Monday, October 16, 2006

CHRIST CHOOSES/SATAN CAPTURES

Have you known someone who stood as the epitome of Christianity for you? They seemed so solid. They appeared to know God's Word and they influenced many for Christ. Then something happened. First they became very involved in something that seemed to be on the cutting edge of Christianity. Then they seemed to almost be obsessed with their new concepts. You hesitated to even think such a thing about them because they were known for their spiritual leadership. But then you saw more disturbing trends: They became secretive and obsessive and even manipulative concerning their "new" thoughts or "new" understanding. They demanded that others do things their way. They were unbending in their procedures. Soon you saw them pull away from the organized church completely. Sometimes they may start a church, or even cult, of their own, or they may lose their enthusiasm for Christians and Christian activity completely and become very disillusioned and non-participative.
What happened?
They have become captured by peripheral issues. Those issues became paramount in their minds. They became procedure and rules oriented. They were captured by what in the beginning was a good thing. They were chosen by God, but they were not captured. When we are captured, we are no longer free to let God work in our lives.
Oswald Chambers states: "Satan is as subtle as God is good, and he tries to counterfeit everything God does, and if he cannot counterfeit it, he will limit it. Do not be ignorant of his devices!"

Our prayer should be "That we will come to our senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken us captive to do his will" (2 Timothy 2:26 NIV).

Watch out because:

CHRIST CHOOSES/SATAN CAPTURES

Marilyn Heavilin

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