The life of man on earth 5.0 (the real enemy)

The devil is real. Evil people exist, and terrible things do happen.
Good people often suffer. Many innocent people are in prison and jail for wrongful accusations.

In fact, good people suffer for being good. Imagine that!
Job suffered for being a righteous man in his time. The devil falsely and intentionally accused job.

Satan replied to the LORD, “Skin for skin! A man will give up everything he has to save his life. Job 2:4

Yes, the devil is the real enemy!

Therefore, rejoice, O heavens! And you who live in the heavens, rejoice! But terror will come on the earth and the sea, for the devil has come down to you in great anger, knowing that he has little time.” Revelation 12:12

Satan has been an evil person for a long time. He hates everything God created.

He enjoys inflicting pain on people. He lies and steals. 

For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies. John 8:44

He doesn’t have mercy on his victim. He doesn’t hear the cry for help.

Sin causes a lot of problems for man, but Satan is the magnifier of all evils.

He has some power because when he fell as an angel, he retained few angelic qualities.

“How you are fallen from heaven, O shining star, son of the morning! You have been thrown down to the earth, you who destroyed the nations of the world. Isaiah 14:12

He is a spirit. So, you can’t see him with your naked eyes. He can influence the mind through actions. If he can see a pattern, he capitalizes on it to influence subsequent behaviors.

For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:12
 
He cannot control you if you don’t allow it, but he can manipulate you if you allow him. He influences through lies, deceit, and fear.

Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. Romans 6:16

So, the real enemy is not your neighbor or the next person on a bus or the train.

The real enemy is not your immediate family members or people from your village.

What he does is to poison people’s mind and makes them think and do havoc. So, since he is not in a physical form, he uses people to do his work. Evil people are influenced and used by the devil.

Your victory lies in aligning yourself to the supreme God.

Terrible things happen and await those who don’t believe in the saving work of God.

Job survived the devil’s schemes and onslaught, so can you.

The life of man on earth 4.0 (why terrible things happen to good people)

Good people live in the same world that evil/bad people live.

In my last post, I gave three causes of wickedness. They are sin, Satan, and evil people.

When God was about to punish Sodom and Gomorrah, he spared no one. The only reason he spared Lot and his family was Abraham’s intercession.

The LORD said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do Genesis 18:17

Abraham started talking to God about Lot and his family from verse twenty-three.

Abraham approached him and said, “Will you sweep away both the righteous and the wicked? Genesis 18:23

So, without impactful and continual prayers, terrible things and challenges do happen to good people all the time.

David is an example of how good people suffer. He suffered a great deal from enemies.

I am worn out from sobbing. All night I flood my bed with weeping, drenching it with my tears. Psalm 6:6

My vision is blurred by grief; my eyes are worn out because of all my enemies. Psalm 6:7

Another example is Jesus. Jesus prayed to stay alive to complete his work on earth.

And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. Mark 1:35

We are all going to face challenges in life, and terrible things do happen to good people.

Based on the examples I gave, the solution is prayers. David prayed, and Jesus prayed.

Although Job was a good man, he experienced the most bizarre situation in one day when he lost everything.

Deliverance came in the end. Your deliverance and help will come and will come quicker than you expected in Jesus’ name.

Commit yourself to more act of prayer by checking my prayer bank

 

The life of man on earth 3.0 (the wrecking machine)

Although we established that God is good and does not cause terrible things to occur, he often allows them to happen. If you read my last post in isolation without my introduction or following up with me on the subsequent posts, you might get confused.

Job did nothing wrong, but it was the devil who accused Job when he asked permission from God to try/test Job’s faith and consistency.

Then Satan answered the LORD and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason? Job 1:9

Satan caused a lot of havoc in our lives. I call him the wrecking machine. He doesn’t stop working. He has a lot of demons working on his behalf. So, his havoc is enormous.

You need to realize how important this is so that you can stand your ground against every work of darkness.

Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. Ephesians 6:11

Remember, Job did nothing wrong at the time Satan attacked him. Therefore, challenges are not always because we’ve done something wrong. It might just be the devil doing his thing.

Just pray and ask God for help in this instance. 

Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all. Psalm 34:19

 

The life of man on earth 2.0

Today, I expand on my last post. I am discussing the life of Job, a good man in his own time.

The next lesson we can learn is that God is a good God, and He is NOT the cause of terrible things that happen in our lives or our world. 

I understand the difficulty of this narration, but we have established that God is good, and everything He does is good.

When God created the world and everything in it, they were all in undamaged shape and working perfectly.

Assuming God is the cause of your woes and problem, why do we have to pray to Him?

Do you go to consult the help of your problem-causer? No! Instead, you seek help from someone who you know is nice to you.

Even those who do not believe in God often shout the name Jesus! when they are in trouble.

Everyone often exclaims: “oh my God!” (Shorten for omg) when in danger, trouble, or confusion. So, if God causes it, why do we call on Him for help subconsciously?

So, what causes our pain in this life?

Sin causes the foundational problem of man. For instance, when a man robs a bank, he gets caught and punished for the crime. If you sleep with your neighbor’s wife, he gets mad and drags you down, etc. Sin causes most of the problems we face in life, and therefore there are laws in the land.

Satan causes other problems on earth. He is a manipulator and a liar. He has come to steal your things (Joy, Peace, Money, etc.). He is out to kill (causes physical injury, death through any means) and destroys everything on his path.

The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. John 10:10

The last person that causes man’s problem is man himself. It could be you or the next person to you or the other person who knows the person that you know.

So, the next time you are in trouble, shout to God for help. He cares!

Give your burdens to the LORD, and he will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall. Psalm 55:22

Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. 1 Peter 5:7

The next time, we go deeper into the case of Job. 

Peace!

 

The life of man on earth 1.0

So, this is an introduction to a series on the life of a man called Job (in the Bible).

Recently, I studied the book of Job. After about a week, I realize that God wants me to review what I learned. I believe this will be beneficial to everyone who reads and takes time to think about how “events of life” happen and shape us into what we were, what we are now, and what we will become in the future.

The first lesson I am going to share is that nothing happens without the knowledge of God

Yes, God knows about everything because He is an all-knowing God.

O LORD, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. Psalm 139:1

You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away. Psalm 139:2

Man is limited in many ways. For instance, I may not be able to do 100% justice to this work for some reasons. My mind could blackout if I am unsettled. I may experience disturbance from my environment. If my mind is unclear, it means that I may not hear God perfectly. Also, the equipment I use could malfunction and break down, etc. My point is that Man encounters a lot of difficulties and challenges in life for which he has little explanation, whereas God does not have any of these. 

So, man is limited, but God is unlimited.

The other factor that is important here is the adversary. Yes, there is always an adversary, and the ultimate adversary of man (any man) is the devil.

From the beginning, the devil has been an adversary of both man and God.

Therefore, whenever you are in any confusing situation, it’s either you missed it; or the devil got you.

God never misses it because He is God, and He does all things well. 

God called the dry ground “land” and the waters “seas.” And God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:10

There are so many things to discuss. So, please sit tight, and let’s dive deep into this.

Make sure to come back for more!

 

 

Pray your way through this week

1. May your law be embedded in my heart oh God. Joshua 1:8
2. I will not miss a day meditating on your word, learning about your plans for my life and future. Nehemiah 8:18
3. Satan, Get your hands off my life.
4. Satan, Get your hands off my family.
5. Satan, get your hands off my future.
6. Satan, Get your hands off my business.
7. Satan, get your hands off my children.
8. Satan, get your hands off my finances.
9. Satan, get your hands off my breakthroughs.
10. Satan, get your hands off my successes.
11. Satan, in the name of Jesus, I command you, move.
12. Satan will not have power over me in Jesus mighty name.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Happy Mother’s Day to all women!

Speechless is my best way to describe how invaluable you are right now. 

…but I will take a cue from the Proverb.

Proverbs 31:10-12,28-31 NIV
A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. [11] Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. [12] She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life. [28] Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: [29] “Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.” [30] Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. [31] Honor her for all that her hands have done, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

Happy Mother’s Day!

A sophisticated world

The world has changed since the time of the old and is still evolving rapidly.

God still works mysteriously in and around the world to effect His infallible words and purpose.

The believers are affected in many ways. Unfortunately, there is little choice.
The believers are affected not because God is not with them or for them but because the world is against them in many ways.

However, the significance of how desperately wicked the heart of man cannot be over-emphasized. 

The causal effects of many evil happenings in the world are not because God is incapable of doing anything. Instead, it is because man is constantly wreaking havoc ever since creation.