prayer warriors (following Jesus Christ, everyone welcome)

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How is it with your soul? I once heard a preacher say that in the battle for your eternal destiny, Satan votes against you, God votes for you, and you cast the tie-breaking vote. We watched the Lord of the Rings movies this past week, which of course is an epic story of the battle between good and evil, and in the midst of this movie I had an amazing thought. There really is no battle between good and evil. Evil was destroyed at the cross. Jesus already overcame evil, by His perfect life. Jesus is the Creator. He could snuff out the devil with a single word, just as He spoke the worlds into existence.

So why does evil still exist? Why do babies die and children get cancer? Why do husbands beat their wives and men march off to war? Why is Covid devastating the planet? Why are there forest fires and hurricanes and earthquakes and, and, and?

It's actually because Satan IS a defeated foe. You see, he wanted to be God. He set out to turn the angels against God. And He convinced a third of them, in a political campaign, to join him. The Bible says there was war in heaven. But that word "war" does not mean guns and cannons, thunderbolts and light sabers. No. It means a whispering campaign. A war of words, of innuendo, of suggestion. A war of lies. Satan, previously Lucifer, the Bible says, is the father of lies.

Now, God could have snapped His fingers and blotted Lucifer out of existence. But His kingdom is established on love. And had He done that, there would have been an element of fear in the universe. He didn't want that! So He let Satan have time and space to demonstrate what a world under his leadership would look like.

It looks like ... Earth. It looks like pain. Sickness. Death. War. Fear. Rage. Hate. Suspicion. Resentment. Betrayal. Division. So Jesus came to show us what God is really like. God is Love. Peace. Joy. Healing of sickness, blindness, deafness, leprosy, lameness. Acceptance, even of the outcast, the dregs of society. Understanding. Forgiveness of sin, even the most hardened crminal, the cheat, the liar, the thief, the tax collector, the prostitute. Freedom. Victory over self, sin, addiction, even over death. But Satan couldn't have THAT! He had to destroy Him. So God also looks like a willing Sacrifice, taking all our sin, our selfishness, our misery, on Himself, paying the penalty for it - a complete separation from the Father, the Giver of Life, dying THAT death, the second death, for His love for us, in our place. And then coming out of the tomb on the third day, victorious over death, because of His perfect life. Death could not hold Him. So now He can exchange His perfect sinless life for ours, if we just ask for it, so we may have eternal life in His place. And that death and resurrection sealed Satan's fate. Jesus by that act redeemed this planet away from Satan.

So now Satan is in a rage. He knows Jesus is coming back to claim His own, this planet, and those who accept Him as Lord and Master of their lives. But Satan is not about to yield, oh no! He will not concede or admit defeat. He is going to hold on to this planet, and its inhabitants, to the bitter end! He is determined to inflict as much pain, as much suffering, as much death and destruction, as he possibly can, for as long as he can!

But Jesus IS coming! He WILL set us free. He will make all things new. He will give us new bodies, immortal and incorruptible. He will restore this planet to its former glory. Extinct animals will live again. Satan and the fallen angels will be destroyed, burned up in a lake of fire, never to rise again. There will be no pain, no cancer, no crime, no sickness, no hospitals, and no death, ever again. Only joy and health and peace and happiness. We will plant gardens and eat the fruit of them. We will build houses and inhabit them. We will walk and talk with Jesus and the saints and our loved ones for ever. What a day! I can't wait! Oh Jesus, come quickly, even so, Amen!
 
I like to tell stories, I hope y'all don't mind. Seems I can always find an example from life to illustrate God's lessons. I know I get long-winded and I apologize. But. I just gotta share. I'll try to keep it short.

We have two cats. Lucy is young, fat and lazy. Naps all day, sleeps all night. She's a bit of a slug, to be honest, but we love her. Probably has a thyroid problem. Diva is old, but active and hunts. The other night a cat screaming woke us up. Turned out we had a cat intruder. Lucy, to our amazement, had chased it up into the ceiling joists in the basement, had it cornered, and was screaming death at it. We have never seen her so engaged about anything! She looked and sounded terrifying! A real devil cat! Diva, on the other hand, was lying placidly at the top of the stairs, completely unconcerned, as if no drama was going on whatsoever. We ultimately got hold of Lucy and locked her in the bedroom, captured the stranger, and drove it off to where it could find its way home. Whew!

The lesson in all this was how peaceful Diva was throughout. She knew Lucy, her companion, had the situation well in hand. All she had to do was trust her to handle it and stay out of the way. This is what our relationship needs to be with Jesus.

Isaiah 26:3 KJV
Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee : because he trusteth in thee.
Heavenly Father, in the midst of the turmoil that is our world today, please help us to keep our thoughts and minds fixed on you. Amen.
 

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