Walking Around

Walking Around

12/16/17

How many of us do this activity without even thinking about being in an uncomfortable place?  It does not matter where we walk in ease for it is not a common factor to worry about an insult approaching while we perform this basic function.  But we have an enemy who likes to walk around as well and show off his presence and he flaunts his presence while everyone continues their own walk.  Why don’t we recognize his presence?  It is because we do not consider him to be a threat in our lives and until we do notice his presence and then do something about it he will continue to destroy our lives without hindrance.  We can change this setting if we turn our hearts back to God and allow Him to open our eyes to the dangers our enemy actually poses to us.  God is beckoning for us to heed His voice before it is too late and He has to grab our attention in another manner.

In my line of work I am constantly walking around my section of the hospital, over in the main hospital, and as you have read in past articles I have a made a path in-between the two buildings as I cross the parking lot numerous times in a day.  On very rare occasion do I ever worry about my safety when it comes to walking around the hospital complex, for the only time I do worry is when I begin my cross of the parking lot and having to look both ways before crossing because many people like to go the wrong way and thus posse a huge risk to people on foot.  But as I walk around I do not even consider what is around me for I am assuming all is well and that everyone is supposed to be where they are assigned.  This is a safe assumption and up until this very day, no real ugly incident has occurred to threaten such walking conditions.

But at the same time we have patients, patient’s family members, and other visitors who come into our facility that are not always in a good mood and have some type of issue with the care they or their loved one might be receiving, so what about these people and instances?  Of course, we must take heed to these environments when presented but still after the incident is over we return to our daily activities, talk about it of course but mainly forget it and go on with our freedom in walking spaces.  But we must consider these potential ugly settings because they are real and at some time will pose a threat to the peace and order of the area and this brings up the question of how should we be ready for such instances yet be calm and seemingly in control at the same time?  This is a vital question with a spiritual answer that will serve us both in the spiritual and physical realms when applied.

My wife and I occasionally walk around the local lake which is about 1 ½ miles in circumference and takes about twenty-five to thirty minutes to complete.  The pace is casual and convenient and we get a lot of talking done when we are completing this task.  We have people pass us running, fast pace walking, or some ride past us on a bike and while these paces differ from ours it is ok for it is all part of the normal setting that is around us when we participate in this wholesome activity.  While some of the people that hang around could be considered ”shady” they stay away and do not pose any problem to those in the area, and to be honest, we do not even consider them to be a threat and continue our walk without interruption.  But as mentioned above we do not know what their heart and mind hold and we do not have access to their thoughts so we must endure their presence and keep their presence in mind just in case.  Ignoring them will not cause them to go away but only solidify their “comfortable” position which is exactly what they want.

There have been some reported assaults on some of the more isolated portions of the lake path and it has been asked by the local police and sheriff departments that anyone who wishes to walk the path should do so with a friend or companion just to make sure that everyone stays safe.  So far, this information has done the trick and there have not been any serious violations occur, but we all know that when we deal with the human mind anything can occur and at some point in time will.  It is not unknown that these types of settings occur and that we all need to be able to defend ourselves when and if violent people approach.  So why is it so difficult for us to achieve such techniques?

There has been a similar pattern of pacification to many of the people around the world that seek to harm us on our own shores.  It is frightening to imagine that we would not be doing as much as possible to stop such potential disasters no matter who these individuals or groups may be or where they originate from.  But our safety has become a political game and bargaining chip that is tossed around like a flipped coin thus establishing a conditional foundation of faith and trust on the human being to behave them.  There is a consistency here that worries me and it worries God as well for it is one that is a voluntary decision and one that we are currently living under.  Not only have we taken this stance with the physical individuals and groups that exist around us but we have taken the identical stance with our spiritual enemy as well and it is this very idea and condition that Peter recognizes way back when he walked the earth.  The Church fell for it back then and we have never recovered from it and it is eating away from our insides without any process to stop it either.

For the last week or so we have been discussing 1 Peter 5:8 and it is this verse that we will continue with today.  1 Peter 5:8 states: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:”  I have learned so much from this verse over the past month or so and I continue to hear from God each time I study this verse’s content.  It has come alive to my spirit and I love to teach its content to others because it is relevant and vital to our protection both in the spiritual and in the physical.  So, this installment will be about our enemy walking around us and how we need to recognize his position and how he is walking around as well.  These two words that Peter uses here come from the Greek verb “peripatei” which means to prowl about and refers to an individual or being doing such action.  While this may not seem to mean much to you and is not surprising at all but there is a condition here that is assumed by both sides that need to be addressed and when understood should shed some light on our enemy and why he is able to accomplish such actions.

First off, these two words demonstrate the authority the enemy has over the world and how he is comfortable in this position.  It is these two words that give us another example of how Satan is in control of this world and it was through his own actions that gave him control of this world.  One huge and gigantic detail that we tend to forget about this truth is that Satan is defeated and has been ever since he tried to challenge God and it was through this losing to God that established his destructive and eternal hatred for anything that God created.  This is nothing new for us to hear but it is how we live our lives and what we tend to accept as the truth that causes problems for our lives and places us in chains of our own accord.

We know that Satan is walking around us and trying his best to get us to succumb to his tricks and thievery.  And as each day passes we watch on our screens many people fall and end their lives on some terrible note due to these actions by our enemy.  It is gut-wrenching to watch story after story and to hear the words of loved ones and friends talk about how the subject of a story was tortured by the actions against them and most importantly not to hear one single word about God or how God was present in these lives.  I do not mean to be harsh or rash here but what do we expect if we do not have God living in our hearts?  The enemy does not take time off for holidays or family reunions he is ever present and is doing what he wants because we do not recognize who he is and what he is doing around us.  He is walking freely and at his leisure and without any hesitancy whatsoever because we have bought into the lies of whom the enemy really is.  Our enemy is not God, it is Satan and he is tagging us off one by one while our spiritual lives are watching his teeth sink into our hearts and drawing our spiritual breath from our lives.  It is this portion of the verse that Peter could not have left out for he was watching it occur to the physical and spiritual portions of the Early Church.

All my life I have heard many sermons from preachers and teachers saying that Satan is hurriedly running around so that he can get his job done before his time ends.  While this statement is correct it also serves as a false sense of security to everyone who lives for it leads us to believe that we know who we are and who our enemy is and it is this statement that has cost countless amounts of lives for we do NOT know who our enemy is and more importantly we do not understand OUR position in this world.  In the book of Acts, we find that the church was united as one and the fire of the Holy Spirit came upon them and set the congregation on fire and countless numbers of people came to Christ.  Where is that coming together and movement of salvation today?  This is occurring because Satan is and has been allowed to walk around in his comfortable state, he knows his time is short but at the same time he also knows that he has a door of opportunity that allows him direct access to our lives so why would he act anything different than this type of “casual”?

Secondly, we come to the reason why Satan has the audacity to walk around like he owns the place and can intimidate, haunt and devour seemingly whoever he wishes.  This arrogance and portrayal of a lion on the prowl come from the lies that he has spread about us.  Yep, that is it and to top it all off he has masqueraded the truth so much that he actually controls every word that we now speak.  We fail to recognize the real truth because we have fallen for his lies about our existence for so long that we now live in such muck and mire instead of recognizing our true worth.  God created each animal to have the ability to protect themselves from every predator yet we watch millions of animals die in the jaws of their enemy because they did not heed the truth that was in front of them.  Yes, these animals heard the roar of the approaching dangerous position but did nothing about it until it was already chosen as the one to die at that moment.

We were NEVER created or meant to be prey for our enemy, for we were designed for perfection at all times and to live as the eternal prized creation for everyone to witness.  In no fashion imaginable were our lives even be subject to such a tragedy yet through our own choices we are now capable of being totally devoured by such a disastrous ending.  It is because we have chosen to allow Satan to take charge of our lives that we find ourselves in the category of prey and thus vulnerable to being devoured.  It should be a no-brainer to be on alert and to use every possible defensive measure against our enemy when he attacks but we have interpreted the Word of God so much for our selfish patterns that we have no stance when the enemy attacks.  That is why we are in the shape that we are in and why we have no clue of why the issues that present themselves today are doing it as they are.  Can you hear the laughter?  You should because Satan is laughing so loud that it is deafening.

It is not difficult to see such casual walking strolls that Satan is taking for he has us so discombobulated amongst ourselves that he does not have to worry about being noticed as he takes his daily walk around.  It is also evident that we care nothing about the roaring that he is giving us as a “warning” for we cannot hear such a sound while we are looking at each other and shouting that our demands and rights be recognized, all of which are from his own design.  We have fallen into this trap without any hard trickery from him, in fact, we have encouraged him to walk around because we imitate his walking instead of the one who created us.  The most dangerous portion of this walking around by our enemy is what he is accomplishing.  His plan is and always has been to destroy our lives and if he is allowed to roam freely without any hindrance, we are sunk and have no chance of living as we were created to live.

He has us so confused that we deal our own lives a death hand because when those who recognize such activities are immediately shut down and silenced through the laws that he has told us to create.  Worldly equality might be a hopeful physical state but it is a spiritual and eternal farce because the origins of such plans are not from God.  We blew that equality a very long time ago and it shall not be regained until we are in the presence of God again.  Satan’s plan, his ONLY plan for your life is your eternal separation and eternal death from God and he has done a pretty good job at foiling God’s eternal plan for all of us.  There is a reason Satan is walking around and that is to ensure that he is the instigator and overseer of your demise and destruction.

Church, it is our job to tell people that God loves us and that Jesus died for their sins.  But we cannot do this unless we understand exactly who our enemy is and what his ultimate goal for our lives is, and the only way to fully know this is to completely, 100% separate us from the world and its standards for if we are tied to this death trap in ANY way our view of God and His eternal truth shall be skewed and limited.  God has never been limited in any capacity it is our idiotic acceptance of Satan’s kingdom that has limited what God had meant by our creation.  We have fallen down and instead of allowing Jesus to pick us up and heal our wounds we have accepted the hand of Satan and what he has to offer.  We as the body of Christ cannot deny this statement for we have immersed ourselves so much in the world that we no longer can determine what is from God and what is from the world.  We have solidified our walls of our spiritual heart with worldly trinkets and have decorated our Bibles with fleshly interpretations that highlight our Jesus clothes.  ALL of which are sickening to the nostrils of God for we have totally forgotten that His Son’s bride shall be perfect, which is a bruised knuckled, dirty and messed up haired work of perfection.

You ask why my description of Jesus’ bride is as such?  Think about it, if our enemy is allowed to walk around in such a manner as in a casual fashion that means whoever decides to act according to what the Church is supposed to do and with this given picture in a minority of the population, then she shall have no choice but to fight for the truth.  It will not be a pretty sight when this occurs for the forces in the world are strong and are numerous and is a force to be reckoned with, not allied with.  This is why the description of Jesus’ bride IS ACCURATE because it is what we are supposed to do, fight against the roaring lion and the one who walks around uninhibited.  Peter found the early Church in this state and made a bold prediction concerning their state and God is making the same plead with His people today.

Church, it is time to repent and to once again allow God to live victoriously and 100% within our hearts.  With all of the items and felicities that are being brutally exposed we should be at a point of where we are trying to work together in coming back to Christ and repent so that we can move in the correct direction.  How can we sit around and watch our enemy look at us and then proceed to destroy other people’s lives at the same time?  He has the unabated ability to accomplish such atrocities because the Church is ineffective in her life’s mission.  Repent Church, and allow God to return our dead and dry bones into one body that is alive.  Pray for the dying world and o and teach them that Jesus is the light of the world and that their path is being led by a being that only wants to see them die.  Now is the time that we set our enemy back on his heels and stop his flaunting around without any care at all.  The way to do this is to drop the world and everything we have allowed to be carried and to look him in the eyes and proclaim the Word of God again.

DLB