Satan Has a Plan Too

By Brian Pusateri | October 27, 2011 | | Share on Facebook

Friends In Christ:

May God’s blessings be with you and your loved ones. I want to continue on some thoughts from the last few weeks about the importance of Christian Community and having aplan.

Not only does God have a plan for us but so does Satan. Yes, Satan has a plan for each of us too. There is a spiritual battle going on for our souls. Have you ever willingly cooperated with Satan’s agenda and thumbed your noseto God’s plan? I am sure if we are willing to admit it, all of us have at some point.

You see, God called us each by name both at our baptism and during our Cursillo or other weekend experience.Whether we experienced Cursillo, Walk to Emmaus or Via de Cristowe discoveredon the weekend that Jesus Christ himself called us by name to be a leader for Christianity here in the world. He chose us because he knew we could have an influence on others and we learned that just by how we live our lives we could attract others to the Christ that dwells in us and hopefully bring others to Christ.

In all of these movements, wewerepresented with a cross and told ” Christ is counting on you”. We willingly accepted the cross and professed, “I am counting on Christ.”On our weekend we were given the precise tools to help sustain each of us individually and to also sustain the movement as a whole. Those tools are weekly Group Reunion andmonthly Ultreya.

Now lets take a moment to look at Satan’s plan.

How does his plan play out in our lives? Satan deceives us in small ways and then small things lead to habits. Slowly but surely he pulls us away from God’s plan. Have you ever missed a Weekly Group Reunion? Have you found excuses to miss monthly Ultreya? When we do so,are we fulfilling Satan’s plan for our lives? Slowly but surelyhabitsdevelopwhich makesit easier to just not go at all. Am I saying that every time we miss Group Reunion or Ultreya that the cause is Satan, no absolutely not. Some times there are legitimate reasons for why we can’t attend. But we must recognize that God’s plan has us living out our calling in Christian community. When we don’t attend a weekly Group Reunion with our brother and sisters in Christ, or when we choose to not attend our monthly Ultreya not only do we lose out, but those who do attend lose out by our not being present. We are the body of Christ and it takes all parts of the body to be whole.

For those of you reading this email who have not yet participated in one of the Christian weekends like Cursillo and therefore do not have a Friendship Group Reunion or Ultreya to attend, are there ways in which Satan is keeping you from God’s calling in your life? Could you make the commitment to start a weekly group that is centered around Jesus Christ where you can discuss your prayer life, your Christian study and your evangelization efforts? Don’t let Satan stop you from doing this.

Currently I am reading a book called “Unbound” by Neal Lozano that hits on this same theme. In it I read that we are all bound by various sins and that Satan knows our weaknesses and tries to exploit them for his plan for our lives. Without first acknowledging what our individual weaknesses are, it is hard to determine where we are most vulnerable. Perhaps he just simply puts reasons in our mind that tell us we don’t need to attend these important Christian gatherings. Then by not attending a few times it becomes a habit not to go at all. ThenSatan has scored a victory.

In this letter I am only touching on Satan’s desire to keep us away from our Christian Community. The Kingdom of God is built up by his community. Together we make up the Body of Christ. If Satan is successful in keeping us away from Group Reunion and Ultreya slowly our foundation for Christian Community crumbles and Satan takes a victory in this part of our lives. We must pray for deliverance from this tendency. We must plan in advance and schedule to always go. Then God’s plan in our lives, for us to live in Christian Community, will win out.

In my last 4th Day Letter I started and finished with a versefrom the song “Here I am Lord.” Today I want everyone to think aboutthese words from the Wedding Banquet Song:

I cannot come,

I cannot come to the banquet,

Don’ttrouble me now,

I have married a wife,

I have bought me a cow

I have fields and commitments,

That cost a pretty sum,

Pray hold me excused,

I cannot come!

In Luke’s Gospel 14: 15-24, Jesus tells us of the master who invited the guests to the banquetbut for all kinds of reasons they would not come. We have been invited to the banquet. We have committed to being in a weekly Group Reunion and monthly Ultreya to sustain and grow God’s Kingdom here on earth. We should add to our written plan to always attend these Christian Community gatherings. When one is not present, the entire Christian body loses out.

Question:

  • What song do you want to sing?
    1. Here I am Lord…Is it I Lord
    2. I cannot come…Pray hold me excused I cannot come

Brian Pusateri
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