Satanism

I have way too many insecurities. Frankly, with knowing God even a little, I shouldn't have any.  Yet I do.  God in His, always infinite, wisdom gave me the wonderful opportunity yesterday to see them…again.  Don’t ya just love when He does that? 

Ah, No.

I went to church early, to join with a few others in prayer prior to the regular church service.  During that time a young Christian (young in experience not age) spoke up about a vision God had given him.  I listened intently and asked a few questions, mostly to find out if it was real or if the man was either imagining something or making it up.  Sadly, that happens way too often.  Of course God still does things like that, but many people want to be impressive and will either expand a little daydream or make up a story entirely.  So, I tend to lean on the skeptical side.

I was polite, and asked simple questions.  To be honest, it did sound like God really did give him a vision.  The message was simple, it was regarding forgiveness and how God saw him because of it.  It was nice, and the man sharing it seemed really blessed by it.  But here is where the problem comes in.

After the prayer, I sat near him while we were waiting for the service to start.  We had a good half hour.  He started stretching from his vision a wee bit, reiterating several times how God had and is now speaking through him by the Holy Spirit.  I watched his demeanor change.  He went from humble story teller to commanding officer.  Oh it was not direct at first.  No it was rather gentle.  A hand on my arm and then the tone and comments went from, God wants to use me to, He is using me right now.  No joke, I even began to feel a downward pressure from his arm on my shoulder!  Unfortunately, he hit a nerve.  Now, I didn’t get mad enough to become rude.  No, but before God, I was wrong.  I felt myself wanting to “show” him.  I wanted to tell him of the many visions I have had.  I wanted to prove myself and show how much I knew and had seen.  I wanted to act just like a dog would, in a pack of dogs.  It was disgusting. 

I don’t like to feel small, who of us does.  I have felt small for a long while, because God Himself has humbled me in my work, home and in Church. This is my raw nerve and he hit it.  But by the grace of God, I didn’t completely lose control.  I did catch myself several times in my responses.  I was working hard to keep my pride in check.  I knew the danger I was in.  I also knew the danger he was in.  I did tell him too.  I can only hope he listened.  He was raising himself up, and using the name of the Holy Spirit to do it, bad, Bad, BAD. 

The conversation really didn’t get all that heated, mean words weren’t exchanged.  Yet, I felt terrible for the rest of the day.  I saw myself act like a dog.  And, I just hate that.

Animals, well, they are just animals.  You can’t expect them to be that bright, considerate or thoughtful.  It is just not in their nature.  Yea, I know, the animal loons would go nuts over that statement.   However much a dog professes its “love” to its caretaker, it will or would do that with just about anyone who it lived with.  They are pack animals.  They are made to belong to a grouping.  But with that grouping comes a very animal like struggle…Dominance.

If you throw 2 or more dogs together and they have not had any contact prior, they will assess each other rather quickly.  They have an innate need to figure out their position on the authority pole.  If one dog “owned” or lived in the location prior, he will not take too kindly to the intruders.  He or she will position themselves to be THE dominant dog.  There will be posturing, hair raised, jaws stuck out, growling, snarling, humping and possibly even fighting.  These are all rather normal actions and attitudes for dogs…and unfortunately humans. 

God didn’t make us to be like animals.  He made us to be more like Him.  What does that mean?  Well, first off, let’s look at why man and animals act like they do.

From the beginning of sin, yes, at the garden.  The temptation given to Adam and Eve was “eat this fruit and you will be like God.”  Of course that was a lie, for they were a lot more like God before the fruit than after.  Once they ate the fruit, they became separated from God in a rather sad way.  So did the entire world in which they lived.  The result was a great deal of insecurity, posturing and violence, for both animals and humans.  Sad, really, really sad.

This whole problem came from the serpent.  The serpent of course was a personification of the accuser.  Satan, as that is what the word means, and no it is not his name.  According to most biblical scholars, a certain passage in the book of Isaiah is attributed to this being of power, position and idiocy.  “I will ascend and be like God!”  Yea, a created being, posturing up to God himself, idiocy.  This attitude created a separation in his own heart.  He is, of course the first one, as far as we know, to act like an animal.  Though, if he didn’t do what he did, the animals, wouldn’t act like that either…so I do them a great disservice.  Basically, the animals act like satan.  Sin, you see is rebellion against God.  A moving in a direction away from God.  Truthfully, that is not even possible, knowing that God is “All in all”.  The thought that we can be “independent” of the source of all life and matter, is itself, insane.  Yet, here it is, in the world and in heaven as well.  Satan and his way…Satanism.

To examine this further, look at the statement “I will ascend”.  To ascend, one has to climb.  To climb, you must grab something firmly and pull it down in order to raise yourself up.  Yes, this is purely physical, however, mentally and emotionally, the same thing happens.  If I want to build myself up, all I need to do is look at someone and consider them “less” than me.  I think about it and ponder it, all the while hoisting myself upward in my own heart and mind by putting them down.  Unfortunately, this “heart” shows itself sooner or later with physical or verbal actions.  The end result is the mistreatment of others…bad, Bad, BAD!  Yes, that is really bad.  Keep in mind the whole sheep and the goats thing.

Satanism, at its core, is “I will ascend”.  Not the goofy pentagram stuff. Look at the “I WILL” part of the phrase.  The phrase is, on its own, a slap in the face of God, a denial, a rebellion.  God, who’s name to man is “I AM”,   is approached by angels and men who say “I will”… bad, Bad, BAD!

This is a big problem and the source of all sin.  For if we would just trust God, we would not act or think on our own in this way.  When we trust Him, we obey Him.  No sin there.  This is why He says over and over in His word, FAITH is the answer.  Not faith in faith. That is just plain stupid.  No, it is faith or trust in God, who is well… God, the great I AM.  We can trust Him, even when He gives us pain in this life.  This is what Jesus is saying in the whole “worth more than sparrows” talk… Just trust God. 

The opposite of this Satanism is to offer ourselves in sacrifice to others.  Oh, wait, didn’t Jesus do that?  Yup.  Philippians chapter 2 outlines perfectly what He really did.  Though He (Jesus) was God.  He became man.  Now consider that for a minute or two.  Consider a mind so vast that He not only understands how to create an entire universe, he also knows every tiny detail, even every thought, all the time, in every pack of dogs AND humans.  This vast intelligence, leaves its place outside of time and space and becomes a man.  Think of you becoming a paramecium.  Yea, even a man going that small would not offer a fair comparison of what God really did by becoming a man.  He REALLY humbled Himself.  Oh, but He didn’t stop there.  He let a pack of wild dogs kill Him.  HE LET REBELLIOUS MEN KILL HIM.  He put Himself low, lower than man, lower than us, so HE could lift US up. 

So one way, pulls down to raise self up, the other debases self to raise others up.  Aren’t the scriptures full of this?  Do you see it now?  So, do we act like dogs, who act like satan, or do we act like God?  

We are not animals.  We were given something vastly superior to animals.  We were given the open door to become more and stand in the presence of the King of the universe.  Satanism or Sin, this heart of “I will”, is something we all struggle with.  God, of course, knew and knows this.  This is why forgiveness and repentance are so important.  He gives us forgiveness.  We turn back to Him, renouncing “I will” and taking up a “Your will” heart and attitude.  Yes, this is hard.  But He is trustworthy.  He forgives because it is the way He IS. 

Me, I don’t want to be like an animal.  I don’t want to dominate anyone.  I don’t need to prove anything. I don’t want to raise myself.  I will wait for Him to do it.  I don’t want to act like satan. 

I want to be like Jesus Christ.  Jesus trusted the Father.