Don't Let the Devil Steal Your Dream

Don’t Let The Devil

Steal Your Dream

Anna M. Spear

Copyright © 2012 by Anna M. Spear.

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All Bible Scriptures are taken from The Scofield Reference Bible, KJV.

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ISBN: 978-1-4497-3355-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4497-3357-5 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4497-3356-8 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2011961844

Printed in the United States of America

WestBow Press rev. date: 1/11/2012

Contents

Preface

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Section One Information Highway

Chapter One A Journey into our Past

Section Two Moving Ahead

Chapter Two We are on a Journey

Chapter Three The Journey Continues

Chapter Four He Made a Way

Section Three Tools of the Trade

Chapter Five The Devil is on this Road

Section Four Two Directions

Chapter Six Road Goes in Two Directions

Chapter Seven The Road Leads to Earth

Section Five Tricks of the Trade

Chapter Eight Traveling on Down the Road

Chapter Nine Walking with Determination

Section Six Weapons and Armor

Chapter Ten Be a Prepared Traveler

Section Seven Change is a Good Thing

Chapter Eleven Jesus Arrival Changed Everything

Section Eight Tell the People

Chapter Twelve The Journey

Conclusion

Final Thought

To my sister, Sue,

who has inspired me

to be all that I can be.

To my cousin, Mary Kay,

who once told me

I could do anything I put my mind to.

To Jim,

my wonderful, loving, patient husband,

who has encouraged me to the point

that many times I wished he would just be quiet.

"Destiny is not a matter of chance,

it is a matter of choice.

It is not a thing to be waited for,

it is a thing to be achieved."

William Jennings Bryan

Preface

As the influence of the Christian Church declined through the years, and people stopped hearing the teachings of the word of God, it seems that people lost their concept of what sin is and the consequences that go with it.

The mere mention of God, and anything connected to him, has been taken out of our homes, schools, and community for so long that moral’s have declined to such an extent, that many people don’t have any.

Whatever one wants to do, rob, steal, kill, rape, is all right and there is no thought as to the consequences, our prisons are full of these people.

Many don’t even believe in sin, God, devil, heaven, hell or the Bible any more.

What is there left to believe in?

Not believing in these has only led to the moral decay of so many people.

But in spite of all this, I believe that: God is still drawing people to him.

He is still saving lost souls, and He is still trying to change the hearts of men, pleading with them to repent of their sins and accept him as their Lord and Savior.

From everything I have heard and read in the last ten years, I believe;

Young people today are searching for something to believe in,

but are not sure what they are searching for to fill the void in their lives.

With the emptiness they have in their hearts,

they fall prey to many organizations that are ungodly

and will follow any forceful leader that comes along,

such as a gang leader or a cult leader.

So many of them grew up not knowing anything about God, Jesus, the Church and the Holy Bible, but now they are searching for a higher power. Many have started attending Church and learning about Jesus Christ for the first time, and are very excited.

Several have shared their experience on face book with their friends. Some have even told their parents and grandparents about Jesus Christ and the plan of Salvation, and as a result of their children’s or grandchildren’s witness, they have gotten saved.

Yes, they are excited and are trying to live for Christ, but are not sure how to go about it. This is something completely new to them.

Now, they are desperately in need of the right kind of spiritual guidance and influence. Because they haven’t received much, if any, they are searching for something beyond any experience they have had.

This shows they are hungry for the Lord and his Word.

I also believe that is why God is allowing us born again, spirit filled Christians, of the older generations, to live to be an old age.

He knows these young people need us now. They are asking questions and trying to study the Bible to find answers, and we are there to guide them.

No! Not tell them—but to guide them.

We have learned much during our lifetime that allows us to help those seeking the truth.

It is not just our young people that are seeking answers to these questions, but there are many older citizens that are asking questions and seeking guidance.

They too are looking for encouragement, hope and joy in life.

This is the purpose of this book:

—to give you information,

—to help you understand how to be saved today and start living for Jesus.

—to give words of encouragement,

—to give words of hope

—to help you take back your dream from the Devil and resume your journey through life the way God intended.

—to inform you who and what the Devil is, what he does and the ways in which he works.

—how to resist the Devil and send him packing.

—to urge you to have an active prayer life.

Talking to God daily makes you feel good, helps you get closer to God and it pleases him.

—to urge you to read and study your Bible daily.

Everything you need in life is written within its pages.

I realize I am no longer a young woman, but I also know that God put a dream in my heart years ago and regardless of anything that may come my way, I can still be used by God. I have finally taken my dream back from the devil, and now I am following it to my destiny.

Because of my age, I have more of life’s experiences to share with others.

God gave me this Changing Lives Ministry; to encourage you to never lose hope, to pursue your dream, find your destiny and discover joy, to tell you that God never fails, and he is always right on time to give us whatever we need.

Young people, Now! While you are still young, is the time to start pursuing your dream, before the devil has a chance to steal it from you.

Older citizens, you too can still be used by God. You allowed the devil to steal your dream years ago, but it is not too late for you to take it back.

These words are written; to help you make that all important change in your life, dare to dream.

Today is your day.

Acknowledgements

I wish to first of all thank God,

who gave me my talent and put this dream in my heart

and would not allow me to forget it.

To Pastor James R. Brown,

New Life Church, Wilmington, OH.

whom God used to get me to

take back my dream from the Devil.

To Elaine Williams,

Librarian, Lynchburg, OH.

who spent many hours

reading and correcting parts of my manuscript.

Introduction

When we are born, God puts a dream in our heart, and there it stays for the rest of our life.

He then starts a process in our life that will help us to obtain that dream.

We may stop pursuing our dream, but God will keep bringing it back to our memory, we leave our dream, it doesn’t leave us. Once God plants that dream, it is there inside of us until we either let it wither and die, or allow it to live and bloom.

One of the reasons so many people are unhappy today is because, they are not living the dream God put in them. Until the day comes when we can get back on focus again and start living our dream, we will never be truly happy.

Many have lost hope and think they are stuck in a no win situation.

Losing hope kills either physically, spiritually or both.

God has a plan and purpose for each and everyone of us. So many times when we stray from him, we loose sight of our dreams and aspirations. We accept mediocre positions with low paying wages, or we get involved in a career that pays really well but leaves us unfulfilled. We are not happy in this position, and we think, there must be more to life than this.

As each day passes, we continue to do things the same way and can’t understand why the outcome stays the same.

We should be satisfied and happy, but we aren’t. We think it is too late to undertake a new way of doing things, so we just continue on this road that seems to never end.

No! Leave that kind of thinking behind you. Give yourself a good talking to, then ask God to show you where you can find happiness and self satisfaction.

Satan would have us to believe that our dream is too difficult, or it will take too long to accomplish our goals. He tells us we are too busy to start today, there is always tomorrow when things are a little less hectic. We should have started pursuing our dream when we were young. Today, we have other obligations: a wife, children, job, commitments to our community, etc. He tells us we are too old, or too sick, or it has been too long now to pursue our dream. Let the younger, healthier generation do those hard, time consuming jobs.

Don’t listen to that negative spirit! You’ve been listening to him for years and where has it gotten you?

No! Listen to your heart instead.

If you continue to do things like you have always done them, there will be no changes in your life and you will always be where you are right now, unfulfilled and unsatisfied.

This is not where God wants you to be.

Start doing things a different way today, and you will see a brighter tomorrow.

For the young people just starting out into the world on your own, go where your heart tells you to go. I urge you to be all you can be while you are still young. Reach your full potential now, before the problems(devil) of this world causes you to quit dreaming.

In many ways it is easier for people today to pursue their dream, than it was for our forefathers. More educational opportunity’s and financial help are available today, than in past years.

The only thing stopping you, is you (listening to Satan tell you, you can’t).

As you read the following pages, you might think this is a book about Satan and how he operates. While that is not my primary objective, I do speak of him many times.

Why? Because, it is important for you to see and learn how Satan operates so that you will be able to recognize him when he comes calling, and to learn how to get rid of him.

It is also important to know with whom, or what, you are dealing. We need to know the character of Satan, if we are going to be successful in our dealings with him.

Just remember, that the power of God is stronger than the power of the Devil.

Section One

Information Highway

The thing about our choices is that after we have made them, they turn around and make us.

Anonymous

Chapter One

A Journey into our Past

Come! Take a Journey with me back, back, back into yesteryear.

No! I am not the Lone Ranger or Tonto, his sidekick.

I am a Disciple of Jesus Christ helping prepare you for that wonderful life that lies ahead, giving you encouragement and hope, to help you find your destiny.

Before we proceed into the future, go back in time with me—you know History, the subject in school most people disliked the most. Even if you do dislike history, I think you will find what little that has been written here, will be very interesting.

It is important that

We understand why and

how we got to where we are today.

This is why you may read of events that happened before many of you were ever born.

And some may remember them because you lived through them.

My parents were born in the 1920’s, lived during the time of The Great Depression era of the 30’s and also World War II in the early 40’s.

This is where we will start our journey.

Those who lived in the 20’s and 30’s had a hard life. Times were bad and money was hard to come by.

My mother and her sister had to work all day in the fields hoeing corn.

When that chore was done, they hired themselves out to neighbors, hoeing their cornfields for one dollar a day.

They would house-clean on Saturday for fifty cents a house and could usually clean two or three houses that day. When they got a little older they were boarded out to the more wealthy people in town as servants. They rarely got to keep any of the money they made because it had to go to help support the rest of the family. Any money they did get to keep went to buy clothes and shoes.

They, and many others just like them, married young and started having children of their own. Because they had such a hard life, they wanted their children to have an easier and better life.

Then World War II came along and it looked like this dream of our parents would not come true. The men, and some women, went to war and the remaining women went to work in factories, steel mills, etc., because there weren’t enough men left at home to do all the work that needed to be done.

When the war was finally over, men took back their jobs and most women reverted back to their roles as housewives.

The late forties and early fifties

After World War II ended and our soldiers came home, the country wanted to put the war behind them.

Children, later known as the baby boomers, started being born and parents once again wanted their children to have more than they had as they were growing up during the depression years.

The dream for most people was to