No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. [Romans 8:37-39 (NLT)]
Last week, I wrote about the emotional vampires that can plague us, but there are other demons even harder to spot than those two-legged ones. Invisible, they’re Satan’s minions and go by the names of guilt, anger, doubt, fear, self-pity, shame, regret, fear, and worry. They haunt us with “if only,” “what if,” “should have,” and “could have.” Leaving us discontented, sullen, resentful, frightened, or anxious, they are the hobgoblins whispering lies and half-truths in our ears. They tell us we’re unlovable, contemptible, unforgiven, helpless, inadequate, or worthless. They demean our accomplishments and demoralize us. Whether because of our appearance, age, education, weight, race, background, inexperience, or past, they tell us we’re damaged goods. Friends of the enemy, they keep us from living boldly, stepping out in faith, and leading the fulfilling and joyful life Jesus promised.
It’s time to declare war on these monsters; they have no place in our lives. In the old movies, evil was repelled by the crucifix—a mere religious symbol. In real life, however, it is the power of Jesus that defeats the enemy! Through His power, we can banish those demons that steal our joy and suck the life from us. We are the beloved children of God—children He loved enough to sacrifice His son for us! As such, we can face our secrets, shed our shame, forgive others (and ourselves), know we are loved, release our anxiety and fear, trust God, and choose His truth. Let the voice we hear be that of the Holy Spirit rather than the unsettling accusatory voice of the enemy. With the power of the cross, we will be able to step out of the haunted house of our lives—not in fear, but in faith—not in darkness, but in light.
Heavenly Father, help us look into the dark corners of our lives. Shine your loving light on them so the hidden monsters slink away in fear! Banish the demons that keep us from the abundant life you promised.
The scariest monsters are the ones that lurk within our souls. [Edgar Allen Poe]
God had a Son that had no fault, but He never had a son that was not found fault with. God Himself was slandered in paradise by Satan. Let us not expect, therefore, to escape from the venomous tongue. [Charles Spurgeon]
The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. [John 10:10 (NLT)]
And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you. [Philippians 4:8-9 (NLT)]
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In spite of the ominous looking sky, I thought the rain was more than an hour away, so I confidently set off on my morning walk. By the time I was halfway around the lake, the clouds were delivering their rain. While meteorology isn’t my strong suit, optimism probably is, which explains why I had neither umbrella nor phone with me. As I slowly got soaked, I thought of the quote “Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass; it’s about learning to dance in the rain.” We can choose to be wet and miserable or wet and happy; either way we’ll still be soaked, so we might as well be wet and happy! Although I didn’t dance, I didn’t let the rain dampen my spirits. By the time I got home, the rain had stopped and I was blessed by a rainbow!
When I was a girl in elementary school, the teachers would speak ominously of our permanent records. While the warning that Santa knew when we were good or bad only worked during December, a teacher’s threat of, “This is going on your permanent record!” scared us into obedience the entire year! I suspect elementary schoolers in the 1950s were more naïve than today’s youngsters, but my friends and I were convinced that each of us had a permanent record that logged more than test scores, grades, and attendance records. It listed every infraction or disciplinary action from kindergarten on through high school and beyond. Every time we used our outside voices inside, chewed gum in class, forgot the hall pass, passed notes, lost our lunch money, or were sent to the office, our transgression was documented for posterity. Passed from teacher to teacher and school to school, we suspected that permanent record might even follow us into “grown-up” life!
Even though pumpkin spice lattes are available, pumpkin kringles can be found at Trader Joes, and Michael’s, Walmart, and Target are displaying their Halloween décor, here in Florida, it’s still summer and rainy season. We’re experiencing temperatures in the 90s and rain nearly every day. Sometimes, it’s a real doozy with thunder, lightning, and a torrential downpour; other times, it’s just a little drizzle. God willing, the weather should improve next month and, by the time we turn our clocks back November 1, the beautiful weather here will remind us why we moved to southwest Florida in the first place.
Since her church attendance is limited to Christmas and Easter, with an occasional funeral or wedding thrown in, a neighbor describes herself as being a “Birth and Resurrectionist.” People like her are often categorized as “nominal” or “non-practicing” Christians. Granted, church attendance is not the litmus test for Christianity. Nevertheless, lack of church attendance indicates a lack of commitment and a token or non-practicing faith. While such people identify as “Christians,” their Christianity is a more a matter of culture, habit, or tradition than one of faith, creed, and rebirth.
My husband managed to track tar into the house on the bottom of his shoes. Unfortunately, he tracked it right onto the new bedroom carpet! I immediately got out a whole battery of chemicals and tried to clean it up. Needless to say, my efforts didn’t improve the situation; in fact, they only made it worse. In desperation, we did what we should have done in the first place: we got the name of a good carpet cleaner and called him. He spent as much time cleaning up the residue from my failed efforts as he did cleaning up the tar.
