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"The entrance of thy words giveth light (Psalm 119:130)."

Delusions & Spiritual Footholds

"Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness (2 Corinthians 6:14 NKJV)?"

"Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will (2 Timothy 2:25-26 NIV)."

Some time back, for about three years, I lived in a house with a woman and things were definitely not going well. I felt, at the time, that I had no choice. There was never any romantic relationship. She lived with us and helped take care of my mother.

It didn't start off bad—quite the opposite. At first, we got along just fine. She had a good sense of humor, made an effort to get along and even sought my counsel and support after her husband had left her for another woman.

I was sure we'd get along just fine. And, for awhile, we did. When my brother came over, he'd often find us laughing and sharing jokes. But the situation would soon be very different.

Some background first on the woman who we'll call Mary. Mary was not a bad person. Not at all. She meant well and was very conscientious. She always did what she felt was right.

Mary grew up in a family where she experienced severe emotional and physical abuse. And all this at the hands of a mother who purported to be a Christian. Her mother would even play Christian music while she abused her daughter!

Mary thought she was a Christian. She knew the gospel and said a lot of the right things, though not all her biblical ideas were biblical. She was not saved—at least not at this time. And she did not go to church.

Soon, she would begin accusing me of wrongdoing for reasons that made no sense. No amount of reasoning would work on her. She even accused me of being like her mother. Thus began a three year period of loud arguments and recurrent problems. Sometimes, I'd be so angry that I needed two cans of beer just to get to sleep. This is something that I'd never experienced before in my life. Normally—and today—I rarely drink alcohol.

As the situation came to a conclusion—after three years—I realized that Satan had a Spiritual Foothold due to my anger issues with her. I did the right thing: I told her I'd apologize for my part in the problems that we'd had. I knew, from experience, that that would help me forgive. And it did. But it did not completely resolve the foothold. Remember, I lived with her for three years; I should have never stayed in the situation that long.

It took quite a while for me to completely break free.

I believe that today Mary is a Christian. She came over and visited me and wanted to again be a friend. She talked about her having become saved and the impact of her salvation experience. I believe what said was real. She appeared to no longer be delusional: In regard to all the arguments we had had, she said: "I thought I was right."

I chose not to renew the friendship—though I do wish her well.

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