I do a lot of searching and reading on the internet. One of the Bible groups that I participate in did a discussion on Angels. With that came a paper a colleague wrote about the origin of angels and demons, because if we have angels, we also have demons, which prompted a search on my part to understand a little deeper. As I was searching and reading, I came across a webpage that said “Can a Christian be demon possessed?” So I proceeded to read. The author in summary, believes that in saying demons cannot possess a Christian is false security.
“I believe that this doctrine is a dangerous over simplification. It works on the behalf of demons. It makes no Biblical sense and it leaves the believer vulnerable and a demonic target. If they are right, and I am wrong, than no harm was done. But if I am correct, they have left themselves and thousands of believers defenseless and open to demonic attacks.”
He goes on to say that Satan went before the throne of God with Joshua and the Angel of the Lord (Jesus) in the Temple of God in Heaven.
"Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to oppose him.
And the Lord said to Satan, 'The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is it not a brand plucked from the fire? Zecharia 3:1."
He further states:
“It is said that the new believer becomes the temple of the Living God. That the Holy Spirit dwells in him or her. This is true, but if Satan can roam freely before the very Throne of God in heaven why is it that we falsely assume that he can not venture into the temple of man? On the contrary, we know that demons are defiant of authority and blasphemers. They love to tread their filth on holy ground. Satan goes boldly before the Throne.
What really needs to be analyzed here is the difference between being fully possessed by demons and partial demon possession and activities. In other words, a Christian can not be FULLY demon possessed as long as they remain a Christian, but may have many different kinds of demonic activities or demonic intrusions. A Christian may be visited in their outer court (flesh) or inner court (mind) but their sanctuary (spirit) is protected as long as they do not commit blasphemy of the Holy Spirit and reject Christ.”
I highlighted a little bit in the above paragraphs (and changed the font so you would know these are not my words) because the first is the sentence that struck me. The second, I tee totally dispute because once saved, always saved, period, end of discussion.
If Satan can roam around the throne of God freely, then why can he not roam around in Christian people? I thought about this and thought about this. On my way home from work, I was thinking and all of a sudden, I heard a voice. That voice said, “He can’t.” Simply put, Satan cannot roam around the Throne of God freely UNLESS God allows him. “Duh,” I thought, and then my soul rejoiced. Satan is under the supreme law just as everyone and everything else is. He does not have any authority except that which is given to him. He has to come to the throne of God and ask permission and he comes before the Throne of God to accuse. Satan was created by God; it is not the other way around.
In the Book of Job, did Satan not have to come to the Throne of God and ask permission to do all the things to Job? My best recollection is, he did. When Jesus was tempted by Satan, I believe it was his job (mandated by God Himself) to tempt our Savior so our Savior could experience what we as sinners go through.
Satan has been given a job to do and in his job he tempts, deceives, persecutes and accuses. As a Christian, we have our own job to do and we must fulfill it.
In summary, Satan is not able to do anything that God does not allow him to do. He cannot posses a Christian. He can and does put “stumbling blocks” and temptations in your path and lead Christians astray, but he cannot sit on the Throne of God in your heart. Because he cannot possess a person does not mean he is no less dangerous. He is a formidable foe and is not to be underestimated, but in comparison to my God and my Savior he is nothing.
The following Sunday I went to church and we sang the following song and then I thought, “wow, look how quickly God answered this question for me, and He even gave me a song to boot to support the Answer.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xPzTSpbYmk
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Thursday, November 20, 2008
A Joyful Giver
I am a warm weather person. I love nothing more than sunshine and the warmth of the sun on my skin. When autumn rolls around I tend to get in a blah mood. The lack of sunlight I believe plays a part in this; however, the Holidays tend to alleviate that mood and sparks the “Son’s light” within my heart that reminds me of the warm summer sun. I love the large family gatherings, I love decorating for Christmas and I love Christmas music. I know it sounds a bit hokey. It is November 20th and I’ve been listening to Christmas music for the past week and Thanksgiving is next week!
The Holiday season is the season that several various charities have their biggest fundraising campaigns. The Salvation Army will soon have their bell ringers out. Samaritan Ministries has their penny campaign well under way. Second Harvest Food Bank has had their collection boxes in various workplaces for employees to give non-perishable food items. Thank God for these charities and the many more that help people in need. Thank God for the people that take the time to contribute to the charities.
II Corinthians 9:6-7
6 But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.
7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity; for God loveth a cheerful giver.
Being a Christian is not taking the easy road a lot of times. The heart of a Christian is often times wounded. Wounded by the world, wounded by adversity, wounded by many other things and it’s easily wounded because it is soft and vulnerable. Not to say it’s not strong, no, but very tender from the many times it’s been touched. I’ve often heard and said such and such is “weighing heavily on my heart.” The heart of a Christian isn’t meant to be hard. It is like the sixth sense in that it feels certain emotions that the brain must then interpret. Things are supposed to touch a Christian in the heart because that is where Jesus is. If your heart is hard, you’re going to miss the message.
The good thing about having a tender heart is that it is pliable. Take for instance a piece of steak. You can take a meat tenderizer and hit that steak a whole bunch of times and it just gets more tender and it never falls apart. The more tender the steak, the better it is right? Take a piece of rock and hit with a hammer and slivers of rock are going to fly off and if you hit it just right, you might make it shatter. Luckily for the hard heart, one of God’s specialties is mending hearts.
The Bible has this to say about a hardened heart.
Psalm 95:8
8 Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness:
Proverbs 28:14
14 Happy is the man that feareth alway: but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief.
Mark 6:52
52 For they considered not the miracle of the loaves: for their heart was hardened.
(They could not hear or see what Jesus was doing because of their hard hearts)
Giving (whether it is money, time, etc.) to someone less fortunate than you, to charities, your church, your neighbor is something that as a Christian should be done joyful. To give grudgingly, cancels out your blessing from God and please note there’s a blessing at the end of verse 7, “…for God loveth a cheerful giver.” What a blessing to know that when you give to something freely and cheerfully, God says, “I love you.”
So while you are out and about doing your Christmas shopping, remember to give cheerfully in whatever you endeavor and you’ll be blessed by God in many different ways.
The Holiday season is the season that several various charities have their biggest fundraising campaigns. The Salvation Army will soon have their bell ringers out. Samaritan Ministries has their penny campaign well under way. Second Harvest Food Bank has had their collection boxes in various workplaces for employees to give non-perishable food items. Thank God for these charities and the many more that help people in need. Thank God for the people that take the time to contribute to the charities.
II Corinthians 9:6-7
6 But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.
7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity; for God loveth a cheerful giver.
Being a Christian is not taking the easy road a lot of times. The heart of a Christian is often times wounded. Wounded by the world, wounded by adversity, wounded by many other things and it’s easily wounded because it is soft and vulnerable. Not to say it’s not strong, no, but very tender from the many times it’s been touched. I’ve often heard and said such and such is “weighing heavily on my heart.” The heart of a Christian isn’t meant to be hard. It is like the sixth sense in that it feels certain emotions that the brain must then interpret. Things are supposed to touch a Christian in the heart because that is where Jesus is. If your heart is hard, you’re going to miss the message.
The good thing about having a tender heart is that it is pliable. Take for instance a piece of steak. You can take a meat tenderizer and hit that steak a whole bunch of times and it just gets more tender and it never falls apart. The more tender the steak, the better it is right? Take a piece of rock and hit with a hammer and slivers of rock are going to fly off and if you hit it just right, you might make it shatter. Luckily for the hard heart, one of God’s specialties is mending hearts.
The Bible has this to say about a hardened heart.
Psalm 95:8
8 Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness:
Proverbs 28:14
14 Happy is the man that feareth alway: but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief.
Mark 6:52
52 For they considered not the miracle of the loaves: for their heart was hardened.
(They could not hear or see what Jesus was doing because of their hard hearts)
Giving (whether it is money, time, etc.) to someone less fortunate than you, to charities, your church, your neighbor is something that as a Christian should be done joyful. To give grudgingly, cancels out your blessing from God and please note there’s a blessing at the end of verse 7, “…for God loveth a cheerful giver.” What a blessing to know that when you give to something freely and cheerfully, God says, “I love you.”
So while you are out and about doing your Christmas shopping, remember to give cheerfully in whatever you endeavor and you’ll be blessed by God in many different ways.
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