Satan's War On Words…

Satan's War On Words…

What We DON'T Know CAN Hurt Us AND Every Generation to Come!

"Abiding in Jesus - that is, living the Abundant Life - means His Words are living in us; we think them day and night. God has provided the means whereby this can be accomplished, and He is not obliged to change His methods to match our expectations or our modern way of life." - Keith

God's Word is not simply difficult for us to comprehend: It is impossible for our human minds to understand God's Word! We simply do not think the way God thinks. Consider this, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." (Isaiah 55:8-9)

Find this, and more, on our TTM Teaching page of our TTM WEBSITE.

Should William Shakespeare's plays be discarded because they are not written in today's common English? 

Of course, rather than simply throwing the works on history's trash heap, they could be rewritten in modern English, so that it will be easier for people today to read them and to understand them. But Shakespeare is widely regarded as the premiere playwright of the English-speaking world, so who living today is actually qualified to modernize the plays while being able to retain the unique qualities of Shakespeare's genius? The answer is no one. William Shakespeare stands alone; his writings reflect a combination of his own genius and the time in which he lived. His plays cannot be duplicated in today's English.

There are two main problems that stand in the way of our reading and comprehending any of Shakespeare's original works, for example "Romeo and Juliet." Firstly, our modern culture bears little resemblance to Elizabethan England, so the many cultural references and nuances are lost on us. Secondly, the English language we speak and read has undergone significant changes from what was used in Shakespeare's time. We don't even know many of the words Shakespeare used, and many of those we do recognize had different definitions when Shakespeare wrote his works. Thus, to truly appreciate Shakespeare's writings, we must become educated in the customs of the Elizabethan period and learn the Early Modern English of that period. Moreover, we need to be able to think the way they thought.

The same is true for understanding God's Word. The Scriptures include many cultural references that are meaningless to us, because we do not have the same cultural conditions today. Moreover, since God's Word was not written in English, it must be translated from the original writings, and the two primary languages of the Scriptures, Hebrew and Greek, often do not translate neatly and clearly into English. Thus, using an English translation is not enough. To gain understanding of the truths contained in the Bible, we must familiarize ourselves with the cultural settings within which the Scriptures were written and we need to apply ourselves in studying the original Hebrew and Greek. Furthermore, as with reading Shakespeare, to really comprehend the Scriptures, we need to change the way we think.

Those who have re-translated the Bible into modern English have done so with the stated purpose of making the Bible "more understandable." What they are actually doing is altering the text to match the way people think today. This fits in with the way many people choose a version of the Bible to read and to study. "I read such-n-such version, because I can understand it." However, this ignores one crucial fact. God has deliberately hidden the meaning of His Word!

"At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight." Matthew 11:25-26

As an example, consider the great misconception concerning the reason that Jesus taught the people using parables. Many believe that the parables were employed so that He could help them to better understand Truth. This is exactly the opposite of the real reason: Jesus used parables to mask the truth. The Apostles were puzzled by this and so they asked Jesus, "Why speakest thou unto them in parables?" He told them, "Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given." God was allowing the Apostles to understand His mysteries, but the teachings of Christ were hidden from the rest of the people.

"And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them." Matthew 13:10-15

God's Word is not simply difficult for us to comprehend: It is impossible for our human minds to understand God's Word! We simply do not think the way God thinks. Consider the following Scriptures:

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:8-9

"The natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." 1 Corinthians 2:14

"Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." Romans 8:7

Our minds rebel against the Truth contained in the Word of God. We fight against the Words of Truth and twist those words until they become more compatible with our way of thinking. This is what Jesus called making the Word of God powerless using human definitions. In the following passage, the Apostle Peter describes people who wrestle with the Word of God to their own destruction.

"Even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction." 2 Peter 3:15,16

Those who approach the Scriptures only using human understanding will not be able to understand the Truth contained in the Bible. Human understanding has caused many false doctrines to be taught all the while citing "Chapter and Verse" justification. They wrestle with the Word of God using their own definitions to their own destruction. This is why so many declare that the Bible is not the Word of God and also why some see contradictions where none exist.

God's Word is not open to private interpretations. Rather the Word of God is "settled in the heavens" having fixed meanings that He has assigned. If we approach reading the Bible using different meanings for words than He intends for those words to have, then we will not be able to properly understand the Scriptures. Thus, His Word is prevented from benefiting us.

Using our definitions to interpret God's Word is logocide!

"This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." Matthew 15:8-9

Studying the Bible using man's definitions and understanding is an empty exercise. The Scriptures teach quite emphatically that we cannot understand God's Word using our minds. In order to understand God's Word, we must be taught the meaning(s) He has assigned to each word and we must learn to think God's thoughts the way He thinks them. In order to do this, God requires great sacrifice on our part.

Why do people choose a Bible version expecting to be able to read it as plainly and easily as a modern-day romance novel or action-packed thriller? In our Fast Food, Fast Lane Society, so many have become conditioned to the expectation that most of life's problems can be resolved in a thirty minute sitcom format or an hour long drama. Really difficult situations may require a two-parter. So, reading and understanding the Bible should be just as easily accomplished. An hour each week in a Sunday School class is all it takes to be a Christian, or so it would seem based upon the investment of many in the Church.

But really, how long should the pursuit of godliness take? How long should people study and prepare before they are licensed to be pastors? Why do we expect doctors and lawyers to study for many years before they are allowed to practice, but nearly any adult in the Church is qualified to teach in Sunday School? Even Jesus took about thirty years to prepare to preach for about three years. And even though He spent much of those three years intensively teaching and preparing the Apostles for the next phase of the Church, the night before He was crucified Jesus told them that He still had so much to tell them. Jesus also told them that He and God the Father were sending the Holy Spirit in order for the Apostles to continue receiving their education in the pursuit of the Truth and godliness. The instructions Jesus gave to the Apostles are in perfect harmony with the instructions given to Joshua many centuries before:

"If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." John 15:7

"This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success." Joshua 1:8

Abiding in Jesus, that is, living the Abundant Life, means His Words are living in us; we think them day and night. God has provided the means whereby this can be accomplished and He is not obliged to change His methods to match our expectations or modern way of life. We must work to understand the Bible. If we want God's results, we must use His methods. If we use man's methods, we should not be surprised when we don't get God's results. God never changes. It is we who must change, if we are to become like Him. And how is this to be accomplished?

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." (Romans 12:1-2)

The pursuit of godliness is not merely another item on a busy "To Do" list. The pursuit of godliness IS the "To Do" list! Seek first the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness. This will take the rest of your life, and even that's not enough. Spend the rest of your life studying God's Word and you will not have even scratched the surface of what is contained in it. God's Word is inexhaustible. It is the infinite book written by The Infinite God.

For more on this topic, and many others, see "TTM Teaching Messages" on our website at TowardTheMark.com.

Follow "Keith Shealy's TowardTheMark Page" on Facebook, Keith'sBetweenTheLines Podcast channel, "Sharing with you the Secrets that God Whispers to me"monthly teaching on the website, and "TTMSingingSgt" on Twitter for more Scripture-based truth, unveiling God's Word on real-life matters - what the devil does NOT want you to know!

EXPOSING The Zombie Craze

In the movie World War Z, at the box office it took in $25.5M in just the first weekend alone. In World War Z the "Z" stands for, you guessed it, “ZOMBIES!” Listen to the PODCAST about this message.

2 Corinthians 2:11 says we should not be ignorant of satan’s devices, lest he should get an advantage over us. It is our desire to expose a major demonic device that is afflicting many in the American Church today: zombie cult activity.

  One does not have to look far to see that zombies have become a popular phenomenon in modern society. In the past ten or so years, there has been a significant increase in the number of prime-time television programs and major motion pictures that use zombies as their main theme.

I suggest you stop looking at this from Hollywood’s perspective, however, and ask God to reveal to you the truth of this matter, because the zombie craze is not being driven by Hollywood at all. Hollywood is merely being used, unknowingly, to reveal the escalating decline in the spiritual state of society today. They call it, “art imitating life”; I would say, it is “art imitating DEATH.” You see, zombies are walking in and out of American churches every Sunday.

You may be thinking, “Lighten up guys. Zombies are movie characters. Everybody knows the dead can’t walk around killing people.”

I direct your attention to Matthew 8:22 and Luke 9:60 where you will find that Jesus said to “let the dead bury their dead”. On the other hand, the Living are to follow our Lord and “preach the Kingdom of (or that IS) God.”

The Truth is, if you do not have The Person of the Holy Spirit living in your heart, you will NOT be able to see these things! And no matter how well-versed you may be in The Scriptures, if you have not asked The Person of the Holy Spirit into your heart, you are dead!! Therefore, all you can do, to coin another zombie phrase, is "spew death"!

Without being under the tutelage of The Person of The Holy Spirit, rather than preaching the Kingdom (that IS) God, all you will be doing is mis-representing God to those around you.

"Who also hath made us able ministers of the New Testament; not of the letter, but of the Spirit: for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives Life." (2 Corinthians 3:6)

"For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." (Romans 8:13-14)

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts." (Galatians 5:22-24)

“Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth.”
(2 Timothy 2:15)

We encourage you to check out these additional Scripture-based resources made available by the faithful support team family of Toward the Mark, Inc.:

~ "Keith Shealy & Toward The Mark" Facebook page page;
~ "Between The Lines" Podcast channel on Libsyn;

~ "TTMSingingSgt"Twitter page; and

~ "Secrets that God Whispers to us" featured messages on the website.

Pearl Harbor through Eyes that SEE!

Blog about the highly-revered Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz…

considering his profound insight into the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

“Thanks to Admiral Nimitz’s ability to see, we have, on record, a much better account of what actually happened at Pearl Harbor than the accounts told by the script writers of the movies TORA! TORA! TORA! (1970) and PEARL HARBOR (2001)." - Keith

Our part is to recognize that, when it seems we are

surrounded by troubles and woe, in the words of the prophet Elisha, “Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha." (2 Kings 6:16-17)

Find this, and more, in our 30-year review of TTM in TTM MAGAZINE.

The rare ability to see, instead of merely looking, is illustrated in the true account of U.S. Navy Admiral Chester Nimitz’s profound insights as he surveyed the aftermath of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Admiral Nimitz had eyes that could see with respect to tactical naval warfare. He was so well studied and experienced in the art of war that it did not take him long to recognize where the Japanese had made three fatal mistakes in their planning for and execution of their attacks on our ships at Pearl Harbor. These three errors rendered them unsuccessful in their attempt to utterly destroy the US Navy’s Pacific Fleet.

If you visit Pearl Harbor, you will find boats ferrying people out to the USS Arizona Memorial every 30 minutes. In the gift shop there you will find a book entitled, “Reflections on Pearl Harbor” by Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz. In that book, you will read that on Sunday, December 7, 1941, Admiral Nimitz was attending a concert in Washington, D.C. when he was paged and told there was a phone call for him. When he answered the phone, he found that President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was on the line.

The President told Admiral Nimitz that in light of the attack on Pearl Harbor Admiral Nimitz would now be the Commander of the Pacific Fleet. Admiral Nimitz flew to Hawaii to assume command of the Pacific Fleet, landing at Pearl Harbor on Christmas Eve, 1941. He found such a spirit of despair, dejection, and defeat that it would seem the Japanese had already won the war.

On Christmas Day, 1941, Admiral Nimitz was given a boat tour of the destruction wrought on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese. Big sunken battleships and navy vessels cluttered the waters everywhere you looked. As the tour boat returned to dock, the young helmsman of the boat asked, “Well, Admiral, what do you think after seeing all this destruction?”

Admiral Nimitz’s reply shocked everyone within the sound of his voice. Admiral Nimitz said, “The Japanese made three of the biggest mistakes an attack force could ever make or God was taking care of America. Which do you think it was?”

Shocked and surprised, the young helmsman asked, “What do you mean by saying the Japanese made the three biggest mistakes an attack force ever made?” Nimitz’s explanation is summarized below.

Mistake number one: The Japanese attacked on Sunday morning. Nine out of every ten crewmen of those ships were ashore on leave. If those same ships had been lured to sea and then sunk, we would have lost 38,000 men instead of 3,800.

Mistake number two: When the Japanese saw all those battleships lined in a row, they got so carried away sinking those battleships, they never once bombed our dry docks that were sitting across from those ships. If they had destroyed the dry docks, we would have had to tow every one of the damaged ships to America to be repaired. As it is now, the ships are in shallow water and can be raised. One tug can pull them over to the dry docks, and we can have them repaired and at sea by the time it would have taken to tow them to America; and I already have crews ashore anxious to man those ships.

Mistake number three: Every drop of fuel in the Pacific theater of war is in storage tanks on top of the ground only five miles away. One attack plane could have strafed those tanks and destroyed our entire fuel supply.

That’s why I say the Japanese made three of the biggest mistakes an attack force could make or God was taking care of America. It was Admiral Nimitz’ many years of first-hand tactical experience that gave him the ability to recognize that “The Japanese made three of the biggest mistakes an attack force could ever make.” In turn, it was that same experience that equipped him to be able to see God’s divine intervention where most saw only despair and defeat.

The young helmsman and so many others looked at the devastation and were in many ways crippled by the destruction and despair. On the other hand, Admiral Nimitz looked at the same devastation and saw something completely different. He knew how unlikely it was that the very capable Japanese war planners would miss three such obvious tactical points while preparing their assault, and this made it evident to him that God had intervened on America’s behalf on December 7, 1941. As devastating as the loss of our brave men and women were that day, as Admiral Nimitz states, the results would have been much worse if God had not intervened on our behalf.

Even as Admiral Nimitz looked at utter devastation and could see the grace of God at work on the behalf of our great Nation, we have the same opportunity to look beyond whatever it is that we may be going through and see the redeeming power of God working on our behalf as well. As the Scripture says in Romans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” These are not empty words: God means every one of them, and He wants us to trust Him to do His part.

God promises that in every trial He will provide the way of escape. He also promises to never leave us or forsake us. We need to believe Him and we need to seek Him early, so that when we do find ourselves in trouble, He will open our eyes that we may truly see: because eyes that look are common; eyes that see are rare!

For more on this topic, and many others, see "TTM Magazine," celebrating 30 Years of Service, on our website at TowardTheMark.com.   

Follow "Keith Shealy's Toward The Mark" Facebook page, Keith'sBetweenTheLines Podcast channel, "Sharing with youthe Secrets that God Whispers to me" monthly teaching on the website, and "TTMSingingSgt" on Twitter for more Scripture-based truth, unveiling God's Word on real-life matters - what the devil does NOT want you to know!

          Take me back to the top of this post.

"See flipcard titles"

Let 9 TRUTHS make YOU an "OVERCOMER"!

Are you tired of being "overcome" by satan and his lies?

“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds.” (2 Corinthians 10:4)

Keith, with such lawlessness coming at us from all levels of government, the oppression in the land, the depression people are feeling that is leading to financial brokenness and broken families all over the world, the wars, and rumors of wars (as the scriptures have told us), how do we, as believers, not only protect ourselves from all of it, but stand steadfast against the enemy and his wicked spirits that come against us?

Find this, and more, in Keith's book OVERCOMING INTIMIDATION.

Truth #1  We must always keep in mind that we are at war, and wicked spirits never, I repeat, never show up to play.

Wicked spirits show up to try to steal, kill, and destroy the great things that God has for each of us. On this very crucial point, the Apostle Paul wrote the following warning,

“Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.”  (2 Corinthians 2:11)

In this verse, the Greek word rendered “devices” is usually translated “mind.” The important thing here is to not be ignorant of the way our enemy thinks. Concerning this, Jesus said: “The thief comes not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.” (John 10:10)

Therefore, our enemy is constantly thinking of ways to accomplish those goals. Jesus also said this regarding those who follow the father of lies, that is, the Devil. “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” (John 8:44)

Truth #2  Wicked spirits will work on a person until that person either believes their lies, or fights back in the Spirit using the Whole Armor of God.

Combining the two passages above, we see that Satan and his demons steal, kill, and destroy using lies. In order to achieve their goals, they attempt to persuade a person or persons to take up their cause by manipulating them with lies. Since the Truth makes us free, believing lies makes us prisoners of war.  This fight against all that is false is why the Armor is made up of Truth, Righteousness, Faith, and so on.

When we are empowered by the Holy Spirit of Truth and are clothed in God’s Armor, we can quench the fiery darts of falsehoods. Conversely, if we believe the enemy’s lies, then we have set ourselves up as a means by which the enemy may bring harm to ourselves and even to those around us. That is why it is imperative that we diligently and earnestly pursue the Truth, so that our hearts and minds will be protected from all deceptions and the destruction they bring.

For in this pursuit is to be found the Liberty of Christ, and from this knowledge comes the victory of the overcomer. The Apostle John teaches us this concerning overcoming:

“For whatsoever is born of God overcomes the world: and this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcomes the world, but he that believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” (1 John 5:4-5)

From this passage we learn that faith is essential for overcoming the world, including the wicked spirits. This should come as no surprise,

“For whatsoever is not of faith is sin.” (Romans 14:23)

Moreover, it is THE FAITH that is needed! We must believe that Jesus is the Son of God.

Truth #3  We must be born again by the Spirit of the Living God. There is no other way to overcome the world and the wicked spirits.

There is, of course, much more to the subject of overcoming. In addition to being saved, the Apostle John reveals to us this three-part means by which we overcome wicked spirits,

“And they overcame him (Satan) by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.” (Revelation 12:11)

The three essentials are the blood of the Lamb, the word of our testimony, and not loving our lives unto the death. Not surprisingly, each of these require the proper use of the Whole Armor of God. However, before proceeding with those discussions, let us first consider the more general topic of overcoming Satan, because this lays the foundation for the other three.

Read one of Keith's life-changing encounters in Overcoming the Devil.

"When this truth became alive in me, it changed my life. I was working as an outside sales representative for a Maryland-based graphics company. I was scheduled to do a presentation before a group of wealthy corporate executives; and frankly, I was terrified!

Satan knew full well that landing this account would mean a nice increase in my monthly income, and I could tell that he was not going to let me walk out of there without a fight. As I was on my way to the conference room, the Holy Spirit whispered to me, 'before you enter the room, pause for just a moment and bind, in Christ’s name, all spirits of intimidation.' All I could say was wow! When I entered the room after binding the spirits, even though I did not know a soul there, I felt as if I were among friends. I did my presentation without a hitch and left the meeting with a new and rather lucrative account."

Notice how this exemplifies the Great Partnership? God and I walked to that room together, and as we did, He instructed me what to do. I obeyed and He brought the victory. The Apostle James described this in his General Epistle: “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” James 4:7

Regarding overcoming the Devil, the Apostle Paul included the following in the passage on the Whole Armor of God,

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” (Ephesians 6:12)

Here, the Apostle uses the Greek word that refers to the type of fighting we call “wrestling,” which is a form of hand-to-hand combat. In the same passage Paul prefaced those words with these,

“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” (Ephesians 6:10-11)

Notice that this form of fighting also includes “stand against.”

Truth #4  In order to overcome the Devil, we must stand against him and wrestle against him and all the wicked spirits in the heavenlies.

This war is real. And the stakes could not be greater. The words “wrestle” and “stand against” imply that the battle is not far off, but rather that the enemy is an invader, bringing the struggle into our very midst. We must not turn back in the face of ridicule, the taunts of those who are the enemy’s witting allies or who are themselves prisoners of war.

Part of his strategy is to mask this reality behind caricatures of demons, legends of vampires and werewolves, stories of haunted houses, etc., to frighten people or to belittle those who are engaged in true spiritual warfare.

We must always be mindful of the fact that we can never win this fight in our own strength.  The Apostle James wrote similar words concerning spiritual warfare,

“Submit yourselves therefore to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7)

This, then, is the proper order: first we submit to God, then we resist the Devil. So what does this Scripture mean by submit? Strong’s provides this explanatory note for the Greek word rendered “submit”:  “A Greek military term meaning 'to arrange troop divisions in a military fashion under the command of a leader'. In nonmilitary usage, it was 'a voluntary attitude of giving in, cooperating, assuming responsibility, and carrying a burden'.” In the context of spiritual warfare, submitting to God means to assume your proper place within the ranks. This also means you are fully prepared to execute your assigned duties faithfully and without hindrance or distraction.

“Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth entangles himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.” (2 Timothy 2:3-4)

Truth #5  Being entangled in the affairs of this life will prevent us from experiencing the success of the overcomer.

In the Parable of the Sower, Jesus stated plainly that the cares of this life choke out the Word of God and prevent it from bearing fruit in a person’s heart (see Matthew 13:1-23 and Luke 8:5-15). The crucial question before us then is this, "What must we do to extricate ourselves from the affairs of this life?" This should not be taken as a call to a monastic way of life, nor should it be understood as a condemnation of mundane or earthly activities. Nevertheless, it is one thing to engage in earthly activities, such as, work, sports, or hobbies, and it is quite another to be entangled with such pursuits. Indeed, there are very few people alive who are not entangled in earthly matters.

“Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leads unto life, and few there be that find it.” (Matthew 7:14)

To begin with, submitting to God must become our lifestyle. Otherwise, we will easily fall back into our old ways. Instead of becoming overcomers, we will be undone and overcome ourselves. To avoid this trap, we must submit to the Lord so that His will would be done on the Earth in answer to the Lord’s Prayer. His will includes having our souls transformed into the image of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. This involves the working of the Great Partnership. As God’s partners, one of our most urgent responsibilities is to examine our hearts, and to repent of any sin that we have allowed into our lives.

Truth #6  We are the ones who must have our eyes opened concerning the reality of our souls.

Examining our hearts includes comparing our thoughts and actions to the Scriptures, listening as The Person of The Holy Spirit gently corrects us, and accepting the correction of the Lord. For God will not reject us nor condemn us. He already knows everything about us. We then must humbly acknowledge the errors of our ways before Him and accept His mercy through the cleansing of our souls.

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)

We cannot experience lasting victory apart from the transformation of our souls, and this means we must be cleansed from all unrighteousness. So if we want to experience the power of God operating in and through our lives, if we want to be true overcomers, then we must pursue purity!

Truth #7  We must first draw close to God, and then He will draw close to us! Once we have done this, out of a pure and passionate love for God, it becomes tremendously difficult for Satan to convince you that you are not all that God says you are, and that you cannot do all that God says you can do in Christ’s name.

The pursuit of purity includes meditating on God’s Word day and night. This means continually being in a state of prayer.  As the Scripture says,

“Pray without ceasing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17)

In using the Whole Armor of God, prayer involves pressing INto God’s presence. When we are one with Him, we can see ourselves through His eyes, the way that He sees us! When we do this, it is totally amazing what we see! (For more on this, see our book Keep the Faith - Keep Your Vision.) As James also wrote,

“Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you.” (James 4:8)

I must add that most Christians to whom I have ministered, who struggle with intimidation, do so because they do not know who they are in Christ Jesus. Why do they not know? Simply because they do not spend their time with Jesus and His Word. They are not abiding in Christ, and His Word is not abiding in them. That is why so many in the church today are living lukewarm and defeated lives.

For this same reason Satan does not want us anywhere near God and His Word! One of the popular questions I've been asked is, "Can the devil follow us into the presence of God?"  Satan knows full well that once we are abiding in Jesus, with His Word abiding in us, that we will be infused with the power and the strength to fight through anything that the wicked spirits can throw at us. Consequently, we must be prepared to encounter stiff resistance as we press INto God’s presence and endeavor to study the Scriptures!

For instance, we can expect intimidating or distracting thoughts as we start to study or pray. There will be thoughts such as, “I must call so-'n-so,” or, “I have to run to the store,’” etc. Perhaps the most obvious form of deterrence is extreme sleepiness as we attempt to study the Scriptures and spend time with Jesus. Remember, the cares of this life are like thorns that choke out God’s Word, keeping it from bearing fruit in our lives. The cares and entanglements of this life are also the means of subduing and imprisoning those who do not press through distractions and who do not persevere in pursuing the Truth.

Truth #8  The victory comes through submitting to God, and those who have done so stand in their rightful place within the ranks of the forces of Heaven ready to resist the devil.

So what does the Scripture mean by “resist the devil”? Webster's defines resist as “to withstand, fend off; to oppose actively, fight against.” The Greek word for “resist” is anthistemi, meaning “to stand against, to oppose, resist, withstand, to resist by actively opposing pressure or power.” The word anthistemi is made up of two words. The first part is ant, a form of anti which means “opposite, instead of; often used to denote contrast.” The second part of the word is histemi, meaning “to stand, used in various applications literally or figuratively.” It is translated as “abide,” “appoint,” “bring,” “continue,” “covenant,” “establish,” “hold up,” “lay,” “present,” “set (up),” and “stand (by, forth, still, up).” To “stand” means the opposite of sitting, reclining, or moving. To “resist” would mean that we are not only not to stand with anything that Satan and his hoards are remotely a part of, but that we are to aggressively fight against them using the spiritual weapons of God.

In sum, resisting the Devil according to James, and wrestling against the Devil according to Paul, both describe spiritual warfare. It should be obvious that this warfare requires spiritual armor, because the opponents are wicked spirits. Furthermore, according to both Apostles, the battle is set within the context of the Great Partnership.

The “Great Partnership” of which Jesus spoke certainly include being made conformable unto His death that His life would be revealed through loving and serving others. For “whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister.” Jesus, even though He is Lord of lords and King of kings, did not come for others to minister to Him. He came to minister to others. He came to be the servant of all. Greatness, then, in the eyes of God means expressing His love through selfless service to others. We can only do this by being conformed to the image of His dear Son, and as we are so transformed, the service of true love characterizes our being.

Truth #9  Then we live by the faith of the Son of God, we are able to stand in the Victory that the Lord Jesus Christ has won for us. Love is the essence of that Victory. And we know that Love never fails, because God is love!

So, when you love someone, you are not intimidated by them. When you have died to your old nature, you are not afraid of death.  Examine your heart and your relationship with God, repent of anything that has separated you from Him (namely, the old flesh nature), trust in Him, rest in Him, and wait on Him, and BE an OVERCOMER!  Selah.

Follow "Toward The Mark's Wisdom-Packed Wednesdays" Facebook page, Keith's BetweenTheLines Podcast channel, and "TTMSingingSgt" on Twitter for more Scripture-based truth, unveiling God's Word on real-life matters - what the devil does NOT want you to know!