Casting Spells

The spells I cast are done under the influence of the great deceiver, Satan. He has influenced our collective minds (which God created, by the way) and they have become part of what appears as an extraordinarily powerful force that can do anything. I didn't say “can do just about anything.” I said “ANYTHING!” But anything that's not done in conjunction with Christ, is doomed to fade away, die, and deteriorate back into dust. So, though our collective minds appear to have an amazingly powerful influence, in actuality, when our minds are being influenced by Satan and are left to their own devices, they are doing nothing but making illusions that are similar to those irritating pop-ups that come on our computer screens. They come into view, linger for a few seconds then fade out of existence quickly. Our minds, influenced by Satan, therefore completely rebellious and totally untamed, look like they are producing something tangible, real and useful, but in truth, as we wave our self-indulgent magic wands, they are really only making puffs of smoke. It is all but a vapor, destined to vanish.

Haven't we figured out by now that this physical world is not our true home? Haven't we learned that with God, all things are possible but, in our own strength, nothing of eternal value is possible at all? Without Christ, we perceive ourselves as nothing more than these frail, often sickly physical bodies, which we reside in for too short a time. While we have been created by God and, though we have the same attributes as He does, we have fortunately not been given carte blanche in the “creation” business. In His wisdom, He has withheld unlimited power from our personal grasp.

Though we, like God, are essentially spirit, without Christ, our Savior, our minds cannot create anything of a lasting nature. God shares His mind with us and gives us free will, but if we don't voluntarily line up our will with Christ Jesus, we have lost our way and aren't functioning properly. In fact, it is rebellion which the Word declares is witchcraft. In other words, anything we try to do with our minds, outside our Lord and Savior's influence, is done under the influence of Satan and, therefore, subject to deterioration and collapse.

Why is this? Because Jesus Christ is the way and Satan never is. Satan urges even those who profess to be Christians to be prideful and self sufficient. We, then, steeped in our own will, fall into a pretend relationship with God, in which we build false foundations and teetering structures. These soon begin to fall apart quite quickly, even though they appear for a time, to be something of substance. In this carnal world, when we, in our rebellion, try to make “something” of ourselves, we will eventually come to failure or disappointment because we are missing God's plan and purpose for our lives. No matter what we accomplish on this earth, without Christ, it is spiritually and eternally fruitless. Our job is not to try and achieve something great for God, rather it is to discover who we are in Him (once we've accepted Him into our hearts). Then, as a glove fits a hand, as a slipper fits a foot, we will find our fulfillment and purpose is to do God's will through Christ Jesus. No other purpose we would make for ourselves will come close to the satisfaction we'll get when we press into Christ and work with God instead of separately from Him. This part of our “awakening” is especially difficult to recognize because, truthfully, we FEEL as if we are awake and functioning just fine. However, until we have pressed into Christ and have submitted our wills totally to Him, we are merely finding new ways to control the steering on our ships of life. If we are not yet in Christ, we view all the structures of the world, be they physical or mental in nature, and determine them to be of vital importance. But we are slumbering, not awake. Our imaginations have gone awry.

Awakening cannot happen any other way than through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. As we submit our minds, our perceptions, our everything totally to Him, our itty bitty reality begins to expand, becoming a mighty reality, focused in Christ. We are no longer subject to the jerky, jarring, java-like induced hyperactive appearances, so rampant in this world. This carnal world is like a wild dance, as we move in darkness, strobe lights constantly snapping pictures of us in our wild gyrations, our wild dances of death. We wander, both fascinated and repelled by all the world's mad movements, always hoping none of it is true, but always jumping to the ultimate sad conclusion that it is. But wait! In Christ, the facts are in. Jesus reports confidently that we are not to judge by appearances! The world's macabre moving picture that so captivates us, is not true at all. We are instructed by Him simply to throw our popcorn away, set our soft-drinks on the floor of this false foundation, and turn, calmly to our Lord, Jesus Christ, never looking back. Isn't that wonderful?

Non-submission to Christ means our trust is not built up enough for us to be able to make the leap into God's almighty and worthy arms. Trust is built by faith in God, which is brought on in small increments. Each time we are willing to just try to trust God for a time, and it turns out to be a success, we can make an effort (because it now matters to us) to remember, “Hey, this worked out pretty good. I think I'll trust God more and see how things go.” This is what our memory is for. If we are using our memory to catalog all the hurts we are dealt in our lives, we are being influenced by Satan and misusing it and will suffer the consequences. We will have an unsound mind.

We want to eagerly build our faith up and learn to trust. Submission to Christ does not take away our free will and make us robots or automatons. Not at all! Submission of our will to Christ is reversing the effects and damage of Satan's influence on us to rebel. It allows us to hang back up the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil, which we have disobediently snatched from that tree. At first it seems difficult to submit our will to Christ, but as we do it more often, it becomes easier. Then, there will be an immense sense of fulfillment and purpose. Why? When our wills disappear and Christ's will becomes the dominant will in our lives, this is when the fun begins. No longer will we lose our patience, be frustrated and unstable, feel depressed and out of sorts. No more will we feel as though life is battering us up and down and all around.

We go through this life trying to conform to an image we've created of ourselves, based on this world's expectations. Why would we want to do that when we've already been created and only need Christ to complete the picture? He is why we're here. When we are caught up in our own personal desires and purposes we chase after illusional rainbows which move on ahead and away, no matter how hard we try to catch them. A far wiser goal would be to focus solely on Jesus, never letting our eyes waver, even a minute, from His loving eyes. At first, due to our “natural world's influence,” it will seem unnatural to focus solely on Jesus at all times. At first, we will not even be able to hear His voice, the Holy Spirit. But we must continue giving our hearts and minds over to Him. We must be persistent in our efforts because Satan's domination in this world seems all encompassing and can quickly overwhelm us. But Christ is always victorious. The payoff of His peace will come.

Satan has already been defeated, yet knowing his time is short, he intensifies his illusion of power. His influence leaves behind a trail of deteriorating structures which we've built, as he has urged us to use our minds and wave our magic wands in our attempt to be “God” in this world. We've tried and tried to make a heaven, in this physical world, without God, but we will never be able to do it because everything we do here on earth is done by sheer will power and brute muscular force. We manipulate this physical earth as if it were clay in our hands, making cities, consisting of fantastic skyscrapers made of steel and glass and concrete. In like manner, we have made huge bridges that slightly sway in the wind, spanning enormous chasms. The list goes on and on. But all of it is our attempt to play Wizard, our attempt to use our minds (gifts from God) to do what WE want to do. Although civilization's “progress” appears to be “good,” let's evaluate it for a moment.

In a few short years, we have gone from primitive “western” days where our houses were lit by gas lanterns and we had to use outhouses, to houses filled with modern conveniences (electric lights, flush toilets, TV, etc). Do you see, as I do, that no matter how much we progress, we are still attempting to be God? Our collective goals appear to be to wave the magic wand and produce yet more conveniences here, for our comfort. Nevertheless, life seems to become faster paced and more difficult to survive than ever. We exhaust ourselves, trying to keep up with it all. Sadly, we are resigned to the fact that, for now, this is all we've got so we must make the best of it. We continue to wear ourselves and this earth out, trying to reach a perfect existence that will never be.

Can we begin to drop our infernal desire to make this world? Can we begin to drop the infernal desire to "make it" in this world, as well? There is no “making it” without Christ. And, yes, even as I write this, I recognize that I, too, have this desire to “make it” in this world but, like you perhaps (hopefully), I have an insatiable hunger for God, that won't let me alone. I appreciate that God has me in the palm of His hand and He will keep me, even when I am no longer on this earth. Yet my desire to know Him now, fills every sad space and every fiber of my being. Sometimes that longing leaves me whimpering, desolate, and down in the valley—but God does not leave me down there in this state. When my soul cries out for Him, He immediately occupies me. He takes away my hunger because He gave His life to become my food. He comforts me. He holds me. And I know He will never let me go.

Yes, by waving our collective magic wands, we have been able to build gigantic tunnels through mountains in search of golden colored metal. We have built multi-tier towers into the sky and we can zip back and forth under large bodies of water. Our magic wands have enabled us to create wonderful and amazing mechanical devices that sling us to the moon (and back), that propel us quickly around this planet, and that allow us to float lazily across the sea on a multi-ton ship. Satan has influenced us to want more, More, MORE.

Christ is simplicity, He is our love and He is our peace. Nothing in this frantic, hypnotically produced, Satan influenced, carnal world, in which we wave magic wands over everything, will ever give us the lasting peace and eternal joy that Christ can. Remember, He is not of this world. If we're in Christ and Christ's in us, we know, too, that this world is not our eternal home. Why, then, do we spend so much of our waking hours and effort trying to achieve heaven on earth? We are casting spells, that is all. Man's accomplishments here will not last because this world, itself, is taking its final few breaths. Nothing a person attains here matters at all, except that which is done for the glory of God and the salvation of souls. In eternity, no one will care if you won a gold medal or Academy Award.

The Kingdom of God is within, if Christ is your Lord. With the Holy Spirit as your guide, seek the fruit of the spirit and begin harvesting souls instead of waving our magic wands over this “Playdoh” World. Have we not already experienced enough of this world's fleeting triumphs to know that it does not really take us anyplace? Like a carousel, this world takes us 'round and 'round on a painted pony. We are dazzled by the lights and colors, but we go nowhere and after a few spins, we are bored and ready for it to end. We soon want to get off. Jesus said where our hearts are, there is where our treasure lies. He should be our treasure—not this world, nor the fleeting things of it. For this world is slated for destruction and all of it will go. Only what we've done with and for Christ will matter.

If we insist on focusing only on this world and in waving our magic wands to produce inventions that make life easier for us; if we insist on waving our magic wands and producing more and more wild and exciting mental or physical rides, that we can go on for entertainment so we can take our minds off the drudgery of our workdays, then our hearts are pointed in the wrong direction. The only true recreation in this world is Christ. The only true rest is in following Him, within, to the greatest entertainment we'll EVER experience, as we discover and harvest the fruit of the spirit (love, joy and peace) in the Kingdom of God. Ask Christ to mix His spittle in this clay we mold, in so many different ways, and allow Him to place it over our eyes that, at last, we may see what it is we truly want and need. Him. Only Him.

He will lead us out of this strange world we have concocted with our magic wands. But before we are ushered into heaven, there will first be a time when we roam this earth, under the guidance of God's Holy Spirit, showering the lost with the love of Christ, turning heads His way, not by force of our will but by the gentle and loving hands of Christ, through us.

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