The Battle We Face Every Day

Satan is at war with us, and we have to understand that. We have to fight the battle. Jesus has won the war. Jesus has already defeated this enemy. But, every day we are to fight the battle in our own lives. 

I believe that this war started from the very beginning.  

Gen 1:28 This is at the point of creation of man, the very first thing that God said to the man and woman He had just created.                                                                                                                                                                           “ And God blessed them. And God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth."

Those words that God spoke, subdue, and have dominion indicate a battle, some work, some striving, that it would not happen automatically. 

The Hebrewword for subdue--kabash (kaw-bash');  to tread down;  to conquer, subjugate, violate:

 and for dominion-- radah (raw-daw');tread down, i.e. subjugate;

These words indicate a battle.

I wonder if Adam and Eve really understood this. They were not on guard.

Adam and Eve lost the first battle.  They lost it because they were not on guard and they were deceived.

Satan’s Lies

Gen 3:1-5  Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden'?" 2 And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, 'You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.'" 4  But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

That was not true. It is a deception.

That is the way he ensnared Eve, and that is his weapon today. Satan came to Eve and lied to her. He twisted the words of God and caused her to doubt the character of God and the love of God.

This is the weapon he still uses. Satan comes to us, and he lies to us. We don’t know that it is Satan. We think that its us, our own thoughts.  Sometimes he uses the words of a friend, a parent, a teacher, a celebrity. The lies cause us to doubt God’s word, to doubt His character, and to doubt His love for us.

There are many lies that Satan uses, tailor made for the individual. Satan’s lies are sometimes very subtle, with a touch of truth to make them more believable.  But, the basis of all of his lies are the same.  the big lies that are the foundation for all the other lies.

God is not enough

1.     God is not enough. 

God created the man and woman to be in fellowship with Him.  He was their source, their strength, their guide, their everything.

Satan came to Eve and suggested that God was not enough.  Satan suggested  that she could not trust God, that God had not told her the truth, that God was holding out on her, that there was something that she needed that God had told her she could not have.  He suggested that she could make her own decisions if she just had the knowledge she needed. Then, she would not have to rely on God.

Satan made her think that God was not enough, that she needed more.

The truth is that God is enough. God told Paul, My grace is sufficient for you. The psalmist said that full joy is in God’s presence.

The covert lie that God is not enough is the lie at the root of many of our problems.

God is not enough, I need money. God is not enough, I need a man, or a woman. God is not enough, I need drink….

I am not enough

2.     The other root lie of Satan is You are not enough.

He told Eve, “your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” The implication is that, Eve, your not enough as you are. You are not enough, you need to be more, to know more.

That is the lie behind many of our issues. I am not enough.

I am not enough, so I need to work harder. I am not enough, I need to be perfect. I am not enough, I am not worthy of love. I am not enough, not good enough, not pretty enough, not strong enough, not smart enough. Fill in the blank.

This lie that I am not enough is the cause of most emotional problems. It is depressing to have the overwhelming feeling that I am not enough. It causes anxiety, fear, shame, condemnation.

Because I am not enough, I want to make myself feel better. That is the start of drinking, using drugs, illicit sex, drive for more money, eating disorders…

Also, it is the source of a lot of “good behavior” that is separate from God.  The fruit that satan enticed Eve with was from the tree of the Knowledge of good and evil. It’s not all about the evil. The temptation was that she could know evil and good apart from God.  Sometimes good things like religion, doing good works to earn love, being legalistic, holding to doctrines above life and love.. Good things that we use to make us feel better about not being enough.

The lies that God is not enough, and that you are not enough are the root of our problems. As believers, these lies are the source of the shackles around our legs that keep us from dancing. We hear Satans lies from our early years. We don’t know that they are lies. As far as we know, they are true. We build lives around those lies, we set up behavior patterns, defense mechanisms, emotional default settings that are based on lies.

So, why can’t we just stop believing the lies, remove the shackles, and dance? 

Help for the battle

Because we are in this battle, we need help. We are not meant to fight alone.

We are not alone.  In Gen 3, it seems that Eve went into battle alone, never realizing it was a battle, not knowing that she needed help.  Gen 3:6  and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her,

Adam was there. I don’t know what the dynamic was. Did Adam just stand there and watch the whole conversation? Did Eve say, It’s OK, I’ve got this?  I don’t know.

But, this shows that from the start there was a factor in this battle, that we don’t fight alone. We need a team to help us.  

This also was part of the creation. God created man, and He said, It’s not good for man to be alone. God created man to be in community. We are not supposed to be independent, self made, self reliant folks. That’s hard for us Texans to accept. We think we have to be big strong capable men and women who don’t need help. That’s balony.  No one goes to war alone.

Eph 6:12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

Is that a fight you want to enter by yourself?

You know the Bible tells us to love one another, serve one another, be devoted to one another, accept one another, forgive one another, encourage one another, confess to one another, even greet one another with a kiss! Jesus sent his disciples out in pairs. The apostle Paul never traveled alone. We just were not meant to do it on our own.

In this spiritual battle, we need the strength to endure and to successfully resist our enemy when he opposes us. Fighting alone, we endanger ourselves when we could and should be looking for ways to become stronger and the easiest way to do that is to multiply your forces! 

Eccl 4, “Two are better than one… Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken” (Eccl. 4:9, 12). In our spiritual fight, why should we unnecessarily endanger ourselves by not calling reinforcements when we could? When we join together in the fight against our spiritual enemies, it is then we become automatically stronger and more able to resist and defeat them!

We NEED each other.

What is life supposed to be like, really?

Do you ever wonder "What is the Christian life supposed to look like?"

We see it described in the Bible as a pretty amazing kind of life:

Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness, self-control;

Col 3:12-15  Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13  bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.

Phil 4:11-13 I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. 13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

1 Peter 1:8  Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory,

Do these verses describe the life that you live? I hope they do. I hope you can tell me that most of the time, you live a life like this. I just don’t think that is true for most people. I visit with a lot of people,  mostly Christians, many of them people who love the Lord and are trying to live a good life, but most are not living a life they would describe as abundant, rich, full, happy, peaceful, content, with sweet harmonious relationships.  

Imagine life fully free and fully whole, a life filled with joy every day, even when you had to face hard times. Imagine a life of peace, no worry or anxiety, just peace. Imagine being content no matter what your situation is. Imagine that your every response would be compassionate, forgiving, kind. Imagine being full of love for every person you meet. 

Imagine having power when you pray, and confidence when you come to God. Imagine having courage to share about Jesus everywhere you go.

This is not a dream, this is the life we were created and redeemed to live.  

So, as redeemed, born again people, with the Holy Spirit living in us, why don’t we live this way?  

We are in a battle. We don’t often know it or realize it, but we are. 

Jesus said that he came to give us abundant life. Listen to the whole verse.  John 10:10

The thief comes to steal, kill and destroy, but I have come to give you abundant life.

There is a thief, an enemy who is out to get us.  There is an enemy of our souls who wants to ensnare us. Satan’s first desire is to take as many humans to hell as possible. He wants to physically kill human beings, steal their very soul, and destroy them in every way.  We see that all around us. Terrible atrocities and violence inflicted all around; wars, genocide, murder, fighting, evil of all kinds. All designed by our enemy. And, he wants to keep people from believing in Jesus Christ as the son of God and coming into a relationship with Him. We see the results all around, people who are blinded, pursuing wealth and power, given to the pleasures of the flesh, believing in ridiculous ideas and man made religions. Satan entices man with every invention of the imagination.

But some of us escape. God has snatched us out his evil grasp. By God’s mercy and grace we have believed in Him, been born again, have the Spirit of God living in us.

I am sure that that greatly disappoints our enemy. But, when that happens, Satan does not give up and leave us alone. His second purpose is to keep us from living the life that God meant for us. He wants to steal our peace with fear, worry, anxiety. He wants to kill our joy with bitterness and hatred. He wants to destroy our purpose with addictions of all kinds, sexual sin, with boredom, with legalism, shame, and passivity.

Satan is at war with us, and we have to understand that. We have to fight the battle. Jesus has won the war. Jesus has already defeated this enemy. But, every day we are to fight the battle in our own lives.

1 Peter 5:8-9  Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.  Resist him, firm in your faith,

No doubt, we have an enemy that is out to get us,  and we are to fight for our lives. 

      (to be continued)

What is the goal of Celebrate Recovery, really?

Gearing up for Celebrate Recovery, starts fresh Thursday, Sept. 19. This post continues some thoughts about CR, began with the previous post.

The goal of CR is help people become free and whole. But, the goal is not that we be free from depression, free from addiction, free from an immoral lifestyle, free from bad relationships, free from fear of rejection, free from low self esteem .  All of that is just one part of the process, not the goal.  Our goal is to help each other be truly free to become who we were created and redeemed to be.  The point is not just to be free FROM the junk. The point is to be free TO be everything that God intends us to be.  Jesus has great plans for each one of us.  We were created to be wonderful expressions of God, showing forth His glory, His power, His grace.

What the words Celebrate Recovery mean

As the CR leaders have met over the last few weeks, we discussed several possible changes we may make. One was to change the name. It seems that celebrate recovery gets  a response from people that is low. Just to recover seems to indicate not free, like a recovering alcoholic, recovering shoplifter, better, but still struggling. But, I looked up the words

Celebrate means to show happiness that something good or special has happened

I like that. I’m a celebrating kind of person. I like the idea of showing happiness, of having a party.

Recovery means to get back something previously lost or its equivalent; the return of something to a normal or improved state after a setback or loss

So, at Celebrate Recovery, we are showing happiness that something good and special has happened, that we are returning to the normal state that was previously lost.  We are getting back to the condition that God created us to be in at the very beginning.  We are becoming what God created  and intended us to be. 

God’s original plan

We see God’s original intention in  Gen 1:26-28  Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." 27 So God created man in his own image,in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth."

THAT is the way we started. Created to be like God, in His image, looking like Him, expressing the character of God, spreading the rule of God over the earth, living in perfect relationship with God, and with each other.

So, that is the normal state that was lost, and that is the state that we want to recover. That is the goal of Celebrate Recovery. 

"Take the Shackles Off My Feet"

We at Cottonwood are preparing to begin our 5th year of Celebrate Recovery next week. As preparation, I had the opportunity to share some things about CR last week. In a few posts, I will share a few thoughts. 

Shackles

There is a song I really like, with a chorus that says, “Take the shackles off my feet so I can dance.” I was thinking about that song a few weeks ago. The cry of this song is, “I want to dance. God, I hear the music, and I want to do dance, but I have these shackles. Would you take the shackles off so I can dance?

The goal is the dance. The goal is not to have the shackles removed. That is just the necessary step to become free enough to dance.

Interesting thing about shackles, they are portable. Shackles are the chains that connect the feet. They don’t keep you confined, but they limit your movement. I was thinking that, for some people, shackles are an improvement. Imagine someone in maximum security prison, solitary confinement, only allowed to leave his cell once a day, locked up for 23 hours every day, never leaving a small area. One day, he has to go to court, so the guard unlocks his cell and escorts him out, but he puts shackles on his feet.  The prisoner is then taken out of the prison, into fresh air, is able to see the sun, able to ride in a car, walk in a hallway, see new faces, hear the sounds of the city. This must feel like freedom, but, then he is wearing shackles.   He can walk, but his feet are chained together, so he cant get too far, and he cant dance. He is a little bit free, but no totally.  He is not completely free and he knows it.

I believe that many Christians are like those prisoners, out of prison, experiencing some freedom, but still walking around in shackles, and unable to dance.

The vision for CR is that we all need to be dancing. We want to help remove shackles so we can dance.

I want to love the Lord with abandon, to follow him without holding back anything, to live a life that is full, abundant, joyful, radical, with whimsy and fun, also purposeful and productive.  I want that kind of life for all of us. I want to see us all free. Free from any and every kind of shackle. Free from addiction, alcoholism, depression, worry, fears, anxiety, phobias…free from boredom, free from legalism, free from passivity, free from humdrum, freely living that life of joyful abundance. 

Ready for Fall

Fall is here. Summer break is over!  We are ready to start new fall ministry opportunities!  See what you can join! 

Ladies Bible Studies Start Sept. 16

Gideon, Your Weakness, God’s Strength        by Priscilla Shirer

Ever feel insufficient? Could it be that your weaknesses are the keys that unlock God's strength? Through a look at the life of Gideon, you can discover that instead of ignoring, neglecting, or trying to escape your weaknesses, you can see them as the gifts, given specifically and strategically by God to unlock the door of God’s strength. $13 for book

Monday Nights 7-9

Stephenville, at the River Walk Apartments, 1001 E Washington

North Stephenville area, at the home of Kandi Rutledge, 4324 N US Highway 281

Tuesday Mornings,

Dublin 10-12, at Cottonwood, Class 330, near old chapel

AND

Boundaries: When to Say YES, When to Say NO, To Take Control of Your Life

by Henry Cloud

Having clear boundaries is essential to a healthy, balanced lifestyle. A boundary is a personal property line that marks those things for which we are responsible. In other words, boundaries define who we are and who we are not.

Monday Nights,

DeLeon, 6:30-8:30, at Second Hand Rose, 217 N. Texas St, 

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Ladies Fellowship Lunches

The Second Monday of every month

Lunch is served 11:00-1:00.

Come on your lunch hour for a casual time to eat and visit, at the home of Belinda Koestle,
2120 Oaklawn, Stephenville 254-485-6539 

Come whenever you can.  No need to call ahead.  Everyone is welcome

 Lunch is provided, donations accepted.
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Band of Mothers

        Motherhood is not easy, but when we stand shoulder to shoulder, helping to bear            each other’s burdens and covering each other in prayer, the radiant journey                     is suddenly much more do-able.

 Join the monthly meetings of this group of mothers of young children.

Meets the third Thursday of each month, in various homes. We will be discussing the book One Thousand Gifts, to help us to look for the many things to be thankful for that God gives us each day.

Sorry, children are not included, and we do not have child care.

For more info call Brandi McIntosh at 254-445-8166 or LaDonne Wenzel at 254-977-2311

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Ladies Sunday School Class

 Every Sunday morning at 9:15, room 330 next door to the old chapel.

 A sweet, intimate study and fellowship time for women, with opportunities to share our hurts, needs, and concerns, and to celebrate our victories and blessings.                   

This is a safe place to ask questions, where no one is expected to have all the answers and it’s ok if you have NONE of the answers!!

Join us as we study and fellowship, and encourage each other to learn what God is saying, and to apply the knowledge to our lives in practical ways.