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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Signs and Wonders

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By Buddy Dawson

God of this world

Week 16 in a multi-part series

I cannot imagine how God must feel about the way He is misunderstood and misrepresented on the earth today. Especially, since he sent His son to die such a horrible death for us. Unfortunately, His own church is one of the worse perpetrators of this character assassination. For instance, when a natural disaster occurs, devastating people’s lives, it is labeled an “act of God.” When a child dies for whatever reason, some well-meaning believer will comment, “God just wanted another angel in heaven.” Furthermore, the vilest acts of sinful man, destructive weather patterns, famines, plagues, poverty and most of everything evil in our world is blamed on God’s judgment.

From the fall of man until this very day, Satan has had dominion over the earth. When Satan deceived Adam into sin, all of man’s complete dominion was given to him.

Because of this, Satan is known in scripture as “the god of this world.” In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them (II Corinthians 4:4 NKJV). We know [positively] that we are of God, and the whole world [around us] is under the power of the evil one (I John 5:19 Amplified). Jesus himself said in John 14:30; I will not talk with you much more, for the prince (evil genius, ruler) of the world is coming…(Amplified).

In spite of the overwhelming evidence in the natural realm and in Scripture, most people cannot accept the fact that evil rules our world. Satan has so blinded the minds of man that we deny his existence while blaming God for perpetrating or allowing the world’s evil.

I do not believe that one can fully appreciate what Jesus did for us on the cross until we accept the fact that the whole world [around us] is under the power of the evil one (I John 5:19 Amplified).

When we are born, we are automatically under the subjection of Satan and his kingdom of darkness. No matter how good we try to be or how religious without Christ we may become, our destiny as an unbeliever is fixed. As an unbeliever we are unknowingly subject to the wiles, (strategies, deceits) of Satan (Ephesians 6:11 NKJV). Greed, pride, fear, lust and selfish ambition are just a few of the wiles that he uses to control us into doing his will. After using us like puppets, our ultimate destination is a place of torment and eternal separation from God called Hell.

That’s what makes the Gospel (good news) so amazing, through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ we can be “born again” this time into the Kingdom of God, (John 3:16) escaping the dominion of darkness and an eternity in Hell.  … to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me’ (Acts 26:18 NKJV).

I believe before we can fully appreciate our freedom in Christ, we must first accept the fact that we were once helpless captives. Instead of blaming God for the evil around us, we should be thanking Him continually that through Jesus Christ He has provided a way of escape.

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