The Insidious Ways of the Enemy
Does satan uses "good personalities" of people, and lascivious carnal love some people seem to possess to try and influence children of God into straying from the truth? I can see that being with someone who is pleasant, positive, and uplifting could open a child of God up to the influence of that person, even if that person is not in God. They (the child of God) could reason within themselves (by the power of a seductive spirit from that person) that this person seems to be more at peace than me, and then begin to receive false truths from them, and it affect greatly their walk with the Lord. Satan would then use this relationship to imperceptibly take them down the slippery slope, all the while them thinking that they have discovered "new truths and revelations" in the Lord.
I believe one time I heard the Lord speak to my spirit and say that He wants us to have no other influence other than from Him alone. Any other influence must be checked by the Spirit with the discernment He gives us. If it is not, we may end up calling "light, darkness" and "darkness, light," and oh, how dark is that darkness.
posted by Patti Blount @ 8:54 AM
3 Comments:
At 5/16/2009 12:09 PM ,
Neil Girrard said...
Paul wrote, "Test ALL things - hold fast to the good." That which is truly good comes from God. How can we know if something we are hearing from someone else is good UNLESS we check in with God for confirmation or refutation. The only alternative to finding out what is right and good in God's eyes (true righteousness) is to walk in what is right in our own eyes (lawlessness). In the end, lawlessness will earn us a "Depart from Me, I never knew you."
Neil Girrard
paidionbooks.org
At 5/16/2009 2:02 PM ,
Patti Blount said...
I hear you, Neil. So then, our perceptions could be lawless also, meaning that we judge things according to what we call good, but not having asked God,"Is this good?" Where do you think all the "shoulds" we have learned before meeting the Lord fits into all of this? For example, some people believe that you "should" always be willing to help someone else. Others think you "should" consider the circumstances, and then respond or not to helping them. And even others say "if someone is grateful, and won't take advantage of your help," only then you "should" help. In the Lord,though, when asked for Him to reveal His righteousness, doesn't He probably answer different everytime? And also, isn't His perception many times contrary to what we've been programmed to call "good"? So, when we want to determine what is good, (in His eyes) we almost have to go against what we have formerly believed is true-right? Like "walking by faith"? Hearing what He says is good, and if a response is warranted by us, than doing what He says to do even though it might be the opposite of what we or others are thinking we "should" do? If I hear what you are saying, I have experienced this, and for a long time I felt guilty about my response, even though I believed God was telling me to do it. All I could do is trust that He knew what He was doing and rest in that. I had felt that my response to someone very close to me had been hurt to the core by this. Would God tell us (based on His righteousness) to do or not do something, and it hurt someone else? I would appreciate your response. Do you get what I am saying?
At 5/16/2009 8:57 PM ,
Neil Girrard said...
"Should" is, most often, a guilt word. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Those who are led by the Spirit are the sons of God. We are to avoid being conformed to the pattern of this world and instead be transformed to the likeness of Christ by the renewing of our mind so that we might prove what is the will of God.
It is not always what He says but also what He is making us to be. Most of Christianity focusses on knowing and doing but 90% of the walk is simply being - being at peace, being filled with His Spirit, being still and knowing God.
Neil Girrard
paidionbooks.org
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