Tag Archive | prayer

Fiery darts defined!

Jan4

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   In conversation with my grandson, after my 3rd edition of Fiery Darts: Satan’s Weapon of Choice was published, he asked me a very pointed question. “So what is a fiery dart?”

If you have wondered this too, read on.

   First, while Satan cannot read our minds, he can influence our thoughts. Thus, the Bible instructs us to “put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes”  (Eph 6:11 NIV)

   So how do we recognize fiery darts? Examine the effect the “suspicious thought” has on you. Does it produce confusion, fear, doubt, anger, inferiority, indecisiveness, jealously, judgment, or selfishness, for example?  p 53, 3rd edition

   A negative action is often the result of negative thinking. Understandably, if Satan can negatively influence our thinking, then the temptation to act negatively will be hard for us to resist. p 27, 3rd edition

   A realistic view of our areas of vulnerability, or weaknesses, in our flesh, or sin nature, is vital for understanding how the Enemy will attack us. While each of us may have different areas of vulnerability, we need to understand that our area of weakness will be the prime target for Satan’s fiery darts. p 29, 3rd edition

   When a person becomes a Christian they are given a new nature, one that is the direct opposite of their old nature. Formerly, their will was directed by their old nature, but at the point of salvation, their old nature was dethroned. Their will is now directed by their new nature. … With this comes a hunger to study the Bible and to maintain consistent communication with God through prayer. The old nature, the flesh, resists such desires. Eventually, Satan arrives on the scene with his first and most formidable fiery dart—tempting their old nature with powerful distractions, making it harder and harder for new believers to commit to consistent Bible study and time in prayer. p 44, 3rd edition

Therefore,

  If our (Christians) clarity of right and wrong has been diminished by infrequent time in Bible study and prayer then our vulnerability towards Satan’s temptations (fiery darts) is seriously compromised. And those temptations can influence our minds to think negatively.  

    If we allow ourselves to continue avoiding these two disciplines (bible study and prayer), then, our will is more easily influenced by our flesh and is drawn more to the world. Our attitudes and actions will begin to contradict the choice we made to follow Christ’s example. The weaker we become in our Spirit, the more easily we can be manipulated by Satan’s fiery darts.p 47, 3rd edition

To Wrap it Up

Fiery darts are the temptations of Satan.

Fiery dart thinking is the result of giving into those temptations. 

 

 

Cedar trees and fiery darts!

Jun7

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   Recently, I came across an article written by “the pioneer woman’s husband” (wow, the cool thing is that with this little bit of info most of my readers will know who I am talking about) God bless ’em!

http://thepioneerwoman.com/blog/2012/03/why-we-chop-down-cedar-trees/
. . . cedars look like harmless little trees. But left unchecked, those little trees will eventually produce thousands of seeds and spread across the property like wildfire. As they get bigger and more populous, they will eventually shade out the grassland and crowd out the better varieties of trees. I’ve seen many pastures where cedars have completely taken over an area, reducing the grazing capacity by seventy to eighty percent.

   For those of you have read my book, Fiery Darts: Satan’s Weapon of Choice, perhaps you thought, like I did when I read Mr. Drummond’s article, “umm, that sounds rather familiar.” I knew immediately where to look for that familiar thought and found it on page 25 of my book.

   Perhaps we have taken more seriously the larger weapons of temptation:  “For from the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual immoralities, thefts, false testimonies, blasphemies.” (Matthew 15:19, HCSB)   What’s going on in our heads, the thoughts we have though not necessarily evil, aren’t taken as seriously as these larger temptations. For example, the confusion that keeps us from taking a step of faith would not be thought of as a serious temptation when compared to something like the temptation of sexual immorality.   So it’s pretty clear why the subtlety of a fiery dart is such an effective weapon. For those initial thoughts, while not as alarming as something like sexual immorality, if left unchecked can lead to gross sin. p. 25, FD

   I am a visual learner and in reading Mr. Drummond’s description of the destructive power of seemingly harmless looking cedar tree seedlings, I got a high definition picture of why we should take negative thinking (fiery darts) more seriously. 

   I have discovered in living life and in writing my book, that seemingly harmless negative thoughts (fiery darts), if left unchecked, will eventually produce an ever growing crop of lies. As they become more populous those fiery darts will begin to crowd out God’s Truths, and our ability to distinguish between the lies of fiery darts and God’s Truths will be severely diminished. 

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There is a two-fold plan to prevent this from happening:

1) stay close to God in prayer

2) stay grounded in God’s Word

Breaking Free!

Sep23

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I read of so much pain, depression, struggles with peace of mind, unhappiness, misplaced priorities, lack of purpose, following after the world, and the list goes on. But it all comes down to being in bondage to negative thinking.

There is a way to break free, my dear readers. The key to unlock this bondage is found through prayer and in God’s Word. My book, Fiery Darts: Satan’s Weapon of Choice, reveals the plan.