Midway Church of the Brethren
13 Evergreen Road, Lebanon, PA 17042-7422
Phone: (717)273-4832, Fax: (717)273-0132
E-mail: midway_cob@verizon.net, Web site: www.midwaycob.net
Senior Pastor: Rev. Charles L. Ilyes, Associate Pastor: Rev. Kevin S. Zintak

from our Senior Pastor 

B-U-S-Y

I have very little knowledge about military tactics but what I have heard is that it is very important to know as much as you can about the enemy. I also know that there is a spiritual battle taking place continually and it rages all around us but few realize it. Today have you thought about Satan’s desire to weaken your faith or to have you love something or someone more than the Lord? Scripture tells us in I Peter 5:8: Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. In verse 9, Peter goes on to tell us to resist him.

In Dr. David Jeremiah book I Never Thought I’d See the Day he shared from a devotional that I thought was great of a possible discussion that Satan would have with his demons as to how they can have the victory over believers if they do the following:
1.    Keep them busy with nonessentials
2.    Tempt them to overspend and go into debt
3.    Make them work long hours to maintain empty lifestyles
4.    Discourage them from spending family time, for when homes disintegrate there’s no refuge from work
5.    Over stimulate their minds with television and computers so that they can’t hear God speaking to them
6.    Fill their coffee tables and nightstands with newspapers and magazines so they’ve no time for Bible reading
7.    Flood their mailboxes with sweepstakes, promotions and get-rich-quick schemes; keep them chasing material things
8.    Put glamorous models on TV and on magazine covers to keep them focused on outward appearances; that way they’ll be dissatisfied with themselves and their mates
9.    Make sure couples are too exhausted for physical intimacy; that way they’ll be tempted to look elsewhere
10.    Emphasize Santa and the Easter bunny; that way you’ll divert them from the real meaning of the holidays
11.    Involve them in “good” causes so they won’t have time for “eternal” ones
12.    Make them self-sufficient. Keep them so busy working in their own strength that they’ll never know the joy of God’s power working through them

The devotion ends “Have you figured out the difference between being busy and being successful in what God’s called you to do? Sometimes being B-U-S-Y just means “Being Under Satan’s Yoke.” Think about it and take a closer look at this list again and let God speak to your heart. Who is winning in your life? Our Lord or Satan?
                                                                                                         
                                                                                               - Pastor Charlie