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Parent’s Alert!

Parents, may I have your attention?

   In my book, Fiery Darts: Satan’s Weapon of Choice, Chapter Seven deals with a phenomenon I refer to as ‘The Stirring’ which occurs during the time of adolescence,

 During the time of adolescence there is a stirring that becomes keenly apparent to girls early on and typically to the guys a bit later. It has been assumed by our society that this stirring heralds the beginning of “the search” for a future spouse and as a result girls and guys begin counting the days when they will become old enough to date…  p. 51 FD
…During this period, “the senses of our young people are quickened to anything that speaks of romance.” p. 51 FD

   Considering the vulnerability of our young people during this challenging but exciting time, never has it been more critical for us as their parents to become savvy as to the execution of Satan’s plan of attack in using fiery darts. I am awfully afraid we parents will need to allow the Holy Spirit to do some surgery on our own thinking before we will be prepared to guide our children safely through this adolescent period. In my opinion, Chapter Seven is as much for the parents as it is for the adolescent, for by reading and meditating on the information therein much of our own misconceptions regarding this period of life will be exposed. Then we will be prepared to guide our children over this tumultuous sea safely to the other side. 

…Our culture is quick to expose our adolescents to all sorts of romantic encounters on television, in movies, books and depending on the ability of the adolescent to access it, it can be pretty graphic. During these encounters our children are taught all about love and romance from society’s perspective; a society that pretty much rejects anything God may have to say about this subject. Then they file this misinformation away into their memory banks and draw upon it as they become more and more consumed with the search. p. 51 FD

   Over the next few blog posts, I will attempt to expose Satan’s plan of attack in deceiving parents as to what it is he is attempting to steal from our children. For God has some pretty wonderful plans for them in the area of relationships!

Christians at the polls; or not! Point No. 4

OR, No Vote; no voice!

OR, No Vote; no voice!

 

Point No. 4

My one vote doesn’t matter.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiGfXr88iYE

The Fiery Dart of Excuse No. 4

This fiery dart has been used for so long that you would think people would be wise to it.  Alas, it still finds receptive minds and successfully imbeds its poison into these minds. Satan blinds Christians (those who don’t bear the conviction that voting is a God given responsibility) from seeing that they are 60 million strong!  He isolates them and thus convinces them that they are alone! A dangerous place for anyone to be, much less a Christian.

However,

Here’s the truth that shoots the above excuse clear out of the water!

The video puts it this way, ‘You take one vote, based on biblical values, and multiply it by millions of other votes based on biblical values and what do you get? A landslide! It starts with one vote!’  Our beloved America is in trouble. Christians, we need to remember that we are a formidable force, if we will only band together!

I came across an article that proves and I mean proves the power of one vote. You have just got to read this:

 http://www.adawipartnership.org/Attachments/Voting_OneVote.htm

Wrapping things up next post, Point No. 5

 

Christians at the polls; Or not?

Are You Registered to Vote?

Do You Vote?

May I share something Dr. James Dobson said about this?

 

http://defendchristians.org/news/the-numbers-dont-lie/

Dr. James Dobson rebuked Christians, “I think it is a disgrace that half the Christians in America aren’t even registered to vote, and of those who are, only half go to the polls… When we withhold our influence and participation, we yield by default to those who promote immoral and destructive policies.”

     Lots of Christians do not vote and some are even registered but do not vote! In trying to explain why a Christian would make any of these two choices, I searched the internet to see if I could find an explanation. The above is a product of that search. (By the way, click on the link provided for more insight into this voting issue.)

     On another search, I came across a video by David Barton of Wall Builders, entitled 5 reasons why Christians don’t vote. I have heard all of these justifications before and they were made by people who I feel are genuine Christians. Obviously they are frustrated, discouraged, and overwhelmed by what they see going on in our beloved country today.  All reasons to throw up your hands and quit, they feel!

    I would like to share these reasons in the next few blog posts, one by one, and draw a conclusion as to the influence of fiery dart thinking that manipulates Christians to stay away from the polls on voting days.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiGfXr88iYE

1. Christians shouldn’t get involved in politics.

     Why? Well, the obvious reason is because it’s a dirty business, and as Christians we should avoid getting ourselves dirty.  That statement does contain a bit of truth, doesn’t it! But beware! Is it truth (little-t) or Truth (capital-T)?

Satan continues to confuse us as to what is truth and what is a lie. I realized by his taking a bit of truth and wrapping it around a lie, Satan had masterfully manipulated me into considering the corrupted truth and my sensitivity toward the lie lessened with every temptation. p. 20, FD

     So, in my next post, I will delve further into reason No. 1 and hopefully expose it for the fiery dart that I believe it is!

Truth vs truth!

Please note that this post will remain current for one more week.  Felt it was a message that needed more opportunity to sink in, so to speak!

                                                                                Who should I listen to?

Who should I listen to?

Who’s telling you the Truth?

Let me explain the above caption.  You might notice that I have capitalized the word “truth”. That is not a  typo. I did that on purpose.  For if you’ve read my book, you are familiar with the contrast between Truth and truth.  But for those of you who haven’t  yet read my book, allow me to share this excerpt from Fiery Darts: Satan’s Weapon of Choice 

As we become less and less familiar with the Truths of Scripture the mindset of truth that is determined by the world and our experiences with that world begin to make more and more sense.  But remember, it is corrupted truth because it fails to recognize the standard of Truth, which  is God and His Word! 3   p. 27   

Truth or truth

(You get to choose! ! ! !)

The above illustration depicts the inner conflict (with a different twist) associated with fiery darts.  In this depiction the conflict is not between good and evil but between Truth (which has its basis in Scripture) and truth (which has its basis in worldly logic).  Allow me to elucidate!

A young lady is struggling trying to fit in with her new church friends. Yet, they are not making it easy for her.  Also, she has recently entered into a relationship with a young man who is nice enough, but does not offer her the spiritual support she needs to identify the best solution to the problem.

A woman, struggling with image problems, (which includes just about the entire female population) often fights a loosing battle when it comes to resisting the negative influences of  fiery dart thinking.

In the first illustration the young lady is so wrapped up in the world of wonder of this new relationship that she is not willing to admit that her dream guy has become a distraction from hearing Truth (good angel in the picture).  The common sense truths (coming from the bad angel) make a lot of sense to her.  So as she focuses more and more upon the truth thoughts, her ability or desire to focus on Truth thoughts diminishes.

In the second illustration a woman must understand the battle being waged between Truth and truth, before she can secure a victory.

In each case a choice has to be made as to which type of thoughts will be favored.  Often this choice is influenced by how much we know of God’s Word as opposed to how much we know of the mindset of truth of the world.  If the scales tip in favor of the world’s truth and we add the weight of our own desires, then its pretty much a given that we will make choices that do not please God and will not be for our good.  Eventually, we will realize this but by then we will have become so entrenched in fiery dart thinking that we won’t be able to see or understand that there is any other solution.

THE REMEDY!

The remedy isn’t rocket science, although the fiery darts will attempt to convince you otherwise.  It’s really quite simple:

1.  Prayer (consistent & honest conversations with God)

              2.  Being familiar with the Truth’s of Scripture

These two remedies applied often to what ails us, will empower us to recognize the fiery dart thoughts that are bombarding our minds.  Once they are identified as fiery darts, then their power to rule our attitudes and actions fizzles.  The more we focus on God’s advice then the healthier we become IF we apply it, of course.

Remember this:

. . . the Enemy has a plan as well?  Scriptures are obvious in describing Satan’s plan in John 10:10a, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy;…” (NIV)  So what is it that the Enemy desires to steal, kill, and destroy?  The answer is obvious – anything God has planned for us!        

            The second half of John 10:10 reveals an aspect of God’s plan for His children, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (NIV)  FD, p. 1

You get to choose, so make choices that reflect the 2nd half of John 10:10, not the first half.  AND if you don’t already have my book, please order it asap.  Just type in the title, Fiery Darts: Satan’s Weapon of Choice, to place your order.