Hebrews 11:1 NIVUK
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance
about what we do not see.J.
R. R. Tolkien said, “In the last resort faith is an act of will, inspired by
love. Our love may be chilled, and our will eroded
by the spectacle of the shortcomings, folly, and even sins of the Church and
its ministers, but I do not think that one who has once had faith goes back
over the line for these reasons.”
I
think he is right. My thoughts are that some people see the prosperity of
others and wonder why they don’t have that kind of life. This kind of question
can stir up feelings of envy which in turn opens a door for Satan to gain
access to our lives. Why can’t we have some of what they have? It doesn’t seem
to be doing them any harm.
However,
what we see on the surface is not what we would see in their hearts. We would
like to be able to live our lives without being told what to do, just as they
do but we all need to live by rules of some kind or there is anarchy. We are
fortunate in having the word of God to guide us and it will sustain us. If we
let it!
We
have been told clearly that we have certain standards to maintain but there are
many in the world today that have decided they have their own standards and are
trying to bully and coerce people to follow their warped rules.
As
J. R. R. Tolkien has said, even the church and its
ministers are being caught up in this trap of evil in many cases. Satan starts
with small things here and there, then as we start to feel more comfortable it
begins to escalate until it is almost impossible task to close the door that
has been opened. The word to be underlined here is almost.
With
God nothing is impossible! God can close any door and our part in it is sincere
prayer. Whether the prayer is for ourselves or for
loved ones, we all must take a stand against the forces of evil that are
gaining strength in this place, and the only way is by prayer.
Prayer
Almighty
Father, we come to You, as always, to help us against the enemy who stalks the
weak and innocent as well as those strong in their faith who are also
vulnerable to the deceitful whispers of Satan. We ask that we may receive from
Your Son, some of the strength and knowledge that allowed Jesus, to deny the
temptation we are faced with today. Give us courage to deny those whispers we
hear which are not from You. In Jesus precious name we ask, amen.
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