Give your life to Jesus Christ and you'll recognize in a hurry that there is a war going on for control of your life. That war is between God and a very real and subtle devil. That is why it is so awesome to get filled with the Holy Spirit so that we can recognize the signs and sounds of the battle and choose Jesus every time. We covered 5 points in Part 1. Here are the final 5 areas where you must recognize the difference between the views of God versus those of Satan.

6.  View of two "directional stations" (Satan's frequency versus the Holy Spirit's)

       Man’s Way James 3:14-16

“But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.”

       VERSUS

       God’s Way  James 3:17, 18

“But the wisdom that is from above is pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.”

7.   View of the sin of spiritual adultery (In bed with the world versus "In the world, but not of it")

         Man’s Way James 4:4

“Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”

VERSUS

          God’s Way I John 2:15-17

“ Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.”

8.   View of the body (A fun house for Satan versus a tool kit for the Holy Spirit)

        Man’s Way (appetites of the flesh) I Corinthians 6:13a

“Foods for the stomach and the stomach for foods, but God will destory both it and them.”

         VERSUS

         God’s Way (passion for the Holy Spirit) I Corinthians 6:13b, 6:19, 20 

"Now the body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.”

9.   View of the material ("I want it all now" versus "I want what lasts for eternity")

         Man’s Way Luke 12:16-21 

“Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: the ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. And he thought within himself, saying, 'hat shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?' So he said, 'I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul, soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.' But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?'”

         VERSUS

          God’s Way Matthew 6:19, 20; I Timothy 6:19

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destory and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.”

"Storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life."

10.   View of what it means to be "born again" (Mere head belief apart from a changed life versus faith that is validated by a changed life)

        Man’s Way James 2:19

“You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!”

         VERSUS

        God’s Way 2 Corinthians 5:17

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

A Challenge

Ask God to give you a voracious spiritual appetite for the Word of God. Consider Bible study and prayer (daily devotions) more important than food or getting dressed (and you know how vital they are). Then you won't remain a mere babe only nursing a spiritual bottle. Instead you will become a mature disciple being nourished on the strong meat of the Word and able to discern the difference between good and evil.

"For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But soild food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil." Hebrews 5:12-14 

"Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ" (I Corinthians 11:1)
The ST. PAUL SCHOOL, with Frank Eiklor, Eileen Young and Cecilia Contreras