Quote from Forum Archives on November 2, 2001, 10:07 pm

Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>

Dear friends,

I think that this is an important message today about "Spiritual
Discernment", the kind of discernment each of us needs to develop
in order to fully realize our relationship with the nature of God
- His role as Father - Creator of all things, Son, the human
nature of God, who came to live among us as the Lord Jesus
Christ, and the Holy Spirit, the indwelling nature of God within
each of us.

In this message, Neil directly writes about "spirits" - and how
not ALL spirits are spirits that are sent from God - some spirits
come from "the evil one".

Have you ever heard those "inner voices" talking to you? I'm not
necessarily talking about an audible voice, though some people
claim they can "hear" such voices. I am talking about the
thoughts in the inner conscience. The Holy Spirit is certainly
THERE. But there are other voices in that inner conscience,
waging war with God.

The Bible tells us that God will be victorious over Satan, and
that Jesus Christ has already won the victory for us over sin.
But that does not eliminate this ongoing inner conflict. We must
all eventually deal with it, or face its consequences. If we
read and study the Bible, discuss it with others, compare each
chapter with the overall context of the Word, then ask God's
Spirit to move within us, it will happen. But it takes
PARTICIPATION and EFFORT on our part. Salvation is a free gift
from God, there is no mistaking that fact. At the same time, the
Bible instructs us to "work out our salvation with fear and
trembling". What in the WORLD does THAT mean? I submit to you
that it neans to actively pursue the ways of God, reading His
Word, eagerly seeking understanding of what it means and
practical daily application to our personal lives. This has
become a personal life's pursuit for me. How about you?

Your Brother in Christ,
Brian

Reply-to: Neil Anderson <neilanderson@lists.crosswalk.com>
Subject: Neil Anderson Devotional for Friday, November 2, 2001
Date: Fri, 2 Nov 2001 04:07:07 -0500

If you are looking to feed and challenge your faith, visit
Crosswalk.com's Spiritual Life Channel at:
spiritual.crosswalk.com
-----------
N E I L A N D E R S O N D A I L Y D E V O T I O N A L
from Freedom in Christ Ministries

November 2

TAKING EVERY THOUGHT CAPTIVE

We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up
against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought
captive to the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5).

Satan's perpetual aim is to infiltrate your thoughts with his
thoughts and to promote his lie in the face of God's truth. If
Satan can control your thoughts, he can control your behavior.
He can introduce his thoughts, tempting you to act independently
of God, as if they were your own thoughts or even God's thoughts,
as he did with David (1 Chronicles 21:1), Judas (John 13:2) and
Ananias (Acts 5:3).

One of my students exemplified how deceptive Satan's thoughts can
be. Jay came into my office one day and said, "Dr. Anderson, I'm
in trouble. When I sit down to study, I get prickly sensations
all over my body, my arms involuntarily raise, my vision gets
blurry and I can't concentrate."

"Tell me about your walk with God," I probed.

"I have a very close walk with God. When I leave school at noon
each day, I ask God where He wants me to go for lunch. If I hear
a thought that says Burger King, I go to Burger King. Then I ask
Him what He wants me to eat. If the thought comes to order a
Whopper, I order a Whopper."

"What about your church attendance?" I continued.

"I go every Sunday wherever God tells me to go." For the last
three Sundays "God" told him to go to a Mormon church!

Jay sincerely wanted to do what God wanted him to do. But he was
passively paying attention to a deceiving spirit (1 Timothy 4:1)
instead of "taking every thought captive to the obedience of
Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5). In so doing he had opened himself
up to Satan's activity in his life, resulting in the sabotage of
his theological studies.

We must assume our responsibility for choosing the truth. We
can't always tell whether the thought comes from the TV set, our
memory bank, our imagination or a deceiving spirit. Regardless of
where a thought originates, examine it in the light of God's Word
and choose the truth.

Lord, help me today as I assume my responsibility to take every
thought captive to the obedience of Christ.

-----------
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CBD).
< shopping.crosswalk.com/bye/devo_na >

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< devotionals.crosswalk.com >.
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--
Brian Masinick, "The Mas", mailto:masinick@yahoo.com
Home page: www.geocities.com/masinick/

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