November 14: LIFESTYLE OF LOYALTY

You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; you were on the holy mountain of God; you walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. Ezekiel 28:14

Before Lucifer rebelled against God, one of his jobs was to cover (protect) God’s throne which contains His eternal law. At that early time, he could walk back and forth in the midst of fiery stones comfortably, as a sinless citizen of Heaven. God’s throne room—the control center of the universe—is a place of unparalleled majesty, glory, and purity beyond our imagination. At that time, all of the angels lived in harmony and full agreement upon God’s perfect governing principles.

After the heavenly rebellion and before Jesus came to the earth as a man, we are introduced to the man Job, who also agreed with God’s governing principles, rendering him blameless and upright (Job 1:1).

Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them. And the LORD said to Satan, “From where do you come?” So Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.” Job 1:6-7

Satan is plainly declaring the earth as his domain. Jesus and Paul both stated as much (see John 12:31 and 2 Corinthians 4:4). But Job, by his lifestyle of loyalty to the governing principles of God, lived on the earth as a citizen of Heaven. All of us are offered the same choice. It is a matter of a personal decision whose words we will believe and live by. Yes, we are living in the domain of Satan, but we need not allow him to dominate us. The day is coming when he and all of his followers will be forever put out of existence, And shall be no more forever (Ezekiel 28:19b). Satan has gone to great lengths to carry each of us away as his captives, but God has gone to much greater lengths to rescue us! By choosing His ways over worldly ways, we are aided by His Holy Spirit to cast Satan out of our hearts, out of our thinking, and ultimately out of our lives. It is God’s plan to provide hope and to restore our future with Him. In these last days, God refers to the world as spiritual Babylon—and He calls each of us to come out (Revelation 18:4). The end of the Babylonian captivity of Israel was marked with this wonderful promise:

I know the plans I have in mind for you, declares the LORD; they are plans for peace, not disaster, to give you a future filled with hope. Jeremiah 29:11 (CEB)