The Secret of Contentment

It's hard to find anyone in Christian history who became a great leader without earning an advanced degree at the University of Adversity. John Bunyan (1628-1688), the author of The Pilgrim's Progress, grew up in poverty and taught himself to read. As a young man, he struggled with feelings of not being forgiven by God and was tortured by visions of eternal punishment. His devout wife helped him to overcome his fear, but then, while she was still in her twenties, she died of a sudden illness. In his grief, Bunyan devoted himself to preaching. The English government, however, repeatedly imprisoned him for preaching without a license. On one occasion, Bunyan was sentenced to three months in prison, but when he told the officials he intended to go on preaching, his sentence was extended to 12 years. John Bunyan experienced God's presence in a special way while he was in prison. In fact, it was in his cell that he penned his enduring classic, The Pilgrim's Progress. It's a book that could only have been written by a soul that was refined by the fires of adversity. A. W. Tozer once wrote, "It is doubtful whether God can bless a man greatly until he has hurt him deeply." God has a mission for your life and mine. But before we can carry out that mission, we will often go through the boot camp of adversity. If this is where you find yourself today, ask God to give you His grace to walk through this time with you. He promised He would never leave or forsake us. "I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound, in any and every circumstance. I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. yet it was kind of you to share my troubles. And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except you only. Even in Thessalonica you sent me help for my needs once and again. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God. And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:10-19). Paul the Apostle also suffered hardship. However like John Bunyan, Paul was not a victim of circumstances but the victor over circumstances. He said "I can accept all things" (v.11), "I can do all things" (v.13), and "I have all things" (v.18). Paul did not have to be pampered to be content; he found his contentment in the spiritual resources abundantly provided by Christ. Contentment is not escape from the battle, but rather an abiding peace and confidence in the midst of the battle (v.11). The verb "learned" means learned by experience. Spiritual contentment does not come immediately after one is saved. Content means contained. The resources are within. The Christian has sufficient resources in Christ. In the above chapter, Paul names three spiritual resources that make us adequate and give us contentment. First, the overruling providence of God (4:10). In this day of scientific achievement, we hear less and less about the providence of God. The word providence comes from two Latin words: Pro, meaning before and video, meaning to see. God's providence means that God sees to it beforehand. It is the working of God in advance to arrange circumstances and situations for His purposes. Joseph and his brothers illustrate providence. His brothers envied him, and they sold him as a slave at age 17. In Egypt God revealed 7 years of famine were coming. When the interpretation of Pharaoh's dreams were revealed. Twenty years later Joseph's brothers were reconciled to him, and then understood what the Lord had done. In Genesis 45:5 Joseph stated "God did send me before you to preserve life." God in His providence has caused the church at Philippi to become concerned about Paul's needs, and it came when Paul needed their love the most. Life is not a series of accidents; it is a series of appointments. The Lord has promised "I will guide you with My eye" (Psalm 32:8). Abraham called God Jehovah-Jireh "The Lord will see to it." When God puts forth His own sheep He goes before them (John 10:4). God's providence is a wonderful source of contentment. Second, the unfailing power of God (4:11-13). Paul explains that he is not complaining. His happiness does not depend on circumstances or things. Most believers have learned how to be abased, very few have learned how to abound. The word instructed (v.12), means to be initiated into the secret. The word was used in pagan religion. It meant the inner secrets. Through trials and testings Paul was initiated into the wonderful secret of contentment. It was the power of Christ that gave Paul spiritual contentment (v.13). Paul's motto "I can through Christ." Third, the unchanging promise of God (4:14-20). Paul thanks the church at Philippi for their generous gift. He compares their giving to three very familiar things. 1. A budding tree (v.10). The word "flourished" refers to a tree budding. We go through winter seasons spiritually. But spring always brings new life and blessing. The tree has not moved, circumstances are not changed. The difference is the new life within. 2. An investment (vv.14-17). Their missionary gift would pay them rich spiritual dividends. They gave materially, and received spiritually. The church is poor that fails to support missions. 3. A sacrifice (v.18). Spiritual sacrifices are the Praise of our lips (Hebrews 13:15), good works (Hebrews 13:16), and winning the lost (Romans 15:16). The philippian believers offered a sacrifice to the Lord in giving to Paul. Paul sees this gift as coming from heaven. They gave out of poverty, but God will supply out of His riches in glory (v.19). Hudson Taylor said "When God's work is done in God's way for God's glory, it will not lack for God's supply." Contentment comes from adequate resources. Our resources are the providence of God, the power of God, and the promises of God. These resources made Paul sufficient for every demand of life, and they can make us sufficient, too. Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.

The Importance of Inner Healing

In my counseling ministry I seek to help clients enter into the healing process and to give the Holy Spirit room to work in the lives that have been badly battered. Emotional, mental, and spiritual healing are in many ways far more significant than physical healing. Most people, when taken ill even with as terminal disease, can work through it with joy in their hearts and an expectation of seeing Jesus. But depressed, broken, beaten, and battered souls have no peace, hope, joy, or even love. They are the walking dead. Through the Spirit it is my task to try to illuminate the path to healing through Christ. Marla walked that path after her pastor sent her to me because of clinical-level depression. "I have been depressed for forty years," she told me up front. She had come because she was told to. Early on in our counseling, she said, "I don't want to be here. I wouldn't be here if my pastor did not demand I come and see you." As we began to visit, I learned that she grew up in an abusive home where she was neglected, and she had never bonded with her father or mother. She was the child they called "the mistake." After the first three-hour session in which I laid out for her the reality of spiritual warfare, though, she jarred me when she said, "I think you are quite stupid. As a matter of fact, the idea that the enemy can oppress someone who is a Christian is ridiculous. When God saved me, He put a shield around me that is impenetrable to anyone except the Holy Spirit. My depression is simply biochemical; there is no spiritual element involved here. So when you tell me I need to look at my life and my attitude, I honestly think it's ridiculous. You are one of the most stupid people I have ever met." As she left, I asked the Lord for unique grace to make it through the next two days; Marla had come to our offices from out of town for three daily sessions, each three hours in duration. "Lord," I prayed, "if it would please You, would You please cause the enemy to overstep his boundaries in Marla's life in a non harmful way." (Sometimes even we "compassionate" counselors pray prayers like that!) That evening she walked into her hotel room, and after she had settled down for the evening she heard a voice say, "You are right; Ken Copley is truly a charlatan. He is one of the most stupid people I have ever met, to say nothing of you. So you see, Marla, there is no hope for you; you might as well take your life." She had never heard a voice before, and now she remembered my words that her battle was merely spiritual. I think this might be the enemy Ken Copley is talking about, she told herself. The next day she came back with a whole new attitude. For the first time she was willing to pray, cry out to God, and ask the Spirit to show her areas in her life where she was believing lies. The Spirit of God dealt first with the issue of whether she was a mistake on the part of her parents in conceiving her. I showed her she was fearfully and wonderfully made; she was not the child of the worthless, but a child of the living God. The Holy Spirit and the Scriptures began to assure her heart that God had a plan for her. She confessed sins that dealt with her attitude, her rebellion, and her critical spirit. Truly repentant, she asked God to take back ground she had given to Satan concerning all these things. Wonderfully, her depression lifted. She decided I wasn't so stupid after all, and three years later she wrote me: "I have never again entered that deep black hole of depression. I know God loves me, I know He is with me, I know He has ordered the vents of my life and is sovereignty in control. I trust implicitly in Him." Today Marla is actively serving the Lord. But it came at a price; she had to humble herself, cry out to Him, and receive God's deliverance. Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.

How Should the Church Respond to Satanic Plants

How should the church deal with these people-those from within and without the church who can be used by the enemy? The following principles are of utmost importance while ministering to such people: First, prayer is our ultimate weapon. Thus we must "pray with-out ceasing," Second, we must love the individuals whom the enemy is attempting to work through. We must build a relationship with them (they are often extremely needy). Remember God promises to be there with us (Matthew 18:20). Third, we must gain some insights about the type of occult or satanic involvement any individual may have willingly or often unwillingly participated in. Those who are attacking leaders, spreading heresy, or dividing the church should be confronted with their actions and God's truth, according to the model of Matthew 18:15-17. Some will not respond to God's truth and will need to be removed (Titus 3:10). Others will respond to Christ's love and become new creations in Him. Keep your options open to the leading of the Holy Spirit. How God can break through. During a spiritual warfare conference years ago, I sat at a table with a friend of mine when a young lady, probably in her mid-thirties, walked over and took a seat beside us. As we were waiting to be served the evening meal, I struck up a conversation with her. To my absolute shock she knew far more than I did on the subject of spiritual warfare. As we continued to talk, I found that she was single, a registered nurse, and a member of a church whose pastor I knew quite well. As I listened to her talk about spiritual warfare I realized she had gone places I had never been. Finally she looked at me and said, "You're curious as to who I am, aren't you?" I said, "Ma'am, I cannot understand how you can have the level of knowledge and insight you have, considering your age and occupation." At that point she shared her story. "I was a witch in a coven. I was sent as a plant to such-and-such church to destroy it. I went in and did what I was assigned to do. I began building relationships and cursing various people, such as the pastor, but in time as he preached the gospel of Jesus Christ, his message began to reach my heart. One day God opened my spiritual eyes and I trusted Christ as my Savior." I sat there amazed, my throat tight. She went on. "Now I am born again and a growing Christian. God has brought me freedom in Christ. I have renounced everything in my past. I have an intense hunger for God and His Word. The Lord is using me to win others to Jesus Christ. He is using me in the counseling ministry to help others come to the freedom that only can be found in Him. I rejoice that God saved me, because I know if I had remained a witch I would have ended up in hell." Sometime later I had an opportunity to share with the pastor of her church how exciting it was to meet this young woman. He smiled and said, "You don't know the half of it." He then told me what he had seen with this lovely lady. When she initially arrived at his church, he had a feeling she had come from the local coven. His church is an aggressive body that does tremendous damage to the gates of hell, and that was why the coven was eager to destroy it. He said, "I immediately alerted the leaders of the church to pray for her. They were very careful to hold her before the throne of grace daily, and not to bring accusations against her or even tell her of our suspicions. As we gently reasoned with her and prayed for her, God broke through the thick layer of lies and years of pain, and the Word of God penetrated her heart and God gave her new life." I agreed this had to be a special case, and he said, "Sometimes churches are too quick to remove someone who does not fit in with them. God may in His sovereignty bring that person into that body to come to Jesus Christ." It's a tough call. But Christians walking with Christ and a church united in spirit need fear no one. Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.

Spiritual Warfare and the Armor

The Scriptures teach that we are personally involved in spiritual battle. This war will continue the whole time we live on earth. The war ceases when we die. At that moment, the Lord strikes the final victory bell and our homecoming, with a song of triumph, will begin. Until then, though, the battle rages. Satan's attacks usually are subtle. After all, he is the great deceiver. But his power on earth is considerable, and he can undertake a direct attack on those who give him a stronghold. I remember, for instance, the day Jonathan came for counsel. Two days earlier, he had tried to take his life. We began our meeting with some friendly chitchat; I sensed a warm relationship developing as we visited. Then I asked, "Jonathan what sin in your life do you feel the enemy is using against you?" Jonathan answered, quite honestly, "I am a heavy user of pornography. I believe it is an addiction with me." He described for me the kind of hold it had on him and many other details about it. I finally asked if I could pray for him. He seemed to welcome the offer. I prayed, "Dear Father, your child has sinned by making a naked human body an object of worship. Please grant him the gift of repentance." I wasn't expecting anything dramatic, but when I said the word "repentance," the most amazing thing happened: a spirit threw him on the floor as if it were gagging him. I immediately prayed for Jonathan, "Heavenly Father, this evil spirit is harassing your child. Plead bind him and set him aside." At that point Jonathan relaxed and was able to return to his chair. Seconds later, a prayer of repentance and confession poured out of him like few I have heard. In only moments, he appeared free of his bondage. He then asked me, "Do you know why I was thrown on the floor?" "Please tell me," I said. "I didn't believe in demonic powers. I thought I could be a Christian and indulge in pornography, and somehow get away with it." I stared at him, quite amazed. He added, "Today I have become a believer in the existence of the enemy." I smiled happily at the change and encouraged Jonathan to read the Bible regularly and apply it in his life. He followed that advice consistently. Jonathan's parents later reported to me. "We have a new son, one who loves the Lord and who obeys His Word." In this case, God let demonic powers drive Jonathan to such an extreme that he finally turned back to God in desperation. Clearly, that was God's purpose all along. The lie in Jonathan's life could only be vanquished by his seeking God with integrity. God had to apply the truth to Jonathan's specific need like a torch to metal. Mere candlelight would not have done anything. Most Christians will not confront the enemy or his forces so directly. But they will still engage in spiritual battle. The reminder-and warning-from Scripture is that "we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against...powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places," (Ephesians 6:12). The spiritual battle may involve resentment, showing disrespect to authority, jealousy, or even verbal fighting between parents and kids. We need the armor to withstand all satanic attacks, including feelings of inferiority, selfish ambitions plans, and attitudes of indifference to those in need. No matter the sin, we need spiritual weapons to confront and defeat it. Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.

The Primary Deceptions of Satan

When Alice visited my office, it quickly became clear she felt desperate. After all, her psychologist had given her up as being hopeless. She opened our first session with these challenging words: "I probably know as much about biblical counseling as you do. I have read every book I know on the subject." After six more sessions, I concluded she was right. In her mind she knew the truth, but in the depth of her being, she believed a whole cacophony of lies that left her feeling guilty and tainted-thus her sense of desperation. Her mind seemed bombarded with horrid, even evil thoughts: "You're worthless"; "Nobody wants you"; "Kill your mother, brother, yourself." Along with the thoughts came terrible feelings of hopelessness and impotence. In a few minutes I discovered that despite these horrible inner feelings, Alice was an intelligent, personable, and beautiful young woman. A junior in college, she made excellent grades. But her spiritual and emotional life left her totally defeated. During one session, a breakthrough idea occurred to me. Jim was her prayer partner for the week. I motioned to him, seated at the back of the room, and said to Alice in my most authoritative voice, "I command you to get up, go to the back of the room, and punch Jim in the mouth with all of your might." Alice glared at me and said, "I won't do that!" "Do what? I asked. "I won't punch Jim in the mouth." "Have you been thinking about punching Jim in the mouth?" I answered. "Where did that come from? "What an awful, horrible person you must be to think such a thing!" I continued. "In fact, I think I'll leave. I certainly shouldn't stay in the same room with a person like you and I'm going to leave now!" As I moved toward the door, she yelled at me. "Just a minute! You put the thought in my mind, and now you are accusing me of thinking it! I didn't think that up. You said it to me!" Instantly, like the lights snapping on in a darkened room, it dawned on her that that was precisely what Satan had done with her-planted twisted thoughts and made her think they were her own genuine motivations and desires. Recently Alice called to tell me she was doing well. I asked her how I'd helped her and she related that my illustration of the enemy's intruding thoughts enabled her to see the truth about the enemy's ability to plant thoughts in our minds and make us think they're our own. For years she had heard of such a thing, but in that counseling session God moved it from her head to her heart. How hen does the enemy work? He operates through strategies based on lies about God and about us. Follow through these common methods. Strategy one: thoughts in our minds. Planting twisted, evil thoughts in our minds is Satan's primary tactic in leading us into sin. I have often wondered how many killers, rapist, child molesters, and abusers were led into their destructive ways through thoughts planted by the enemy. The power of suggestion is an awesome thing, as any hypnotist can attest. Satan will plant a thought, nurture it, deal with our argument, and try to persuade us to take sinful action. When we do and get a "charge" out of it, as all sin provides initially, he sits back and lets us run with it. Soon, he's out of a job and we're sinning along like there's no tomorrow. But Satan isn't the only one who can lead or motivate us through thought-plants. God can, too. However, His thoughts are altogether good and right. A good example of a thought planted by God can be found in Matthew 16:13-17, where Simon Peter answered Jesus' question, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?" Ge said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God," Where did this realization come from? Peter didn't dream it up on his own. No, Jesus follows Peter's answer with the statement that God Himself revealed it to him. Clearly, both God and Satan are in the thought-planting business. Remember, though, God only sows good, wholesome, truthful thoughts. He would never tell anyone to commit sin, even though criminals have claimed at times that God "told them to do" their crime. In a swift turn around, Satan attacked Peter in the next few seconds after Peter's declaration that Jesus was the Messiah. Perhaps Satan attacked in retribution, perhaps because he saw an opportunity in the pride that Peter may have felt because of his swift and correct answer about Jesus' identity. When Jesus told His disciples He would die in Jerusalem, Peter protested, saying, "This shall not happen to You!" Jesus immediately rebuked him, saying, "Get behind Me, Satan!" Jesus had quickly recognized the source of Peter's words. Clearly, this thought was not from God or ever Peter, but from the devil. In such circumstances, we see the essence of the spiritual battle. God can plant a thought: "Why don't you read your Bible now?" And Satan can immediately counter it: "Hey, aren't you hunger? Better see what's in the fridge first!" Suddenly, a battle rages in your heart: read the Bible or eat food? The choice is yours, but the suggestions may have come from the spiritual realm. Any and all of it can be directly out of the mouth of the forces of darkness. Let's be clear here about something important: It is not sin for us to have wrong thoughts. Merely "hearing" a thought flit through your brain inciting you to the most diabolical evil is not in itself sin. It becomes sin when we pick up on that thought, dwell on it, and then act on it (see James 1:13-15). Strategy two: distorting our belief system. A second method of attack from Satan is the distortion of our belief system. Satan distorts our belief system as he distorts who God is and who we are. The great deceiver may tempt us to believe, "Since God hates me, I ought to hate myself." Or "Since my body or parts of my body are evil, I will use them for whatever pleasure I can find." At times the enemy will say, "You can make it on your own. You don't need God; besides, He is not interested in helping you anyway. The Evil One implanted the thought and we bought into it. That is what Ananias did in Acts 5:2-3. We reason and make decisions using both our minds and our hearts. Proverbs 23:7a says, "For as he thinks in his heart, so is he." We live what we truly believe. How we act does not always reflect what we say, but it does reflect our belief system. If your life is immoral, dishonest, proud, or depraved, it is as sure sign that your belief system is immoral, dishonest, proud, or depraved. Linda had believed the enemy's lies since childhood. When she first came to me, she told me she was despondent, depressed, and suicidal. She had been used and abused much of her life. As a result of the immoral actions of abusive parents, her beliefs about God had become distorted. Their depraved actions and her own self-indulgence convinced Linda that God had no interest in her. "I have done so many terrible things in my life," she said, "I can't even forgive myself, let alone believe that God would forgive me!" She was broken and literally hated herself. Probing deeper, she told me, "I can recall, even as a little child, feeling as though everyone would be better off without me. Over the years, I planned many times to kill myself." Voices taunted her, goading her into self-hatred, deeper depression, and even suicide. We talked at length about the nature of the spirit world, how Satan influenced her and told her lies and how various strongholds had been built into her thinking. Gradually, through the use of Scripture and systematically taking each lie and exposing it, Linda began to see that her depression was largely the result of the skewed thinking Satan had nurtured in her life. She confronted each wrong thought, rejected it, and replaced it with the kinds of truths I'll show you in this writing. She refused to listen to the "voices" that begged a hearing. Some time later, she wrote me, "Today, I can honestly say I have not been depressed at all since that time spent in counseling with you, Dr. Copley. Different things in my life have saddened me, but I have not been depressed or suicidal since then! Also I have not heard voices in my mind." Her message to people ensnared in the same kinds of depression as she is that "all is not lost. There is help out there from that Someone mightier than we are, who will come to our aid if we will just ask Him!" Linda found that she did not have to remain a victim; she could counterattack using the Word of God to expose the enemy's lies and replace them with God's truth. Strategy three: sidetracking. A third device of Satan is what I call "sidetracking," I honestly think the church is the only outfit on earth that goes out to war not knowing who her enemy is. We think the enemy is the lost, or the Muslims, or the pope, or some such group of people. In reality, Satan is the true enemy, but we fight each other instead. The great deceiver succeeds with this lie, sidetracking us into fighting secondary issues rather than the main, important ones. Sidetracking occurs when Satan diverts us from the important tasks of learning to discern wolves and their ideas, and leads us into foolish pursuits-spending all our time on the pleasures of this world, the pursuit of power and wealth, or other worthless diversions that Scripture clearly condemns. The Evil One informs us we don't need to memorize Scripture, read the Bible, or learn doctrine in detail. He "sidetracks" us into thinking that the fall social, the church bake sale, and keeping up with all the local gossip are what really matter. Or worse, he suggests that because we hear the Bible exposited verse by verse on Sunday morning that we're somehow superior to the church down the street whose pastor is more concerned about the environment, or the poor, or influencing the government. When we hear the Word but fail to put it into practice, Satan has successfully diverted us into pride, one of his best spirit-killers. I honestly see such things as the greatest folly in the church today. Perhaps 90 percent of the men I counsel don't even read the Bible on a daily basis. Most of them haven't learned a bible verse since they attended Sunday school as children. They all give the same excuse: "I don't have time." That is simply a lie. Satan has sidetracked them and they've bought into it. They have time to watch television, play sports, and a multitude of other things, but real discipleship and growth don't seem like such priorities. Such "sidetracks" are the methods Satan uses to keep us in chains. How do you spot such a sidetrack and get back to the main line? Perhaps an example will help. A chief executive officer of a large business came to me with many personal problems. I asked him if he read the Bible, He gave me the classic answer: "I don't have time." I asked him if he took breaks at work. He answered, "Of course, " I then challenged him to take his Bible to work and read one proverb per day. He did so and, in time, began reading the Scriptures thirty minutes per day. Then, after the evening meal at home, he would share with his family what God had taught him that day. remarkable transformation occurred over a matter of months. Today he functions as an active church member and walks closely with Christ. When you look at your life, compare the Bible's prescribed priorities with what you are actually doing with your time. This will show if and how well Satan has sidetracked you. Perhaps you see that basic spiritual disciplines such as prayer, Bible study and memorization, church attendance and service, and sharing your faith have all been successfully pushed out of the picture. You have little motivation to show love to your family, neighbors, and strangers, though the Scriptures urge you to do so. In the place of these good disciples are endless hours at work, hours in front of the television, and more hours spent in hobbies or "neutral" pursuits. If this is the case, you need to reconsider what you're doing. Has Satan successfully sidetracked you into work, play, special projects, or extra sleep? None of these things is necessarily bad in itself. But that's the essence of the warfare: Satan makes you justify one or more of these activities and very important to make money or help you relax or just to give your mind a rest. Eventually they can completely stifle all spiritual involvement. Strategy four: Lies about God. A fourth arena Satan uses to fell us is to fill us with lies about God: "God couldn't love one like you!"; "God really can't help in this situation"; "God is far more concerned about the poor than your financial straits"; "Surely you're not going to trouble God with that trivia!" Such ideas all function as lies that not only keep us from trusting God in the crises of life, but even from seeking Him. Lies about God are Satan's favorite deception. And, of course, such lies often distort our belief system (which is Satan's strategy number two). Jennifer came to me perplexed. She had recently been delivered from twenty years in the occult. Despite her deliverance to Jesus, though, she believed Satan possessed more power than God. She had observed considerable demonic power as an occult participant, and had seen God seemingly powerless over such things. We prayed and searched the Scriptures, and the Holy Spirit opened her spiritual eyes to see that Satan slanders and opposes God, saying things like, "He is weak," "He can't help," "He doesn't care about your situation," and "He's busy with other things." Such lies can lead an otherwise committed believer to think, "What's the use?" After several counseling sessions, Jennifer wrote me this letter: Dear Dr. Copley, I can't begin to find words to express my gratitude and praise for all the time you spent with me. The outcome is truly miraculous! I am now as free woman able to experience all the love and joy and miracles of God's bountiful blessings. I have come to know that obedience to His Word is the key to a personal and living relationship with our loving Lord..." God's truth can always overcome Satan's lies. But when we're weak in spirit and our circumstances severe, it's easier to accept the idea that God doesn't care, can't help, isn't sovereign, or doesn't really have a plan to give us hope and heart. Strategy five: Lies about ourselves. Satan tells us lies about ourselves. After his rebellion, he became the father of lies (John 8:44). From his own "I wills" in Isaiah 14 to his attacks on Adam and Eve and later on Jesus, he employs one lie as his favorite: "You can be your own boss; you can be in charge of your own life." That is Satan's main way to keep us rebelling against God. "No one should tell you what to do," he chides us, appealing to our selfish motives. The reality is that God works through authority. Jesus is Lord; we are not. God appoints those on earth to have authority over us, and as long as they do not require us to disobey God's commands, we must obey this God-ordained authority. We can never be "masters of our own fate" or "captains of our destiny" on any level. We may like to think that's the ways it is, and Satan will certainly suggest and stoke such ideas. But ultimately, God is in charge of the entire universe, and we only have the choice to listen to Him and obey or reject Him and rebel. Though the lie "I'm in charge" is the primary tool Satan uses to separate us from God, he suggests other lies about ourselves. Most of them attack our worth. I remember the lies Joshua had accepted. At age thirty, he was fired from his position as a staff member of a significant Christian ministry. He crossed some boundaries of modesty with young men who were receiving help from the ministry (no physical touching took place) and was dismissed. Joshua was sent to my office to be spiritually restored because his reputation was destroyed, and for other reasons he could not return to his former position. The story of how Joshua reached that juncture in life is not uncommon. His father was emotionally distant and worked two jobs. His older brother molested him before puberty. His mother was young and ignorant about certain aspects of child raising and became irrational at times. Joshua grew up being confused about his sexual orientation. In his teens, a sexual encounter with a homosexual adult further confused him, and though he was able to hide his struggle from nearly everyone, it remained fixed in the core of his thinking and emotional foundation. A good physical appearance, along with wit and charm, served to further conceal this tendency. Behind it all, though, stood an emotionally bleeding young man whose life was filled with lies and confusion about who he was. Enclosed in that shell, Joshua managed to avoid detection until his firing. In counseling we spent several days talking about God, truth, and lies. Joshua believed many deep-seated lies. It took many hours of prayer and counseling before he began to let down the internal walls of self-protection. Due to the former abuse, trust was a huge factor. When we came to this juncture, Joshua said, "I'm going to have to trust somebody and, Ken, I am choosing today to trust you." I believe that is very important in a counseling situation. I have learned that I cannot teach someone who doesn't think I like them. And I certainly cannot get to the heart of anyone who does not think he can trust me. When Joshua committed to telling the truth, I led him to forgive his absentee father, irrational mother, and abusive, hateful brother. It was then that the Lord began to speak to his heart about remaining bondage and lies in his life. Here are some of the errant beliefs Joshua had: That he had created a well-ordered life and should not be accused or wrongdoing. That the only way people would love and accept him was for him to keep up the masquerade. That the only way to be accepted was to appear to be larger than life and at times defiant in a subtle way. That his days were numbered. The Lord would certainly kill him while he was young. As we talked, Joshua told me he lived in a fantasy world. He imagined himself being born with a shroud of mystery around him. He fantasized that wherever he went, people would be drawn into his shroud. When he stepped into a room, something magical happened. I showed him that the enemy used his fantasy world to keep him in bondage. We discussed the truths that contrasted the lies above. At first, Joshua fought the idea that he was believing lies. He honestly thought his charm and deceit were friends when they were really enemies. In time, Joshua repented of his fantasy world and all that went with it. He committed to being honest without airs and to daily humbling himself before the Lord. With glad tears of repentance, Joshua whispered, "Lord, I do now choose to tell the truth and to believe the truth. I covenant before You that I will live in accordance with the truth of Your Word and I will reject the lies of the enemy, which include any fantasy." Today, Joshua meets with an accountability partner on a weekly basis. He is growing in the grace and knowledge of Christ, and he is learning to speak the truth in love. Strategy six: Lies about personal holiness. A sixth way Satan lies is to tell us we can never grow inpersonal holiness,God's commands, "Be holy, for I am holy" (I Peter 1:16). But Satan deceives us, saying, "You can't be holy, you're too weak. Give it up" or "God asks the impossible. He doesn't expect you to live up to this principle" or "Real spirituality is only for the most committed and knowledgeable Christians. You should simply be content with what you already have." The truth is that God wants us to grow into the likeness of Christ, becoming truly holy-separated from all sin-as much as possible. It's not that He expects us to become sinless, but as I've heard it said He does want us to sin less and less and less. An example of this is David, who as a believer was addicted to internet pornography. His wife caught hm viewing filth on the Internet at home late one night. She confronted him and he came to see me about his addiction. In my presence, he prayed what sounded like a prayer of repentance. I helped set him up with an accountability partner through his local church. This appeared to work until we discovered David merely hid his sin deeper, so that it was harder to catch him at it. He quit viewing pornography at home but began doing it at work. In effect, he lied not only to his wife and accountability partner, but also to God. One day, through, he was caught in the act and, as a result, lost his job as an engineer. It was at that point that he came to see me again and brought his accountability partner along. This time I saw a truly broken man who wanted freedom from his sin. Once again, we set up a process of spiritual discipline that his partner would qwuestion him about weekly. David, now seeing the consequences of his sin-which I believe God had "engineered" to bring him to real repentance-began to take seriously his situation. He listened to his wife and his counselors, and in time he became completely free of his lust for pornography. Satan told several lies that David believed. The first was that he could worship God and also worship pornographic images. A second lie was "No one will find out, so what's the problem?" A third one was "It's a harmless thing. What's the big deal?" A fourth seemed to let him welcme the temptations: "You cannot live a holy life in every area. God does not expect you to become holy in this area." As he said bluntly to me during one conseling session, "The positional holiness spoken of in church was to me simply pie-in-the-sky thinking. If God really expected this level of holiness, He would have created me with fewer male hormones." Pornography led David into an ever-deepining whirlpool of sin. Because of his addiction and sense of helplessness ("I can't avoid it; that's who I am"), he became spiritually apathetic. He lost his enthusiasm for the things of God. He even faked repentance in my office to get me and his wife "off his back." Ultiimately, though, all of Satan's lies were exposed and terminated. God, all-knowing and all-seeing, disciplined David and broke him. God showed him he couldn't worship pornography and also God. He proved that though humans might not know about David's sin, God still did and it mattered to Him. Finally, God demonstrated that there were terrible consequences of his sin: the loss of his job. The truth quickly convinced David that even more serious things would happen if he didn't own up to his sin and turn from it. It was then that David cried out to the Lord and repented of his sin in reality: He was truly set free. Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.

A Pastors Confrontation with the Enemy

As a conservative evangelical pastor I had preached against those who held a warfare position, thinking I was exposing error. I recall how I accidentally received a tape by a spiritual warfare leader. I had ordered a series of tapes from a Christian ministry and somehow they included a tape of a spiritual warfare leader's message. One evening after reading the Bible with my family, I asked my wife to play the tape. Ten minutes into it I asked her to shut off the tape and put it in the garbage. I then told my children that the speaker was teaching heresy. The next Sunday I renounced him and his ministry from the pulpit, requesting that if anyone present owned any of his tapes or materials to burn them. This foolish viewpoint soon received a karate chop that would cut me to the heart. Two months later, our oldest son shared with my wife, and me that he had a spirit guide who was with him in a supernatural way. He talked with him all the time. After hearing him out, I said to my wife, "Let's ignore it. Maybe it will go away." It didn't. Things quickly spun out of control and took turns so weird and bad that my good wife finally asked if she could talk to the guy whose tape I threw way. I said, "Five minutes; don't give him our name." In the conversation she gave enough details about me that the guy was able to get my phone number from a mutual friend. One morning he called and said, "Good morning, Ken! And he gave his name. Being a bit brash and put off, I said, "Let me tell you what I did with your tape and what I said to the congregation that I pastor." He laughed after I explained and said, "God has a tremendous sense of humor." With that bit of wit, the ice melted and I confessed, "I am desperate and I don't have a clue as to how to help my son." He questioned me for thirty minutes, then said, "I believe the Lord wants me to lead you though a doctoral-level course in spiritual warfare. It's obvious you haven't been to kindergarten where warfare is concerned." He kept his word; he helped me understand the nature of the battle around me and guided me in helping my son. My son was set free, and now I have at least graduated from Kindergarten. If you're one of those readers who scorns the whole idea of spiritual warfare, let me say up front that I used to be a kindred spirit. But reality has a way of smashing your arguments into dust. My view of the world changed as I saw the reality of the enemy and the reality of Christ's power. The contrast between the purposes of the two became obvious as I considered Christ's words: "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly" (John 10:10). The pastor in this account, it's me, Ken Copley. Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.

Common Objections to Spiritual Warfare

Many Christians buy the lie that spiritual warfare proponents are fanatics, or kooks, or worse. They accept this because of three extreme responses they have observed. Let's take a moment to deal with each of these responses. The first objection I find occurs among Christians who witness other believers who fear demons are involved in every little problem. Such believers create what I call "the demon under every bush" problem. Groups that see Satan as this active and involved in Christians' lives are quick to rush in and cast out various spirits, going so far as to exorcise a "spirit of overeating," or a "spirit of anger," or a "spirit of swearing." This is absurd, you might say, but there are groups that see warfare in these terms. Exorcisms like this are usually un-necessary and in fact the very thing Satan wants us in some cases to do-to see him as so present and overwhelming that every other word must be a "casting out," or a "prayer against the devil." Such actions look weird and few people understand what such folks are all about. A second objection comes from Christians seeing the even greater extreme of people who go about brushing "demons" off their grocery sacks before entering their home. This is not only ludicrous, but it focuses on the devil in a very unhealthy way. Believers in such bondage to rituals can act and think like people with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), who can't go anywhere without washing their hands sixteen times. This is just another lie Satan uses to keep us from the truth. A third objection is raised: They see believers who try to get demons to actually speak out of a person. Supposedly, through hearing a demon speak, proponents of this approach believe they will learn deep and dark things about their kingdom as well as God's. Of course, this teaching is at once extreme and sensational. And Satan uses it to convince some to think, See, this is just a bunch of fear tactics and high drama. Some leaders persist in teaching this, even though God's Word tells us not to listen to the "doctrines of demons" (See I Timothy 4:1). All these objections point out clear excesses that in themselves are lies of the devil. They get people focused on the wrong things, a favorite tactic of Satan. He loves to divert counselors and others from the real issues. It's also true that all temptation isn't from spiritual warfare. The world, the flesh, and the demonic world all work together in temptation. The flesh is like a beast in the basement, which will raise its head at times and exert its influence. We are sinners by nature. We have a natural "bent" to choose to sin. While we might claim Satan gave us the suggestion, there comes a point at which Satan doesn't even need to suggest the sin anymore-we just walk off into it because we like it, even crave it. That's the flesh speaking. The world, too, exerts an influence. Its lies, suggestions, tricks, and pressures all can lead us into sin as effectively as anything the devil might throw at us. As in the parable of the sower, the world sends weeds and thistles that choke out the truth in a believer's life until he is all but ruined. Satan uses the world to promote his lies of wealth without conscience, pleasure without consequences, and long life without worry about judgment. The fact that not all temptation comes from the spiritual conflict with Satan and his legions does not mean that spiritual conflict is myth. Instead, Satan uses the temptation of the flesh and the world for his evil purpose. He also uses false doctrine to make Christians vulnerable to his deceptions. Jesus spoke about this in Matthew 13, in His parable of the wheat and the tares. Satan sowed tares among the wheat. Strangely enough, tares look exactly like wheat until the very end of the harvest, when the wheat develops its "head of kernels," something the tares never have. Jesus made the point that Satan sends his tares-pretend believers-into the church. They look like the real things and will continue to look like that until the end. Meanwhile, they will plant their sinister suggestions and diversions that keep a church from the important task of evangelism of the lost and edification of believers. It's through marshaling all these forces that Satan attacks best. But if you don't believe Satan is out and about, why worry about him? "Enjoy your life," some say. "There's nothing to fear," Nonetheless, a thief is never so dangerous as when people believe he has left town. The enemy of our soul loves to have us think he is no longer around. I believe Satan nurtures lies everywhere he can. It's one more reason a warfare outlook is so essential to defeating the devil when he attacks. Why is rejecting the reality of Satan so foolish? Because it leads people in power to make decisions without considering his activity or presence. It leads counselors to try to solve problems without attacking the real problem. And it leads pastors to preach a powerless gospel that frees no one from the enemy-because there is no enemy! Again, my own experience proves this problem. I attended four years of Bible college and six years of graduate school. During this time, goldy professors diligently instructed me to teach God's truth. In the process, though, I was taught very little about spiritual warfare. Their apparent fear was that focusing on the enemy would bring anxiety and paranoia into the Church. I remember one professor who railed about how one church he knew became "so demon-conscious they lost their focus on God. The truth of Satan's active warfare is not fully ignored in Christian schools. In many conservative evangelical schools, missions professors teach the reality of spiritual warfare. These professors usually have been on mission fields where they have encountered warfare face-to-face. When I visited eastern Africa on an assignment, I didn't have to tell my students that spiritual warfare was real. They saw firsthand the power of the witch doctor. In witnessing pagan worship, the students and I saw and heard demons manifest themselves and speak through overpowered victims. Some Africans testified of being demonized before they came to Christ. Others told me about the power of curses and spells and how their unsaved family members desperately feared the demonic world. When you see things like this in person, you can't help but accept the reality of spiritual warfare. Once I was confronted with my own failure to emphasize the spiritual battle when a former seminary student of mine name Sam traveled to the Philippines as a missionary. At the end of his first term, he returned home and had lunch with me. His first questions was "Why didn't you teach me about the reality of the enemy?" When I asked what he meant, Sam said, "I faced spiritual attacks that I was not aware of. I was never told warfare was even possible. I would have been easily defeated had I not attended a seminar by a warfare leader who came to the Philippines. His teachings enabled me to recognize what was happening in my ministry." I asked Sam's forgiveness and explained that as his professor I was ignorant of the lies and tactics of the enemy at the time. It is my desire that on the subject of warfare the church of Jesus Christ should be ignorant no more. 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.

How the Lord Led Me into Spritual Warfare

For many Christians, spiritual warfare is an offbeat or even "weird" subject. Some believers do not even accept the idea that Satan, or his demons, exist, or that they possess any power to attack and afflict us in this age. For a long time, I maintained that very mind-set, oblivious to the reality of an active Satan and scorning those who posed the whole spiritual warfare scenario. Then one day my oldest son experienced his own personal and harrowing battle with the enemy. What happened annihilated any misgivings I had about such warfare, as my whole family was suddenly plunged into a heart-wringing and soul-disturbing situation that nearly took my son away. I asked, "How could this be happening to my son, my family? Didn't God keep Satan away from us? Didn't He prevent Satan from influencing or touching His children?" What followed was a battle unlike anything I'd ever imagined in nonfiction or even fiction. I rejoice about that today, because that incident open up whole vista of hope and healing to those engaging the enemy and not knowing it. Now I can help people deeply entrenched in the enemy's lies and trickery. Until my son's problem, I was often forced into the old cliches people use when Christians with problems came to me and I couldn't seem to help them resolve them. Old standards like "You don't have enough faith," or "Just read your Bible daily and you will get beyond this." I have learned that such responses are often the very lies Satan himself wants to foist on us. Don't get me wrong. I believe God is all-powerful, loving, and intimately involved in our lives. The enemy has no power that can stymie Him, or even derail His plans. That does not mean, though, that God's world is not a battle-ground, or that Satan cannot influence and even attack believers. During my son's time of crisis, a gracious friend patiently showed me step-by-step what this biblical battle involves and how to win it. Ultimately, my son gained true freedom in Christ. And I discovered in no uncertain terms that our common enemy "walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devious" (I Peter 5:8). That lion stalks all of us at different times and in different ways. But his goal remains the same: to devour us. For seventeen years I served as senior pastor of three churches. During this time I gave little attention to spiritual warfare because I thought only "crazy, radical kooks" were involved in it. This changed after my son came to freedom and I began to witness the real destruction and havoc Satan wreaks in the lives of Christians and others. As news of our family's struggle got out through the grapevine, my phone rang constantly, not because people were critical of me or my son; but people with desperate needs wanted help and believed my experience might offer them the insight they needed. As those beleaguered folks told me their stories, I began to research and understand the field of spiritual warfare and saw it not only as a personal struggle that a few Christians experience because of dabbling in the occult or other practices, but as a worldwide battle Satan wages for every heart and mind. I realized this was not unusual or abnormal, but rather the very thing all of us must deal with daily. Please understand from the start that spiritual warfare is not about attacking the devil. No swordsman, no matter how skilled, would consider going up against a dragon with billions of demons at his right and left. Christ is the One who has attacked, stopped, and broken Satan. It's not even up to us to knock him down a peg or two for divine spite. No, what warfare is about, in essence, is exposing the lies Satan used in lives through showing people God's truth. Satan's primary weapons are lies and deception-twisting, negating, and turing around the truth of God in any way he can to gain an advantage. My job is to help expose these schemes in a counselee's life. As Satan's lies are etched clearly against the prism of truth, they're exposed, and freedom and healing result. A whole new sense of hope and expectation grasps their hearts and personalities. Where there was struggle, despair, and (in some cases) a desire to end it all, a new exuberance appears and Jesus becomes a central figure in everything they do. That is my goal for everyone I counsel. My purpose is to expose the thinking and falsehoods of the enemy, break their power over a persons's life, and thus set him or her free. If you find yourself in a struggle to read the Scriptures or pray, resist sin, forgive an offense, or change an attitude, I guarantee you are involved in spiritual warfare. If God's love and power in your life seem distant and you struggle to draw closer to the heavenly Father, a spiritual battle is underway. It's those ensnared in such circumstances whom I want to help. Believe me, I know whats it's like to live in terror of tomorrow. My son's experience all most destroyed our whole family. But through Christ all things are possible. He preserved me, and He will do the same for you-if you seek Him and depend on Him for truth, hope, and power. Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.

The Destructive Power of Sin

Have you noticed how much damage sin does in your life. Sin always brings death and destruction. John tells us the evil one comes to "Kill, steal and destroy." Sin in ones life gives a person a feeling of hopelessness. Sin grieves the Holy Spirit, and brings grief to one's soul. Sin brings us into bondage. We live in a society that is saturated with sin. Dishonesty has become a way of life. Deception rules the day. However the believer has hope. “For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; it is he who will save us.”- Isaiah 33:22. God is our salvation, he is the One who will pull us out of our present distress, or give us grace to keep on keeping on as we go through the trial with Him at our side. The scripture tells us He is our Judge. He knows us perfectly. We are often misjudged by others but not by God. Thankfully God judged our sin in Christ at Calvary. He is our Lawgiver, He is the One who sets His standards before us and He fulfills his law through us, by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is our King, He is the One who rules in our hearts. He is the rightful ruler because He made us and He bought us by the blood of Christ. We belong to Him and He takes responsibility for us and for everything that happens in our lives. How can you experience the power of canceled sin, by running to Jesus. Cling to the cross, repent of your sins and renew fellowship with the Lord. He is never distant from His children, He is always much closer than you think, for He lives in your heart. Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.

How to Keep from Fainting

We read in Isaiah 61:1 "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord has anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he has sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound." The Lord does not deliver us for our sakes, but for His sake. He frees us so we can fulfill His purposes in and through our lives. One very significant aspect of God's wrath is to destroy that which has been oppressing His people. Many Christians battle with the spirit of fainting (KJV heaviness) others lalck joy, strength and health. God has an answer for all of these. God desires to give us comfort for mourning, garland for ashes, gladness for sorrow, the mantle of praise and thanksgiving instead of weariness and heaviness. The cure for fainting, "Draw close to the Lord and He will draw close to you." Then and only then can you be "Strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.

Crying Out To The Lord

"But when they cried out to the LORD, he raised up for them a deliverer. . ." (Judge 3:8-9). I often receive requests to help someone whose life is in a difficult place. After a few questions I am able to discern if the Lord has called me to get involved. Sometimes the Lord doesn't want me to get involved. Many times I find this person has not experienced enough pain to want to do anything about their situation. Until they are really ready to cry out to the Lord for a solution to their situation, they will simply talk about desiring change but never take the necessary steps needed for change." If you invest time into someone who has not yet come to the place of wanting a spiritual solution to their problem, you will become emotionally exhausted. The apostle Paul understood this principle when he actually turned such people over to Satan for the destruction of their flesh (I Cor. 5:5). It has been told that a young student came to Plato and asked to learn wisdom. As the story goes Plato took him into a river and then held his head under water for a couple of minutes. The young man thrashed about wildly and finally was allowed to breath again. When the young man caught his breath Plato said "When you desire wisdom as much as you wanted air you will find it." The recognition of desperation changes a man. The greatest need in our world today is the recognition of need. The people of Israel were finally in enough pain to cry out to God for relief from their oppression. Like so many times throughout the scriptures, God answered by raising up a deliverer. "But when they cried out to the LORD, he raised up for them a deliverer, Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, who saved them. The Spirit of the LORD came upon him, so that he became Israel's judge and went to war. The LORD gave Cushan-Rishathaim king of Aram into the hands of Othniel, who overpowered him. So the land had peace for forty years, until Othniel son of Kenaz died (Judg 3:8-11)." Are you in a difficult place in your life? Are you only talking about changing or are you really ready to cry out to the Lord for a solution? Start now the process of letting the Lord to change your situation for the better, and this begins with crying out to the Lord.