September 2, 2021 – Click here to listen
Thanks for the many letters of encouragement, which coincidentally are mentioned today. Some of the names for Satan right alongside Discourager is: Father of Lies, Murderer, Accuser, Adversary, Destroyer, Deceiver, Thief, and Wicked One. This list is incomplete, but we get the drift.
I have said many times in this forum that I try to emulate Jesus. Though it is impossible to achieve His perfection, we can try. I have found that the closer I come to achieving my goal in emulating Jesus, the happier I am. It is when I deviate and go off course that I become despondent.
So, I was thinking about this today and logically it makes sense that trying NOT to emulate our enemy Satan should have the identical effect as trying to emulate Jesus. If for example, we encourage rather than discourage, tell the truth rather than a lie, abhor the murderer, give the benefit of the doubt instead of accusing, be loving friends instead of being adversaries, be a builder instead of a destroyer, be forthright instead of a deceiver, be honest and not a thief, and live righteously instead of being wicked then we will be happier. .
I consider myself very fortunate to have embarked on this latest adventure. My wife and I have seen many of the splendors that God has created, and we appreciate them more than words can describe.
I talked to a man and asked if he ever got tired of looking at those beautiful snow-capped mountains. He glanced up at them, kind of absentmindedly, and told me he had seen them so many times he didn’t even notice them anymore.
Yikes! I pray I never reach that point. I never seem to tire of watching a beautiful sunrise or sunset, especially over the ocean or crystal-clear lake, or a mountain or a vast field. Heck, I even like to look at the flowers.
I don’t like to look at trash on the road or graffiti on a giant boulder or business, or numerous signs inviting me into some cannabis shop which exist in California, Oregon, Washington, and yes even in Alaska. I don’t like the images of Afghanistan and the suffering people or the destruction of the city of New Orleans or Haiti, or grieving people mourning the loss of a Covid infected loved one.
I’m told we cannot look at life through rose-colored glasses. I prefer to do that actually, but I’ve learned that good and bad exist together on this planet. Good and evil exist – Write it down!
Knowing that one day evil will disappear and not be allowed into my eternity is comforting enough to get me through this life. Some follow Jesus and some Satan. As for me and my family, we choose to follow Christ and I have complete faith that all will fall into place and it has and will forever.
And the closer I come to being like Jesus the happier I am. His love is free to one and all just as are the great treasures of His kingdom. In fact, He has opened the vault wide open exposing His treasure and is giving away His most prized possessions at this very moment. First and foremost is the sacrifice of Jesus but also check out the sunrise, sunset, and glorious creation surrounding you today – Icing to the cake. Do you feel the joy, love, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control? I do.
Gal. 5:22
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.