I was hit hard with a reality check at our Saturday breakfast. A few weeks ago the sister-in-law of one of the men showed up unexpectedly at the restaurant during breakfast and sat at a table near our group. He said today that she told his wife, “They never mentioned God once”. She obviously wasn’t there for the very sincere prayer asking God to bless our food and our fellowship or for our conversations before we ordered and the food came. But it did call attention to the fact that during our fellowship we often spend more time discussing what is going on in the world around us than what God is doing in our lives and in the world,.
In a blog I posted three years ago, I quoted The Message translation of Colossians 3:1 which clearly points out how easy it is to lose our true Christian perspective. “So if you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it! Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ – that’s where the action is.”
Satan has always been active in the world, spreading his lies, sins and evil. It seems worse today than at any time in my long lifetime. That might be because he knows his time is short or because he no longer feels the need to hide his actions. If we don’t approach it all with a Christian perspective, we can be suckered into distraction or even become overly concerned, angry or fearful. We need to let the Holy Spirit keep us from being caught in Satan’s traps. Sometimes He prompts me to walk (or scroll) right past them. Other times He instructs me to confront them with His truth, but He never allows me to attack those who carry Satan’s message. Our battle is not against flesh and blood enemies (Ephesians 6:12), it is against evil and sin – not the sinner. God loves sinners (see John 3:16); He loved you and me when we were still living in sin. Jesus instructs us to love them too.
So, my Christian brother or sister, don’t be distracted by Satan’s activity in this world. Concentrate instead on your personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ; your relationships with the people God has placed in your life; and the calling or mission God has given you. Pay close attention to the promptings of God’s Holy Spirit within you and always be ready to share the truth that is Jesus Christ. Above all, maintain your Christian perspective because Satan will not win. I have sneaked a peek at the last chapter of the Bible. Our Lord will be victorious over Satan in the end.