When Your Church Becomes Infected

The great deceiver uses his many tricks in many churches. Because believers comprise the local church and the enemy has the ability to deceive believers (see 2 Corinthians 11:3; 2 Timothy 2:25; 1 Thessalonians 3:5), we should not be surprised at his successes. In fact, Satan was tempting and creating havoc within the earliest New Testament churches. Paul issued warnings about the tempter to the churches in Corinth and Thessalonica, and he warned the young yet God-fearing Timothy and other godly servants not to quarrel but to be kind and gentle to everyone (see Ephesians 4:31-32; 2 Timothy 2:24). All of us become duped at one time or another, no matter how careful we are. We are most open to deceit, though, when we are not connected with the Lord through the Scriptures, prayer, and obedient living. People seek the wrong things in the church and turn to other resources, such as the occult, in order to get them. Watch out for counterfeit truth. Satan is in the business of destroying churches. What then are his greatest weapons in destroying them? Let me give you four primary methods he uses to undermine leadership and stop a church's progress. First, Satan can counterfeit the truth. Second, Satan can give great feelings, and believers, remembering feelings of joy, even ecstasy, upon their conversion and first weeks with the Lord, may associate good feelings with spirituality. Some Christians crave those joyful feelings they experienced at the end of a week-end-retreat-the so-called "mountaintop high"-as proof all is right between God and them. With great feelings, these believers think they must be "spiritual" because they "feel so good." But feelings are fleeting and dangerous. Extreme emotional highs often produce extreme emotional lows. Yes, the fruit of the spirit includes joy (and peace, for that matter), but we should not test our spirituality by seeing if strong emotions are constantly present. Where fruit is present on an ongoing basis, we can be more assured we are walking in the Spirit. Patience, kindness, goodness, self-control, and the other fruit listed in Galatians 5:22-23 should be evident in a believer's life. Courtney loved those moments of high emotion, and Satan seemed to use them to delude her about her relationship with God. As we visited together in a counseling session, Courtney said, "I think I am a religious-high junkie." She explained that over the past few years when any big-name faith healer visited the area she would go to the services. Sometimes she gave large amounts of money against her husband's wishes. Several of those times she was able to talk to the faith healer, and he or she would lay hands on Courtney and offer some type of "imparted wisdom" to her. She told me, "Dr. Copley, the feeling was absolute ecstasy. The exhilaration was like nothing I had ever experienced." I could imagine that it was! She went on. "But there was one problem. It would never last. I would always have to seek another high. Besides that, the lows became extremely low." As we talked about the Christian life, I was able to show her that the normal Christian life is one in which we walk in love with Jesus Christ, and go where He leads us by His Spirit and through His Word. I told her that while there might be times of ecstasy and exhilaration, those experiences were always preceded by a reason. "For instance," I said "King David danced before the ark when it was returned by the Philistines. He experienced ecstasy and worship. But he had a strong reason to do so-the glory of God." She agreed, and I added, "As we walk with the Lord in a personal love relationship with Him led by His Spirit through the Scriptures, we can live a life that glorifies God without any counterfeit joy or peace or exhilaration that might not be from Him in reality." Courtney began seeking God through the Scriptures and prayer and found through the practice of true Christian disciplines her life evened out and became much more stable. Watch out for counterfeit healing. Satan can also counterfeit healing (see 2 Thessalonians 2:9). You can be sure the enemy will seek to counterfeit anything that is truly from God, even healing. I believe God can and on occasion does heal in the day in which we live. To say that He does not is to deny the power of God. Many times, though, He does not choose to heal. I have seen situations where people have sought out certain ailing Christians to persuade them to receive the healing that they so desperately needed. Shawn was so duped. He had been diagnosed with schizophrenia in his early twenties. He had battled this debilitating illness for several years by taking anti psychotic medications. Because of modern scientific research, we have found that many drugs can take such people from a highly dysfunctional condition to a rather "normal" state of mind. In Shawn's case, he found that when he would take his drugs properly he could work a job, think with clarity, and function well. However, he always felt somewhat dull and "stupefied," which is a typical side effect of such drugs. Shawn came to my office after being released from the psychiatric ward in the local hospital. He told me right away, "Dr. Copley, some weeks ago a faith healer came to town and I went forward. The faith healer laid hands on me and then he pronounced me healed of my schizophrenia. The strangest thing was I had not told him I was schizophrenic. After he laid hands on me I felt like a lightning bolt suddenly charged through my body. I walked out of that place feeling higher than I ever have in my life. As a result, I stopped taking my medication cold turkey." Listening, I realized he was in much distress about this. He went on. "For the next fifteen days I was higher than a kite. I was happy, bubbly, personable, striking up conversations with strangers, full of energy, shouting out loud hallelujahs, and it was great. But then I bottomed out, and I ended up back in the hospital, back on my medications, back to living life as I had. What happened to me? I said, "What happened to you was you became the victim of a false healing. That which God truly does He does permanently. We have an enemy, and the enemy wants to deceive and disillusion us and eventually destroy us through these deceptions. One of those is false healing. I'm sorry to say. God probably wants you to take your medication, perhaps for the rest of your life." Shawn agreed and has been normal ever since. But he was actually lucky. I have heard of good Christian people like him who have committed suicide or slipped into deeper psychosis as a result of such deceptions. I believe it's possible for God to heal completely in such cases. But it's rare. The more common way God "heals" is through modern medical techniques, which are legitimate and can help people immensely. Keep in mind that Satan does empower for false healing, partial healing, and even occasional full healing to lead people away from God. Watch out for counterfeit power. Finally, Satan can grant limited power. Many people seek power or control-sometimes both. Satan, who has temporary rule over this world, has power that he can bestow.It is limited compared to that of God almighty, but it is still power, and this counterfeit power can woo and impress and deceive us. It's easy to understand why power is so appealing. We all have a sense of personal inadequacy. There are times n counseling that the client and I both reach a state of hopeless despair at our own inadequacy to solve a problem. It's at that point that we cry out to God for His help, because when we are weak, God is strong (see 2 Corinthians 12:9-20). There's nothing wrong with this, and it's certainly not that bad place to be. When we realize the need for help beyond what this world has to offer, we are being exactly what God made us all along: dependent creatures who need His love and power to survive. Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings. Many people, though, seek the wrong kind of power: the power of Satan. And Satan does have earthly power; that's why he could offer Jesus the kingdoms of this world (see Matthew 4:8-9). Today Satan offers different kinds of power to Christ's followers. Some of the power sources that come from the enemy are: 1. Signs and miracles. 2. False Ecstatic worship, which is actually a highly toxic mysticism. The fruit from this worship is weak, which in turn produces weak Christians. 3. The false promise of health and wealth if you love God and have faith (and give to a certain ministry). 4. False authority. Those who have such authority refuse to be tested in their faith by mature brothers. I see this all the time among church members and even pastors. It's up to the church to expose Satan's counterfeit power with God's truth. When the church operates in the power of the Holy Spirit, the result will be seen in true conversions, changed lives, genuine love, and world evangelism, plus numerous other Christian virtues that are practiced by the church. These all witness to the presence of a loving God willing to give abundant life and bring freedom from the lies and oppression of the enemy. Satanic power always corrupts, though, and those who seek it will ultimately be destroyed because that is the enemy's real purpose behind his so-called gifts. Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.

Fool Me Once Shame on You

Please read Galatians 2:1-10. "This will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave." Paul's first fight for Christian liberty was at the Jerusalem council (Acts 15:1-35). His second was at a private meeting with Peter (Gal. 2:11-21). Because of Paul's courage, the Gospel was kept free from legalism, and it was carried to the Gentiles with great blessing. We must get acquainted with the participants. 1. Barnabas-son of encouragement. 2. Titus-a Gentile believer. 3. Peter, James, and John are the pillars of the Church in Jerusalem. Remember Peter was given the keys. James was the half brother of Jesus and pastor of the Jerusalem Church. Note the three acts in this drama. I. Act 1-the private consultation. Jewish legalists were teaching that a Gentile had to become a Jew before he could become a Christian (Acts 15:1). They taught that submitting to circumcision meant accepting and obeying the whole Jewish law. When Paul and Barnabas confronted these men the result was a heated argument (Acts 15:2). Thus the Jerusalem conference was held. The result was the Apostles and Elders approved Paul's Gospel (Gal. 2:6b), and thereby declared the Judaizers to be wrong. II. Act 2-the public convocation. The first witness was Peter. He makes it clear that there is but one way of salvation: faith in Jesus Christ (Acts 15:7-11). Next Paul and Barnabas told what God had done among the Gentiles (Acts 15:12). Titus, uncircumcised, became a "Test case" (Acts 15:1). James gave the summation of the arguments and the conclusion of the matter (Acts 15:13-21). Paul won. Paul's concern was "The truth of the Gospel," not the Peace of the church." The wisdom that God sends from above is "First pure, then peaceable" (James 3:17). III Act 3-the personal confirmation. The assembly recognized publicly that God had committed the Gentile aspect of His work into Paul's hands. Peter and Paul preached the same Gospel. Paul explained his independence from the apostles then he points out his interdependence with the apostles. In this passage we then move from the Theological to the practical-helping the poor. Correct doctrine is never a substitute for Christian duty (James 2:14-26). Right teaching results in right living. Are you enjoying your freedom in Christ? "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free, and don't be entangled again with the yoke of bondage" (Galatians 5:1). Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.

Does God Ever Give Up

Please read Romans 1:18-32. Hear ye! Hear ye! Court is now in session! Paul could have used those awesome words at this point in his letter, because Romans 1:18 is the door that leads us into God's courtroom. This picture Paul paints here is an ugly one. When I lived in North Minneapolis I avoided some neighborhoods. My avoiding them did not change nor eliminate them. God's description of this section does not teach evolution (that man started low and climbed high), but devolution, he started high and because of sin sank lower than the beasts. There are four stages that mark man's tragic devolution. First, intelligence. Human history began with man knowing God. Man was not a beast that worshiped idols, then evolved into a man worshiping one God. Human history is just the opposite. Man began knowing God, but turned away from the truth and rejected God. God revealed Himself to man through creation. From the world around him man knew that there was a God who had the wisdom to plan and the power to create. Man realized too, that this Creator was eternal, he knew of "His eternal power and Godhead". Innate human reason deducts that God could not have been created if He is the Creator. The word translated "Hold" can also be translated "Suppress, or hold down". Men knew the truth about God, but they did not allow this truth to work in their lives. The result was refusing the truth. They suppressed truth in order that they might live their own lives and not be convicted by God's truth. Finally, man so abandoned the truth that he became like a beast in his thinking and in his living. Second, ignorance. Man knew God, but did not want to know Him or honor Him as God. Man refused to give God the glory He deserves. Man was willing to use God's gifts, but he was not willing to worship and praise God for His gifts. The result was an empty mind and a darkened heart. Man the worshiper became man the philosopher. This empty wisdom only revealed his foolishness. Having held down God's truth and refusing to acknowledge God's glory, man was left without a god. Man is so constituted that he must worship something. This fact about man accounts for his propensity to idolatry. If he will not worship the true God, he will worship a false god, even if he has to manufacture it himself. Man then exchanged glory for shame, in-corruption for corruption and truth for lies. First on the list of false gods is man. This fulfilled Satan's purpose when he told Eve "You shall be as God" (Gen. 3:5). "glory to man in the highest." Instead of man being made in God's image man made gods in his own image, then worshiped birds, beasts and bugs. Third, indulgence. From idolatry to immorality is just one short step. If man is his own god, then he can do whatever he pleases and fulfill his desires without fear of judgment. We reach the climax of man's battle with God's truth when man exchanges the truth of God for "The lie". The lie is that man is his own god and should worship and serve himself. It was the lie that Satan used in the Garden to lead Eve into sin. Satan wants the worship that belongs only to God. The result of self deification is self indulgence. Here Paul mentions homosexuality. This is repeatedly condemned in Scripture. Paul characterizes it as "Vile and unnatural," Men and women were guilty. Because of sin "God gave them up." He abandoned sinful men to their lustful ways. Forth, impenitence. When man began to feel the tragic consequences of his sins, you would think he would repent and seek God, but just the opposite was true. Because he was abandoned by God, he could only become worse. Man did not want to retain God in his knowledge so God gave them over to a depraved mind. That is a mind that cannot form right judgments. They now abandoned themselves to sin. Paul names 24 specific sins, all with us today (Rom 1:29-30). But the worst is yet to come. Men not only committed these sins in open defiance of God, but encouraged others and applauded them when they sinned. How far man fell. He began glorifying God, and ended exchanging that glory for idols. He began knowing God, and ended refusing to keep the knowledge of God in his mind and heart. He began as the highest of God's creatures, made in the image of God and ended lower than the beasts. The verdict? "They are without excuse!" Dan Crawford, a missionary to Africa said "The heathen are sinning against a flood of light." There is a desperate need for us to carry the Gospel to all men, for this is the only way they can be saved. Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.

How Does Satan Work

You may be surprised that Satan has personality, great power, and a sinister plan. You may have viewed him as some cartoon character with horns and a long tail, dressed in a red suit. That's another lie. Well, then who is this devil who wreaks such havoc in our lives? His original name was Lucifer, son of the morning (Isaiah 14:12), God's masterpiece (Ezekiel 28:12), and a guardian cherub (Ezekiel 28:14). He "walked...in the midst of fiery stones" (verse 14) and functioned as God's highest creation, perhaps leader over all the created angels. God employed Lucifer in revealing the great truths about Himself and counted on Lucifer to teach the angelic hordes about God, His person, personality, works, and plans. So originally the devil was a good angel, gifted by God and loyal in his actions. What happened? Lucifer envied God. He envied the worship God received, the adulation of the billions in heaven. He began to lust after what God possessed. He wanted to be like God, to take God's place (Isaiah 14:13-14). This led him to rebel and incite an attack on God unlike any war in human history. Some think World War II was bad. Yes, that war had an impact on the world. But in its scope and ultimate importance, this rebellion made WWII look like a wrestling match in kindergarten. Undoubtedly, God warned Lucifer, but ultimately God had to let Lucifer make his own choices. He would not force Lucifer to worship or even serve Him. Lucifer had the right to refuse, and he exercised it. When God warned him, Lucifer refused to repent and he persuaded a third of the angels of heaven to follow him in his rebellion. Perhaps he promised them places of power and some kind of weird notion of "creative freedom." Whatever it was, they followed and sank with Lucifer's ship. God defeated him summarily. God then created Adam and Eve, set them in a perfect environment, and subjected them to one test, giving them the right to choose-to choose either to obey ignore God. The test was whether they would eat of a certain tree's fruit that God had commanded them to avoid. At that point, Lucifer, ow Satan, stepped in and tempted the first human couple. But leading our first parents into sin, he immediately defiled God's perfect creation. That plunged the whole universe into as condition of spiritual death that only the death and Resurrection of Christ could repair. Today, Satan roams our planet looking for people he can enslave to himself. He uses lies to accomplish that end. His plan is to deceive us into thinking such thoughts as "Jesus was just a good man, His life and death mean no more than any other person's" and "No one needs some special act of faith in Jesus to find redemption." If Satan fails in that mission and people come to a personal relationship with Christ through faith, Satan tells those new believers another lie: "Spiritual growth, personal development, and learning God's Word are not important for spiritual maturity." The great deceiver says to believers, "Forget the church, because it's full of hypocrites. Find you own way in this world." And he teaches the world's philosophy of success: "Remember, health, wealth, and power are the primary elements of true success." If you want to understand Satan's sinister plan, a good place to start is Isaiah 14:12-14. Here you will find several important facts about the enemy. First, when Satan attacked God, he made five gargantuan, prideful statements of his objectives. His five "I Wills" are revealing. They are. 1. "I will ascend into heaven." 2. "I will exalt my throne above the stars of God." 3. "I will sit on the Mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north." 4. "I will ascend above the heights of the clouds." 5. "I will be like the Most High." Behind those boasts is his sinister plan. We can describe it this way. Satan then and now wants: 1. To ascend to god's realm and take charge. 2. To rule over all creation in God's place. 3. To lead in all worship services that were meant to worship God. 4. To break into God's most private secret haven. 5. To drive God out and take His place. Satan was vowing to assassinate God, to take His place and rule everything-no more; no less. At rock bottom, this is the ultimate expression of pride. "I will be number one, on my own, answering to no one!" God dealt with this upstart rather quickly and cast him out of heaven, defeating him with a mere word. All Satan's boasts crumpled to nothing, and he found himself somewhere in a whole new, God-created universe. Satan had blood on his mind, and he soon discovered this world called earth, populated by all sorts of amazing creatures, most notably two who were in many ways like the angels of heaven. God called them Adam and Eve, and He gave them total freedom minus one: They could not eat of a certain tree. If they did, dire consequences would follow. Wasting no time at all, Satan thought up Plan B and decided if he couldn't defeats God, he'd mess up God's handiwork so badly that God would have to admit failure and give up. That was and is Satan's sinister plan. He desires to defeat God and God's good plan. His first step would be to get these perfect folks out of the clutches of God. So Satan visited the Garden of Eden disguised as a serpent. This is one of his bedrock principles of deception: Never come as you are; always use a pleasant disguise. The serpent was the most "cunning" of all God's animals, according to Genesis 3:1. This means not only was he smart, but he was beautiful, friendly, and charming. Once he had possessed the serpent, Satan got to the point quickly. God had commanded Adam (probably not directly to Eve) the he couldn't eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, because if he did, he would die. This was a test designed by God to prove whether Adam and Eve would be loyal to Him and obey Him in a simple matter. All real obedience proceeds by us obeying God about seemingly trivial things. As the serpent, Satan asked Eve, "Has God indeed said, "You shall not eat of every tree of the garden?" Satan's motive here was to get Eve to think the fruit was not only forbidden but that God was holding back something good. This would cast doubt on God's love for Eve. If God really loved her, He would not have kept from her any good thing. It's not surprising that Satan tells us the same lie today. "Why wait to have sex until marriage? God just wants to keep something good from you. There's no harm in it." And, "Go ahead and try those drugs. They won't hurt you. God knows they will make you more caregiver and even more intelligent, to say nothing of happier. In fact, that's why He doesn't want you to try them!" Satan always arouses discontent with what God wants and then assures us God is withholding it from us because He knows how happy it will make us. Or rich. Or powerful. Answering Satan, Eve said, "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, or shall you touch it, lest you die'" (Genesis 3:2-3). Notice: God never said, "nor shall you touch it" (see His words in Genesis 2:17). Eve was already demonstrating an attitude of discontent toward God. The enemy found the spark he could fan into a flame. When we are discontent, we tend to distort God's Word. And Eve was ready to hear Satan's distorted rendering of God's command. At that point, Satan knew he could lie directly, He said, "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" (verses 4-5). In essence, Satan was saying, "You will be the one who knows, decides, and determines good and evil. You'll be in control. If you eat of the tree, you'll be your own god; you'll call the shots-you will be the boss. You won't have God telling you what to do anymore!" Satan works through the flesh to tempt us to be dissatisfied with God and all He gives us. We are then more willing to grab and eat the "forbidden fruit." Only later do we realize the "apple" has worms in it. Satan persuaded eve to eat the fruit and Eve then went to Adam, who also capitulated. Moments later, the Bible says, "Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God" (Genesis 3:8). Sin always causes fear. We believe God will punish us severely for our mistake and that He will never show love to us again, which is one more lie of the enemy. The truth came out, though, as God went looking for Adam. "Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, Where are you?" (verse 9). The Lord hadn't rejected Adam or Eve even though He knew what they had done. He still loved Adam despite his sin. How does Satan work? His most powerful weapon is the lie. Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.

Beautiful in God's Eyes

Let me give you an example of a person who, through changing her worldview, was set free from the power of the devil and given the joy of serving God in freedom and power. She was an extremely attractive young woman I'll call Jill, who came into my office weeping. After ten minutes of her sobbing and me trying to comfort her and find out what was wrong, Jill confessed she believed she was ugly. The very notion made me want to laugh. Her, ugly? If she was ugly, I must have been a hyena. And yet. it's such a common feeling, especially among women in today's world. Everyone wants to be Barbie or Cindy Crawford. As she wept, I said to Jill, trying to move her in the direction of the truth, "Are you willing to accept yourself as God-loving, wise, compassionate, all-knowing God-made you, or do you think He made a mistake? As a Christian, she didn't believe God made mistakes, but this was a completely new concept to her. When she stammered out "no" to my query about accepting herself, I read the passage in Psalms 139:14, reminding her about being "fearfully and wonderfully made." I explained God had made each of us beautiful and amazing creations in our own right, a perfect creature of His love and wisdom. While yes, the world might look on and criticize, the truth was God had made Jill exactly as He'd wanted, and what He'd wanted was to fashion her "fearfully"-someone to respect and reverence-and "wonderfully"-someone amazing and perfect and beautiful in the eyes of Perfect Love and Wisdom. As we talked, the Holy Spirit opened her heart. For the first time, she saw that a good, wise, and loving God had created her as He had wanted to all along. She realized He had given her traits, abilities, and even physical characteristics that He considered beautiful and immeasurably attractive. As I shared these things, an astonishing transformation came over her face, a radiance that proved she had accepted herself in a healing, freedom-giving way because of God's truth. Months later she told me that she could not only enjoy the way she looked, but she saw that all of herself-her mind, her personality, her heart and soul-was "fearfully and wonderfully made" by the God who knows all! This was not arrogance, nor even conceit. The fact was she no longer compared her looks to others or to billboards. God had set her free. At a later time she told me, "I have peace about how I look because I know the Lord made me exactly the way He wanted." Had Jill been under spiritual attack? Had Satan engage her in spiritual warfare? Definitely. Jill had believed lies hammered into her by the devil through the world and the flesh and probably other sources as well. These lies had debilitated her, made her doubt herself at every turn, and even made her hate herself? What could this be but Satan's plan to destroy the good thing God created? What about you? If you've read this article and still believe spiritual warfare is a type of baloney, I implore you: Recognize the spiritual battle around you. Realize Satan has power on earth (Luke 22:53; Ephesians 6:12). But also realize God has greater power (I John 4:4). You need not fear (that is, hold in awe) Satan. No, the one to truly fear in a reverential sense is God. He loves you and will guide you through any warfare you will face today, this week, and all the way to the end of your life. Rejoice that He is with you every step of the path. Take this warfare seriously, but at the same time keep your heart set on the things above where Christ is at the right hand of God. That will still your soul when you hear that lion roar. Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.

The Truth About Spiritual Warfare

Is spiritual warfare a common occurrence for Christians? Or is spiritual warfare a scare tactic to get Christians in line? "God would never let Christians be tested by the devil." "'Spiritual warfare' is a phony phrase. We already have spiritual victory." "Spiritual warfare is a concept that only kooks believe." I've heard these responses and more to the statement Christians are in a spiritual battle. But such beliefs are right out of the pit. Furthermore, they contradict the Scriptures. It's true that we are born again by the Spirit of God. We begin a vibrant new life (2 Corinthians 5:17). But we also are joined in a battle-a battle from which dying and arriving in heaven will be our only escape. This battle is called spiritual warfare. Such warfare appears on nearly every page of Scripture, from the beginning when Adam and Eve fell to the lies of Satan, through the journeys of Israel as they listened to more lies of the devil. It led finally to the coming of Jesus and the arena of entrenched falsehood that He entered, which ultimately led to His death. Through it all, though, a reassuring theme runs through the Bible: God is ultimately in control; nothing happens outside His sovereignty, and even Satan is little more than a player in God's vast drama. God has every lie and machination well in hand. The Scriptures declare that nothing Satan does will deter the triumph of God's plan, which is the establishment of the kingdom that will last forever. The New Testament describes the battle as continuous and purposeful. In Ephesians 6:10-18, the classic passage detailing the spiritual armor that every Christian must carry into battle, the apostle Paul gave this call to arms: "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." (verses 11-13). And the apostle Peter cautioned all believers about the leader of the attacks: "Be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion" (I Peter 5:8). Satan is in fierce battle with God and His followers, but his fate is sealed, for God has already won the victory. As Christians, we fight from victory, not for victory. Such victory is not always a reality in our Christian lives, however. Paul exhorted Timothy to "wage the good warfare" (I Timothy 1:18). But truthfully, most Christians know very little about the enemy or the warfare he wages against us and which we must wage against him. As a result, we do not walk in the spiritual victory that is ours in Christ Jesus. Years ago, I heard a man speak on spiritual warfare in a way that raised the hair on the back of my neck. The casting out of demons, frontal attacks on Satan through rebuking prayer, and loud denunciations of the enemy using biblical language, all ran like a thread through his speech. Today, I honesty question that speaker's accuracy in describing real spiritual warfare. True, there are moments when the casting out of a demon is necessary. And yes, prayer is essential in defeating the power of Satan in a bleiver's life. But warfare does not involve attacking Satan himself. Instead, spiritual warfare means confronting the enemy's lies with God's truth. In warfare counseling, I have found people face mainly two problems: they sin and they believe lies. Satan's only real power is through those lies. He will take God's truth and twist it or deny it. In tempting Eve, for instance, the serpent (inhabited by Satan) twisted God's words (Genesis 3:1) and directly denied them (verse 4). Satan succeeds as the great deceiver when we believe in our mind and emotions what he says is true even though it is false. Liberty comes when we grasp and believe the truth. At that point we are no longer deceived. Satan's advances against us are foiled. Why is this deception so sinister? Because we live what we believe. When I believe a lie, I live that lie. If I think I'm worthless, I am worthless. If I come to believe hatred is justified, then I will feel just in hating. Satan foments anger and all sorts of negative emotions with such lies. This is why warfare is so much a matter of the heart and mind than of exorcism and so many other dramatic examples others give to the issue. I believe that in America today more people are susceptible to the subtle lies of Satan than any kind of oppression or possession through the occult. Though the occult is gaining a much greater foothold, even to those trapped in its bonds, it's not actual indwelling of spirits that occurs, but a series of lies accepted and followed as the truth that destroys them. You need not be in the occult to hear and accept Satan's lies. Many Christians are listening to his lies. Some are as simple yet devastating as someone telling himself that he's stupid, no good, worthless, ugly, etc. The truth "I am fearfully and wonderfully made" (Psalm 139:14). The amazing thing is that many people will go through life believing such lies and never recover or learn the truth. How does Satan manage it? He whispers the lie so subtly and so repeatedly that we cannot think any other way. Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.

Journaling

Here are some thoughts from my personal journal. When you come to the Scriptures ask what does this have to do with me? Don't waste the hard times. King David wrote Psalms 57, and 142 from a cave. The Bible in 50 words God made, Adam bit, Noah arked, Abraham split, Joseph ruled, Jacob fooled, Bush talked, Moses balked, Pharaoh plagued, People walked, Sea divided, tablets guided, Promise landed, Saul freaked, David peeked, Prophet warned, Jesus born, God walked, Love talked, Anger crucified, Hope died, Love rose, Spirit flamed, Word spread, God remained. Knowledge ties the past to the present and wisdom ties the present to the future. Have you ever been confussed between being grieved in spirit and irritated in the flesh. Joyfulness similes away all the wrinkles on a child's attitude. Gentleness is looking past the hardness of a face and seeing a delicate spirit on the inside. Often the outward gruffness of a person is as self-made shield to protect a wounded and hurting spirit. It is also a cry for understanding. "If you are suffering from a bad man's injustice, forgive him lest there be two bad men." St Augustine. Here is a bedrock principle of deception-it never comes as it is, is always uses a pleasant disguise. This deception can originate from a king (II Kings 18:29), a false god (Isaiah 37:10), or one's own heart (Jeremiah 49:16). Sin always causes fear. Ask Adam, Moses, or Peter. You become like what you hate. Prayer is never a substitute for repentance. There are a number of promises in the Bible about God not hearing prayers. Prayer is not a filabuster. You can suffer without sinning, but you can't sin without suffering. The goodness of God ought to lead us to repentance not independence. Outside of the subject of love, materialism is spoken of most in the Scriptures. Some people are tempted to surrender just a token sin or some minor fault, while allowing the main problems to remain entrenched and well hidden. Evil thoughts are the source of evil actions. When the Scriptures talk about an evil eye they are referring to stinginess, having a grudging attitude that another should have more than I do. Jesus promise "I will make you fishers of men." The condition "Follow Me." People need a sense of God's abiding presence upon them. A person filled with the Holy Spirit will have a deep sense of eternal values. The goal of God is not just that man in his sorrows is made happy but that man in his rebellion is made obedient. Without love for the truth, no area of our lives can be corrected. The enemy's lie enters our minds in whispers, not shouts; it walks in darkness, not light. When we harbor sin the light becomes darkness. Satan has a legal access given to him by God, to dwell in the domain of darkness, (II Corinthians 10:3-5). Before receiving the Holy Spirit the disciples were powerless. What we are is more important than what we say. In the race of doing God's will, are you in the front of the pack, one of the stragglers, or an onlooker? Why? Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.

Our Glorious Future

“For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11). The bumper sticker read "Remember who you wanted to be." A lot of people never come to a realization of who they wanted to be. Should you go back and examine your childhood dreams, are you where you dreamed of being? Many people head off to college without any idea what they want to be. They may change majors several times in their college career and still not know what they want to do or be when they graduate. If that describes you don't despair, there is something better than your dreams, there is God's dream for you. God alone knows the plans He has for us. No false prophet can know the mind of God concerning anything. Jeremiah ministered in a day when false prophets were rampant. These false dreamers were prophesying a false peace and bogus deliverance. They were predicting the impossible and proclaiming a groundless hope. Those of their audience were confident they were hearing the truth. God told the Israelites judgment was coming and could not be avoided. The Israelites laughed at God threats, confident they were hearing truth from those who spoke only lies. False prophets flatter people in their sins, because they love to be flattered. A charlatan may have a golden tongue, but the fruit of his words will be bitter indeed. False prophets and their deceived listeners do a demonic dance, each flatters the other for their own purposes. The end result, rather than deliverance, is slavery for the false prophet and their deceived followers. As humans we often lack knowledge. How common it is to not even know our own minds. The Lord is never uncertain of anything. How often in our lack of knowledge do we believe the Lord is against us? The fact is "If God be for us, who can be against us"? God always approaches His children in mercy and grace. Even His correction is done out of love, "For who the Lord loves he chastens." No where in the Bible does God say "Seek Me in vain." Those who die and go the an eternal hell do so "Because they have not listened to my words; I called but they refused." On the other hand, God has a divine plan, and He knows exactly what He wants us to be and do. Every gift and talent we possess was given by Him, and its a shame when we don't live the life He has for us. If you don't know what you are destined for, ask the Lord, He knows and He will be more than happy to reveal His plan to you. We have a glorious future, He said so, for He's in charge of it. Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.

Have You Seen God's Goodness?

In Exodus we learn that Moses had the unprecedented experiences of intimate fellowship in the presence of God on Mount Sinai. Yet his heart and mind were unsatisfied. He pleaded with God to show him His glory (Exodus 33:18). Moses wanted to know who God is. So God responded, "I will make all my goodness pass before you "Exodus 33:19). The fact is, God is good all the time. The doubting of God's goodness led to the first sin in the human race. Satan always slanders God's goodness. The one who came to deceive accuses God of deception. We learn in Exodus 34:6 that God is "abundant in goodness...". Has your walk with the Lord led you to a fresh view of His goodness. That is something worth meditating on. Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.