by Jan Smith
What the devil does not want you to know first and foremost is that he exists!
The devil wants to keep you focused on yourself and not on Jesus!
The Devil Has A Crippling Weakness:
What the devil does not want you to know is this:
What kryptonite is to Superman…
What light is to cockroaches…
What the Cross is to vampires…
God’s spoken Word is to the devil!
Satan and his demons are powerless and flee in terror when confronted by the superior power of the Truth of God’s Word.
Here’s why this is important to you:
Because the devil is behind most of the problems you are having.
The devil does not want you to know this:
God Promises: You Can Live Free From Fear, Panic, Anxiety, Nightmares, Etc!
God has put His power into His Word! You and I can access that power by
against the devil.
The devil needs God’s permission before he can do anything to you. But the devil has figured out how to “game the system” to get God’s permission. V has to do with you and I having a free will.
In Biblical times, mighty men of war relied upon their swords to slay their enemies. That’s why God inspired Paul to use a “sword” as a metaphor for a powerful weapon:
And take … the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (Ephesians? 6:17)
So, what you need right now is some practical, focused information about three things:
Here Are Seven Strategies The Devil Uses:
1 STEALTH: As stated above, what the devil does not want you to know is that he exists. If God is the great “I AM”, Satan is the great “I AM NOT”! But Jesus, Paul, Peter and all the New Testament writers knew that demons exist, and they strongly warned us to be on guard and not fall into the devil’s traps.
2 IGNORANCE: Whether you know demons exist or not, what the devil does not want you to know about is the incredible power of God’s Word and the awesome benefits of doing God’s will in things like Scripture memory.
3 ANESTHESIA: If somehow you throw off your ignorance of God’s Word and begin to read it, the Devil wants to keep you “anesthetized” such that you read the words–but they might as well be written in a foreign language. They have no meaning. The Gospel is veiled, and you are in danger of perishing. (See 2&Corinthians&4:3~4)
4 UNBELIEF: If they fail to keep the truth from you, their next strategy is to keep you from taking these truths seriously. What the devil does not want you to know here is they plant thoughts of unbelief in your mind. They try to get you to think that doing things like Scripture memory are really not important…other things are much more important. They try to get you to doubt that God exists or doubt the accuracy of the Bible.
5 DISTRACTION: If you are still determined to believe and press on, what the devil does not want you to know here is that they will work to distract you. You’ you’ you’ll think about your grocery list or your to- you’ll feel inclined to spend hours surfing the internet, etc.
6 DOUBT: Another thing very high on the list of things the Devil does not want you to know is that he will try to make you doubt such things as the very authenticity of the Bible. This despite that fact that Proverbs 30:5 says, “Every Word of God proves true…”. He wants you to doubt that Jesus said, “It is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one tittle (small grammatical mark) of the law (the Bible) to fail.” (Luke 16:17). The devil even wants you to doubt that you could ever do such an audacious thing as to even one verse of Scripture!
7 OUTRIGHT LIES: See John 8:44 (Scripture photo at the top.) What the devil does not want you to know is that EVERYTHING he says is a lie. Oh, he’ll tell half-truths, mixing a little bit if truth with a lot of untruth. But those statements are like a pan of chocolate brownies… with dog poop baked into them! You would NEVER eat that if you knew what was in it! Neither should you “eat” the words of the Devil.
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More About The Strategy Of Satan:
Satan goes after your mind by putting his lies into your thoughts. His purpose is to keep you ignorant of God’s will for you. But once you begin to take hold of the principles I’ve shown you here, you’ll have a great defense against him.
Satan goes after your body by inflicting suffering upon you. His purpose is to get you to be impatient with God’s will for you. But as God said to Paul in 2 Corinthians 12: “My Grace is sufficient for you…”.
Satan attacks your will by attempting to sow pride into your life, so as to make you independent of God’s will. But when you filter your actions and even your thoughts by asking in your heart, “Would this thought (action) grieve the Holy Spirit?”, you are in effect making the Holy Spirit the gatekeeper of your mind.
Seven Things God DOES Want You To Know:
The devil is real. He hates you because you love Jesus and Jesus loves you. By taking you down, the devil thinks he can hurt Jesus.
The devil is behind most of the fear, worry, doubt, guilt, etc. in your life.
Satan’s purpose is remarkably simple: he goes to great lengths with empty promises and lies to get you to choose to live independently from God’s will.
God is infinitely more powerful than Satan and all His demons combined. So there is absolutely no reason for you and I to fear them.
God will help those who walk in obedience to Him, and who put their complete trust in Him by turning to Him in faith.
God does not promise a problem-free life. Actually, He uses your problems to help you grow spiritually.
Always remember this: what the devil does not want you to know — but God DOES want you to know — is just how much God’s heart burns with love for YOU!
Why This Is Important:
It’s important that you realize this:
You are the “rope” in a Spiritual tug-of-war!
On one end, Satan and his demons are pulling you toward Hell, using everything in their bag of tricks to keep you from walking in obedience to God.
On the other end, God is working for your good to draw you to Himself, while at the same time respecting your free will.
The war between God and Satan is for YOUR SOUL!
The demons, as they always do, are exploiting the fact that God has given you a free will. They stop at nothing to disrupt, discourage, distract, and deflect you away from allowing God to be the Lord of your life.
The Scripture below is an example of what the devil does:
3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing. 4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the likeness of God. (2&Corinthians&4:3~4&rsv)
EXPLANATION: When people read the Bible and it seems to make no sense to them, that?EUR(TM)s because of the devil. Somehow, he has the ability to ?EURoeveil?EUR? their minds from the truth of what God wants everyone do know.
When people read the Bible and it seems to make no sense to them, that’s because of the devil. Somehow, he has the ability to “veil” their minds from the truth of what God wants everyone do know.
Does The Scripture Above Alarm You?
It alarms me, because of all the people I know who are not ready yet to step into eternity. Some think they are ready–but they may not be. Some don’t seem to care. Many have been beaten down by religion, and want nothing to do with anything associated with churches.
The Devil loves that! He so wants to keep you from understanding the Word of God.
Here’s one of the Scriptures where Jesus described what the Devil does:
18 Hear then the parable of the sower: 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom [the Scripture read from the Bible] and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. (Matthew? 13:8-9)
Take Action! Here’s How To Arm Yourself:
Decide NOW to walk in obedience to God. Begin NOW to equip yourself for spiritual warfare first by reading the practical, beneficial information I’m presenting here, and by equipping yourself for spiritual warfare by beginning to put God’s Word into your memory.
How To Defend Y These Ten Things Are High On The List: What The Devil Does NOT Want You To Know:
A Real-Life Example Of How Effective The Spoken Word Of God Is:
One of the reasons God allows troubles in our lives is so that we can show by way of our real-life examples how He works in the life of a believer. The Scripture below shows how God wants each of us to be an encouragement and a comfort to others:
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. (2&Corinthians&1:3~4)
Here is my own story of how God allowed me to be tested — twice. At first, I knew nothing about wisdom from the Bible. But the second time, I was able to stand against the devil. You’ll see how God has called me to “comfort others” just as He has comforted me:
Warning! Beware Of This Trap:
The Devil is likely putting thoughts into your mind right now, telling you to put off doing the things I’m urging you to do. Or he’s telling you it’s all nonsense, or that it’s too much to read. Don’t listen to that voice. Those thoughts are all lies from the devil! That’s how he manipulates us.
At this moment, the most dangerous word in your vocabulary is “tomorrow” (as in, “I’ll decide about that… tomorrow“.)
What I’ve done here is the equivalent of having a personal trainer show you all the types of training equipment and how to use them. But the trainer cannot do the workout for you.
Now you must decide: do you want to keep all your fears, anxieties, panic attacks, and nightmares?
Now it’s up to you.
Victory Over The Devil Is A Partnership With God!
Here is a short quote from another one of my articles, entitled, ” . It makes the point that we must be in partnership with God in order to avail ourselves of His promises.
In many of our interactions with God, there is a part that we can do, and there is a part that only God can do. And until we do the part that we can do, God will not do the part that only He can do.
The book of James helps us to understand God’s “how to defeat the devil” strategy:
Submit yourselves therefore to God.
Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (James 4:7)
There are two separate thoughts here:
Submit to God. Obey Him. That’s the part you must do first.
Resist the devil. As God’s obedient disciple, His power operates through you.
Sadly, most people ignore the first part, and try to figure out how to “resist the devil” with their own strength. But they can’t do it.
{End of excerpt.}
Now I want to share with you an excerpt from a devotional I’ve been re-reading for years. The author, Oswald Chambers, has a way of stripping away our pretenses to reveal our true condition that always opens my eyes to a better understanding of Scripture.
This excerpt is from his classic book, “My Utmost For His Highest”. I highly recommend that you get a copy and read a page every day. Here’s one of the links to where you can buy a copy.
The Authority Of Reality
“Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.” (James&4:8)
It is essential to give people a chance of acting on the truth of God. The responsibility must be left with the individual, you cannot act for him, it must be his own deliberate act, but the evangelical message ought always to lead a man to act. The paralysis of refusing to act leaves a man exactly when once he acts, he is never the same.
(From the devotional reading for November 4.)
Notice the phrases he used:
give people a chance of acting on the truth of God…
responsibility must be left with the individual…
message ought always to lead a man to act…
The word “paralysis” describes the condition many are in:
paralysis of refusing to act…
I am living proof that this next phrase is true:
when once he acts, he is never the same
I’ve quoted a preacher from long ago to help make this point:
“Begin learning the Bible so you can do what it says. Along the way, it will transform your life!”
There Is No Neutral Ground Here!
There are two spiritual kingdoms: Heaven and Hell.
Contrary to the popular culture, there is no third kingdom of “just me”.
With every thought and with every action (or sometimes inaction) we serve either Heaven or Hell.
Jesus said:
Whoever is not with Me is against Me…” (Matthew&12:30,&Luke&11:23)
Everything Is A Test.
God has put before you a multiple-choice test. But notice this: He loves you so much that He’s also given you the correct answer:
I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live. (Deuteronomy&30:19)
So Now, You Must Decide About Two Things:
BELIEF: Do you believe the things you’ve read here? Everything is based on the Truth of God’s Word. And I don’t mean just mental assent to a set of facts. I mean, “Is your belief a deeply-held conviction that you would die for?”
IMPORTANCE: Is obeying God by beginning to put His Word into your mind and heart important to you? If it’s important to you, you’ll do it. If it’s not important to you, you won’t do it.
Here’s Your Part:
Just as nobody else can go to the gym and do
Just as nobody else can practi
In the same way, nobody else can undergo the discipline of learning to
Only you can make the decision to obey God and begin equipping yourself to have victory over the devil.
Getting Bible verses into you is not as hard or tedious as you might think either. Read my article: Here’s what I do: I read each of the Scriptures I want to memorize ONCE EACH DAY!
Would you like some encouragement to get you motivated and to help you get started? Read my article: You’ll see how at first, it will seem like a discipline. But — and here’s the part you cannot see at first — you will begin to experience a desire for God’s Word. You’ll look forward to it. Keep on, and it becomes a DELIGHT! But as I said, you will see this only if you persevere.
Don’t Be A “Jellyfish Christian”!
The devil would like you to just drift along like a jellyfish does.
Do you know what a jellyfish is like? In outward appearance, there is a certain beauty to them. But look at what they’re really like, and what they do:
They’re flimsy.
They’re weak.
They’ t they can’t stand up for anything.
They just drift along with the prevailing currents. You might say they “go with the flow”.
With their tentacles, they sting with venom whatever gets in their way.
With those same tentacles, they reach out and grab what they want.
There are many people who identify themselves as Christians, but are a lot like that jellyfish.
But you won’t be like that, will you? Now you know the truth, and you know how to apply it.
I Know You’ll Make The Right Decision. I Know You Won’t Let The Devil Win!
Resist the devil. As God’s obedient disciple, His power operates through you.
Sadly, most people ignore the first part, and try to figure out how to defeat the devil by their own strength. But they can’t do it.
If you would read that article and begin doing what it says, God will partner with you against the devil.
When you’ve got God on your side (and you do) what else do you need?
you recognize it has faded
you also recognize that it is really affecting you
you want to change
you are asking for help and advice to get back to studying and meditating on it.
Those are all very positive statements.
But, having said those things, you also recognize that you feel powerless to do it is as if you can’t.
Here’s what you need to know:
God has commanded all of us to know Him by knowing His W by reading the Bible.
God never asks us to do something without giving us the means to do it.
That thought of “I can’t do it” that you are hearing in your thoughts is being put into your mind by the devil. Somehow, they have ways to do that.
Besides, you were apparently able to do it in the past, so unless your mental capacity has failed, you can indeed do it.
When you were spending time in the Bible in the past, it was easier to keep doing it than it is to start doing again. It’s just like pushing a heavy box across the floor. It’s harder to get it moving than it is to keep it moving.
Here’s what to do:
Start “small”, but START! Perhaps just read a few pages or even a few paragraphs, but do it every day.
Choose a few verses you want to memorize, and write them on
recipe cards, then read them once or twice every day. This won’t take long, so it won’t seem so hard to get started. You are forming a new habit.
When facing difficult situations, start forming the habit of looking for things that you can praise God for, in spite of circumstances. (Read my article entitled, )
Always remember that the devil does not want you to know and do any of this.
As you begin to recover the habit of reading the Bible and memorizing verses, you will fee the urge to increase the time you spend on it.
Keep Saying These Things To Yourself:
“If it’s in the Bible, it’s possible!”
“If anyone can have it, I can have it.”
“I want to serve God, NOT the devil.”
“Lord I praise you that you have given me Your Word, and that I have a sound mind (see 2 Timothy 1:7) with which to read Your Word and benefit from it.
“Lord Jesus, give me your strength and grace right now to do your will.”
Miebaka, I hope this helps you. Feel free to ask for more. ~Jan
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Once you install Dropbox, we will both get extra space!Words You Just Can't Say | The Perks of the Cold ~(A Jack Frost Love Story)& &
Type @username to go to a profile&&Comments& & Share <img Src="/img/q/u/12/11/12/hotttttttttttt.jpg" onclick="(new Dialog()).showMessage('', '', 'Close');" style="border-radius:2cursor:height:150width:150" class="logo" title="Cover">Imagining my heroes during my childhood was one of the many things that made me smile.
Now, I'm fifteen, and ever since my father died and my mother remarried, my life is a world of Nightmares.
I don't think anyone will ever save me from the pain and torture I go through everyday.Published
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It had been three days, and I could barely move without screaming in agony. My shackles were cutting in so deep they hit the bone. My body was so horribly mangled that just breathing felt like being stabbed over and over. The whole entire room was painted in my blood.
Pitch told me they were coming today. Yah, turns out his name is Pitch Black. Like the dark. Har de flippin har. I&#39;m laughing sooooo hard at the irony. -.- I felt a twinge of hope, but it was quickly swallowed by fear and guilt. If he killed me in front of them, what would happen? Would Jack be able to keep fighting? Because without him, the rest of my beloved hero’s might not be able to beat him. For some funny reason, I wasn&#39;t fearing my own death. I guess it&#39;s because I had realized that the children are more important than me. My sacrifice would be worth it if they could beat Pitch and cast him away.
The floorboards creak, and I squeeze my eyes shut as once again, Pitch enters the room, not hesitating to make himself welcome by kicking me in the stomach. “Get up, you slob. We&#39;ve got guests!” He&#39;s laughing, enjoying his little sense of &#39;I&#39;m a winner&#39;. I narrow my eyes as I get up, biting my lip so I didn&#39;t scream from the pain it caused. Outside the building, I hear the restless jingling of North&#39;s reindeer. I close my eyes, remembering Jack and Bunny, North and Tooth. I smile ever so slightly as Sandy swims through my mind, his hands moving and little faces popping up above his head. I am startled to find tears in my eyes. Maybe I wasn&#39;t so fearless about dying after all.
Pitch shoves me along, unlocking the shackles on my ankles momentarily, though he holds them tightly in his hand. My ankles are in bad shape, with blood-stains covering my legs. The white of my bone showed through the cut, and I shoot my head back up, trying not to barf. He takes me i one with many windows, and very pretty antiques. Taking his foot, he kicked me to the floor, scratching his claws down my back. I screech, but he only ignores it, clicking the ankle shackles on me. Then, he picks me up, bringing me over to a cage. My eyes widen in fear. He connects the ankle and wrist shackles to chains that hold my arms and my legs apart. I sniff as a tear falls down my cheek. Pitch slams the door, locking it with a golden key. “Now, be a good little possession, and keep quiet until it is your turn to be a part of the act.” He laughs, and I look away from him, clenching my fists as they pulled at the chains. Without another word, Pitch exits the room in a hurry, turning the locks, and leaving my bludgeoned body in the cage to wait.
Jack&#39;s POV
“She&#39;s here. And so is he.” I growl, feeling intense pain as Clara is once again harmed. After I had slept for almost a whole day, we had rocketed off to where Pitch was so obviously hidden. I leap out of the sleigh, my staff held protectively at my side. Bunny lands beside me, followed by the fluttering of Tooth, the stomping of North, and the tiny tip-toeing of Sandy. The reindeer shifted anxiously, obviously feeling the presence of fearlings. With a wave of his hand, North signaled us to follow him through the open window. As I leap in, my feet splatter in something wet. Making a face, I lift my foot up, nearly screaming if it wasn&#39;t for Bunny reaching over to cover my mouth. There was blood. Everywhere.
Taking a very shaky breath, I step forward, wincing in mental pain as the squelching of my bare foot hitting the blood puddles echoes through the little room. We make are way out of that room, and into the light, where we can all see clearly. All our feet are covered scarlet. I shake my head, refusing to believe the thoughts that immediately swarmed my head. We&#39;re about to move forward, when a dark figure stands before us. “Jack....” he whispers, and I bare my teeth at him.
Pitch moves further into the light where we can see him in his glorious ugliness. “What a pleasant, and I must say, total expected surprise. I&#39;m surprised your friends could even fit on the sleigh with you, given your oversized ego.” I shake my head, leaning on my staff. “Me and my friends here are being very calm right now. That will change if you do not give us Clara right now. Do you understand me, you glorified shadow.” Pitch&#39;s eyes narrow deeply at that. “Now, now. Why on Earth would I give up such a wonderful possession?” Bunny steps forward, his facial expression scarier than any other. “She ain&#39;t an object. Give &#39;er back. Now.” Pitch raises his eyebrows, just for a second. But then he throws his greasy head back and laughs. It&#39;s a terrible laugh, but it echo&#39;s throughout the building. “Uh.... No.” Pitch says bossily. “I tell you what though. You can see her!” Pitch smiles directly at me, and the unsaid words his eyes speak to me send shivers parading down my body. Something was terribly wrong with her. “Oh Claraaaaa!!!! I have someone who&#39;d like to see you!!!” He cackles, peeking his head into the door on the right. “Are you suitable for company? Oh wait, of course not. But I make this a.... special exception.” With a flick of his wrist, the double doors open, and I walk towards the room without another word.
My heart shatters into so many pieces, the amount cannot be described in a single word. She&#39;s trying to hide herself from me, but it only adds to my horror. Her body his covered in rips and tears, some so deep they still seeped blood onto the floor of the cage. Her beautiful brown hair is coated in scarlet blood, and bite marks rain over her neck. The spots of skin that haven&#39;t been ripped or teared or clawed or broken have nasty, giant yellow, black, and blue bruises, which ripple over her skin as she breathes. Wrists and ankles show bone because the shackles have cut in so deep. Her left arm hangs limp from the restraints, obviously broken. Her face makes tears form in my eyes. Both cheeks have five distinct claw marks running from the top of her cheekbones, to her jawline. Clara&#39;s nose is broken, and juts out painfully far to the side. I can see a bright red mark underneath all her scars from where Pitch must have slapped her earlier. My mouth is wide open, and I close it respectfully, tears streaking down my cheeks. “J-J-Jack....” Her voice is so quiet now, nothing like the excited voice of the girl at Santa&#39;s workshop. My head snaps up, and I strike eye contact with her. Clara&#39;s eyes are literally the only thing on her body not hurt. They remain beautiful, while the rest of her body becomes riddled with wounds so severe they took your breath away. “I&#39;m so sorry....” I whimper, looking away from her again. I cover my face with a hand, slowly wiping my tears away. “N-not yo-your f-f-fault.” I hear, and I look up in confusion through red bloodshot eyes.
Before she can say anything else, Pitch walks forward, breaking my vision of her. I turn to him, fury at its purest raging through me. I threw ice at him over and over again, waiting until he messed up. He never did. I stopped, violently running my hand through my hair. North stepped forward, and I could see tears in his eyes as well. “What do you want. We will give it to you.” Pitch looked at us, amused. “HA! I don&#39;t want anything from you. I want you to suffer, Frost. You cast me into my cell like a heartless beast. I must admit I thought of killing you first. But that was back when I was really angry. But once I heard about Clara? Aha! Much more exciting.” “NO!!” Bunny yells, but Pitch thrusts us back with a twitch of his hand, locking us in a shadow prison.
Clara makes me want to die. She&#39;s so brave, even when Pitch opens the cage, unlocks the shackles, and literally chucks her onto the floor. She only makes a small whimper as her body hits the wood. “HEY!!! LEAVE HER THE HELL ALONE!!!!” I roar, struggling to break the shadow bars, even though they kept on tearing at my flesh. Clara turns to me as Pitch pulls is dark bow, and morphs a single shadow arrow in his hand. “Jack....” She manages to crack a smile, though she is obviously terrified. I look at her, tears streaming down my face as I desperately slam against the bars, trying to get out. Just trying. “PLEASE!!! OH GOD PLEASE!!!” I scream, and I hear Pitch laughing at me as the prison bars cut up my body. Clara looks concerned, and she tries to get up, but Pitch kicks her in the chest. She plops to the ground, too exhausted to try anymore. Her beautiful eyes lock onto mine again, and my heart skips a beat. “Jack.... I-” Her head snaps back forward mid-sentence as Pitch draws his arrow, aiming perfectly. Straight for the heart. I back up a few feet, launching myself at the bars. “COME ON!!!” I yell, punching the bars, kicking them, just hoping somehow they would break. I stop mid-punch as I hear Pitch sniff. “Look at you. You were so measly anyway. You wouldn&#39;t have made it to immortal life, you no good mortal. Die in fear, Clara. Die. In. Fear.” He laughs the most disturbing laugh I have ever heard, and everyone in the cage screams bloody murder as Pitch lets go of the arrow, and it shoots straight at Clara&#39;s open chest. ((v.v
I can&#39;t even.....
Updates coming soon.
Onwards readers.....}