Quote from Forum Archives on December 10, 2001, 11:31 am

Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>

Dear friends,

This week, we continue our journey of preparation, anticipating
both the historical anniversary of Jesus' birth and the Spirit of
God in our midst, and the present day reality of God's continued
presence. Though God is always near, it is we who need to
approach Him, for it is we who have departed His Presence, not
the other way around.

I found the Monday message from Neil Anderson interesting. My
seven year old son often questions matters of God and Satan.
Some times he will talk about Satan, and the "bad" things that he
is doing. I remind my son that, Yes, Satan is very real, and
that the evil things he tries to do cannot simply be ignored, for
they are real. But I also tell him that to dwell on what Satan
does is, in a very real sense, giving Satan power in our lives.
Instead, I encourage my son to seek God continually, and when
Satan tries to scare or influence him, to call on God to bring
direction, purpose, and safety back. Doing so brings honor and
glory to God, and effectively defeats anything that the evil one
may be attempting to do.

For me, my main fear is that I unwittingly do not include God in
everything that I do. That's when I'm open to spiritual attacks
from the evil side. I don't fear God in the sense that I'm
afraid of being banished, but I do have the utmost honor,
respect, love, and desire, to be near my God, and I do NOT take
His mercies for granted (not when I'm in my right mind, anyway).

I pray that God is doing a work in each of our hearts at this
very moment, preparing us for His coming! He IS here, yet this
is also a time to rethink our priorities, examine our hearts,
rededicate our lives to Him, and humbly ask Him to forgive us for
straying from continual contact - communinion with our Almighty
God!

Your Brother in Christ,
Brian

Reply-to: Neil Anderson <neilanderson@lists.crosswalk.com>
Subject: Neil Anderson Devotional for Monday, December 10, 2001
Date: Mon, 10 Dec 2001 04:03:12 -0500

If you are looking to feed and challenge your faith, visit
Crosswalk.com's Spiritual Life Channel at:
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-----------
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

December 10

THE FEAR THAT EXPELS ALL OTHERS

In the fear of the LORD there is strong confidence, and his
children will have refuge (Proverbs 14:26).

I was conducting a conference for the leadership of one of
America's flagship churches. The pastor is one of the most gifted
Bible teachers I know and his staff is among the best. I asked
the 165 leaders present if they had ever experienced a direct
encounter with something they knew was demonic, such as a
frightening presence in their room or an evil voice in their
mind. Ninety-five percent answered yes. I went one step further
to ask how many had been frightened by something pressing on them
that they couldn't immediately respond to physically. At least a
third raised their hand. Are these Christian leaders mentally
ill? No, and neither are you or your children when you struggle
against demonic influences in your life.

We warn our children about strangers in the streets. Don't you
think we should warn them about "strangers" in their rooms? Our
research suggests that 50 percent of Christian kids have
encountered an evil presence in their rooms. Most of my students
at seminary have had such an experience, and by the time they
complete my class on resolving spiritual conflicts, several tell
about having such an experience that semester. Would you know
what to do if you or your child was terrorized by a presence
alone at night? Do you fear such a possibility?

Most people fear demonic things they can't see, but have no fear
of God. That's just the opposite of what Scripture commands. We
are told to fear the Lord (Proverbs 1:7), but we are never told
to fear Satan. Fear of the devil is an inappropriate response to
the reality of the spiritual world. Knowing his schemes and
learning to resist him and take authority over him is the
biblical response.

Isaiah 8:13, 14, reads, "It is the LORD of hosts whom you should
regard as holy. And He shall be your fear, and He shall be your
dread. Then He shall become a sanctuary." The fear of the Lord is
the one fear that expels all other fears.

Lord, You are the only legitimate fear-object in my life. You are
the omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent God.

-----------
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< 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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