Volume 2022: Edition 8
Food for thought: When the Devil Attacks
Hello everyone, and welcome back. We apologize for the missed newsletter last week but thank you for your continued patience. We appreciate you coming back for the update this week and month as we continue to grow and study His word.
Every day we are under attack. If it's not physically on a battlefield somewhere, or in our body through disease and pain, it is emotionally and mentally. The Devil is very good at finding our weaknesses and exposing them to the evils of this world. He is the ultimate deceiver and if can't bring others to harm us and turn us against each other, he will find a way to get you to do it or to turn on yourself and hurt yourself. He will attack you when you are at your most vulnerable, and it's not yearly, monthly, or weekly, he comes for you every second of every day.
He comes for you when you are tired. He'll keep hitting you with your fatigue every morning you wake up and try to convince you that you don't need to do the things God has called you to do. This seemingly simple attack can be the stem of our frustration, anxiety, depression, stress, illness, and anger. We'll feel like we are out of control and excuse it as "I didn't sleep enough last night, so I'm more irritable today" (I, unfortunately, say this all the time), and the Devil loves to play with your emotions in this way. This is why it is important to pray for our sleep every night and to pray and give thanks to Him in the morning, and even if we wake up feeling exhausted remember that He will always be there to carry us. If we wait on Him and learn to rely on Him every morning, He will provide us with the strength and wisdom to get through those rough "Monday" mornings or overall rough days, that we have.
He comes for you when you are agitated. It is easy for us to become frustrated or angry and unleash a mouthful of sharp and hurtful words, or even do something physically to hurt someone else or ourselves. We can carry a lifetime's worth of regret for such things and do things that are irreversible that can make us feel like we were or will never be worthy to do God's work. The Devil wants us to feel so ashamed and angry with ourselves or other people that we can't feel or share God's love. He wants us to push people away that can help us to get us alone and keep us from God's blessings and plans for our lives. In moments like this, we need to focus on the lord and remember his deep love for us and everyone around us. We have to remember the fruits of the spirit, specifically to remind ourselves to be patient with others and with ourselves and practice self-control. It's okay to feel angry, but we must remember that we have control over our own emotions, and we can walk away from frustrating situations, "turn the other cheek", and go to God to seek peace from the things that may be triggering our frustration.
He comes for you when you are hurt or in pain. When we or someone we love experience hurt or pain, especially in extreme cases, it is easy for us to blame and doubt God. The Devil will make you believe that there are or should be quick fixes to your problems, that he has all the answers, not God. He wants to break the relationships you have with those who can help you and advise you in your moments of hurt, and ultimately break your relationship with God by encouraging fear and doubt in your life. The Devil will persuade you into believing that God isn’t there and doesn’t care about what you’re going through, that God's not all that good or powerful. However, Christ suffered on the cross for our sin and to break us free from all works of the devil to give us eternal life. He knows all our pain and hurt; he suffers through it with us and carries us. He is there through it all and works to bring good into our lives despite it. He is our comforter, our peace, our rest, our deliverance, and all we have to do is to believe in Him and trust that He has us in His hands. That no matter what is to come of us that it is in His time and in His will to bring us through.
He comes for us when we are ignorant. As humans we take pride in knowing things, knowledge is a powerful tool in this world just as much as money is, but what we may know about or think we know about may not be the wisdom that will keep us from being easily deceived by the Devil. If we do not read the word of God, listen to it, speak it in our lives, or practice it we will not have the knowledge to discern the truth from the lies in our lives. We will not understand the effects of our sin or even recognize that we have sinned if we do not study His word. In this ignorance, we can fall into sin easily and we can fall so deep into shame that we turn away from God completely in believing that we are unworthy of His word, His love, and or His forgiveness. This is why asking for wisdom in our prayers and inviting the Holy Spirit into our lives; in addition to reading, listening, and practicing His word; is so important.
And Lastly, He comes for us when we are starting something new in Christ. If we just started in our relationship with God, or we are doing His work and He has called us to do something a little more out of our comfort zone, the Devil will work harder to deceive us. He does not want you to grow or do God's work, so if you are doing something for God or you are strong spiritually, he will do everything in his power to attack you and steer you off track. This is why, as Christians, we have times when we feel like we are constantly being tested or spiritually attacked, and we are! The closer we get to God the harder the Devil is fighting to pull us away, and though it can be harder than words can describe being put through these trials, it is a good thing. When we are being attacked in this way this means that we are getting closer and closer to aligning with God's plans for us and we are doing great work in Christ's name. Every day we need to put on the full armor of God. We need to invite the Holy Spirit into our lives. We need to study and practice His word. We need to be patient, learn the fruits of the spirit, and trust that God has us so that when these trials come, we are prepared, and we can rebuke or ignore the Devil and be immovable. Just some food for thought...
"Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, 'Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!' But He turned and said to Peter, 'Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men'"
(Matthew 16:22-24)
"Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you,
Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand."
(Isaiah 41:10)
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law"
(Galatians 5:22-23)
"Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath"
(Ephesians 4:26)
"My soul, wait silently for God alone,
For my expectation is from Him"
(Psalm 62:5)
"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables."
(2 Timothy 4:3-4)
"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; 16 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"
(Ephesians 6:10-18)
"I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."
(Galatians 2:20)
We are grateful to have you with us as readers, church members, and interested guests and we are always open to any suggestions and volunteers for our website, newsletter, and future activities. We hope to see you at our Sunday services and stay tuned for our coming newsletters and updates at church, at bible study, on Facebook, on the Wix-App, and on the website weekly!
Upcoming Events:
Special Prayers:
Continue praying for Taylor Lambrecht and her family for healing.
Continue praying for Conrad Sack and the Sack Family for healing and patience
Pray for Damian for strength and patience as he goes through bootcamp
Pray for Gizelle for healing and comfort
Pray for Aliyah, Monica, and Gloria for guidance and healing
Pray for Sister Mary for Her Son-In-Law's family
Pray for the people of Ukraine that the Lord be with them
Pray for the continued healing of our church.
Weekly Devotional:
Be Thankful
Bring me the sacrifice of thanksgiving. Take nothing for granted, not even the rising of the sun. Before Satan tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden, thankfulness was as natural as breathing. Satan's temptation involved pointing Eve to the one thing that was forbidden. The garden was filled with luscious, desirable fruits, but Eve focused on the one fruit she couldn't have rather than being thankful for the many good things freely available. This negative focus darkened her mind, and she succumbed to temptation.
When you approach The Lord with thanksgiving, the light of His presence pours into you. transforming you through and through. Walk in the light with Him by practicing the discipline of thanksgiving.
Young, S. (2n.d.). Jesus calling: Enjoying peace in his presence: Devotions for every day of the year. Integrity Publishers.
"I will offer to You the sacrifice of thanksgiving,
And will call upon the name of the Lord."
(Psalm 116:17)
"And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ”
Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate."
(Genesis 3:2-6)
"But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin."
(1 John 1:7)
Verse of the Week:
"Jesus said to her, 'I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?'"
(John 11:25-26)
Communal Outreach:
Please email berthoudfoursquarechurch@gmail.com , call (970)405-3053, or connect with us on the Wix-app if you have any interest in the following...
Float Committee for Berthoud Days and the Berthoud Christmas Parade
Rebooting Youth Group
Questions?
For any questions or suggestions regarding our newsletter please email berthoudfoursquarechurch@gmail.com or call (970)405-3053
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