… for you have been born again not of seed
which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring
word of God.
I Peter 1:23
When we
meet the king face-to-face, we either become more like him or we walk away,
unwilling to submit to his authority.
Remember
when the king cast the demons out of the cemetery man and later drowned them in
the lake? I shared this in the first devotional. The story in The Door comes from the Bible.
While
The Door is a fantasy, the events
that happened surrounding the king are true. If you accept God’s salvation through
Jesus Christ, Satan and his demons will not be happy about your newfound
faith.
*~*~*~*~*~*
From
Seventh Dimension – the Door, a Young
Adult Christian Fantasy:
Descending
from the heavens were beautiful creatures, too numerous to count, decked out in
white. They wore glowing robes of dazzling splendor. As they tended to the man
Baruch called a king, I watched, too awed to speak and too stunned to know what
to think.
A
few minutes later, I regained my senses.
“Now
you know what an underling is,” Baruch said.
“A
coward, a bully, a demon.” I shook my head, still stunned. “Baruch, you did see
all of that, right? I wasn’t imagining it.”
“Heehaw.
Now you know the king.”
—Shale
Snyder and Baruch, the donkey, chapter eighteen
*~*~*~*~*~*
While we can’t see spiritual beings, the Bible
makes it clear they visit us in our homes, at work, and in the car—angels and
demons alike. Who have you entertained lately? Angels in disguise? Or did you
let down your guard? Satan and his demons know how to trip you up.
In
Ephesians 2:2, Satan is referred to as the prince of the air. We don’t see him because
we have physical bodies designed to inhabit this world. I call the realm that
spiritual beings inhabit the seventh dimension.
Scientists
agree there are many galaxies besides our own. Less understood is how many
dimensions there might be. Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, referred to being
taken up into the third heaven. He didn’t know if he was in the body or out,
but it changed his perspective of God and the future.
Here
is something I want you to think about. If part of you changes in the physical dimension,
then it’s going to affect the spiritual realm.
Planet
Earth is the battleground for spiritual activity. While earthly kings go to war
to conquer, demons fight for control or possession of unsuspecting people. The demons
follow the will of Satan, and as they did to the demon-possessed man in
Gadarene, they torture. Even with the demon-possessed man, however, the demons
couldn’t prevent the man from seeking Jesus, who cast the demons out and later
drowned them in the lake.
The
only way to protect yourself from spiritual attack is through the armor of God
(prayer and reading the Bible), and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
Without
going too far into the metaphysical aspect, let’s examine it in psychological
terms. If you respond in a certain way to someone, he will act one way. If you
respond in a different way, his response will be different. That’s a tiny way
of looking at it.
If
you change on the inside because of the Holy Spirit’s work in your heart, the
change will be perceived by others, even on a subconscious level. Remember
Newton’s law from your science class? For every action, there’s always an equal
and opposite reaction.
Your
responses to the world around you will be different because you’re now different.
The Bible says when you become saved, you’re “born again.” Unless you’re born
again, you can’t enter into a relationship with Jesus Christ.
When
Shale returned home, she had undergone a metamorphosis. Her responses to her
environment were different, forcing those around her to respond differently.
When
I was twelve and accepted Jesus into my heart, I felt different. My father
remarked a few weeks later, “You have been acting differently. You seem
different.”
I
wish I had shared the reason why with him. I was afraid he wouldn’t understand,
but I knew why. The Holy Spirit had made a difference in my life.
It’s
very difficult to change yourself. Try to change one habit in your life and see
how hard it is, but when you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, he
helps you to change. Sometimes the changes are subtle and at other times they
are profound.
Sanctification
by the Holy Spirit is a life-long process. God wants you to grow and learn. It’s
in the process that we learn how to live out our salvation. The change in you
will affect the world around you in ways that you aren’t even aware.
Thank you, Jesus, for giving me a new life
in you—that I am born again and alive in you. I am thankful the Holy Spirit is helping
me to become more like you.
