Category Archives: fasting

Freedom Friday: Satan Has A Plan For Your Life

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There are many ways that we have tried to share the Gospel, the “good news” of Jesus, over the years.

Back in decades past, Christians would often challenge non-Christians with questions like these: “If you died tonight, where would you go?” We would pull out the Four Spiritual Laws and show the person their need for Jesus to be saved from sin.

Or we would take our unsaved friends to a tent meeting or to see a known speaker. My mother speaks of going to an evangelistic crusade as a teen that scared her to pieces, but not enough that she “got saved.”

Today, we are more apt to hear a feel-good message, stating we don’t have to be alone or wandering aimlessly. You can live in hope if we believe in Jesus because God has a plan for your life.

I believe this is true. I’ve even blogged on a past Freedom Friday about how God does have a specific plan for us.

There is another message out there that I don’t often hear. I imagine it’d really get some folks’ attention if we started our evangelistic messages with this statement:

“Satan has a plan for your life.”

I suppose to those who believe in good and evil, to those who know there is a real enemy, this isn’t a very encouraging message. And to those who think of Satan as a little red guy with a pitchfork and horns, it just seems downright outrageous.

My mentor Mike Olejarz, dressed up as Satan,
to sign copies of CS Lewis’ “Screwtape Letters”

The Bible tells us that Satan is real. Given that he fell from heaven and was believed to be an angel (Luke 10:18, Isaiah 14, Jude 1:6), I doubt he has red horns and a pitchfork.

What do many Christians believe about Satan?

We like extremes in Christianity, and this is not exception.

One extreme sees a devil around every corner. Someone with this mentality stubs his toe and screams, “Get thee behind me, Satan!”

The other extreme knows there is an enemy, but pays him no mind. When they think of Satan, they imagine that little red, horned creature hanging out in a fiery place somewhere far, far away.

Neither perspective is particularly helpful or accurate.

What is Satan’s plan for us?

Jesus stated clearly what Satan’s plan for us is:

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.”

Satan’s plan for us is to steal, kill and destroy God’s best.

We see this throughout the Bible, first in Genesis, when the serpent said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” In convincing her to eat the fruit, her connection with the Source of Life (God) was broken, her intimate relationship with Him ended, and she and the man had to leave the garden, where they had walked with God in the cool of the day.

Satan incited David to take a census of Israel, which was not requested by God or blessed by Him (1 Chronicles 21).

Satan came alongside Joshua the high priest to accuse him (Zechariah 3:1-2).

Satan tempted Jesus during His 40-day fast in the desert (Luke 4), and then left Jesus until an opportune time.

Satan spoke to Peter somehow in order to try and convince Jesus to avoid crucifixion (Mark 8:33).

Those are just a few examples.

How does Satan affect us today?

It’s unlikely that most of us will have Satan come and speak to us, as Jesus did. But Satan can still influence us today.

How?

Despair. Hopelessness. Defeat. Discouragement. Doubt.

He is the dream killer, the hope stealer, and the life destroyer.

He does these things by asking us to question God’s goodness. The serpent’s question in the Garden of Eden was really, “Is God withholding good things from you? Is He really trustworthy?”

How should we respond to Satan?

We can respond as Jesus did in the desert: with truth from God’s Word.

“The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:4-5

We don’t need to walk around in fear of the enemy. As I shared earlier this week, God gives us protection from him. But we are called to be aware that he exists. This is the middle ground of the two beliefs I shared above.

“Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your Christian brothers and sisters all over the world are going through the same kind of suffering you are.” (1 Peter 5:8, 9 NLT)

We are children of God and through Jesus Christ, we have overcome the evil one (1 John 2:14).

Jesus’ statements about Satan’s purpose are not the end of the story:

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” John 10:10

That’s good news indeed!

Freedom Friday: Selling My Birthright

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Driving to church on Sunday, I heard part of this sermon (Aug. 5th, 2012) based on these verses from Genesis 25:

Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. He said to Jacob, “Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I’m famished!” (That is why he was also called Edom.)

Jacob replied, “First sell me your birthright. ”

“Look, I am about to die,” Esau said. “What good is the birthright to me?”

But Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob.

Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left.

So Esau despised his birthright.

red lentils

This dramatic and fairly well-known story describes the dynamics between twin brothers, Esau and Jacob, sons of Isaac and Rebekah. It was a volitile situation even from the womb, the Bible describing how the babies “jostled each other” within Rebekah. Esau was born first, but, not to be outdone, Jacob came out grasping Esau’s heel.

Yet Esau was still the first born.

We don’t have that many parallels today in Western culture as it pertains to birthrights. In Jewish culture, the firstborn child was given certain rights, privileges and inheritance simply based on the fact that he was born first. It is in Genesis and the story of Jacob & Esau where the rights of the firstborn are first talked about.

As believers, we have all been adopted into God’s family, and we are all His favorites. As His children, there are certains rights and privileges that God has given to us, promises He says will be fulfilled if we follow and trust in Him, surrendering our entire lives over to His lordship.

As I listened to the sermon, I couldn’t help but think of my struggle with overeating.

Am I selling my birthright for a plate of food? I wrote a poem that was posted 2 days ago if you missed it.

Alicia Britt Chole dissects the temptation of Jesus in her book, anonymous. You can read a Biblical account here.

Jesus has been fasting for 40 days and was genuinely hungry. Satan tells Him to turn stones into bread.

What would be wrong with that? Eating is not a sin, after all. What would be the harm in having a bite of bread?

From anonymous, pg. 65:

I find it noteworthy that Satan did not suggest that Jesus run into town and steal some food – that would have been a blatant violation of God’s commendments. But eating? Food in itself is not sinful. And here is where Satan’s lures can be deceptive. This layer was not about what Jesus would eat as much as it was about when Jesus would eat. Would he obey Father God even when obedience meant delayed satisfaction of legitimate needs?

In the layer of appetite, we witness Satan’s skillful use of a most effective lure: immediate gratification.

Imagine where we’d all be if Jesus sold His birthright for a plate of food.

Your issue may not be with food. It may be with gossip, crass talk, pornography, stealing, or subtle lying. Those could all be considered “false foods.”

What are you selling your birthright for a plate of? What false food do you run to in order to try and satisfy legitimate needs in illegitimate ways?

It is not likely that Esau was literally going to die of hunger, as he dramatically stated. Yet he was genuinely hungry.

Often when I run to the cabinets, I too am genuinely hungry.

But my hunger is not for food.

I desire comfort, escape. I am tired, lonely, bored, in pain, and am looking for a way to forget, to flee those feelings.

My need is legitimate, but it cannot be meet with food. My need is for God, spiritual strength, companionship, laughter, joy, peace and rest.

Think for a minute.

Are we despising our birthright, as Esau did, because we choose to run to false food instead of Him?

Are we missing out on the fulfillment of God’s promises – His presence, His provision, our inheritance as His child – in favor of more immediate gratification?

Is the pay-off, the “reward” really worth it?