger builds up against human opponents who hurt and betray me and He manifests "uncommon love" (I.E that which is uncommon to man, under the circumstance) somehow God is Glorified. When circumstances close in and discouragement pays a visit but He manifest "uncommon joy" somehow God is Glorified. When the chaos is all around and yet He manifests to and through me "uncommon peace", somehow God is Glorified....and the list goes on.
The only way to explain this "fruit-filled" life is His Presence over-ruling my flesh. I am brought o the place of surrender after along night of wrestles. His mind in exchange for mine. His emotions in exchange for mine.
And then comes the sense of an "uncommon peace", and I know my Lord is smiling.
The Spirit is calling. Can you hear Him?
The darkness that covers the land is assaulting our families. God's Divine Covenant called marriage and the children of those unions are being put through a thrasher. The end game is ancient but rarely recognized in the emotional chaos of our society.
The goal of the enemy is the same goal as when he sat among the angels God created to serve His Sovereign purposes. This being created with the same free will that we have been born with, turned on the Creator and launched a mutiny taking 1/3 of the Heavenly Host along with him.
These "angels" who once served in the Heavenly Court, are now inciting rebellion on earth. Working in the unseen realm of the spirit, these beings are responsible for manipulating humans to do their bidding and rebel against the will and Divine purposes of God.
While we are not to get our focus on demonology, we must acknowledge that the gospel record of Jesus' life as one of confronting those beings known as "demons" and their leader known as "Satan" the adversary of men.
Jesus' life on earth was to re-take dominion the first Adam surrendered to the enemy of the Creator God. Jesus did what the original man failed to do: Follow the directives of the One who spoke all things into existence and created the human to co-govern in His created universe.
Having failed to repent for original rebellion, Adam and Eve set their minds to blame shift with a little help from the "talking serpent". This sheds some light on the "tempter" and his inner-action with us since the beginning of time. Without an understanding of the tempter's role, we get confused and then victimized by the voices in our heads suggesting everything from wrong perspectives to evil acts.
Jesus came to rescue us . He was the "human" sacrifice sent to pay the ultimate debt for the human sin of rebellion. From the very onset of His earthly ministry and mission, we see Him exercising dominion over the tempter.
His 40 days in the wilderness (as recorded in Matt 4) with the presence of the devil, reveals this fact. There was presented to Him, every temptation to complete the mission for which He was sent, under the power of darkness rather than in the Power of Heaven. His flesh was the point of challenge just like ours is today:
The carnal mind was presented an alternative
The carnal emotions were incited
The carnal body was hungry
Yet through it all, Jesus kept focus not only on the Will of God from the written Word, but on the Ways of God as well. God has His Will but also has a way that He desires His Will to be enacted by and through us.
The enemy of our soul has a will also, and he works through the flesh of the human to enact it. The devil' will hasn't changed. His rebellion and subsequent eviction from the "paradise" of his creation and the lost honor he once enjoyed as the most beautiful of all God' angels, is to destroy God's Beloved human and separate us from our Creator.
Jesus came to rescue us from that dark dominion of Satanic control by bringing us back to our original peace in relationship with our Father in Heaven. The Creator started off as a Father. Rebellion by the human turned Him into a "God", not as in ultimate Sovereignty, but as in relational distance, impossible to reach and impossible to understand. Since then, humanity has created and turned to many 'gods" yet, none but One, can be called "our Father".
Today, as I ponder the salvation of our souls, the rescue from the dominion of darkness and the Presence of the Holy One in my life, I see the need to surrender to His Lordship in all ways. Having the mind of Christ is imperative to gain the perspective I need over all the conflict I see.
As I counsel with the Holy Spirit of Wisdom, He tells me to surrender my emotions as well as my mind to the Lordship of Christ. I am emotionally devastated by all I see and I am "emotionally" motivated to act out of a hurting heart.
His sweet counsel today takes me to re-call the fruit of His Spirit in Galatians 5:22. When the situations of this life ratchet up the heat, and confuse the heart, I am to remember that He is the source of all my appropriate emotional reactions.
When anger builds up against human opponents who hurt and betray me and He manifests "uncommon love" (I.E that which is uncommon to man, under the circumstance) somehow God is Glorified. When circumstances close in and discouragement pays a visit but He manifest "uncommon joy" somehow God is Glorified. When the chaos is all around and yet He manifests to and through me "uncommon peace", somehow God is Glorified....and the list goes on.
The only way to explain this "fruit-filled" life is His Presence over-ruling my flesh. I am brought o the place of surrender after along night of wrestles. His mind in exchange for mine. His emotions in exchange for mine.
And then comes the sense of an "uncommon peace", and I know my Lord is smiling.
The Spirit is calling. Can you hear Him?
No comments:
Post a Comment