satan

Care Package

/ Mark Brady / Leave a comment
Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay

I have a cousin who seems to suffer a lot in life. I know they believe in God, but I’m not sure if they live a life pleasing to God. Living by God’s commandments and in a relationship as God designed them to be. As well, and I’ll explain why this is important later, I don’t know if they handle their finances the way God instructs us to. If my observations and instincts are correct, then I can see why they have a difficult existence.

I have said before that living a life pleasing to God doesn’t guarantee your life will be problem-free, but living it with God on your side certainly helps. When God smiles upon you, He protects you.

1  Job was a man who lived in Uz. He was honest inside and out, a man of his word, who was totally devoted to God and hated evil with a passion.

8 God said to Satan, “Have you noticed my friend Job? There’s no one quite like him—honest and true to his word, totally devoted to God and hating evil.” 9-10 Satan retorted, “So do you think Job does all that out of the sheer goodness of his heart? Why, no one ever had it so good! You pamper him like a pet, make sure nothing bad ever happens to him or his family or his possessions, bless everything he does—he can’t lose! Job 1 (MSG)

When it comes to finances, God asks us to give back ten percent of our income. God says if we do this, He will open up the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing upon us. But here is the part that is even more important and powerful. God says He will shut the mouth of the devourer. That means He will stop Satan from eating away at our lives. Our homes, our finances, our health, and our relationships!

10 Bring all the tithes (the whole tenth of your income) into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and prove Me now by it, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

11 And I will rebuke the devourer [insects and plagues] for your sakes and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground, neither shall your vine drop its fruit before the time in the field, says the Lord of hosts. Mal. 3:10-11 (AMPC)

God really does care for us, for you! He doesn’t demand you live the way that is best for you, but He hopes that you will choose to. He wants you to be one of his favorite children in his family. (I’m not sure if God actually has favorites because He loves us all, but some probably put a smile on his face more than others.)

Even people like my cousin I mentioned earlier, God wants them to accept him so He can love on them even more, send them a personalized care package, stop the destruction and pain in their life, and pour out blessings upon them like no one has ever seen.

Copyright © 2024 Mark Brady. All rights reserved.

Devoted to God

/ Mark Brady / Leave a comment
Image by Arnie Bragg from Pixabay

1 1-3 Job was a man who lived in Uz. He was honest inside and out, a man of his word, who was totally devoted to God and hated evil with a passion. He had seven sons and three daughters. He was also very wealthy—seven thousand head of sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred teams of oxen, five hundred donkeys, and a huge staff of servants—the most influential man in all the East!

4-5 His sons used to take turns hosting parties in their homes, always inviting their three sisters to join them in their merrymaking. When the parties were over, Job would get up early in the morning and sacrifice a burnt offering for each of his children, thinking, “Maybe one of them sinned by defying God inwardly.” Job made a habit of this sacrificial atonement, just in case they’d sinned.

6-7 One day when the angels came to report to God, Satan, who was the Designated Accuser, came along with them. God singled out Satan and said, “What have you been up to?”

Satan answered God, “Going here and there, checking things out on earth.”

8 God said to Satan, “Have you noticed my friend Job? There’s no one quite like him—honest and true to his word, totally devoted to God and hating evil.”

9-10 Satan retorted, “So do you think Job does all that out of the sheer goodness of his heart? Why, no one ever had it so good! You pamper him like a pet, make sure nothing bad ever happens to him or his family or his possessions, bless everything he does—he can’t lose! Job 1:1-10 (MSG)

The portion of these verses that jumped out at me was, “You pamper him like a pet, make sure nothing bad ever happens to him or his family or his possessions, bless everything he does—he can’t lose!”

I have mentioned it several times in many posts, but if you missed it, let me do it again. When a man is devoted to God and living for Him, typically, he has a good life. God blesses him, and even when something may try to defeat him, God comes through and takes care of the issue for him.

April has a friend who announced last week that they are getting married. I only heard a part of the conversation while I was working on our house. But as I was listening, I started getting a bad feeling in my spirit. It was the gift of “discernment,” telling me that their fiancé was not the right person for them.

Today, April shared with me more about what she heard from another friend about their friend’s fiancé. Can you say, “Red Flags?” It’s sad that the friend would “settle” for Satan’s substitute rather than wait for the person that God has for them. If this friend would commit all their ways to God and delight themselves in Him, I would dare say that God would bring the right person into their life soon, knowing the desires of their heart. If they get married, they are setting themselves up for a lot of pain and heartache.

One can never go wrong living for God. Putting Him first in your life and asking Him to lead you and guide you. He will. I know because His word is full of scriptures that say he will.

Psalm 37:4 says, “Delight yourself also in the LORD, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.”

True delight in Him causes us to take our sights off of what we want in order to long for what He desires. The command to delight in God appears amidst this list that King David penned in the Psalms as the antidote for his fretting people:

  • Know the fate of evildoers (Psalm 37:2)
  • Trust in the Lord (37:3)
  • Do good (37:3)
  • Befriend faithfulness (37:3)
  • Delight yourself in the LORD (37:4)
  • Commit your way to Him (37:5)
  • Rest in, and wait patiently for, The Lord (37:7)

Source: http://www.biblestudytools.com

Copyright © 2024 Mark Brady. All rights reserved.

Some Famous Atheist (or at least used to be)

/ Mark Brady / Leave a comment
Image by Alexa from Pixabay

Founder of the Church of Satan, the famous Satanist, Anton Szandor LaVey’s last deathbed words were, “Oh my, oh my, what have I done! There’s something very wrong, there’s something very wrong, there’s something very wrong!”

Voltaire (1694–1778), an atheist, said, “I am abandoned by God and man! I shall go to hell! O Jesus Christ!”

David Hume (1711–1776), an atheist, said while dying in utter despair, “I am in the flames!”

Sir Thomas Scott (1808–1878), an atheist, said, “Until this moment I thought there was neither a God nor a hell. Now I know and feel that there is both, and I am doomed to perdition by the just judgment of the Almighty.”

The above, moments before their demise, saw a glimpse of what turned out to be real after all. All their lives, sadly, they had accepted the lies of the devil.

For the last several posts, I have keyed in on God’s judgment, eternity, heaven, and hell. I have felt an intense urgency to drive the point home that your time on Earth is extremely short, and then you will stand before God. You can believe now and start experiencing real life, or you can deny Him and continue to live as a dead man walking! Hear the words of some who found out too late! Learn from them.

Luke 16:19-31 (MSG)
19-21 “There once was a rich man, expensively dressed in the latest fashions, wasting his days in conspicuous consumption. A poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, had been dumped on his doorstep. All he lived for was to get a meal from scraps off the rich man’s table. His best friends were the dogs who came and licked his sores.

22-24 “Then he died, this poor man, and was taken up by the angels to the lap of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. In hell and in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham in the distance and Lazarus in his lap. He called out, ‘Father Abraham, mercy! Have mercy! Send Lazarus to dip his finger in water to cool my tongue. I’m in agony in this fire.’

25-26 “But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that in your lifetime you got the good things and Lazarus the bad things. It’s not like that here. Here he’s consoled and you’re tormented. Besides, in all these matters there is a huge chasm set between us so that no one can go from us to you even if he wanted to, nor can anyone cross over from you to us.’

27-28 “The rich man said, ‘Then let me ask you, Father: Send him to the house of my father where I have five brothers, so he can tell them the score and warn them so they won’t end up here in this place of torment.’

29 “Abraham answered, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets to tell them the score. Let them listen to them.’

30 “‘I know, Father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but they’re not listening. If someone came back to them from the dead, they would change their ways.’

31 “Abraham replied, ‘If they won’t listen to Moses and the Prophets, they’re not going to be convinced by someone who rises from the dead.’”

I share these words of truth with you because I don’t want to see anyone perish, and neither does God. He loves you and cares about you more than you’ll ever know! Eternity is too long to be wrong!!! Be informed. Please don’t wait until it’s too late. God is real.

Copyright © 2024 Mark Brady. All rights reserved.

If Only

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I have been listening to the same song over and over today, so I decided to share its lyrics. The song is “Christmas at Denny’s” by Randy Stonehill. It is sad and kind of haunting—at least some of the words are.

they got Christmas Muzak
piped in through the ceiling
and the refills of coffee
are always for free
and the waitress on graveyard
and the surly night manager
are wishing that all of us losers would leave

there’s a star on the sign
at the Texaco Station
like the star long ago
on that midnight clear
as I look all around
at these cold, empty faces
I doubt that you’d find many wise men here

and I’m dreaming about
a silent night
holy night
when things were alright
(Chorus)
once I had a home
and a wife and a daughter
had a company job
earning middle-class pay
then Lisa got killed
by a car near the schoolyard
and my wife started drinking
just to get through each day

I will never forget that little red wagon
turning to rust all alone in the rain
one morning I flagged down
a truck on the highway
I just couldn’t bear to go back there again
(Chorus:)
and I’m dreaming about
a silent night
holy night
when things were alright
and I’m dreaming about
how my life could have been
if only, if only, if only
well, it’s not just the blind man
who loses his sight
merry Christmas
it’s Christmas at Denny’s tonight

they say
life’s made of cruel circumstance
fate plays the tune and we dance
dance til we drop
in the dust and we’re gone
and the world just goes on

the cop at the counter
he’s the guardian angel
he watches these orphans
through dark mirrored shades
and the register rings
like a bell sadly tolling
for the fools we’ve become
and the price that we paid

oh when I was a boy
I believed in Christmas
miracle season to make a new start
I don’t need no miracle, sweet baby Jesus
just help me find
some kind of hope in my heart
(Chorus)
but I’ll still be here
at the morning’s first light
merry Christmas
it’s Christmas at Denny’s tonight

The song tells a sad story, and I would bet it isn’t too far from at least one’s true story. Life is about making choices in reaction to what is going on in our lives. In the above story, the man couldn’t get over his daughter’s death and then witnessed his wife’s slow demise into alcohol. Even though he mentions having knowledge of God in the past. If only you hadn’t cheated on your spouse. If only you hadn’t lost your job. If only you had not come down with cancer. If only you had been a better parent. If only your house had not been destroyed by fire. If only, if only, if only.

You can mess up or have bad things happen in your life but still keep your hope.

So what happens when one looks at the circumstances instead of God? They lose their faith. They lose hope. That is what Satan wants. For you to lose your hope, that is. Without hope, people die. Jesus is the hope of the world. Accept Him and survive anything that may come your way in life.

…in him will the nations find hope. Mat. 12:21 (ICB)

I pray that the God who gives hope will fill you with much joy and peace while you trust in him. Then your hope will overflow by the power of the Holy Spirit. Rom. 15:13 (ICB)

Copyright © 2024 Mark Brady  All Rights Reserved

When You Don’t do Life God’s Way

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Image by 51581 from Pixabay

If people aren’t living their life according to God’s word, the Bible, then they are living life their way. God is okay with that because He gives us free will. The reason He gives us that is He desires to have a people who choose to love him back. Of course, God knows that living life his way is better.

I have a friend who says they love God and have accepted him but fails to attend church services, tithe, or other “religious” activities that would grow their relationship with God. Because of this, I think they do not fully understand how much God loves them! They post a lot about their life on Facebook. It’s usually bad news. Things are happening to them, their children, and other aspects of their lives. They’re a good person, so witnessing this breaks my heart.

This has bothered me for a while. Then, this week, a verse came to my mind that explains at least part of the problem.

10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse,
That there may be food in My house,
And try Me now in this,”
Says the Lord of hosts,
“If I will not open for you the windows of heaven
And pour out for you such blessing
That there will not be room enough to receive it.

11 “And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, Mal. 3:10-11a (NKJV)

Notice verse 11a. “Rebuke the devourer for your sakes.” It’s as if the devourer, Satan, has his way with my friend’s life. They take a step forward, and he eats away ground they had just gained. In other words, they are getting nowhere! Then, another verse came to my mind.

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. John 10:10 (NIV)

Jesus taught that Satan comes to hurt you, and one way he does that is hurting your life. His intention is for you to blame God and keep you from accepting Him. Jesus continued his teaching to share that He comes to give you real life and lots of it!

This is what happens when you don’t live life God’s way. You will struggle in life, and most likely, you won’t be happy. Give up and give in. Accept God and His Son, Jesus, and start living life abundantly.

Copyright © 2024 Mark Brady  All Rights Reserved

Game of Chess

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The game of chess came about in 1475. Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces, with the objective to checkmate the opponent’s king.

If you have never played, know that the different pieces can only move in specific ways and a number of spaces at a time. There is a hierarchy of pieces from the pawns to the king. There is only one King who becomes the final victor.

The battle between two sides has always been a key part of a good story. Good vs. evil. Light vs. darkness. And, of course, The Rebel Alliance vs. The Evil Empire. I have often thought of God vs. Satan as a chess game, and humans are the pieces that do battle for either side.

Satan wanted to be a god unto himself, but there can only be one at the top. When he and one-third of the angels rose up against God, He had no choice but to banish them from heaven forever. Ever since that time, Satan has been waring against God to get revenge, take over, and destroy His kingdom.

Chess is only a game, but life isn’t! When life ends, there is only heaven or hell. One may say they don’t believe in God. Heaven isn’t real. They may refuse of their own will not to accept God’s gift of salvation to be saved from hell. They may say, “I don’t believe in hell,” but hell believes in them. Satan is not playing a game. Out of hate, he is trying to win. He doesn’t care about humans. He will use them to get back at God and then destroy them. His biggest lie is that there is no God and that there is no punishment for not accepting Him.

I am definitely on God’s side. I am not the King, and I am certainly NOT the queen (LOL), but I have thought of myself as a mere pawn. My moves are limited; therefore, I need to follow the instructions of the King. Who is the King? That is Jesus Christ. The King of Kings. I hope you will choose to be on God’s side. Willing to be led by Him and live according to His ways, which are pure, right, and out of love. For when God says, “Checkmate,” it will all be over once and for all.

7 And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, 8 but they [a]did not prevail, nor was a place found for [b]them in heaven any longer. 9 So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. Rev. 12:7-9 (NKJV)

14 These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful.” Rev. 17:14 (NKJV)

7 Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea. 9 They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. 10 The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where[b] the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. Rev. 20:7-10 (NKJV)

15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire. Rev. 20:15 (NKJV)

Copyright © 2024 Mark Brady  All Rights Reserved

The Greatest Con Artist

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Image by Leandro De Carvalho from Pixabay

con art·ist
noun
a person who cheats or tricks others by persuading them to believe something that is not true

I have been conned more than once in my lifetime. Afterward, when I realized it, I felt so stupid for being so gullible. The problem is I want to think the best of people. I also thought that no one who cared about me would take advantage of me.

I once heard that the more details the person gives you, the bigger the lie. There was one person who would tell me a story, and I purposely wouldn’t respond. It’s like they got nervous and would begin to add details to their lie. I don’t think they ever figured out how I always seemed to know when they were lying to me.

But a con artist is a little different. It’s as if they have practiced their craft until they have perfected it. Like they have learned what words work and which ones don’t. They also seem to paint in some sad portions so that you will feel sorry for them. Another trick of a good con artist is they will insert a time element into what they are asking you for. Like, “I have to have the money tomorrow, or I could be arrested under false pretenses!”

No matter how sophisticated their work is, it is still based on a lie or a series of lies. I think some con artists get so good they begin to believe their cons are true. The greatest con artist is Satan, and yes, I think he believes what he says is true. He will tell you anything to get you to do wrong, sin. He will even tell you partial truths if it serves him. He hopes that his lie will keep you from God or pull you away from God. He likes to use guilt, too.

Genesis 3: 1-6 (NIV)

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”

4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.

If something someone or the devil says to you doesn’t sound or feel right, then it probably isn’t. If you walk away and say, “I need more time to think about it or to check it out, it will most likely frustrate the con artist! They might even get mad. I mean, what if Eve had said to Satan, “Well, the next time God is talking to us in the cool of the day, I will ask him about what you have said.”? If she had done that, perhaps we would all still be living in a garden the way God first intended.

Copyright © 2024 Mark Brady  All Rights Reserved

What or Who Are You Celebrating?

/ Mark Brady / 3 Comments
Image by SplitShire via Pixabay

As you know, today, Halloween is celebrated. What is considered by most as an innocent day for children to dress up as their favorite character. For others, it’s the pinnacle night of offering worship to Satan.

I grew up trick-or-treating in the neighborhood. I followed my parents’ beliefs that it was just for fun. The worst thing that happened was rumors of people placing needles or razorblades in fruit and candy bars. I checked every candy bar I got and found no blades. I left the fruit for my sister to test.

Also, while growing up, my father and I watched horror movies on late Saturday nights. There is a kind of fun being scared. That is why haunted houses are so popular. We even watched movies that portrayed demonic activity. My dad was reassuring by telling me, “This stuff is not real.” I believed him until I was a young adult and heard firsthand a couple in my church describe a night when fire came out of their fireplace and then went back in without burning anything in their living room.

I fell off of the ottoman I was sitting on. Everyone turned to me and asked, “Are you okay?” As I climbed back on, I asked, “You mean this stuff is real?” It’s not that my father lied; he didn’t know. That day, I vowed to stop watching anything that had satanic overtones. It’s not fun. It’s not entertainment. The devil wants us to think he is not real.

Just last week, April and I were watching a popular miniseries on Netflix. We stopped after the second episode. I told April I sensed an underlying evilness, and we then prayed over ourselves and our house that nothing would attach to us or try to take residence. Yes, this stuff is real. There are evil spirits in this world.

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Eph. 6:12 (NIV)

After all, we don’t want to unwittingly give Satan an opening for yet more mischief—we’re not oblivious to his sly ways! 2 Corinthians 2:11 (MSG)

When I was a youth minister many years ago, I had a counseling session with someone who told me that thirteen people went into the woods the previous Halloween, but only 12 came out. One person volunteered to be sacrificed to Satan on an altar. I later asked a local police officer about it. He confirmed they found a rock altar and a dead body upon it. Because of confidentiality rules, he knew he could not ask me who I spoke with.

Please, do not be ignorant of the devil or his ways. What he means to be an open door into your life may be something you consider innocent, fun, or cute. He is real and wants to use you to get back at God. He mocks God. He takes what God has created and twists it or perverts it. You should pray and ask God to show you the truth. Ask him to reveal to you any ways that the devil may be using to have power over your life.

Copyright © 2023 Mark Brady.

“Give Me Tonight”

/ Mark Brady / 5 Comments

Whenever one is struggling with an addiction, the messages they hear in their head matter. There are only three sources that can put thoughts into your mind.

  1. Satan
  2. Yourself
  3. God

When I first became aware of this, my next question was, “How do I know the difference? Who put the thought in my mind?” I developed a quick test:

Was the thought something that lined up with God’s word? Reading the Bible and knowing the nature of God helped in this one. If the answer was “No,“ then I would realize the thought was from satan and ignore it.

The second test was analyzing the thought again. If it was full of wisdom, then I definitely knew it did not come from me.

That leaves God. If it was positive, uplifting, encouraging, and aligned with God’s word, I could accept it. This method also works for learning to hear God, his Spirit, speak to you.

This is why the Bible tells us to bring every thought into captivity.

The world is unprincipled. It’s dog-eat-dog out there! The world doesn’t fight fair. But we don’t live or fight our battles that way—never have and never will. The tools of our trade aren’t for marketing or manipulation, but they are for demolishing that entire massively corrupt culture. We use our powerful God-tools for smashing warped philosophies, tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God, fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ. Our tools are ready at hand for clearing the ground of every obstruction and building lives of obedience into maturity. 2 Cor. 10:3-6 (MSG)

So when my friend, who is currently struggling with alcohol, told me to “Give me tonight.” I asked him, “Where do you think that thought came from?” They wanted one more night to indulge in a can of liquid emptiness. After that, I asked him, “Who do you think put that thought in your head?” We ran through the test, and he summarized satan did. It’s just like the devil trying to convince someone that just one more night wouldn’t hurt anything.

Knowing who puts messages in your head is vital to changing your behavior. It also helps you know who you are listening to. The devil is not going to tell you anything that is for your good. He is only interested in ruining your life and using you to get even with God. Your thoughts can be filtered by the environment, parents, and other influences you grew up with. That is why you should listen to what God tells you through your spirit and in his word. God is for you and not against you.

So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn’t hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn’t gladly and freely do for us? And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God’s chosen? Who would dare even to point a finger? The One who died for us—who was raised to life for us!—is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us. Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ’s love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture:

They kill us in cold blood because they hate you.
We’re sitting ducks; they pick us off one by one.

None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I’m absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us. Rom. 8:31-39 (MSG)

Copyright © 2023 Mark Brady. All rights reserved.

Milton Bradley’s “LIFE”

/ Mark Brady / 2 Comments

Most of us probably played the 1960 version of the game “LIFE” by Milton Bradley, which first came out in 1860. While in a car, you spun a wheel to travel down a path and decide, when you reached a fork, which was the better way to go. You also had to draw cards; sometimes, like in real life, good things happened to you, and at other times bad things happened. It was a game of “chance’ and “luck.”

I recently got a front-row seat to someone living “real” life. Their version is certainly no game, and you live as if you are holding a lit stick of dynamite. The only problem is you have no idea how short the fuse is. I understand this person has a sickness, but I also know there is a way out. I also know there are programs that help people like this, and the ones that truly work are “faith-based.” Meaning they are grounded in God’s word and promote a personal relationship with God.

From what I have witnessed, there have been many opportunities for this person to get help, and they have before. But they eventually pick up another stick of dynamite. It will go off, and the individual holding it will again get hurt severely, but so will the ones closest to them. Their parents, spouse, children, friends, and those they work with.

Oh, they become professionals at saying the right things and telling people what they want to hear. “I’m done with this!” “I don’t want to keep repeating the pattern.” “I need help.” “I want help.” Then they decide to go with satan’s substitutes for life, and they once again pick up another stick of dynamite. They seem to struggle to believe there is a higher power. They fail to keep their sight on God, who no doubt has a beautiful plan for their life. They stop living the lifestyle it takes to overcome, heal, and renew their mind.

It hurts to sit at the table and watch them live what they assume is “LIFE.” But it isn’t life at all, and if continued, it will lead to death on earth and eternal death, more than likely. The only thing I know to do is to continue to feed them words of real “LIFE” from the Bible. To continue to pray for them, but honestly, they are the only ones who can stop the pattern and choose “LIFE.”

Life is not a game! As April said to me tonight, “There is no such thing as luck.” I think she is right. There are only blessings and curses. As my church’s motto states, “Whoever finds God, finds life!”

“I call Heaven and Earth to witness against you today: I place before you Life and Death, Blessing and Curse. Choose life so that you and your children will live. And love God, your God, listening obediently to him, firmly embracing him. Oh yes, he is life itself, a long life settled on the soil that God, your God, promised to give your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” Deu. 30:19-20 (MSG)

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