Spiritual Hacking??? A Word from THE WORD!!! #103

Social media has made “hacking” a key word in our modern vocabulary; and it makes our lives a bit complicated when others seek to harm us in various ways by invading our “space”!  I was thinking about this the other day, as I was giving a bit of practical advice to my friends about keeping their media accounts safe, and I couldn’t help but think of the spiritual application to our lives every day. So, I’d like to spend our time together today considering “our options”.  We can pursue confident, secure, connections, or we can go our own flippant way and do what we want without regard to the consequences.  Are you considering your options?  The consequences?  Let’s see what scripture has to say.

“There is a way which seemeth right

unto a man,

but the end thereof

are the ways of death.”  Proverbs 14:12

And Joshua made his decision clear to those around him.

“And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD,

choose you this day

whom ye will serve;

whether the gods

which your fathers served

that were on the other side of the flood,

or the gods of the Amorites,

in whose land ye dwell:

but as for me and my house,

we will serve the LORD.

16 And the people answered and said,

God forbid that we should forsake the LORD,

to serve other gods;” Joshua 24:15-16

Our Lord Jesus IS the only real security that we can have–all else is simply imitation, pretend, or things with ulterior motives.  Will you take the secure path, or fall to the lies of the one who desires to lead you to death and hell?

“Then said Jesus unto them again,

Verily, verily, I say unto you,

I am the door of the sheep.

8 All that ever came before me

are thieves and robbers:

but the sheep did not hear them.

9 I am the door:

by me if any man enter in,

he shall be saved,

and shall go in and out,

and find pasture.

10 The thief cometh not,

but for to steal,

and to kill,

and to destroy:

I am come that they might have life,

and that they might have it more abundantly.

11 I am the good shepherd:

the good shepherd giveth his life

for the sheep.”  John 10:7-11

 Jesus also named this “thief” –the one who wants to destroy lives, incapacitate people, and blind the eyes that men, women, boys, and girls will follow his path of self, lies, arrogance, pride, and rebellion toward God!  Give it some thought.

“Jesus said unto them,

If God were your Father,

ye would love me:

for I proceeded forth and came from God;

neither came I of myself,

but he sent me.

43 Why do ye not understand my speech?

even because ye cannot hear my word.

44 Ye are of your father the devil,

and the lusts of your father ye will do.

He was a murderer from the beginning,

and abode not in the truth,

because there is no truth in him.

When he speaketh a lie,

he speaketh of his own:

for he is a liar,

and the father of it.

45 And because I tell you the truth,

ye believe me not.”  John 8:42-45

So to pull this all together, let’s sum it up with two of the most important passages about the devil from Isaiah and Ezekiel; and just in case you were wondering, we do have a verifying passage that clearly identifies our enemy!  And to be secure we must cling to our Lord Jesus and recognize that we have an enemy who is ever trying to “hack” our spiritual journey, so we must keep our armor on (our two-step verification, so to speak, although our armor takes more than two steps–see Ephesians 6:10-18), and our eyes on our “account IN JESUS”!

“And the great dragon was cast out,

that old serpent,

called the Devil,

and Satan,

which deceiveth the whole world[…]”.  Revelation 12:9

Now, let’s see where pride in our own way can take us!

“How art thou fallen from heaven,

O Lucifer,

son of the morning!

how art thou cut down to the ground,

which didst weaken the nations!

13 For thou hast said in thine heart,

I will ascend into heaven,

I will exalt my throne above the stars of God:

I will sit also upon the mount

of the congregation,

in the sides of the north:

14 I will ascend

above the heights of the clouds;

I will be like the most High.

15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell,

to the sides of the pit.”  Isaiah 14:12-15

And Ezekiel’s account:

“Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

12 Son of man, take up a lamentation

upon the king of Tyrus,

 and say unto him,

Thus saith the Lord GOD;

Thou sealest up the sum,

full of wisdom,

and perfect in beauty.

13 Thou hast been in Eden

the garden of God;

every precious stone was thy covering,

the sardius,

topaz,

and the diamond,

the beryl,

the onyx,

and the jasper,

the sapphire,

the emerald,

and the carbuncle,

and gold:

the workmanship of thy tabrets

and of thy pipes

was prepared in thee

in the day that thou wast created.

14 Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth;

and I have set thee so:

thou wast upon the holy mountain of God;

thou hast walked up and down

in the midst of the stones of fire.

15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways

 from the day that thou wast created,

till iniquity was found in thee.

16 By the multitude of thy merchandise

they have filled the midst of thee

with violence,

and thou hast sinned:

therefore I will cast thee as profane

out of the mountain of God:

and I will destroy thee,

O covering cherub,

from the midst of the stones of fire.

17 Thine heart was lifted up

because of thy beauty,

thou hast corrupted thy wisdom

by reason of thy brightness:

I will cast thee to the ground,

I will lay thee before kings,

that they may behold thee.

18 Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries

by the multitude of thine iniquities,

by the iniquity of thy traffick;

therefore will I bring forth a fire

from the midst of thee,

it shall devour thee,

and I will bring thee to ashes

upon the earth in the sight of all them

that behold thee.

19 All they that know thee among the people

shall be astonished at thee:

thou shalt be a terror,

and never shalt thou be any more.” Ezekiel 28:11-19

So, my friends, will you keep your eyes on Jesus and secure your soul, or will you fall for the lies of “the father of lies” and suffer the consequence?  I pray that we will continually be “fixing our eyes on Jesus”!

Amen and Amen!!!