Photo Credits~

(owl:donaldthompson95 on flickr, luna:BillLepidoptera/harkphoto.com on flickr, willow/fence:trensamiro on flickr, all remaining: Merana Leigh)

Psalm 25:4-5

Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths;

guide me in your truth and teach me,


for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long (NIV)





Drench yourself in words unspoken, Live your life with arms wide open,

Today is where your book begins, The rest is still unwritten. ("Unwritten" by Natasha Beddingfield)





It matters not how long we live, but how!



Saturday, September 4, 2010

Satan's a genius....

I've come to the conclusion that Satan is a genius. Well ok, maybe not genius, but he sure does know each of us. Think about how many people there are in the world. And he figures out exactly what "gets" to us...each and every one of us (because we're all different). Just think about how much work that must be for him and his forces of darkness to prey upon us by attacking our soft underbelly...our weakness...

Perhaps your escape is .... or maybe this is where you find release...
most likely this is where you find comfort when the trials of life get to you...
... could be here ...
or the struggle with & constant preoccupation of this... or even the love of .... or worse yet, the pursuit of, with no regard for who gets hurt in the wake...
or maybe the fascination with this...or seeking it outside of marriage...

Whatever, the Prince of Darkness finds that gets you, really all any of it is, is just ...
a hook, a lure, to get us away from the life that Jesus wants to offer us, of the plans for hope and a future in Christ.

Satan creates within us ...

doubt...in those around us, in ourselves, that good can prevail, even in our faith-our foundational belief & trust in God's power over all situations;

fear...of the unknown, of harm, of risk, of stepping off the edge with uncertainty, even of "living";

longing...for better circumstances, for change, for those things we lack in our lives, even just to "let go" of something;

the list goes on...

And if we give in to these things, Satan wins..even if only for awhile. I can picture him just snickering, rubbing his hands together in conspiracy, saying "he-he-he, I got another one!" But this is where his genius turns to stupidity. It is here that his ego has taken over his faith. Yes you heard me, Satan's faith. He, and all his minions, know of God & fear Him. James 2:19 ~ You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that and shudder.

Then, he takes us to court to accuse us before the Throne. To which our Counsel simply says, "Your honor!",
opens his hands palm up, and the gavel comes down with a resounding "FORGIVEN!!"

Call your next case, Counselor (of which, there is a loooong line).

What is it they say about "genius"....it can drive you mad? I guess in this argument, it really is rather an oxymoron.

Even on our best day, abiding by the righteousness God put in our hearts, we're still sinners. We will always fall short! Thank you, Jesus...that when I mess up, when I'm tempted, when I display doubt or fear or longing, YOU are there to strengthen me ... more with each situation I face ... so that we don't even have to appear in court. And thank you, Jesus, for the times that we do, you've already received my sentence. Thank you that you're teaching me how to live instead of simply existing!
To you, my dear, precious Lord and Savior, be all the honor and glory that my life can display!

11 comments:

  1. Beautiful! The beginning of this pos brought The Screwtape Letters to mind.

    Taking just a brief break this morning,and I'm glad that I decided to take it here.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Merana,

    I love the visual aspect of this post, driving in every point with emphasis.

    I too am thankful that our Lord is teaching me how to live.

    Blessings and peace sis.

    MTJ

    ReplyDelete
  3. Very insightful post, Merana. How happy I am that Jesus takes us as we are and through His shed blood, we are made righteous. We could never measure up on our own.

    Blessings,
    Joan

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wow! What a powerful lesson with fantastic illustrations driving the message home. You should be a preacher. Well, I guess you are! Good job.

    ReplyDelete
  5. "Greater is He that is within us than he that is in the world."

    Jesus is our only hope!

    Yes, all the honor and all the glory go to him.

    Thanks, Merana!

    Sweet blessings to you,
    Dianne

    ReplyDelete
  6. What a beautiful lesson on the power of Satan but the far greater power of the Savior. Thank you for this blessing.
    Charlotte

    ReplyDelete
  7. WOW! What a powerful post. I am so thankful for the strength the Lord gives me each and everyday.

    ReplyDelete
  8. We need to know that what Satan throws at us doesn't define who we are. We can fid ourself of that darkness and become who we are meant to be. It's not permanent. There's always brightness and light.
    Weezer

    ReplyDelete
  9. Great pictures, Merana - and a very thought-provoking post. Satan may be clever, but as I wrote in one of my posts, he's still just that "parrot squawking" on my shoulder. He's good at getting to our weak spots, but we are not without weapons!

    I think when Jesus rose from the dead, the divine "gavel" pounded out the message - "It is DONE!" - and now, we can simply lean on the One who has already declared us "not guilty."

    PRAISE GOD!

    Blessings to you - have a great weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Great illustrations and powerful post!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I struggle with doubt a lot, thank you for giving us insight.
    God bless

    ReplyDelete

Those who care to share...