Pathway Fellowship Blog

Know Your Enemy -- He Hates You

2008-07-11T14:53:00.000-07:00

The Bible refers to Satan in many ways using many metaphors to give us an idea of his base character.

He is known as: the Tempter (Matthew 4:5; 1 Thessalonians 3:5); Beelzebub (Matthew 12:24); the Enemy (Matthew 13:39); the Evil One (Matthew 13:19, 38; 1 John 2:13-14; 3:12, 5:18); Belial (2 Corinthians 6:15); the Adversary (1 Peter 5:8); the Deceiver (Revelation 12:9); the Dragon (Revelation 12:3); Father of Lies (John 8:44); Murderer (John 8:44); Sinner (1 John 3:8); the Serpent of Old (Revelation 12:9; 20:2); the Prince of this world (John 12:31; 14:30); the Prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:2); the god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4); the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience (Ephesians 2:2); the roaring lion seeking someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8).

The distinct personality of Satan and his activity among us should be obvious by this list of names/titles. So when Jesus said that the devil does not stand in truth for there is no truth in him and when he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature for he is the father of lies, you can understand why we have a serious problem. Can you imagine that for ages the devil has been perfecting his ability to deceive mankind; he has tried every sort of lie and knows exactly what works.

2 Corinthians 4:4 says that he has blinded the eyes of unbelievers so they cannot see the truth. This should not surprise any of us. But what is surprising is the work of deception that he does in and amongst believers. In 2 Corinthians 11:14, we are told that he disguises himself as an angel of light, as do his servants who disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. This is why I believe that his favorite and most cunning deed is to invade the church and speak his lies so loudly into our being that he literally prevents us from hearing or receiving the truth. And, if he can keep believers fixated on believing and living a lie then he succeeds in neutering the power of the gospel of Christ.

Learning to Believe and Live the Truth

2008-06-22T10:51:00.000-07:00

If we believed we were truly desperate and needed His life in every area of our lives, a number of things in our life would be radically different:

1. We would believe first of all that human effort accomplishes nothing and that the Words of the Jesus are spirit and life (John 6:63). We would live as if the Word of God is our very living manna. We would be in the Word constantly because we know that it is the food for our New Creation and the very means by which faith is birthed into our lives (for faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God, Romans 10:17). The reason the Word is able to produce faith in our lives is because the battle we face is not about good verses bad behavior, but about truth verses error and we must know the truth in order to choose to live by truth. Besides, Jesus said that those who partake of His Word will truly live (John 6:57).

2. We would gladly listen to the Words of God and no longer listen to the lies of the one who is the father of all who abide in darkness (John 8:42-47).

3. We would give no place of authority in our life to those who care more about honoring each other than they do honoring God (John 5:44; 7:16-18).

4. We would not let the temple of the Holy Spirit—our New Creation—be overrun with money changers, sheep, oxen and merchants (John 2:13-17). In other words, we would not be overtaken by false religious deeds that really just serve to satisfy the lusts and desires of our flesh. We would also not give place to those who try and sell us their spiritual wares (teachings) which are based on lies and falsehood that will trap us in the cycle of false Christian duty and service under the guise of “sacrifice.”

5. We would live as if Jesus is our living water and is sufficient to satisfy even our deepest needs. Most of us have developed so many coping mechanisms be it relationships, behaviors, addictions, religious service, and so on because we have not let Jesus be Lord of those areas in our soul where our deepest need screams. We would instead continually come to Jesus with all our pains trusting that he will be to us like a perpetual well of water that will always quench our thirst and which will never run dry. We would come to Him and drink trusting that He will provide not what we want, but what He knows that we need (John 4:10-14; 7:37-38).

6. We would pick up our matt and walk away, leaving no concessions “just in case” Jesus does not come through in the way that we want Him to provide for us, care for us, or lead us (John 5:8).

7. We would run from the darkness into the light and not always be stumbling around in the darkness not knowing what we should do, where we should go, or how things are to be done (John 3:21; 8:12).

8. We would believe that He is the I Am—the only one who can truly be our God (John 6:41; 8:24; 48).

9. We would live as if our nourishment comes only from doing the will of God and finishing His work (John 4:34).

10.We would quickly carry out the tasks assigned to us by the Father.

John 9:4-5
All of us must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent me, because there is little time left before the night falls and all work comes to an end. But while I am still here in the world, I am the light of the world.

February 13th - Sunday followup

2008-02-13T11:57:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone,

These are the passages that Steve encouraged us to read and think on throughout the week.

Phil 4:8
And now, dear brothers and sisters, let me say one more thing as I close this letter. Fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.

Col 3:1-4 (All of Chapter 3 was referenced)
Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits at God's right hand in the place of honor and power. Let heaven fill your thoughts. Do not think only about things down here on earth. For you died when Christ died, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your real life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.

I will be praying that each of us has the humility and strength to consider these things in our own lives. I know that it feels vulnerable to talk about yourself in terms of the intimacy of your individual walk with Christ, but I want to encourage anyone out there who feels comfortable to post a personal experience in regard to making these verses a reality in terms of your relationship with Jesus. It can be a praise to the Lord to encourage others or a request for prayer in a specific area keeping this truth from becoming a reality in your life. Either way feel free to step up and share.

I will be praying for all of you this week.

Sarah

January 29th - Temples

2008-01-29T15:38:00.000-08:00

1 Peter 2:5-7
Come to Christ who is the living cornerstone of God's temple. He was rejected by the people, but he is precious to God who chose him. And now God is building you, as living stones, into his spiritual temple. What's more, you are God's holy priests, who offer the spiritual sacrifices that please him because of Jesus Christ. As the Scriptures express it, "I am placing a stone in Jerusalem, a chosen cornerstone, and anyone who believes in him will never be disappointed. Yes, he is very precious to you who believe. But for those who reject him, the stone that was rejected by the builders has now become the cornerstone."

Peter talks of the discarded stone as the piece that will ultimately complete and establish the temple as a whole. A cornerstone is absolutely critical to the structural integrity of a temple. The Temple of the Holy Spirit is not made of stone anymore but of the people who believe Jesus is who he says he is. We are those people. We are the temple. This verse humbles me so much as I consider the stones that I have used to build my identity and purpose in this life. Without Jesus, my life would be unstable and in fruitless ruin. The only reason I am a completed temple instead of a pile of stones is because Jesus Christ, my cornerstone, stabilizes and establishes all the pieces that are put together to make me who I am, a temple for the Holy Spirit.

Dear Jesus,
I ask that you would encourage all of us to walk the inner and outer courts of the temple within, circle the alter, and peer into the door that leads to the Holy of Holies. Help us to challenge the money changers of our temples with truth just as you challenged them in the flesh so long ago. Help all of us to draw closer and closer to you as we accept who you truly are in every area of who we are. Help us to meditate on this truth and allow it to penetrate deep into the roots and layers of our new creations so that we will become temples founded on truth and will bring glory to you. Amen.

p.s. if you have any prayer requests that you want people to be praying for, please feel free to post them. Love you guys. -Sar

January 21 - Ephesians 3:14-19

2008-01-21T14:58:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone,

Steve asked me to maintain the Blog postings so that it could be a little more consistent and timely. Of course he will still be posting things periodically but I'll be doing a weekly posting that can keep everyone chatting in a current entry. Soooooooo, this is the first one! :)

Eph 3:14-19 When I think of the wisdom and scope of God's plan, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will give you mighty inner strength through his Holy Spirit. And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust in him. May your roots go down deep into the soil of God's marvelous love. And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love really is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it. Then you will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Now glory be to God! By his mighty power at work within us, he is able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare to ask or hope. May he be given glory in the church and in Christ Jesus forever and ever through endless ages. Amen.

Hi everyone, this passage makes me speechless. These are Paul's words but it is truly God's desire that we could be completed in this way and even more that we would encourage eachother to pursue this path. Can you imagine if we all fell to our knees when we thought of the wisdom and scope of God's plan? What a glorious thing for God to see us doing. Praise the Lord!!

Remember

2007-12-24T17:48:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone,
I know that the holidays are a blessing for some, a mixed blessing for others, and a down right bummer for the rest. So let's keep each other in mind and cover each other in prayer. Sometimes it is easy to get busy and forget -- but please remember as your prayers will be treasured.

Love
SteveV

If Only We Could See

2007-11-28T17:49:00.000-08:00

Whenever you are feeling overwhelmed by life and the way the enemy has been taking advantage of opportunities to flood your mind with wrong belief and unbelief, it is a good time to step back and get perspective.
This week things have been very trying for me and – in jest – I told my brother that one day I was going to have a word or two with my guardian angel, for I think he is slacking. My brother said that I would probably have to eat my words. I asked, what do you mean? He replied, your angel is so busy handling the huge attack from the enemy that he purposely allows the small annoying spirits to trouble you knowing that you can easily handle them while he is handling the large massive spirits that are trying to destroy you. Well, whether my brother was right or not, it did help re-set my perspective and helped me set my mind not on the trouble but on the God who was helping me have victory. This reminded me of a great story in 2 Kings 6 where we get a glimpse of what is really happening in the spirit world and how God always has our back covered. This story should encourage you to firmly place your HOPE in Jesus. He has your back covered whether you can see it or not.
2 Kings 6:8-17
When the king of Aram was at war with Israel, he would confer with his officers and say, "We will mobilize our forces at such and such a place." But immediately Elisha, the man of God, would warn the king of Israel, "Do not go near that place, for the Arameans are planning to mobilize their troops there." So the king of Israel would send word to the place indicated by the man of God. Time and again Elisha warned the king, so that he would be on the alert there. The king of Aram became very upset over this. He called his officers together and demanded, "Which of you is the traitor? Who has been informing the king of Israel of my plans?" "It's not us, my lord the king," one of the officers replied. "Elisha, the prophet in Israel, tells the king of Israel even the words you speak in the privacy of your bedroom!"
"Go and find out where he is," the king commanded, "so I can send troops to seize him." And the report came back: "Elisha is at Dothan." So one night the king of Aram sent a great army with many chariots and horses to surround the city. When the servant of the man of God got up early the next morning and went outside, there were troops, horses, and chariots everywhere. "Oh, sir, what will we do now?" the young man cried to Elisha.
"Don't be afraid!" Elisha told him. "For there are more on our side than on theirs!" Then Elisha prayed, "O Lord, open his eyes and let him see!" The Lord opened the young man's eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire.

A little help in troubled times

2007-11-21T21:05:00.000-08:00

Do you doubt, O Christian, do you doubt as to whether God will fulfil His promise? Shall the munitions of rock be carried by storm? O Shall the storehouses of heaven fail? Do you think that your heavenly Father, though He knoweth that you have need of food and raiment, will yet forget you? When not a sparrow falls to the ground without your Father, and the very hairs of your head are all numbered, will you mistrust and doubt Him? Perhaps your affliction will continue upon you till you dare to trust your God, and then it shall end. Full many there be who have been tried and sore vexed till at last they have been driven in sheer desperation to exercise faith in God, and the moment of their faith has been the instant of their deliverance; they have seen whether God would keep His promise or not. Oh, I pray you, doubt Him no longer! Please not Satan, and vex not yourself by indulging any more those hard thoughts of God. Think it not a light matter to doubt Jehovah. Remember, it is a sin; and not a little sin either, but in the highest degree criminal. The angels never doubted Him, nor the devils either: we alone, out of all the beings that God has fashioned, dishonour Him by unbelief, and tarnish His honour by mistrust. Shame upon us for this! Our God does not deserve to be so basely suspected; in our past life we have proved Him to be true and faithful to His word, and with so many instances of His love and of His kindness as we have received, and are daily receiving, at His hands, it is base and inexcusable that we suffer a doubt to sojourn within our heart. May we henceforth wage constant war against doubts of our God—enemies to our peace and to His honour; and with an unstaggering faith believe that what He has promised He will also perform. "Lord, I believe, help Thou mine unbelief."

The Week of Mixed Blessing

2007-11-20T09:39:00.001-08:00

Hey everyone. I know this week of Thanksgiving break is going to be a mixed expereince for many of you. I want you to know that you are all in our prayers. But I would like us to use this new Blog as a way to keep each other infomed of what is happening, specifics of how we should be praying, praise reports of things God has done or is doing in and through you, and so on.

This could be a very exciting way for our little community to stay intact even though we are all in different places. So please make good use of this blog as a venue for timely communication.

I would also like to use this blog as a way to answer any and all questions you might have about the Bible, about something you are studying, about the relevancy to us today about certain passages, etc. So please feel free to ask.

Love ya, SteveV