“And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for THE ACCUSER of the brethren is cast down, WHICH ACCUSED THEM BEFORE OUR GOD DAY AND NIGHT.”

                                                                                                      REVELATION 12:10

The ACCUSER of the brethren, all those who belong to the family of Christ. The oldest game in the book. I have had my fair share and I am sure you have too! Satan accuses us through his agents, other people who seem to have nothing better to do with their lives than to find someone to blame for their problems and that goes back to Adam, Eve, and the serpent.

I have heard the same accusation, seriously since 1986.  I had to really pull the book out on myself this past weekend and listen to that still small voice of scripture, that says, “Bless those who curse you, bless and not curse” and we ALL go through this. So I thought it would be a good subject (and free therapy for me!:)

Got to get into a shady little story with it though, it is about two people, one of which was my friend ( I say “was” because the ongoing drama led me to decide that both our lives could benefit by severing ties about twenty years ago) she ran off with a much older, married man leaving his wife and daughter with a never-ending life long vendetta to repeatedly try to force me to admit that I knew about it all the while. 

The funny part is that I DID NOT KNOW!  When all this went down I had only seen her  in person one time in around three years, rarely spoke on the phone but we did write each other. And when I heard it through the good old grapevine I was as shocked as anyone. One day I got a letter from her and she was in another state and confessed their undying love.  But from that point on every single opportunity the wife and daughter got I was under the Spanish Inquisition, no matter how many times I answer the same questions with the same answers for some ungodly reason they still needed to ask. I really truly felt sorry for them and I never thought it was right or condoned it but I had nothing to do with any of it.

This had really  became so bad that at one point they were even coming to the store I worked at and threatening to  “shop elsewhere” if I continued my friendship with her, but I had a fabulous boss who is still a friend and her reply was that “no one told her employees who to be friends with and she could just go shop elsewhere.”

So now that I am the “Brown Recluse” I hadn’t seen the daughter in years until another friends Dad passed away last year and Lo, and Behold the first thing she starts about was that mess!!! Here we are, with a grieving mutual friend surrounded with church people at funeral services and she is airing her family laundry for the whole world and whether or not I knew about it. It took everything in me not to let her have it right there but I like to think I am little more civilized than to cause a scene at a funeral. But I marked my words that no more, her mother had passed away and all this is just ancient history that she is going to have to deal with, without me.

So, I’m in a check out line the other day and someone bumps me with a shopping cart, guess who? This is about the time that I wish I had a force field that would radiate from me with red flashing lights and a warning siren that announces “Back away ! Back away ! You are entering the choke-zone! Proceed with extreme caution because you are about to cross the line.”  But I think my reply to her masked joke about bumping me and my body language must have spoke volumes because for the first time in thirty years I DID NOT HEAR about it. But I did become annoyed and thought all day that I need to just say my peace about it, but that verse just kept coming to my mind and I could have said many things but God does not want any of that, to become angry and retaliate with hurtful slurs of my own would not prove anything. When people are hurt they have to find an outlet for that hurt and if they will not express it to those responsible for hurting them, they have to find another scapegoat, blaming is never gonna heal hearts only God can, but it is up to all of us to decide how long is too long and how much is too much and for me that point has came.  But I had always tried to be polite and kept answering over and over and had hoped that one day it would be enough and now maybe she can hate me for a valid reason, she can say I snobbed her.

But it is truly sad that we all have people who do want to accuse us and no matter how many times we tell them they still refuse to believe. That is the enemies job and Jesus suffered it, the disciples suffered and sometimes it is hard for us, but we are taught to live as peacefully as we are capable of with ALL people and some of them make it really difficult.  Because it does get mighty old after a while and it is hard to remember to not curse them and do not treat them as they have treated you because they will reap what they have sown and that is sad.

Vengeance is God’s and He will convict people in their hearts, in his time, when they have falsely accused and harassed us, as He said they hated Him without a cause and they will also hate us. When they do come under conviction, these are the things they fall under conviction for and if we have responded with a Godly attitude to them, then they have no excuse for their behavior and that leads to repentance.

 But if we have slapped them down in anger  or screamed at them to please just shut up, then they have our un-Christ like actions to use an excuse. So, how to deal with it? DON’T. 

” GIVE NO PLACE TO THE DEVIL”, don’t give him a chance, avoid these people at all costs. Even if you have to just walk away and say nothing. If it happens to be a family member, leave for an hour or two or go into another room for a little while and just let it blow over, remember the enemy is trying to get a reaction out of you, he wants you angry, don’t give him what he wants.

Let Jesus fight it for you, He will and He promises that “mouths that rise up in judgment” against us will be condemned.

“But he giveth more grace, Wherefore he saith, GOD RESISETH THE PROUD, BUT GIVETH GRACE UNTO THE HUMBLE. SUBMIT YOURSELVES THEREFORE TO GOD, RESIST THE DEVIL, AND HE WILL FLEE FROM YOU. DRAW NIGH (NEAR) TO GOD, AND HE WILL DRAW NIGH TO YOU……” JAMES 4:6-8a

God will give us His grace and MORE grace to handle these things as He would have us to. He does not like their condescending, proud attitudes either. He will help us when we give it all to him and just don’t play satan’s game with him and he will flee, he will give it up.

Φλογίζω/ ΝΒ 2016