Category: Spiritual Warfare

How to Effectively Pray for the Lost

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It’s through prayer we push back the powers of darkness – Pray until something happens

Every Christian must understand that we live on enemy occupied territory. Our very being is an act of rebellion against the one who is ruling the earth right now (Satan). As Christians, we are called to lead this rebellion not with a sword or with a grenade but rather, with our knees and with our words. This means that we unashamedly preach and proclaim the gospel, no matter the cost.

If you’re praying for a lost one to be saved, understanding these things can help make your prayers more effective as you push back the darkness. 

Principles for Breakthrough

1. Stand Your Ground

In Ephesians 6:12, Paul is telling believers that because there is a war, we must stand our ground. Notice that the first thing that we’re called to do is not to fight. Instead, we’re called to stand firm and not retreat.

In other words, no matter what opposition is facing the person you are praying for, stand in what Jesus did on the cross. Stand on who you are in Christ and who you believe they will become. Stand in what He says about this world and the future of this world. Don’t let Satan’s attacks and lies cause you to retreat in doubt or in prayer.

2. Get Suited

As you read Ephesians 6:13-14, you’ll notice that Paul begins to describe the armor of God. Paul encourages believers not to pick up a grenade or to pick up physical weapons. Rather, he tells Christians to equip themselves with spiritual weapons. 

Our spiritual armor is not something that we earn through our righteousness or our righteous acts. Instead, it is something God gives us and all we have to do is apply it. If you feel overwhelmed by the lack of change you see in who you’re praying for or are battling doubt and fear, make sure to get suited daily. Take time to put on the armor of God before you face the day. 

3. Pray in the Spirit

In Ephesians 6:18-20, Paul tells us that we should be engaging in spiritual warfare by praying in the Spirit. One thing that he encourages believers to pray for is others and opportunities for the gospel to be preached. 

This chapter is clear that we are warring against principalities of darkness, but that doesn’t mean we directly confront them. Instead, we become strategic in weakening its hold by praying in the Spirit for the people that are under the enemy’s influence. If you are praying for a loved one that is lost, keep praying that the scales on their eyes would come off. Ask for God to grant them repentance and extend His mercy on them and all the others who are in similar or worse situations. Pray and ask God to send and dispatch angels on behalf of His kingdom.

Remember that the Church didn’t conquer Rome by binding the spirit over Rome but by providing for the poor, loving its enemies, and by praying and fasting for people who didn’t know Jesus. We must remember that while there is no redemption and hope for the enemy, there is hope and redemption available for those that are under his sway as long as there is a praying church.

Keep praying for the lost. Stand your ground in God’s promises, in His saving power, and keep believing that sooner or later you will see them serving God alongside you.

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** By Vladimir Savchuk / Photo by Owen Barker at Pexels

Two Wolves

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Key Quotes

“We have to be careful what we are feeding on in the news, for example.  I’ve noticed that a lot of the news today isn’t really news (facts about what’s going on in the world) – it’s merely people expressing their opinion about something – bashing this politician here, criticizing this nation there, guessing at what’s going to happen here.  It’s similar to junk food – it ruins the appetite for what’s really healthy, rather than building us up as God’s Word does.”

“I’ve seen that much of what I desire and unconsciously think about today, is the result of what I’ve been recently choosing to ‘sow’ into my mind for the past week, or month, or so. What we choose to feed or withhold from our flesh today has a direct effect on the strength of our flesh tomorrow.”

“Denying the small desires of the flesh everyday that contradict God’s will, and obeying the quiet whisper of the Spirit in every little thing – even ‘This isn’t the right article to read’.  It’s much better to obey the whispers of the Spirit today than to try to quiet down our screaming flesh later!”

Full Article
 

Galatians 6:7 “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.”
 

STORY

I once heard a simple children’s parable about two wolves:

A young boy once felt that he had two wolves inside of him. One wolf was good and the other was evil. Those two wolves were often fighting each other. When the good wolf would win the boy would do good (such as say a kind word, obey his parents, help someone, share his toys, and refrain from saying bad things). But when the bad wolf inside of him would win the boy wouldn’t be able to control himself in the moment, and he would choose to do bad. The boy wanted to do good, but he didn’t know how to help the good wolf win. So he asked his Dad about it, he told him of his struggle of the good and the bad wolves which were inside of him. And he asked his Dad, “How can I help the good wolf win, and the bad wolf to lose?” And his Dad said, “That’s easy; the wolf that will win is the one you feed the most. Feed the good wolf, and he will get stronger. Starve the bad wolf and he will get weaker. Then the good wolf will win.”

I believe the moral of this story is what was written in the Bible 2000 years ago: “For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.” ‭‭Galatians‬ ‭6:8-9‬ ‭NASB‬‬ When our flesh (self-will) is eating really well, it comes be very intense with whatever we’ve been feeding it. Physically, if it’s been feeding on a lot of sugar, it will start to crave sweets more and more, and in the same way – if it has been feeding on gossip articles online, for example, I believe it will become very strong in its judgment of others. If it has been constantly feeding on material things – constantly gazing at the latest products, gadgets, and designer clothes – it will desire them more and become more covetous.

THE CURRENT SEASON

The same goes with fear. In this current season, I believe that many (Christians even) can be paralyzed by fear if they are feeding their mind on the multitudes of negative things the unbelieving world is telling them – maybe it’s their friends, co-workers, relatives, or online feeds which preach fear, doom and gloom, instead of God’s Word of His love for us, and His sovereign control of every situation. Proverbs 4:23 says that it’s critical to guard our heart diligently. I understand my “heart” to mean: my inner thoughts, intentions, and desires. I used to think that it wasn’t possible to change what I desire, and what I unconsciously think about all day… that it sort of just, “happens.” But I’ve learned that that’s absolutely not true. I’ve seen that much of what I desire and unconsciously think about today, is the result of what I’ve been recently choosing to ‘sow’ into my mind for the past week, or month, or so. What we choose to feed or withhold from our flesh today has a direct effect on the strength of our flesh tomorrow.

THE NEWS

We have to be careful what we are feeding on in the news, for example. I’ve noticed that a lot of the news today isn’t really news (facts about what’s going on in the world) – its merely people expressing their opinion about something – bashing this politician here, criticising this nation there, guessing at what’s going to happen here. It’s similar to junk food – it ruins the appetite for what’s really healthy, rather than building us up as God’s Word does. It’s not right to say that we should be ‘ignorant’ and refrain from reading the news altogether.

Even Jesus was informed about current events – Luke 13:4. But I’ve seen for myself, I need to be able to know when the Holy Spirit is saying, “This is not the right article to read”, or when He’s saying, “That’s enough.” Col 3:15 “Let the peace of God be your referee” (And listen to His whistle-blows when you’re about to go out of bounds!) I remember being over at someone’s house and a boy was playing video games there. The Dad said to his son who had been playing video games, “Ok son that’s enough for now.” It was a good example to me of “moderation.” Have you ever heard the Lord say “That’s enough”, and stopped doing something? Maybe it was an unprofitable conversation, or spending a long time on the internet… not anything sinful… just the excess of something. If the Lord tells you “that’s enough” would you stop immediately? I see that’s the question I often run into throughout many days in some area or another. The Holy Spirit is not being a ‘killjoy’… (God’s commands are not meant to make me miserable) – it’s for my protection. If I continue past that point, then I enter the realm of sowing to the flesh, and the flesh will get stronger, and I will be feeling the consequences of it later. Maybe in intense fear, or preoccupation with something… or a lack of desire for the Lord and His Word.

“Junk food” may be lawful, but in excess it will always ruin our appetite for what’s healthy. But If we regularly feed on time with the Lord, and His Word, good teaching, books and sermons, etc – we will find our spirit very strong, and our mind being transformed (Romans 12:2). Our mind is constantly being transformed with what we feed it. And the amazing result is “eternal life” as it says: “the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.” And eternal life, we know is intimate fellowship with our Father, and with Jesus; to know Him (John 17:3).

If we are feeding on the right things, we will grow in knowing the Lord, and we will grow to be strong. Daniel 11:32 “Those who know their God will be strong” (in spirit) May the Lord help us to be wise and sow to the Spirit today, and be careful what we are feeding on. So that our mind and our heart can be transformed to think and see things like He does, and then we will feel like He does about things – free from fear, walking above the storm of panic which the world is caught up in today. And this comes though denying the small desires of the flesh every day that contradict God’s will, and obeying the quiet whisper of the Spirit in every little thing – even ‘This isn’t the right article to read’. It’s much better to obey the whispers of the Spirit today than to try to quiet down our screaming flesh later!‬‬ “Say to the righteous that it will go well with them, for they will eat the fruit of their actions.” Isaiah‬ ‭3:10‬ ‭NASB

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**By Bobby McDonald © Copyright – Bobby McDonald. No changes whatsoever are to be made to the content of the article without written permission from the author at NCCF Church

Fake Christians

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Bible Verses About Fake Christians

Sadly there are many false believers who will be expecting to go to Heaven and will be denied entrance. The best way to avoid being one is to make sure you have truly put your trust in Christ alone for salvation.

When you have repented and put your faith in Christ that will lead to a change of life. Follow God and educate yourself with his Word.

Many people follow false teachings from the Bible given by false preachers or they just refuse to obey instructions from God and follow their own minds. 

There are many people who throw on the Christian name tag and think by just going to church they will be granted Heaven, which is false. You know there are people like that in your church and especially in the youth today.

You know there are people still having sex outside of marriage, still going to clubs, they still have a continuous willful potty mouth. Hell will be worse for these people than atheists. They are just Sunday Christians and they don’t care about Christ. Am I saying that a Christian is perfect? No. Can a Christian backslide? Yes, but there will be growth and maturity in a true believers life because it is God working in them. They won’t just remain in darkness if they are the Lord’s sheep because God will discipline them and also His sheep hear His voice.

Fake Christians quotes

Laurence J Peter – “Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than going to the garage makes you a car.”

“Don’t let your lips and your lives preach two different messages.”

“Your most powerful testimony is how you treat others after the church service is over.”

“What a heartbreak it would be to live an “almost” Christian life, then “almost” get into heaven.”

Beware, there are many fake Christians

1. Matthew 15:8 These people honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.

2. Isaiah 29:13 And so the Lord says, “These people say they are mine. They honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. And their worship of me is nothing but man-made rules learned by rote.

3. James 1:26 If a person thinks that he is religious but can’t control his tongue, he is fooling himself. That person’s religion is worthless.

4 1 John 2:9 Those who say that they are in the light but hate other believers are still in the dark.

5. Titus 1:16 They claim to know God, but they deny him by what they do. They are detestable, disobedient, and unfit to do anything good.

Fake Christians don’t care about God’s Word

Fake Christians sin on purpose saying, “I’ll just repent later” and disobey God’s teachings. Even though we are all sinners and we still struggle with sin, Christians don’t live a lifestyle of willfully and deliberately sin.

6. 1 John 2:4 Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person.

7. 1 John 3:6 Those who live in Christ don’t go on sinning. Those who go on sinning haven’t seen or known Christ.

8. 1 John 3:8-10 The person who practices sin belongs to the evil one, because the Devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason that the Son of God was revealed was to destroy what the Devil has been doing. No one who has been born from God practices sin, because God’s seed abides in him. Indeed, he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born from God. This is how God’s children and the Devil’s children are distinguished. No person who fails to practice righteousness and to love his brother is from God.

9. 3 John 1:11 Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God.

10. Luke 6:46 Why do you call me Lord but don’t do what I tell you?

Fake Christians think that there is another way to get into heaven besides Jesus.

11. John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

True Christians love Jesus and have new desires and affection for Him.

12. John 14:23-24 Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me.”

13. 1 John 2:3 We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands.

14. 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

Fake Christians are hypocrites

Even though the Bible says we are to lovingly, kindly, and gently go to our brothers and sisters alone to correct them of their sins, how can you do that, but you’re doing the same thing as them just as much or even more than them? People who do things for show such as give to the poor and other acts of kindness to be seen by others are also hypocrites.

15. Matthew 7:3-5 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.

16. Matthew 6:1-2 Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.

17. Matthew 12:34 You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.

Fake Christians will not enter into heaven.

False converts will be denied. 

18. Matthew 7:21-23 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

19. 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

20. Revelation 22:15 Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

Fake Christians are false preachers and false prophets just like the cast of Preachers of LA.

21. 2 Corinthians 11:13-15 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.

22. Jude 1:4 For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

23. 2 Peter 2:1 But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.

24. Romans 16:18 For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.

Reminders

25. 2 Timothy 4:3-4 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.

If you don’t know the Lord: A Clear Gospel Message

***By Fitz Cherry at Bible / Photo from pexels

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Christianity Promises Suffering and Persecution: Here’s How to Prepare

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“Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” ~ Matthew 16:24-26


“Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.” ~ 1 Peter 4:12-13

No one enjoys suffering. No one. Most people across the globe recognize, however, that suffering is normal in this fallen world. Western culture, on the other hand, has so glorified the values of safety, comfort, and convenience that anything less is now regarded as something akin to human rights violation.

The idea that people have a right to a secure, healthy life is an attitude that has, unfortunately, bled over into the church. The extreme example of this is Prosperity Teaching, which communicates that God wants Christians to be wealthy, healthy, and happy all the time. Even among more biblically orthodox Christians, however, there is an unspoken idea that God somehow promises to protect them from suffering. The result is an absence of teaching on the presence and role of suffering in the Christian life, and the crises of faith that accompany that suffering.

Suffering Is Normal in a Fallen World

The Bible regards suffering as normal. Part of this suffering comes from the fact that we live in a fallen world, and this kind of suffering falls on Christians and non-Christians alike. 

The Bible regards suffering as normal. Part of this suffering comes from the fact that we live in a fallen world, and this kind of suffering falls on Christians and non-Christians alike.

Because of the rebellion of Adam and Eve against God, the physical world itself was subject to corruption and decay (Rom. 8:18–22). As a result, things like disease and natural disasters happen to everyone. Certainly, modern science and technology have developed to the point that we can shield ourselves from some of the consequences of this corruption and decay. However, we cannot eliminate them entirely. Hurricanes, tornados, and earthquakes occur all over the world without discriminating between Christians and non-Christians, and we are completely powerless to stop them.

How to Endure Suffering: When God Takes Away

We can now cure or prevent many diseases, but that doesn’t stop both Christians and non-Christians from developing cancer or having heart attacks. The sinfulness of men and women adds human violence and oppression to this dark picture, so that crime, war, and oppression are also part of life everywhere on earth. Eventually, all of us die—sometimes slowly and painfully—as a result of the rebellion of our first parents. 

It is true that God, in his incredible mercy, undoubtedly does protect us from many of these consequences of the Fall in our world. However, he does not ever promise in his Word that he will protect us from physical injury or illness, and he allows all of us to die. This kind of suffering is a normal part of normal life in a fallen world.

Suffering Is Promised for Christians

For followers of Jesus, however, the picture is even more sobering. The Bible actually promises us persecution and suffering for our faith. The world is in rebellion against God. It hates God, and when he came as a man in the person of Jesus Christ, the world responded by murdering him. Jesus promised us that the world would treat us the way it treated him(John 15:20, ESV). 

The first followers of Jesus consistently experienced suffering for the sake of Jesus, in Jerusalem (Acts 8:1), Galatia (Gal. 3:4), Philippi (Phil. 1:29), Thessalonica (1 Thess. 2:14), and Asia Minor (1 Peter 4:12), along with the recipients of the letter to the Hebrews (Heb. 10:32). Paul went through horrible suffering (2 Cor. 11:23–29), as did the other apostles (Acts 5–8). Paul was quite explicit in saying this was to be expected by everyone who follows Jesus (2 Tim. 3:12, ESV). In the Bible, suffering and opposition are a normal part of the normal Christian life.

The comfortable experience of Christians in the West has actually been an anomaly in this regard. Because of the Christian heritage of Western civilization, combined with democratic freedoms and historic rule of law, Western Christians have largely been left alone for their faith. Even today, as Western nations become increasingly post-Christian (and even anti-Christian), the opposition experienced by most Christians goes little beyond mockery. However, there are signs that this protected status may be changing. If it continues to do so, it will simply put Western Christians in the same boat as their brothers and sisters all over the world.

Today, in Islamic, Hindu, and Communist parts of the world, being a follower of Jesus means, at best, losing your job and being rejected by your family. At worst, it can mean imprisonment, beating, and even death. These things are being experienced all over the world right now by our brothers and sisters in Jesus.

People who have been given a realistic sense of what it means to follow Jesus, and who have counted the cost, will make much steadier disciples.

How to Prepare for the Reality of Suffering as a Christian

Here are three points that can prepare you for such a fate:

  1. First, Christian workers need to examine their own hearts, searching for any sense of entitlement. As Paul advised Timothy, they need to be prepared to “share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God” (2 Tim. 1:8, ESV). They will do this, not by cultivating stoicism or asceticism, but by concentrating long and hard on “the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:8, ESV), who is better, more valuable, and more delightful than anything we lose by following him.
  2. We need to share the gospel the way Jesus did, by making the cost of discipleship clear (Luke 9:57–62). People who have been given a realistic sense of what it means to follow Jesus, and who have counted the cost, will make much steadier disciples. And lest we fear that such a sobering presentation of the gospel will keep people from being saved, we need to realize two things. First, we are offering Jesus, not a cozy life, and Jesus really is better than all of the good things of this world combined. Second, it is the power of the Holy Spirit that draws people to Jesus, not our attractive packaging of the message.
  3. We need to include the subject of suffering well in our immediate follow-up with new believers.
    • Followers of Jesus should not be surprised or caught off guard by suffering (1 Peter 4:12). 
    • They need to endure suffering without compromising their integrity (2 Tim. 4:5; 1 Peter 2:19). 
    • They must love their persecutors and pray for their welfare (Matt. 5:43–47). 
    • They are to renounce any intention to take revenge (Rom. 12:14–21). 
    • They are to trust God in the middle of their suffering and respond by proactively doing good (1 Peter 4:19). 
    • They are to use their experiences of suffering as a basis for comforting others who suffer (2 Cor. 1:3–7). 
    • They are to fix their eyes on Jesus (Heb. 12:1–3). 
    • And they are commanded to rejoice. “Rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings” (1 Peter 4:13). 

As followers of Jesus, we do not rejoice in suffering because we enjoy pain, but because Jesus is so worthy in our eyes and hearts that we delight in being identified with him. All suffering is temporary. It isn’t worth comparing with the glory that awaits us (2 Cor. 4:16). In that place of glory, all pain and suffering will be gone forever (Rev. 21:4).

*** By Zane Pratt serves as the VP of Training for the International Mission Board – img.org

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The Enemies Attack on the Family

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God’s Word makes it clear that we are engaged in warfare against Satan. We need the armor of God to be able to “stand firm” against the “schemes of the devil” (Eph 6:10-18). Many Biblical writers describe the evil character of the one who seeks to destroy what God loves. Peter describes the devil as our adversary who “prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour” (1 Pet 5:8 NIV). In Revelation, John refers to him as “the old serpent,” who “deceives the whole world” (Rev 12:9). John’s gospel is where we learn that the devil “was a murderer from the beginning and has nothing to do with the truth because there is no truth in him … he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44). Paul calls him the “god of this world who has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ” (2 Cor 4:4). He is the “prince of the power of the air” who is “at work” around us. This evil one seeks to turn people from what God has designed for their ultimate blessing and good.

Satan knows that God created marriage as a beautiful, living picture of Christ and the Church. God designed both marriage and the family for our benefit. Satan knows the value of the family, how it is the fabric of a good solid society, the foundation of vibrant growing assemblies, and the future of God’s work on earth. If Satan can be successful in tearing down the structure and substance of the family unit, then he will be successful in damaging what is dear to God’s heart.

Satan’s Attack on the Institution of Marriage, the Foundation of the Family

When God finished creating the first couple, He called what He had made “very good.” This man and woman were united in a holy bond before God. For the benefit of future generations, God explained, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” God requires from the married couple a level of separation from others and a commitment to each other which will provide a stable foundation for the family unit.

Satan’s initial attack on the family occurred in Eden where the old serpent worked his evil deception on Eve and destroyed the harmony of the first marriage. In listening to Satan and disobeying God, Eve and Adam plunged themselves, and all subsequent families, into slavery in the “kingdom of darkness.” Satan’s attack on the family has continued until today. There are signs of it all around us. With the increasing rate of divorce, the acceptance of common-law relationships, the barrage of Hollywood immorality, and the legalization of same gender marriages, we can see how successful Satan has been in twisting and perverting God’s best for us and depriving us of the blessings that marriage brings to the family.

Satan’s Attack on the Internal Mechanics of the Family Unit

Good marriages are the foundation of solid families. If Satan can successfully destroy the marriage, this will have a devastating impact upon the rest of the family. According to a recent survey,1 85% of all children that exhibit behavioral disorders come from fatherless homes. However, even when a father is present, if the parents are not married, it is still detrimental to the children. In an annual report,2 David Popenoe, a Rutgers sociology professor and report co-author speaks of the increase of cohabitation, “I don’t think it’s good news, especially for children … As society shifts from marriage to cohabitation — which is what’s happening — you have an increase in family instability. The United States has the weakest families in the Western world because we have the highest divorce rate and the highest rate of solo parenting.” God, in His wisdom, knew that children needed the stability of married parents.

The more closely we understand God’s design for the family, the better we will be able to recognize when Satan tries to change and undermine it. Through Paul and Peter, God gives us clear instructions regarding the spheres of responsibility and authority within the family (Eph 5:22-6:4; Col 3:18-21; 1 Tim 5:14; Tit 2:4-5; 1 Pet 3:1-7). Two truths, which appear repeatedly in these passages, are the headship of the husband and the submission of the wife. Scripture likens their relationship to that of Christ and the Church. John Piper, in his book, This Momentary Marriage, says, “Headship is the divine calling of a husband to take primary responsibility for Christ-like servant leadership, protection, and provision in the home. Submission is the divine calling of a wife to honor and affirm her husband’s leadership and help carry it through according to her gifts.” In Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Letters and Papers from Prison, he writes about the husband, “As the head, it is he who is responsible for his wife, for their marriage, and for their home. On him falls the care and protection of the family; he represents it to the outside world; he is its mainstay and comfort.” The responsibility of the husband is to provide leadership that is motivated and directed by the agape love of Christ. The husband is to love his wife “as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself up for her,” and to “nourish and cherish” her as one would his own body. When the husband provides a leadership marked by this sacrificial love, the wife will respect her husband and the marriage will flourish. The husband, who is fulfilling his role as head, will seek to meet the needs of the family. The wife, secure in the love and devotion of her husband, will support and help him in every possible way.

Satan has done a masterful job at distorting these two divine mandates (headship and submission). So often we see men who authoritatively control families in a selfish, self-serving way. The other extreme, in which men cede the responsibility for guiding the family to the wife, is also widespread. Correspondingly, while some women are dominated by their husbands, others seek to be the controlling force in the home and do not respect them. These scenarios reveal how successful Satan has been in persuading people to abandon God’s ideal. Any time someone believes that living out the principles of godly headship and submission would somehow make their family life less than it should be, Satan has been successful at his pernicious work of deception. May God give husbands today the courage to provide the loving leadership God intended them to exercise, and wives the grace to respect and support their husbands.

The Scriptures provide clear guidelines for the children’s sphere in family life. God instructs them to accept the authority of their parents, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother” (Eph 6:1-2). Satan has tried to undermine the parental authority of the home by introducing messages of insubordination and by seeking to render the parents unable to assert their authority over the children. Once you are aware of this truth you can begin to see the many specific ways that Satan is doing this today in the media, literature, music, etc. Many television shows and children’s books portray the father figure as weak or foolish. One of the numerous songs which encourage children to resist parental authority, Billy Joel’s “My Life,” defiantly addresses parents: “I don’t want you to tell me it’s time to come home. I don’t care what you say anymore, this is my life. Go ahead with your own life, leave me alone.” Thus Satan whispers to children that submission and obedience are not best for them. The music the children listen to, their entertainment, and the atmosphere of the home are important leadership responsibilities. If fathers are to bring up children in the “discipline and instruction of the Lord,” they must fulfill their leadership responsibilities in the family and this is to be done lovingly, without provoking their children to anger (Eph 6:4).

Satan’s Attack on the Intention of God for the Christian Home

The home is where the Word of God is taught and preserved, and where sound doctrine is explained and lived out. This is the Scriptural pattern. A godly life of faith which characterized Timothy was first displayed in the home of his grandmother, then his mother, and then his own. From childhood he was “acquainted with the sacred writings” which were able to make him “wise unto salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Tim 3:15). Parents must give the Scriptures priority in the home because God’s Word is the necessary foundation. Satan has done a masterful job at keeping families so busy that they have little time to read the Bible, let alone study it and put it into practice in their lives. Spending time in God’s Word and waiting upon God is essential. If Satan can keep families too busy for the Scriptures, they will lose their joy, strength, and effectiveness in this world. Satan, using busyness as his tool, has robbed many families of the time God wants them to spend with each other. This results in a lack of both closeness and enjoyment in each other. Husbands and wives need time together to nurture their relationship. They need time with their children if they are going to fulfill the Scriptural mandate of training up a child in the way he should go (Prov 22:6). This training takes time and focus, both of which are lost when lives become frantically busy and stressed. The family needs time when the earplugs are out, Internet is closed down, and telephone ringers are off, and when the needs of family members are lovingly met. Time must be taken for reading and praying together and for eating and playing together. As families live out God’s plan for them, God will be glorified, families blessed, and assemblies enriched.

When parents spend time with God and allow their behavior to be guided by God’s Word, this will produce Christlikeness in them that will draw their children’s hearts to God. Any way in which Satan can keep parents’ lives from exhibiting the fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control—will detract from the character of the family and the members will suffer loss. When he can plant the seed of unforgiveness, family peace and joy are destroyed. If he can convince members to act in a hypocritical manner, integrity is lost. If he can persuade children or parents to stretch the truth or shade it, even the smallest bit, trust is destroyed and damage ensues. The family’s ultimate protection against Satan’s attacks is to know and live out God’s truth. As His truth and love are expressed through the functioning of the family, even neighbors and friends may be drawn to God.

In conclusion, God, Who created the family, has provided the divine design and instruction in His Word so that families can flourish. Our best defense is to know the pattern, so that we will be able to discern Satan’s subtle attacks, and to let the fruit of the Spirit characterize our lives. We need godly leadership, respect, and love, along with fervent prayer and dependence on God. He alone can preserve our families for His own honor. May God help families to follow His truth and cling closely to Him.

1 Men Against Domestic Violence.
2 An annual report, which analyzes census and other data, issued by the National Marriage Project at New Jersey’s Rutgers University.

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*** By Bryan Joyce at Truth and Tidings

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