Satanic possession

My sense is that Satan can overwhelm a person who is willing to let that happen.  I’ll put Hitler and Stalin in that category.  It is possible and can happen to one degree or another, but most of the time people are just mentally ill, or bent and selfish and behave in an evil way quite effectively on their very own.  I do believe in a very literal Satan who is active and trying to be influential, but we do such a good job at being bad just from our own self-centered nature without his help, that I think most of the time he has it pretty easy and just sits back with a bag of popcorn to enjoy the show.  It is our sin nature if you want to call it that.  The interesting thing to note, however, is that as Christians we are not bound by that.  What so many of us don’t really ‘get’ is that we may fail by sinning but we are not trapped by that.  We ask forgiveness and move forward.  I believe God judges us by our character improvement, not by keeping track of our mistakes.  We are told we are washed in the blood of Christ.  It’s kind of a gory symbolism for a laundry day, but effective none-the-less.  Our sins are gone and God doesn’t see them the moment we ask Jesus into our lives.  We may stumble along the way, but that forgiveness is always there.  Our God is a God of second chances.  Second, third, fourth…innumerable chances.  Sounds too easy to some people, but the realization that NO ONE can be perfect makes it the only way.

Do you actually feel the presence of Satan around you?  As the inventor and world-class patent holder on the “lie,” he is clever to disguise his presence.  Thoughts of fear, worthlessness, envy, lust, etc. all come to us and we think they are our own.  They are not.  They are his.  One of the most interesting perceptions I ever had was that Satan is not all powerful, omnipresent, or omniscient like God is.  He can’t hear my thoughts, and if I want to rid myself of his presence I have to speak out loud so he can hear me.  Sounds goofy to some people, but I am convinced.  When I am troubled I simply say “Satan, I rebuke you in the name of Jesus Christ--leave me alone!”  I really works.  I was pretty surprised the first time I did it.  I was a real skeptic.  I’ve been one all my life, but the proof was there, and I’ve never regretted trying the tactic.

Satan has no power over you…unless you let him.