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National Chaplain’s Religious Emphasis Article October 2014 “The first and almost the only book deserving of universal a...

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National Chaplain’s Religious Emphasis Article October 2014 “The first and almost the only book deserving of universal attention is the Bible. I speak as a man of the world…and I say to you, “Search the Scriptures.” John Quincy Adams, 6th US President

Ignore the world at your own risk! It says in the Bible that we are not to be part of the world, and yet we are supposed to take God’s message to the entire world. Kind of contradictory isn’t it? Not really, but we can’t let the world and the things in the world affect our life and our witness to those who may not know God. How can we do this? We can’t do it on our own strength or with our own power because Satan and his demonic forces are far more powerful than we are without God in our life and our heart. Without God, it is impossible for us to do good outside the influence of evil. Regardless of how good we think that we are or can be, we cannot withstand the influence of the principalities and powers that Satan has at his disposal. The reason behind your failure to withstand him is that he hates you with an undying hatred! The reason for this is that he knew that God intended to put humanity above angels in the hierarchy of Heaven one day. That is the one reason beyond pride that Satan had for his rebellion. Everything else pales in comparison and he intends to do everything that he can to corrupt as much of God’s creation as possible. So, in a word, no we cannot ignore the world! It would be very dangerous to do so because he is the ruler of this world and ignoring the world would be just what Satan wants, in a sense. He doesn’t want to be ignored, but if enough people regard him as a myth or a fairy tale then they won’t know to defend themselves from his attacks or even know that they need to. Many believers don’t even know that they need to take care of the thoughts that they have and give them to God. To walk with God on an hourly basis is the only way to defend yourself and if you choose not to be that close with Him then Satan can get into your life, even if you go to church. Mainly because he is there too! He and his demons are in every congregation in the world. They never miss a Sunday or a Sabbath, yet many don’t have any idea that they are there. When you give your heart to God, He comes in and cleans out anything that has been there before and makes you into a new creation! Your heart becomes the temple for the Spirit to live and work in and through you and for you. When this happens, your life can have so much more meaning not only for you but for God too. Making God the Lord of your life makes you one of His disciples and they were able to do many glorious, miraculous things as long as their trust and their faith stayed focused on Him. Can we do the same? Yes, we can if we truly believe in Him and repent of our old ways and truly change. Don’t go back to the same places that you went to before, make new friends and tell your old friends that you are a new person! God loves you, you just have to realize it and accept His love and grace and then you will become part of His family too! (Re-printed with permission) The Living Message of Christ by Gordon Eldridge

Respectfully submitted in the spirit of Fun, Faith and Fellowship!

Harl “Butch” Ray, National Chaplain