Satan's View Point

We are following the happenings and looking at the scenes in Job 1 today which revolve around God, the sons of God and Satan.  Since I am not an expert on this matter, I felt it best to utilize a commentary by J Vernon McGee quoted from his Through the Bible series:

Heaven

Our next scene opens in heaven, and what a scene it is.  Neither Job nor any of the other people in this book knew that this took place at all.  But this scene will enable us today to understand and interpret some of the things which happen to God's people.  I don't say that it is the total explanation, but it is a part of it. 

Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them (Job 1:6)

Now this is the scene in heaven.  The sons of God, His created intelligences, come before Him.  I must confess I know very little about them.  I think they are numberless, as numberless as the sand on the seashore, which means you and I cannot count them.  And they are not human beings; they do not belong to our race.  Yet these are God's created intelligences, and the are responsible creatures.  They must come to report to God as a matter of regular routine.  That is something I suppose we would expect.  But there is also something here that is rather shocking.  We are told that "Satan came also among them."  That is a surprise.

Ant the Lord said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it (Job 1:7)

By the way, Satan must also make a report.  That is amazing, isn't it?  Do you think he came from hell?  No, he didn't.  Friends, hell hasn't been opened yet.  No one is in hell today.  It will not be opened up until the Millennium takes place on this earth.  Hell is the place prepared fro the Devil and his angels, but they are not there yet.  The fact of the matter is that Satan has as much access to this earth as you and I have, and more so. 
This earth is the domain of Satan.  He has not been in hell.  He says that he has been going up and down - east, west, north and south - on this earth.  Remember that Scripture calls him "...the god of this world..."(2 Cor. 4:4) and "...the prince of power of the air..."(Eph. 2:2).  So that we know that he has great access and freedom on this earth today.  We are warned by Peter, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour" (1 Peter 5:8).  My friend, this is a warning, and this is exactly what we are told her in the Book of Job.  Satan himself said that he has the freedom to go up and down this earth. 
You remember that when Satan tempted the Lord Jesus he offered to Him the kingdoms of this earth.  The Lord Jesus never said, "You don't have them to offer. "  He simply refused the temptation.  Apparently those kingdoms are accessible to Satan, and he has that kind of freedom. 
When you look at this earth today, it does look like Satan is running things, does it not?  God is overruling all things but He has given Satan a period of freedom.  We are told that this world is which you and I live is controlled by Satan.  He must be overcome, and we can only overcome him by the blood of the Lamb.  Now this is quiet a revelation, isn't it.  And it is contrary to modern thinking. 

And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, on that feareth God, and escheweth evil? (Job 1:8)

God gives a good report of Job.  He says he is an outstanding man.  It would seem that Satan has been trying to get at Job.  I draw that conclusion from Satan's next statement.

Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?  Hast not thou made a hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side?  Though hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land (Job 1:9-10)

Apparently Satan had been trying to get through to Job and made the discovery that he couldn't get through to him because there was a hedge about him.  He tells the Lord, "You have put a hedge around him, and I can't touch him."
I believe that there is a hedge about every believer today, and I do not think that Satan can touch you unless God permits it.  And if God permits it, it will be for His purpose.  That is what this book teaches us.

But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face (Job 1:11).

Now Satan casts this slur upon Job.  I think he despises mankind.  He suggests that Job is really a timeservant to God.  And Satan has no use for you or me.  He says we are timeservants and that if God took down that hedge and took everything from us, we would curse God.
Mind you, there are a lot of people in the world who would curse God.  There is no question about that.  All one needs to do is listen to men on the street her in Southern Cal.  I hear God cursed nearly every day. 
One day I walked by a construction sit4e where on of the foremen was attempting to make some sort of an adjustment.  It didn't work and the piece fell down.  My, he began to curse God.  Now he may go to church on Sunday and carry a big Bible under his arm - I don't know about that.  But I do know this, he cursed God.  We hear that constantly today.  Men are not rightly related to God, my friend. 
This man Job had a hedge around him, and when Satan found he couldn't touch him, he said, "I'd like to get to him." Satan hates mankind.  Why in the world anyone wants to serve Satan is more than I know, because he despises us.  I wouldn't want a master like that, I want a master who will love me and be sympathetic toward me.  And that is the kind of Master I DO have.

And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand.  So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord (Job 1:12).

We learn here that sometimes God permits Satan to take away from us those things that we lean on.  I know that when our little security blanket is taken away from us we feel so helpless, incapable, and lost in this world.  Many of us cry out to God at such a time.
Notice that God is going to permit Satan to take all Job's possessions from him.  Believe me, Satan would destroy us if he could.  He has slandered both God and Job, inferring that God is not worthy to be served and loved for Himself alone, but that He must pay Job to love Him. Satan is the enemy of God and man.
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Today, think about some of our topics on loosing our peace because of the things we cannot control.  Think about what that states about our faith in God verses our ability to handle things in our own strength. 

I thank God that we live in the times when His spirit is within us and we are one with Him unlike Job who I respect immensely for doing all he did to uphold the commandments in his own strength allowing the hedge of protection to stay in place.  I thank God for His mercy and grace for the way He stayed with Job through all this.  I pray that when you are feeling attacked that you too feel His loving kindness upon you, rise up from within you and see the enemy flee. 

When you have done all to stand, remain standing,
Kisses,
Candace

Listen to Me ...Believe in Him!

John 5: 31  (GWT) "If I testify on my own behalf, what I say isn't true, someone else testifies on my behalf, and I know that what he says about me is true.

John 5:37-40 (GWT) The Father who sent me testifies on my behalf.  You have never heard his voice, and you have never seen his form.  So you don't have the Father's message within you, becaue you don't believe in the person he has sent.  You study the scriptures in detail because you think you have the source of eternal life in them.  These scriptures testify on my behalf.  Yet you don't want to come to me to get "eternal" life.

In all that we have been studying we know that Christ tells us to HEAR what he says, but believe in the one that sent him.  A few weeks ago we addressed discerning who you could see beyond the person speaking.  These verses above are the final pieces to understanding why it is so important to look at the full sphere of an individual.  Is God being magnified or is it all about "self".  Don't get me wrong, help can still be offered to another person when God is left out.  But it will be "self" help.  Do they try to lead you to help that will not end up with you doing it all your "self".  Will they be leaving you after their wisdom leaves the platform.

There is only one that can help you when all other leave. That is the person of Jesus Christ. 

Besure to notice if the person is the shadow of Christ.  If they are throwing the shadow, beware.  Think about that for the next 24 hours. We will pick up here tomorrow.

I pray that the Son shine on you today and others see you in His shadow.
With Love,
Candace

How do you like a bandaid removed? Slowly....or one quick RIP!

Joe Stowell always writes like we talk. He is incredibly easy to relate to. When he talks about his simple understanding of Loving our Neighbor through this experience, I had to shake my head at myself. Guess I was making it a more difficult concept to understand than it really needed to be. Or maybe seeing it so clearly shows how much I still need to grow. It is easiest to walk past someone and smile, ask if they need help, do something from a check list and move on. But if I have to employ thought about how THEY would like me to do it.......now that takes some serious selflessness and kindness. Jesus didn't just say "the man who helped him". The verse in Luke say, the one that was "kind" enough to help him. As I read this verse this morning again through Joe's wisdom, the statement Jesus made rose up in different areas.  Yes we have to be willing to stop, listen and give the help, and God can use that.  However, maybe there is another level we should strive to mature into.  When we employ the fruit of the spirit within our ability to help, say kindness for instance, that brings a new dimension of aid to the situation.  This pivitol point is where the power of the Lord is indwelling within the situation "to bring complete rescue and restoration and deliverance"


I thank God for this day, His mercy and grace to make it through it, His power, strength and courage to miss it and get back up.....and these words of Joe Stowell.

May God be glorified even when we miss it.

With Love,
Candace

Neighborly Love

READ: Luke 10:29-37

You shall love the Lord your God . . . and your neighbor as yourself. —Luke 10:27

It would have been simpler just to buy a new hair dryer. But determined to save a buck, I decided to fix it myself. In order to loosen the screw that was buried deep in the handle, I took out the ultimate handyman’s helper—my pocket knife. As I put pressure on the knife to turn the screw, the blade folded back—on my finger.

I learned a lesson that day: I love myself. And I am urgent about meeting my needs. There was no thought of, “Well, I don’t really have time to stop the bleeding now. I’ll get to it later.” Also, there was a tenderness about how the need was met. I instructed my first-aid team (my wife and kids) to wash my finger gently and then to put the bandage on in a way that would avoid having the hairs on my finger pulled up when it was removed. My thoughts, words, and actions were driven by my love for myself.

To love “your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:27) requires the same urgent kind of love. It’s a love that notices the need of another person and won’t rest until it’s been met. It’s a gentle, tender love that thinks and acts carefully. It’s the sacrificial and compassionate love that a nameless Samaritan had for a fallen traveler. It’s the kind of love God wants to share with your neighbors through you. — Joe Stowell

Lord, help me see the heartfelt needs

Of those within my care,

And grant that through my words and deeds

Your love with them I’ll share. —D. De Haan

You cannot touch your neighbor’s heart with anything less than your own.

"Isn't Helping Always a Good Thing?"

There are times in life when we feel we know a way to help others that would help ease the burdens or ease a consequence in their life. Easing a consequence in someone's life is something to pray about - there is ALWAYS a consequence in our own life to be aware of. God has a plan to make everyone mature - we have to prayerfully consider our actions, responses to others. If we act out thoughtlessly, we might be pushing God's plans out of the way. Free will is to be taken seriously, it affects many people around us.


I pray that we not be so cavalier with the blessing God has given us - I pray that we ask Him what He gave provision to us For....then obediently utilize them His specific purposes.

Through the Heart of Christ,
Candace

What My Obedience to God Costs Other People

As they led Him away, they laid hold of a certain man, Simon . . . , and on him they laid the cross that he might bear it after Jesus —Luke 23:26

If we obey God, it is going to cost other people more than it costs us, and that is where the pain begins. If we are in love with our Lord, obedience does not cost us anything— it is a delight. But to those who do not love Him, our obedience does cost a great deal. If we obey God, it will mean that other people’s plans are upset. They will ridicule us as if to say, "You call this Christianity?" We could prevent the suffering, but not if we are obedient to God. We must let the cost be paid.

When our obedience begins to cost others, our human pride entrenches itself and we say, "I will never accept anything from anyone." But we must, or disobey God. We have no right to think that the type of relationships we have with others should be any different from those the Lord Himself had (see Luke 8:1-3).

A lack of progress in our spiritual life results when we try to bear all the costs ourselves. And actually, we cannot. Because we are so involved in the universal purposes of God, others are immediately affected by our obedience to Him. Will we remain faithful in our obedience to God and be willing to suffer the humiliation of refusing to be independent? Or will we do just the opposite and say, "I will not cause other people to suffer"? We can disobey God if we choose, and it will bring immediate relief to the situation, but it will grieve our Lord. If, however, we obey God, He will care for those who have suffered the consequences of our obedience. We must simply obey and leave all the consequences with Him.

Beware of the inclination to dictate to God what consequences you would allow as a condition of your obedience to Him. By Oswald Chambers

"Help Me....Help You!"

Sometimes I have to laugh at us all.  We can get in such a self preservation mode that we deprogram all of our discernment. It reminds me of the scene from Jerry McGuire when he is screaming through the phone to his client "Help Me...Help You" over and over again.

If we are not careful we will think others are always in it for themselves; not truly trusting them to have our back in the crucial moments of life. We will push them away, or run away from our help, as God says. At times we even use that same broken logic with God. We do not turn to him unless we have no other option, then we beg him to help us.

He is our Jehovah-Jireh. He is always imploring us to believe. He essentially is boldly putting it out there "Help Me...Help You!". Will we trust that while we are out here just playing the game with all our gusto, that He is out here as the supreme manager working all things together to "Show us the Money". We all know His provision is more than monetary, He gives us all the abilities as well as the full prosperity; that is why all Glory goes to Him...Jehovah Jireh! (meaning: The Lord Who Sees, or The Lord Who Will See To It)

My prayer for us today is for us to trust, keep doing our part as we wait with baited breath to see His promises show up in spectacular ways.
Candace

Jehovah-Jireh

READ: Matthew 6:5-15
Your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. —Matthew 6:8
In my early years as a pastor, I served in small churches where finances were often tight. Sometimes our family finances felt the weight of that pressure. On one occasion, we were down to the last of our food and payday was still several days away. While my wife and I fretted about how we would feed our kids in the next few days, our doorbell rang. When we opened the door, we discovered two bags of groceries. We had not told anyone of our plight, yet our provider God had led someone to meet that need.

This reminds me of the Old Testament account of Abraham when he was asked to sacrifice his son Isaac. At just the right moment, God provided a ram instead. Abraham called this place Jehovah-Jireh, “The-Lord-Will-Provide” (Gen. 22:14). He is the One who still cares deeply for His children.

Jesus said, “Your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him” (Matt. 6:8). He is constantly caring for and seeking the best for us—a reminder that in times of hardship, need, and fear, we have Someone who cares. Peter wrote that we can cast all our cares upon Jesus, because He cares for us (1 Peter 5:7). We can turn to Him in our time of need. — Bill Crowder daily bread devoional.

I know not by what methods rare

The Lord provides for me;

I only know that all my needs

He meets so graciously. —Adams

What God promises, God will provide.