Prayer Journal

Tuesday, December 9, 2003

An untold number of Christians will today fall prey to forces that prove too powerful for them to defend. They will be drug away in a spiritual slumber to a place from where they won't easily return. The enemy will unveil himself someday and laugh at the subtle trickery that proved their demise. But don't look for that to happen until the deceit is finished and that person has lost faith and taken others with him.

"How can this be", you might ask? Even through the face of an innocent, perhaps even kind moral friend, "nice" people are being used by the devil. They inadvertantly lead Christians into into a life of "acceptable" sin where they become anesthetized to God's word and godly counsel. Back-slidden? Yes. Apostate? That too, if their spiritual slide is not stopped short of a self afflicted sin-induced spiritual death.

The Bible speaks plainly of such cunning on Satan's part. When a person looks around and sees there are no Christian friends hanging with them, they should get a clue - at least you think they would. Instead, it's almost as if the unsuspecting believer is given a dose of a supernatural drug that prevents them from seeing plainly. The longer they're in such a state, they find less and less strength to resist temptation and turn from evil. And what exactly is the poison apple that puts so many believers to sleep? When did their moral compass lose magnetic north? That's easy. It began with "wrong association" and it will end that way for too many believers.

2 Corinthians 6:14-18 speaks of the separation between the believer and the world (unbelievers). After all, Paul asks what possible thing can a Christian have in common with someone who doesn't know the Lord. They don't like the same things; they don't share the same conviction(s); they don't go to the same place and they don't do the things the other does. Or do they?

If you're reading this and you don't get it, you've got a spritual problem that may prove your undoing. If you consider yourself a believer and heaven your home, but enjoy hanging with the lost and spending time with them instead of being in God's house with other believers, you've been duped and stand deceived by the master deceiver himself. Is there any hope for you? Sure.

If you've read this far, the first step to reversing sinful tendencies is logical: STOP doing it! If you ever get past this step, then ask God's forgiveness as well as those with whom you gave the wrong impression. (See Jonah 1:7-14) Next, change your habits by filling your heart with God's word: hear it, read it, study it, memorize it, mediate on it; apply it, believe it and confess it. Finally, you should act the way a citizen of heaven should act and when you're ready help someone else overcome their sinful addiction to wrong association as you did.

Millions of people have been saved from wrong association. But right now the only person that's important is you. The only question that remains is will you stop it or will it stop you?

Just Thinkin'... WebServant

Scripture comes from the Holy Bible, New International Version; (c)1978 by New York International Bible Society

Copyright © 1998-2003 James R. Green and Prayertower Ministries
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