The Devotionals Thread

[24KT]

On Subtle Cosmic Frequencies

"World news, the most distant cosmic events and even the upheavals of vanished worlds reach us constantly, and we possess instruments inside us that record them. Of course, all this information remains in our subconscious, rarely reaching our conscious mind. You could say it’s the same as for radio waves.

The fact that radios and televisions exist proves there is a mass of information circulating throughout space. These waves escape our conscious mind, but the appropriate instruments allow us to capture them. At this very moment, incalculable numbers of waves are travelling towards us through space from all corners of the earth as well as from other planets and constellations.

These waves criss-cross and become entangled without destroying one another. Each one can be captured by an instrument tuned to its frequency. These waves pass through us, too, but we don’t feel them. Fortunately! For if our brain started to record, even for a moment, everything that takes place in the universe, it would be unbearable. It’s important to know that waves are continually passing through us, and it’s this that explains how we sometimes find ourselves in certain states without understanding the reason. This is why we must remain very vigilant."

[Colossus_500]

When God Was Hungry
Jill Carattini

I have a friend who examines life with a flare for the literal. I do not mean to infer she moves about with little imagination, taking life only by fact or as it comes word by word. Quite the opposite, her imagination is always bringing the literal to life--so much so, that I must guard my metaphors and always prepare my ears for an honest accounting. She is the first to laugh when someone mentions "killing time" over the weekend or playing something "by ear." But she is also the first to respond with defeat and disruption when the prophets describe how our iniquities separate us from God or when Jesus depicts himself as hungry, in prison, and sick:

    "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me'"(Matthew 25:41-43).


Someone looking for assistance once knocked on my friend's door, and while I was immediately imagining all of the terrible scenarios of what could have happened by opening the door, she was concerned for weeks about a stranger who Jesus described as family. "I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me" (25:40).

My friend is right. Scripture is replete with reasons to live in perpetual awareness of the image of God around us. Our neighbors--known and unknown--are of the same birthright as we. As the New Testament puts it, we are all God's offspring. Thus, "Those who despise their neighbors are sinners, but happy are those who are kind to the poor" (Proverbs 14:21). Or, in the words of Christ, "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" (Matthew 5:43-44). The apostle Paul continues, "For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another" (Galatians 5:13). The image of God in the stranger we pass on the sidewalk or the colleague within our ranks is unavoidable. And for the Christian community, we are called to consciousness even more so: "If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it" (1 Corinthians 12:26-27).

In his great memorial oration given at Oxford University Church in 1941, C.S. Lewis masterfully spoke of the weight of glory within each human soul. "There are no ordinary people," said Lewis. "You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilisations--these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit."(1) Few of us have had someone physically knock on our door asking for food and water. But all of us have had someone knock on our door.

What would the world be like if we took Jesus at his word? "I was hungry and you gave me something to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink; I was a stranger and you invited me in." What would happen if Christians everywhere treated everyone they came in contact with as if they were treating Christ himself? Lewis gives us an idea: "This does not mean that we are to be perpetually solemn. We must play. But our merriment must be of that kind which exists between people who have, from the outset, taken each other seriously--no flippancy, no superiority, no presumption.... Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbour is the holiest object presented to your senses."(2)

The great metaphor of a world of souls confronts us daily in literal flesh. And the King is still replying: I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these siblings of mine, you did for me.

Jill Carattini is managing editor of A Slice of Infinity at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia.


(1) C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory (San Francisco: Harper Collins, 1980), 39.
(2) Ibid., 40.

© 2008 Ravi Zacharias International Ministries. All Rights Reserved.

[mightymouse72]

An introduction to 1 Peter


A Word to the Suffering.  What to do when trouble comes.


Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you.  4:12

A distant, swirling cloud of dust signaled the approach of Turkish death squads.  But who could escape?  The villages of Armenia sat exposed and defenseless on a rock plain.  Doomed Christians clung together on the floors of their homes, praying, singing, and shivering with fear. 
This scene was repeated often during World War 1, and it usually ended in a massacre.  The Turkish assault against Armenian Christians was one of history’s worst religion-inspired bloodbaths: over one million people died.  But, sadly, the Armenian tragedy was but one of many attacks against 20th- century Christians.
More people have died for their religious faith in this century than in all the rest of history combined.  Thousands of Christians died in East Africa, first in the Mau Mau uprising and then during Idi Amin’s reign of terror.  Millions more suffered under Soviet and Chinese governments.  And the oppression goes on: even today some countries imprison and torture converts to Christianity.  This fact alone makes the book of 1 Peter starkly relevant for modern readers.

How to Respond to Persecution
What advice would your give Christians about to undergo persecution?  The apostle Peter took up that challenge just as ominous rumblings from Rome were striking fear in every Christian community.  Half-crazed Nero had seized on believers as scapegoats for the ills of his empire.
Should the persecuted Christians flee or resist?  Should they tone down their outward signs of faith?  Give up?  Peter’s readers, their lives in danger, needed clear advice on suffering.
They also wanted explanations of the meaning of suffering.  Why does God allow it?  Can good result?  Does God care?  In short, they were asking the questions that occur to any Christian who goes through great trial.
According to Peter, suffering should not catch a Christian off guard.  We are “strangers” (1:17) in a hostile world, and where Christians thrive, storm clouds may gather.  Suffering is an expected part of a life of sincere faith.

Peter’s Own Experience
On the subject of suffering, Peter makes an ideal counselor, for readers then and now.  He had been flogged and imprisoned for his own faith, once even expecting execution (Acts 12).  Also, Peter had personally watched Jesus endure suffering, and in this letter he points to him as an example of how to respond.
Peter encourages his readers to “live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God” (2:12).  Suffering can refine believers and give us an opportunity to prove our faith, the result thus working out for our benefit.
This book emphasizes a further point also: suffering is temporary, to be endured only for “a little while” (1:6; 5:10).  Those who suffer with Christ will also glory with him in a life forever free of pain.  Skeptics have criticized the church for stressing a future life rather than working to improve this one.  “You promised pie in the sky by and by,” they taunt.  But to Peter’s readers-wary of enemies on the prowl, unsure of surviving another day- that message was as tangible and nourishing as food.
According to 1 Peter, our hope that suffering will one day cease is not a mirage but a “living hope” (1:3) in the One who has conquered death.


At first Christianity enjoyed official toleration by the Roman Empire, but gradually the government turned against it.  Rome resented the Christians’ talk about another kingdom and their objections to idolatry and decadence.  (Sound familiar?)
Although 1 Peter was originally written to people in severe danger, its lessons apply to all of us, for we all experience pain of some kind.  Why don’t things work out the way we want?  Is God trying to tell us something?  Peter gives authoritative answers.  As you read, try to apply what he says to your own situation.

[Colossus_500]

Mightymouse72,

Thanks for posting this encouraging devotional.   

[Colossus_500]

Ask Him

September 19, 2008
Key Passage: Matthew 21:28-32
Topic: Pride/Humility; Sin/Temptation

"Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you." (Matthew 21:31, ESV)

That's exactly what Jesus told those mouthy religious, highly educated, pious experts who constantly harassed Him!

His point was this: those who overtly sin, like corrupt tax collectors, prostitutes or drug dealers and thieves, those who know they're doing wrong are the very people who often recognize how much they need a Savior: someone who's paid the price for their sin, who can forgive them and help them live right.

These haughty religious experts, on the other hand, were not committing the open and obvious types of sin. They studied and followed all the rules. But they were arrogant, with proud and corrupt hearts. They had an image to maintain and consequently were not at all the sort of men who would admit their need for a Savior--even to themselves.

And so Jesus made it very clear, "I tell you the truth, corrupt tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you do."

Of course you don't have to be a publicly recognized sinner to realize your need to change. Maybe you follow all the rules on the outside. But you recognize that inside your life is corroded with bad attitudes and thoughts. And you want Jesus to make some changes in you.

Either way you weigh in on the "sin scale"--obvious public wrongs or private inner thoughts you're ashamed of--Jesus can make you into a person who pleases God.

Just ask Him.

[Colossus_500]

What You Don't Know
September 23, 2008
Key Passage: Matthew 22:23-33


But Jesus answered them, "You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God." (Matthew 22:29, ESV)

Some of the religious leaders approached Jesus with a question about the resurrection. In fact, it was more of a riddle meant to trap Jesus.

You see, certain religious leaders, called Sadducees, didn't believe in life after death. So, they came to Jesus and asked him a complicated theological question to try and stump Him.

But Jesus answered the question by saying they didn't know the power of God or His Word.

Think about Jesus' response. Could He say the same about us?

How often do we worry about things because we don't know the Bible or the power of God? Think about it. If we knew God's Word and believed what it said, then we wouldn't need to worry about anything, because God says He will provide for our every need. If we truly believe that nothing too difficult for God, then we wouldn't worry about facing what seem to be impossible situations.

So, the question for you and for me: Do we know the Scriptures and the power of God?

If not, get to know them. And the best way to do that is spend time with God through prayer and reading His Word.

[mightymouse72]

The Place of Humiliation

“If You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us” Mark 9:22.

After every time of exaltation, we are brought down with a sudden rush into things as they really are, where it is neither beautiful, poetic, nor thrilling.  The height of the mountaintop is measured by the dismal drudgery of the valley, but it is in the valley that we have to live for the glory of God.  We see His glory on the mountain, but we never live for His glory there.
It is in the place of humiliation that we find our true worth to God- that is where our faithfulness is revealed.  Most of us can do things if we are always at some heroic level of intensity, simply because of the natural selfishness of our own hearts.  But God wants us to be at the drab everyday level, where we live in the valley according to our personal relationship with Him. 
Peter thought it would be a wonderful thing for them to remain on the mountain, but Jesus Christ took the disciples down from the mountain and into the valley, where the true meaning of the vision was explained.  (Mark 9:5-6 & 14-23)

“If you can do anything…” It takes the valley of humiliation to remove the skepticism from us.  Look back at your own experience and you will find that until you learned who Jesus really was, you were a skillful skeptic about His power.  When you were on the mountaintop you could believe anything, but what about when you were faced with the facts of the valley?  You may be able to give a testimony regarding your sanctification, but what about the thing that is a humiliation to you right now? 
The last time you were on the mountain with God, you saw that all the power in heaven and on earth belonged to Jesus- will you be skeptical now, simply because you are in the valley of humiliation?

[24KT]

On Personal Responsibility

"When your personal interests are threatened, in other words your comfort, well-being or reputation, you must be patient; and not just be patient, but thank heaven for the opportunity to show how intelligent you are.

But, what do people do instead? They watch unmoved as the forces of evil carry out their work of destruction on others, but they mobilize a whole army when their own interests are threatened.

For this, they will one day be severely judged. Divine Justice will reproach them: ‘You protested against the slightest injustice done to yourself, and yet at the same time you remained impassive before the humiliations inflicted on others, so in some way you contributed to them.’ And it won’t do them any good trying to justify themselves by saying, ‘I didn’t know.’ They should have known."

[24KT]

On Examining Your Own Conscience

"Once an evening is not enough to ‘examine one’s conscience’, as they say. Several times a day, you should ask yourself, ‘Let’s see, how does my heart feel? Is this really love? And are my thoughts on the path of wisdom? Has an element slipped in that will cause me to make a mistake?’ Each time you introduce elements of love and wisdom into your thoughts and feelings, you attain more truth. So, each time you progress, you take one step forward in your search for truth.

These aspects, these steps are infinite in number; this is why you have to find truth and, at the same time, continue to look for it. How? By linking yourself once and for all to the two irrefutable principles of love and wisdom while, at the same time, discovering each day the most suitable ways to put them into practice."

[24KT]

On Rebellion

"Who doesn’t feel justified in criticizing and attacking people when they find their behaviour appalling? And it’s true, it is right to rebel against certain behaviour. But people must also ask themselves whether there are not things more worth rebelling against. Instead of being constantly indignant about a certain situation, a certain individual or political party, why not rebel instead against your own weaknesses, your own mediocrity and vices? Yes, vent your indignation and disgust on these, and try hard to curb them.

If rebellion exists in the universe, it is because it has a role to play. But humans have not yet understood where, when, how or against whom or what to rebel. They must rebel, I agree, but against all the entities that have settled inside them, which deceive and gnaw away at them. These are their real enemies."

[24KT]

On Being Born Again

"All those who think only of increasing their bank balance, their social influence and their power over others are, in reality, only limiting themselves inwardly. And even if, at first, they derive great satisfaction from these things, they will be forced at some time or another to limit themselves outwardly, too.

As for those who walk the path of spiritual growth, they become free, even if they cannot avoid a certain amount of suffering and limitation. Their suffering resembles that of a mother bringing a baby into the world. This child is the fruit of a long maturation period, and its arrival often takes place in the midst of pain, but what joy there is when it’s finally here! It is this experience that inspired Christianity to teach that the goal of spiritual life is for each of us to give birth to the Christ-child within."

Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov

[24KT]

On the Existence of Fear

"Fear is not often mentioned as one of man’s weaknesses, yet it is a great enemy of inner progress. It is very often fear that is behind cowardice, avarice and wickedness. You meet people who claim to fear nothing, but what do they mean by that? In reality, if they knew how to analyse themselves better, they would notice they are afraid of at least one thing or one person.

It’s impossible to even count the different forms of fear: they are infinite in number, from the fear of accidents, illness and death to the fear of public opinion, lack of money or being deceived by one’s wife or husband, and so on. Fear accompanies human beings throughout their life and obscures their inner sky. So every person must be ready to face it at every moment."

[24KT]

On Balancing Our Perspectives

"As most events and situations have both a positive and negative aspect, there is a danger of focusing all our attention on the negative side. Obviously, we should not delude ourselves and see only what is good, but neither should we dwell on what is bad, for then we no longer even see the good.

You’re thinking, ‘Oh, we already know all that.’ So, put it into practice then, if you know it! Watch yourself, and you will discover how often you forget what you know, giving way to unhappiness and pessimism. And then, not only do you fail to reason correctly, you also prevent your soul from opening out and taking flight. This is how people destroy themselves spiritually, even physically. Yes, why do we say colloquially, when someone is anxious and dissatisfied, that worry is ‘eating them up’ or ‘gnawing away at them’?…"

[Colossus_500]

Willing to Forgive
Greg Laurie, Senior Pastor, Harvest Christian Fellowship

Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.
--Ephesians 4:31-32

Have you ever been angry with someone without cause? Or to rephrase that, have you ever driven on a freeway before?

Many people, in the depths of their heart, have anger and hatred to such a degree that their true desire would be for the one they hate to be dead. But that is clearly forbidden in Scripture. 1 John 3:15 says, "Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him." The word used here for hate means "to habitually despise." It implies not just a transient emotion of the affections, but a deep-rooted loathing.

The Bible is not saying that it is always a sin to be angry. But the idea in 1 John 3:15 is that of deep-seated anger and continuing resentment. It is to habitually despise.

Some people hold grudges. They operate by the phrase, "Don't get mad. Get even." Or maybe someone has wronged you. Maybe they have taken advantage of you or slandered you, and you've thought, "I hate them. I wish they would just drop dead." But there is no place for thinking like this on the part of the believer. God says, "Vengeance is mine," (Heb. 10:30). You have to let it go and forgive that person, whether or not he or she deserves it.

You have been forgiven a great debt, and as a child of God, you must forgive others. If we know anything of what God has done for us, then we must extend the forgiveness we have received to others as well.

Copyright (c) 2005 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.

[24KT]

On Prayer

Prayer is not simply the act of addressing some entity or another in order to ask for health, success or a fine marriage. When we pray, we reconnect with the supreme Being, the Creator of heaven and earth. If you learn how to relate to this Being, which is eternity and infinity, you attract elements from the higher worlds, and then it will not just be a few physical, material conditions of your life that change but your deepest Self.

True prayer is contact with the sublime regions. Succeed in capturing just one element from these regions, and suddenly everything is different: you feel this element vibrating within you, purifying you, enlightening you, bringing back harmony to your whole being. And this beneficial state acts upon all those around you: they are influenced, because from you they receive something of this precious element.

[24KT]

On Cosmic Light

The whole of space is filled with light, pervaded with light. If you cannot see it or feel it, it is because your spiritual organs are not developed enough to allow you to grasp such a subtle reality. But once you learn to concentrate on this cosmic light, you will succeed in refining your perceptions to such a degree, not only will you begin to feel it, you will also attract it to you to have it penetrate your cells and work upon you.

Make light the main object of your meditations, concentrate on it: little by little it will even come to replace all the worn-out, unhealthy particles in your body with new, purer particles. Then, once you become capable of attracting light into yourself, you still need to learn to project it out into the entire world in order to help the whole of humanity.

[24KT]

On Communion

The claim that believers are taking in the body of Christ simply by receiving the host from the hands of a priest is a wonderful invention, but, without wishing to offend Christians, an invention is all it is. How can they believe that Christ, the first divine emanation, would allow himself to be imprisoned in a host by priests of varying degrees of worthiness? Who do they take him for? And they call that the ‘mystery’ of the Eucharist.

No, there’s no mystery in it, only spiritual realities that obey laws: it is true that material objects can be filled with fluids, with influences, but not with God! What’s more, Jesus did not say, ‘Those who eat me and drink me…’ but ‘Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life’. So it is not Christ that the faithful eat and drink; it’s something that belongs to him, but it isn’t really him.

The flesh and blood of Christ are cosmic elements we can absorb through eating, breathing and meditating, and they can even be condensed into objects. But the Christ itself is a cosmic spirit, and nobody has any hold over it.

[24KT]

On Tuning-In to the Right Frequencies

The workings of the human psyche can be compared to how a radio works. You turn your radio on, and you can choose whether you listen to music, drama or news, but sometimes, before you find the right station, you’re subjected to quite a cacophony. Well, it’s the same with your inner world: there too you have the choice of which programme you wish to hear, but occasionally, either through carelessness or ill-will, you press the wrong button, and then what a din, what a row! Correct your mistake immediately. Through thought and imagination you can pick up wavelengths that will allow you to hear the voices of heaven: the voices of peace and harmony.

What does it mean to pray? It means finding the wavelength in ourselves that will put us in touch with the heavenly entities, with the Lord, and these entities will let us participate in the orderly, harmonious movement of their existence. To pray is to release a divine vibration within ourselves.

[24KT]

On Worries & Concerns

Worries over the future, feelings of being unfairly disadvantaged, mistrust of others, and so on: get rid of these thought patterns that are so detrimental to your inner development, for they erode all your energy. Open yourself to everything that’s vast, generous and luminous, expose yourself to the beneficial rays of the spiritual sun. When you have learned to let the light and warmth penetrate you, you will feel yourself becoming a formidable source of energy. For the moment, your only concern is to shield yourself from danger, and by doing this you constantly place screens between yourself and the sun. No, don’t be afraid!

You are not being asked to abandon everything that has helped you protect yourself this far, leaving yourself empty and defenceless, no, only to gradually replace all sorts of old things with new, better things: to replace one activity with another that’s more beneficial, one thought with another that’s more elevated, one love with another that’s far greater.

[24KT]

On Beauty

Beauty, in its essence, does not belong to the physical world, and that is why we cannot grasp hold of it, much less own it. As soon as you draw close enough to touch it, it slips away. Beauty is a world made exclusively for the eyes; it is not meant for the mouth or hands. It likes to be looked at but cannot bear to be touched. So when you meet people who are beautiful you must always be very careful. If you do not have the right attitude, you can chase away the heavenly entities that inhabit these people, those that give them their beauty. And if these entities go away, you too will suffer, for you will lose this intangible element that simultaneously made your own life beautiful. So our joy and inspiration depend on the respect we have for beauty. By learning how to contemplate it every day, we are given a taste of true life.

[24KT]

On Belief

It is easy to understand that everyone expresses themselves according to their own faculties, abilities, temperament and needs; that’s normal. But if someone says, ‘I believe this, I don’t believe that’, certain they’re stating an eternal truth, all it proves is they’re being presumptuous. As if it were enough for them to believe or not believe something for it to be true! It’s not a question of believing or not believing. It’s a question of studying and verifying. That is how you come closer to the truth.

Take those who say, ‘I believe’. Have they ever analyzed why they believe? What inspired their belief? Humans believe so many things just because it suits them, because they like it, because it corresponds to their needs, their sensibility and interests! Well, they can believe whatever they want to, they have the right, but they mustn’t imagine what they believe is the absolute truth, and above all they should stop wishing to impose it on others!

[24KT]

On The Marriage of Body & Spirit

By concentrating their efforts on the transformation of matter, alchemists had a better understanding of spiritual work than many so-called spiritual people, who concentrate all their efforts on escaping matter and separating the body and spirit.

Alchemy does not cut humans in two: into a spirit, which alone is worthy of our attention, and a body that should be ignored, despised and mistreated. No, spirit and matter, the spirit and the body, have work to do together.

The body is not the spirit’s tomb. Or, to be more precise, the body is only the spirit’s tomb for those who have not understood the meaning of the first verse in Genesis: ‘In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.’ Yes, not just the heavens but the heavens and the earth. By ‘heavens’ we are meant to understand ‘spirit’, and by ‘earth’ ‘matter’; if God created both, it is because they have something to do together. To separate the body from the spirit is to separate a house from its roof: exposed to bad weather, it collapses, and what does the roof do if it doesn’t have four walls to rest on?

[24KT]

On Morality

What is morality? Mostly, what is called morality is a collection of rules inspired by different geographical, historical and social conditions. In one place it’s immoral to show an ankle, while in another it’s quite moral to appear half-naked. In one place, it’s immoral for a man to look at a woman’s face, while in another he must agree to spend the night with his host’s wife, and so on. Obviously, none of that has anything to do with true morality.

For initiates, morality is the sum of laws inscribed by cosmic Intelligence in the human organism, at the core of the cells of a person’s organs, and anyone who does not respect these laws is destroyed psychically and physically. So the origin of morality lies in humans themselves. When you study the matter from this point of view, you notice there is an absolute morality, valid for the whole world. You cannot play around with it, and there are no arguments you can use that justify immorality. And since it lives within humans, true morality cannot be destroyed. When you break any of its laws, it shows you no mercy.

[24KT]

On Nourishment

Nourishing oneself is not just about eating and drinking, which we do every day. Nourishing oneself is a process involving the entire cosmos. Yes, human beings have been created to receive all the elements necessary for life, and in every region of space they can find nourishment suitable not just for their physical body but for their etheric, astral, mental, causal, buddhic and atmic bodies as well. Try to understand this, and you will begin to experience creation as an immense symphony.

But, of course, for these exchanges to take place, the channels of communication must be kept open. All the while they are not, circulation is poor, and like blocked pipes they have to be unblocked. How? On the physical level, we can change our diet, do a fast, take purgatives or enemas, and so on. On the psychological level, we can remove the blockages by making rigorous choices as regards our thoughts and feelings, so that we keep only those that are the most luminous, disinterested and generous.

[24KT]

On Dark Entities

How do dark entities set about harming humans? They urge them to make mistakes, for each mistake is an open door giving the entities the right to go in and torment them. If people resist, if they don’t make mistakes, the entities are powerless. This is why the devil – we’ll say ‘the devil’ for simplicity’s sake – only has the powers you give him. If you don’t want to deal with him, don’t let him in. He will not force you, he just makes suggestions – this is why he’s called the ‘tempter’ – and you are the one who says ‘yes’.

Most people imagine their disquiet, their distress and their anxieties have come suddenly, just like that, all at once. No, they prepared for them, they opened the door to them, they invited them in. How? By means of their desires, thoughts and lower feelings, by means of certain weaknesses and certain transgressions. At that very moment, the devil found the door open, came in and began his campaign of destruction.