Satan Doesn't Attack His Own Forces

"To protect us from Satan's crushing blows, Paul tells us to 'take the helmet of salvation.' ... Paul was addressing believers. Unbelievers don't have to put on spiritual armor. They aren't even in the battle. Satan doesn't attack his own forces." - pg 1089 of MacArthur Drawing Near Devotional Bible (from the Devotional)

I wanted to share this quote from my devotional Bible because it stopped me and made me think. It's referencing Ephesians 6:10-18 which is where the Armor of God is introduced. 

In the quote above, the line "Satan doesn't attack his own forces," is what stopped me. Unbelievers don't need the armor of God because Satan doesn't attack unbelievers. Really? I hadn't thought about it. I assumed Satan enjoyed attacking all people. But it's true that he is against God so it makes sense that he attacks those who believe in God only. So when you become Christian and accept the Lord as your savior, you will need the Armor of God to protect you. 

Here is a FREE Bible Study I found on the Armor of God if you want to learn more. There are 9 lessons so make sure you click to the next lesson after you read the first page and keep going. 

We Must Trust in God

Have you ever wondered why God doesn't just make our lives easier? Why he doesn't help us win the lottery or get a high paying job or give us a great house? 

Remember in the bible when the Israelites are wandering in the desert? God gives them manna or food every day. He provides only enough for them to need and if they try to save some, it goes bad. They must rely on God to get food everyday. Why doesn't he just give them a weeks worth at a time?

Consider this quote from the book Spurgeon on the Power of Prayer compiled by Jason K. Allen:

 "...suppose this child should doubt whether his father would provide him with his daily food. He might then say, "Father, give me enough money to last for the next ten years, for I shall then be a man and able to provide for myself. Give me money to quiet my fears, for I am in great anxiety." The father replies, "My son, what should I do that for?" And he gets for a reply, "I am very sorry to say it, dear father, but I cannot trust you. I have such a weak faith in you and your love that I am afraid one of these days you will leave me to starve, and therefore I should like to have something sure in the bank." Which of you fathers would listen to this child's request?"

When you consider it this way,  it makes perfect sense. Why should God provide us with a week's worth of food or help us win the lottery just so we can forget him until we need him again. This is not the kind of relationship we are meant to have with him. By needing him daily, we are reminded to trust in him and to have faith. 

Do you trust in God?

What Sin Really Is

A while back I read a book I received for review called: Your Future Self Will Thank You: Secrets to Self-Control from the Bible and Brain Science by Drew Dyck. (this post contains affiliate links.)

You can read my review on my book blog but I wanted to share something from page 20.

"From the biblical view, there are only two modes of life available to us, enslavement to sin and life in the Spirit. The former speaks of confinement in the extreme. Today, "sin" is a playful word, associated with decadent desserts and lingerie ads. We see the word sin and imagine someone sampling a menu of forbidden delights. Don't be thrown by that connotation. Instead, think of being pistol-whipped by increasingly destructive patterns of behavior, ones that ultimately lead to your demise."

This passage really made me think. They are right. Non-Christians even use the word sin but they don't mean what it really means. The image of being pistol-whipped by each destructive pattern over and over until it kills us really makes you think of sin as a worse thing than the image of eating a chocolate cake would be.

Wouldn't you be more likely to avoid sin if you thought about it as the deadly choice? I know I would.

You can read more of an excerpt of this section of the book here or buy the book to get the full idea of self-control the biblical way.

65 People to Pray For List

You've been told (or read) a lot about spending more time in prayer and how important prayer is. But when you remember to pray, are you stuck for ideas of who to pray for after your family? Or do you find yourself praying for the same few people over and over and just don't feel like you are covering enough people?

65 People to Pray For

This list starts with the obvious and then goes to others you might not have heard of. Not all of these will be applicable but choose the ones that are and start spreading your praying around.

1. Husband/Wife
2. Children
3. Parents
4. Your Siblings
5. Your Children's Families (if they are grown)
6. Your Children's Friends
7. Your Extended Family (Aunts, Uncles, Cousins)
8. Grandparents
9. Close Friends
10. Acquaintances
11. Coworkers
12. Boss
13. Your Child's Teachers and Other School Staff
14. Your Children's Classmates
15. Pets
16. Stray Animals
17. Pets waiting to find forever homes
18. Specific Neighbours
19. Your Neighbourhood
20. Your Town/City
21. Your Province/State/etc
22. Your Country
23. Your Political Leaders (Municipal, Provincial/State, Federal or your country's equivalent)
24. Members of Your Church
25. Your Church Leaders
26. Your Church Type (e.g. all United Church or all Pentecostal Church or all Catholic Church)
27. The Unsaved
28. Orphans
29. Children in Foster Care
30. Widows and Widowers
31. All Children
32. All Seniors
33. Seniors in Nursing Homes Without Families
34. All New Moms/Dads
35. All Struggling Moms/Dads
36. Those who are anxious
37. Those who suffer from any mental illness
38. Those who are suffering from any illness/disease you are suffering from (eg. I pray for those who suffer from migraine, fibromyalgia and Bipolar)
39. Those who have Cancer
40. Those with dementia
41. The families of those who are sick with any of the above
42. Those who are poor
43. Those who are homeless
44. Those who do not use their money wisely
45. Those who are struggling with pornography
46. Those who are struggling with adultery
47. Those dealing with shame or guilt
48. Those dealing with anger
49. Those who have divorced or are contemplating divorce
50. Those who have false beliefs about the faith
51. Those who poorly represent Christians
52. Those who have hurt me physically or emotionally
53. Those who make poor decisions
54. Those dealing with persecution
55. Those dealing with discrimination
56. Those doing the persecution or discrimination
57. Those in abusive situations
58. Those being abusive
59. Criminals
60. Those contemplating turning to crime
61. Doctors/Nurses/Medical Staff
62. Police
63. Firefighters
64. EMS and other Emergency Crew
65. Those who do the same job as you

Did you think of any I forgot?

The Antidote for Sin

Daily I read the MacArthur Drawing Near Devotional Bible and the devotion I read a while back said that Love is the Antidote for Sin. I wanted to share what I learned here.

This post contains affiliate links.

It goes on to state two sections of bible verses. (emphasis mine)

The book of Matthew tells us what the greatest commandment is:

34 Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”  - Matthew 22:37-40

Then Paul in Romans tells us that love is the fulfillment of the law:

8 Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. 9 The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. - Romans 13:8-10

What the devotional is saying is that when you love others, you will not want to sin against them. That is why love is the antidote to sin. If we love as Jesus loved and as God loves us sin will naturally disappear. Don't you agree?

I highly recommend the MacArthur Drawing Near Devotional as each month a new topic is covered. August was the month to talk about love. After reading the devotional for the day you have some parts of the Bible to read. You read from the Old Testament, Psalms/Proverbs and New Testament every day. The Psalms and New Testament are read twice during the year.

Did Sin Cause My Depression?

Sometimes Christians with Depression wonder if they did something to deserve their suffering. They wonder if their sin caused their depression. Some things I read in a recent book, Depression, Anxiety and the Christian Life (my review) made me think and I wanted to share.

This post contains affiliate links.

Did Sin Cause My Depression?

It is true that some of the hardships we encounter are a result of sin and so sin can cause or worsen depression and sometimes it's not related at all. It's not usually one sin that causes an illness but many sins over a long period of time. However that's not what you should be worrying about. The cause of your depression for the most part is irrelevant. It's what you do with that depression.

If they were more aware of how sinful is their overvaluing the world, failing to trust God, having bitter thoughts of him and meager, unholy thoughts about his goodness, and devaluing the glory of heaven (which should give them some solace even in the most desperate state), as well as their being frequently impatient, worrying, and discontent, and their denying previously received mercy or grace, this would do them more good than words of comfort.  - from Depression, Anxiety and the Christian Life

What this quote is saying is that by doing those things, you are sinning. Someone telling you that they are sins and that you should work hard to overcome them would be better than just simple words of comfort such as "don't worry, it will be okay." Hope is important but just hoping it will get better is not taking matters into your own hands.

Words of Wisdom

Don't make the world more important than faith. Trust in God, resist bitter thoughts of God and unholy thoughts about his goodness. Watch your impatience, worry, discontent and don't deny already received mercy or grace or deny that you will receive more.

Sin Doesn't Mean...

However just because you might be struggling with sin (as we all are in some way), it doesn't mean that you are not worthy of grace or that God doesn't love you.

On the other hand, if they foolishly imagine that all these sins prove them to be devoid of grace and that God will count the Devil’s temptations as their personal sins, condemn them for the very things they abhor, and reckon their very illness of depression to them as a crime, these notions need to be refuted and discarded. Otherwise, they might mistakenly relish their disordered emotions and sufferings. - from Depression, Anxiety and the Christian Life

God doesn't count the Devil's temptations as yours, as long as you resist them. God doesn't consider your illness a crime either. God loves you and your imperfections but he hopes you will be able to resist sin and try to live as he would.

Repent of your sin, ask for forgiveness and then work on your illness. It's hard, trust me I know. But you have to take an active role in your depression to get rid of it. It won't go away by itself. God Bless!

Choosing Life (Suicide and Faith)

I suffer from Bipolar which means I have struggled with Depression and Mania and have dealt with suicidal thoughts most of my life. My manias are dysphoric which means that instead of feeling excessively happy or having grandiose thoughts (I'm better than others or I can conquer the world) most of the time I feel excessive anger, anxiety and obsessive thoughts when I'm manic. It also means I get suicidal thoughts during depressions and manias.

NOTE: This post may be triggering to some. It talks about suicide. Please read with care.

Choosing Life - Suicide and Faith

If you've struggled with suicidal thoughts and you believe in God you may have wondered what God thinks about suicide. I have been suicidal off and on for many years but I've only been
Christian for just under 5 years.

Before I believed in the Christian God, I thought it didn't matter if I committed suicide because when I died I thought I'd be reincarnated to another life no matter how I died. Once I started being a Christian I struggled with what God would think if I killed myself. Does it matter? Would I be welcomed into his arms no matter how I died? Surely God would understand that I was suffering. Surely God didn't want me to suffer right?

I had searched online for what the Bible says about suicide but wasn't happy with the answers one way or the other. Luckily I chose life. I'm not currently suicidal (thank goodness) and am doing okay. But I recently came across Deuteronomy 30 in my reading and I wanted to share what it says with anyone who might have considered suicide or might consider it in the future.

Deuteronomy 30:19-20

19 This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live 20 and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

God says "Choose Life."

Okay so God wasn't talking about suicide but I still feel like this is his message to me.

The commentary on this page says this about this passage:

"Every man wishes to obtain life and good, and to escape death and evil; he desires happiness, and dreads misery. So great is the compassion of the Lord, that he has favoured men, by his word, with such a knowledge of good and evil as will make them for ever happy, if it be not their own fault. Let us hear the sum of the whole matter. If they and theirs would love God, and serve him, they should live and be happy. If they or theirs should turn from God, desert his service, and worship other gods, that would certainly be their ruin." 

So the phrase is about choosing God, loving God and serving God so that we may live through him. I feel this is still what God wants me to think of if I consider suicide thoughts. If we seek him and follow him we are doing it so we can live with God when the time comes and so we should be doing so only when HE decides the time comes.

I don't think it's a matter of whether you will go to Heaven if you kill yourself or not. We still go to heaven when we sin as long as we accept Jesus as our saviour and try to life like he would. I think if we DID go through with it, we would still be accepted into Heaven. HOWEVER, God wants us to choose life, now and then with him after we die, as HE wills it.

These are just my thoughts and I am still studying more but I hope it is helpful to someone.