Screwtape and Staying Strong - Day 12

    I hope all of you had a wonderful and joyous Christmas celebration! :) For Christmas this year, I received a couple of C. S. Lewis' most renowned works. Among them was the popular book The Screwtape Letters. Although I had heard of this book many times before, I had no idea what it was about. By just looking at the title, I thought it may have been an exciting adventure novel like The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe or Prince Caspian. Even though it is written quite creatively, this book is far from mere fantasy. This particular work examines the mind and motives of Satan and his demonic servants. 

    Throughout the book, a demon called "Screwtape" is tutoring his nephew "Wormwood" in the art of temptation, and showing him crafty methods of pulling people away from "The Enemy" (God). Although this novel is just a story, it provides great insight into the habits of the dark spiritual world. In one of his letters to the trainee Wormwood, Screwtape shares a secret: how humans can challenge and overcome the efforts of demons.

"Our cause is never more in danger than when a human, no longer desiring, but still intending, to do our Enemy's will, looks round upon a universe from which every trace of Him seems to have vanished, and asks why he has been forsaken, and still obeys." - Screwtape

    In other words, the cause of the demonic world can be overthrown when a person continues to do God's will even when it seems God has forsaken Him. Even though the above quote does not come from the Bible, it promotes the very thing that God commands us to do in Galatians 6: "And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up."
    Sometimes, it feels as if God has left us. There are times when we feel all alone in this world; forsaken, ignored, and unloved. However, the Lord promises that He will never leave us nor forsake us. What we feel does not determine what is true. Although we may feel that God is not with us, we can rely on the truth that adamantly promises He is near (Exodus 33:14, Hebrews 13:5). Although we may feel ignored, we know that if we only draw near to God, He will draw near to us in return (James 4:8, Psalm 73:28). He is only one prayer away. Although we may feel unloved, we know that God loves us more than we can possibly comprehend. He sacrified His beloved Son, Jesus Christ, on the cross so that we - unworthy and selfish people - may spend eternity with Him (John 3:16). 
    In order to resist the devil, we need to stay strong when our emotions tell us that God is not near. When we, as Screwtape said, "look round upon a universe from which every trace of Him seems to have vanished, and asks why he has been forsaken, and still obeys", we are overcoming those who are bringing us low. In times of severe emotion or sadness, remember that the best way to ward of these evils is to hold fast to the truths in God's Word. Pray for the strength to stay strong even in moments of hardship. God bless you, my dear reader!

Dissecting a Hymn - Day 11

    In a culture surrounded with technology and modern innovations, the ancient past can be easily forgotten. In fact, as America leads the modern age, it can be easy to glance at the early centuries as quaint, rudimentary, and unsophisticated. However, previous decades marked eras of tremendous revivals and reformations. Some of the most beautiful hymns were composed hundreds of years ago.
    Lately, I have been listening to a few of the old hymns. There is so much richness in the lyrics - almost like a sermon put to music. :) Since the culture has embraced the contemporary style of worship, several churches have classified hymns as "old fashioned" or "out dated." Although I personally prefer to sing the modern worship songs, I believe that hymns should not be ushered out of church. They deserve to be sung and meditated upon. Take the fourth verse of the classic hymn "In Christ Alone":

"No guilt in life, no fear in death, this is the power of Christ in me. From life's first cry, to final breath, Jesus commands my destiny. No power of hell, no scheme of man, can ever pluck me from His hand. 'Till He returns, or calls me home, here in the power of Christ I'll stand."

Think about the meaning of these words for a moment.

No guilt in life: In Christ Jesus, we are forgiven all of our sins. Although we will daily fail Him, we can be assured that we have forgiveness when we truly ask for it. What a promise!

No fear in death: Death is not the end. We do not need to fear facing an early death (or death at all for that matter) because we can be assured of our salvation. Heaven and an everlasting relationship with God is in our future, so we have nothing to fear.

This is the power of Christ in me: Without Christ, neither of these things are relevant. Only the powerfulness and holiness of God makes these things possible. Only though Him can one face life without guilt or fear.

From life's first cry, to final breath, Jesus commands my destiny: We can praise the Lord for having our future under control. This particular line acknowledges God's sovereignty over our lives. We need to remember that He is One on the throne. He is master and commander of our lives, and decides our destiny. 

No power of hell, no scheme of man, can ever pluck me from His hand: If we cling close to the Lord, He will never let us go. We can be assured that He will never leave us nor forsake us. No earthly or Satanic power can compare with the power of Jesus Christ.

'Till He returns, or calls me home, here in the power of Christ I'll stand: When our time has come to leave this world - whether through the rapture or through death - we can be assured that we will be in Heaven. For the time being, we need to stand strong in the Lord and not waver in our faith. As another hymn wonderfully put it, "Onward, Christian soldiers!"

Take the time and dissect a verse from a hymn on your own. Pray to the Lord and thank Him for the truths you discover. Have a wonderful day, my dear reader. :)