Strong Man Of God Blog

On June 8, 2014 in Instruction by Robert Kelley

Professing Christians that scoff at the fact fallen angels watch, stalk and hunt men to destroy their lives now and souls in Hell with them after God’s judgment (Matthew 25:41, 46; Revelation 20:10-15), also obviously reject that these same invisible, spirit creatures war against the followers of Christ (Ephesians 6:12). How tragic and unfortunate for these scoffers that they show themselves to be captives and enemy agents of the same creatures arguing against God’s Word plainly written by their unbelief to include those that attempt to cloak themselves behind academia and the high sounding words of theological study (2 Timothy 2:23-26).

The war between God the Creator and His rebel angels was initiated by Him when He booted them and their ambitious leader from Heaven as a permanent residence as well as put them under condemnation (Isaiah 14:12-15; Ezekiel 28:11-19). They war against God until He subdues all rebellion in the Day of Christ very near who has already publically triumphed over them representing mankind on His cross (1 Corinthians 15:24-28; Colossians 2:13-15)! Indeed, Christ came and did as the Father had announced millennia earlier in the Garden when He sanctioned the involvement of men in the war after the enemy’s successful effort to put them into the rebellion (Genesis 3:14-15).

Satan is clever, crafty, relentless and ruthless in prosecuting his war to hurt God by destroying men (Genesis 3:1-5). Thoroughly evil and depraved, he has no conscience. So, as the heartless predator he is, he snares men in traps of temptation and binds them with all manner of destructive cords of addiction and vice. And when he cannot snare or bind up the aspiring strong man of God in the image of Christ as he desires, he goes after unsaved and spiritually weak family members we are charged to protect, but cannot without their cooperation in faith. His goal, of course, is to hurt us and if possible, force us to soften our resolve to trust and faithfully serve God.

The enemy of our souls also brings trouble, adversity, body and mental afflictions to cause men to despair even of life. While all of the afflictions of sin and Satan men endure are terrible, mental illnesses--torments of the mind--which I have been caused to witness up close in my own family and formerly as a pastor are truly devastating. Professing Christian naysayers that refuse to believe mental illness has any origins in the demonic should read again about king Saul and what the Bible says was the source of his murderous paranoia about David (1 Samuel 16:14-23, 18-20:34). Mental illness is on the rise in our nation and world today with no human cure.

An interesting corollary in the rise of mental illness is the corresponding rise in physical attacks on Christians and their property. Christian young people in American schools especially are being targeted such as at Columbine in Colorado fifteen years ago and most recently, this week when a man reputed to be mentally ill sought to kill as many students as possible at the Christian operated Seattle Pacific University. Two were wounded and Paul Lee from the Portland area was martyred. So, while I am by no means saying that all mental illness is demonic in origin, we must understand that in this war with the powers of darkness they afflict men with it and use them as soldiers.

Aspiring strong men and great women of God must be on guard not to deny the teaching of Scripture that we are at war or to live as though it is not so. Truly, in these latter days we must awake from apathy and come to expect as Scripture teaches that all of our journey in this life will be filled with day to day battles and sometimes hand to hand combat with the dark forces arrayed against us. As the apostle Paul instructs and I remind us in my book, The Strong Man Of God, Back To Basics, we must take on the mindset of the athlete and be disciplined with the resolute commitment to win (1 Corinthians 9:24-27). This is especially needful after losing a battle to the enemy. Get back up!

In faith, take up the weapons and put on all of the armor God has given us to prevail in the strength He supplies (2 Corinthians 10:3-5; Ephesians 6:10-11, 13-18). The great apostle also charges us by Timothy to “wage the good warfare having faith and a good conscience,” (1 Timothy 1:18-20, NKJV). All known sin should be confessed to God and repented from immediately giving the enemy no legitimate place to accuse you to God. Too, Paul teaches we are to pursue “godliness” faithfully confessing and enduring the hardships Satan will surely bring through the hatred and violence still to come “as a good soldier of Jesus Christ,” (1 Timothy 6:3-16; 2 Timothy 2:3-4, NKJV).

Tagged With: Christians are beiing warred against!

Predator Of Men’s Souls

On June 1, 2014 in Instruction by Robert Kelley

Now that I have laid out all of my missteps and taken full responsibility for the bad business decision I made last year, I write about one more aspect of it that is just as relevant and a deadly serious alert sounded to all aspiring strong men of God in the image of Jesus Christ. I am deeply grateful to the men I have regularly met with over the past two years for prayer and Bible study at the church I attend that prayed with and comforted me in my consequences. Tim Staples and Jerry Schoon in particular recognized the involvement of the predator of men’s souls and encouraged as well as interceded for me accordingly. I was responsible for my sin, but as they correctly discerned, I had also been snared.

Predator is one of the few movies I have purchased to see again periodically. The profanity is off the charts (the main human characters are ex-military, seal team types), but the story is gripping as an action film and has powerful, real world implications spiritually. The plot involves a team of men led by star, Arnold Schwarzenegger that is dropped into a Central American country to rescue hostages held by a guerrilla group. During their successful encounter with the human hostiles, the team is watched by an unseen, invisibly cloaked creature of great stature and muscular build that is not of this world. He, in fact, is a hunter; a predator looking for human trophies.

Looking for a challenge, the predator is very impressed with the fighting skills of this group of men and begins to pick them off one by one. He rips the skulls from their mutilated bodies after hanging them up in the tall trees to serve as the bragging proof of his hunt to his fellow galactic hunters when they return to pick him up (the opening of the movie shows the drop off). A native woman taken prisoner by the men sees the green blood of the creature after he is wounded in a fire fight with the team and reveals her people know of and call it a demon. Schwarzenegger is the only healthy member of his team left and goes on to outwit and defeat the creature through much pain.

Oh, that all mortal men would understand they are being watched, stalked and hunted for bragging rights by invisible, but real creatures; fallen angels (demons) that rebelled against God and have sought since to hurt Him in every way possible. They are stealthy, subtle and wily. Their leader appeared in the Garden of Eden and seduced Eve into sin; she in turn urged her husband to follow her lead incurring God’s preannounced consequence and leading to His war for human liberation through our Deliverer, Jesus Christ (Genesis 3:1-19; 1 Timothy 2:14; Hebrews 2:5-16)! As our High Priest, He helps believers “being tempted” who call on Him (Hebrews 2:17-18, NKJV).

We are warned: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour,” (1 Peter 5:8, NKJV). Christians are the big game the invisible predator of men’s souls values above all since in Christ, we are greatly loved by God (Ephesians 1:3-14). While it is impossible that he could “snatch” us out of Christ’s hand, he is permitted to hunt us through temptation in the event we wander away into his snare (John 10:27-30; James 1:12-13, NKJV). So, we are to “Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by” our “brotherhood in the world” (1 Peter 5:9-11, NKJV).

It was for me as it is for every man according to James: “each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed,” (James 1:14-15, NKJV). As mine were, our desires can be noble and righteous. No responsible man on earth would fault me for attempting to provide for my family and ministry by taking a legal deal that would accomplish that. If God is not in it, however, no deal is finally good! As an expert predator, Satan first frightened me in January 2013 when county tax authorities pursued our small, non-profit Ministry for property taxes after we had already stood up to them a first time and prevailed. Vulnerable and fearful, a man then came to us with a deal that we saw was evil and rejected it (James 1:16-18).

After a few months, the man came back. Now, under real time and financial pressure and not seeing any other on the horizon, we accepted a revised deal with the same man. We wound up in a near year long lawsuit and financial ruin. Surely, if the Lord gracious and merciful had not stepped in to deliver after my repentance, the predator of men’s souls would have destroyed my life on earth entirely. Let every aspiring strong man of God be warned again by my faith failure (Mark 14:38; 1 Corinthians 10:12-13). Satan is coming after you in these latter days as never before because the opportunity to do so is drawing to a close (Revelation 12:7-12). The risen, living Christ continues His cry among American churches, “Who is on the Lord's side?”

Tagged With: , Christian souls are highly prized

Strong Man Of God Blog

Robert Kelley's weekly instruction, observations and reflections inspired by the Lord posted each Sunday night.

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