Book Study

Welcome, Question 2

Comments

1. I do agree with Margie, I do feel we can be oppressed by Satan, too many times we choose the dark side of life, also As GOD tells us over and over There is the power of Life and Death in our tongue. I see it everyday. We speak ourselves into many problems without even knowing it.

   Posted by Sharron — 12 Jun 2008, 13:14

2. I?ve thought about this question a lot, and I don?t think so. I think that we oppress ourselves, the devil is just there to tempt us along the way. I think that we give too much credence to the devil. We often seem to talk about things in terms of almost a competition between God and the devil, but that would imply that God and the devil are equal, peers, etc. ? but that?s not true. God wins every time. In fact, wasn?t the devil a fallen angel? So, with God on our side, we could never be oppressed by the devil, unless we choose it. Maybe the devil is like that person in our life who we think is a friend who talks us into doing something that we wouldn?t or shouldn?t do and isn?t good for us or the right thing for us. And maybe the devil is the voice inside that keeps us from being free ? the ?lures to captivity.? ps

   Posted by Patty — 12 Jun 2008, 13:19

3. I understand where you are coming from, but I think we can be. God is with us as often as we call on him. I think the presence of the holy spirit in believers prevents "possession". I agree that God wins and that He is more powerful than the devil, but I think its also true that God let the devil have the freedom to run loose in the world. Part of the deal made when hSatan was "thrown out of Heaven". God also gave us the weaponry/armour to fight him and that is Himself. I think we compartmentalize our lives (putting God in a box) to such a degree that certain areas of our lives can be used by the devil for his gain. What is it I've heard, the devil doesn't care about us until we get too close to God and then he goes after us full bore to separate us again. mcr

   Posted by Marge — 12 Jun 2008, 13:20

4. I agree with most everything said, especially Marge's response to Satan. If we aren't careful, we really do open up the door for him instead of God. And sometimes that includes trying to be nice to someone instead of speaking up for what's right. You know, we live in such a politically correct world this day (I don't). And sometimes we try not to ripple the water with saying what we know to be correct.

   Posted by Sandra — 12 Jun 2008, 13:34

5. One of the things I took away from the "Passion of the Christ" is the devil who was always circling..... looking for an opening, a weakness....cheering us on when we are making bad choices..."Screwtape Letters" by C. S. Lewis is great for pointing out how the devil uses "small" things to trip us up....my daughter Rosemary has a friend who went to a church retreat about leaving the past behind and went to church the next Sunday....out of the blue a friend from his past (bad past) dropped out of the sky and moved in with him.....totally back to his old life....not all things that happen are so easy to spot! KH

   Posted by Kathy — 12 Jun 2008, 13:37