A Country Rag By Faith Alone
By Eunice Soper
"When The Good Became Evil"
It is strange that many who believe in angels and accept the idea of their goodness and helping power often fail to consider that there are also bad angels, who are the exact opposite. We are so accustomed to think of goodness when we hear the word angel, that it is difficult to understand how there could be anything like a bad angel. Let's review the story of the beginning of evil spirits.
At one time in the ages of eternity there was in heaven a "covering cherub," one of the most beautiful angels of all. He was next to Christ in supremacy until the day when he allowed his importance to affect his judgment. He became jealous of Christ and coveted His position until, as the Bible says, "there was a war in heaven" and that angel, who was named Lucifer -- or Satan, or the devil -- was cast out.
As if that were not enough, the angel had so talked and implanted his rebellion into the thinking of other angels, that fully a third of the angels of heaven had to be cast out of heaven along with their ringleader. They came to this earth, the lovely new creation of God, and infected it with the disease of sin.
Then came the day when Satan met his match. Jesus came to the earth to live the life Adam should have lived. He met Satan in a face-to-face encounter in the wilderness. There the evil one put all his temptations into one great effort against the Saviour of the world. He knew this would be his last chance to maintain his supremacy over his kingdom of darkness, and he fought desperately. But thank God, Jesus withstood every temptation. There was nothing in the Son of God to which Satan's evil appealed.
Today Satan and his imps still surround us. Every day they tempt us, subtly at times, or brazenly and openly at others. But we are no longer in their power. Jesus has fought the battle for us and has broken the power of the enemy. We may indeed wrestle against wicked spirits, but we do not wrestle alone or in vain. Victory is assured if we take Christ, the leader of legions of holy angels, with us. With the name of Christ on our lips, the whole host of heaven will be turned out, if necessary, to help us meet our temptations.
Again, thank God for His Son, who made such a victory possible.
"But," you may object after reading the text, "I am naturally quick-tempered."
Listen to this story:
Edwin Stanton, Abraham Lincoln's Secretary of War, had a temper that was a trial to everyone around him, and often made difficulty for Mr. Lincoln. One day he was terribly angry over the actions of one of his colleagues. "I'm going to write him a letter," Stanton raged. "I'm going to tell him a thing or two."
"Do that," urged President Lincoln. "Put all your feelings on paper. Tell him what you really think of him."
Stanton sat down and poured out on paper all the anger he had bottled up in him. At last, proud of his venomous masterpiece, and considerably calmer, he took the letter to Lincoln and read it to him. Lincoln listened without comment until Stanton was through. Then he looked up with a little smile on his face. "Good. Good. Now tear it up and put it in the wastebasket."
Stanton stared. "But you told me to write it!" he blurted.
Lincoln laughed. "Yes, I did. You feel better now, don't you? It has served its purpose. Now throw the letter away. It might hurt someone's feelings if you sent it." Stanton saw the point and sheepishly shredded the pieces into the wastebasket.
You see, Lincoln had learned that there are ways to cool a hot temper. Taking it out on a piece of paper, while at the same time allowing time for calmness and reason to take over, was helping Stanton to slow down his anger.
Is this your problem? Why not try Abraham Lincoln's solution?
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Widely varied in size and structure, picturesque houses of worship cling throughout generations to the Valley's hills and hollers. There's an echo of faith in everyday conversation and an ancient devotion steels Shenandoah residents in courage, humor and grace as they struggle with weather-related and man-made catastrophes. Eunice Soper has written many devotional books, mostly for children. Semi-retired from professional service worldwide for the Seventh Day Adventist Church, she and her husband, Francis, radiate peace, strength and practical good-heartedness from their adopted home in the central Shenandoah Valley. |
CDs, MOVIEs, BOOKs!
Sister Mary Rose McGeady, administrator of Covenant House, writes a very readable monthly on-line newsletter about her experiences with some of the 44,000 homeless and runaway children CH helps each year. Covenant House offers assistance, including food, clothing, medical aid, educational and vocational training and counseling, through shelters in 15 major cities. Their toll-free NINELINE (1-800-999-9999) connects children to counselors and resources in any area.
"Love is the answer to the final question." -- Unknown.Spirit Web: Spiritual Consciousness on the WWW, a site maintained in Switzerland with copious worldwide links, introduces alternate and ancient paths of enlightenment which have become increasingly popular throughout this century, including within Appalachia."The path of knowledge is that of the occultist and the sage; that of love is that of the mystic and the saint. The head or heart approach is not dependent upon the ray, for both ways must be known; the mystic must become the occultist; the white occultist has been the saintly mystic. True knowledge is intelligent love, for it is the blending of the intellect and the devotion. Unity is sensed in the heart; its intelligent application to life has to be worked out through knowledge." -- Alice A. Bailey, A Treatise on White Magic, page 120 ; quote from The Feather of Maat and other words of wisdomThe Hindu Tantric Home Page explores the ancient, complex spiritual tradition of India."And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love the Lord your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, that I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil.... Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them with a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes.... that your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children, in the land which the Lord sware unto your fathers to give them, as the days of heaven upon the earth." -- Deuteronomy 11:13,14,18,21Beth El Shaddai, a small Messianic Synagogue uniting Jews and Gentiles from Birmingham Alabama, updates their informational site weekly with pertinent Biblical history, feasts and holidays, and maintains related web links.
Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn seeks to unite Western abstract and esoteric traditions (e.g. Gnostic, Cabalistic, Masonic, Rosicrucian,...).
"My wish for all of you is that your Light may shine brightly and purely, that your Dark Nights of the Soul may bring you awareness and knowledge. That you may at the last find someone to take on your light and set you free." -- To Serve the Light, an address by Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki.
Word Preserve --
A Country Rag Index
By Faith Alone, text © Eunice Soper, 1998. All rights reserved.