Week 5

Well, it has been a quiet week here.

I hope it was at least a good and productive one for everyone as mine was. I was able to visit my brother, Steve, and his family this past weekend. We had a wonderful worship service at their church that extended with me even into my 3 hour drive home the following night.

So, as we enter week 5, how is everyone doing with their reading?


Topics of interest:

* Moses was a murderer. This shows no matter what you have done, God can forgive you and use you for His good!

* The exodus from Egypt has a traditional date around 1440 BC.

* During the time of the exodus from Egypt, Hittites, Assyrians, and Elamites were also powerful kingdoms in the region.

* God tells Moses to record the battle with the Amalekites in the book as a record, for His people to know and remember, because He would wipe them out of the memory of history. They are no longer mentioned after the time of David. Not one of my world history books even mentions them. That doesn't mean they did not exist. The historical world didn't believe that the Hittites existed outside of bible stories until archaeology proved them wrong in the last 50 years.



Point to consider:

Have you ever stopped and really thought about the pharoah's wise men and magicians? I mean, their staffs turned into snakes, they turned water into blood, and they brought out a plague of frogs from the waters of Egypt all just like what God did through Moses and Aaron. Many of us have heard this story from our childhood. It's just a story, right?

Don't be fooled.

Satan is an angelic being given totally over to evil, and he also has legions of evil spirits at his command.

Satan is a supernatural being, and Satan has supernatural powers.

Consider what we read in Job. Satan was given leave to afflict Job except for taking his life. While it can be written off simply as deeds of men, ultimately evil is behind the actions of the raiders who stole Job's livestock and killed his servants. A great wind destoyed the house where Job's children were and killed them all. Fire fell from the sky and killed Job's sheep and servants. Finally, Job himself had his physical health attacked and was utterly covered from head to foot with painful boils.

Consider again Moses' confrontation with the Egyptians. God had told Moses and Aaron to throw down the staff, which promptly changed into a serpent. The pharoah's magicians were able to duplicate the wonderous act. The first two plagues on Egypt, turning water into blood and bringing a plague of frogs, were also duplicated by the pharoah's magicians. (Note that through their spells they were able to duplicate those first wonderous works, they were not able to undo what God had done. They simply made things worse for men - which is the goal of Satan. Praise the Lord, for God is mightier than our enemy!)

Once we begin reading in the New Testament, we will see time and again men who have become possessed by evil spirits. A possession so that the person doesn't even control their own bodies any longer, but it is controlled by the spirits inhabiting them.

Consider the words of God Himself regarding magicians, sorcerers, and soothsayers:
Exodus 22:18 - You shall not allow a sorcerer to live.
Leviticus 19:31 - Do not turn to mediums or consult spiritists, or you will be defiled by them; I am the LORD your God.
Leviticus 20: 6 - I will set my face against the person who turns to mediums and spiritists to prostitute himself by following them, and I will cut him off from his people.

God will set His face against them. When you have no more to do with a person, you turn your back on them. When you set your face against them, you work directly opposed to them - full face on. What a horrible and frightening thing it would be to be in opposition to God. Obviously, God means business. He wouldn't repeatedly issue warnings and take such a formidible stance against something that was unimportant and benign.

You may ask "What's the difference between a prophet and a soothsayer then?" The answer is simple: their source. The only two options are either a holy God or an evil spirit. Spiritual discernment using God's word as the scales is how to tell the difference.

At the end of time, when the Antichrist is revealed, Satan's supernatural powers will be again manifested (Matthew 24:23-24, 2 Thessalonians 2:9, Revelation 13:13-15) by counterfeit miracles, signs, and wonders.

Despite his supernatural powers, Satan's most effective power is more subtle. Deception.

Genesis 3:1a - Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made.
Genesis 3:13b - The serpent deceived me.
John 8:44b - 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.

If Satan flung his supernatural powers at us, they would be easy to detect, identify, and avoid. Deception is much more insidious. The things we hear and see are not always events of happenstance. They can be snares baited with temptations set by the enemy in which to entrap us. In our minds we begin to rationalize our thoughts, our desires, our actions.

I have been guilty of thinking "Just this once...", "I won't go too far....", "Everyone says it is ok...", or "I'll control the situation...". Then like many other people, I find myself asking God for forgiveness again.

As children of God, we need to be able to recognize the traps set in our path. We need to know how to not only avoid them, but overcome them. We do this by praying for one another. We do this by supporting one another and being accountable to one another. We do this by staying in His word. We do this by weighing our beliefs, thoughts, and desires by what He says in His word - not what we think or what society tells us.

Be alert! Satan is like a roaring lion, roaming to and fro, seeking who he may devour. (1 Peter 5:8)

It's a war out there; an unseen war. Satan isn't resting; he knows his time is short. We shouldn't rest either.

Ephesians 6:10-18
Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and by His vast strength. Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the tactics of the Devil. For our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world powers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens.

This is why you must take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand. Stand, therefore, with truth like a belt around your waist, righteousness like armor on your chest, and your feet sandaled with readiness for the gospel of peace. In every situation take the shield of faith, and with it you will be able to extinguish the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is God's word.

With every prayer and request, pray at all times in the Spirit, and stay alert in this, with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints.