Available Only For Godly Use

If you are active in your church, you will attract criticism and gossip, sooner or later. That is a given. Allow me to say upfront that you must not allow such negativity to stop you from serving God. But that is not the focus of this post. Rather, we want to consider those people within the church through whom such criticisms come. They are not part of the group that is available Only For Godly use.

Please note that criticism for good deeds is not confined to the church. You find the same phenomenon in the workplace, even in your neighborhood. But we highlight the church because you expect that everybody there will be available only for Godly use. And when you find that that is not so, it shocks you. Never again will you find that shocking.

A number of people in the church are also available for satan to use, usually as the accuser of the brethren. Consequently, the next time you receive negative vibes even within the church, know that their master is the devil. Let this basic knowledge of who their master is immediately lead you to pity them instead of getting angry. And you should pray for them because instead of being available only for Godly use, they are in Satan’s employ.

Peter Was Not Available Only For Godly Use

Strange as it sounds, that advice to pray for them comes straight out of the scriptures. When Peter stopped being available only for Godly use, Jesus prayed for him. You may know the story. Peter was about to deny Jesus three times but Jesus said He had prayed for him. Poor Peter, that was not the only time he failed to be available only for Godly use. He seemed to always be straying into the camp of Satan to serve the devil’s purpose.

Like the time he told Jesus in no uncertain terms that Jesus must not die for our sins. On that occasion, Jesus referred to him by his temporary master’s name. He told him, “Get behind me, Satan.” Keep in mind, this is one of the original twelve disciples of Jesus. How much more we who did not walk the earth with Jesus.

I wonder how often Jesus has to say that to us. Each time we loan ourselves out to satan and are not available only for Godly use. By the same token, those who are troubling you are available for satan’s us, even in the church. And each time the devil uses someone, such a person is not available only for Godly use.

Peter Was Not Aware Of Being Used By Satan

You may wonder why it is important that believers be available only for Godly use. God is a good master, a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Satan, on the other hand, is wicked, with no reward to give to those who serve him. Consequently, the more you serve satan, the less the reward you can get from God.

That is because you are not in full-time service to God. You recall how Peter later had to weep, and if Jesus had not prayed for him, who knows where he might have ended up. Now that we know why it is important to be available only for Godly use, we return to Peter. At the time he was trying to dissuade Jesus from the cross, he thought he was doing Jesus a favor. He did not realize he was serving the devil. Similarly, unless we watch and pray, we may not realize when we cross over to the other side, Satan’s side.

We may not be aware that we have stopped being available only for Godly use. What do we need to do to avoid such a sorry state? Love the Lord our God; then we must love our neighbors as ourselves. It is hard for the devil to use you against someone you love. But is it easy to love our neighbors as we love ourselves? No, unless we ask for help from the Holy Spirit. He will help us and then we shall be available only for Godly use.

Maranatha!

Jesus, the Bread from Heaven