Excellent blog Bren, very thought provoking!

Out of curiosity I looked up the Greek word interpreted "troubled by evil spirits" or "under the power of the devil."  The Greek word is transliterated: Katadunasteuo (for the KJV oppress).

It means:

Kata means "according to" and Dunasteuo means "potentate or a high authority".   The word is only used twice in the New Testament, here and in James 2:6 with respect to the poor being "oppressed" by the rich.

The word interpreted "evil spirits" or "devil" is the Greek word: diabolos which actually means: false accuser!

I find it very interesting that katadunasteuo can be interpreted "to use one's power against one!"  This is because the people that Jesus came to speak to were the people of Israel and they were in a covenant with God…they were under God's authority through covenant and therefore the False Accuser had no authority over them!  They gave him the authority by being deceived into letting him use their own power against them…the power of the covenant.

We are in the new covenant and have been transferred from the domain (dominion and authority) of Satan into the Kingdom of God's dear Son!  But Satan still uses our own ignorance against us!

Everything that C. S. Lewis wrote can be summed up in the parable of the sower.  The cares of this life and the desire for other things actually chokes the word so that it become "unfruitful"…it doesn't work!  The word ends up producing no result!  Peter walking on the water is always an excellent example of this principle.  We need to keep our minds set on the things that are above where we are seated in heavenly places, in Christ!  If we do, we will find that we automatically bear fruit: some 30, 60, and 100 fold, according to the measure of grace given us.

Best regards,
Craig

Wow...thank your everyone for your comments. I am going to be busy for awhile posting replies.

Jay - Yes, a big ouch for me as well. It's the good things we get bound up in that are the most difficult recognize. We know that bad things are wrong.

Preston - Thank you my dear friend. I have loved the writings of Lewis and his friend Tolkien for years also. I am so glad the new movies are introducing a whole new generation of youth to their writings. Love you.

Penny - Thank you for sharing. Yes, it does seem this is how Satan works...time to slow down.

Margie - Thank you and amen. I don't want to be under that other guys yoke either!

PB - I don't know your name, but I appreciate your comments and your sweet spirit. God bless you.

Denise - Thank you. You are always such an encourager just like Panda Bear.

Craig - Excellent comment! Thank you so much for the research. It really helped. Very interesting thought...the devil uses your power against you. So, when the devil tells us a lie and we believe it he getting us to use our power against ourselves? Is that correct? I think I actually understand everything you have written. I love you, but sometimes I am clueless about what you are saying. It gets too deep for this simple mind. I should have sent you an email to begin with, but I am glad I posted this message.

Crystal - That is great your husband is able to spend time with God. I think, my dear friend, you probably give God more time than you give yourself credit for. Be careful about letting the devil tell you lies about yourself...just my observation. I can have awesome fellowship with God washing dishes. Just because you are doing something else doesn't mean you are not spending time with God. I find doing meaningless tasks actually makes it easier to commune with God. I find, if you really want to hear from God get on your hands and knees and start scrubbing floors.

Hi Bren!

You asked:

So, when the devil tells us a lie and we believe it he getting us to use our power against ourselves?

Yes.  He has been completely stripped of power at the cross.  It's written that our Good News is only veiled to the "unbelieving."  If you pay attention to how the word "unbelief" is used in the scriptures you'll notice that it is aways a "response."  In other words, we aren't in "unbelief" until we have heard a word from God and have then made a choice about it.  The great example is from Hebrews concerning the response of the people when the 10 spies gave a bad report of the promised land.  They did not enter because of their "unbelief;" in the same verses that is later called "disobedience."

We get tend to get confused and think that our "obedience" has to do with "rules" rather than "faith."  For us it is aways about faith.

Bren, I do know that these things are very hard to understand!  Our minds are filled with concepts that we received from growing up in a fallen world.  Verses and concepts like "God has already given us everything that pertains to life and godliness in Christ Jesus" are hard for us to process because we have always lived by our feelings and reasoning that is based on what we see and feel.  So we read that verse and then re-interpret it into "God will give us everything that pertains to life..."  And our prayers then turn to asking God for things that He's said are already ours in Christ.

That is not an easy thing to understand: that I believe I already have something I can't see, feel, or completely figure out with my intellect!  That the seeing and feeling come after I have believed I have received, rather than before I believe.  But all is based upon his making his word [logos] real to us by giving us a spoken word [rhema]...you know, when the written word jumps out at you and you see something you've never see before!

So it's a process where He continuously speaks to us through various people until we understand.  Then the persecution comes because of the word.  We learn not to fall away because of it [hopefully, only a few laps around that mountain], and then we are faced with the cares of this life that C. S. Lewis was speaking to.  So it's a process.

If you don't understand something there is nothing to do but to ask the Lord for understanding and then in His time and His way He will make it clear.  Remember that He told the disciples that He had many things to tell them but that they could not bear them then...He said He'd send the Holy Spirit later.  So, some things we just are not ready for...He gives us understanding when we are.  He knows how to put things in terms that we can understand.

Your brother in Him,
Craig

Lynne - Thank you...sending love, hugs, and blessings.

Terry - That is a good one! Thanks...for the new definition. Amen...I am blessed!

CeCe - Yes, we need to watch as well as pray. Thank you for your insights and kinds words. God bless you.

Brenda - Thank you. I know it is exhausting caring for loved ones with serious illnesses. I took care of my mom in my home before she died of cancer. I also had 3 young children and lots of visiting relatives...I was exhausted. My father had died in a terrible accident when I was young. Yes, it is during the times when we are unable to stand on our own we need intercessors to stand in the gap. I am so grateful for all the saints who are called into that ministry.

I thank you for this because my church Jan.1 this year went on a 21 day "Danial Fast" and I have to say as a result from that fast my life this year has been changed and I have found that I don't spend as much time on my PC as I used to, I have kept the TV off most of the time and I edit what I was watching, why you say well it's because I been spending time with the Lord as like you said the Devil likes to steal our time any way he can, he is here with one purpose to kill, steal, and distroy, he is walking around like a roaring lion seaking whom ever he can devour. He want to slit homes, take jobs, take your money, take your kids away any way he can. The list go on and on, so we as believers must only be "BUSY" serving the Lord and doing what he says, and that means praying about everything you do before you do it.

Mollie and Liz - Thank you for your comments. Yes, we should be BUSY in service for the Lord, not with all the distractions of the world.