What a tense week we went through waiting for more news of what retaliatory actions the USA wants to take and when this will be and what impact it would have on our lives. The news had been repeated over and over again and I would imagine that the pictures of the airplanes slamming into the twin towers as well as the face of Osama Bin Ladin have been well registered in our minds by now.

Such a tragedy and yet there is good news. The devil (you have seen his face in my mail last week) was targeting mass destruction and maximum deaths. Initial reports of people missing or dead/ buried were in excess of 20,000 but by the grace and mercy of God, the number of people missing or dead is close to only 6,000. Another amazing thing was that the number of passengers in each aircraft was less than 100. The normal passenger load at that hour (morning rush hour) is normally double that, if not higher. Also I have heard reports from friends as well as reading via the Internet how God miraculous delivered some people literally from the grip of death and they are alive now to share their accounts. Praise the Lord.

The devil meant evil and wanted to drag many down with him. He knows his end is around the corner and he wants company. However, God can turn this evil around and make it work for good to those who love Him and who are His own. Have you made the decision to be His child? If not, why don't you take the time and do that immediately.

You must have wondered why I chose such a subject matter to share with you this week. Indeed, the Bible says in 1 John 2: 1-2 that Jesus is our Advocate before the Father.

1 My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

2 And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for us only but also for the whole world.

The chief and favorite past-time enjoyment for the devil is to accuse us of what we have done (and that is why the Bible calls him the accuser) and to remind us of our failings. In the Old Testament, we read of him going before God and accusing God of being unfair by protecting Job and for showering Job with all those material possessions. Well, guess what? God allowed the devil to take away all of Job's possessions except his life. God allowed the devil to test Job and see whether Job would still love God inspite of the loss of everything including his children. Praise God for Job passed the test. After nine months of sufferings, Job prevailed to the end and hung on to his faith in God and in the end God blessed Job with double of what he had before.

When the devil, through the High Priest and the Roman Governor, crucified Jesus on the cross, they were only thinking of getting rid of Jesus humanly speaking. However, they did not take into account that Jesus would die for our sins in fulfillment of the prophecy in Genesis 3: 15 and put "paid" on the requirements of God through the law. The death of a righteous man (one without sin) is what the law for payment of sin requires. Now Jesus is more than a righteous man; He is God Himself and because of Who He is, He became an overpayment of the price.

Imagine a court scene. On one side is the devil (prosecution) and on the other side where the defence counsel is supposed to be, there is no one there and you are in the witness stand. Seated on the bench is God the Judge. Imagine the trial has started and the prosecution has a field day belting out accusation after accusation and you are just standing there taking everything in and struggling to defend yourself but you cannot. The devil enjoys every moment of it and with each accusation, he gets bolder and more lies are thrown at your direction. It is a lost cause and you know it.

Now if you are a believer in Jesus, the scene changes. No longer is the defense counsel seat empty. Jesus becomes the defense counsel. Because of what Jesus had done for us on the cross, now each time the Devil wants to come before God to accuse you, you need not worry any more because, in the passage of scriptures quoted above, Jesus is also now standing before the throne of God representing us and each time the devil starts to accuse you, all Jesus has to do is to stand up and show Himself to the Judge, God our Father. The nail prints on His hands, His feet and the hole on His side are evidences of His love for us and the accusations will have to be dismissed. What a wonderful piece of news for us! ALL our sins, past, present and future (for when Jesus died two thousand years ago, all our sins were in the future) have been dealt with and the devil no longer can use them against us. The devil does not have any case against us. And this frustrates the devil. He cannot touch us no matter how hard he tries. Yes, he tries to make circumstances work against us, like the WTC disaster but with God the Father on our side, we can hold our heads high and claim upon His protection.

The apostle Paul, in Romans 8: 31 - 39, tells us that nothing whatsoever can separate us from the love of God.

31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?

33 Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies.

34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us,

35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

36 as it is written: "For Your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter."

37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come,

39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Once we belong to Jesus Christ, we are grafted into His love and nothing can separate us from God. The only One who has the right to condemn us is now on our side and He will fight our battles for us.

Isn't it great to know that Jesus became the Sacrifice for us on the cross and at the same time, He is now standing before the Father and making representations on our behalf? He is our Big Brother and He fights our every battle for us. Jewish lawyers are reputed to be the best in the world and now we have a Divine Jewish Advocate in Jesus Christ. We will surely win the case. In fact the Bible states that the devil no longer has a case to present. He knows he is defeated so do not allow him to bother you.

Next time, whenever you feel downcast, demoralized, dejected, remember that Jesus has already won the battle and we rest on Him and we can drive the accuser out of our midst and give praise to Jesus our Risen Lord and Savior. What joy this brings to my spirit and my soul. Praise the Lord.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you now and forevermore (2 Corinthians 13: 14). Amen.

Best regards,
Andrew L W Lee

Dated : 22 September 2001