Tag Archives: religion

Stand Up and Fight Back–Book Review

Empower-StandUpStand Up and Fight Back: How to Take Authority over Satan and Win was written by New York Times best-selling author Ken Abraham. I had heard of this author, but never read any of his material. Since I write extensively about spiritual warfare as well as teaching about it in church, the title immediately caught my attention and I knew I’d need to read it.

In Stand Up and Fight Back, the author shows us how we can recognize Satan’s constant attacks in our lives, how we can protect ourselves, and how to draw on the power of the Holy Spirit to defeat our greatest Enemy. Personally I feel as if the author delivered on most of these counts fairly well.

First of all, I was happy to see this book because I believe the topic of spiritual warfare is grossly underrated in the church community. Generally we like to talk about the armor of God with no real intent to use it daily. I believe Ken Abraham does an excellent job addressing the need for Christians to wake up and realize, whether they like it or not, they are under attack.

I was particularly pleased with the author’s insight into the familiar story of Adam and Eve. Having been in church most of my life and read an extensive amount of material on spiritual warfare, I cringed a bit when I started reading, again, about Adam and Eve. However, I was quite surprised at how much I learned from Abraham’s perspective of what happened in the Garden of Eden. He managed to take an overused story and bring it to life, shedding new light on old truths. I thought this area of the book was brilliantly written and well explained. I have to admit, I learned a great deal from it.

The author also uses thought-provoking illustrations throughout the book, many of which enhanced my understanding of familiar truths. One topic in particular stood out to me: repentance. This is something very few writers mention when dealing with spiritual warfare, but something Ken Abraham wisely addressed. In order to effectively fight against Satan and his cohorts, we must first come to God with an attitude of repentance. This is, of course, a biblical mandate (see Psalm 66:18) of which few teachers like to talk about. Before we can take authority over evil spirits, our lives must be cleansed of known sin and be in agreement with God, otherwise we can claim all the authority we want with little success. Confession should always be the first step when we approach God’s throne, whether we’re dealing with spiritual warfare or not. Thank you, Ken Abraham, for highlighting this important truth.

My only critique of this book is the author’s focus on the “big” sins: sexual promiscuity, drugs, alcohol, and involvement with the occult. Obviously these things are deadly and allow Satan a beachhead (foothold) in our lives. BUT, they are not the only areas of oppression the devil uses. Countless believers are daily living under accusation and oppression from demonic spirits who have successfully lulled them into complacency over their spiritual lives. I wish the author had offered more examples of the “every-day” battles common to most believers. I fear some may read this and get the idea that, because they have never struggled with the “big” sins, they are free and clear. This is not the case! Satan can and does attempt to deceive and mislead us in the mundane issues of life.

Overall I really did enjoy this book and learned some new things, so I would definitely recommend it to anyone wanting to understand how Satan could be working in their lives and how they can combat the Enemy with the truth.

Stand Up and Fight Back was released by Charisma House on February 5th, 2013 and is currently available for purchase. I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review. The opinions here are strictly my own.

Discerning the Devil’s Voice: Who is Satan?

 

One of the most important aspects of fighting spiritual warfare is the ability to recognize Satan’s voice when we hear it. And by voice I am not referring to an audible sound that resonates through our ear canal and bounces off our ear drum. I’m referring to a thought strategically placed in our minds. The same place where our own thoughts originate, like, “I want pizza for lunch,” or “I’m tired, I think I’ll take a nap.” (Click here for a more in-depth discussion on the Voice of the Flesh)
Satan’s voice: Incomplete truths, deceptions, schemes, tricks, lies, temptations, partial Scripture quotes taken out of context to support a view that is opposed to God (see Matthew 4:1-11).

Satan’s Bio

Liar:
“He was a murderer from the beginning and has always hated the truth. There is no truth in him. When he lies he is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8:44, NLT)

Did you catch that important phrase? When he lies he is consistent with his character. In other words, it is impossible for Satan to tell a complete truth. Maybe he can spew some half-truths, but as we know, a half-truth isn’t really the truth. It is a lie or a deception. Just as God can only act according to His character (holy, loving, just…etc.), Satan can only act according to his character (lie, deceive, accuse…etc.).

Destroyer:
“The thief’s purpose is to steal, kill, and destroy.” (John 10:10, NLT)

Any thought Satan (or his demons) place in your head has this purpose, to destroy you, steal from you, or kill you (physically or spiritually). While Satan cannot snatch us from our Father’s loving hand (see Romans 8:38-39), he can render us spiritually dead, or ineffective for the cause of Christ. Nothing pleases our enemy more than seeing us stumble around in a fog of confusion over our purpose and place as children of God.

Powerful Controller:
“The world around us is under the power and control of the evil one.” (1 John 5:19, NLT)

We know from passages like Job 1 that Satan is limited in power to only what God has allowed him to have. So we need not have an exceptional, hysterical fear over what Satan and his minions can do. However, we should take note of and respect the power that he does have over world forces. Why else would Satan be able to offer Jesus the kingdoms of the world (see Matthew 4:8-9) if they did not belong to him? He controls the world (as God allows)—albeit temporarily. Nevertheless, until Jesus returns and sets up His kingdom on earth, binding Satan for a thousand years, we will continue to see the work of the devil not only in our own lives (as he tempts us, speaks to us, accuses and oppresses us) but also in the world systems controlled by unbelievers.

Deceiver:
“Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” (Revelation 12:9, KJV)

One of Satan’s chief purposes is to deceive. Of course, one of the subtleties of deception is the deceived usually don’t recognize that they’re being deceived—hence the term, deception! If we think it will be easy to detect demonic influence, we are wrong. It won’t always be easy, and once Satan sees in our behavior that we are on to his schemes, he will try new ways to trick us. This is one of the reasons why putting on the armor of God daily is imperative to our spiritual health.

Life is not a joke to Satan. He knows what the Bible says, in fact, having been around for thousands of years we can be certain he knows the Bible better than we do. He knows what it says about his future, and he knows what it says about us, as God’s creation. We have authority over Satan, and he knows it. Rest assured, he’s not looking at us and laughing it up. A book I read recently says this: “Satan has you in his cross-hairs, and he’s not smiling.” He wants to destroy us in any way possible.

So, the first step in recognizing Satan’s voice is in understanding what his character is. When you hear “thoughts” you can test them against what we’ve already discussed (God’s Voice, the Flesh, or Satan) and see which voice the thought seems to line up with. For example, one thing I often hear, almost daily, is a thought that goes something like this, “God can control everything, and yet He is allowing this to happen. He’s not listening to your prayers anymore. He gets pleasure in seeing you suffer.” Sometimes it is easy to entertain such thoughts because there is partial truth to them. (God does indeed control everything and certainly could stop whatever is happening even though He has chosen not to.) However, it’s not enough to ignore these thoughts—we must rebuke them and reinforce the truth in place of that lie. If we fail to take this step, we are only leaving ourselves open to new attacks of a similar nature. (More will be discussed on this in the next post.)

I’m sure you can think of similar thoughts too. What sort of deceptions has the enemy consistently hounded you with over the years, either through your own thoughts or the words of others?

Still have questions? Check out these posts for more:

Is Spiritual Warfare real?

What’s the difference between the flesh and Satan?

Can Satan’s influence affect children?

**If you enjoyed this post and others, please take a second to enter your email address into the space provided on the right hand side of the computer screen (or scroll to the bottom of your screen if using a smartphone) and you will receive new posts in your email inbox. This is absolutely free and your information is never shared!**

_____________________________________________________

profilepic3Rebecca Aarup has written devotionals/studies/articles for a variety of publications including The Secret Place (Judson press), Evangel (Light and Life Communications), and Mustard Seed Ministries. She just released a new Bible Study The Word: Six Lessons from Psalm 119 which is available as a free download on her website or in print form from Amazon. Beyond writing, Rebecca is a wife, home-schooling mom, and Bible student at Liberty University. She lives in Glendale, Az with her husband Chris and 5 year old, Samantha.  You can read more from Rebecca by subscribing to her blog (it’s free) and following her on twitter and facebook.

Angelguard–Book Review

AAGbook3d1ngelguard is a fictional novel written by Ian Acheson. I don’t normally read/review fiction, but when the author, Ian, approached me I could hardly resist, seeing as the theme of this book was spiritual warfare. I have to admit, for someone who is not into fiction that much, I had a heck of a time putting this book down. The plot was riveting from start to finish.

It all begins in London when a horrific bomb attack annihilates an entire football stadium full of fans. Shortly after, Los Angeles and Sydney experience similar attacks which take the lives of thousands. But this isn’t your typical terrorist attack. No, the plot is much deeper than that.

One of the main characters, Jack Haines, who survived the Sydney attack, finds himself at the center of a treacherous murder plot to take out the heads of the major rulers of the various countries around the world. But the battle he faces is not only in the physical realm, because as a Christ-follower, Jack understands the battle is also being fought in the spiritual realm.

Will Jack, with the aid of a few close friends, be able to stop this plan before it’s too late? Will the prayers of Christians from around the world be enough to rally the angelic host in victory over the forces of Satan? Or will one evil man’s greedy desires be enough to bring about a devastating loss of world leaders while ushering in a new world-wide state of chaos and destruction?

Overall I really enjoyed Angelguard, especially the scenes where angels and demons are being portrayed. The author did an excellent job of giving us, as the readers, and idea of what could take place in the unseen spiritual realm. The hardest part about reading a book like this, though, was the striking similarity in the portrayal of angels and demons found in Frank Peretti’s books, Piercing the Darkness and This Present Darkness, both of which I have read several times. It’s hard to separate them in my mind because Peretti’s books are practically the standard for writing such a spiritual tale. It’s a tall order to fill, which is probably why few have attempted it.

Obviously I enjoyed the book because I read it in only a few days, despite my hectic schedule. So, it definitely passed the test, as far as I’m concerned. However, I can’t give a fair review without mentioning the things I had problems with (which were very few). I’m hardly the expert on fiction writing, so take this opinion with a grain of salt; I probably don’t know what I’m talking about as much as a die-hard fiction reader would.

There were two things I guess you could say I didn’t care for. One was the use a few words that I believe could have been left out while still retaining the necessary dynamic the scene called for. The book isn’t littered with language by any means, in fact, there were only two scenes where questionable words were used (and what many may not even consider “bad” words), but nonetheless, I have to be honest and admit it bothered me a little coming from a Christian book, even though the verbiage was pretty tame compared to what you’d probably hear in a real-life scenario.

The other issue I had was with the ending. The book maintained such a high-action, page turning script that when all of a sudden it was over, I found myself asking, “What just happened, how did they do that?” Still, despite these two issues, I enjoyed the book a great deal, and would highly recommend this book to others who enjoy a fast-paced, action packed fiction read. The positive aspects of this book far outweigh the negative, so please don’t let my honesty in this review discourage you from buying the book. A lot of it has to do with personal taste as well.

The author has more books in the series coming out, and I will certainly be in line to buy them. If you enjoy fiction, do yourself a favor and grab this one up (buy it now on Amazon), I am sure this is only the beginning of a great new series of books. And while you’re at it, follow Ian’s blog, he’s a fantastic writer!

(I received a complementary copy of Angelguard in exchange for my honest review. The opinions expressed here are completely my own and have not been coerced in any way.)

IanAIan Acheson works as a freelance strategy consultant. he and his wife, Fiona, live in Sydney, Australia with their two sons. Visit his website at www.ianacheson.com.

 

 

 

___________________________________________________

profilepic3Rebecca Aarup is an author and freelance writer. She is a health columnist for The Christian Online Magazine, creater of S.E.R.V.A.N.T. Sisters online women’s ministry, and has written devotionals/studies/articles for a variety of publications including The Secret Place (Judson press), Evangel (Light and Life Communications), and Mustard Seed Ministries. She just released a new Bible Study The Word: Six Lessons from Psalm 119 which is available as a free download on her website or in print form from Amazon. Beyond writing, Rebecca is a wife, home-schooling mom, and Bible student at Liberty University. She lives in Glendale, Az with her husband Chris and 5 year old, Samantha.  You can read more from Rebecca by subscribing to her blog (it’s free) and following her on twitter and facebook._____________________________________________

 

Living Free Life Group–Notes and Quotes

Remember:

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; Jesus has come so that I may have life, and have it to the full.” John 10:10

Know the Enemy:

(What do the following Scriptures say about our Enemy?)
John 8:44
John 10:10
1 John 5:19
Revelation 12:9

The Supernatural Truth:

(What do the following Scriptures reveal about the existence/relevance of a supernatural realm?)
Ephesians 6:10-12
Romans 8:38-39
1 Peter 3:22
Colossians 1:16
1 Corinthians 10:20, 21

Highlighters:
“Psychotherapeutic ministries that ignore the reality of the spiritual world don’t have an adequate answer, but neither do some deliverance ministries that see the problem as only spiritual. God is reality, and He relates to us as whole people—and His Word provides a comprehensive answer for all those who live in this fallen world.” The Bondage Breaker, pp.9-10

~
“If God has given us everything we need to mature in Christ (2 Peter 1:3), then why aren’t more Christians growing in Christ? Some are no more Christlike now than they were 20 years ago. Paul says, ‘The goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith’ (1Timothy 1:5). We should be able to say every year of Christian life, ‘I have grown in my faith, and now I love God and others more this year than I did last year.’ If we can’t say that, then we are not growing.” The Bondage Breaker, pg.10

~
“The father of lies can block your effectiveness as a Christian if he can deceive you into believing that you are nothing but a product of your past—subject to sin, prone to failure, and controlled by your habits.” The Bondage Breaker, pg. 11
“We are not trying to become children of God; we are children of God who are becoming like Christ.” The Bondage Breaker, pg. 12

~
“Why would Satan want to attack your mind? Because your mind is the part of the image of God where God communicates with you and reveals his will to you.” Warren Wiersbe, The Strategy of Satan

~
“When [we] have an opportunity to serve the Lord in some way, [we] are brought up short by discouraging thoughts of self-doubt: ‘I’m not a strong enough Christian’; ‘I don’t know enough about the Bible’: or ‘I don’t have many spiritual gifts.’” The Bondage Breaker, pg. 18

~
“There is no inner conflict which is not psychological, because there is never a time when your mind, emotions, and will are not involved. Similarly, there is no problem which is not spiritual. There is no time when God is not present.” The Bondage Breaker, pg.21

~
“The Bible [does not] refer to any time when it is safe to take off the armor of God. As long as we are living on planet earth, the possibility of being tempted, accused, or deceived is continuous.” The Bondage Breaker, pg.21

~
“If we aren’t susceptible to being wounded or trapped by Satan, why does Paul describe our relationship to the powers of darkness as a wrestling match?” The Bondage Breaker, pg. 22

~
“Most deceived Christians lead relatively normal lives while experiencing personal and interpersonal problems for which no cause or solution has been found. Since they relegate satanic involvement only to cases of mass murders or violent sex criminals, these ordinary problem-plagued individuals wonder what’s wrong with them and why they can’t just ‘do better.’” The Bondage Breaker, pp.22-23

~
“It is not the few raving demoniacs who are causing the church to be ineffective, but Satan’s subtle deception and intrusion into the lives of ‘normal’ believers.” The Bondage Breaker, pg.23

~
“Freedom from spiritual conflicts and bondage is not a power encounter; it’s a truth encounter. Satan is a deceiver, and he will work undercover at all costs. But the truth of God’s Word exposes him and his lie.” The Bondage Breaker, pg.23

~
“Man’s wisdom is no match for Satan’s cunning. Our only defense is the inspired Word of God.” Warren Wiersbe, The Strategy of Satan

~
“You don’t have to outshout [Satan] or outmuscle him to be free of his influence. You just have to out-truth him. Believe, declare, and act upon the truth of God’s Word, and you will thwart Satan’s strategy.” The Bondage Breaker, pg.24

~
“Power for the believer comes in knowing and choosing the truth. We are to pursue truth, because we already have all the power we need in Christ (see Ephesians 1:18-19).” The Bondage Breaker, pg.24

~
“The believer’s mind should become like a ‘spiritual computer.’ It should be so saturated with Scripture that when he faces a decision or a temptation, he automatically remembers the Scriptures that relate to that particular situation. It is the ministry of the Holy Spirit to bring God’s Word to our minds when we need it.
‘But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.’ John 14:26 But the Spirit of God cannot remind you of something that you have not learned! You must first let him teach you the Word. You must memorize the Scripture that he opens up to you. Then the Spirit of God will be able to remind you of what you have learned, and you can use that truth to battle Satan. Please keep in mind that Satan knows the Bible far better than we do! And he is able to quote it!” Warren Wiersbe, The Strategy of Satan

~
“When Paul talks about the spiritual battle of the heavenlies, he is not referring to some distant place like Mars or Pluto. He is referring to the spiritual realm, the kingdom of darkness that is all around us and governed by the ruler of this world.” The Bondage Breaker, pg.31

~
“Even modern medicine proclaims that the majority of people are sick for psychosomatic reasons. To say there is no spiritual basis for those psychosomatic reasons is biblically unwarranted.” The Bondage Breaker, pg.33

~
“Jesus doesn’t enter the battle; he’s already won it. He occupies the throne and graciously offers to share it with us. But for some deceptive reason, we want to be king and rule our own lives. Until we deny ourselves that which was never meant to be ours—the role of being God in our lives—we will never be at peace with ourselves or with God, and we will never be free.” The Bondage Breaker, pg.39

~
“Seeking to overcome self by self-effort is a hopeless struggle. Self will never cast out self, because an independent self which is motivated by the flesh still wants to be god.” The Bondage Breaker, pg.40

~
“Satan’s ultimate lie is that you are capable of being the god of your own life—and his ultimate bondage is the attempt to live as though his lie were truth.” The Bondage Breaker, pg.42

~

Survey:
Please answer the following questions, not according to what you think you should answer, but according to how you have operated your spiritual life up until today.

How often do you put on the armor of God (see Ephesians 6:10-18)?
1      2      3      4      5      6      7      8      9      10
Never            Sometimes                             Daily

I need to put on the armor of God every day.
1           2           3           4           5           6           7           8           9           10
Strongly Disagree             Somewhat Agree                                  Strongly Agree

Scripture memorization is vital to my spiritual health. (Your answer should reflect your current actions regarding this belief–do you make a point to memorize Scripture consistently?)
1           2           3           4           5           6           7           8           9           10
Strongly Disagree                Somewhat Agree                               Strongly Agree

_______________________________________________________

If you would like to receive our life group notes via word document, please email me and I will send them to you: babyaarup@hotmail.com

If you enjoyed this post and others, please enter your email in the space provided on the right hand side of your screen (or at the bottom of your screen if using a smart phone) to receive new posts in your email. It’s free and your email information is NEVER shared!

_______________________________________________________

Rebecca Aarup is an author and freelance writer. She is a health columnist for The profilepic3Christian Online Magazine, creater of S.E.R.V.A.N.T. Sisters online women’s ministry, and has written devotionals/studies/articles for a variety of publications including The Secret Place (Judson press), Evangel (Light and Life Communications), and Mustard Seed Ministries. She just released a new Bible Study The Word: Six Lessons from Psalm 119 which is available as a free download on her website or in print form from Amazon. Beyond writing, Rebecca is a wife, home-schooling mom, and Bible student at Liberty University. She lives in Glendale, Az with her husband Chris and 5 year old, Samantha.  You can read more from Rebecca by subscribing to her blog (it’s free) and following her on twitter and facebook.

ATTACK!

clouds-lightening 001

“Rebecca, it wouldn’t happen any other way. Satan does not want your freedom, and he will attack it. Get ready, because it will only get worse. Be prepared, stay in the truth!” My friend, Steve, reminded me recently.

I told him of an upcoming Life Group I’d be leading on spiritual warfare and again he emphasized the importance of keeping my eyes on Jesus, His word, and what was true. Attack was inevitable.  Attack was an understatement. If there is one thing Satan cannot stand, it is believers understanding their position in Christ and taking an active stand against his lies. He wants the Church to be ignorant of his plans. Sure, people can go to church, study their Bible, and teach classes, but as long as they ignore him, he’s fine with all of that other religious stuff.

On Sunday (February 10th) this new Life Group on spiritual warfare will be launched at New Life Community Church. I’ll also be sharing with you, faithful readers, our study notes and discussion topics as we go, but let me first share with you a few of the things that have happened between the time I believed God called me to lead this group, and today, just 24 hours shy of the group’s first meeting.

Distraction:

In the last two months I’ve had an unusually difficult time focusing during prayer—or even getting to prayer in the first place. For someone who talks/writes about the importance of putting on the armor of God, that might surprise you. But it shouldn’t. Satan wants to attack the area that I use to fight against him, which is putting on the armor of God through prayer. I couldn’t possibly describe each event here, but the attack on my prayer life has been a daily occurrence. I can sense a force that tries to keep me from my time with Jesus.

Fear:

Being afraid of the devil is not something I would have admitted to under any circumstances a few weeks ago. If anything, I would have blown off the devil as a nuisance and nothing more. But today I recognize more clearly his power and how desperately he really does want to destroy me (and all believers). On the same note, I understand he can only do what God has allowed him to do.

About three weeks ago, while my husband was working out of town, someone tried to break into our home at around 12:30am. A friend had taken me to see a show earlier that evening, so by the time I picked up Samantha from the sitter and arrived home it was close to 11:00pm. So, I happened to still be awake at the time of this incident. When the noise first started, I was confused. “Am I hearing what I think I’m hearing?” As it continued I knew what was happening. Fear gripped my heart. It was a fear I had never in my life experienced, and something of which cannot be described in any adequate terms. My body physically reacted with shaking, sweat, and scrambled thoughts.

“He stole my security,” I told Steve the next day in an email. But Steve was good to remind me of the truth. Satan cannot steal anything from me–he can only take what I give him.  Since this attack, fear has been a new companion in my life, one I have had to pray against repeatedly. I can almost hear the Enemy’s voice, “So you think you know about me, huh? Let me show you what I can do.”

Yes, Jesus has already defeated Satan, and yes, through Christ we already have victory. But, we still need to fight his attacks (see Eph 6:10-18, 1 Pet. 5:8)! Satan will use any means necessary to disable us, especially the things we think we’ve conquered. (In my case, physical fear had never been a major issue in my life, so I had rarely given it a second thought.)

Visions:

Yes, you read that right—visions (and if you knew my denominational background you would understand how unusual this is). Only once before had I ever personally encountered a demon in the physical realm (that’s for another post on another day, though). But in the last two months I have seen, on more than one occasion, demons appearing in my home. Now, I’m not talking about a physical thing that I could touch, but rather an image in my mind. Unlike the experience of the home intrusion, these visions did not create a reaction of fear but of doubt. Each time I would “see” a demon I would immediately pray against it and focus on God’s word. But the visions have continued not only in the form of demons but in dreams.

My sleep has often been interrupted with disturbing images from the past–sinful behaviors, etc. I wake up with waves of doubt over my calling as a Christian, my competence as a teacher, and my effectiveness as a servant in Christ’s kingdom. These thoughts, visions, and dreams have left behind a residue, a sticky film that is difficult to eliminate. It is, yet again, another attack I have had to fight off.

And there have been many other attacks (marriage, financial, relational, physical…etc), but this post is already too long to list them all. I do, however, want to make one thing clear in all of this. I have not shared these experiences to bring an unhealthy attention to Satan, but  rather to show that when we are in God’s will, when we are attempting to follow His plan, Satan will oppose it. And if you are not recognizing any attacks from your enemy, you might want to reevaluate some things in your life. If you are walking with Jesus, Satan is going to attack you. We don’t need to be afraid of him but we do need to understand his hatred towards us as we daily fight against his fiery arrows.

What type of opposition have you encountered as you’ve been led by God to serve in a ministry or in some other area?

 

________________________________________________________

profilepic3Rebecca Aarup is an author and freelance writer. She is a health columnist for The Christian Online Magazine, creater of S.E.R.V.A.N.T. Sisters online women’s ministry, and has written devotionals/studies/articles for a variety of publications including The Secret Place (Judson press), Evangel (Light and Life Communications), and Mustard Seed Ministries. She just released a new Bible Study The Word: Six Lessons from Psalm 119 which is available as a free download on her website or in print form from Amazon. Beyond writing, Rebecca is a wife, home-schooling mom, and Bible student at Liberty University. She lives in Glendale, Az with her husband Chris and 5 year old, Samantha.  You can read more from Rebecca by subscribing to her blog (it’s free) and following her on twitter and facebook.

Meet the Scapegoat

I had the wonderful privilege of guest-posting on Encourage 365 today. I hope you’ll check it out and let me know what you think!

_____________________________________________________

escapegoat(photo courtesy of The Denver Post)

“The goat chosen to be the scapegoat will be presented to the Lord alive. When
it is sent away into the wilderness, it will make atonement for the people.”
Leviticus 16:10

     Aaron was a godly priest, though he certainly had his setbacks (uh, need a golden calf anyone?). Apparently his two sons, Nadab and Abihu, chose to hang on to their daddy’s example of idolatry rather than his example of worshipping the one True God (sometimes our mistakes come back to haunt us).

     In Leviticus 10, we read about the sin which caused Nadab and Abihu to literally be smoked off the planet by a just and holy God. Fast forward to chapter 16 and now Aaron is instructed on how to make atonement for their sins, as well as the sins of the Israelites.
     For the most part I think we’re used to hearing the term “Scapegoat” in a negative light, usually we say someone is a scapegoat when they take the blame for someone else, otherwise known as being the fall guy. We don’t really want to be the scapegoat, do we? But in Leviticus 16:10 we see the true definition of a scapegoat…..
_________________________________________________________
profilepic3Rebecca Aarup is an author and freelance writer. She is a health columnist for The Christian Online Magazine, creater of S.E.R.V.A.N.T. Sisters online women’s ministry, and has written devotionals/studies/articles for a variety of publications including The Secret Place (Judson Press) and Mustard Seed Ministries. She just released a new Bible Study The Word: Six Lessons from Psalm 119 which is available as a free download on her website or in print form from Amazon. Beyond writing, Rebecca is a wife, home-schooling mom, and Bible student at Liberty University. She lives in Glendale, Az with her husband Chris and 5 year old, Samantha. You can read more from Rebecca by subscribing to her blog (it’s free) and following her on twitter and facebook.

Discerning the Devil: In Childhood

We’ve already discussed how to discern the voice of the flesh, now it’s time to talk about the voice of the devil. This is a loaded topic, so we may discuss this for several posts to come. Let’s review what we’ve discovered about Satan’s voice so far.

Satan’s voice: Incomplete truths, deceptions, schemes, tricks, lies, temptations, partial Scripture quotes taken out of context to support a view that is opposed to God (see Matthew 4:1-11).

It sounds so simple, but that is part of the great deception of our Enemy. If Satan was holding a play by play book of strategies in his hand, probably one of the first things he’d have written down would be, “Get them to think I am nothing to be concerned with. Get them to focus on every Scripture passage except the one’s that talk about me and my work. As long as they don’t care about me, fight me, or acknowledge me, my task will be much easier.”

And if you happen to be one of the minority, that is, one of the few Christians who actively fight the spiritual war (by active, I mean daily), you’ve probably been labeled by other believers as a fanatic. I wish it were true, I wish I was just an over-zealous spiritual warfare junky-fanatic. But that’s simply not the case. I believe the Bible is truth, and when it talks about the Enemy, that is just as true and important as what it says about developing the fruits of the Spirit or any number of other spiritual growth subjects. I don’t know this is true by experience only (for we can never trust our experiences alone as truth), but I know this to be true because of what the word of God says AND my experiences with that truth.

In my book, Like a Lost Sheep: Life through the Eyes of a Prodigal, I talk extensively about the voice of the devil and how it played a role in my childhood and the way I interpreted events. It’s important to note that Satan doesn’t wait until we are “all grown up” to attack us. His lies often begin to infiltrate our thinking when we’re children, before we’ve probably ever been taught anything about fighting a spiritual war.

“Jesus told the Jewish men of his time, who thought they were children of God simply because they were Abraham’s descendants, “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” The Bible is clear about Satan; he is a liar and he is actively fighting against the Church (see 1 Peter 5:8-9, Ephesians 6:10-18, 2 Corinthians 2:10-11). Do you think he has enough manners to wait until we are adults to take aim and fire his weapons at us? Not a chance. From the moment we are born, the greatest Enemy of God has sought to destroy His most prized creation: man. If Satan can’t have our soul, he will at least try to ruin our testimony and affect in Christ’s kingdom. And he doesn’t sit back and wait until we recognize what he is doing, or we are old enough to understand. Satan is merciless, and he wants to destroy us.”

     So, in what ways might we have heard Satan’s voice when we were children? (This is important to think about and uncover, because often the lies we’ve believed as children affect the choices we make as adults.)

Think back to a painful childhood event, what were some of the things you “thought” at the time? I’ll give an example from my life. As an overweight child plagued with severe acne, I was teased quite a bit, not just from peer groups, but from my own family members. Every time I experienced the shame of teasing, I thought, “I am not good enough. I am ugly. No one loves me. I am alone. I am worthless.” Do you see how these thoughts differ a great deal from the voice of the flesh, which is rooted in pride?

Satan is merciless, he doesn’t care how old we are, and he takes every opportunity to hammer his lies into our psyche. Because if we believe, for instance, that we are worthless, we will probably make choices in our lives that reflect that belief.  In order to gain an upper hand in this Great War we fight as believers, the first step we need to take is to discover the lies we believed about ourselves as children and renounce them. It could look something like this.

“Lord, you know the experiences I had as a child and how they made me feel _________ (worthless, unloved, lonely…etc.). Today I choose to believe the truth that in Christ I am __________ (loved, accepted, never alone…etc.).  Thank you, Jesus, for your truth that sets me free. Open my spiritual ears so I might be better able to discern your truth from Satan’s lies. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.”

     What lies did you believe about yourself as a child? Have you been able to see how Satan was at work in your thoughts, even at a young age? Does this knowledge make you think about your own child may be experiencing and how you can help them combat it? In our home, my daughter (at five years old) has memorized and often quotes verses like the ones below to help her focus on truth and recognize thoughts that are opposed to the truth:

“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 2:5

“We take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:5

memory verse

_____________________________________________________

If you enjoyed this post, please take a moment to enter your email in the space provided on the right hand side of the screen (if using a computer) or scroll to the bottom (if using a smartphone). Your email is private and will not be shared. By signing up you will receive new posts directly in your inbox.

Other related posts:

Spiritual Warfare 101: Is it Real?

The Voices in My Head: The Flesh

______________________________________________________

profilepic3Rebecca Aarup is an author and freelance writer. She is a health columnist for The Christian Online Magazine, creater of S.E.R.V.A.N.T. Sisters online women’s ministry, and has written devotionals/studies/articles for a variety of publications including The Secret Place (Judson Press) and Mustard Seed Ministries. She just released a new Bible Study The Word: Six Lessons from Psalm 119 which is available as a free download on her website or in print form from Amazon. Beyond writing, Rebecca is a wife, home-schooling mom, and Bible student at Liberty University. She lives in Glendale, Az with her husband Chris and 5 year old, Samantha.  You can read more from Rebecca by subscribing to her blog (it’s free) and following her on twitter and facebook.

 

Book Review: Healing the Hurts of Your Past by F. Remy Diederich

Healing-the-Hurts-of-Your-Past-StackHealing the Hurts of Your Past: Overcoming the Pain of Shame by F. Remy Diederich can only be described as a life-altering read. The main topic of discussion in this book is shame, learning how to recognize it and defeat its power in your life. If you’re thinking, “Oh, I don’t struggle with shame, I’ve never done anything that bad,” I urge you to purchase this book anyway. You’ll probably be surprised at the things you’ll discover you believed about yourself and how it has negatively affected your life.

As a person who has been through every recovery book known to man, who has lived life as an addict and been set free from a multitude of other spiritual strongholds, I thought I would read things in this book that were familiar concepts or things I had already mastered in previous recovery efforts. I never expected it to have the impact on my life that it did. It’s one thing to be set free from destructive behaviors, it’s another thing altogether to discover what beliefs and attitudes propelled the wrong behavior in the first place. That’s exactly what this book does in an amazingly brilliant way.

Healing the Hurts of Your Past helped me to see the destructive role shame has played in my life over the years, and how easy it is to overlook it, thinking some other source is the cause of my problems. Nearly every “bad” behavior, whether physical (promiscuity) or emotional (bitterness) can be traced back to the pain of shame.

This book needs to be in the hands of every recovering addict, for one, as well as parents and loved ones of people who are struggling with addiction, mental issues, depression, and suicidal tendencies. This book will change how you view your loved one who is suffering in these ways. And if you’re the person who is suffering emotionally, this book (if you apply what you learn) will change your life too. If I had enough money I’d give everyone I know a copy of Healing the Hurts of Your Past.

Honestly I was blown away at how accurate it describes the mind and the way shame affects so many areas of our lives from perfectionism to the way we raise our kids. The biggest takeaway for me was discovering how the shame I’d lived with had actually influenced the way I parented my child. I was able to see just how much emotional trauma I could potentially place on my child if I allowed shame’s fruit to ripen in my life. It’s easy to admit that our problems affect us; it’s a whole other issue to admit our problems affect our children too.

So, thank you Remy, for writing this book and sharing this truth with the world.

Though author Remy Diederich had previously given me another one of his books to read/review (read my review of STUCK), this book was something I purchased on my own because I loved his other book so much. Everything I’m writing here is my own opinion and was not coerced in any way. I have not received anything in return for writing this review.

To purchase Healing the Hurts of Your Past or Stuck by F. Remy Diederich from the publisher, click HERE. To purchase on Amazon click HERE for Healing the Hurts or HERE for STUCK: How to Mend and Move on from Broken Relationships.

_________________________________________________________

F. Remy Diederich is the author of Healing the Hurts of Your Past…a guide to Remyovercoming the pain of shame and STUCK…how to mend and move on from broken relationships. He is the founding pastor of Cedarbrook Church in Wisconsin, the spirituality consultant at Arbor Place Treatment Center, and offers retreats and seminars based on his two books.

I encourage you to follow Remy on Facebook or Twitter and follow his blog: http://readingremy.com
You can also email Remy at: remydiederich@yahoo.com

The Voices in My Head: The Flesh (Part 2)

In the last post I gave a simple example of how to discern the voices in our head (God, Satan, or the Flesh). In this post I will elaborate more on the Flesh, which is probably where the greatest confusion remains in most Christian circles. First, the following is a simple way to define the voices:

God’s voice: The Bible as a whole, God’s Word, Truth, the Holy Spirit’s leading (always in line with God’s written Word).

Satan’s voice: Incomplete truths, deceptions, schemes, tricks, lies, temptations, partial Scripture quotes taken out of context to support a view that is opposed to God (see Matthew 4:1-11).

The Flesh: Learned behavior/habits, coping mechanisms, our own subjective thoughts (i.e. “I want to eat at Burger King today).

You would be hard-pressed to walk into any church today and hear a message teaching these concepts, which is dreadfully sad. Most Christians walk around with somewhat of a self-defeatist attitude. “I’m just a wretched sinner!” True, we are sinners saved by grace (Eph. 2:8-9), but once we have been saved we are a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17, Gal. 6:15, Eph. 4:24, Col. 3:10) clothed with the righteousness of Christ (Who I Am in Christ). We are no longer wretched sinners, but rather, children of God who still sin.

splinter1-150x150

     Neil Anderson uses an excellent illustration of this concept (from the book The Bondage Breaker). When you get a splinter in your finger, do you say you are a wretched piece of wood because you now have a splinter in your finger? Do you now take on the identity of the splinter as your own? Obviously not! No, you are a human being with a piece of wood in your finger. Scripturally you will find this concept made clear in Romans 7:14-25. It doesn’t take much work to discover that Paul is referring to himself after he has been regenerated (I know much debate remains about this fact, but if you’re using proper techniques of Biblical interpretation you can arrive at no other conclusion than this). Many of us can identify with Paul’s struggle. We know better, yet we still sin! What’s wrong with us?

The Flesh

     In simple terms we are infected with the “sin splinter” otherwise known as “the flesh”. The nature we were born with (self-serving/pride) along with the habits we’ve developed over a lifetime all contribute to this voice known as the flesh. Paul recognized this and he hated it. He knew he had been regenerated as a new creation in Christ, yet at times he still struggled to put that old nature to death. We can only imagine what Paul’s specific struggle was with but Scripture isn’t clear on it. It wouldn’t surprise me if pride had something to do with it, though. Deep down we are all struggling against a self-serving attitude, from the way we dress to the food we eat. Our world revolves around us, our desires, wants, and needs. No matter how awesome we are as Christians, pride will always be an issue because it is in our flesh which continuously wars with the new life we received when we accepted Christ. Jesus is the antithesis of pride and self. This is why just doing “what Jesus would do” is not as easy as it sounds. It contradicts our flesh! On our own we can’t will ourselves into good works with proper motives; this can only be accomplished through Christ’s rule in our hearts.

Coping Mechanisms/Habits (Flesh)

     As an addict I learned how to cope with mental anguish by abusing drugs. This was a learned behavior, as well as a sinful behavior. Over time it became a pattern of life. Feel pain—take drugs—pain goes away (temporarily). Some of us deal with unhealthy learned habits every day when we fight the urge to over-indulge at the dinner table or eat chocolate for dinner instead of broccoli (maybe even chocolate covered broccoli?). I grew up drinking soda and cool-aid every day, and eating macaroni and cheese and bologna sandwiches. It was a learned way of eating (and an early introduction to weight problems). As an adult I have had to work hard to re-learn a healthier way to treat my temple (1 Cor. 6:19-20). But when that voice kicks in saying, “Boy, I’d sure love to sit down with a bag of Doritos and watch T.V. all day,” I can be certain this voice is my flesh and not Satan.

Defense Mechanisms (Flesh)

•denial (a conscious or unconscious refusal to face the truth)

•fantasy (escaping the real world)

•emotional insulation (withdrawing to avoid rejection)

•regression (reverting to less threatening times)

•displacement (taking out frustrations on others)

•projection (blaming others)

•rationalization (making excuses for poor behaviors)

[Strongholds] are fleshly thought patterns that were programmed into your mind when you learned to live your life independently of God. Your worldview was shaped by the environment you were raised in. But when you became a Christian, nobody pressed the “CLEAR” button. Your old fleshly habit patterns of thought weren’t erased.¹

I hope this clears up some of the confusion surrounding the flesh and what exactly it means. In the next post we’ll discuss Satan’s voice in specific detail.

     Are you able to recognize fleshly patterns in your own life? What is your greatest “flesh” struggle?

_______________________________________________________

¹ The Bondage Breaker ©1990/1993/2000 by Neil T. Anderson Published by Harvest House Publishers (pp. 60-61)

_______________________________________________________

Related Posts:

The Voices in My Head: God, Satan, or My Flesh (Part 1)

Satan, God, the Flesh, and Spiritual Warfare

Spiritual Warfare 101: Is it Real?

The Voices in My Head: God, Satan, or My Flesh—(Part 1)

Every single day thousands of thoughts flood our minds. Many of those thoughts lead to actions. For example, every morning I think, “A cup of coffee would really help me wake up.” I choose to act on that thought by stumbling to my coffee maker in a sleep-induced haze and brewing a cup. So how can we really know whose voice we are hearing at any given time? Let me give you a real-world scenario, one that plays out in my own thought life nearly every week.

It’s 6:30 Sunday morning; my alarm clock rings out with a favorite song I specifically chose to help wake me up (Like a Lion-Kristian Stanfill). Once again I stayed up too late the night before, and have less sleep than my body probably needed. I think, “I really don’t feel like going to church today. Maybe I should just stay home; I’m so tired.”

A)     God’s voice:

In His omniscience, God knows that my presence at home is required. Through the Holy Spirit, He causes me to consider staying home so I won’t miss out on a “divine appointment”.

B)      Satan’s voice:

Having observed my actions/countenance in the past, Satan knows how my attitude and behaviors are changed after I attend a worship service. Through observation, Satan also notices the physical reaction my body is having as a result of a poor choice I made to stay up late the night before. Taking advantage of my weakness, he places a thought in my head, tempting me to stay away from God’s house and His will, which will probably pave the way for more temptations that, based on past behaviors, Satan has a good idea I will fall victim to.

C)      My Flesh:

I stayed up too late, I’m tired, and because I would rather be comfortable I contemplate on how nice it would feel to sleep in. It has nothing to do with God or Satan; it is just me being my sinful, prideful self. I don’t want to be challenged, I don’t feel like changing my behavior, I just want to SLEEP!

So, which is it; A, B, or C? Let me help you out a little by eliminating A. The Holy Spirit will never, I repeat—never, “lead” us to do something contrary to God’s written word, no matter how spiritual it sounds. Remember, Satan is an angel of light, so he often uses such a ruse to encourage us to think we are spiritual while we are, in fact, sinning. Scripture clearly instructs us to fellowship with other believers, and not to forsake that act as some might be inclined to do (Hebrews 10:25). (Occasionally we are sick, and in some instances, some are stricken with chronic illnesses that keep them from attending church regularly; that is not what I’m talking about here.)

Well, that leaves us with B or C. This is when we need to consider the surrounding circumstances. If I told you that I had been struggling with depression, feelings of regret, or was having difficulty with someone else at church, you may be more apt to lean towards B as your answer. But if I told you that everything was fine, I had no outstanding debts of bitterness, money was raining down from heaven and all my financial problems had been solved, you would likely consider C as your answer. In reality, it could be either. In my case, knowing my life and circumstances, I am about 99.9% certain it is a tempting thought strategically placed by my Enemy.

If I didn’t show up to church one Sunday, most people wouldn’t consider that abnormal because those close to me know that my husband is not a Christ-follower and that he wants to spend time with me on his days off (the weekend); church could be a conflict for us. However, I know that for the most part, my husband couldn’t care less if I go to church or not, as long as I am spending time with him and being flexible with my church-activities schedule (not spending every waking moment at church throughout the week), he really isn’t bothered by it.

But do you see how Satan can use all that he knows (through observation—he is not omniscient) to “scheme” against me (and you)? Suppose I decide to hit the snooze button and sleep instead of going to church (which I have done). My husband wakes up and sees I haven’t gone to church like I said I was going to and asks me about it. Feeling defensive I might whip out a lame excuse, “I wasn’t feeling well,” which is a lie because even though I was tired, I wasn’t legitimately sick or unable to get up. Now my credibility as a Christ-follower is diminished in my husband’s eyes. He notices my lack of commitment and how easily I am swayed from God (after all, he goes to work every day whether he’s tired or not, so God must not be that important). Do you see, friends, how subtle this is? A simple little thought, “I’m tired, maybe I should stay home” could negatively affect my husband’s view of Christianity, and even his salvation!

Stay alert! I will be getting more in depth on these “voices” in the posts to come. Remember that our circumstances play a huge role in determining what voice we may be hearing.

“Lest Satan should get an advantage over us: for we are not ignorant of his devices [noema-schemes].” 2 Corinthians 2:11

_________________________________________________________

Related posts:

Demonic Schemes

Every Story Has a Villian, Even Yours

Spiritual Warfare 101: Is it Real?

Satan, God, the Flesh, and Spiritual Warfare

Before Your Feet Hit the Floor: An Essential Daily Prayer