Tag Archives: Satan

Whose Agenda?

Bible Study, , , ,

WHOSE AGENDA?

“By this time we had lost a lot of time. We had passed the autumn equinox, so it would be stormy weather from now on through the winter, too dangerous for sailing. Paul warned, ‘I see only disaster ahead for cargo and ship — to say nothing of our lives! — if we put out to sea now.’

“But it was not the best harbour for staying the winter. Phoenix, a few miles further on, was more suitable. The centurion set Paul’s warning aside and let the ship captain and the ship-owner talk him into trying for the next harbour.

“When a gentle southerly breeze came up, they weighed anchor, thinking it would be smooth sailing. But they were no sooner out to sea than a gale-force wind, the infamous nor’easter, struck. They lost all control of the ship. It was a cork on the storm.” Acts 27:10-15 (The Message).

It would be natural and easy for us to read this account of Paul’s voyage from a purely human point of view. Winter on the Mediterranean was storm season and to venture out in a sailing ship was madness. The ship captain, ship owner and sailors all knew that. The centurion also knew it, although he was not a seasoned sailor. So why did they try to defy the natural order of things to continue their journey, knowing that disaster was inevitable?

Was it greed that drove them on? To get their cargo to its market meant more money for everyone. That’s logical. To remain in dock for the winter would mean less money — and extra expense for the centurion who had prisoners to feed and accommodate for several months.

Although they knew the conditions of the sea very well, the captain and the ship-owner were fooled into believing that the gentle breeze that was blowing at that moment was the foretaste of a smooth and uneventful voyage. They ignored Paul’s warning. After all, what did he know? He was a preacher, not a mariner! They had yet to learn that he had a hot-line that was prophetic and accurate because God was intimately involved in the destiny of His son, Paul. He had a date in Rome and it was up to the centurion and the ship to get him there safely.

But, as always, there was an enemy with his own agenda, at work in the situation. It was Satan’s plot, no doubt, to send the ship, its contents and it passengers to the bottom of the ocean to prevent Paul from ever delivering his message in Rome. Like his Master Jesus, when He was on a mission to deliver a demon-possessed man in the Gentile territory of the Gadarenes, a storm was a good way to get rid of the opposition. It did not matter that a few others not involved in Paul’s mission would perish with him.

It does not necessarily mean that Satan was responsible for creating the storm. Did he have the power to do that? But it does mean that he could easily influence men who did not have the Spirit of God to go against experience and their better judgement for the sake of money. It was not in their heart to heed the warning of a man of God. They chose to press on regardless, playing right into the hands of an unseen enemy.

But not only did the enemy have an agenda. God had one too. He had safely navigated Paul through the stormy seas of Jewish hatred, murderous plots, unjust trials, and vacillating Roman indecision. This was His opportunity to reveal His goodness to godless sailors and even to a heathen island tribe in spite of adverse weather and foolish decisions.

Does this not give us hope for ourselves as well? Through and because of these experiences Paul was able to write, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28

A Pathetic Hoax

Bible Study, , , ,

A PATHETIC HOAX!

“Finally, the town clerk got the mob quieted down and said, ‘Fellow citizens, is there anyone anywhere that doesn’t know that our dear city Ephesus is protector of glorious Artemis and her sacred stone image that fell straight out of heaven? Since this is beyond contradiction, you had better get hold of yourselves. This is conduct unworthy of Artemis. These men you have dragged here have done nothing to harm either our temple or our goddess.

“So, if Demetrius and his guild of artisans have a complaint, they can take it to court and make all the accusations they want. If anything else is bothering you, bring it to the regularly scheduled town meeting and let it be settled there. There is no excuse for what’s happened today. We’re putting our city in serious danger. Rome, remember, does not look kindly on rioters.’ With that he sent them home.” Acts 19:35-41 (The Message).

Good for you, town clerk! At least one person was thinking straight!

Was his speech tongue-in-cheek or did he really believe what he was saying? Any sober-minded person would realise that what these Ephesians believed was a lot of nonsense. But, you might ask, what’s the difference between the stone image of Artemis falling out of the sky and Jesus, the Son of God, being sent into the world by the Father? Isn’t it the same thing?

At face value it could be but for one major difference — proof! Long before it ever happened, God had foretold the events of Jesus’ coming. His prophets, over many centuries, wrote about the promised Messiah in such detail that it could never have been a hoax. Jesus was sent by the Father, became one of us, lived, acted and spoke as the perfect representative of the Father, was killed and rose from the dead with more than enough proof that He was who he said He was.

What about Artemis? If her image fell from the sky, what was the purpose of it? Did she come to rescue the human race from sin and death and restore us to fellowship with a holy and loving God? What was the fruit of the lives of those who worshipped her? If this mob was anything to go by, nothing wholesome or attractive. If she was the glorious goddess she was supposed to be, why did she need protection, anyway?

“The proof of the pudding is in the eating,” so the saying goes. As we have navigated the Book of Acts, a picture is emerging that we can see clearly, if we choose to. The Holy Spirit came upon the church, as Jesus had promised, on the day of Pentecost, giving the believers power to live and bear witness to lives changed from within. Peter, for example, a self-assured “motor-mouth”, became a humble witness to the power of the cross and resurrection of Jesus.

The other fearful and cowering disciples, hiding behind closed doors, were transformed into bold and fearless preachers of the message of the risen Lord. Saul, the Pharisee and ruthless persecutor of the church, became the Apostle Paul, traversing land and sea to tell the story of Jesus no matter what the cost.

Across the Roman Empire lives were being changed, one by one, because Jesus came from the Father, to reveal the Father and to reconcile us to the Father through His death and resurrection. No stone image falling from the sky could accomplish that! If that was the best lie Satan could produce to counterfeit the work of Jesus, it was a pathetic hoax!

Who Is Really Responsible?

Christian Life, , ,

WHO IS REALLY RESPONSIBLE?

“But Jesus shot back, ‘You frauds! Each Sabbath every one of you regularly unties your cow or donkey from its stall, leads it out for water and thinks nothing of it. So why isn’t it all right for me to untie this daughter of Abraham and lead her from the stall where Satan has had her tied these eighteen years?’ When He put it that way, His critics were left looking quite silly and red-faced. The congregation was delighted and cheered Him on.” Luke 13:15-17 (The Message).

Could the synagogue ruler have answered Jesus, ‘But my animals are not under the law of God like we are’? From his perspective he could have been right but Jesus never viewed life from the human perspective. That’s the difference between Him and us. Our logic is human. Jesus always thought God’s thoughts. The very essence of our new life in Christ is to learn to think God’s thoughts instead of our own.

“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – His good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:2 (NIV).

So what was Jesus’ perspective on this woman’s condition? Satan! He was the culprit. But, lest we assume that we are automatically Satan’s victims, we need to understand the way he works. Neither God nor Satan has any power over the gift God gave us – the freedom to make our own choices. We choose according to what we believe. God calls us to respond to truth while Satan works through deception.

In this woman’s case, somewhere in her life something happened that gave Satan his opportunity to sow lies into her mind. She believed his lies and emotional pain followed, which blocked out the truth of God’s love and caused her body to become as twisted as her mind.

Satan’s lies are always directed at discrediting us, other people and, eventually, God, resulting in feelings of fear, anger, rejection, insecurity, unforgiveness, bitterness and worthlessness which are the ideal breeding ground for demonic harassment. The devil’s ensnarement comes in the form of mental, emotional and physical bondage from which there is no escape except by diagnosing the lie and replacing it with the truth which, said Jesus, is the key to freedom.

People in this condition desperately long for someone to rescue them. There is not a person in the world who can do this except Jesus. He came from the Father to bring both grace and truth to His world. Only He can set captives free; no psychiatrist, psychologist nor counsellor can reveal the truth to the heart of the sufferer. No medication can cure the mind of the lies which hold people prisoner to mental and physical ‘illness’.

How tragic that our medical scientists, in their human ‘wisdom’, have chosen to bypass, ignore, and reject the only person who has the power to set people free, Jesus, who is the Prince of Peace. Every malady has a ‘diagnosis’ and is so catagorised that its real cause is masked by the name of some or other disorder. We are satisfied as long as we have a ‘diagnosis’ even if there is no ‘cure’. Our conditions are ‘managed’ while Jesus came to set captives free.

His anger was aroused by this heartless ‘religious’ man who saw more value in his animals than in a woman whom Jesus deliberately called ‘a daughter of Abraham’. She had has much right to freedom as the animals whom he faithfully led to water, even on the Sabbath, because was a member of God’s covenant people. Freedom from the shackles of emotional pain is the inheritance of believers in Jesus. Have you come to Him to set you free?