Stop Arguing With God

Written by Curt Klingerman

A number of people have an internal argument with God that may not always be expressed orally; but, it is expressed nonetheless. As we recall, as a person thinks in his heart so is he (see Proverbs 23:7). Much of what people do is the result of what they believe. An issue at heart is the contradictions we all have carried and in some cases, still do. 

Disciples of Jesus Christ should be the ones who have the least amount of poor self-esteem. 

When you realize that you are loved by God the Father, acceptance issues should melt away. Perhaps for some there is an argument brewing in your heart about that one. Some believe they are incapable of rising up and doing great things. They believe because they may have struggled with school or have done poorly in the past, they are inept. Some believe they are stupid. All of this flies in the face of God’s amazing grace which is a gift that enables us to do amazing things. What about the Mind of Christ? What about the renewing or renovating of the mind that the Word of God accomplishes? There are more examples of arguments people have in any given areas of life. Some might say, “I don’t like to argue. I don’t want to argue, but I still do. How do I stop?” 

One of the ways to head off an argument is to know Who actually is right in the first place. 

Make a decision that God is right about everything. Decide in your heart to believe what He says, which includes what He says about you. 

Another important key is to stop listening to the wrong spirit. 

The spirit of the world always contradicts the Holy Spirit. It counterfeits the truth in that what it says sounds good, but it always has an underlying theme that leads in the opposite direction. Here’s a natural example to illustrate the point. Have you ever had great respect for a person, but found yourself in doubt of him or her because of something someone else said? The spirit of the world constantly whispers things that contradict the Word of God. That means it is time to take a stand and cut off the sources it uses as amplifiers. To whom or what do you listen? Do you have any relationships that cripple yours with God? Are there people in your life who consistently put you down or contradict God’s Word? Sometimes, shutting off the TV, changing channels on the radio and eliminating certain media sources makes a big difference. One in a while, we have to love certain people from a distance. New friends can be amazing when it comes to attitude adjustments. Ask the Lord what or who hinders you from being agreeable with Him. 

Finally, renew your mind. 

Yep, we have all heard it before, get in the Word. Read your Bible. A lot! Spend much time alone in the presence of God. The things of darkness cannot withstand the Light. “I don’t have much time to spend with the Lord,” some might say. Well, you have time for what is important to you. Do you argue about spending time with the One Who we are supposed to look forward to spending eternity with?

The devices of the devil

The bible makes us understand that in the last days perilous times will come (2 Tim 3:1) and darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people (Isaiah 60:2a). Indeed those days are here already and the darkness will only get darker and worse (2 Tim 3:13), but certainly those that do know their God shall be strong and do exploits (Dan 11:32) and His glory shall be seen upon them (Isaiah 60:2b), even in the midst of the deep darkness. For this set of people who will bear the glory of God, who will stand strong and not be swept away by the devil, it is essential to have an accurate understanding of the tricks, gimmicks, antics, devices, and strategies of the enemy.

In 2 Cor. 2:11, Apostle Paul admonished that we should not be ignorant of Satan’s schemes, so that he won’t outwit us or take advantage of us as we are in a constant wrestling not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” (Eph 6:12). And just as God has given us a spiritual armor and the weapons of our warfare are not physical but mighty through God for the pulling down of strongholds, so also the devil with his demons has his own weapons of war with which he battles against our souls. Hence, just like it is expedient in any warfare for an army to gain knowledge of the opponent’s plan/strategy in order to effectively map out a counter attack to remain victorious, so also we need an accurate knowledge of the devil’s strategies in order to resist him effectively and cause him to flee (James 4:7). 

So friends, let’s take a look into some of the major artilleries (this is not an exhaustive list) in the arsenal of the devil:

1. Deception/Subtle Lies

This is one of the most powerful weapons of the devil. The devil is that old serpent, who deceives the whole world referred to in Rev 12:9 and just like snakes have camouflaging skin, the devil camouflages to deceive lives and the way he (the old serpent) works is by masking error with truth, mixing it up so that it looks like truth. This was the very strategy he used for Eve at the beginning in the Garden of Eden, when he told her their eyes will be opened to know good and evil after eating the fruit of the tree that God had commanded them not to eat of. Indeed their eyes were opened after eating the fruit and they realized they were naked, but he lied to her that they will surely not die (Gen 3:1-7) and this simple deception translated to the fall of the entire human race bringing sin, death, agony, disease, sorrow etc. into lives of men.

Over thousands and thousands of years, this old trick still remains one of the devil’s major weapons to steal, kill, and destroy lives (John 10:10). He used it in the beginning, he is still using it, and he will still use it in the days ahead until he is finally cast into the lake of fire (Rev 20:10). This is the reason why Jesus warned the disciples while speaking to them about the end of the age, saying “Take heed that no one deceives you, (Matt. 24:5) beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves" (Matt. 7:15). Many false prophets will rise up and deceive many (Matt. 24:11), they will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive (Matt. 24:24).” And as we’ve already began to see in these last days, many have been deceived and many more will be deceived by the multitude of false teachers introducing another gospel all over the nations. These false teachers lace their errors and heresies with some truth so that many are easily deceived. Therefore, for as many as will remain standing till the end, we must ensure we do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. (1 John 4:1)

In addition, we must be deliberate in guarding our hearts with all diligence, for everything we do flows from it (Prov. 4:23). The devil knows once he can get a hold of your heart he has gotten you because that is the center point. He knows that what goes into your heart through your eyes and ears influence your actions and who you become hence he tries to infiltrate our hearts gradually and subtly with lies and filth through TV shows, dirty comedies, movies, internet, music etc. He tries to infiltrate our thoughts so that he can gain control of our minds, push us around and direct our lives. He tries all his best to infiltrate our hearts with evil advice and bad ideas through friends, colleagues, and even respected people like parents or even a pastor just like he spoke through Peter telling the Lord not to go to the cross, (Matt 16:22-23). The truth is, the fact that a man of God said something doesn’t mean it’s from God, we still have a responsibility to cross check it with the scriptures like the Berean Christians as recorded in Acts 17:11, “Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.”

Furthermore, on a larger scale the devil influences culture with lies through art and media, and locks in generations and multitudes in bias against the truth of God’s word. He propagates lies through scientific theories to turn men from believing the account of God’s word regarding creation and life. He infiltrates high places of government among nations to set laws poised to hinder the augmentation of the Kingdom of God like he did in the days of the apostles when they were told by the rulers not to preach in the Name of Jesus. Now he’s taking the mention of the Name of God out of everything, in order to fill everything with lies, taking away the bible and prayers from schools filling youths with lies and turning their hearts against the truth from an early age so that the coming generation will be bereft of the truth.

Lies from Satan will increase in these last days, and he will use these lies to mess with people’s minds, to fuel fear, discouragement, depression, despair, to keep souls oppressed, in poverty and in bondage. Anyone who is ignorant of God’s word will be an easy target for the devil to consume, therefore we must constantly feed ourselves with the word of God to fuel our faith and diligently study it to know the truth and stand unshakeable.

2. Bates/Temptations/Snares 

The devil tries to lure and entice us with carnal things because he doesn’t want us to be presented blameless before the judgment throne of God. He sets bates to trap us. He strives to get us to disobey God and sin thereby breaking the covering of God around us. He understands that whoever breaks through a hedge will be bitten by a serpent. (Eccl. 10:8). He tempts us with the things that attract us such as money, sex, power, food and he comes strategically disguised during our weakest moments when we are not at alert. This is the very reason why we must watch and pray (Matt.26:41), be sober and vigilant; because our adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour (1peter 5:8).

The story of the children of Israel recorded in Numbers 25:1-9 clearly illustrates how the devil uses this weapon against the people of God. The devil knowing the law of God, because he was the anointed Cherub, he was there on the holy mountain of God, and he walked in the midst of the stones of fire (Ez. 28:14) before his fall (which happened because of the pride in his heart), got 24,000 men slain in one day without raising a sword simply by using women as bates and getting them to sin against God.

However, we have a great example in the Lord Jesus, who overcame the temptations of the devil in the wilderness by the word of God (Matt. 4:1-11) which is the sword of the Spirit for us to withstand the temptations of the devil and cause him to flee.

3. Persecution/Hindrances 

The devil is not just the old serpent, he is also the great dragon (Rev 12:9) and whenever he’s unable to pull us down with deception, temptation etc., he launches a consistent fire of persecution at us from his mouth. Of a truth, Apostle Paul affirmed to Timothy that, “All who will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution” (2 Tim 3:12). The enemy will raise persecution in all forms against us, to cause us to leave the narrow way and quit following the Lord. He raises false accusations against us like he did with Joseph but yet God turned the evil around for good. He persecutes you by making sure you are fired because you refused to tell a lie on behalf of your company. He strives to afflict lives with pain, disease, sorrow to put pressure to cause us to curse God and quit following the way of righteousness. In certain parts of the world (e,g. Africa, Middle East, Asia) he even raises physical attacks, imprisonments, and killings against the people of God, while in other parts he raises persecution in forms of ridicule and mockery.

He also tries all his best and deploys every means within his reach to hinder anything that is good (i.e. anything that is of God). He tries to hinder the work of the Lord, he tries to hinder our spiritual growth, and he tries to hinder us from fulfilling the very purpose of God for our lives. He uses all sorts of things as obstacles and hindrances against us. In his first letter to the Thessalonians, Paul said “we wanted to come to you—even I, Paul, again and again—but Satan hindered us.” (1 Thess 2:18)

Likewise, Nehemiah faced opposition over and over again in rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem; however, he persisted in prayer and overcame. So also we need to pray without ceasing to prevail in the face of stiff incessant opposition of the devil even as we overcome him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of our testimony (Rev. 12:11)

4. Disunity 

Satan always hates Christian fellowship – in fact, it is his policy to keep Christians apart. He delights in anything which can divide saints from one another. He attaches far more importance to godly communion than many of us do. Since union is strength, he does his best to promote separation. He tries to bring disunity in our homes, churches, etc. He brings divorce into families so that he could destroy the lives of the children. He knows that a threefold cord cannot be easily broken (Eccl. 4:12). Isolation is a major tool of the enemy. An isolated Christian is an easy prey for him just like a piece of wood burning alone will die out as opposed to several logs piece burning brightly together in the fireplace.

The devil knows that the Spirit of God cannot cohabit with strife, rancor and all sorts, so he does his best to introduce all of these in order to get us divided and weaken the body of Christ. In the upper room, they were all in unity, that's why the Holy Spirit could come upon them. “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious oil upon the head, running down on the beard, the beard of Aaron, running down on the edge of his garments. It is like the dew of Hermon, descending upon the mountains of Zion; for there the Lord commanded the blessing— Life forevermore” (Ps 133:1-3). He also knows that almost nothing will be impossible if there is unity, like in the building of the tower of Babel, because even God said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them” (Gen 11:6).

The devil tries to get our energy dissipated instead of coming together synergistically to strengthen and encourage each other to finish strong the race set before us because all his effort is aimed at dragging as many people as possible with him to the pits of hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: where their worm never dies, and the fire is not quenched (Mark 9:45-46). To achieve his sinister plot of disunity, the enemy uses self, pride and unforgiveness in us, therefore, in order to counter his moves, we must take heed to Paul’s admonition in Phil 2:3, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves”.

5. Distractions

The last but definitely not the least weapon of the devil that we’ll examine is his plot to always bring distractions in all forms to divert our attention from focusing on the right things. He tries to occupy us with fun, games, and even work (this things are not bad in themselves), keeping us busy with vanity and cares of life all day, all our lives, from cradle to grave, taking our attention and focus away from things above, away from seeking the kingdom of God, away from occupying for the Lord till He returns. He tries all he can to keep us from praying. He uses distractions as weapons to attack our prayer life because he knows that a prayerless Christian is an easy prey to him. If you take a survey of men and women who have backslidden from the faith, more often than not, you will find out that the first thing the enemy attacked that led to their fall was their prayer life. He distracts us with ephemeral things to keep us from studying the bible to know God's will and prevent us from spending time to hear His instruction, so that he can feed our minds with lies cooked in the pits of hell.

Jesus made it clear saying, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5). So the devil knows we can do nothing by ourselves, so he tries to get us away from that place of prayer/communion, he tries to get us detached from our connection point with the vine so that he can weaken us which makes us vulnerable to his attacks. This is why the Lord warned us ahead, saying, “Be careful not to let yourselves become occupied with too much feasting, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly.” (Luke 21:34)

In conclusion, even though the enemy attacks us with all these weapons, he is not to blame for any of our actions or our eternal destination because Christ has given us power (to as many as will receive him) to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy (Luke 10:19), and the freewill to make choices. It’s not the devil that makes you too lazy to pray. It’s not the devil that moved your eyes to look at dirty movies. We have a choice to resist him. We have the power to put him down each time he comes at us. It is solely our choice to oblige him or shut him down.

"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints". (Eph. 6:10-18)

What Counts as True Success in Life?

Written by Max Aplin

In Christianity, we find that many of the standard values of society are turned on their head. Things that are taken for granted by most people are often completely rejected in the Christian faith, and things that are rejected wholesale are frequently accepted with open arms. What it means to be successful in life is one example of this. Christianity and mainstream society could hardly be more different in their understandings of success in life. Take the lives of two fictitious people we will call Alan and Richard. First, here is something about Alan. He was born into a loving family and had a very happy childhood. His memories of being a boy are nearly all good ones. At school he was one of the brightest in his year, and he came away with exceptional grades. He was also very athletic and played in various sports teams, where his abilities stood out. After school, he went to university to study law, and graduated near the top of his class. He then started working for a prestigious law firm, where his career has been advancing. Even when he began this job he made a lot of money, but now in his mid-thirties he is really very wealthy. 

What is more, he enjoys his job and he rarely misses a day at work as he has always experienced excellent health. Alan is a good-looking man and women find him very attractive. But for him, there is only one woman that he is interested in. In his early twenties he married his childhood sweetheart, a stunningly beautiful woman. Their marriage is a real delight to him. And he now has two healthy and happy young children. Alan and his wife have bought a very expensive house in a posh neighbourhood, and they both drive really nice cars. Between school and university, Alan spent a year travelling around the world, an experience he loved. He has many good friends, and he has often entertained them with accounts of his exploits during that time. He and his wife have travelled a lot together too, staying in five star hotels in various exotic places. Holidays recently have been nearer to home, since there are the children to think about, but seeing his kids enjoy themselves have made these the best holidays ever. Alan has always loved outdoor sports, and he is a leader in his local mountain rescue team. On several occasions he has helped to rescue stranded people, and more than one person owes their life to what he has done in this role. The local media have covered some of these rescues, meaning that Alan has appeared on TV a few times. He is very well known in the community as a result, and is very highly regarded. 

Despite his busy life, Alan also finds the time to do some voluntary tutoring in numeracy for a charity, where he has been able to help people with learning difficulties get to grips with the basics of arithmetic. He finds this very rewarding. It has also meant that his reputation is even greater than it would otherwise have been. When it comes to religion, Alan believes firmly that God exists, but other than that, he doesn’t have any particularly strong beliefs. He does make a bit of an effort to live in a way that he thinks is right. But that’s about it. Now, here is something about Richard. Richard’s childhood was in many ways a difficult one. His parents divorced when he was six, and it took him a long time to get over it. He also experienced health problems, suffering from several different ailments. Because of his poor health, Richard missed time at school, and in tests he consistently came near the bottom of his class. Even when he was able to attend school without interruption for a time, however, he struggled to understand. He was a slow learner, and he kept finding that just as he was beginning to grasp something, the class moved on to the next lesson before he was ready. He finished school with very few qualifications. Richard would love to have gone on to study at college, but he just didn’t get the grades. He has had several jobs over the years, but he was never particularly keen on any of them. 

Now in his mid-thirties, he has a job collecting refuse from houses. This is perhaps the worst job he has had. He has to start work very early in the morning, the pay is poor, and he finds the work humiliating. He can often tell that people are looking down on him because of the job he is doing. Because of his low pay, Richard lives in a small flat in an unpleasant neighbourhood. In winter he can only afford to heat one room. He doesn’t feel cut out for the single life and would love to be married, but women have never really shown much interest in him, and every attempt he has made to date has ended in failure. There was one woman he dated for a while, and he had high hopes that he would marry her, but it didn’t work out. He really doesn’t like to think about that. So, Richard lives alone, and he suffers from loneliness. This isn’t helped by the fact that he has never found it easy to make friends. Richard has continued to experience various health problems over the years. It is true that he has seen God help him in this area, sometimes strikingly. Nevertheless, his health is still problematic. He has seen God help him in many other ways too, but nevertheless, if he is honest, much of his life has been a very hard fight. Although he was not raised to be religious, when he was still a young boy Richard became a Christian.

Today, he is a devout believer and is serious about living his life for Christ. He is well aware that he is far from perfect, and he feels that his relationship with God is not all that it should be. Nevertheless, he rejoices in God and His love, and his relationship with God provides him with comfort in his sufferings. So, here we have two people with very different experiences in life. Let’s think about Alan first of all. Surely in every society and culture around the world, a large majority of people would say that Alan is living an extremely successful life. He has got it all, hasn’t he? He has excellent health, a great family, good friends, lots of money, intelligence, a job he likes, good looks, athletic ability, exciting experiences, esteem and respect. Most people would give their eye teeth to have what he has. They would be in awe of Alan. His life is almost a definition of a successful life, isn’t it? 

In a Christian perspective, however, it is no exaggeration to say that Alan is living an extremely unsuccessful life. The whole reason he is alive at all is because God created him. And God created him so that the two of them could have a relationship. Because Alan has no relationship with God, he is missing the core of what any successful life must have. Furthermore, Alan has not taken hold of the salvation that is found in Jesus Christ. This means that he is still in his sins, and he is therefore on track for eternal punishment from God. Alan is failing utterly, therefore, to plan for his future. In the big picture of human existence that stretches for millions upon millions of years into eternity, Alan is going down a path that will involve being miserable for almost all of the time that is ahead of him. Importantly, the fact that Alan has saved people’s lives and does some charity work doesn’t stop his life from being so unsuccessful. God is the all in all, and without knowing him and the salvation he gives, someone’s life can only be described as a disaster, as a catastrophe, as extremely unsuccessful. That is not to say that charitable work and helping people in need is unimportant. Helping people is good (even though God wants us to submit all we do to him, including how we help people). But even if someone spends every waking moment helping people and does not have Christ, they have still totally failed to have success in life. Christ is that important. Now let’s think about Richard. Anywhere in the world, most people would surely think that he is living an unsuccessful life. That is not to say that they would blame him for this. They would understand that he has been dealt a difficult hand. But the circumstances of his life are what most people would give their eye teeth to avoid. 

Again, however, in a Christian perspective, Richard’s life is actually far, far more successful than the lives of a large majority of people. He is in relationship with his maker. And he has been saved from his sins, meaning that, as far as the long term is concerned, he is on course for millions of years of feeling fantastic after death. Almost all of the time ahead of him looks wonderful. Richard’s state of affairs is similar to that of the apostle Paul when he spoke about his sufferings producing for him ‘an eternal weight of glory’ (2 Cor 4:17). For Richard, the words of Revelation also apply, where we are told that God will ‘wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there will no longer be any death or sadness or crying or pain’ (Rev 21:4). Richard may be held in contempt by many, just as Paul was regarded as ‘the refuse of the world, the filth of everything’ (1 Cor 4:13). But Richard is putting all his eggs in one basket. He is like a man who finds treasure in a field and sells all that he has to buy that field (Matt 13:44). He is like a pearl merchant who finds an extremely valuable pearl and sells everything he has to buy that pearl (Matt 13:45-46). Richard is in many ways similar to Lazarus in Jesus’ story (Luke 16:19-31), who suffers badly here on earth but finds blessedness and an end to his troubles after death. Alan, by contrast, is similar to the rich man in the same story, who has an easy time on earth but finds himself in torment after death. 

Are you living a successful or unsuccessful life today? If you are trusting Jesus for salvation and you are in relationship with God, you are living a comparatively very successful life regardless of how much you suffer. If you are not trusting Christ and you don’t know God, then your life could hardly be less successful regardless of what else you experience. If you are in this second group of people, a simple decision to accept Christ will radically transform things.