Satan runs the show! It's a very unnerving and messed up fact, but the bottom line is that when Adam and Eve cast their universal "vote" for Satan, they basically willingly handed him the keys to our planet. I know that you don't want to hear that and it makes me angry. Because of Satan and Adam and Eve, all of us have been born into this sinful world with a sinful DNA and an all-natural, 100% sinful nature. Isn't it amazing that no one had to teach you to lie, cheat, hate, or steal? It comes naturally, doesn't it? That's why Jesus' statements known as "The Sermon on the Mount" are that much more difficult to digest. What Jesus wants from us as His followers goes 180° opposite from what the world is like-from what we are naturally like. What's the world like? Well, Jesus' original follower, John puts it like this: "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world-the lust of the flesh [craving for physical pleasure], the lust of the eyes [craving for everything we see], and the pride of life [craving for achievements & possessions]-is not of the Father but is of the world" (1 John 2:15-16). Basically, Jesus wants us to live super-naturally-totally opposite; He wants us to live...backwards, and by doing that, we will show a watching world (and universe) that the law of God (and God, by extension) is loving, fair, righteous, and that His law can be kept simply from an unforced choice on our part that stems from a thankfulness to Him for the grace and mercy He's given to us.
About the Author: Omar Miranda was the editor of Insight magazine (http: //www.insightmagazine.org) and the director of Insight Ministries. He is a counselor that specializes in working with children, youth and their families and sex and pornography addictions. He is also a lay pastor, author, writer and consultant (http: //omarmiranda4.wix.com/mirandawrites). Omar Miranda has an M.Ed. in Community Guidance & Counseling. He also has in Initial Certification in School Counseling. He has worked extensively at private & public elementary, middle and high schools & at the University level. He has more than 25 years of counseling and ministry experiences with youth, young adults and their families. He is a Lay Pastor an Ordained Elder. He holds a certificate in Christian Counseling from the American Association of Christian Counselors (AACC) and is a Certified Christian Family Educator. Omar is certified in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Sexual Addiction. He is also a consultant for Freedom Begins Here (http: //freedombeginshere.org/collections/free/products/omars-story), a company that specializes in the creation of materials and resources specifically dealing with the issues of sexual and pornography addictions. Omar is a recovering sexual, pornography and food addict. He is a past member of AACC, the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) and the Georgia School Counselor Association (GSCA). He has been a Consultant and Presenter for the Georgia Department of Abstinence Education and the Georgia Children and Youth Coordinating Council (CYCC). Omar has been interviewed on local, national, and international television and radio as an expert on the topic of child, adolescent, and adult sexual & pornography addiction and various marriage & family issues. Omar's experiences with youth have run the spectrum; from youth in public and private school, at-risk youth in detention and psychiatric centers to Christian youth. He loves to preach and teach the Bible and stays busy writing, counseling, consulting and designing resources dealing with various counseling, children, youth, culture, and family-life related issues. Omar lives in very unplain Plainville, Georgia, with his wife and their two children. He enjoys bird watching, writing, reading, walking, photography, and-much to his family's dismay-watching documentaries.