11/24/2019
The world works hard every day to cast the image of God after itself, and to reshape His Word in such a way as to do its own bidding. We hear it ringing across the land as men compare God to the beauty of tall buildings, or the mighty dams they have built to hold back rivers. We hear it echoing in our houses, governments, and churches, as the Word of God is bent in strange and twisted ways so that people can feel good about their debauchery, and justify such things as the taking of blood. Do we fall prey to this wooing and to these lies of the dark one?
“To whom then will you liken God, or what likeness compare with him?”
Isaiah 40:18 ESV
When I was a boy we would come home from from school run into the house to retrieve our baseball gloves, bats, and balls, then make a beeline to the local playground where we would choose sides and play baseball. We didn’t have a real baseball field with a diamond, pitcher’s mound, and a proper outfield, so we would bend the actual rules of the game to fit what we had. We called these ground rules. As an example... if the ball was hit, and it bounced over a neighbor’s fence, then it was considered a ground rule double, or if it went over the swing set in the air it was a home run. Well, modifying the way we play a game like this is fine, and every boy knew the real rules when an official field presented itself, but when we start modifying things like social norms, morality, and most of all... our faith... then the ramifications are much greater because they change who we are as a people, and as spiritual beings. The Bible prohibits such change for this very reason. We are told not to change God’s Word, and we hear this from the earliest books of the Old Testament...
“You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you.”
Deuteronomy 4:2 ESV
To the final verses of Revelation...
“I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.”
Revelation 22:18-19 ESV
As for changing the physical attributes that God has set for us to abide by, we are told not to change them either...
“Do not move the ancient landmark that your fathers have set.”
Proverbs 22:28 ESV
In total abandonment of this, Satan tries to convince us that it is alright to change or disregard God’s Holy Word by convincing us that it is a myth, a loose guideline, or an ancient and outdated concept. He tells us his lies today in much the same way as he convinced Eve in his very first biblical lie...
“But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."”
Genesis 3:4-5 ESV
And, we know how this turned out... Adam and Eve, and their relationship with God, was never the same again. They were driven from the Garden of Eden, and it took the life, death, and resurrection of God’s own Son Jesus Christ to correct this wrong.
The same dark lies are being perpetrated today. Satan says such things as... Look at that dam; man controls the rivers! Look at those enormous windmills; man controls the wind! Look at that amazing explosion; man controls the atom. Now look at all the pleasures that the world can give you if you will only put away the mythology of the Bible. Do you think God cares about a little thing like sexual perversion, or promiscuity, if He allows good people to be sickened or killed every day? Is there even such a thing as God?...
These are all dark lies designed to subvert God’s authority, his desire for mankind, and to destroy our belief in the love, goodness, and a life in eternity, that He has for us. For this reason stand firm in your faith, because this isn’t a game, and we don’t go home at the end of the day unchanged. Are you wearing the armor of God? Are you ready to put it in today?
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”
Ephesians 6:10-12 ESV
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for your unchanging Word, and for the boundary stones you have placed around us so that we will not stray from you. I thank you for your Holy Spirit who opens our eyes to your greater truth, and for your Son Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, who has redeemed us from sin, and defeated death. Help us Holy Father to resist the temptation of Satan’s continuous onslaught of lies, and to remain firm in your Word; encamped within your presence forever. I pray for this world Father because it listens to the dark one, and continues to yield its righteousness to his lies. I pray that even though they have become changed people, that they will have their eyes opened once more, and see who they have become through tears of contrition, and pleas for forgiveness. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God of mercy and grace who forgives even the boldest of sinners when they seek you with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength. I praise you for your love and patience as you await the outcome of our spiritual battle. I call you great as you wield your sword against my satanic enemies, and your Word beckons me “Onward Christian soldier!” I call you blessed whose grace stands in the face of all odds... to offer Christ’s redemption to every lost soul, and I will worship you without reservation all the days of my life, and eternity.
“Peace be to the brothers, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible.”
Ephesians 6:23-24 ESV
Rich Forbes