The Enemy's Perfect Plan
By: Geraldine Harris and Kristen MaddoxLet's not allow the enemy to distract us...Satan called a worldwide convention. In his opening address to his evil angels, he said, "We can't keep Christians from going to church. We can't keep them from reading their Bibles and knowing the truth. We can't even keep them from conservative values. But we can do something else. We can keep them from forming an intimate, abiding relationship experience in Christ. If they gain that connection with Jesus, our power over them is broken. So let them go to church, let them have their conservative lifestyles, but steal their time, so they can't gain that experience in Jesus Christ. This is what I want you to do, angels. Distract them from gaining hold of their Savior and maintaining that vital connection throughout their day!""How shall we do this?" shouted his angels."Keep them busy in the nonessentials of life and invent unnumbered schemes to occupy their minds" he answered. "Tempt them to spend, spend, spend then borrow, borrow, borrow. Convince the wives to go to work for long hours and the husbands to work six or seven days a week, ten to twelve hours a day so they can afford their lifestyles. Keep them from spending time with their children. As their family fragments, soon their homes will offer no escape from the pressures of work.""Overstimulate their minds so that they cannot hear that still small voice. Entice them to play the radio or cassette player whenever they drive, to keep the TV, VCR, CD's and their PC's going constantly in their homes. And see to it that every store and restaurant in the world plays non-biblical music constantly. This will jam their minds and break that union with Christ."Fill their coffee tables with magazines and newspapers. Pound their minds with news 24 hours a day. Invade their driving moments with billboards. Flood their mailboxes with junk mail, sweepstakes, mail order catalogues, and every kind of newsletter and promotional offering, free products, services and false hopes.""Even in their recreation, let them be excessive. Have them return from their recreation exhausted, disquieted, and unprepared for the coming week. Don't let them go out in nature to reflect on God's wonders. Send them to amusement parks, sporting events, concerts and movies instead. And when they meet for spiritual fellowship, involve them in gossip and small talk so that they leave with troubled consciences and unsettled emotion.""Let them be involved in soul-winning. But crowd their lives with so many good causes they have no time to seek power from Christ. Soon they will be working in their own strength, sacrificing their health and family unity for the good of the cause."It was quite a convention in the end. And the evil angels went eagerly to their assignments causing Christians everywhere to get busy, busy, busy and rush here and there.Has the devil been successful at his schemes? You be the judge.
Yep, through this story, believe there is much we can identify with and learn from.
-especially those bolded, don't fall prey to them. those are things that hinders us and our relationship with God if we do not manage them well. Seek out a balance.
-being BUSY does not equate to serving the Lord a lot. It simply means Being Under Satan's Yoke
-don't be busy, be fruitful.
Yeah as you read through the story i hope that all of us will in one way or another resolve to having better self-discipline and control over ourselves, that we will stand strong in God and be steady in our relationship with Him, that nothing will hinder us from spending time with God and doing His work according to His good and perfect will. As we evangelize, plan care groups, follow-up, counsel and do ministry and school, lets remember to do it with God! Don't do it with your own strength (:
When you're tired and weary, seek strength from God. When you're stuck and don't know how to go on, seek wisdom from God. When you simply feel like giving up, go back to your First Love, go back to God. Its good to constantly remind ourselves why we're doing what we do. Keep the vision that God has given you in your head and ask God to renew it. (:
As school is starting soon, i pray for all of us who are schooling that we'll be able to manage our time well and utilize it fully to invest in people's lives and the Kingdom. Let all that we say and do be glorifying to God and that we will still devote time to God and to read the Word daily. God we lift up every burden, worry or sorrow we may have in prayer to You. Help us to be joyful, and give thanks in all circumstances because we know that You are God and you are in control. Lord we submit ourselves unto You, continue to mould and shape us to be more and more like You!
Amen!
-fiona teh.