Daily Reading: 6-10-16
2 Samuel 15:1-12 New Living Translations (NLT)
Since the Garden of Eden, humans have been infiltrated with deception—an egocentric bent or inclination. It is why we must humble ourselves and draw near to God. Deception tries to draw us away from God and tempt us to give our authority to the purposes of evil (a supernatural force that produces sin or rotten fruit: e.g. profound immorality, wickedness, depravity, and corruption). Only God can liberate us from the power of evil and position us for His divine purpose. Please remember, we overcome evil with Good (Romans 12:21).
In our study of Revelation this past Wednesday evening, we discussed the rising presence of deceptive evil in the world. If humans do not draw near to God in order to grow in the Word by the Spirit of Love, we can open ourselves up to controlling and deceptive spirits. In particular, we discussed the presence of a Jezebel spirit (Jezebel is a name synonymous with an evil and seductive egocentric spirit). A Jezebel spirit tries to control humans with the purpose of getting the unwitting to live for the kingdom of darkness; rather, than live for the purpose of releasing God’s Love and Goodness. Some characteristics of a Jezebel spirit present as follows: accusatory, easily offended, divisive by forming conspiracies against those who seek to release Good, twists communications, constricts the desire to live in integrity, morally unteachable, manipulating, controlling, competitive, and vindictive when others resist being controlled by them. All we need to do is ask the Spirit to open our eyes and watch the news for a few minutes to see the presence of a Jezebel spirit active in our world. Humans can give authority to supernatural forces that control the soul (mind/will/emotions). However, we never need to be afraid, we simply must choose to be led by the Spirit of God and resist evil by releasing Good fruit (Love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness, thoughtfulness, self control. Galatians 5:22). Jesus gives us the authority and power to be victorious for His Kingdom.
In our reading below, David’s son, Absalom, has given power to deception and presents with a Jezebel spirit. He initiates a conspiracy against his father who seeks to honor God by twisting communications, manipulating, and competing for power and authority.