I've never been a 'devil behind every doorstop' kind of person, believing much more that most of the crap that happens to me is pretty much my own doing or the doing of some other human entity.
and whilst I would say that there have been times when I feel the presence of oppressive voices, voices which have a foothold in the dark, vulnerable places of my life, I do feel slightly troubled by the way in which we can miss the point completely when it comes to the satan's attack.
in the wilderness Jesus experienced the most documented satan attack we have - note it didn't include walking into walls, falling down holes, heavy colds or pranging his 1st century palestinian chariot -and I suggest this is the place to go to find out what it might really mean to give in to the temptation of the satan.
If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread, then they will see that you are who you are. then they will not doubt your validity anymore, they will have their proof, their 'sign' that they're so desperate for. and why not? ....if you are the Son of God? God gives bread, the manna from heaven that the Israelites were given is enough proof that those who give bread might be something special....if you are the Son of God, they will know, they will know, stones to bread, stones to bread...........
Jesus said to them 'they need not go away; you give them something to eat.' They replied, 'we have nothing here but five loaves and two fish'........
If you are the Son of God, throw yourself off this building, your Father's angels will rescue you.......if you are the Son of God.........all will see, all will follow you. are you sure he is your Father? why not let everyone see? you are the Son of the Most High, aren't you?
Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
If you are the Son of God, you should have all the world at your beck and call....now. come with me, come along my way, do things the way that I would do them, crush the enemy, exclude those who are 'other' to you - in this way you will have all the kingdoms of the world, here, now, it can be yours! prove you are the Son of God!
And war broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon and his angels fought back, but they were defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. The great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and satan, the deceiver of the whole world - he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, proclaiming,
'Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Messiah, for the accuser of our comrades has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. but they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they did not cling to life even in the face of death.'
all that Jesus was and is and has achieved and is achieving was offered to him by the satan. but for God the ends do not justify the means. the means are as important as the end.
all that Jesus was and is and has achieved and is achieving had to go the way of the cross. the path to the cross and beyond the cross is how the kingdom of God breaks through to a world that does not understand that the first will be last and the last will be first. a world where violence and oppression are the way to the top.
I think that we should watch out for those alien voices which call us to a destination by any means - the destination may be worthy, even good, but it is the means by which we get there that will define us as followers of Jesus.
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