Posts Tagged ‘Iron Strong Faith’

The Story of Satan – part 4

Posted: January 22, 2022 in Something to think about
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We have learned in the first 3 parts of this story that Satan has been very busy since he was cast out of heaven. He was there at the beginning disguised as the serpent that caused Adam and Eve or really, the entire human race, to fall into sin. We also learned that he is the god of this age which gives him authority over certain things like his fallen angels as well as the unrepentant human population. 

But, we also learned that he also has some very specific limitations on him as well. This includes the FACT that he is NOT omnipotent, which means he cannot read your mind. All of this plays right into the 4th installment of this series which talks about what Satan is up to currently. In other words…what is Satans strategy?

What is Satan doing right now?

In a nutshell, Satan is at war. He is presently at war against God and His people and just so we are clear, God’s people are you and me. His main purpose; is to try and draw you away from your loyalty to Christ. Literally, that is the main focus right now…how many people can he lead astray? And let me assure you…he is really good at his job which is why there is so much scripture to remind you to be on your guard.

But for those of you who are skeptical that Satan is at war…read this verse please:

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Eph 6:12 ESV

Have you ever heard of a guy named Job (pronounced jōb)? He has a very long book in the old testament inside the Bible that tells an interesting story about how Satan went and challenged God about Job by telling him that the only reason Job served Him was that he was blessed and had everything. As a result, God took on that challenge and allowed Satan to take away all of Jobs’s earthy possessions including his health, his family, his wealth…and yet ultimately, throughout the entire epic,  no matter what happened to him, Job would not curse God. It even drove Job to proclaim in 13:15…Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him…

Guys, realistically, not everyone is like Job with his unwavering commitment to his God through his adversity…which is why I write this to you.

Satan is your enemy and his strategy is that he wants you to fail and fall. That is why the Bible focuses so much scripture to inform us to protect our minds and NOT be led astray.

But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. 2 Co 11:3 ESV

(For more information on this idea that you need to guard your thoughts, please read a previous blog on Ironman-Strength called, Guard your Mind, published in February of last year. This will better explain why Satan focuses his attack on your thoughts)

What is Satan’s goal for his non-stop attack on you and me?

His # 1 goal is, and always has been, to draw you and me into a sin and bondage relationship with him and this present world system. (Emphasis on the present). He wants to squash you like a bug. By the way, as the leader of your home, if you fall, so might your wife and family. That is why you must resist.

For some have already strayed after Satan. 1Ti 5:15 ESV

If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life–to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for that. 1Jo 5:16 ESV

What are we supposed to do to thwart this constant attack?

  1. As believers, we MUST RESIST and pray constantly for deliverance from Satan

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Matt 6:13 ESV

Guys, in this instance, I cannot emphasize the importance of the word, “constantly”. This has never been a “one-and-done” type of defense against the enemy. It is a daily response (meaning a conscious effort using prayer) from you and what your intent is for that day to defend yourself and your family. Don’t forget that.

  1. YOU must be on the alert concerning his schemes and temptations

Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 

Eph 6:11 ESV

If you recall, the very first paragraph mentioned to you in part one of The Story of Satan was about knowing your enemy. Be prepared and resist, because the attack is coming…you just need to know how you can defend yourself.

  1. Resist him through spiritual warfare

Guys…here are the famous verses that talk about putting on the armor of God. Although this looks like symbolism, it truly means putting on armor each day. If you don’t take this part seriously, you give the enemy a foot in the door so I recommend that you take just a second to read them.

13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, Eph 13-18 ESV

  1. Remain firm in the faith

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. 1Pe 5:8-9 ESV

Guys, the book of Hebrews puts it this way:

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. Heb 11:1

I do hope that after reading part 4 you recognize you can’t do this yourself. There have been many who have tried and ALL have failed. And by the way, there is no such thing as trying to ride the fence and be in BOTH worlds at the same time. Jesus calls that being “lukewarm” and He says, ” I will spew you out of my mouth”.

Finally, guys, you and I have very specific resources in this fight against Satan and all of them only will work when we are plugged into Christ as repentant Christians. Without repentance, you are just another dude proclaiming you are a good person…which won’t get you into heaven.

We are getting close to the end…Part 5 is next-

Until next time guys

Though He Slay me, yet I will Hope in Him…

Posted: October 24, 2020 in Something to think about
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Though He slay me, yet I will hope in Him; I will surely defend my ways to His face. Job 13:15

This is one of the most astounding declarations of faith about the goodness of God that was ever spoken. Whatever God allowed to happen to Job, whatever burden He laid upon Him, even if He should “slay” him, Job ultimately believed that God would NOT fail him. Think about that.

He had complete and TOTAL reliance upon his God. Contemplate the fact that it was NOT even a possibility that God could fail him so therefore he never even considered it even though his so-called friends pressed him too.

I find his statement more exacerbating due to the timing of when he said it. He found himself right in the middle of the most agonizing experiences any human being would ever have to go through. He lost his family, his wealth, his land, his livestock, his house, and finally, his health…nothing by his own hand.

If you were in Job’s circumstance, could you still have faith in someone that has deserted you? 

If God seemingly abandoned you and then you fell into the series of misfortunes that Job went through wouldn’t it be easy to just say, “to heck with this!” and give up and disown God? Why didn’t Job do that?

What kind of relationship did Job have with God that he not only had faith in Him but knew God’s very nature well enough to know that whatever, was happening to him, whatever this looked like visually, was NOT the God he was connected to and knew. I find that incredible.

Just consider with me for a moment the idea of having someone in your life that will not fail you, will not stop supporting or encouraging you, will not walk away from you even at your ugliest moments. And I am NOT referring to ugliness as how you look on the outside either, but rather when you sin and fall short. When you have failed someone or yourself. When you are having real trouble just loving yourself…that is the low point I am referring to. That is the specific spot that when you reach it…is where Jesus meets you. Right when you feel the most alone possible. He is RIGHT there with you.

Job knew it because he had experienced something with God that he didn’t want to lose. That “it” is simply the love of the savior towards you and me. Job believed that to his core and that faith gave him the strength to say, “though he slay me, yet I will hope in Him”.  Can you imagine being connected to Christ where you could say that AND believe it even during the worst of times? 

Can you imagine trusting Christ SO much that nothing in this world really mattered? Why? because this is all just “STUFF”…just things we leave behind. 

The only thing that matters is your journey on this Earth to get to Him, AND…who you touch along the way. Your wife, your family, your friends, and everyone else.

Guys, I encourage you today to build your faith during these extremely difficult times. Be prepared so that if the time ever came, walking away from God could NEVER be an option.

You would simply say, “But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord”, Joshua 24:15

Until next time Guys…

Wimpy Christians

Posted: December 14, 2013 in Inspirational
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wimp

Guys, I am fixated right now on the idea of God making you and me stronger through trials and the difficult times in our lives. I would argue that the chaos of this world around us has ratcheted up its intensity to an even higher level right now…and from what I hear on the evening news, things look to only get worse. So now is the time to be strong in your faith and concrete in what you stand for. This blog has always been about sharpening, exercising and sparring in your Christian faith. I have never been silent about the fact that this life we are in is a war and you are in that war whether you believe me or not. You know whom we are fighting and hopefully, you know what the stakes are should you walk away…

That being said, I was reading recently one of Pastor David Jeremiah’s “Bible Strong” booklets where he spoke about the challenges we face in this life where many times God is at the center of the issue. What Pastor Jeremiah said was “God will take our problems and use them to make us better”, like iron sharpening iron, however before this can happen, God needs our cooperation. Instead of our normal human reaction of rebelling against Him because we don’t like what is happening to us, we should instead humble ourselves and allow God to carve and shape us into exactly the man He wants us to be.

Pastor also used the amazing example of Joseph in the Old Testament and all of the adversity he faced at the hands of both his brothers, who sold him into slavery and the Egyptians, who kept him prison for a long time. But through his time in prison, something happened to Joseph that would not have happened otherwise. Pastor Jeremiah alluded to this in his booklet and I would like to try to develop the thought even further.

While deep inside the Egyptian prison, Joseph spent much of his time in chains, which even included a collar around his neck. His days were dark and lonely spending the majority of his time alone in a cell…left only with his thoughts and his fear. Psalm 105:17-18 (NIV) says it like this:

and he sent a man before them—Joseph, sold as a slave. They bruised his feet with shackles; his neck was put in irons.

 But another translation (Amplified) puts it in a different way…

He hath sent before them a man, for a servant hath Joseph been sold. They have afflicted with fetters his feet, Iron hath entered his soul,

Iron had entered his soul? I read that a few times before I began to grasp what the writer was saying…While Joseph was in that prison cell, he was changing. Obviously, it would be almost impossible not to. Prison hardens a man. Makes him mean and angry right? Not with Joseph…Even during what were the worst and the lowest times of his life, slavery and prison, Joseph never cursed God because of his situation. Honestly, cursing God would have been a very normal HUMAN reaction, but rather he simply stayed the course by serving Him knowing that God had a plan for him. But yet, he was still in prison, and that prison experience was shaping him into a very different man than when he had entered. The Psalmist said it perfectly and I repeat, “Iron had entered his soul”. So what does that really mean? As a result of the time spent in that hardened environment, God honed and carved Joseph into a leader of men. God used those lonely years to reach down deep inside Joseph, into his inner core, and transform him into a new man;

The kind of man who could handle the adversity of the next challenge;

 The kind of man who would not wilt or falter at the first sign of difficulty;

 The kind of man who knew that true strength was using God as his anchor.

Remember, God admires and blesses strength of character and faith. Faith that in this case, was prison forged into something iron strong. God had taken Joseph through one of the worst experiences one could ever have on this earth and prepared him for his next challenge, to be second in command to the Pharaoh of Egypt…But that could NOT have happened without prison.

Worst to First…

Guys, clearly stated…God does not care for “Wimpy Christians”. I challenge you today to follow the mantra of this blog from the verse in Proverbs 27:17, where we are told that “as iron sharpens irons, so one man sharpens another”. Be strong in what you believe and understand that the trials of this life are intended to make you stronger…IF…you keep your eyes on Him…

Until next time guys…