As most things do, it begins ‘in the beginning…’

In the beginning, it was heaven on earth, so to speak. Love was all around, eternal bliss, and all the fringe benefits of being in the right place at the right time; with the right person and the right intentions.

Yep, my article entitled ‘good intentions’ could be inserted here.

Of course, my subject matter today supersedes that thought, I think, when we weigh the relevance of the power of persuasion. 

Whether we want to accept it or not, we all possess this ability. The power to persuade someone else is not just available to the strong willed, the strong minded, or even the strong bodied persons. 

It’s a matter of perspective. Perspective? Yes, that’s what I said. And what is perspective, you might ask? 

The Cambridge dictionary defines it as such-“a particular way of viewing things that depends on one’s experience and personality: Perspective also means the ability to consider things in relation to one another accurately and fairly.” Hmmm…does it seem that our society and Christendom included would do well to be reminded of this one word in its proper context?

As we watch this magnificent world, of which our Creator God so magnificently spoke into existence, reel on its axis, it begs one to differentiate between purpose and perspective. 

“In the beginning, God…” seems to have become a foreign truth to so many who now live within the lying realm of the “strong delusion”. The very purpose of God in creation has been downplayed to naught with the emphasis once again upon the age old lie, which the evil serpent, satan himself, better known as Lucifer, who was once highly esteemed in Heaven by God and His holy angels, so explicitly used in the garden when the narrative began between him and Eve, in Genesis chapter 3; 1 “Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, ‘Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?’

2 And the woman said unto the serpent, ‘We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:

3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, ‘Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.’

4 And the serpent said unto the woman, ‘Ye shall not surely die:

5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.’

6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

8 And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.

9 And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, ‘Where art thou?’

10 And he said, ‘I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.’

11 And God said, ‘Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?’

12 And the man said, ‘The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.’

13 And the Lord God said unto the woman, ‘What is this that thou hast done?’ And the woman said, ‘The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.’

14 And the Lord God said unto the serpent, ‘Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:

15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.’

16 Unto the woman he said, ‘I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.’

17 And unto Adam he said, ‘Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;

18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;

19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.’

20 And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.

21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them.

22 And the Lord God said, ‘Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:’

23 Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.

24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.”

Wow! What a powerful example we see set forth in this narrative between God, satan, Adam and Eve!

The power of persuasion? We see it readily set forth as the serpent convinced Eve, ‘you shall not surely die…’

God had explicitly given them instructions to tend the garden and to NOT partake of the fruit of the tree in the midst of the garden. 

Her purpose and perspective were both cast aside by the power of persuasion. She believed this creature who spoke directly in contrast to that which she knew in her heart of hearts to be true . God said. It didn’t stop there. Eve persuaded Adam to partake, no doubt against his better judgment. Here’s what I imagine her saying, “Ah, Adam, it’s wonderful. If you really love me, you’ll eat it, too.”

She partook of the fruit of the tree and found it to feed the 3 veins of humanism-the lust of the flesh, good for her appetite, the lust of the eyes, very appealing in its visual appeal, and the pride of life, would make her smarter than God! Dum da dum dum! 

The beginning of the end followed. God pronounced His judgment upon their disobedience, and thus the saga of living in sin began.

The power of persuasion can have positive or negative effects. Sadly, though, it seems the negatives usually outweigh the positives. Why? Because they were born from the curse of sin. 

If we reflect upon our own lives, there is no doubt example after example where we can see how the power of persuasion affected our moral and spiritual compasses. 

I was listening to a sermon last week and the preacher was stating how a voice spoke in his head as he was contemplating giving his heart to Jesus which said, “You’re going to make a fool out of yourself. There’s no one going to believe that you can change your way of living.” And I remembered that same voice speaking in my mind as I began to get out of my seat forty-six years ago to make my way to an altar of repentance. “You’re going to make a fool out of yourself by going down there; these people think you’re already saved. Look what a good life you’ve lived; you don’t drink, smoke, do drugs, sleep around.” But when I knelt to pray, the presence of God so overwhelmed me and showed me how wretched and lost I was because my heart was black with sin, and in such need of a Saviour. And even though at that time my sins of omission outweighed my outward sins of commission, the fact was the same. I was a sinner, because I had never asked Jesus to come into my heart and be both Lord and Master of my life. 

Since that time, the power of persuasion has seized my heart on many occasions, some good, some bad. But the fact that as I walk this journey called life, my purpose and perspective have been my mainstay. 

My purpose? To serve God daily, to share His love, to reach the lost at any cost with that unconditional love, to hide His word in my heart that I might not sin against Him, to take up my cross daily, deny myself, and follow Him. Is it easy? Of course not, not all the time. Some days are easier than others.

The key to fulfilling my purpose is to maintain a right perspective. And what is my perspective? To never lose sight of the end of the tunnel. Whether there is a light all the way through it or not, my perspective is based on my knowledge of His will and plan for my life. Eternity awaits. And this stage of life is preparing me for that final destination. Whether it’s popular or accepted by others, there is a heaven to gain and a hell to shun. 

As we near the end of this year, may we reflect upon our individual lives. And ask ourselves a sobering question, “What has my life counted for this year?”

Has it been full of self-absorption, pride, self-will, envy, jealousy, malice, carnality, evil doing, lying, deceit, and the list of ‘heart’ problems can continue. 

Or has it been a life dedicated to God, allowing Jesus to be Lord of our lives, and being sensitive to Holy Spirit as our teacher, comforter, and guide? 

The power of persuasion usually enters the mind first, then from there to the heart, then to the body. 

May we determine to make 2020 the best year we’ve ever lived, as it holds all kinds of changes, not just in our moral and spiritual lives, but even in this great country of ours. We are going to experience things yet to be understood or even contemplated by many. 

Prepare to meet God. We pray so often, “Come, Lord Jesus.” And He does; daily. Lives are being taken by the thousands…where will they spend eternity? 

Let us shine the light of God’s love to those we meet in our circle of life. May our power of persuasion be positive! 

Indeed, Maranatha!

D. S. Mullis

Copyright .2019