A neighborhood should be more than just a collection of houses, it should be a community where people live side-by-side, not only space but experiences and responsibilities. It should be a setting where people can create a peaceful and supportive environment.
A good neighbor embodies qualities such as kindness, and respect. Friendly neighbors help create an atmosphere of trust and openness.
They should respect other people‘s privacy and space, it is essential to understand boundaries.
Many people think Satan is a fairy tale, and I don’t blame them. Who could really believe in an angry bright red guy with goat horns and a pitchfork walking around in hell?
This may sound childish. But that version of Satan doesn’t come from the Bible. Instead, scripture show a real spiritual enemy that we need to take seriously. So is Satan real? Yes. Does he own a pitchfork? Probably not.
Let’s be clear, Satan is a title, not a name. It means “the deceiver” and that tells us most of what we need to know about him. He is a liar, that’s who he is. That Bible describes Satan as being like a roaring Lion, a serpent, and a dragon. Not the kind of animals we would want to snuggle up with.
The Spiritual forces of evil at work in the world are often linked to Satan’s influence, whether through temptation, deception, or even the demons he commands. That’s why the Bible calls satan names like adversary or the evil one.
In the Garden of Eden, satan brought confusion by questioning Eve, “Did God really say…? Then, he tempted her with the same thing that caused him to be cast out of God’s presence -pride.
He promised Eve she could be like God, without needing God. Adam and Eve fell into the temptation, and were sent out of Eden, and out of the perfect fellowship with God.
One moment they were walking with God, the next they were filled with shame.
Satan is alive and active in the world today. He may not be the goofy horned creature a made up cartoon, from artists, but he is a real threat today.
If you’ve ever done something that felt fun or exciting in one moment, then felt cheap, ugly, or hurtful later. That’s what happens when we’re convinced by lies. Satan is how the Biblical authors talk about our desire for short-term highs that lead to lasting harm.
Satan is a liar and he still has power on earth today. He looks like the good life, but then he tries to suck the life right out of you. We can think about porn, addictions, affairs, empty sex, and anything that promises to fulfill our needs without God?
We all have felt crippled by guilt and shame over things we’ve done wrong -big or small. That’s one of satan’s traits. He is known as the accuser of the family of God. Satan isn’t stupid -he’s a liar and an accuser. Pride, lies, and shame come in many forms. That’s why the Bible tells us to be watchful and be on guard against him.
But Satan isn’t as powerful as God.
Sometimes it can seem like the fight between God and Satan is a battle between two rivals. But this isn’t a great way to think about God and Satan. Because Satan is a part of God’s creation, he is completely inferior to God’s power.
Satan doesn’t get a detailed origin story in the Bible. Instead, we get snippets of him lurking in the shadows.
God created Satan. Many believe he went by the name Lucifer before becoming a satanic figure, he’s a fallen angel. This fallen angel became a symbol of rebellion and sin, who influenced many late medieval and popular depictions of Satan, including the infamous image of a little red man with horns and a tail. Yet, the reality of Satan’s power is far more complex and deeply rooted in scripture.
But nowhere in the Bible gives us all the information we would like to know.
So, why does God allow this today? Maybe because God wants us to live in a world with free will and the ability to choose to love Him or not.
As for me I choose to trust God and His infinite wisdom more than mine.
This may sound kind of sad, and while sin is heartbreaking, in the end of the story it really turns out good for those who choose to believe.
Satan will always be a thief who comes to steal, kill, and destroy people. That’s a pretty important thing to know. If you’re feeling robbed of your joy, dead inside, and utterly shattered, you’re right where satan wants you. But there is great hope that Jesus came so we could have life and have it abundantly.
Jesus defeated death. He was the perfect sacrifice for all sin for all time. He gives us the fullest life. God made a way for you and me to be with Him despite all the times we’ve chosen pride and lies over Him.
In the end, it is important to remember that Satan may seek to destroy but ultimately Satan has been defeated by Jesus. While Satan’s lies and temptation may continue to challenge us, the truth of Jesus’s victory in the cross provided the power to resist Satan’s evil influence.
Satan may have authority in this world for a time, but Revelation reminds us, Satan’s reign is temporary. The kingdom of God and the resurrection of Jesus ensure that Satan, and his demons, will be cast into hell and will ultimately be vanquished, and God’s perfect plan for creation will prevail.
So, yes Satan is real. He’s a liar. But he is being defeated every day when we choose what’s right over what’s easy.
The Bible tells us that as believers we have divine protection that shields us from spiritual and physical harm through His power, presence, and intervention.
God can be a refuge, fortress, and can work through angels. This protection is not the absence of trials, but the assurance of His presence, guidance, and strength to overcome adversity by trusting in His faithfulness and love.
The Old Testament this protection is deeply rooted. and promises that God will be a shield and refuge for His people.
Psalm 91 is a powerful declaration of God’s safeguarding presence, with verses like, “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty” in Psalm 91:1.
In the New Testament Jesus embodies divine protection as the “Good Shepherd” who takes care of His sheep. And the Holy Spirit serves as a guide and counselor for believers.
Ephesians 6:10-18 tells us we also have spiritual “armor” to resist spiritual attacks that protect our well-being.
God provides protection in four ways, but be careful not to put God in a box. All things as possible with Him.
His presence: God’s constant presence provides comfort, security, and a hedge of protection against evil.
Angels: Angels are sent to encamp around those who fear the Lord (reverence) providing divine protection and carrying us when we stumble.
Spiritual Armor: We are equipped with the “Armor of God,” which includes the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, and the shield of faith.
Jesus Christ: As the Good Shepherd, Jesus offers ultimate protection from spiritual harm, and His followers are assured of His constant presence.
We can access this divine protection by placing our trust in God’s faithfulness and love in the ultimate source of divine protection.
Praying for protection is a way to invite God to work in our lives, and seeking His strength and guidance.
Abiding in God, by staying close to Him, and dwelling in His presence, by making Him our refuge He will provide deep peace and protection.
Obedience, when we walk in God’s obedience to His will and word we have access to His protective care.
“The Lord will keep you from all evil. He will keep your soul. The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in, from this time forward, and forever more” -Psalm 127:7-8
I seek to live by godly principles like love, which is the most powerful. And faith. I have found that faith in trusting in God -His character, and promises, even when I don’t see the full picture. Without faith it is impossible to please God.
Living a humble life leads me recognize my dependence on God. I try not thinking more highly of myself or others.
I always strive to have integrity. Being honest and moral, even when I think no one is watching. I know God is watching.
I try to live by treating others fairly and stand against oppression and advocate for what is right.
There principles lead me a way of living that reflects God’s character. A person who embraces these values embodies what it means to live a godly life.
I have found that striving to live by these principles has not only made me closer to God by has also changed my life beyond what I could ever imagine.
A spiritual stupor is like a coma where we are spiritually alive, but lack consciousness, involvement, and responsiveness to God, similar to a physical.
It is characterized by spiritual lethargy, a contentment with a superficial faith, neglect, spiritual discipline, like reading the Bible and praying. It’s a lack of conviction of sand, and an overall spiritual apathy. This makes us vulnerable to spiritual deception that can lead to disconnection from our faith and God’s will.
While I believe that the murder of Chalie Kirk, spiritually awakened people. I wonder how many will fall back into to their spiritual comas. I know I felt something shift when this happened. It made me realize I have to step up my game and be more bold.
There are some characteristics of a spiritual coma, that we need to recognize so, we don’t fall back into that trap.
The characteristics of a spiritual coma are:
Spiritual Inactivity: A believer in a spirit of coma that becomes an inactive follower of Jesus, losing consciousness of God in their lives.
Neglect of Spiritual Practices: This is the lack of engagement with spiritual discipline, such as consistent Bible reading, personal prayer, or quiet time with God.
Apathy and Complacency: People in this state become accustomed to routine spiritual practices, lead to spiritual lethargy or contentment with doing the bare minimum in their faith.
Prioritizingother things: spiritual things lose their priority as we focus on or be calm, preoccupied with distractions, other people, or worldly concerns.
Apathy in Worship: This happens when we have a lack of compassion or a heart of worship, leading to shallow in involvement, and not fully experiencing God‘s presence.
Lack of Conviction of Sin: when we are in a spiritual coma, we become less aware of our own sin and more focused on the sin of others.
It’s easy to get into the practice of religion and below by a state of spiritual slumber, where we go through the motions without a genuine connection.
When we are in a spiritual coma, we can be susceptible to spiritual attack and deceptions from Satan. We become not as spiritually alert.
When we are disconnected from God, it can lead to our source of spiritual life, being worldly and lacking sustenance.
We need to make sure we are awakened to the Word of God. When we are encountered with the willingness to be stirred, it can serve as a wake up call and the source of the nourishment of our spirits.
We need to open ourselves up to the intervention of others. Our friend and like-minded believers can provide spiritual support and encouragement, and it reminds us of God‘s truth.
We have to to have the desire to dig deeper. A desire for a deeper connection with God. It’s the realization of the seriousness of the spiritual coma that can lead to deep yearning, and a deliberate choice to reengage with God and have a spiritual life. 
“The task is not to seek love, but merely seek to find all the barriers within ourselves that we have built against it.”
In a world that is fast paced we have gotten used to immediate rewards rather than long term benefits. Our brains are wired to avoid pain and seek pleasure.
The want for perfection and the fear that we can’t overcome. “If I can’t do it perfectly, why do it at all,”mentality.
We can go anywhere in the Bible and learn how to live a blessed life. We sometimes have strongholds that hold us back, that we can’t even see. They are ingrained in us. There is tremendous power in the way we perceive things and the way we think.
A stronghold is basically a pattern that has been burned into our minds that causes us to think or perceive things in a certain way. It was explained to me this way: Satan and strongholds are quite good friends and allies with each other. One of Satan’s tactics is to use our own minds (thoughts) to promote us to build strongholds in our minds, he can use strongholds to torment us and hold us in bondage.
Examples of this are giving us the incorrect perception of who God is, or who we are.
2 corinthians 10:4-5 states that, “For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. throwing down imaginations and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Messiah.”
Ephesians 6:13 describes the spiritual forces of wickedness we face and Isaiah 61:1 speaks of God’s power to bring liberty and healing.
We have divine power to tear down strongholds by taking our thoughts captive and obeying Jesus, rather that’s relying on worldly methods.
As followers of Jesus we are equipped with weapons that are not physical but have divine power to demolish strongholds. And strongholds begin in our thoughts.
Demolishing arguments involves tearing down false ideas and arguments that oppose God’s knowledge.
The power of changing my thoughts and how I perceive things is what healed me from my childhood. Every thought can be brought under control if we make them obedient to Jesus.
That being said, there are symptoms of strongholds in our life. This includes lacking the desire for a close relationship with God, and feeling that God is distant and cold, rather than an intimate, loving and personal. Irrational fears of God will hinder us from drawing near to Him.
Another symptom is a lack of love in our hearts for God, the reason the world doesn’t care about God, is because they really don’t perceive Him correctly. If you find it hard or boring to spend time with God and would rather do other things, then you may have an incorrect perception of Him.
We may Feel unwanted, and unloved by God. For many years, I felt that God was mad at me. I didn’t understand why He let things happen in my life, when I was praying for help. And the truth is, I didn’t want to have a relationship with Him. I just wanted Him to fix everything. I wasn’t ready to make a commitment to following Him.
Anyone who has fears of an unpardonable sin is pretty much guaranteed to have a stronghold. And that was me, in a nutshell. I had a hard time, trusting God in some areas of my life. Trust is the fundamental foundation of any lasting relationship.
When someone has a stronghold , they feel unworthy, guilty, and often suffer from low self-esteem. How can someone who is man-made by the creator Himself in His own image look down on themselves. Stronghold slave, very big part of a person struggle against feelings of low self-esteem. Since thoughts dramatically affects our feelings, if we are constantly seeing ourselves as a failure, we will feel like one.
People who have strongholds can also have shame based thinking. They see themselves as a failure.
If we have a dirty conscience it can hinder our faith. We need to know that we are clean, our faith depends on it. Many churches or leaders have made us feel that we can only take communion at church. When the fact is we can take communion anytime. That’s one of the reasons Jesus died for us on the cross. So, we could commune with God anytime. All we need is a little, red wine or grape juice and a small piece of unleavened bread (I use tortillas). God can forgive us 100 times a day, if we repent and ask forgiveness. Repenting is a deep change of heart, mind, and action, turning away from our sin and embracing a new way of life. It is more than just feeling sorry. Asking forgiveness is the act of seeking grace or a pardon for a wrong deed. Repentance leads to forgiveness. Genuine repentance is a necessary step to receive forgiveness from God.
The key elements of a communion prayer are:
Remembrance: The central theme of remembering Jesus‘d sacrifice for sins, is His broken body and shed blood.
Gratitude: A Prayer that express thanks for God’s love and spiritual benefits received through Jesus’s sacrifice, for forgiveness and eternal life.
Consecration: A Prayer that asks God to sanctify the bread and wine or grape juice as Holy symbols of Jesus’s offering.
Confession and Renewal: asking for our sins to be forgiven and the Holy Spirit to help us grow in faith and love toward God.
Commitment: A prayer that includes a commitment to follow Jesus more closely and live as reflections of His love.
Prayer example: Dear Lord Jesus, I come to you and remember all that you have done for me on the cross. Thank you for allowing Your body to be broken so that mine might be whole. God, we ask in the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this bread and wine. Thank you, for this most precious gift. That washes me clean. Strengthen me to do your will. In Jesus’ Name Amen.
If you’re paying attention, you are able to see the spiritual division between believers and believers due to their faith in Jesus, and familiar societal divisions. The world is being divided. People are calling for unity, but to look around I just don’t see this happening.
I’m Luke 12: 51-53 Jesus says to us, “Do you think I have come to give peace in the earth? I tell you, no, but rather division. For from now on, there will be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three. They will be divided, father against son, and son against father, mother against daughter, and daughter against her mother, mother in law against daughter in law, and daughter in law against her mother in law.”
There will be Spiritual Separation. Humanity is divided into two groups, those who are saved, and those who are perishing, and their stand on the cross of Christ, determining spiritual destination.
Jesus prophesied that his message would cause division, even within families, as people chose between following him or the world (Luke 12:51-53).
In Matthew 25:31-33 Jesus speaks a parable, “But when the Son of man comes in His glory, and all the Holy angels with Him, then he will sit on the throne of His glory. Before Him all the nations will be gathered, and He will separate them one from another, as a Shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will set the sheep on His right-hand, but the goats on the left.”
On Judgment day God will separate people into two groups, often depicted, a sheep and goats, based on their faith in Jesus, and determining their eternal destiny. 
We all have an internal conflict going on in us. In a believer. The division exists between our spiritual nature and our fleshly desires, this is our daily struggle and reliance on God.
In 1 Corinthians 1:18, 2-5 Paul gives an explanation of the message of the cross and creates a fundamental division in the world between those being saved and those who are perishing.
“For the Word of the cross is foolishness to those who are dying, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
“So that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power” (NIV).
God created a fundamental division by separating light from darkness in the beginning. From the very beginning God has shown the division between light and darkness. Showing us that two would exist in the world separately from each other, with light being the dominant force.
When was the first time you really felt like a grown up (if ever)?
I was forced to grow up fast. I grew up with mom who ignored me most of the time, when she didn’t just screamed at me awful things. I learned it was better to stay as far away from her as possible. I have the freedom to roam my town, making decisions that I should have not been able to make.
I had a strong sense of self-reliance. The trouble at 7 years old I made some not so good decisions. And got into drinking and drugs early. To look back it was staggering hoe much responsibility I had to handle so young.
Raiding the first for left overs or mayonnaise sandwiches. Walking myself to and home from school.
I had to interpret grown up emotions to adapt to keeping the peace. I was raised on cocktail independence, neglect and figure things out on my own. I was way too young when I realized that no one cared about what I was going through, or what I was feeling. I craved care and attention and that just wasn’t there. I got the message that I had to just keep going, even if I was not okay.
According to the Bible, there are 4 things worth fighting for. They are, your faith, spiritual freedom, righteousness and justice, and your family. This spiritual combat is waged using the “armor of God” not with worldly conflict.
These four things are based on the Bible:
The good fight of faith. The Bible describes a spiritual battle against temptation, sin, and the spiritual forces of evil, rather than against other py. Fighting for faith means staying focused on God’s truth and promises.
“Fight the good fight if faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called” -1 Timothy 6:12
This means guarding your heart and mind from worldly distractions, submitting to God’s will, and resisting the devil through faith.
2. Spiritual freedom from sin. We are called to actively resist our sinful nature and embrace freedom in Christ Jesus. This is an internal fight against our own desires, pitting them to death for the sake of living in the Spirit.
“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be bordered again by a yoke of slavery” -Galatians 5:1
We should work every day to reject worldly temptations and make choices that honor God, and pursue a godly life.
3. Righteousness and Justice. The Bible repeatedly calls God’s people to stand up for the weak, defend the innocent, and fight against injustice. The key here is to seek justice that aligns with God’s character, not the world.
“Speak up and judge fairly, defend the rights of the poor and needy” -Proverbs 3:19
This means taking a stand against systemic injustice and advocating for the marginalized, acting justly and showing mercy in our own lives.
4. Family. The Bible giving s examples of people, like Nehemiah, being called to defend theur families and honest against those who would harm the,. This fight is for protection, not aggression, and it extends to defending the most vulnerable within our communities.
“Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your families, your sins and your daughters, your wives and your homes” -Nehemiah 4:14
This involves building and protecting a healthy family and home, and using our strength to defend those under our care.
From Pity to Praise 