** Daniel 1 **
Verse 8
*
Daniel purposed in his
heart
that he would not
defile himself with. . .
the King's delicacies.
(King James Version)
(Amended)
******************************************************
Grace be unto you from me, my beloved Christian brothers & sisters. Let us through this fellowship once again, thanking God in allowing us to do so. Take out some time in your daily schedule to give Him praise for all he has done for you. Remember to keep God first in all you do in the upcoming week. Dear friends, I know some of you can remember a time when we could give someone a ride as they walked down the road. God has blessed some of you, like me, I am sure of it, as your car broke down, or you just had to walk, to bless you with a ride to your destination or close enough to get the help you needed. You might have come across a hitch-hiker, pulling over to pick them up, they sighed with relief, as some of their burden of traveling on foot was lessened, you were a blessing to them.
For this brings me to my topic this week:
(Satan)
(Unwanted Hitch-Hiker)
(Let Him Walk)
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Our Bible tells us,
The prophet Daniel & his three friends, were asked to eat food, that according to their religious faith, was ceremonially unclean. Seemingly to be just a little thing, but being obedient to God is never a little thing. Satan was not going to ride with Daniel & his friends. They had decided to obey God in everything. We are about to go into deep waters now, so put on your mental life preserver & stay with me. Ok!!!
**Can I Teach A Little**
Ok
*
Never allow Satan to ride with you in your mind or actions in your daily walk with Jesus. Satan is the deceiver, the adversary, the accuser, the tempter, the father of lies, the evil one. He is our arch-enemy. He is public criminal #1. Satan is a home-wrecker, a joy-robber, and a hope-smasher. He is an evil fiend obsessed with ruining all that is good and pure. He delights in maximizing our human misery. He steps on exposed raw human nerves and then laughs at our torment. Like a wolf going after the sheep, he's been tearing some of us to shreds, and it's time we all learn how to beat him off with a stick, using the whole armor of God. The bible says, that he goes around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
(I Peter 5:8)
The ancient sport of falconry used hawks or falcons in the pursuit of wild game. Sometimes this "educated predator" flew to high for human eye to see it. A hunter often carried a little bird called a "shrike", in watching this little bird's antics, the hunter could always tell where his hawk or falcon was, for the shrike feared the predators & would cock his head to keep them in view. You know, dear friends, we need an alert perception like the shrike, in detecting our enemy. It would be so nice if God alerted us with sirens, to warn us of Satan's attacks, but He does not, but as you read on,
you will armed to meet the onslaughts of Satan.
Amen
*
As Christians,
we have all the artillery needed to put him on the run.
(Ephesians 6:10-18)
Am I Right About It
*******
In
(II Corinthians 2:11)
Paul says we must be very careful
"in order that Satan might not outwit us".
For we are not unaware of his schemes.
Is that true of you? Are you aware of his schemes? Can you name a few of Satan's schemes? If not, then how can you successfully resist him? You can't. You need to first understand how he operates so you can anticipate his moves and thwart his attacks by standing firmly against his schemes.
The only person in all of history who ever consistently took a successful stand against Satan's schemes throughout his life was Jesus Christ. When he was on earth, Jesus put his finger squarely on the strategy and tactics of Satan in
(John 8:44)
when he called him a murderer and a liar. With those two key words, Jesus strips the devil bare of his disguises and openly exposes him for what he really is.
Satan is a murderer and a liar.
Satan's strategy is murder; he hates life. His goal is to destroy life by creating chaos and mutilate, whether by war, by abortion, by terrorism, by crime, or by suicide. It is the devil's delight to smash, blast, mangle, disfigure and destroy.
How does he do it? His tactic is lying; he hates truth. He seeks to destroy us by deceiving us through lies, illusions and distortions of the truth. As a murderer, he hates life. As a liar, he hates truth.
So, would you like to know Satan's most frequently used lies and schemes?
Thank You Lord
His first scheme is to make people believe he doesn't exist. That's pretty clever, isn't it? If you don't believe in him, he has a lot easier time tricking you into doing what he wants you to do, because he's like a camouflaged snake concealed in the grass. After all, if you don't think he exists, you'll just assume that all those evil thoughts are your own ideas.
A second scheme involves the occult, deceiving people through astrology, seances, spiritism, palm-readings and tarot
cards. They worship & put their whole trust in Satan's deceptions. A third scheme involves the ear-tickling heresies of the cults that reject God's grace and exalt human works for salvation. Satan likes it when people strongly hold to any religion that doesn't view Christ as our only Savior.
A fourth scheme involves the lure of selfish sexuality. He dangles flesh-pampering lust traps that make people drool with carnal desire, making them believe that true happiness and fulfillment is found in pornography and immorality and affairs.
A fifth scheme is to make you feel justified in holding on to anger and bitterness.
In
(Ephesians 4:26-27)
Paul warns us to not let the sun go down while we are still angry, lest we give Satan a foothold in our life, by exploiting our anger by fermenting it into the poisons of bitterness and resentment.
~~~Keep A Cool Head~~~
A sixth scheme, and probably Satan's favorite lie, is to simply encourage your natural self-centeredness, telling you to look out for #1, urging you to exalt yourself and serve yourself and pamper yourself with materialistic idolatry. Satan is the great high priest of the cult of self-centered conceit.
Seventh is the scheme of plaguing your mind with imaginary terrors and fears, pushing you to the point of thinking you're going crazy because you can't seem to escape your obsessive thoughts. Eighth is the scheme of discouragement which can demoralize you to the point of utter despair, making you so emotionally strung-out and miserable that you start wondering if suicide is viable way out. I pray no one in this group will ever think about taking their life, talk to someone, a minister, friend, or call on me, dear friends. The ninth scheme is to get you to wickedly slander other people. His tenth scheme is to promote rebellion against God-given authority.
How do you make sure that you, as a soldier for Christ, that you have the victory over Satan. God's strategy for your victory over Satan's schemes is that you stand strong in the Lord. That's it,
my beloved Christian brothers & sisters.
Just Stand Strong!
When you're tempted to be bitter and resentful - don't give in to it; choose to forgive and love again.
When you're tempted to be fearful or discouraged - stand strong in the hope and peace of the Lord.
When you're tempted to pursue sexual lust - stand firm in your purity and refuse to budge an inch.
When you're tempted to buy things that put you in debt- stand strong in your contentment in Christ.
Every time Satan wishes to hitch-hike,
your job is to stand strong.
Let Him Walk!!!!
~Am I Right About It~
My Dear Lord
**
O, dear friends this is such a great lesson to teach on, I could keep going. The spirit of God has blessed my soul in this lesson, I pray yours will be also. In every area of your life, family, job, friends, even in the church, where a lot of people pick up Satan on their way to church, showing in their actions. Do not pick him up, let him walk. Keep your mind & actions ever focused on what God has ordained you to do. We are ambassadors & our conduct should be worthy of the gospel. When Satan seems to need a ride in your life, remember you have the strength & power to say, No!!!. Use the word of God, stay steadfast in your walk with Jesus,
denying Satan a ride in your mind & actions, in that,
he shall flee from you.
(James 4:7)
To Resist Satan
Submit To His Enemy
Pray for one another in the uplifting of spirit & healing. If this has been a beacon of light for any of you or even if you wish to be opted from the group, please send me a note of that reflection, so that I shall delete your name, in that, I wish not to offend any of you.
May God always walk with you & you with God.
Peace
Don
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