Why Satan has an easier job than God.

*Satan can win someone’s heart and soul even if they don’t believe he exists, God can’t.
*God has certain standards that must be met to please Him, Satan doesn’t.
*God has several steps that must be taken by the individual. Satan only needs one step to be 
ignored, skipped, or refused. For example: 
         *We must believe God is and that He rewards those that seek Him. - Hebrews 11:6
         *We must believe the Bible is God’s word. - Romans 10:17, Ephesians 6:17
         *We must believe Jesus is God’s Son and that He is God. - Acts 16:30-31 
         *We must believe Jesus rose from the grave. - John 20:9 
         *We must repent of our sins. - Luke 13:3,5
         *We must confess Jesus. - Acts 4:12 
         *We must obey the gospel / be born again. - John 3:7, Acts 9:6
         *We must be faithful(This opens a whole new list.) til death. - Acts 14:22 
         *We must worship in Spirit and Truth(This is another list). - John 4:24 
         *The gospel must be shared with others. - Mark 13:10 
If there is a break in any one of these Satan wins.
*God requires man to have no other gods, Satan doesn’t care how many as long as it is not God only.
*God requires sacrifice and self-control, Satan doesn’t.

The Advantage To Growing Up In A Christian Home
Part 2

In our last issue we discussed the advantage of growing up in a Christian home and how we might question those who became Christians later in life getting the same reward in heaven as we do. In this issue we want to look at detail the advantage of long lives of service to God.
Those who have lived faithful lives throughout most of their adult years have some definite advantages over those who didn’t.
The one who has lived a life of sin has many regrets in their lives. The Apostle Paul asked the Romans, “What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death.” (Romans 6:21) Sin takes a toll on a person’s life in many ways. Sin has ruined people’s physical health that can never be regained. Sin has destroyed people’s mind and emotions that can never be restored. Sin has taken away the livelihood of many. But, perhaps the way sins affect us most drastically is in our relationships. Not only does sin destroy our relationship with God, (Isaiah 59:2) but it also destroys our relationships with those we love on this earth.
One of the saddest things I have faced in this life is to hear people grieve over the loss of their children to Satan. Their children grew up in their home before they became Christians and were not brought up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. (Ephesians 6:4) When parents become Christians later in life, after their children have left home, they deeply regret the fact that their children are not Christians and the parents often find it very difficult to reach them for Christ.
Another thing I hear often is grief over a marriage relationship which has ended in divorce. Many people divorce because they were not Christians and did not build their relationship on biblical principles. Most of the time it is too late for them to mend those broken relationships after they have become a Christian.
Alcohol, adultery, fornication, anger, jealousy, greed and any other sin can bring many regrets and sorrows into the lives of those who are not living by God’s principles. Even though the sins can be forgiven, the scars and results of the sins can affect us and those we love all of our lives and even into eternity.
So, if you have been a Christian from an early age, be thankful that you have escaped the snares of the devil that produce so much pain and sorrow in the lives of others. Also, be thankful that those who have lived a life without God, can be forgiven and become His children and have that home in heaven also.
If you are not a Christian, don’t wait any longer. The longer you wait, the more sorrow, pain and heartache you may have because of you delay in obedience to God. - LP

BARBITURISM - POISONING CAUSED BY USE OF A BARBITURATE
Compton’s Encyclopedia says, “Several types of chemicals induce sleep and cause intoxication. These chemicals also cause physical and psychological dependence. The group includes ethyl alcohol, barbiturates, methaqualone, and many related sedatives. Barbiturates, also known as downers, may be prescribed by doctors for insomnia and tension. It is very easy to become addicted to them, and they cause severe depression. Those taking barbiturates can easily lose track of how many they have taken. This can lead to a fatal overdose.” You have probably heard of these drugs and possibly known someone affected by them. In a spiritual sense we may be drugged like this as well. Satan wants nothing more than to destroy the church and all Christians, and to do that he will use any means necessary. One interesting thing about these drugs is that the person taking them often doesn’t realize the effects until it is too late.

Satan puts us to sleep with his drugs and if he can give us enough we slip into a coma and eventually die a spiritual death. Sin in our life is one of those drugs that the devil gives us, but Paul says that Jesus has the cure. (Eph 5:14) “Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.” Complacency and indifference to the cause of Christ, the true cause of Christ (reaching the lost), are both symptoms of an overdose of Satan’s drugs. We may be involved in lots of activities related to the Social Gospel, but we may be neglecting the essential part of Christianity. Many churches today fit this description. It sounds a lot like the church in Sardis as described by John, (Rev 3:1-2) ”And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead. {2} Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God.” Satan had the whole church at the brink of death and they were going along like nothing was wrong.

If we think that we can live as part of the world and still be pleasing to God we are truly intoxicated by sin. Paul tells Timothy the same thing concerning widows. Even though specifically aimed toward widows it applies to all of us, (1 Tim 5:6) “But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth.” We need to check ourselves regularly with the Great Physician to be sure that we are not under the influence of Satan’s barbiturates.