God’s enemy and ours (satan) has as his only tool “deception”. He used deception in the Garden of Eden and he still uses the same method today against all mankind. He wants us to doubt God’s goodness, His intent toward mankind, that He even exist, and cause us to ask the question “If He is so good, how can He send people to hell?”
Once satan was successful using his deception in the Garden of Eden, sin entered the world. Man then became aware of good and evil and the entire atmosphere changed. Up to this point their nakedness was a proclamation of their innocence and lack of shame. After their disobedience, their relationship with God is fractured and they now know the sting of guilt and shame. It even changed the behavior of animals toward each other and mankind – even the ground was cursed – See Romans 8:20-22.
Did their disobedience take God by surprise? I think not. God set the stage for them- giving them a choice – and likewise the stage is set for us today. He desires fellowship with His creation. He wants us to choose Him willingly.
Note also God’s grace and mercy toward Adam and Eve – still loving them. Adam and Eve have technically rejected Him and changed the entire atmosphere of what He has created, yet He still provides clothing for them. He provides a “covering” for their shame. In an act of love for us, He has also given us His Son, Jesus, as a “covering” to restore us back into fellowship with Himself. He wants us to receive His act of love and come back into “intimate” relationship with Him and then spread it throughout our places of influence for His Glory. He wants us walking, once again, in the cool of the day with Him as He did with Adam and Eve in the beginning.
Nothing can separate us from God’s love. Even if we reject fellowship with Him, He still loves us and is willing to receive us into His Kingdom at any point we choose, regardless of past choices. The enemy works to distort this truth.
God’s Word tells us to take every thought “captive”. In other words, if it doesn’t line up with the character and nature of God as modeled for us through the life of Jesus while here on this earth as a man, then we are to recognize it as coming from the enemy’s camp. We are to reject it.
Jesus modeled this for us when led into the wilderness by Holy Spirit. Satan came to him and attempted to deceive Jesus by offering him things that would appeal to His flesh. Jesus always came back with “It is Written”. He had been trained for 30 years by Holy Spirit before beginning His ministry. He was intimate with the Father. In fact, He stated that He only did what He saw the Father do. He inquired of His Father and did as He was told whether through hearing His voice, seeing a vision or just a knowing – a few of the ways that God speaks to His children.
Before we can start walking in intimate fellowship with God, it is necessary that we are able to recognize the deception of our enemy. Our minds are powerful. Our mind is like a computer – garbage in, garbage out – our control center. We become and behave according to what we receive through our thought processes – GIGO. Let’s learn to reject the garbage and only receive God’s love for us. Let’s break down the walls we have erected between ourselves and God and begin/improve our fellowship with our Father.
It is not, nor has it ever been, God’s will that anyone should perish. 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is long suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. The decision has been given to us.
As always, I pray that my message is received in the spirit that is intended. We, whether in fellowship with God or not, have the opportunity to decide the direction of our lives both physically and spiritually. We are lied to every day via the deception of an enemy whose goal is to “steal, kill and destroy”. There is no love in him for any of us. I encourage you to think/meditate on what has been presented and sincerely ask and allow Holy Spirit to give you insight and revelation.
Blessings —————– Brenda
