Genesis 3;1-4 (KJV)
Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
1 Peter 5;6-8 (KJV)
Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
This morning encouragement is for those that are continually being bombarded by the enemy and his lil' plots to cause you to fall back into ignorance. Ignorance of God, and all of his power.
See, we all are going to have to endure a portion of what the enemy can dish out, but what is our saving grace is that God knows that there will be no more put on you than you can handle. Which takes me to Eve. She ain't do nothing outside of what she knew to do. Because when confronted by satan (in the form of a serpent), she answered exactly what she knew. Now, where she fell back was at the point when that new question was asked. She didn't have the prepared response for that question, and she didn't seek to find the proper answer from Adam. When faced with a plot of the enemy, we must be prepared to give the proper answer, or escape the situation and seek the proper response. Did you know that, sometimes, escaping the situation IS the proper response? That one was for those that seem to always FIND themselves in places where they later express, silently, "I should have never went there."
Why might you need this encouragement, on this particular day? Well, because this day is no different from any other day. It is a day where you could run into the devil, and the plot may be put into action. What are you going to do? Where are you going to go? Who are you going to talk to? How are you going to conduct yourself? When are you going to call on God? This was in me, to give to you, because there are too many times when we all find ourselves at the entrance to one of satan's plots. Yes, some are so subtle that you do not know you are entering into them until you find yourself looking around, and not recognizing anything familiar. And yes, some are so obvious that you can know to call on the name of Jesus Christ, and then give thanks that you were given knowledge to recognize and flee.
Too many JUST DON'T KNOW!!!!! Either way the plot is laid out. They just do not know. Imagine if Eve didn't have the knowledge of God's command, totally. Yup, I don't want to imagine that either. For that fact, I still cannot understand (to this day) why Adam didn't smack that fruit out her... But, that is another conversation, for another time.
That is why I listed the scriptures from Peter's first epistle. So that you, if you say you do not know how, will have a point at which to begin. Understanding that you will search out more; by continuing to study and fellowship with other believers. What Peter gives is actually simple, in my opinion. I mean, I envision myself walking down the street, with these references in my active mind, defending myself and always having opportunity to remove myself from satan and the entrance to his plots.
Peter lists three actions: Humble yourself. Cast all your cares. Be sober, be vigilant.
Humble yourself. Know that Christ Jesus is with you. Know that if you put yourself under him, and be readh to perform all that is told to you or asked of you, you will be protected.
Cast all your cares. Yes! ALL OF THEM!!!!! Even the one that you didn't God would mind you caring about. Cast that one too. I am saying that Peter tells us to cast those cares to Christ Jesus. He cast his cares to God, and look at what God did for him; which in turn look at what it did for us. C'mon, you let go of that "care".
Be sober, be vigilant. Pretty self explainatory. Of course, it means don't get drunk. Stop with the silliness. LOL Also, it means to have the correct amount of knowledge at all times. Example from my own life: walking, one day, sharing the Gospel and happened upon a young man that had a portion of his face tattooed. Now, it was not my place to judge him (make him feel as though he going to hell for what he had done), but I did let him know how much harder he had made his life because he was not of a 'sober' mind. When you are sober, you can avoid most of satan's plots because most are just that easy to see: with a sober mind. Too, when you're sober, you will be vigilant. Prepared to defend against satan and his plot. But, when you are not of a sober mind (clear, full of correct knowledge) you will not have in place the proper defenses, and allow any kind of satan's plots to enter. Puts me in mind of one of my Sisza's statement about the last man she allowed in her life, "I could tell he was not right for me, but I couldn't stop him from getting closer. I was dealing with so much emotional baggage that I didn't know how to keep him from coming into my life like he did. And, he didn't do NOTHING but, MAKE MY LIFE WORSE."
On today, which is the day that Lord has made. You, my Brother and my Sister, are thought about. You are thought about so much that God through Christ Jesus touched a lowly country boy to get a reassurance to you. That you CAN be protected. You CAN receive relief from whatever situation you are in today. All you have to do is Humble yourself, Cast your cares, and Be sober, be vigilant. I would like to pray with you and for you.
Lord, we come before you on today saying, "Thank You." Thank you that you woke us up with activity of our limbs, and set in our right mind. Thank you that caused us to seek you out on some much needed advice. For coming to you we knew we would receive true counsel. Thank you Lord that you provide us with something so great and loving as your Word. Yes Lord, thank you for your word. Now Lord, we ask that you continue to keep us away from enemy and all of his plots. In the name of Jesus, Lord, do not allow him to get one foot step closer to us. Hedge us up, Lord, away from him Lord. In the name of Jesus. Because we set ourselves to learn some of how he operates, we know we need more of your Wisdom Lord, more of your Power, more of your Protection, Lord. In the name of Jesus Christ. Lord, do not pass us by when giving out the knowledge needed to navigate through this world. We are your children, we need Lord. In the name of Jesus. Now Lord, because we are your children, and because we know you love us, we ask all of the prayers and petitions you answer. In the precious, loving, gentle name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.
Somebody needs to know that the Donnie McClurkin song is all up in my spirit. At this very moment. For a saint IS JUST a sinner, who fell down. But, who wouldn't stay there!!!!!!
NO MORE FALLING DOWN!!!!!
Holla,
Yer Brova Catalyst
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