A Noble Berean

  In the bad times Not only are we vulnerable to demonic attacks in the good times, but we're also vulnerable when we're in our deepest, darkest times, when the trials and tragedies make us feel broken-down, fragile, exhausted, and hopeless.  (Definitely been there!)   Satan will kick us when we're down, taking advantage of our exhaustion and weakness, trying to get us to doubt God and His Word, to give up on Him in despair, to blaspheme Him, or to act outside of His Will in some way, taking matters into our own hands.   Goodness gracious, just look at what he did to Job in the Bible!  Relentless.  And Job was a godly man who didn't invite these attacks by disobeying or neglecting God.  So imagine how much more vulnerable a less godly person would be.   [I wonder if that's why Job's friends accused Job of sin, of doing something wrong to invite God's severe discipline.  They just didn't want to believe that a righteous man could get attacked that way - b

  Today we're going to look at a general time we're vulnerable to Satan's attacks, when we need to be alert, discerning, and careful.  And we'll look at a few more in the next posts.   ( I looked at fear, specifically, in  the last post .  So I won't cover it here.)    T he more aware we are of his schemes, the more we can recognize and resist them.   And notice it's "schemes" -  Ephesians 6:11 :  "Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes"  - not willy-nilly, shot-in-the-dark attacks.  These are strategically-planned attacks, tailored to you. Satan (demons) knows each of us, our weaknesses, desires, hang-ups, etc.  He's been watching us our whole lives (and watching humankind for millennia).  He hears what we say, what we mumble under our breath.  He knows what we read and watch and listen to and gaze at.  He knows when we discreetly peek at something, when we take an intentional second glan

  (Some of these quotes might've better fit the  "hell and justice"  post, but I didn't find them in time, so I put them here.) Some Calvinists seem to think that it's most God-honoring to rejoice about hell, to celebrate the fact that Calvi-god predestines non-elect people to hell to show off his justice, for his glory.  They  sensationalize the glory of it all and say that it's better for the elect that there are people in hell.   They say that if God gets glory by predestining people to hell [they're wrong!], then it's wrong to get upset about it.      Of course, most Calvinists don't go to that extreme, but it's quite sickening when they do.   C. Matthew McMahon  ( The Two Wills of God ,  pg 349 ):  " The saints should delight in the reprobation of the wicked... We come to understand and praise God concerning the damnation of other people.  We understand that we could have been what they are.  We contemplate their eternal destiny, and