Bug Juice

Oh, wow. Overwhelmed by the past day's events, I have been struggling all morning to find truth. I hate that! I do so well for so long then, slam! I find myself feeling like I've been splattered all over the front of a semi truck like a bug. I am bug juice. It's funny, that's what we call my son from time to time. He was coined 'bug juice' after he repeatedly, at full speed, ran himself into a wall and then slid down it like a squashed bug to his baby sister's delight. He loves his baby sister. More than that, he loves being the center of attention. It's really quite entertaining when he does it on one of the glass walls inside the Chic-fil-a play area. You get the full affect, the cheek pressed up against the wall and everything! Splat! Then, smeeeear... Well, I find myself feeling like bug juice today, and not for entertainment's sake.

I love my friend, Judy. She's always a wealth of knowledge and insight for me when I'm in the midst of one of these 'moments'. Judy rarely spews her thoughts and opinions all over me like a motion sick child with a belly full of carnival food on the tilt-o-whirl. Which, might I add, is a rare quality in a friend! That's why I call her. She gives me truth. God's truth, which really is the only kind there is. What we perceive to be truth isn't really truth. Take for example the fact that Pluto was once a planet. That was the truth five short years ago, today not so much. Man's truths change. God's truths do not change. What is true is true when dealing with God. Oh, a breath of fresh air to my lie polluted mind! My mind has been choking and gasping all morning in the thickness of deceit as it desperately struggles to breathe! Me? Dramatic? Never.

What is spiritual warfare? Is it merely the fight contained within one's mind? Is it the struggle between good and evil which comes from your flesh combating your spirit for control over your body? Okay, that's Bible! But, what about any kind of outside sources? Do you believe there to be demons assigned to people just as angels are? Is that far fetched? From what I know of Satan, he seeks to try to imitate God in all things, the ultimate phony. So then, why would the idea that he assigns his 'fallen angels' to people just as God does be so ridiculous? Of course, his associates are not here to be messengers, protectors or guides as God's are. Quite the opposite, actually. Think about the Trinity. God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit make up what we know as the Trinity. Believe it or not, Satan has his own "counterfeit" trinity in the beast, the false prophet and the anti-christ. That's just one example of how Satan tries to be like God. What a poser.

I know the struggles I have! I also know that once I take authority over my thoughts and attitudes I have won the battle! I'm curious where these thoughts come from, or where they can come from. I believe the ones who are on the front lines in the Lord's army are known to Satan. I believe, just like Job, Satan is very much interested in bringing the righteous down. Are you on Satan's radar? You might be. Am I on Satan's radar? I hope so! I'd like to think that through my life multitudes will come to know Christ. Maybe not right now and maybe not in the near future, but throughout my lifetime I'd like to think that I will have affected multitudes in building the Kingdom of God. I believe those who are dead set on living for God are very much on Satan's radar and he sends his minions to try to derail them. That's what he did with Job! Actually, in this instance Satan decided to deal with Job himself.

Make no mistake, there is a real battle going on all around us that we cannot see. Also, there is a battle going on inside of us that we cannot see. At times we can see the inner struggle for what it is, and at other times we are completely blinded. Do you remember the Tom and Jerry cartoons with the little angels and devils? Tom, or Jerry, would need to make a good decision. So, an angel would appear on one shoulder and a devil on the other. The two characters would argue with one another and try to persuade Tom. I'm not saying we have little devils on our shoulders telling us what to do, not at all. I am convinced, however, we can have demons all around us trying to influence us to their fiendish pleasure. Absolutely!

I never want to give Satan or his demons an opportunity to laugh at me from the flat of my back. Be on guard. The struggle is real whether its source is from outside or within. The enemy comes to kill, steal and destroy you and those you hold dear. There aren't any exceptions or age limitatioins, he will destroy all he can. My current state of juicy-ness is proof that he's out there at work to bring us to our breaking points. Is he out there personally? I don't think so, there's only one of him and he can't be everywhere at once! But, I do believe he has special plans of wickedness in store for those who love the Lord. He doesn't want us to endure...

I'm going to make an attempt at peeling myself off the truck and going to try to get some work done today.

Signed,
Bug Juice