The Cross and the Devil

"Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself." John 12:31-32.

The devil’s influence and power has been felt for thousands of years. Many lives have been ruined by his deceptions, many ministries destroyed, many marriages divided in two. But from John 12:31 we see that the cross is the solution for humanity’s problem with the devil. The cross is where the "Seed of the woman" crushed "the head of the serpent" (Genesis 3:15), dealing a deathblow to him. The cross, where Jesus Christ died outside the city of Jerusalem, is where He cast out the devil from the city of humanity, and where Christ defeated this evil one for all eternity.

The gospel of God’s grace, which is centered in the cross of Jesus Christ, contains liberating power for all who come to believe. This power is sufficient to save any sinner, justify all the ungodly, sanctify all justified sinners, and glorify every sanctified saint.

For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 1 Cor. 1:18

Truth Under Attack

The name of the book is Conversations with God.. James Dobson talked about this book twice this week. It is devastating. Please pay special attention not only to what your kids watch on TV, in movie theaters, on the Internet, and the music they listen to, but also be alert regarding the books they read.
Two particular books are, Conversations with God and Conversations with God for Teens, written by Neale D. Walsch. They sound harmless enough by their titles alone. The books have been on the New York Times best sellers list for a number of weeks, and they make truth of the statement, 'Don't judge a book by its cover or title.'

The author purports to answer various questions asked by kids using the 'voice of God'. However, the 'answers' that he gives are not Bible-based and go against the very infallible word of God. For instance (and I paraphrase), when a girl asks the question 'Why am I a lesbian?' His answer is that she was 'born that way' because of genetics (just as you were born right-handed, with brown eyes, etc.). Then he tells her to go out and 'celebrate' her differences.

Another girl poses the question 'I am living with my boyfriend. My parents say that I should marry him because I am living in sin. Should I marry him?' His reply is, 'Who are you sinning against? Not me, because you have done nothing wrong.'

Another question asks about God's forgiveness of sin. His reply 'I do not forgive anyone because there is nothing to forgive. There is no such thing as right or wrong and that is what I have been trying to tell everyone, do not judge people. People have chosen to judge one another and this is wrong, because the rule is ''judge not lest ye be judged.' Not only are these books the false doctrine of the devil, but in some instances quote (in error) the Word of God.

And the list goes on. These books (and others like it) are being sold to schoolchildren through (The Scholastic Book Club), and we need to be aware of what is being fed to our children.

Our children are under attack. So I pray that you be sober and vigilant about teaching your children the Word of God, and guarding their exposure to worldly mediums, because our adversary, the devil, roams about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). We know that lions usually
hunt for the slowest, weakest and YOUNGEST of its prey.