Satan is Accusing you before God RIGHT NOW!! Revelation 12-17

Revelation 12:10

Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying,

“Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night.

The majority parts of this section of Revelation is the wrath of God poured out on disbelievers.   God takes disbelief seriously and rewards it properly.   In the midst of the wrath poured out on man it is important to see what God does to Satan, the great destroyer and deceiver.   He deceives man and he attempts to bring man down with him.  In this verse we see that Satan is the great "accuser" of the brethren.   He stands before God, as in the days of Job, and hurls accusations about us in front of God.  He doesn't just do this as a hobby ... when he has time to do so.  He does it "day and night" before God.  This is Satan's main hobby.  He simply wants to show God that His children are wicked and sinful like he is.  Those who don't believe in Christ and have no imputed righteousness can only tear others down to make themselves feel comfortable about their lives.  People put others down to build themselves up.  They learned it from the great deceiver/accuser: Satan.   Thankfully believers have Christ to stand and make intercession for us "night and day."   So, when Satan makes the accusation, Christ stands up and says, "Paid for!" and shows God His scars.   It would be nice if sometimes He could say, "Not true ... that is just not true what is being accused."   The problem is the accusation is true.  That is why He Ever LIves To Make Intercession for Us!  Note the next verse in the text about our "overcoming" Satan's accusations:

Revelation 12:11

And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.

Do No Harm to those you Love - Song of Songs 5-6

Song of Songs 5:7

“The watchmen who make the rounds in the city found me,

They struck me and wounded me;

The guardsmen of the walls took away my shawl from me.

The watchmen in the city had the responsibility to protect the citizens within the city from anyone who would want to harm them who was on the outside of the city.   In the passage above we read that the watchmen actually attacked one of their own.  When the bride went looking for the groom (an apparently lovers quarrel or lover's spat) the watchmen didn't protect her, but, thinking she was a not one of the citizens wounded her and, taking her shawl, embarrassed her.  Since how you interpret the book determines many verse by verse application, it is difficult to find a majority interpretation of what is happening here.  Since I believe that the best interpretation is that this is an actual story of love that "can be" applied to Christ and the Church, I believe the application in this verse is that sometimes those who are meant to protect hurt those who are in their same camp.   Sometimes church members hurt each other in the name of protecting the church.   Sometimes family members mistakenly hurt other families members, even though they are in the same family.  Love, when lost in the hearts of men, sometimes isn't love at all.  Instead of protection we have pilfering.  What God is telling us here is that if you are the "watchmen" you need to watch who you harm and who you protect.   If you are the "citizen" you need to be careful wandering the streets with no direction and recognition as a subject of the city.   Be careful of of others.  We should protect our own and do no harm.  

God made today's weather - Psalm 146-148

Psalms 147:18

He sends forth His word and melts them (the snow);

He causes His wind to blow and the waters to flow.

Psalms 148:8

Fire and hail, snow and clouds;

 Stormy wind, fulfilling His word;

When most people think of "God's Word" they probably think of the Bible ... His written word; recorded and preserved over time.  They would not be wrong.   The Bible is God's message to man and has been preserved for generations.  However, there is more to God's Word than this Great Book.   In these two verses from these Psalms we see that it is God's sustaining Word that controls the weather.    If He wants the snow and wind to blow, He does so.   In 147:17 He asks, "Who can stand before His cold?"   If you live in Michigan in the winter you know how to answer that question.   We don't think much about God and the weather.   We complain about the weather, as though it is our nemesis and out to destroy our wonderful plans.   But, God has a purpose in all of the earth and the weather is no exception.  The next time we complain about the weather we ought to first take thought of these two verses.   God sends forth His Word and melts the snow, or He sends forth His Word and brings hail, snow and storms.   We may not like the weather and fear its destruction, but like all parts of creation it is at His biding.   Because of sin in the world even the weather can be destructive and a tool for damage.   In the story of Job a strong wind was used by Satan to destroy Job's children.   In Elijah's day the rain was stopped to show God's judgment.   In Noah's day the rain was used to destroy sin.   At Jesus crucifixion the sky drew dark (in the middle of the day).    In Jonah's rebellion God used a storm to get him tossed into the sea.   God uses the weather to stop the world.  He uses the rain to bless the farmer.   God directs the weather.  Quit complaining about it and embrace God sovereign will.   

God's law are not arbitrary - Esther 1-5

The law(s) of the land are sometimes built on false wisdom and on contemptible situations.  So, we see here in counsel given to King Ahauerus by one of his servants and advisors: Memucan.  The situation of the Queen not coming to the party when the King ask is certainly a contemptible thing ... if your the king.   If your the Queen it is a different story.   Her failure to "comply" to the King is not grounds for dismissal ... unless you are the king.   The story is about two people full of pride.   Maybe a third person full of pride, if you count Memucan, the advisor to the king.  He wants the kings ear.   The king wants the queens body.  The queen wants her privacy and autonomy.   So, we see this is no time to create a law.  Yet, that is what Memucan proposes.   He turns a situation more suited for marriage counselors, into a congressional act and produces a law; that will never be able to change.   Man's justice and legal system is a farce when you understand the legal and moral "system" of God.  God does not arbitrarily make a law based upon ego and envy.  God's law and justice is based upon His perfect character of love, mercy and holiness.  He does not punish on a whim.  He does not demote us on a whim when we fail to "dance" in front of Him.   His perfect holiness and love met at the Cross.  He crucified His only Son so that we could have His righteousness.   Man creates laws in knee-jerk reaction to the ego and envy that lurks in his heart.   Not so with God.   We can not measure up to God's Law but He provides His Son in our stead.  Man's law can only condemn.   

God's Will is right in front of us - Deuteronomy 29-31

Deuteronomy 30:14

But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may observe it.

Believers are always talking about "God's will" and finding it.   We search for it as though it were some secret path, object, journey hidden in the bushes of life.   We don't realize that God's will for our lives has been preserved for centuries.   "God's will" has been a best seller in our society for decades.   "God's will" is found right between Genesis 1 and Revelation 21.   As the nation of Israel was about to depart into the promise land.   To assure they would follow God in "His Will" God gave it to them.   He simply told them.   In the above verse we see that God's desire for us is not far away.   It is right in our mouth and heart.   Moses meant that the Words he just spoke them and had written down and placed along side the Mercy Seat, were now in their mouth and in their heart.  They had "digested" the Word and that was what God wanted for them.   We don't have to seek some hidden, unexpressed Word from God.   If we spent our entire time on earth simply obeying His written and revealed Word, we would be exactly in God's Will.   Don't spend your life looking for a secret when His revelation is right in front of you. 

Don't be so open minded - 2 John

2 John 1:10

If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, and do not give him a greeting;

Christianity prides itself on being hospitable, amicable, and accepting.  You can turn to many passages in God's Word that even enforce and teach just guiding principles.   However, our societies pressure to make sure we "accept" all things and "abide" by all things is not a Biblical or Christian concept.  It is fostered from Satan, himself.   It is a lie from the Father of Lies.   In John's day, toward the end of his life, the church was fully under attack by false teachers and leaders who the god of this world was using to lead the People of God away from the truth.  The denied the Deity of Christ and the Work of Christ.   In John's day they were false teachers and were to be treated as such.  We are told today to not be "unloving" toward those who oppose our views.   We are to be open to the things of the world, especially different life styles and different views about morality and, even, ethics.   Yet, John was quite blunt and quite narrow minded in his views.  His warning to "his children" was that if someone denied Christ's came in the flesh (in other words, "Christ's Incarnation ... That He was fully God and fully man), we are not only to keep them out of our house, we are to not even greet them.   (The reference to our "house" would be another way to refer to the early church as they often met in the homes of believers to worship.   This letter in particular is to someone who is using their home for worship.)  We are not to be "open" minded to false teaching from someone who denies Christ is Lord and Savior of the World.   That includes "anyone" who rejects Him.   We can be civil and we can, like Christ, show forgiveness for ignorance.   But, we are not to open our minds to their teaching.   We are to stand our ground, which might not look very hospitable, amicable, or accepting. 

Are you ready to defend your walk with Christ - Acts 23-24

What is your response when you are arrested for the cause of Christ and accused of false behavior?   How would you respond to a conspiracy to take your life because of your testimony for Christ?   If the religious leaders surrounded  you with false accusations and brought those false accusations to the unbelieving authority in the world, how would you defend yourself?   

We might answer all those question with one simple answer, "I have never and will probably never have that experiences."   Paul's life is not like ours today, but how it could be in the future.   For centuries in our society Christian principles were adored, if not woven tightly into the constitutional fabric of our country.  However, those times are changing.  It is no longer vogue to be a Christian.   We are only years from outward, societal accepted,  persecution.   So, perhaps the questions ought to be phrased in the future tense: What will out response be when we are, soon, persecuted for our faith?   I can only hope that my response will be the same as that of Paul when brought before his accusers and the unbelieving authority set up to hear his case.    Note how he stays on message:

Acts 24:14-15

But this I admit to you, that according to the Way which they call a sect I do serve the God of our fathers, believing everything that is in accordance with the Law and that is written in the Prophets; having a hope in God, which these men cherish themselves, that there shall certainly be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.  

He goes on to say a little later:

Acts 24:21

other than for this one statement which I shouted out while standing among them, ‘For the resurrection of the dead I am on trial before you today. ’”

If we hope to stand for something in the future we have to be preparing ourselves in the present.   We will never be persecuted for our faith if we don't stand for Christ.    When we stand for Christ we have to put our faith firmly in His hands and our security firmly in His care.   Paul was ready and did stand for Christ.   Are we ready and willing to do the same?