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I keep getting accused of putting people down but I am just trying to encourage love and forgiveness.

Someone said a murderer was demon possessed. I said they shouldn't call someone demon possessed and somehow I am accused of putting down poster.

That is a normal consensus of those that don't want to think that people are responsible for their own actions. You see if you say they are demon possessed then the blame is all on the demon and not on the individual person.

Hi brother,

I was reading and posting devotions today when I came across one that made me think of this thread. I want to ask how you are doing today and to share this devotion with you.



 "Devil Made Me Do It"

And the LORD God said unto the woman, "what is this that thou hast done?" And the woman said, "The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat." Genesis 3:13 (KJV)

Many of the Daily Devotion's younger readers won't remember the late comedian Flip Wilson, nor will they recall how he always got a laugh when he said, "The devil made me do it."

According to an article carried by the Associated Press, a woman in Arlington, Washington, has done her best to revive that line. Only this time, nobody is laughing.

The 62-year-old lady who had worked for the Arlington Free Methodist Church had, over the years of her employment, forged the pastor's name on over 80 checks. The amount she had stolen amounted to $73,575.18. Afraid she would lose her house; the woman said she used the cash to pay for household expenses.

According to police, the woman seemed relieved her crime had been uncovered. When she was confronted, she said "Satan had a big part in the theft."

As sad as that case is, I am pleased to see the woman has made her confession.

Not too many people do that, you know. Far too many are like Eve who tried to pass the blame onto the snake who had slyly whispered some sinful suggestions into her ear.

To confess our wrongdoing -- according to the apostle John, that's something Christians ought to do. To encourage us in acknowledging our sinful shortcomings he wrote "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9).

Flip Wilson was wrong. The devil doesn't make us do it. He can make it easier and more convenient to sin; he can lead us to think expediency is better than obedience to the Lord. But when all is said and done, we are the ones who do the sinning, and we are the ones who need the Savior.

Thanks be the Christ has come. With faith in Him we are forgiven and cleansed from all we have done wrong.

Amen Pastor Roger!

Hello Brother David and All!

I'm really glad this topic came up, and I think there is much more to say from a Biblical perspective. I'm interested in this topic and want to look more to the Bible for answers - not the world. PLEASE - I'm not saying anything negative about anyone. If I was, I would also have to say negative things about myself FIRST!

Please follow with me a moment and let me see if I can explain what I'm thinking about and what all Christians are probably thinking about. We live in CRAZY, WILD,  INSANE TIMES and not much makes any sense except GOD'S WORD. Living Christians have to live in this EVIL and INSANE world a little bit longer, and things are getting REAL CONFUSING. They will stay CONFUSING and even get WORSE until we start looking at the world from a Biblical perspective - not a world perspective. I doubt that I've expressed my thoughts very well yet, but I hope to do better after getting some rest. I repeat that the only thing left that makes any sense is GOD'S WORD. If we want to exercise any REAL TRUST or FAITH in anything, it had better be OUR LIVING GOD - OUR LORD AND SAVIOUR - because HE is the ONLY ONE WORTHY of our REAL TRUST and AFFECTION WHO will never let us down. Further, HE won't lie to us or try to confuse us. HE speaks the ULTIMATE TRUTH all of the time. HIS TRUTH is many times painful for us because it convicts us of our own shortcomings and failures. We also have the HOLY SPIRIT OF GOD living in our heart who won't tell us any lies about ourselves or anyone else. Some people don't like to hear the TRUTH, and that includes Christians from time to time. Nobody likes to hear about frequent failure, but GOD can't tell lies - even to HIS OWN Children that HE loved enough to die for.

PLEASE - bear with me just a little bit more. GOD tells us the TRUTH to help us, and the TRUTH is always a good thing for GOD'S Children - even if it hurts some. We need the TRUTH to make sense of ourselves and how we should be looking at the evil things happening in this world. The only explanation that makes any sense at all is from GOD.

Brother David, I tried to talk about thoughts on a much broader scale than a single incident in a conversation. I'm talking about a huge picture that is directly from GOD'S WORD - not the world or men. As Christians, we can take our corrections from GOD in constructive and positive ways because we know that GOD'S Corrections are positive and from a position of HIS LOVE AND GRACE. As Christians, we should want that - especially in these horribly confusing times. We don't have to let the world confuse us or get us down because we have a never-ending source of PURE TRUTH GIVEN IN LOVE FROM OUR HEAVENLY FATHER. I WANT THAT AND ALL CHRISTIANS SHOULD! I don't want the evil and lies of the world to confuse me, so what can I do about this? I can go to GOD in Prayer and go to GOD'S WORD as long as I want to every day. I can choose to let GOD'S TRUTH RULE in my life and pray for forgiveness when I don't. That's what our Heavenly Father wants, and that's obviously the BEST for us.

I hope this is beginning to make more sense now, and please remember that I'm talking about the BIG PICTURE, not just an isolated incident. If I totally confused everyone, please allow me to come back with Scripture and let the Scriptures speak for themselves. GOD loves us - HE doesn't want to hurt us - HE IS perfecting us for HIS USE and the Inheritance HE has waiting for us - AND ALL HE tells us is TRUE for our benefit. When we get confused or hurt in this world, we need to go to GOD and HIS WORD and take anything positive or negative from the SOURCE OF ALL TRUTH WHO LOVES US - GOD - OUR CREATOR.

Love In Christ,
Tom

John 10:8-10 NASB  8  "All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.  9  "I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.  10  "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.