Satan Question

[Susannah]

We believe in a personal devil, Satan, who, along with all his angels, called demons or evil spirits, are destined to spend eternity in hell. They seek to deceive people, defeat believers, and destroy the work of God. They can be resisted by believers, who are protected by God and the intercession of Jesus Christ our Lord.

I wanted to respond to this from the Statement of Faith. It calmed me down to know I was not crazy. I have a question.

Since I became a Christian Satan has been harassing me. Three months after surrendering to God I was homeless. I moved in my son and he beat me. I left and was homeless again. I will spare you the others stuff and just say I have not given into him and my faith is STRONG. Am I getting all this attention because I am being tested by God or is Satan is trying to break me and my faith.

P.S. The Holy Spirit talks to me and I feel the energy and love. A lot of people ask me how do I know it is the Holy Spirit, so I created this criteria.

Criteria for Message from Holy Spirit and not Satan . . .

1. The instructions must be loving. It is not from God if the feeling tells me to do something mean or cruel.

2. It must not be selfish. If it benefits me it must also benefit others. Writing benefits me because it is fun but my writings are always to help people.

3. The feeling is uplifting. It will make me feel good. If I am judging myself or others I am not listening to the right feeling.

4. It should bear fruit. Whatever is said will lead to something wonderful. A change for the best or some kind of blessing.

P.S.S. This is how I know I am in the right place and the other Christian forum was not.

 

[for_his_glory]

Hi Susan Peabody this is a good topic and I'm going to move this to the Lounge as you will get a better discussion there. The New Member forum is for new members to come in and introduce themselves.

 

[for_his_glory]

John 10:9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. 10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: 9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. 10 But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. 11 To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

Paul's thorn in the flesh was that of Satan's messenger trying to buffet him. Buffet here means to strike repeatedly as Satan used his demons to come against Paul and persecute him everywhere he went. Paul prayed three times for God to take these persecutions away and God said no as God said "My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness".

God is not going to keep us from being persecuted as even His own Son Christ Jesus was persecuted to death on the cross and many martyrs after him in other ways. Even so still today as many are persecuted even to death for the witness of Christ. God gives us His power and authority through His grace to give us strength when we are persecuted like Paul said:

2Corinthians 12:9 Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
2Corinthians 12:10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

Act 9:15; 2 Corinthians 4:8-12; Galatians 5:11; 2 Timothy3:10, 11; 1 Corinthians 15:30-32; 2 Corinthians 4:7-18; 6:3-10; 11:23-28; 12:5-10; Galatians 4:13, 15

2Corinthians 6:3 Giving no offence in any thing, that the ministry be not blamed: 4 But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, 5 In stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings; 6 By pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned, 7 By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, 8 By honour and dishonour, by evil report and good report: as deceivers, and yet true;
9 As unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed; 10 As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.

 

[WIP]

1 John 4:1-21 NKJV

Test the Spirits
4 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. 4 Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 5 They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

God Is Love
7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.

13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17 By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 19 We love because he first loved us. 20 If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21 And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.

 

[Truthfrees]

We believe in a personal devil, Satan, who, along with all his angels, called demons or evil spirits, are destined to spend eternity in hell. They seek to deceive people, defeat believers, and destroy the work of God. They can be resisted by believers, who are protected by God and the intercession of Jesus Christ our Lord.

I wanted to respond to this from the Statement of Faith. It calmed me down to know I was not crazy. I have a question.

Since I became a Christian Satan has been harassing me. Three months after surrendering to God I was homeless. I moved in my son and he beat me. I left and was homeless again. I will spare you the others stuff and just say I have not given into him and my faith is STRONG. Am I getting all this attention because I am being tested by God or is Satan is trying to break me and my faith.

P.S. The Holy Spirit talks to me and I feel the energy and love. A lot of people ask me how do I know it is the Holy Spirit, so I created this criteria.

Criteria for Message from Holy Spirit and not Satan . . .

1. The instructions must be loving. It is not from God if the feeling tells me to do something mean or cruel.

2. It must not be selfish. If it benefits me it must also benefit others. Writing benefits me because it is fun but my writings are always to help people.

3. The feeling is uplifting. It will make me feel good. If I am judging myself or others I am not listening to the right feeling.

4. It should bear fruit. Whatever is said will lead to something wonderful. A change for the best or some kind of blessing.

P.S.S. This is how I know I am in the right place and the other Christian forum was not.

thanks

 

[for_his_glory]

This reminds me of the teaching in Job 1:1-12 as it's not about Job being tempted or even tested by God, because we know God does not tempt or test us, but to show Satan the faith Job had in God.

God does prove us by trial to prove that our faith is real, Psalms 26:2; 139:23,24; Hebrews 11:17-19; Romans 4:16.