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When the devil first makes his appearance in scripture it is as a cunning serpent, who isolates Eve from community (with Adam and God) and deceives her with a slight twist of God’s word. He didn’t try to scare her into disobeying God. He didn’t oppose his will over her. He simply misleads her, and we have been deceived by Satan’s lies ever sense.
When it comes to the devil, there are two primary mistakes people often make. Either they don’t believe he exists, or they give him more credit and power than he deserves. But the devil is not God’s equal. In his book Live No Lies, John Mark Comer compares spiritual warfare not as two opposing armies of equal force, but as a disinformation campaign, in which the devil infiltrates our thoughts with lies, partial truths, and misinformation, causing us to veer off course. So how can we combat such a tactic? We must anchor ourselves in the truth.
Paul writes in his letter to the Thessalonians: Do not put out the Spirit’s fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil. - 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22. He says test EVERYTHING. Hold on to the good. We must turn our mind to the word we know to be true. When Satan came to tempt Jesus, Jesus didn’t get into a debate with the devil over his interpretation of scripture. He didn’t try to convince Satan he was wrong. Instead, Jesus redirected his thoughts with Scripture. He tested Satan's word against God’s, and he held on to the good.
We need to fill our minds with God’s promises. We need to hang on to the good, not just what we hope to be true, but the truth of God’s promises to us. Toby Mac shared the difference well as he reflected on the loss of his son Truett (You can watch the interview with JOY FM here). He tells the story of an encounter he had with another man who lost his son in a car accident. When Toby’s son died, this man encouraged him to hold on “to something you can trust, a promise of God….but just make sure that what you hold on to is an actual promise of God.” God didn’t promise we wouldn’t have heartache. God didn’t promise to spare us from going through a hard time, but God does promise He will never leave us nor forsake us. Redirecting our mind to the promise will help us defeat the lies we are so tempted to live.
Do not put out the Spirit’s fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil. - 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22
In Christ's Service,
Pastors Gordon
PS - What happened to Facebook Live? - Unfortunately streaming to facebook live has encountered a number of struggles we have been trying to work through. Due to the inconsistency of facebook live working properly we have stopped streaming for the moment and have been uploading the service shortly after 11am. You can watch the service on our Youtube channel typically shortly after 11 am. If you have a smart TV with the Youtube app it is a great way to watch the service and other content. Be sure to subscribe for an easy convenient way to watch. We are sorry for the inconvenience.
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Wednesdays are back! - January 12th
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