Beguile

My daughter Jennifer told a story yesterday of being at a Christening celebration with her family for newly born twins and about the grand dad who was there entertaining children with the old magical hand game of making your thumb disappear. It is an artful trick...that I bet many of you have witnessed..most of the children were really young but William, her 4 year old was totally beguiled by the grand dad's ability to pull this off...I mean how could he just take his thumb off? And then put it back! He had clearly gotten William's attention and stirred up his curiosity by trickery.. He was beguiled no doubt!

Beguile...I think that is such a cool word...it flows so gracefully and sounds so enchanting. But by most definitions it is a word that carries the tone of deception, manipulation, trickery and diversion. It was used two or three times yesterday in a sermon regarding Satan and it stuck in my mind...as often words do. One of the early examples that so many of us can relate to is in the Garden of Eden...where Satan beguiled Eve....he managed to get her attention and divert her "right" living to "wrong" choices by captivating her with choices of thought, conscience and doubt.

We are no different than Eve today as we get pulled into a situations daily that draw our attention and our focus from where it should be...on what Christ is able do and what Christ wants us to do..which is based on truth ..... to something that appears to be a quick fix of excitement, satisfaction, false hope, or a steady and solid crutch for coping....which is based on a lie!

Roger Wernett, in our Sunday school class yesterday came up with a powerful quote...he said: "The reality of the temporary is more important to us than the uncertainty of the eternal!" Ok I know that sounds complex but think about it for a minute....where are you in your life right now? Have you been thrown into a situation that requires you to have to cope? I mean it could be anything....finances, relationships, jobs, health, addictions...anything that causes internal conflict. If we are honest...we all have something....sometimes some of them are on a grand scale while others are more easily able to deal with...but it is human nature to be beguiled by worldly offerings that have the potential to give us temporary relief and rid us of the immediate discomfort....rather than hold on to a Hope from Christ, who we cannot see, that he will ultimately prevail... in any situation.

We are able to choose between the temporal and the eternal....because God gives us the freedom to do so...just as he did Eve! Our choices ultimately define our relationship with Christ and what we believe. But too many times we refuse to "give in" to Christ's way because it would be compromising to our selfish desires and "quick fixes" which we have come to depend on to cope. We have substituted folly for faithfulness. I know that sounds frank...and it is...and I myself am not too tickled to have to admit it...but I have and continue to do it. Bur will my our lack of faith nullify God's righteousness? The answer is NO because God never changes. He only works toward changing me....to become closer to Him. The more faithful I am to Him the more able he is to unveil that faithfulness that he has had and he has shown His whole existence. My blinders are the problem.

Beguiled....it is a practice that we often chase and embrace...and submit to because we are constantly looking for a "way out", a "way through" or a "way to" something that has caused us pain or distress or frustration or discomfort or great sadness or grief. But the deal is none of that is eternally gratifying...only temporary...for a while then something else will come up again...The TRUTH of Christ is before us...the TRUTH of what Christ has done on our behalf is founded and is good for an eternal fix....it is grounded on sacrifice and love and forgiveness...and GRACE! God knows we need his unfolding grace...but it is only through his blood that that grace is poured down upon us. And it is through His blood that we have the offer of an eternal FIX!!

Romans 3:22
This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.

There is one definition of "beguile" that relates to how Christ wants us to live..."to pass time pleasantly" as in beguiling an afternoon with a good book..It is hard to imagine passing time pleasantly when you are in the throws of chaos...but the peace lies in our faithfulness and our trust...our unrelenting focus on Christ and the confidence that He is in our court....he is pleading our case...whatever that may be.....he has an "in" with the judge....and never has he ever lost a case when he is fighting for one of his own....YOU ARE HIS....Christ loves you, knows you, defends you and shares with your his strength and his power...to help you overcome any earthly obstacle that is before you...Beware of the lies and the doubts that Satan uses to beguile...There is nothing too hard for God...and no one is greater....and no power is mightier.

Dear Lord...Oh I how I want to love you more..and trust you in spite of circumstances that are before me. Help me to seek your way and know your heart....and let my heart desires line up with yours.. Amen

Praise God wherever you are and whatever situation he has allowed you to be in...for His glory will shine through!