GET BEHIND US SATAN
- Kim Johnson
- May 31, 2023
- 8 min read
Last week one of my best friends and I were both struggling with listening to satan’s lies. We had thoughts like: “I just continually give into the same temptation. Previously I could do XYZ, but I cannot do it anymore. How am I supposed to give you the glory Lord if I cannot do XYZ. Things just keep getting worse, and I cannot handle it anymore! I can’t do anything right. Where are you God? The encouraging scriptures about your love and care for us just pertain to people who follow you, so you must not love and care for me because I mess up repeatedly, not doing what the Bible says. I should have done what you told me to do years ago then I could be more like XYZ. I have failed too many times, and I think I am too far gone. The way that I am feeling right now is because I continually decide to deny or stuff my feelings and thoughts so I cannot be real with you, Lord, or with others. I have been doing this for too long, and I cannot change. I am a lost cause. I am just tired of it all. If I am not too far gone, please Lord can you help me?”
I thank God for my best friends because together we always help one another and with God, the threefold cord is even stronger.
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 (ESV)
9 Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. 10 For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!11 Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? 12 And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
So my best friend and I have been lifting each other up as we decided to ask for help from one another and from God. We had been so focused on ourselves and our own inadequacies that we had forgotten Jesus. We always need to remind each other of Jesus’ victories in our lives personally.
Sunday, May 28th, the day before Memorial Day, Doug Lambert, who previously led the Cincinnati church in Ohio, shared a lesson with our house church. The lesson was on Jesus’ statement for us doing things in remembrance of him. Because of what my friend and I were going through, I studied out his lesson on Memorial Day. This is my study of what he had shared.
Psalm 77:1-9 starts off with the Psalmist crying out to God and just admitting that he was very discouraged:
6b-9 (NIV)
My heart meditated and my spirit asked:
7 “Will the Lord reject forever?
Will he never show his favor again?
8 Has his unfailing love vanished forever?
Has his promise failed for all time?
9 Has God forgotten to be merciful?
Has he in anger withheld his compassion?”
Then it shifts starting in vs 10:
10 Then I thought, “To this I will appeal:
the years when the Most High stretched out his right hand.
11 I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.
12 I will consider all your works
and meditate on all your mighty deeds.”
The Psalmist decides to shift his focus on remembering the times that God had done miracles, his mighty deeds. He is real before God and admits his discouragement, but he chooses not to stay there. When we focus on the circumstances, it is easy to forget what life is really all about. We quickly dismiss all the victories that God has done in our lives when we focus on ourselves and the situations. Because our focus tends to always go back to us and our problems (typical human response), we can begin believing in satan’s lies that God is no longer there or that he has forgotten about us and does not care.
The key moment in history that God wanted the Israelites to remember was the PASSOVER. Deuteronomy 16:1ff cites specific instructions of how to celebrate Passover and to do this every year. Vs 3 gives specifics as to why it is to be remembered along with vs 12.
Deuteronomy 16:3, 12 (NIV):
3 Do not eat it with bread made with yeast, but for seven days eat unleavened bread, the bread of affliction, because you left Egypt in haste—so that all the days of your life you may remember the time of your departure from Egypt.
12 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and follow carefully these decrees.
Every year, God wanted the Israelites to remember. They were slaves in Egypt, and he delivered them from the hand of Pharaoh with the last plague. God went throughout Egypt at midnight and killed all the first-born sons in the land, but he passed over all the houses where the Israelites stayed so that this plague would not affect them.
Exodus 12:12-13, 29-30 (NIV)
12 “On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. 13 The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.
29 At midnight the Lord struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on the throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner, who was in the dungeon, and the firstborn of all the livestock as well. 30 Pharaoh and all his officials and all the Egyptians got up during the night, and there was loud wailing in Egypt, for there was not a house without someone dead.
Luke 22:7-23: Jesus celebrated Passover for the last time with his disciples at the last supper.
Luke 22:15-16 (NIV):
15 And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. 16 For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.”
However, during this last supper, Jesus told his disciples to remember and celebrate something far better than the Passover. He gave them a new focus celebrating deliverance from bondage of sin with remembering Jesus.
Luke 22:19-20 (NIV):
19 And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”
20 In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.
1 Corinthians 11:23-26 (NIV):
23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
In the Old Testament, God had given specific instructions about the Passover so it would always be remembered annually. The reason was so that the Israelites would not forget how he had delivered them from Egypt, where they were slaves to the Pharaoh.
It is not surprising thought that despite this celebration being done annually to remember God’s deliverance, the Jews had forgotten that they were once slaves as they answered Jesus in John 8:33 (NIV) They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone...
With this new covenant, God provided a way for the disciples to remember Jesus’ sacrifice on a more personal level and to celebrate the freedom from the bondage of sin on a more regular basis. The early church regularly communed together, often giving thanks, breaking bread, and drinking from the cup all in remembrance of Jesus so that they could proclaim the Lord’s death until he returned.
Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection was far more than just an event to be celebrated once a year as with our Easter celebrations. Though there is nothing wrong with these celebrations, God is wanting us to relate to Jesus’ sacrifice on a far deeper level.
With God, it is all about relationships—our bond with him through Jesus and our relations with one another—and about how he saves us from slavery—the bondage of sin. God’s desire for us is to fully connect personally with Jesus every time as we think of him. He wants us to draw closer to him as we focus our eyes on Jesus, remembering who he was, what he was like, what he has done for each of us and remembering how God had forsaken him as Jesus took our place on the cross.
That Sunday, Doug stated that Memorial Day takes on a more personal meaning to those gold star families because they had lost a close relative in the line of duty. When someone who had a great influence in your life dies, it breaks your heart more because of your personal relationship with them. You grieve because you miss them, but because of your bond to them, you also remember the impact of their life and death. You remember how much they loved and gave to you, and how they provided you a great example to imitate.
We must remind each other continually to do everything in remembrance of Jesus because satan incessantly tries to convince us that God does not care or that he does not love us. It is typical human nature that our focus tends to gravitate toward the issue and not on Jesus. When we can recall those miracles, which God has personally done in our lives, we see Jesus and remember him and claim his power over satan to defeat those lies. God gives us the victory and delivers us each time from the slavery of sin. He has put in place Jesus so that we may remember him—his life, his example, his sacrifice, his love, his compassion—and that he is the way to God’s victory. Remember Jesus always!
This reminds me of Abigail’s song to Peter in the 1987 version of Upside Down, the musical. She sang to her husband, “Remember the Lord.” “Remember when you walked on the water.” “Remember when he called you Peter.” (https://youtu.be/wtvHtErhPaI) God is calling us to remember our personal victories that he has provided. He understands how it will impact us with increasing our faith and how it helps us to have the right perspective on the issue(s) at hand. He also understands that we can use these great memories to encourage one another about God’s love for us all. This is how we may bring glory, honor, and praise to him.
During the lesson on Sunday, Doug had referred to his memory of Pete McCreary’s life and death. Sometime ago, he had shared with our house church, the news clipping of the court hearing which I have posted here. I also posted the link to Doug’s article that he had written in 2019, referring to the impact of Pete’s life of following Jesus and of his death bringing others closer to Jesus. Thank you, Doug, so much for sharing your great lesson and your heart. To God be the glory. Amen.
COMMENTS WHEN BLOG WAS FIRST POSTED ON CARING BRIDGE SITE:
Vicki Sandiford: Thank you for sharing your struggles and this incredible message, Kim! It deeply impacted me, especially the story about Pete McCreary.
Terri Nida: Thank you for the encouragement, Kim. My latest blog post has similar sentiments. Love you. https://diaryofaquadriplegic.com/
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