Evil Influence.

Who controls us? Are we influenced by others, by principalities and powers unseen?  Surely most reading this (I kid myself that there are many reading this) believe that it's crazy to think we can be influenced by UNSEEN POWERS.

People can easily understand the influence of others around them. How many people have ended up in jail because they 'followed' their peers into illegal activities just because they felt the influence to do something that left to their own devices they'd never dream of doing?  On the other hand there are those who have been influenced to do good things they wouldn't have done otherwise, following the people they are around. Yet to believe there are UNSEEN powers surrounding us that do have real influence over us is stuff of crazy people talk, right? That old saying- 'The devil made me do it.' Is something people say but don't really mean.

We truly believe that those who may be aware of unseen influences are mentally disabled, and I'm not going to say none of them are, I have no way of knowing. I do know that IF you believe in JESUS CHRIST then you have to believe in EVIL SPIRITS. Jesus cast out a lot of evil spirits affecting the lives of people in many different ways. Some were totally incapacitated by the evil spirits, others were sick with chronic illness, still others were rendered lame, blind and so on and so forth. The control those evil spirits had over some of the people Jesus cast the spirits out of was horrific. Forcing those they inhabit to commit vile acts of abuse on people and on themselves, terrorizing people, these were just some of the things the evil spirit controlled people did. If we believe JESUS then we know evil spirits exist and have influence over people.

Not everyone is taken over by evil spirits, I think the majority of people are simply influenced just enough by the outside influence to keep them from truly accepting Jesus Christ as Lord of their lives. That's all Satan really wants, people who are not in truth, Christ's. He could care less if a person spouts Christ day in and day out if they aren't truly Christ's at all. Read the following….

'Whenever a person’s inner man heeds the dictates of the outer man, he loses contact with God and is rendered dead spiritually. “You were dead through the trespasses and sins in which you once walked” by “following the desires of body and mind” (Eph. 2.1-3).'  The Spiritual Man - by Watchman Nee

Eph 2:1  And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;

Eph 2:2  Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:

Eph 2:3  Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

Before accepting Christ as our Savior, as a REAL part of our life, a person walks according to the world. A person walks according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit working in the children that are NOT Christ's. In our past we ALL had our conversations along the lines of our flesh lusts, our desires of our flesh and minds. By nature we were the CHILDREN of WRATH.

Walking according to the world. Walking according to the spirit of disobedience.

These are realities that we need to face, not ignore, not pretend do not exist.

When we follow the desires of our bodies and minds, over the desires of the spirit with God guiding us then we are following the spirits of disobedience.

May we REALIZE just how REAL and influential the evil spirits can be in our lives and as we are allowed to recognize this, may it lead us to seek a much closer walk with Christ, with the Holy Spirit, with God the Heavenly Father. We are lost without Christ, completely and utterly lost. May we NOT be deceived! May we be KEPT from EVIL as Jesus prayed to the Father for us!

All through the LOVE of our SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST!!!! Now and forever!!!!!!!