You and I, in one way or another, have a relationship with everyone. It may lie at the farthest possible reaches, and it might be classified along the lines of simply, “our fellow human beings.”

It is remarkable that in times of great disaster, our differences don’t seem so important. Our focus moves beyond issues of politics, of religion, of skin color or of the many other barriers our civilization has erected.

Consider, as well, the Biblical truth that the ruler of this world is identified as Satan (compare John 12:31; 16:11). Satan is also “the god of this age” (2 Corinthians 4:4). As “ruler” and as “god” of the earth, Satan has established a relationship with mankind that is based on lies, and his record is one of being a murderer (compare John 8:44).

Satan–even as his name implies–is an adversary to God and Jesus Christ along with all who obey God: “Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, ‘Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the ACCUSER of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down'” (Revelation 12:10).

We know that Satan has not yet been removed, and we understand that each one of us has been accused by Satan before God’s throne. We fall short; we make mistakes; and, we do commit sin–even after our baptism! (compare 1 John 1:5-10; 2:1-2).

In the passages cited from the first letter of John, we also find this remarkable assurance that if we “walk in the light” and “confess our sins,” we can be forgiven and cleansed from sin. Note what 1 John 2:1 states: “…And if anyone sins, we have an ADVOCATE with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”

Other Scriptures confirm the help we can receive when we are accused: “Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25). This additional statement is found in the letter of Hebrews: “For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God FOR US” (Hebrews 9:24).

Again, we find this assurance of help when Satan does bring his accusations against us: “Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also MAKES INTERCESSION FOR US” (Romans 8:33-34).

Knowing the truth of these things, we, ourselves, must be the more careful to not follow Satan. It is far too easy to fall prey to an attitude of accusation. If we look, we can find fault with each other. We can write-off the world as condemned; we can dismiss family members as unconverted; and we can easily disrupt our relationships within the body of Christ–His Church–through finding fault in another’s weaknesses.

Rather than standing in the role of accuser, we have the opportunity and the strict responsibility to be intercessors through prayer. We, too, can come before the throne of God through Jesus Christ to ask for God’s help and not for His condemnation.

Think about our relationships and consider our role as messengers of the LORD of hosts (Malachi 2:7) and ambassadors of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20), and be reminded of how we can help one another: “…The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much” (James 5:16).

If you want to understand what it means to be grateful, consider the aliens–both the illegal and legal–who immigrate to a wealthy country such as Great Britain, Germany, France, Spain and other EU countries along with Canada and the U.S.

These immigrants don’t take for granted the abundance and blessings of freedom to establish one’s family, to work or to live with true hope for the future!

By contrast, the citizens who were born into and have grown up with this unparalleled abundance are not always so attuned to what they have. If fact, so familiar are most of us with all these things, that we simply take them for granted.

In the scope of history, only the last several decades have witnessed a world and a time in which so many nations have flourished so remarkably!

There is a danger in times such as these. Jesus Christ clearly prophesied of a complacent, sleepy-eyed time when people would be so self-absorbed that they just wouldn’t see things realistically: “‘But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be'” (Matthew 24:37-39).

Paul strongly warns all of us who claim to be Christians against the ever-present danger of just taking things for granted: “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12).

We can test ourselves in this regard. Do we take our calling for granted, or are we maintaining an attitude of “first love” (compare Revelation 2:4)? Do we remember the time when we met and then married our mates–and do we still reflect that incredibly special relationship (compare Malachi 2:13-16)? When our children were born, we cared for them at great personal sacrifice–do we, as parents, continue in that selfless love for our own (compare Luke 15:31)? Do we remember what a tremendous discovery it was to meet brethren who believed as we did (compare Luke 15:7)?

We must not take what we have for granted! Jesus Christ certainly did not! Rather, He established and maintained a constant relationship with God. He viewed everything through the will of God. We find His own testimony in this regard: “‘I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me'” (John 5:30).

For all of us who have been called to God’s way and who have been given the knowledge of the truth, there looms the peril of becoming lackadaisical and a bit too familiar–especially in times and circumstances of physical abundance. However, we must not allow this approach in our own lives. We must become fervent in seeking God’s will, and a first step in this process is to no longer take things for granted!

This week much of the world has watched the presidential elections in the United States. People understand that the leadership of this nation will influence the course of events for the entire planet.

History is in many ways a chronicle of leaders: emperors, kings and queens, presidents, premiers, popes, priests, ayatollahs, chancellors, governors, generals, mayors–these and many, many more have shaped this world.

Entire generations have hung their hopes–indeed their very lives–on the promises or the commands of someone who holds a powerful or influential office. A new leader can electrify the hopeful with grandiose promises, but, as history has so often shown, the old leader once stood for these same unanswered dreams.

Bad leadership is the rule–it is certainly not the exception! There is a reason for this, and that reason falls on the shoulders of Satan the devil and his angels, the demons. They are the spiritual rulers of this age (Compare 2 Corinthians 4:4; 11:14-15). Consider what Satan boasted to Jesus Christ: “‘All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I WISH'” (Luke 4:6).

Jesus recognized that, for the time being, Satan was “‘the ruler of this world'” (John 16:11). However, Jesus also made this remarkable statement about Himself: “‘…be of good cheer, I HAVE OVERCOME THE WORLD'” (John 16:33). When asked by Pilate if He was the King of the Jews, Jesus answered: “‘You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world…'” (John 18:37). At the same time, He mentioned to Pilate that he “could have no power at all” against Him, “unless it had been given to [him] from above” (John 19:11). God is in overall control, and although He has not yet replaced Satan as the ruler of this world, He will intervene in human affairs, to appoint, at critical times, over the kingdom of men whomever He chooses (Daniel 5:21; 4:17, 32) — to see to it that prophecy is being fulfilled. You might want to listen, in this regard, to our sermon of July 3, 2004, titled,
“Who is in Control?”

Jesus pointedly told His disciples that “‘I WILL COME AGAIN…'” (John 14:3). Two of God’s faithful angels proclaimed the same message to the stunned disciples following Christ’s resurrection and at the time of His ascension to the Father: “‘This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven'” (Acts 1:11).

This good news is the only true hope for this world! As “ambassadors for Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:20), we proclaim this hope in the continuing work of the Church which Jesus Christ now leads (Compare Matthew 24:14). As representatives of Jesus, we also follow His lead–we no longer follow the lead of Satan and those to whom he gives authority and who practice his deeds.

As Christians we are to pray for the humans who now rule and to submit ourselves to their laws (Compare 1 Peter 2:13-17; Romans 13:1-7). Foremost, this kind of approach is how God requires us to act if He is ruling in our lives. The only exception is if man’s laws are against God’s laws (Compare Acts 4:19; 5:29).

Who leads the nations of this world at this time is not the most important issue facing Christians. God has preserved a warning for those who are called to His way of life: “‘Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins and lest you receive of her plagues'” (Revelation 18:4). This is a message for all of the people of God throughout the ages and leading up to the promised return of Jesus Christ.

Until then, it might be good to regularly check up on where we each stand, and to ask ourselves, “who leads us?”