April 23, 2025 • 33 mins
The Screwtape Letters: Encore Episodes for Today’s Chaos
In a world of confusion and spiritual warfare, C.S. Lewis’s The Screwtape Letters remains shockingly relevant. We’re bringing back these powerful episodes to equip you with timeless wisdom—exposing the enemy’s tactics and strengthening your faith for the battles we face.
Whether you’re new to Lewis’s work or revisiting it, this deep dive will:
✔ Unmask subtle deception with biblical truth
✔ Sharpen your discernment in a culture of lies
✔ Prepare you for real spiritual warfare—because the fight is real.
Ever feel like unseen forces are at work in your life? That’s because they are. Tune in and arm yourself with truth.
#ScrewtapeLetters #SpiritualWarfare #CSLewis #StandFirm #TruthWins #Demons
Would you like to support the Cheer UP! Podcast? You can do so by clicking here
Kara's website - click here.
Cheri's website- here.
Email - cheeruppodcast@gmail.com
Instagram - @kararhunt
Leave reviews on - Apple, Spotify, iHeart, Google Podcasts,
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
Hi and welcome to the Cheer Up podcast.
I am your host, kara R Hunt,and with me is the lovely Sherry
Swarwell.
How are you doing thisbeautiful, low-quality morning
here in the Midwest, sherry?
Speaker 2 (00:37):
I am doing great.
I can definitely tell that itis summertime or the beginning
of summertime, with you starting.
The allergies are out, theblossoms are out, the bugs are
out, i don't know.
I tell you what I mean.
I tease about that, kara, but Ilove living where we love, with
where we love.
I love living where we live.
(00:58):
I love having four seasons andI just love I don't know.
I think for me, living in thefour seasons, like we do, i feel
like I get a new appreciationfor God each season, over and
over again, every single year,and I really don't think I would
want it any other way.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
I know It's like, was it a couple of days ago?
my quote-unquote office isactually just a desk in one of
the rooms in my house, but Ihave it facing a window.
I think it was a couple of daysago.
(01:39):
it was just gorgeous.
it was sunny, it was warm, butit was a little breezy and I saw
that little white stuff flyingthrough the air I don't know
pollen, you know it was like somuch of it because the wind was
blowing and so it was just kindof like blowing it everywhere.
I remember sitting on my deskand I just kind of look at it
(02:03):
when that happens and I'velearned to be content by sitting
and admiring from afar, becauseI know that if I had went out
and the stuff was that bad itwas just blowing everything
everywhere I would have come inwith possibly sinus issues,
(02:26):
sneezing, coughing andeverything else.
I'm like you know what?
that's okay, it's beautiful.
I got this beautiful window Ican look out at, i can see
everyone else enjoying it andI'm okay with that.
I have to get out thereeventually, maybe the next day
(02:47):
or whatever, but as of right now, it's okay.
I'm not going to do thatbecause when I go out like that,
i have to come in andimmediately wash my hair, throw
anything I was wearing in awashing machine just to not
cross-contaminate, right.
I don't want to sit down in aclothes I had on when it's that
(03:09):
bad, like when you can see it.
You know what I'm saying,because it's attaching to you
your clothes, your hair,everything, so that I can
actually breathe easy in myhouse and I constantly have to
use saline spray and everythingelse.
It's just, it's crazy, but it'sbeautiful.
I cannot see myself living inan all winter state or part of
(03:33):
the country, nor can I seemyself living on a tropical
island where it's warm all thetime.
So, god is good.
I love being where we have fourseasons.
Yep, me too.
Yeah, me too, and it's justlike I love it.
You know my body has its ownissues with it, but you know
(03:54):
what it'll adjust.
God is good, Yep it's all good,you know, and everything.
So for those of you who mayjust be joining us, i just want
to say welcome once again to theCheer Up podcast.
We have episodes uploaded everyWednesday and we are in our
(04:14):
third season and probably on our100, and, oh my goodness, this
would be maybe our like 115thepisode or something like that.
So if you guys are new and youwant to know more about us and
everything else, just go to ourwebsite.
You know, sherry would give youall of that information At the
(04:35):
end of this episode how tocontact us, how to go to our
individual website, how to getto the Cheer Up podcast, and
it's available on all majorpodcasting platforms.
By the way, you're Spotify, youriHeart, all of that and if you
are new to it, or if you're notnew to it but you've been
(04:55):
listening to us for a while andyou would like to help us get
our message out to others, andif you've been blessed by it or
ministered to by it, then pleasedownload, like and download the
podcast, and that just helpsget the word out better and just
makes it higher in algorithm, ithink.
(05:16):
Kind of like on Facebook whenyou like something that your
friend posts.
It makes it higher in analgorithm for other people and
your friends and stuff to see.
So that's kind of how it works.
Almost the same way withpodcasting.
So for June, july, august, arewe going into September, sherry,
(05:41):
with this particular series?
Speaker 2 (05:43):
No No, Just June, July and August.
No just June and July andAugust.
Yep June, july and.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
August.
Okay, So for June and July andAugust we are going to be
talking about the classicliterature book, The Screwtape
Letters by C S Lewis.
A lot of you may be familiarwith C S Lewis.
(06:10):
He has written other books likeMyra, Christianity, you know,
and some other type biblicaltype books and everything else.
Now it's classic in the sensethat I think it was originally
written.
The Screwtape Letters wasoriginally written in the 1940s.
(06:32):
Since then I think it has beenreprinted, republished and you
know, by different publishersand you know, and stuff since
then I know like there's one in1961, reprint, and then I think
there was some more, But it'sall the same.
It's just, you know, based on abook, The Screwtape Letters.
And The Screwtape Letters,believe it or not, is one of
(06:57):
those different classicalliterature books with very with
spiritual undertones And, tokind of put it in a very quick
nutshell, we'll explain a littlebit more about it over the next
couple of weeks as we're doingthis.
But The Screwtape Letters ispretty much about the two demons
(07:22):
and a person, a human being,And it's Screwtape is like the
head demon, so to speak, Andhe's writing letters to his
nephew Wormwood And he's kind ofteaching him, tutoring him,
monitoring him as he tries tomake this other person's life
(07:47):
miserable, This human being'slife miserable.
So Wormwood Screwtape is kindof like the mentor to his nephew
Wormwood, and he's doing itthrough letters And that's why
it's called The ScrewtapeLetters.
He's writing his nephewWormwood both of who are demons
on how to best deceive,manipulate, torment, harass
(08:13):
their quote unquote patientwhich is a human being, and
bring them to their father'shouse, And by that he means hell
and Satan.
So basically, that's just likea very concise version of it.
It is not a very long book.
It is only 31 chapters And Ithink each chapter has like
(08:37):
maybe six paragraphs in itbecause, again, these are
letters.
But the whole theme of the bookis very, very worthy of
discussion as it talks about how, as Christians or as people in
our life, some of the thingsthat we really really really
need to be aware of.
(09:00):
And I know that there are a lotof people who believe in angels,
but you just don't see thatsame type of belief, I think,
when it comes to demons, forexample.
I think most people are just ohyeah, that's just not the per
se.
(09:20):
You know the truth, like angelsare good, and I believe in
angels and I believe I have aguardian angel and everything
else.
But you know, I don't know somuch about the spirit part, the
demon part.
But demons are real, Okay, Andeven though we cannot see their
activities, that does not meanthat they are not here, alive,
functioning and watching what wedo.
(09:41):
These are fallen angels whofollowed Satan's rebellion from
heaven, Okay, And I believe thatpart can be found in a book by
Isaiah where it talks aboutLucifer's fall from heaven.
And they have hierarchies.
Some are known as rulers, someare have authority, some are
(10:03):
powers and they're justbasically spiritual forces of
evil.
And if you, I highly encourageyou to just do a word search,
you know, and study on demons inthe Bible.
They are real As believers.
Once we accept and realize allof this, I think the easier our
(10:25):
spiritual walk would be.
And I just want to I'm going toslowly go through this in this
episode because I want to givepeople, I want to give everyone,
some scriptural foundationbefore we continue on with the
series in the next couple ofweeks, If you want to know
(10:48):
exactly how.
How say, excuse me, demons are,Like you're saying, what They
have hierarchies, like.
There's high level demons andlow level demons.
Um, yeah, And you can find thatout in Ephesians 6-10 through
12.
That's Ephesians, chapter 6,verses 10 through 12.
(11:09):
If you want to know if well,are you saying that, that that
demons can influence people, orthat they can demonize people?
and, you know, take over people?
And if you want to know moreabout that, then read Luke,
chapter 8, verse 30.
If you want to know more aboutthe rebellion against, when
(11:34):
Lucifer was trying to go againstour God Almighty, and when he
left he took a lot of the peopleI think a third of heaven with
him, I need to reread thescripture.
But, um, and so they're calledfallen angels, And those fallen
angels are what the Bible refersto as demons, And you can read
more about that in Isaiah,chapter 14, verses 12 through 15
(11:59):
.
Again, that's Isaiah, chapter14, verses 12 through 15.
And in the New Testament, youcan read more about that in 2
Peter, chapter 2, verses 4through 10.
Demons can actually also takeshape and be visible to people.
I know a lot of people don'twant to hear that And you know
(12:21):
they're like Kara, you'recreeping me out.
I just don't believe that.
I know we could.
People could see angels.
Well, you know what.
They can also be visible.
Demons can also be visible tohumans.
If you want to know more aboutthat, then you could go to Job,
chapter 4 and 15.
If you want to know if a personcan be possessed by demons, um,
(12:44):
unbelievers, um, or if, um youcan be oppressed by demons, um,
as in believers, then you wantto, uh, and if you want to know
if they could be like, okay,well, what if I have one?
What if I see one?
Whatever, What can I do aboutit?
If you want to know if they canbe driven out from um a person,
(13:05):
then you want to read moreabout that.
You know, because it's very,very um, you, you, you got to be
careful when you're doing that.
So, um, very, very careful, Um,because, without doing it
correctly, then you know thatperson you or yourself or
someone else can be, you know,um, making yourself open to like
(13:27):
a seven-fold infestation ofthem.
So, and you want to read moreabout that in the book of
Matthew, chapter 12, 45.
Oh, okay, Demons love toconfuse the truth with lies, Um,
and we can see that every day.
(13:47):
All we have to do is pull upsocial media, see what some
people are saying, saying howthings that we know are false
and ridiculous and people areembracing them as truth And
they're saying that, no, no, no,this, this can be that and I
can be this, And you know, andeverything else, it's, it's they
(14:07):
.
He, uh, uh, uh, uh.
Satan and his enemies love todo it with half truth, uh,
putting in a little bit of truthwith a whole lot of lie, and he
mixes it together and getpeople all confused.
Um, and you can read more aboutthat in first John, chapter
four, verse four.
(14:28):
Um, if you worship idols oranything else other than the
true God above the outfit andyou'll make the Holy one of
Israel the most high God, thenyou are, then it is very
possible that you could beworshiping and sacrificing
things to demons, and you maynot even know it, Um, because,
(14:48):
um, the whole purpose of demonsis to help you be deceived.
That's basically it, One way ornot.
I mean, I have multiplepurposes, but one of the biggest
things that they they're ableto do that with is through
deception, And if you want toread more about that, that's in
first Corinthians, chapter 10,verses 20 through 21.
(15:11):
The Bible has.
If you also go through thescriptures you can also see that
, um, demons can inhabit animals.
It's uh, and you want to readmore about that in Matthew,
chapter eight, verse 31.
Um, there will be a time thatdemons of all levels and
(15:34):
hierarchies and powers andauthorities will be released to
wreck incredible pain andtorture on those who are not
Christians.
And if you want to read moreabout that in the Bible second
Peter, chapter two, verses fourand five, and the book of
Revelation, chapter nine, versesone through seven, Again, a
(15:56):
second Peter, chapter two,verses four and five, and
revelation, the book ofRevelation, chapter nine, one
through seven Um, but the coolthing is that in all of this, we
are going to have the victory.
Christians are going to havethe victory in all of this, God,
(16:17):
and why?
Because God, our Father, andJesus Christ himself, is going
to assure us that victory.
Um, and you can read more aboutthat in Revelation, the book of
Revelation, chapter 20 andverse 10.
So, thank you.
I just want to remind peoplethat, even though a lot of this
(16:38):
may sound scary, may sound verytoo supernatural, may sound very
otherworldly, you know, andlike, oh my goodness, like what?
I wasn't even, I didn't evenknow this and I didn't even know
.
The Bible went into depth aboutdemons and stuff like this.
You know, and everything else.
And you know, like, what can wedo?
you know, and everything else.
God has already given us everytool necessary but to stand
(17:00):
against the enemy, Satan and allof his minions, We have just
got to stay in the Word of God,We have got to stay prayed up,
We have got to stay praying forour friends and our family when
we see certain things going onin their lives.
(17:22):
We have got to spend time withthe Lord.
And what does that do?
It strengthens our relationshipwith God, And he and the Holy
Spirit would give us Godlywisdom, insight, counseling and
things on what to do, as well asthe Word of God.
And so it's not like a knowingsituation, It's not like, oh my
(17:45):
goodness, you know what's goingto happen to me now.
You know.
It's none of that.
When you become a believer, youare assured victory over
everything we just talked about.
Sherry, what is it that youwould like to add?
Speaker 2 (18:03):
Well, first off, i love how you laid it all out,
because the Bible is truth, TheBible is infallible and that is
where we need to get all of ourinformation from, and the way
that you laid it out like thatit's unarguable.
I mean, people can eitherbelieve the Bible or not believe
(18:25):
the Bible, but the Bible istrue.
The Bible has been proven.
What's in the Bible has beenproven over centuries.
So, wow, when I think of CSLewis, i think of the Lion, the
Witch and the Wardrobe And Ialso think of Revelation.
When I was younger I talkedabout this many times on the
(18:47):
podcast.
They lived a life of fear Andso I avoided Revelation at all
costs.
I wanted to be the ostrich withmy head in the sand.
I didn't want to think aboutRevelation and time, torture,
any of that kind of stuff,persecution.
But as I've gotten older, i'vestarted reading Revelation and
(19:09):
it is not a scary book at all,like it is a book of hope.
And so when you suggested thatwe do the screw tape letters
this summer, i'm like ugh, inever read it, kind of like
Revelation.
I just kind of put my head inthe sand, i didn't want to read
it.
But I started to read it and Ihave to say I did not like it.
(19:29):
And the reason I didn't like itis because it was so hard for
me to read Wormwood and What'sthe other one's name again.
Speaker 1 (19:42):
Screw tape is the uncle, wormwood is the nephew.
Speaker 2 (19:44):
There we go.
So when screw tape was talkingand kept calling Satan's father,
it messed with my head BecauseI'm so used to reading the Bible
and our father is the HeavenlyFather that I was like, wait a
minute, wait a minute, wait aminute.
Like that was what I quoteunquote hated about the book.
(20:05):
But it's such a good book toread, like I'm glad that you
suggested it and I'm glad that Iread it And I think that it's
full of wisdom where we can,like take off and really talk
about the different things andthe different truths about it.
Because you know what Peoplecan choose to live their life
(20:28):
with their head in the sand.
But there's going to come a daywhen you're going to need to
know these things.
Like there's a part in theBible that says ignorance is not
, it's not going to save you,type of a thing.
Like you're not going to get afree pass because you don't know
.
If you don't know, that's yourfault And so.
But God is a loving God.
(20:48):
So he doesn't talk the way I do.
He's not like oh, you know,you're so terrible type of a
thing.
He's more like come on, let'she invites you in.
Are you ready to read it thisyear.
Are you ready to do it thisyear?
How about this year?
Are you ready now?
Are you ready now?
So I guess I just want toencourage people that, as we, to
(21:08):
stay with us the series, thesummer with us, whether or not
you consider it scary, whetheror not you want to put your head
in the sand, i think we're kindof past the point in our
society where we canlegitimately put our head in the
sand.
I think we're at a point insociety where we need to start
speaking the truth and love, andwe can't speak the truth and
(21:29):
love if we don't know the truth.
So I just want to encouragepeople to stick with it and to
join us this whole summer season.
I promise you it will not betorture, it will be fun, and
we're going to just kind ofdelve into some of these truths
and see how we can align themwith the Bible and how we can
then have conversations withother people about what we
(21:53):
believe and about the truth thatare there Cause, like you said,
demons are real and demonswreak havoc and that's their job
.
But God gives rescue, like hehas a plan to save you and to
protect you from these demons.
But we kind of have to beprepared.
We can't have our heads in thesand.
(22:13):
We have to know what we'redoing, we have to train for it,
we have to be ready for it sothat, when God invites us into
the battle and into the fight,we were ready.
We've got our ammunition, we'vegot our weapons.
I love Ephesians six, 10 through18, i believe it is the armor
of God.
I love that.
So, um, so, yeah, so I guessthat's what I wanted to add to
(22:37):
encourage people like me, whoare more hesitant, um, to read
these types of things, who aremore hesitant to get their feet
dirty or get their feet wet.
Um, i just want to say I thinkthat we'll be glad that we did
And I think that, with by theend of the summer, we'll have
had a lot of fun And I thinkthat we will um have learned a
(22:58):
lot and that we will be able tobetter, we'll be more confident
at being able to defend ourfaith, um, even in just little
ways, like we don't have to beready to, you know, run for
office or anything, but justhaving casual conversations with
our friends, because you neverknow what seed you're going to
plant and how God is going touse that seed, or use you, to
(23:19):
change the life of someone thatyou love, or even just a
stranger.
Speaker 1 (23:26):
Oh, absolutely, and I think, even more important,
well, i can say more importantly.
But another side of it is, youknow, i think, as Christians,
especially in today's times,that, and with the culture and
culture change, and what'sacceptable and what's not
acceptable, um, what's tolerable, what's intolerable, um, what's
(23:50):
racist, what's not racist, uh,and all the other type of things
that are just going on, um,culturally, um, what is a boy,
what is a girl?
Um, are there only two gendersor they're more?
with so many things going onlike that, i just, i just want
(24:11):
to encourage believers We needto start looking at things
through a lens of not just ourphysical eyes, not just our
physical ears, not justlistening through those two, um,
but seeing, not just seeing andlistening through those
physically, but also spiritually, but also spiritually, into
(24:35):
seeing, and to opening our eyesso that we are not deceived okay
, so that we are not deceived bywhat is being thrown at us,
whether it be culturally,whether it be through the media,
whether it will be our familyand friends, and sometimes even
(24:55):
counselors and doctors andclinics, and pastors I'm sorry,
say that again, sherri Andpastors, oh, oh, my goodness,
okay, i'm not gonna, yes.
And pastors, for those of youwho may not have heard her.
She is absolutely, 100% right,100% right.
(25:20):
And we need to know in ourgolly-nore that God has given us
, as believers, what is truthand what is not truth.
There is no in between It,either to you saying it either
is or it ain't okay, and it'slike there's so many people who
(25:41):
want us to believe that there'sa gray area to everything and it
is not.
It is not.
And that's why we have got tosee things for what they are and
spiritually see things that arespiritual eyes and listen to
things that are spiritual ears.
And if they don't connect withour spirit and you're getting
(26:04):
that nudge in your spirit like,yeah, this ain't right, i can't,
i'm not gonna let that in myears because something's wrong,
i'm not gonna do that, and soand that is the whole purpose of
us doing this series throughoutthe summer And, like Sherry
said, it's not gonna be allheavy-hearted, we're just gonna
(26:24):
touch on like one topic or twoand some of the letters or the
topics that Screwtape does withhis nephews.
Some of them are actually funnyIf you get the book see the
Screwtape letters by CS Lewis.
And I do wanna point outsomething that Sherry said, we
have to remember that Screwtapeis a demon who is in a higher
(26:48):
position than his nephewWarmwood.
Screwtape is writing theseletters to his nephew And some
of them are hilarious and someof them are funny and everything
else.
However, they are demons.
Their father is Satan Andthat's what Sherry was referring
to.
(27:09):
Like in the letters, screwtapemay say something like I father
wants you to do this, i fatherwants you to do that.
Well, he's referring to Satan.
And then he may say somethinglike oh, be careful if you leave
the person to do this orsomething like that, because the
enemy may come against us inthat way or this way.
(27:29):
And to him, the enemy is God.
Okay, so this is written from ademon's perspective point of
view.
So if you get the book andyou're like, wait, i'm gonna
share, yeah, i see this.
Now You know how I could throwyou off, because, especially if
you're an avid Bible reader, itcan really throw you off.
But we just have to rememberthat it's told from his
(27:51):
perspective and everything else.
If you get the book and if youdecide to follow along, You do
not need to get the book tolisten to all the episodes that
we're gonna cover this summerAnd we're just gonna cover like
one or two topics out of eachchapter, you know, and
everything else.
And if you get the book, you'llsee that it's kind of
lighthearted in nature, whilestill hitting on some very, very
(28:12):
key points, and that's all wejust kind of really are going to
do over the next couple ofweeks, so, and we look forward
to you guys joining us againnext week.
Speaker 2 (28:22):
So, was there anything else you wanted to add,
sherry The only thing I wantedto add before we wrap up is that
even CS Lewis, i rememberreading in the back of a
commentary or something, and itwas saying that CS Lewis himself
, he wrote it and then he put itaside for a few years because
he even struggled with the waythat he wrote it And he
(28:43):
struggled with the, with theswitching things up of the
father was really Satan and theenemy was really the father.
Speaker 1 (28:51):
Right The father.
Speaker 2 (28:53):
So I found that incredibly interesting and I
thought, man, why an assignmentfrom God to do, And if he really
felt called to do this?
and obviously it has blessedand touched so many lives, So I
do believe that it was anointedin that it was something that
God wanted him to do.
But what, what a heart like Goddoesn't call us to push easy
(29:14):
things.
God called us to heart thingsand he obeyed and he did what he
was supposed to do and he, hesuffered in his spirit for it.
He felt really, it was reallyreally hard for him and that
made it easier for me, Like.
That made me feel like okay,good, So I am my, my feelings
and my emotions here are okay,because even the author felt
(29:35):
that way.
So I just want to encouragepeople who have personalities
more like mine that you knowthis is really kind of a cool
thing to delve into And, like Isaid when we first started, Kara
, I'm so glad that you suggestedthis because I never, honestly,
would have read it.
Read it on my own.
I never had a desire to beforeAnd if it wasn't for us and our
(29:57):
friendship and getting to do itfor this, I probably never would
have, but I'm so glad that Idid.
It's one of those things likediving into revelation.
I'm so glad I have readRevelation now probably four or
five times and I will continueto read it, because each time I
read it I get something new andsomething different out of it,
and God reveals even more.
(30:18):
So I love when God likes to tojust give more revelation about
his love, about our purpose onthe earth, about getting into
the dark side, like figuring outthe schemes and the wilds of
(30:38):
the enemy, not in a fascination,fixation way, but in a No no
prepare to defeat and overcomeand not be sucked into his lies
and his treachery and hisschemes and his wilds.
So if you guys are interested,which we hope you are, we hope
you will come back next week andwhen we dive into the first
(31:01):
topic.
So if you have any, anythingthat you want to share, anything
that you want to, i think weshould really start a discussion
about this here on the Facebookgroup.
Speaker 1 (31:12):
So Oh, absolutely Yes .
Speaker 2 (31:15):
Head over to the Cheer Up Podcast Facebook group
and let's start talking overthere, because we want your
opinions too.
Whether you've read the book orjust listened to the podcast,
we want to know what you think.
If you have something personalthat you want to share with us,
you can email us atcheeruppodcastgmailcom.
Both Kara and I monitor thatemail and we would be happy to
(31:37):
pray with you, respond to you,talk to you whatever you need.
Head over to Kara's website,karaarhunt K-A-R-A-R-H-U-N-T dot
com, and you can find out allabout the Habakkuk series and
when Lydia will be coming out.
I am so excited to read Lydia,i can't wait.
(31:58):
Head over to my website if youwant to learn more about the
membership.
That is a great way to.
As Kara was saying earlier inthe podcast, the ways that we
can combat the devil and combatthe enemy is through reading
God's word and just growing ourrelationship with God, and
(32:21):
that's what Jesus and theeveryday membership is all about
.
If you would like to check thatout and see if that's something
that you would like to be apart of, you can head over to my
website, cheriswalwelcom.
You can also check out thedifferent books I have.
I have nonfiction and fictionover there.
I have a YouTube channel.
(32:43):
It's just five minutes everyTuesday of encouragement.
If you want to check that outas well.
We are so glad that you're here.
I am loving the fact that it'ssummer and school just got out.
It's going to be a great summerseason.
I hope it goes really slowly.
I do love summer.
Come back next week.
(33:03):
We are so glad that you werehere today.
Have a great rest of your day.
Hi and welcome to the Cheer Up podcast.
I am your host, kara R Hunt,and with me is the lovely Sherry
Swarwell.
How are you doing thisbeautiful, low-quality morning
here in the Midwest, sherry?
Speaker 2 (00:37):
I am doing great.
I can definitely tell that itis summertime or the beginning
of summertime, with you starting.
The allergies are out, theblossoms are out, the bugs are
out, i don't know.
I tell you what I mean.
I tease about that, kara, but Ilove living where we love, with
where we love.
I love living where we live.
(00:58):
I love having four seasons andI just love I don't know.
I think for me, living in thefour seasons, like we do, i feel
like I get a new appreciationfor God each season, over and
over again, every single year,and I really don't think I would
want it any other way.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
I know It's like, was it a couple of days ago?
my quote-unquote office isactually just a desk in one of
the rooms in my house, but Ihave it facing a window.
I think it was a couple of daysago.
(01:39):
it was just gorgeous.
it was sunny, it was warm, butit was a little breezy and I saw
that little white stuff flyingthrough the air I don't know
pollen, you know it was like somuch of it because the wind was
blowing and so it was just kindof like blowing it everywhere.
I remember sitting on my deskand I just kind of look at it
(02:03):
when that happens and I'velearned to be content by sitting
and admiring from afar, becauseI know that if I had went out
and the stuff was that bad itwas just blowing everything
everywhere I would have come inwith possibly sinus issues,
(02:26):
sneezing, coughing andeverything else.
I'm like you know what?
that's okay, it's beautiful.
I got this beautiful window Ican look out at, i can see
everyone else enjoying it andI'm okay with that.
I have to get out thereeventually, maybe the next day
(02:47):
or whatever, but as of right now, it's okay.
I'm not going to do thatbecause when I go out like that,
i have to come in andimmediately wash my hair, throw
anything I was wearing in awashing machine just to not
cross-contaminate, right.
I don't want to sit down in aclothes I had on when it's that
(03:09):
bad, like when you can see it.
You know what I'm saying,because it's attaching to you
your clothes, your hair,everything, so that I can
actually breathe easy in myhouse and I constantly have to
use saline spray and everythingelse.
It's just, it's crazy, but it'sbeautiful.
I cannot see myself living inan all winter state or part of
(03:33):
the country, nor can I seemyself living on a tropical
island where it's warm all thetime.
So, god is good.
I love being where we have fourseasons.
Yep, me too.
Yeah, me too, and it's justlike I love it.
You know my body has its ownissues with it, but you know
(03:54):
what it'll adjust.
God is good, Yep it's all good,you know, and everything.
So for those of you who mayjust be joining us, i just want
to say welcome once again to theCheer Up podcast.
We have episodes uploaded everyWednesday and we are in our
(04:14):
third season and probably on our100, and, oh my goodness, this
would be maybe our like 115thepisode or something like that.
So if you guys are new and youwant to know more about us and
everything else, just go to ourwebsite.
You know, sherry would give youall of that information At the
(04:35):
end of this episode how tocontact us, how to go to our
individual website, how to getto the Cheer Up podcast, and
it's available on all majorpodcasting platforms.
By the way, you're Spotify, youriHeart, all of that and if you
are new to it, or if you're notnew to it but you've been
(04:55):
listening to us for a while andyou would like to help us get
our message out to others, andif you've been blessed by it or
ministered to by it, then pleasedownload, like and download the
podcast, and that just helpsget the word out better and just
makes it higher in algorithm, ithink.
(05:16):
Kind of like on Facebook whenyou like something that your
friend posts.
It makes it higher in analgorithm for other people and
your friends and stuff to see.
So that's kind of how it works.
Almost the same way withpodcasting.
So for June, july, august, arewe going into September, sherry,
(05:41):
with this particular series?
Speaker 2 (05:43):
No No, Just June, July and August.
No just June and July andAugust.
Yep June, july and.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
August.
Okay, So for June and July andAugust we are going to be
talking about the classicliterature book, The Screwtape
Letters by C S Lewis.
A lot of you may be familiarwith C S Lewis.
(06:10):
He has written other books likeMyra, Christianity, you know,
and some other type biblicaltype books and everything else.
Now it's classic in the sensethat I think it was originally
written.
The Screwtape Letters wasoriginally written in the 1940s.
(06:32):
Since then I think it has beenreprinted, republished and you
know, by different publishersand you know, and stuff since
then I know like there's one in1961, reprint, and then I think
there was some more, But it'sall the same.
It's just, you know, based on abook, The Screwtape Letters.
And The Screwtape Letters,believe it or not, is one of
(06:57):
those different classicalliterature books with very with
spiritual undertones And, tokind of put it in a very quick
nutshell, we'll explain a littlebit more about it over the next
couple of weeks as we're doingthis.
But The Screwtape Letters ispretty much about the two demons
(07:22):
and a person, a human being,And it's Screwtape is like the
head demon, so to speak, Andhe's writing letters to his
nephew Wormwood And he's kind ofteaching him, tutoring him,
monitoring him as he tries tomake this other person's life
(07:47):
miserable, This human being'slife miserable.
So Wormwood Screwtape is kindof like the mentor to his nephew
Wormwood, and he's doing itthrough letters And that's why
it's called The ScrewtapeLetters.
He's writing his nephewWormwood both of who are demons
on how to best deceive,manipulate, torment, harass
(08:13):
their quote unquote patientwhich is a human being, and
bring them to their father'shouse, And by that he means hell
and Satan.
So basically, that's just likea very concise version of it.
It is not a very long book.
It is only 31 chapters And Ithink each chapter has like
(08:37):
maybe six paragraphs in itbecause, again, these are
letters.
But the whole theme of the bookis very, very worthy of
discussion as it talks about how, as Christians or as people in
our life, some of the thingsthat we really really really
need to be aware of.
(09:00):
And I know that there are a lotof people who believe in angels,
but you just don't see thatsame type of belief, I think,
when it comes to demons, forexample.
I think most people are just ohyeah, that's just not the per
se.
(09:20):
You know the truth, like angelsare good, and I believe in
angels and I believe I have aguardian angel and everything
else.
But you know, I don't know somuch about the spirit part, the
demon part.
But demons are real, Okay, Andeven though we cannot see their
activities, that does not meanthat they are not here, alive,
functioning and watching what wedo.
(09:41):
These are fallen angels whofollowed Satan's rebellion from
heaven, Okay, And I believe thatpart can be found in a book by
Isaiah where it talks aboutLucifer's fall from heaven.
And they have hierarchies.
Some are known as rulers, someare have authority, some are
(10:03):
powers and they're justbasically spiritual forces of
evil.
And if you, I highly encourageyou to just do a word search,
you know, and study on demons inthe Bible.
They are real As believers.
Once we accept and realize allof this, I think the easier our
(10:25):
spiritual walk would be.
And I just want to I'm going toslowly go through this in this
episode because I want to givepeople, I want to give everyone,
some scriptural foundationbefore we continue on with the
series in the next couple ofweeks, If you want to know
(10:48):
exactly how.
How say, excuse me, demons are,Like you're saying, what They
have hierarchies, like.
There's high level demons andlow level demons.
Um, yeah, And you can find thatout in Ephesians 6-10 through
12.
That's Ephesians, chapter 6,verses 10 through 12.
(11:09):
If you want to know if well,are you saying that, that that
demons can influence people, orthat they can demonize people?
and, you know, take over people?
And if you want to know moreabout that, then read Luke,
chapter 8, verse 30.
If you want to know more aboutthe rebellion against, when
(11:34):
Lucifer was trying to go againstour God Almighty, and when he
left he took a lot of the peopleI think a third of heaven with
him, I need to reread thescripture.
But, um, and so they're calledfallen angels, And those fallen
angels are what the Bible refersto as demons, And you can read
more about that in Isaiah,chapter 14, verses 12 through 15
(11:59):
.
Again, that's Isaiah, chapter14, verses 12 through 15.
And in the New Testament, youcan read more about that in 2
Peter, chapter 2, verses 4through 10.
Demons can actually also takeshape and be visible to people.
I know a lot of people don'twant to hear that And you know
(12:21):
they're like Kara, you'recreeping me out.
I just don't believe that.
I know we could.
People could see angels.
Well, you know what.
They can also be visible.
Demons can also be visible tohumans.
If you want to know more aboutthat, then you could go to Job,
chapter 4 and 15.
If you want to know if a personcan be possessed by demons, um,
(12:44):
unbelievers, um, or if, um youcan be oppressed by demons, um,
as in believers, then you wantto, uh, and if you want to know
if they could be like, okay,well, what if I have one?
What if I see one?
Whatever, What can I do aboutit?
If you want to know if they canbe driven out from um a person,
(13:05):
then you want to read moreabout that.
You know, because it's very,very um, you, you, you got to be
careful when you're doing that.
So, um, very, very careful, Um,because, without doing it
correctly, then you know thatperson you or yourself or
someone else can be, you know,um, making yourself open to like
(13:27):
a seven-fold infestation ofthem.
So, and you want to read moreabout that in the book of
Matthew, chapter 12, 45.
Oh, okay, Demons love toconfuse the truth with lies, Um,
and we can see that every day.
(13:47):
All we have to do is pull upsocial media, see what some
people are saying, saying howthings that we know are false
and ridiculous and people areembracing them as truth And
they're saying that, no, no, no,this, this can be that and I
can be this, And you know, andeverything else, it's, it's they
(14:07):
.
He, uh, uh, uh, uh.
Satan and his enemies love todo it with half truth, uh,
putting in a little bit of truthwith a whole lot of lie, and he
mixes it together and getpeople all confused.
Um, and you can read more aboutthat in first John, chapter
four, verse four.
(14:28):
Um, if you worship idols oranything else other than the
true God above the outfit andyou'll make the Holy one of
Israel the most high God, thenyou are, then it is very
possible that you could beworshiping and sacrificing
things to demons, and you maynot even know it, Um, because,
(14:48):
um, the whole purpose of demonsis to help you be deceived.
That's basically it, One way ornot.
I mean, I have multiplepurposes, but one of the biggest
things that they they're ableto do that with is through
deception, And if you want toread more about that, that's in
first Corinthians, chapter 10,verses 20 through 21.
(15:11):
The Bible has.
If you also go through thescriptures you can also see that
, um, demons can inhabit animals.
It's uh, and you want to readmore about that in Matthew,
chapter eight, verse 31.
Um, there will be a time thatdemons of all levels and
(15:34):
hierarchies and powers andauthorities will be released to
wreck incredible pain andtorture on those who are not
Christians.
And if you want to read moreabout that in the Bible second
Peter, chapter two, verses fourand five, and the book of
Revelation, chapter nine, versesone through seven, Again, a
(15:56):
second Peter, chapter two,verses four and five, and
revelation, the book ofRevelation, chapter nine, one
through seven Um, but the coolthing is that in all of this, we
are going to have the victory.
Christians are going to havethe victory in all of this, God,
(16:17):
and why?
Because God, our Father, andJesus Christ himself, is going
to assure us that victory.
Um, and you can read more aboutthat in Revelation, the book of
Revelation, chapter 20 andverse 10.
So, thank you.
I just want to remind peoplethat, even though a lot of this
(16:38):
may sound scary, may sound verytoo supernatural, may sound very
otherworldly, you know, andlike, oh my goodness, like what?
I wasn't even, I didn't evenknow this and I didn't even know
.
The Bible went into depth aboutdemons and stuff like this.
You know, and everything else.
And you know, like, what can wedo?
you know, and everything else.
God has already given us everytool necessary but to stand
(17:00):
against the enemy, Satan and allof his minions, We have just
got to stay in the Word of God,We have got to stay prayed up,
We have got to stay praying forour friends and our family when
we see certain things going onin their lives.
(17:22):
We have got to spend time withthe Lord.
And what does that do?
It strengthens our relationshipwith God, And he and the Holy
Spirit would give us Godlywisdom, insight, counseling and
things on what to do, as well asthe Word of God.
And so it's not like a knowingsituation, It's not like, oh my
(17:45):
goodness, you know what's goingto happen to me now.
You know.
It's none of that.
When you become a believer, youare assured victory over
everything we just talked about.
Sherry, what is it that youwould like to add?
Speaker 2 (18:03):
Well, first off, i love how you laid it all out,
because the Bible is truth, TheBible is infallible and that is
where we need to get all of ourinformation from, and the way
that you laid it out like thatit's unarguable.
I mean, people can eitherbelieve the Bible or not believe
(18:25):
the Bible, but the Bible istrue.
The Bible has been proven.
What's in the Bible has beenproven over centuries.
So, wow, when I think of CSLewis, i think of the Lion, the
Witch and the Wardrobe And Ialso think of Revelation.
When I was younger I talkedabout this many times on the
(18:47):
podcast.
They lived a life of fear Andso I avoided Revelation at all
costs.
I wanted to be the ostrich withmy head in the sand.
I didn't want to think aboutRevelation and time, torture,
any of that kind of stuff,persecution.
But as I've gotten older, i'vestarted reading Revelation and
(19:09):
it is not a scary book at all,like it is a book of hope.
And so when you suggested thatwe do the screw tape letters
this summer, i'm like ugh, inever read it, kind of like
Revelation.
I just kind of put my head inthe sand, i didn't want to read
it.
But I started to read it and Ihave to say I did not like it.
(19:29):
And the reason I didn't like itis because it was so hard for
me to read Wormwood and What'sthe other one's name again.
Speaker 1 (19:42):
Screw tape is the uncle, wormwood is the nephew.
Speaker 2 (19:44):
There we go.
So when screw tape was talkingand kept calling Satan's father,
it messed with my head BecauseI'm so used to reading the Bible
and our father is the HeavenlyFather that I was like, wait a
minute, wait a minute, wait aminute.
Like that was what I quoteunquote hated about the book.
(20:05):
But it's such a good book toread, like I'm glad that you
suggested it and I'm glad that Iread it And I think that it's
full of wisdom where we can,like take off and really talk
about the different things andthe different truths about it.
Because you know what Peoplecan choose to live their life
(20:28):
with their head in the sand.
But there's going to come a daywhen you're going to need to
know these things.
Like there's a part in theBible that says ignorance is not
, it's not going to save you,type of a thing.
Like you're not going to get afree pass because you don't know
.
If you don't know, that's yourfault And so.
But God is a loving God.
(20:48):
So he doesn't talk the way I do.
He's not like oh, you know,you're so terrible type of a
thing.
He's more like come on, let'she invites you in.
Are you ready to read it thisyear.
Are you ready to do it thisyear?
How about this year?
Are you ready now?
Are you ready now?
So I guess I just want toencourage people that, as we, to
(21:08):
stay with us the series, thesummer with us, whether or not
you consider it scary, whetheror not you want to put your head
in the sand, i think we're kindof past the point in our
society where we canlegitimately put our head in the
sand.
I think we're at a point insociety where we need to start
speaking the truth and love, andwe can't speak the truth and
(21:29):
love if we don't know the truth.
So I just want to encouragepeople to stick with it and to
join us this whole summer season.
I promise you it will not betorture, it will be fun, and
we're going to just kind ofdelve into some of these truths
and see how we can align themwith the Bible and how we can
then have conversations withother people about what we
(21:53):
believe and about the truth thatare there Cause, like you said,
demons are real and demonswreak havoc and that's their job
.
But God gives rescue, like hehas a plan to save you and to
protect you from these demons.
But we kind of have to beprepared.
We can't have our heads in thesand.
(22:13):
We have to know what we'redoing, we have to train for it,
we have to be ready for it sothat, when God invites us into
the battle and into the fight,we were ready.
We've got our ammunition, we'vegot our weapons.
I love Ephesians six, 10 through18, i believe it is the armor
of God.
I love that.
So, um, so, yeah, so I guessthat's what I wanted to add to
(22:37):
encourage people like me, whoare more hesitant, um, to read
these types of things, who aremore hesitant to get their feet
dirty or get their feet wet.
Um, i just want to say I thinkthat we'll be glad that we did
And I think that, with by theend of the summer, we'll have
had a lot of fun And I thinkthat we will um have learned a
(22:58):
lot and that we will be able tobetter, we'll be more confident
at being able to defend ourfaith, um, even in just little
ways, like we don't have to beready to, you know, run for
office or anything, but justhaving casual conversations with
our friends, because you neverknow what seed you're going to
plant and how God is going touse that seed, or use you, to
(23:19):
change the life of someone thatyou love, or even just a
stranger.
Speaker 1 (23:26):
Oh, absolutely, and I think, even more important,
well, i can say more importantly.
But another side of it is, youknow, i think, as Christians,
especially in today's times,that, and with the culture and
culture change, and what'sacceptable and what's not
acceptable, um, what's tolerable, what's intolerable, um, what's
(23:50):
racist, what's not racist, uh,and all the other type of things
that are just going on, um,culturally, um, what is a boy,
what is a girl?
Um, are there only two gendersor they're more?
with so many things going onlike that, i just, i just want
(24:11):
to encourage believers We needto start looking at things
through a lens of not just ourphysical eyes, not just our
physical ears, not justlistening through those two, um,
but seeing, not just seeing andlistening through those
physically, but also spiritually, but also spiritually, into
(24:35):
seeing, and to opening our eyesso that we are not deceived okay
, so that we are not deceived bywhat is being thrown at us,
whether it be culturally,whether it be through the media,
whether it will be our familyand friends, and sometimes even
(24:55):
counselors and doctors andclinics, and pastors I'm sorry,
say that again, sherri Andpastors, oh, oh, my goodness,
okay, i'm not gonna, yes.
And pastors, for those of youwho may not have heard her.
She is absolutely, 100% right,100% right.
(25:20):
And we need to know in ourgolly-nore that God has given us
, as believers, what is truthand what is not truth.
There is no in between It,either to you saying it either
is or it ain't okay, and it'slike there's so many people who
(25:41):
want us to believe that there'sa gray area to everything and it
is not.
It is not.
And that's why we have got tosee things for what they are and
spiritually see things that arespiritual eyes and listen to
things that are spiritual ears.
And if they don't connect withour spirit and you're getting
(26:04):
that nudge in your spirit like,yeah, this ain't right, i can't,
i'm not gonna let that in myears because something's wrong,
i'm not gonna do that, and soand that is the whole purpose of
us doing this series throughoutthe summer And, like Sherry
said, it's not gonna be allheavy-hearted, we're just gonna
(26:24):
touch on like one topic or twoand some of the letters or the
topics that Screwtape does withhis nephews.
Some of them are actually funnyIf you get the book see the
Screwtape letters by CS Lewis.
And I do wanna point outsomething that Sherry said, we
have to remember that Screwtapeis a demon who is in a higher
(26:48):
position than his nephewWarmwood.
Screwtape is writing theseletters to his nephew And some
of them are hilarious and someof them are funny and everything
else.
However, they are demons.
Their father is Satan Andthat's what Sherry was referring
to.
(27:09):
Like in the letters, screwtapemay say something like I father
wants you to do this, i fatherwants you to do that.
Well, he's referring to Satan.
And then he may say somethinglike oh, be careful if you leave
the person to do this orsomething like that, because the
enemy may come against us inthat way or this way.
(27:29):
And to him, the enemy is God.
Okay, so this is written from ademon's perspective point of
view.
So if you get the book andyou're like, wait, i'm gonna
share, yeah, i see this.
Now You know how I could throwyou off, because, especially if
you're an avid Bible reader, itcan really throw you off.
But we just have to rememberthat it's told from his
(27:51):
perspective and everything else.
If you get the book and if youdecide to follow along, You do
not need to get the book tolisten to all the episodes that
we're gonna cover this summerAnd we're just gonna cover like
one or two topics out of eachchapter, you know, and
everything else.
And if you get the book, you'llsee that it's kind of
lighthearted in nature, whilestill hitting on some very, very
(28:12):
key points, and that's all wejust kind of really are going to
do over the next couple ofweeks, so, and we look forward
to you guys joining us againnext week.
Speaker 2 (28:22):
So, was there anything else you wanted to add,
sherry The only thing I wantedto add before we wrap up is that
even CS Lewis, i rememberreading in the back of a
commentary or something, and itwas saying that CS Lewis himself
, he wrote it and then he put itaside for a few years because
he even struggled with the waythat he wrote it And he
(28:43):
struggled with the, with theswitching things up of the
father was really Satan and theenemy was really the father.
Speaker 1 (28:51):
Right The father.
Speaker 2 (28:53):
So I found that incredibly interesting and I
thought, man, why an assignmentfrom God to do, And if he really
felt called to do this?
and obviously it has blessedand touched so many lives, So I
do believe that it was anointedin that it was something that
God wanted him to do.
But what, what a heart like Goddoesn't call us to push easy
(29:14):
things.
God called us to heart thingsand he obeyed and he did what he
was supposed to do and he, hesuffered in his spirit for it.
He felt really, it was reallyreally hard for him and that
made it easier for me, Like.
That made me feel like okay,good, So I am my, my feelings
and my emotions here are okay,because even the author felt
(29:35):
that way.
So I just want to encouragepeople who have personalities
more like mine that you knowthis is really kind of a cool
thing to delve into And, like Isaid when we first started, Kara
, I'm so glad that you suggestedthis because I never, honestly,
would have read it.
Read it on my own.
I never had a desire to beforeAnd if it wasn't for us and our
(29:57):
friendship and getting to do itfor this, I probably never would
have, but I'm so glad that Idid.
It's one of those things likediving into revelation.
I'm so glad I have readRevelation now probably four or
five times and I will continueto read it, because each time I
read it I get something new andsomething different out of it,
and God reveals even more.
(30:18):
So I love when God likes to tojust give more revelation about
his love, about our purpose onthe earth, about getting into
the dark side, like figuring outthe schemes and the wilds of
(30:38):
the enemy, not in a fascination,fixation way, but in a No no
prepare to defeat and overcomeand not be sucked into his lies
and his treachery and hisschemes and his wilds.
So if you guys are interested,which we hope you are, we hope
you will come back next week andwhen we dive into the first
(31:01):
topic.
So if you have any, anythingthat you want to share, anything
that you want to, i think weshould really start a discussion
about this here on the Facebookgroup.
Speaker 1 (31:12):
So Oh, absolutely Yes .
Speaker 2 (31:15):
Head over to the Cheer Up Podcast Facebook group
and let's start talking overthere, because we want your
opinions too.
Whether you've read the book orjust listened to the podcast,
we want to know what you think.
If you have something personalthat you want to share with us,
you can email us atcheeruppodcastgmailcom.
Both Kara and I monitor thatemail and we would be happy to
(31:37):
pray with you, respond to you,talk to you whatever you need.
Head over to Kara's website,karaarhunt K-A-R-A-R-H-U-N-T dot
com, and you can find out allabout the Habakkuk series and
when Lydia will be coming out.
I am so excited to read Lydia,i can't wait.
(31:58):
Head over to my website if youwant to learn more about the
membership.
That is a great way to.
As Kara was saying earlier inthe podcast, the ways that we
can combat the devil and combatthe enemy is through reading
God's word and just growing ourrelationship with God, and
(32:21):
that's what Jesus and theeveryday membership is all about
.
If you would like to check thatout and see if that's something
that you would like to be apart of, you can head over to my
website, cheriswalwelcom.
You can also check out thedifferent books I have.
I have nonfiction and fictionover there.
I have a YouTube channel.
(32:43):
It's just five minutes everyTuesday of encouragement.
If you want to check that outas well.
We are so glad that you're here.
I am loving the fact that it'ssummer and school just got out.
It's going to be a great summerseason.
I hope it goes really slowly.
I do love summer.
Come back next week.
(33:03):
We are so glad that you werehere today.
Have a great rest of your day.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!