eFax of Life from CBMC Heartland
A Weekly Inspirational Thought from Ken Korkow
Santa Claus & Satan
I don’t believe in Santa Claus. Halloween witches don’t scare me. And that Easter Bunny thing is pretty bogus. So – what about satan/the devil? Is he real? And if so – what are the implications?
I have friends who say they believe in God – but don’t believe in the existence of satan.
Originally – I found this way of thinking to be fascinating. Can there be an ‘up’ – without a ‘down’? An ‘in’ and no ‘out’? A ‘white’ – but no ‘black’? A ‘yes’ – but never a ‘no’? A ‘good’ – without a ‘bad’? A Holy Spirit but not an unholy spirit?
As I get older – I have substituted the word ‘ignorant’ for ‘fascinating’. When we do not recognize the existence of satan/the devil/the evil one – we are deceived/deluded/duped! We have fallen victim to one of his most effective tactics: He has beguiled us into believing there’s no devil. Thus – there’s no on-going spiritual war between good and evil, between the Heavenly Father and the father of lies. So, we waste our time re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic – rather than drawing near to God as Savior and Lord and being about His business – which will touch all eternity.
Then – we suffer the consequences of our ignorance and lack of obedience. By being open to the strategies of satan and in not knowing his limitations, we allow him to wreak needless havoc upon us and those over whom the Lord has given us stewardship influence.
C.S. Lewis makes the following observation: “There is not neutral ground in the universe; every square inch, every split second, is claimed by God and counterclaimed by satan.”
It has been that way since the creation of the world.
In the beginning – God created heaven and earth (Genesis 1:1). On the sixth day He created man – in His own image – and gave man dominion/authority over all creation (Genesis 1:26-31). Life was good and peaceful in the garden. Man and woman were naked. The mosquitoes didn’t bite. There was no I.R.S. tax code.
But the deceiver/satan sowed seeds of discontentment and doubt – enticing man to eat from the forbidden tree of knowledge of good and evil. Just as God had warned – the consequence of this sin was death. But as you read those first three chapters of Genesis – you’ll see it wasn’t physical death for Adam and Eve. It was worse! Their spiritual purity and one-ness with God died that day. Their dominion and authority died. And you and I lost our inheritance of that purity/one-ness/dominion/authority.
The first battle involving the free-will of man and the deception of the unholy spirit was over. satan won – and he had the prize of dominion/authority over the world. Peace and purity were gone. Jealousy and hate came. Mosquitoes started to bite. As did people and governments.
Why would God allow (in fact – design into His divine plan) evil? Because He wanted to allow you and me to have free choice. He could have created us as robots. Every three seconds you whirl three times and say ‘Praise God! Praise God! Praise God!’ Every five seconds I genuflect and say ‘Hallelujah!’ But where’s the genuine love in that? Such actions would only be meaningless programmed responses.
Ignorance can come from being stupid or naïve. I’m ignorant about many subjects (e.g. powder metallurgy, macro-economic theory, the latest Hollywood movies) and choose to remain so. But for those subjects that have a major influence on my life – which, with knowledge, I can control – I want to grow up in understanding.
Many churches are ready to talk about God, the Father and God, the Son. But few churches spend much time addressing that third part of the Trinity – God, the Holy Spirit. And very few teach on the strategies, limitations, and our power over – the unholy spirit.
Fasten your seat belt! Next week – Lord willing – we will go there. And as we learn and apply some Biblical principles – you’ll be amazed at what you see happen in your own life and the lives of those around you.
CBMC Heartland, 11/14/03
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