“And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14).
If only we saw sin for what it truly is.
If we could see that sin’s aim is to maim, kill, and destroy…no one would struggle with sin and temptation if sin showed up to declare, “I will you ruin you forever. I will destroy everything you hold dear. My sole desire and goal is to kill everything that is good.”
But that’s not how sin shows up. Sin never shows up in its hideous self. Sin always masquerades itself as an angel of light. Satan can’t ever be good, but he is a tremendous imitator. He deceives by mimicking and imitating the good.
If sin tasted, felt, and looked horrendous no one would give it a second glance. But that’s not how the devil works. Sin almost always initially tastes delicious, feels fantastic, and looks attractive.
But the end is always the same: death, destruction, and eternal damnation.
Be wise, saints. Trust God. Resist the devil by turning to God and running toward him. Keep your eyes on Christ.
“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing” (1 Thessalonians 5:11).
The Greek word for “encourage” literally means “to call to,” “to call for,” “to exhort.”
Notice encouraging another has to do with speaking. To encourage literally means to speak words that build up. Speak in such a way that when people hear your words, they are built up, they are exhorted, they are encouraged.
Obviously, there are times when we need to speak words of correction and discipline. Those are never fun. But even in those instances, the purpose of correction and discipline is to build up the other.
When I was younger, one of my mentors encouraged me to be a thermostat person and not a thermometer person.
A thermometer person can walk into a room or a situation and read the temperature. “This room is too hot!” or “This room is too cold!” But that’s it. They can’t do a darn thing to change the room. But any ol’ fool can walk into a room that’s ninety degrees and tell that it’s steaming hot, or a room that’s thirty degrees and tell that it’s freezing cold.
A thermostat person can also walk into a room or a situation and read the temperature. But, they can do something that thermometer people could never do: they can change the room. If it’s too hot, they can cool it down. If it’s too cold, they can warm it up.
Any ol’ fool can see that our world has lots of problems. But that’s not what God’s called you for. God not only wants you to correctly read the room and the situation, but God wants to use you to change the world for the better. In fact, God wants to establish his kingdom here on earth as it is in heaven!
I appreciate what Thomas Merton wrote. He said, “Speak words of hope. Be human in this most inhuman of ages. Guard the image of man for it is the image of God.”
What our world desperately needs aren’t more thermometers walking around talking about all that’s wrong in the world.
What our world desperately needs are some thermostat people who can change the world and impact it for the good.
“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing” (1 Thessalonians 5:11).
