April 30, 2025 • 40 mins
What if every thought you’ve ever had was being weaponized against you?
In this unflinching breakdown of The Screwtape Letters (Letter 1), we expose:
🔥 Screwtape’s #1 tactic to derail new believers (hint: it’s not grand evil—it’s petty distractions).
🤯 How the demonic preys on your boredom, cynicism, and even your church habits. ⚔️
And more. 🔥🎙️
This isn’t theoretical. Your mind is a battlefield. Arm yourself.
#ScrewtapeLetters #DemonicTactics
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 Ruhant,and with me, as always, is the
beautiful and lovely andfriendly and kind Sherry Swalwa.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
How are you today, Sherry?
I am doing fantastic.
It is the second week of June.
I couldn't be happier.
We're starting to settle intoour summer schedule And life is
just good.
I have learned lately to have adifferent, to shift in a mindset
.
It makes all the difference inthe world that, instead of
(00:56):
always getting upset or alwayshaving to plan things out well,
I had written a blog years agothat said I wrote my calendar in
a pencil so that I can erase it, And that's true.
But I think that the last fewyears, or the last few months,
God has really been teaching methat on a deeper level.
And there is just a piece thatcomes with knowing that I can
(01:19):
have a plan, but that when myplan gets interrupted, that
instead of feeling like it'sbeen interrupted, I need to, or
I have a mind shift instead thatsays you know what?
this is the plan that God hadfor me all along.
He will redeem whatever it isthat I needed to do, or whatever
I thought was important and Ineeded to do today.
(01:41):
He will take care of it anduntil then, I need to just find
joy in fulfilling the plan orthe purpose that he has for me
for today And it just reallytruly makes all the difference
in the world.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
I know right, oh, my goodness, there's so much truth
to that And because we've all, ibelieve, had those days or
times where it's like, man, itell you what.
I'm going to get up tomorrowmorning at this particular time.
I'm going to do this, do this,do that, do this, you know, and
I'm going to get all thesethings accomplished.
(02:15):
And then you wake up thatmorning and it's like nothing
goes the way that we hadintended it to.
You know, and sometimes thatcan be so frustrating to us, But
, as you said, as Christians weneed to change our minds and be
like.
You know what that is okay.
(02:36):
I really wanted to get thosethings done today.
Some of them I needed to getdone today.
But you know what?
God is in control of my life,that apparently none of that was
supposed to happen And what didhappen was supposed to happen.
I'm going to rest in that truth.
I am going to rest in his peaceand he is going to redeem the
time where I can still get thosethings done.
(02:57):
You know and you had mentionedearlier about how there's such
peace in that, there is so muchpeace in that, so much peace
There's, and you know what elseis in there.
Amen.
There is freedom in that.
It's just like, oh God, youknow how I wish I wanted to get
that done today, and you knowhow my boss or whatever, would
(03:20):
have really liked me to get thatdone today.
But it's okay.
It's okay, all right.
You have ordered my stuff I.
Things happened the way thatthey did.
How can I be mad at that?
You know the beginning from theend.
I don't.
You know what really needed tobe taken care of today Not me,
you know.
And let me just take a deepbreath, let my shoulders become
(03:44):
unhunched, let my fist becomeunclenched and my stomach become
the same way, and just relaxand breathe in the peace and
freedom you have given me, tojust trust in you, like a little
baby on his daddy's chest, andjust sleep peacefully and rest
peacefully.
Knowing that you got all ofthis Not today did not take you
(04:06):
by surprise.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
It may have taken me, but it did not take you Well
yes, and the fun thing aboutthat, i am so sorry, those
allergies.
I'm telling you they're stillhere.
But that's okay, part of theplan.
Part of the plan, see.
Yeah, but I have a friend andshe's the one that kind of got
(04:27):
me thinking along these lines,because you don't have to, like,
make these major major changesin your mindset, it's just a
small mindset shift.
You're just shifting yourmindset a little bit.
It's not like you're like, okay, fine, then I'm never going to
get anything done and I'm justgoing to only go by what God
wants me to do and I'm going tosit on my couch until I hear
God's voice and blah, blah, blah.
(04:49):
No, if things change, if yourplans change, no, trust, it is
from God, he's got this and he'sgot better things and a better
blessing for you ahead when youdo it his way.
So it's just a simple mindsetchange and that helped me
tremendously because it wasn'tlike oh, one more thing I have
to do, one more thing I have topay attention to.
(05:10):
It was just a simple mindsetchange but it makes all the
difference in the world, justlike you said, kara It does and
it frees us up.
Speaker 1 (05:19):
You know, because when we get super frustrated,
super uptight, you know itaffects our bodies and our
stress levels.
Stress leads to cancer andother illnesses.
Speaker 2 (05:30):
And what kind of testimony is that?
Do you want to be that crabChristian?
I don't.
Speaker 1 (05:35):
Right, or are just a sour plus.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
Exactly, exactly.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
It's what we used to call it back in the day, you
know.
So you know, and it's likewhich had always.
What's the word I'm looking for?
As a young Christian, it alwayskind of confused me.
I guess is the way, because I'mlike Well, wait, this person is
highly looked up to, you knowfrom the church and from the
(06:05):
leadership, and they'veobviously been here, you know a
while and everything else.
So they've obviously beenwelcomed at the Laura Pro while
as well.
But why are they so sad?
You know why are they so stabbyand mean, You know, it just
always kind of looked like theyjust were fucking on the limit,
right?
You know, Yeah, and I used to beconfused.
(06:25):
I guess that what I have tolook, you know you kind of start
thinking, you know your mindsetcan easily be like.
Is that what I have to look fortoo As a Christian as I grow.
Am I going to become thatperson, you know, and the truth
is no, you do not have to.
Okay, that is not saying lifeis not going to throw you lemons
(06:46):
.
We would.
You would never hear me andSherry say that.
It is just how we react tothose lemons, you know.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
We just have chosen, kara, to add cherry or raspberry
or lime to our lemons and makeit into a lemonade.
Yes, yes, and why do we?
Speaker 1 (07:04):
do that Because God has told us that He has overcome
it all and we already have thevictory right.
And so, and we have learnedthrough our spiritual walks with
Him, individually and together,that we can trust Him, his, his
, his, god's rap sheet with usis like long.
(07:24):
Okay, his reputation sheet withus is like long.
We know, we have seen, we havewitnessed with our own eyes how
God has come through time andtime and time again.
So it's just we have learned tolike okay, lord, here we go
again.
You would think, even after allthis, i wouldn't be this
anxious about something, but I,i'm going to trust in you.
(07:47):
I am going to trust in you, andwhy?
Because He has been so faithful, even in the little things that
no one knows about except Himand I, you and I, or the two of
us and Him.
You know what I'm saying.
It's like He has been faithful.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
My favorite song is the goodness of God song And I
told my husband I want that songat my funeral because it it
just so speaks about God'sfaithfulness and how He has been
so, so good.
I love that song.
It sums up exactly what you'resaying.
Speaker 1 (08:20):
Absolutely It does, and it is just.
It's just so amazing that whenyou, when you have that
experience, you're just like,wow, you know what I'm saying.
And to bring it, to bring itback to this terra firma, so to
speak, to bring it back toearthly terms, because you know
people be like, yeah, you knowthat's God or whatever, but,
(08:41):
believe it or not, we trustpeople all the time.
And so how can you not createthe God that, that that created
you?
For instance, i have thosepeople in my life, friends and
family who I know.
If they tell me they're goingto do something, they're going
to do it.
I don't need to call them, idon't need to remind them, i
(09:02):
don't need to send them a textor an email, i don't need to
bother them about.
Hey, you know this is coming up.
You said you're going to do it,are you going to do it?
Are you going to do it?
Are you going to do it?
You're going to do it.
I don't even have to worryabout it, right, because their
word is gold, right, and theydon't commit lightly to anything
.
And if they say they're goingto do it, they're going to do it
And they're going to show upwith bells on and it's going to
(09:24):
all be done, right, and that'show God is.
He's like, you know.
And how do I know that aboutthose particular friends and
family?
right, because they have shownme throughout my life that
that's who they are.
They have shown me that I canbe counted, that they saying
using their perspective, theyhave shown me that, kara, you
(09:46):
can count on me.
Kara, when I give my word, imean it.
And when I tell you I'm goingto do something, i'm going to do
it.
And when I say I'm going toshow up, i'm going to show up,
and I'm probably going to beearly.
You know what I'm saying.
They have shown me that throughthe years And it's the same way
.
But if you have friends likethat and you can trust them,
then how much more can we trustGod?
(10:07):
Right, because he has alwaysshown up.
He will always show up.
It may not be in our timing,but he will, you know.
And so that same trust that wegive to our friends and family
that are constantly there for usand they show up, you know,
when we need them, we know thatGod is the same way.
(10:28):
He is not a fair weather God.
He is just not like a fairweather friend.
They're good when the weatheris good, they're there, but when
the weather is bad, you don'thear from them, right, right, or
you know things like that.
He is not a fair weather God.
You know we've all had our fairshare of fair weather friends,
right?
You know, if you've lived aslong as Sherry and I, you
probably have more than youwould like to even think about,
(10:52):
you know.
But that's okay, because theyshowed us of you know, of what
not to expect from certainpeople.
But we don't even have to worryabout that with God because
he's not a fair weather God.
He is just like that friend,that family member that is there
100%.
Not only does he have your back, he's went before you and even
(11:14):
prepared the way.
Okay, so that is what we'retalking about.
We say there's peace andfreedom when things do not
necessarily go our way, but theday doesn't go the way we
expected it.
But it's like we step back andwe have to change that shift and
be like you know what I got.
I've been in a relationshipwith you long enough to know
that that's okay, like I don'teven know how.
(11:37):
Know how all it is is go towork out, but it is going to
work out, okay, you know so,which is like an awesome segue
into what we're talking aboutfor the next couple of weeks.
So we are talking about justdifferent topics from the book
(12:00):
see and as Louis.
The author is CS Lewis.
The book is the screwed tapeletters classic literature.
I believe the original came outin 1941 or somewhere around
that time, so it's definitely aclassic literature and we
describe why we were talkingabout it, this particular book,
(12:20):
this summer.
We also gave so much moreinformation in last week's
episode, so we're going to betalking about it for the month
of June, july and August, andthe first episode on this topic
was on June 7th episode.
So if you haven't heard thatepisode, please go back and
(12:42):
listen to that one, because itgives you a lot of background
information and a lot ofscriptural foundation for what
we are talking about.
I think we shared maybe about10 scriptures that kind of talks
about especially demons and howdemons affect people and the
(13:02):
source of demons, and all ofthat in our June 7th episode.
So please go ahead and listento that one, and we laid out the
scriptures for that one, and soI just think that when you
listen to that one, this onewill be the further.
The rest of these episodes willbe so much easier and you kind
of get a better understanding ofwhat we're talking about.
Because the screw tape lettersis about letters that a demon,
(13:29):
whose name is screw tape, iswriting to his nephew, whose
name is Wormwood.
They are called the screw tapeletters And the reason he's
writing these letters is becauseWormwood has been assigned to a
particular patient, as it'scalled to in the book, and he's
(13:49):
referred to a particular patientor a particular person to just
kind of really just guide him tohell.
Basically, that's it in thenutshell.
But Wormwood, the nephewWormwood, is new to demonship or
whatever, however that goes,and so he's a lower ranking
demon.
And so his quote unquoteuncle's screw tape is telling
(14:12):
him how to really get thisperson to do what he wants them
to do.
And today we're just going totalk about the main topic of
chapter one.
Again, the screw type lettersis a book by CS Lewis.
It has about 31 chapters And Idon't think there's more than
six, maybe seven chapters perexcuse me six or seven
(14:36):
paragraphs per chapter.
So it's not a very long book.
But again, it's the uncletrying to mentor his nephew
Wormwood into how to manipulatethe human being is basically
what it is.
So again, for those of you likewhat demons?
(14:56):
and you're just tuning into thepodcast and you're like, are
they scriptural?
Like what do you mean by that?
Please listen to the June 7thpodcast and just follow up on
those scriptures and use exactlywhat we're talking about and
what you know.
What we're covering today.
Today we are going to talkabout the main topic, so we're
(15:21):
going to take it each episode.
Lastly, was the introductionand we gave the foundation for
the scripture foundation andeverything else, the June 7th
episode.
From now on, we're going to betaking a chapter per episode and
covering one of the main topics, and the main topic of chapter
one is thinking versusexperience, or another way to
(15:46):
put it is reality versusunreality.
You know is to be reason andreality.
Let me put it that way Thinkingversus experience, reason and
reality is basically what UncleScrewtape is trying to teach his
(16:13):
nephew Wormwood when it comesto their quote-unquote human on
earth.
That Wormwood is trying tomanipulate and do what he wants
him to do.
And basically in it, in thisone letter, he's basically just
Uncle Screwtape is just tryinghe's not happy, pretty much,
(16:36):
with the way that Wormwood islike leading his human being to
think towards a certain thing.
Like Wormwood, the nephew, who'san inexperienced demon, is just
trying to get the human tothink more materialistically
(16:57):
about things, to focus on cars,houses, you know, and things
like that.
And his Uncle Screwtape is like, yeah, what?
No, we're going to do somethingdifferent.
I need you to get your hooks inhim.
So we're going to start withgetting him to really think
about reason and reality, youknow, and experience, you know,
(17:17):
and everything else.
So he really wants him tomanipulate his thoughts in a way
, instead of getting him focusedon something else you know And
to just read, you know, he wantshim to use everyday
distractions to mislead the man,to just mislead him into
(17:39):
anything and everything that hedid.
For instance, if he thinkssomething is blue and he really
likes blue and blue is good forhim and he knows blue is good
for him, i really want you toget him to focus on a color red
Because red's going to be badfor him and then, because that's
bad for him, that's going tolead him into other things that
(18:00):
are bad for him, And then wecould just get our hooks in as
demons more and more and moreand more.
So let's really just mess withhis thought life And that's
basically what his letter to hisnephew is about.
As the demons Like I just wantyou to mess with his thought
life.
Don't get him focused.
(18:20):
Don't let him get focused onanything like that.
You know.
Just focus him on things that'sgoing to be bad for him and it
leads to more things that arebad for him.
So what did you think ofchapter one, sherry?
Speaker 2 (18:32):
Well, i loved the way that you explained it.
You explained it so well And itmakes me think the
counteractive or thecounterintuitive part of that is
it is so important that we takecontrol of our thoughts, that
we take captive our thoughts sothat the enemy can't, or to
disrupt the enemy's schemes andhis plot in our life.
(18:56):
And I mean that's likescriptural, and I love how CS
Lewis turned it into a lessonthrough fiction.
Like well, you and I both lovefiction anyway to begin with,
like I can give biblical truthsthrough fiction all day long
because that's just my heart.
And so the fact that he wasdoing this in such a way that
(19:18):
appeals to everybody in his timeyou know, it wasn't just for
women, it wasn't just for kids,it wasn't just for men, but for
everybody.
And it talks about the takingcaptive our thoughts and how
important that is.
So, like a tip, if you'rereading through this and you're
going, okay, so what am Isupposed to do?
(19:39):
How do I do that?
So one of the things that Ilove to practice in my own life
is that I remind myself that youcan't have two opposite
thoughts at the same time, soyou can't think about blue and
green at the same time.
You can't think about heavenand hell at the same time.
You can't think about Satan andthe enemy at the same I mean
(20:01):
sorry, satan and Jesus at thesame time.
You can't think about worry andfear at the same time.
You can't think about anxietyand peace at the same time.
Whatever your mind focuses on,that is what you will think
about.
So how do you take your thoughtscaptive?
It doesn't have to be anythinglong and drawn out.
You can do it in one of threesimple, easy ways.
(20:23):
You can do it at the grocerystore, you can do it in your car
, you can do it in bed.
You can do it whenever orwherever you need to Is one for
me.
If I can't think of a song or amemory verse or a Bible verse
that I want to repeat over and,over and over again, then I just
say the word Jesus, jesus.
Speaker 1 (20:39):
Jesus.
Speaker 2 (20:40):
Although my favorite, i love to talk, i love to speak
his name back to him.
So my three go-tos are JehovahRafa, which means healer,
jehovah Jairah, which means myprovider, jehovah Shalom, which
means my peace.
So I love to repeat over andover Jehovah Jairah, jehovah
Rafa, jehovah Shalom, jehovahJairah, jehovah Rafa, jehovah
(21:02):
Shalom.
And it's not just a mantra,it's not just the yoga
meditation, it's Jesus is myhealer, jesus is my provider,
jesus is my peace, jesus is myhealer, jesus is my provider,
jesus is my peace.
It's getting that in me and it'sreminding myself of who he is,
because if he's providing for me, if he's healing me and if he's
giving me peace, then those arethree things that are going to
(21:26):
combat pretty much any negativethoughts that I need to have
taken captive.
So that's what I like to do.
If I don't do his names, then,like I said, i will ask God for
a specific scripture and I'llrepeat that over and over again,
putting it into my soul, notjust saying the words
mechanically, but thinking aboutwhat I'm saying.
Or I like to ask God for aspecific song and then he
(21:48):
usually will give me a phrasefrom the song and I'll just sing
that over and over and overagain.
So that is an easy way to takethoughts captive And I think
that the way that CS Lewistalked about it in the first
chapter was amazing and that'slike a really good way to put
that simple but profound truthinto practice.
Speaker 1 (22:13):
Absolutely.
In today's society and culture,with so many things going on,
it's a lot, but it could be aneveryday life as well.
I remember I think it was apastor or church I used to go to
, but this is kind of like areally good example of how the
(22:37):
enemy tries to get you to thinkabout something else instead of
what you're supposed to bethinking about.
And I think he was talkingsomething along the lines of
when he was maybe like a youngerpastor or whatever, and he
would be at the pulpit and he'slike, and he's going to get
(22:57):
ready to preach the word orwhatever, and he was pretty much
used to say to him he hasalways liked when it comes to
women.
He was saying that he alwaysliked shapely legs and things
like that, and so he would saythat it was like I think this
(23:20):
happened a couple of times withhim He'd say he'll be getting up
there, he'll be getting readyto preach the word or whatever
and everything else, and he'dsay to him, right there in the
front pew, you know, will comesomeone who has them like a
short skirt and really shapelylegs, you know, and his mind
would wander.
It's almost exactly like whatscrew tape was telling to his,
(23:41):
the demon screw tape was tellingto his demon nephew get them
focused on something else, sothey're not as effective with
the good thing.
And so he's like you know, i'mup there and I'm going to preach
, you know, all of a suddensomeone comes in, you know, and
they sit right there in front ofme, you know, and they, you
know, have these you know legsand stuff on, and his mind will
(24:03):
automatically just be like drawnto that And he was like, okay,
nope, you're not fixed thatsituation, you know, and
everything else.
So he started having likefriends and family sit in the
first couple of pews, i think,and staff, you know, and
everything else, so that therewouldn't be any room for like
other people to, you know, likepeople who just come in the
(24:26):
church, you know, whatever, andthings like that, who would just
come up there and would kind ofbe a distraction to him, you
know.
So he could grow like in hisministry and, you know, become
strong enough with that.
So sometimes it's like somethingas simple as that.
We all have something that willdistract us regardless.
(24:47):
Right, we could be.
I am getting ready to read myBible, i am gonna do my devotion
time, you know, and everythingelse.
And then something comes up andit may not even be a good thing
, you know what I'm saying.
It's like it could be, but youknow what?
I didn't finish that ice creamlast night.
I think I'm just gonna go, andit's only half a gallon, you
(25:09):
know.
So I think I'm just gonna eatthe ice cream while you know,
doing my devotions or somethinglike that.
And pretty soon you becomeobsessed with that thought about
the ice cream, you know, and alot of times it's so subtle that
we don't realize that thosethoughts have been influenced.
You know, in today's worldeveryone's talking about social
(25:32):
media, influencers andeverything else, but there's the
demons have been influencingpeople for a whole lot longer.
Right That all of a sudden,instead of us getting deep into
a really good, deep devotion andstudy, we are looking at
something.
We become consumed with the icecream.
And if it was just eating theice cream, that's one thing.
(25:54):
But then if you alreadystruggle which there are demons
watching us all the time if youalready struggle with overeating
or eating when you're notsupposed to, or eating sweets or
eating sugary things, then thatjust leads you down the road
And we all know that when youeat something sweet, it just
(26:16):
sugar builds up something in youthat makes you want something
else sweet, right, it's just, oh, wow, you know okay.
So guess what?
Well, you know what?
I guess I finished the candybar as well.
And so then it's leading youdown a whole road of a path.
You really didn't intend to goand you didn't really think you
were gonna go, but you did notknow that it was all influenced
by a little thought that wasplaced inside your head, and now
(26:39):
you're more focused on, well,what else can I eat, instead of
just getting deeply and deeplyinto that word.
You know, it just happens sosubtle, doesn't it, sherry?
Speaker 2 (26:49):
Oh, absolutely, and you know, somebody told me and I
always like to remember thisthey can't read our thoughts,
but Satan studies our lives.
And that is why it's soimportant that we speak truth
instead of death, or speak lifeover ourselves instead of death,
because if we speak death overourselves, then that's fair game
(27:12):
for him, he's saying okay hesaid it, i'm just gonna let it
come to pass, And so he can'thear our thoughts.
He's not all powerful and allknowing and everywhere like like
thought, but he has his minionseverywhere and they study.
Like somebody else said too, ifChristians were as what is the
(27:39):
word I want were as intentionaland as dedicated as Satan's army
is man, would we be powerfuland we would be unstoppable?
They make it their mission andtheir life to destroy people and
we take it lazily And a lot ofpeople don't even realize, like
(28:00):
you said, that the thoughts andall of those things that they
plant in us because they'recrafty, they're patient, they
take their time and they waitfor the right opportunities, and
we get lazy.
Speaker 1 (28:15):
Yeah, we get lazy and we don't even think about it.
And it's lazy as in not keepingour eyes open and studying and
building up our relationshipwith the Lord, so that when
those things happen, we couldsay not today, satan, you're not
(28:36):
doing it Exactly.
Speaker 2 (28:38):
We use the ice cream over the Bible study.
Speaker 1 (28:43):
Yes, you know, and things like that.
And it's just like you get tothe point to where you're just
like nope, nope, nope, nope,nope, nope, nope, and it is, and
that instigates spiritualwarfare, right, because your
flesh is like I'm really cravingthat ice cream, and what harm
is it going to do to just eatthe ice cream?
(29:06):
It's ice cream for ground outloud.
You know what I'm saying.
But if you already have healthissues, you know, or something
like that, or you have a problemwith eating, overeating or
gluttony or sweets or anythinglike that, anyway, and they've
been studying for a while andthey're like I'm going to put
this thought in there, you know,and it's going to be so good,
but oh, my goodness, this is thebest ice cream ever.
(29:26):
It tastes so good, and yetyou're trying to do your
devotional.
What is happening?
The word that devotional is notgetting into your heart, right,
it's not getting into it theway it could be, because now
you're distracted, and that'sthe whole point of devotional.
You are devoting that time toGod, whether it's a 30 seconds
(29:49):
or just 30 minutes, that meansdevoted.
That's the one thing you aresupposed to be doing, right?
You're not supposed to haveanything else, you know, as a
distraction.
Now, obviously, not everyonehas an issue with food, right,
and someone could be eating abowl of cereal by doing their
devotional and it's not aproblem.
But there are others to whereit just leads into other things.
(30:11):
Right, it becomes a very strongdistraction for them And that
is what we have to watch out for, because it can be so subtle.
It's so subtle And even intoday's world there are people
who are telling you that A isnot A and B is not B.
I don't care what you say.
It may look that way, it mayhave been that way since the
(30:34):
first human was on the earth,but A is not really A and B is
not really B.
Because you know, you candecide that you want to be a C
or an E or an F or an L or a Q.
You can decide all of thosethings and you could be like oh,
(30:55):
you know, i want to be this,you know, or something like that
.
But reality is saying what areyou doing?
This is ridiculous.
There is only A and there'sonly B.
That's the reality.
But then you have this demoninfluencer coming and you may be
(31:19):
aware but are not be aware.
Like what are you?
that is nonsense.
Like, who told you that?
Who told you that there wasonly A and there was only B?
You can be cute.
Like you can be cute, and youknow what?
that reminds me of The Gardenof Eden, sherry.
Yeah, it reminds me of theGarden of Eden, where the Satan,
(31:46):
the serpent, is saying theycan't really tell you that you
can't eat of the tree, of thatparticular tree or whatever.
Did he really say that or didhe say this?
And the only reason he don'twant you to is because of this.
She was beguiled.
(32:06):
Eve was beguiled by the serpentbecause he was leading her to
believe something that wasn'tnecessarily true.
And in today's society, whenyou know, when reality itself,
things in the real world thatyou've always known and always
has been, that there's an A andthere's a B, but yet there's
(32:27):
this demon influencer tellingyou nope, you can be a cute, you
can be a cute.
You know who said like, is itreally an A?
Is it really just a B?
But why can't you be a cute?
Why can't you be something else?
You have to ask yourself, andespecially as believers where is
that thought coming from?
Are you being beguiled by asnake with a forked tongue, just
(32:56):
like Eve was.
Speaker 2 (32:59):
And you also have to ask yourself, cara are you being
loving to the person whobelieves they're a cue by going
along with them, or are you moreloving if you show them the
truth in love?
Speaker 1 (33:14):
Absolutely 100 percent, Because if you truly
love that person, you don't wantthem listening to a snake
that's going to lead them down agone path, as they used to say.
And for you to agree with thatperson and say, oh, you're a cue
, let's celebrate you being acue, you know, or whatever, and
(33:38):
you know that there's only an Aand a B, but you want to try and
show your support.
You know what you're supportingthem in.
You're supporting them in theirinevitable fall, because that is
what's going to happen.
That's what you're supportingthem in.
You are not supporting them inthe truth.
You're help leading them down apath that leads to more
(34:02):
confusion.
And as believers, we know whothe father of confusion is.
It is Satan himself, and hesends his demons out to
influence people in theirthoughts, to make them think
that reality is really notreality and that let's question
reality and we're going tocreate our own reality.
(34:22):
Okay And so.
And then you know, you startbelieving into that, and then
you find out that it leads downa darker and darker and darker
path.
And when you support someone, inthat you have helped lead them
there, whether it wasintentional or unintentional,
because you yourself have beeninfluenced in saying by a demon
(34:47):
influencer, saying, oh, you'vegot to support them.
How can you not support whenthey're just trying to be a cue?
How can you not do that?
Right, how can you?
I thought you'd love them.
That's your sister, that's yourbrother, that's your cousin,
that's your friend.
How can you not support them?
Shame on you for not supportingthem, shame on you for not
supporting them.
So you've been influenced aswell and it leads you both.
(35:10):
Now he has two for the price ofone, but if you love them, like
Sherry said, you will say, okay, let's talk about this, and
this is not the way that Godwants you to go, and let me
explain to you why.
So thank you for bringing thatup, sherry.
That is a very good point.
(35:31):
Anything else you want to addbefore we wrap up today's topic
on reality and thinking andversus experience and being
influenced by our thoughts?
Speaker 2 (35:41):
I think the only other thing that I want to
encourage people with is that,as there are minions and demons
and the enemy prowling aroundthe world, we have the Holy
Spirit inside of us We have thatsecret weapon And he is our
comforter, our advocate.
(36:02):
When we ask for wisdom, god saysthat He'll give it to us.
So we have that secret weapon,we have that missile that can
demolish and destroy.
So we actually are morepowerful, and that's one of the
reasons why Satan and hisminions are so persistent and so
intentional and so insidious.
(36:22):
One thing is they are onlyimitators.
They cannot create anything new.
So, therefore, anything that hedoes, he only has like a
handful of tricks up his sleeve.
Now he can change them in alldifferent ways to make it look
different and to catch us offguard, but he cannot create
(36:43):
anything new.
He can only imitate what Godhas done, which makes it more
confusing, which is why we needto stay in the Word, so that we
know the truth from thefalsehood, and the truth will
set us free.
But having said all that, wehave the secret weapon, the
ultimate secret weapon, and thatis the Holy Spirit.
(37:05):
And the Holy Spirit, when wetake that time to get to know
Him and when we take that timeto grow our relationship with
God, he is going to reveal to us, he's going to give us those
nudges, he's going to give usthose uncomfortable feelings of
man.
This person sounds like they'resaying all the right things, but
(37:26):
I just have this feeling thatit's not right.
There's something not right.
Holy Spirit, will you give mewisdom and revelation and
clarity to figure out what it is, or show me that they are up
and up and true?
and I just don't know enough ofthe Bible that I need to learn
more or reveal to me where theyare false, where they are trying
(37:48):
to get me away from the truth,where they're trying to deceive
me.
And He answers every singletime, not always right away.
Sometimes He wants you to digdeeper, sometimes He wants you
to get quiet, sometimes He'ssaying I would love to give you
that answer, but you need toslow down for a minute so you
can hear me.
You got to stop for a littlebit so you can hear us, so we
(38:10):
can have this conversation.
But He always answers Andthat's what I love.
So John 1633 tells us thatthese things I have spoken to
you.
This is Jesus speaking in me.
You may have peace In the world.
You will have tribulation, butbe of good cheer, i have
overcome the world.
If you're looking for a way togrow that relationship with God,
(38:34):
we suggest the Bible believingchurch.
If you want something extra anda little bit more than I
suggest, or I would encourageand invite you to come check out
the Jesus in the EverydayMembership.
You can find out more about iton my website,
cheeryswallwellcom.
I also would love for you to goover to Cara's website,
(38:54):
cararhuntcom.
She has all kinds of goodiesover there.
She has videos, she hasinformation about her books, she
has information about how tobecome a believer, how to become
a Christ follower all kinds ofwonderful things.
I would just like to invite youall to go check out both of our
websites.
(39:15):
If you need prayer orencouragement, email us at
cheerapodcastcom.
And we would love for you tojoin the Facebook group again
called Cheer Up Podcasts niceand easy so that we can continue
our conversation about thescrew tape letters, because we
want to hear from you.
We want to hear your opinions,your thoughts, your comments.
How do you take your thoughtscaptive?
(39:37):
How do you grow yourrelationship with God?
How do you discern the truthfrom a lie?
We want to hear from you.
We want to know your tips andyour tricks and your disciplines
so that we can implement theminto our lives as well.
We learn from you just as muchas we hope we encourage you.
So have a great rest of yourweek.
(39:58):
Next week, come back, becausewe're going to talk about love
of neighbor versus hatred.
I hope you are enjoying thescrew tape letters as much as I
am.
Like I said, kara, i'llprobably be thanking you every
single week for having us dothis series because it is so
much fun.
Have a great week, the rest ofthe week, guys, and we will talk
to you next week.
Hi and welcome to the Cheer Up podcast.
I am your host, kara Ruhant,and with me, as always, is the
beautiful and lovely andfriendly and kind Sherry Swalwa.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
How are you today, Sherry?
I am doing fantastic.
It is the second week of June.
I couldn't be happier.
We're starting to settle intoour summer schedule And life is
just good.
I have learned lately to have adifferent, to shift in a mindset
.
It makes all the difference inthe world that, instead of
(00:56):
always getting upset or alwayshaving to plan things out well,
I had written a blog years agothat said I wrote my calendar in
a pencil so that I can erase it, And that's true.
But I think that the last fewyears, or the last few months,
God has really been teaching methat on a deeper level.
And there is just a piece thatcomes with knowing that I can
(01:19):
have a plan, but that when myplan gets interrupted, that
instead of feeling like it'sbeen interrupted, I need to, or
I have a mind shift instead thatsays you know what?
this is the plan that God hadfor me all along.
He will redeem whatever it isthat I needed to do, or whatever
I thought was important and Ineeded to do today.
(01:41):
He will take care of it anduntil then, I need to just find
joy in fulfilling the plan orthe purpose that he has for me
for today And it just reallytruly makes all the difference
in the world.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
I know right, oh, my goodness, there's so much truth
to that And because we've all, ibelieve, had those days or
times where it's like, man, itell you what.
I'm going to get up tomorrowmorning at this particular time.
I'm going to do this, do this,do that, do this, you know, and
I'm going to get all thesethings accomplished.
(02:15):
And then you wake up thatmorning and it's like nothing
goes the way that we hadintended it to.
You know, and sometimes thatcan be so frustrating to us, But
, as you said, as Christians weneed to change our minds and be
like.
You know what that is okay.
(02:36):
I really wanted to get thosethings done today.
Some of them I needed to getdone today.
But you know what?
God is in control of my life,that apparently none of that was
supposed to happen And what didhappen was supposed to happen.
I'm going to rest in that truth.
I am going to rest in his peaceand he is going to redeem the
time where I can still get thosethings done.
(02:57):
You know and you had mentionedearlier about how there's such
peace in that, there is so muchpeace in that, so much peace
There's, and you know what elseis in there.
Amen.
There is freedom in that.
It's just like, oh God, youknow how I wish I wanted to get
that done today, and you knowhow my boss or whatever, would
(03:20):
have really liked me to get thatdone today.
But it's okay.
It's okay, all right.
You have ordered my stuff I.
Things happened the way thatthey did.
How can I be mad at that?
You know the beginning from theend.
I don't.
You know what really needed tobe taken care of today Not me,
you know.
And let me just take a deepbreath, let my shoulders become
(03:44):
unhunched, let my fist becomeunclenched and my stomach become
the same way, and just relaxand breathe in the peace and
freedom you have given me, tojust trust in you, like a little
baby on his daddy's chest, andjust sleep peacefully and rest
peacefully.
Knowing that you got all ofthis Not today did not take you
(04:06):
by surprise.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
It may have taken me, but it did not take you Well
yes, and the fun thing aboutthat, i am so sorry, those
allergies.
I'm telling you they're stillhere.
But that's okay, part of theplan.
Part of the plan, see.
Yeah, but I have a friend andshe's the one that kind of got
(04:27):
me thinking along these lines,because you don't have to, like,
make these major major changesin your mindset, it's just a
small mindset shift.
You're just shifting yourmindset a little bit.
It's not like you're like, okay, fine, then I'm never going to
get anything done and I'm justgoing to only go by what God
wants me to do and I'm going tosit on my couch until I hear
God's voice and blah, blah, blah.
(04:49):
No, if things change, if yourplans change, no, trust, it is
from God, he's got this and he'sgot better things and a better
blessing for you ahead when youdo it his way.
So it's just a simple mindsetchange and that helped me
tremendously because it wasn'tlike oh, one more thing I have
to do, one more thing I have topay attention to.
(05:10):
It was just a simple mindsetchange but it makes all the
difference in the world, justlike you said, kara It does and
it frees us up.
Speaker 1 (05:19):
You know, because when we get super frustrated,
super uptight, you know itaffects our bodies and our
stress levels.
Stress leads to cancer andother illnesses.
Speaker 2 (05:30):
And what kind of testimony is that?
Do you want to be that crabChristian?
I don't.
Speaker 1 (05:35):
Right, or are just a sour plus.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
Exactly, exactly.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
It's what we used to call it back in the day, you
know.
So you know, and it's likewhich had always.
What's the word I'm looking for?
As a young Christian, it alwayskind of confused me.
I guess is the way, because I'mlike Well, wait, this person is
highly looked up to, you knowfrom the church and from the
(06:05):
leadership, and they'veobviously been here, you know a
while and everything else.
So they've obviously beenwelcomed at the Laura Pro while
as well.
But why are they so sad?
You know why are they so stabbyand mean, You know, it just
always kind of looked like theyjust were fucking on the limit,
right?
You know, Yeah, and I used to beconfused.
(06:25):
I guess that what I have tolook, you know you kind of start
thinking, you know your mindsetcan easily be like.
Is that what I have to look fortoo As a Christian as I grow.
Am I going to become thatperson, you know, and the truth
is no, you do not have to.
Okay, that is not saying lifeis not going to throw you lemons
(06:46):
.
We would.
You would never hear me andSherry say that.
It is just how we react tothose lemons, you know.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
We just have chosen, kara, to add cherry or raspberry
or lime to our lemons and makeit into a lemonade.
Yes, yes, and why do we?
Speaker 1 (07:04):
do that Because God has told us that He has overcome
it all and we already have thevictory right.
And so, and we have learnedthrough our spiritual walks with
Him, individually and together,that we can trust Him, his, his
, his, god's rap sheet with usis like long.
(07:24):
Okay, his reputation sheet withus is like long.
We know, we have seen, we havewitnessed with our own eyes how
God has come through time andtime and time again.
So it's just we have learned tolike okay, lord, here we go
again.
You would think, even after allthis, i wouldn't be this
anxious about something, but I,i'm going to trust in you.
(07:47):
I am going to trust in you, andwhy?
Because He has been so faithful, even in the little things that
no one knows about except Himand I, you and I, or the two of
us and Him.
You know what I'm saying.
It's like He has been faithful.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
My favorite song is the goodness of God song And I
told my husband I want that songat my funeral because it it
just so speaks about God'sfaithfulness and how He has been
so, so good.
I love that song.
It sums up exactly what you'resaying.
Speaker 1 (08:20):
Absolutely It does, and it is just.
It's just so amazing that whenyou, when you have that
experience, you're just like,wow, you know what I'm saying.
And to bring it, to bring itback to this terra firma, so to
speak, to bring it back toearthly terms, because you know
people be like, yeah, you knowthat's God or whatever, but,
(08:41):
believe it or not, we trustpeople all the time.
And so how can you not createthe God that, that that created
you?
For instance, i have thosepeople in my life, friends and
family who I know.
If they tell me they're goingto do something, they're going
to do it.
I don't need to call them, idon't need to remind them, i
(09:02):
don't need to send them a textor an email, i don't need to
bother them about.
Hey, you know this is coming up.
You said you're going to do it,are you going to do it?
Are you going to do it?
Are you going to do it?
You're going to do it.
I don't even have to worryabout it, right, because their
word is gold, right, and theydon't commit lightly to anything
.
And if they say they're goingto do it, they're going to do it
And they're going to show upwith bells on and it's going to
(09:24):
all be done, right, and that'show God is.
He's like, you know.
And how do I know that aboutthose particular friends and
family?
right, because they have shownme throughout my life that
that's who they are.
They have shown me that I canbe counted, that they saying
using their perspective, theyhave shown me that, kara, you
(09:46):
can count on me.
Kara, when I give my word, imean it.
And when I tell you I'm goingto do something, i'm going to do
it.
And when I say I'm going toshow up, i'm going to show up,
and I'm probably going to beearly.
You know what I'm saying.
They have shown me that throughthe years And it's the same way
.
But if you have friends likethat and you can trust them,
then how much more can we trustGod?
(10:07):
Right, because he has alwaysshown up.
He will always show up.
It may not be in our timing,but he will, you know.
And so that same trust that wegive to our friends and family
that are constantly there for usand they show up, you know,
when we need them, we know thatGod is the same way.
(10:28):
He is not a fair weather God.
He is just not like a fairweather friend.
They're good when the weatheris good, they're there, but when
the weather is bad, you don'thear from them, right, right, or
you know things like that.
He is not a fair weather God.
You know we've all had our fairshare of fair weather friends,
right?
You know, if you've lived aslong as Sherry and I, you
probably have more than youwould like to even think about,
(10:52):
you know.
But that's okay, because theyshowed us of you know, of what
not to expect from certainpeople.
But we don't even have to worryabout that with God because
he's not a fair weather God.
He is just like that friend,that family member that is there
100%.
Not only does he have your back, he's went before you and even
(11:14):
prepared the way.
Okay, so that is what we'retalking about.
We say there's peace andfreedom when things do not
necessarily go our way, but theday doesn't go the way we
expected it.
But it's like we step back andwe have to change that shift and
be like you know what I got.
I've been in a relationshipwith you long enough to know
that that's okay, like I don'teven know how.
(11:37):
Know how all it is is go towork out, but it is going to
work out, okay, you know so,which is like an awesome segue
into what we're talking aboutfor the next couple of weeks.
So we are talking about justdifferent topics from the book
(12:00):
see and as Louis.
The author is CS Lewis.
The book is the screwed tapeletters classic literature.
I believe the original came outin 1941 or somewhere around
that time, so it's definitely aclassic literature and we
describe why we were talkingabout it, this particular book,
(12:20):
this summer.
We also gave so much moreinformation in last week's
episode, so we're going to betalking about it for the month
of June, july and August, andthe first episode on this topic
was on June 7th episode.
So if you haven't heard thatepisode, please go back and
(12:42):
listen to that one, because itgives you a lot of background
information and a lot ofscriptural foundation for what
we are talking about.
I think we shared maybe about10 scriptures that kind of talks
about especially demons and howdemons affect people and the
(13:02):
source of demons, and all ofthat in our June 7th episode.
So please go ahead and listento that one, and we laid out the
scriptures for that one, and soI just think that when you
listen to that one, this onewill be the further.
The rest of these episodes willbe so much easier and you kind
of get a better understanding ofwhat we're talking about.
Because the screw tape lettersis about letters that a demon,
(13:29):
whose name is screw tape, iswriting to his nephew, whose
name is Wormwood.
They are called the screw tapeletters And the reason he's
writing these letters is becauseWormwood has been assigned to a
particular patient, as it'scalled to in the book, and he's
(13:49):
referred to a particular patientor a particular person to just
kind of really just guide him tohell.
Basically, that's it in thenutshell.
But Wormwood, the nephewWormwood, is new to demonship or
whatever, however that goes,and so he's a lower ranking
demon.
And so his quote unquoteuncle's screw tape is telling
(14:12):
him how to really get thisperson to do what he wants them
to do.
And today we're just going totalk about the main topic of
chapter one.
Again, the screw type lettersis a book by CS Lewis.
It has about 31 chapters And Idon't think there's more than
six, maybe seven chapters perexcuse me six or seven
(14:36):
paragraphs per chapter.
So it's not a very long book.
But again, it's the uncletrying to mentor his nephew
Wormwood into how to manipulatethe human being is basically
what it is.
So again, for those of you likewhat demons?
(14:56):
and you're just tuning into thepodcast and you're like, are
they scriptural?
Like what do you mean by that?
Please listen to the June 7thpodcast and just follow up on
those scriptures and use exactlywhat we're talking about and
what you know.
What we're covering today.
Today we are going to talkabout the main topic, so we're
(15:21):
going to take it each episode.
Lastly, was the introductionand we gave the foundation for
the scripture foundation andeverything else, the June 7th
episode.
From now on, we're going to betaking a chapter per episode and
covering one of the main topics, and the main topic of chapter
one is thinking versusexperience, or another way to
(15:46):
put it is reality versusunreality.
You know is to be reason andreality.
Let me put it that way Thinkingversus experience, reason and
reality is basically what UncleScrewtape is trying to teach his
(16:13):
nephew Wormwood when it comesto their quote-unquote human on
earth.
That Wormwood is trying tomanipulate and do what he wants
him to do.
And basically in it, in thisone letter, he's basically just
Uncle Screwtape is just tryinghe's not happy, pretty much,
(16:36):
with the way that Wormwood islike leading his human being to
think towards a certain thing.
Like Wormwood, the nephew, who'san inexperienced demon, is just
trying to get the human tothink more materialistically
(16:57):
about things, to focus on cars,houses, you know, and things
like that.
And his Uncle Screwtape is like, yeah, what?
No, we're going to do somethingdifferent.
I need you to get your hooks inhim.
So we're going to start withgetting him to really think
about reason and reality, youknow, and experience, you know,
(17:17):
and everything else.
So he really wants him tomanipulate his thoughts in a way
, instead of getting him focusedon something else you know And
to just read, you know, he wantshim to use everyday
distractions to mislead the man,to just mislead him into
(17:39):
anything and everything that hedid.
For instance, if he thinkssomething is blue and he really
likes blue and blue is good forhim and he knows blue is good
for him, i really want you toget him to focus on a color red
Because red's going to be badfor him and then, because that's
bad for him, that's going tolead him into other things that
(18:00):
are bad for him, And then wecould just get our hooks in as
demons more and more and moreand more.
So let's really just mess withhis thought life And that's
basically what his letter to hisnephew is about.
As the demons Like I just wantyou to mess with his thought
life.
Don't get him focused.
(18:20):
Don't let him get focused onanything like that.
You know.
Just focus him on things that'sgoing to be bad for him and it
leads to more things that arebad for him.
So what did you think ofchapter one, sherry?
Speaker 2 (18:32):
Well, i loved the way that you explained it.
You explained it so well And itmakes me think the
counteractive or thecounterintuitive part of that is
it is so important that we takecontrol of our thoughts, that
we take captive our thoughts sothat the enemy can't, or to
disrupt the enemy's schemes andhis plot in our life.
(18:56):
And I mean that's likescriptural, and I love how CS
Lewis turned it into a lessonthrough fiction.
Like well, you and I both lovefiction anyway to begin with,
like I can give biblical truthsthrough fiction all day long
because that's just my heart.
And so the fact that he wasdoing this in such a way that
(19:18):
appeals to everybody in his timeyou know, it wasn't just for
women, it wasn't just for kids,it wasn't just for men, but for
everybody.
And it talks about the takingcaptive our thoughts and how
important that is.
So, like a tip, if you'rereading through this and you're
going, okay, so what am Isupposed to do?
(19:39):
How do I do that?
So one of the things that Ilove to practice in my own life
is that I remind myself that youcan't have two opposite
thoughts at the same time, soyou can't think about blue and
green at the same time.
You can't think about heavenand hell at the same time.
You can't think about Satan andthe enemy at the same I mean
(20:01):
sorry, satan and Jesus at thesame time.
You can't think about worry andfear at the same time.
You can't think about anxietyand peace at the same time.
Whatever your mind focuses on,that is what you will think
about.
So how do you take your thoughtscaptive?
It doesn't have to be anythinglong and drawn out.
You can do it in one of threesimple, easy ways.
(20:23):
You can do it at the grocerystore, you can do it in your car
, you can do it in bed.
You can do it whenever orwherever you need to Is one for
me.
If I can't think of a song or amemory verse or a Bible verse
that I want to repeat over and,over and over again, then I just
say the word Jesus, jesus.
Speaker 1 (20:39):
Jesus.
Speaker 2 (20:40):
Although my favorite, i love to talk, i love to speak
his name back to him.
So my three go-tos are JehovahRafa, which means healer,
jehovah Jairah, which means myprovider, jehovah Shalom, which
means my peace.
So I love to repeat over andover Jehovah Jairah, jehovah
Rafa, jehovah Shalom, jehovahJairah, jehovah Rafa, jehovah
(21:02):
Shalom.
And it's not just a mantra,it's not just the yoga
meditation, it's Jesus is myhealer, jesus is my provider,
jesus is my peace, jesus is myhealer, jesus is my provider,
jesus is my peace.
It's getting that in me and it'sreminding myself of who he is,
because if he's providing for me, if he's healing me and if he's
giving me peace, then those arethree things that are going to
(21:26):
combat pretty much any negativethoughts that I need to have
taken captive.
So that's what I like to do.
If I don't do his names, then,like I said, i will ask God for
a specific scripture and I'llrepeat that over and over again,
putting it into my soul, notjust saying the words
mechanically, but thinking aboutwhat I'm saying.
Or I like to ask God for aspecific song and then he
(21:48):
usually will give me a phrasefrom the song and I'll just sing
that over and over and overagain.
So that is an easy way to takethoughts captive And I think
that the way that CS Lewistalked about it in the first
chapter was amazing and that'slike a really good way to put
that simple but profound truthinto practice.
Speaker 1 (22:13):
Absolutely.
In today's society and culture,with so many things going on,
it's a lot, but it could be aneveryday life as well.
I remember I think it was apastor or church I used to go to
, but this is kind of like areally good example of how the
(22:37):
enemy tries to get you to thinkabout something else instead of
what you're supposed to bethinking about.
And I think he was talkingsomething along the lines of
when he was maybe like a youngerpastor or whatever, and he
would be at the pulpit and he'slike, and he's going to get
(22:57):
ready to preach the word orwhatever, and he was pretty much
used to say to him he hasalways liked when it comes to
women.
He was saying that he alwaysliked shapely legs and things
like that, and so he would saythat it was like I think this
(23:20):
happened a couple of times withhim He'd say he'll be getting up
there, he'll be getting readyto preach the word or whatever
and everything else, and he'dsay to him, right there in the
front pew, you know, will comesomeone who has them like a
short skirt and really shapelylegs, you know, and his mind
would wander.
It's almost exactly like whatscrew tape was telling to his,
(23:41):
the demon screw tape was tellingto his demon nephew get them
focused on something else, sothey're not as effective with
the good thing.
And so he's like you know, i'mup there and I'm going to preach
, you know, all of a suddensomeone comes in, you know, and
they sit right there in front ofme, you know, and they, you
know, have these you know legsand stuff on, and his mind will
(24:03):
automatically just be like drawnto that And he was like, okay,
nope, you're not fixed thatsituation, you know, and
everything else.
So he started having likefriends and family sit in the
first couple of pews, i think,and staff, you know, and
everything else, so that therewouldn't be any room for like
other people to, you know, likepeople who just come in the
(24:26):
church, you know, whatever, andthings like that, who would just
come up there and would kind ofbe a distraction to him, you
know.
So he could grow like in hisministry and, you know, become
strong enough with that.
So sometimes it's like somethingas simple as that.
We all have something that willdistract us regardless.
(24:47):
Right, we could be.
I am getting ready to read myBible, i am gonna do my devotion
time, you know, and everythingelse.
And then something comes up andit may not even be a good thing
, you know what I'm saying.
It's like it could be, but youknow what?
I didn't finish that ice creamlast night.
I think I'm just gonna go, andit's only half a gallon, you
(25:09):
know.
So I think I'm just gonna eatthe ice cream while you know,
doing my devotions or somethinglike that.
And pretty soon you becomeobsessed with that thought about
the ice cream, you know, and alot of times it's so subtle that
we don't realize that thosethoughts have been influenced.
You know, in today's worldeveryone's talking about social
(25:32):
media, influencers andeverything else, but there's the
demons have been influencingpeople for a whole lot longer.
Right That all of a sudden,instead of us getting deep into
a really good, deep devotion andstudy, we are looking at
something.
We become consumed with the icecream.
And if it was just eating theice cream, that's one thing.
(25:54):
But then if you alreadystruggle which there are demons
watching us all the time if youalready struggle with overeating
or eating when you're notsupposed to, or eating sweets or
eating sugary things, then thatjust leads you down the road
And we all know that when youeat something sweet, it just
(26:16):
sugar builds up something in youthat makes you want something
else sweet, right, it's just, oh, wow, you know okay.
So guess what?
Well, you know what?
I guess I finished the candybar as well.
And so then it's leading youdown a whole road of a path.
You really didn't intend to goand you didn't really think you
were gonna go, but you did notknow that it was all influenced
by a little thought that wasplaced inside your head, and now
(26:39):
you're more focused on, well,what else can I eat, instead of
just getting deeply and deeplyinto that word.
You know, it just happens sosubtle, doesn't it, sherry?
Speaker 2 (26:49):
Oh, absolutely, and you know, somebody told me and I
always like to remember thisthey can't read our thoughts,
but Satan studies our lives.
And that is why it's soimportant that we speak truth
instead of death, or speak lifeover ourselves instead of death,
because if we speak death overourselves, then that's fair game
(27:12):
for him, he's saying okay hesaid it, i'm just gonna let it
come to pass, And so he can'thear our thoughts.
He's not all powerful and allknowing and everywhere like like
thought, but he has his minionseverywhere and they study.
Like somebody else said too, ifChristians were as what is the
(27:39):
word I want were as intentionaland as dedicated as Satan's army
is man, would we be powerfuland we would be unstoppable?
They make it their mission andtheir life to destroy people and
we take it lazily And a lot ofpeople don't even realize, like
(28:00):
you said, that the thoughts andall of those things that they
plant in us because they'recrafty, they're patient, they
take their time and they waitfor the right opportunities, and
we get lazy.
Speaker 1 (28:15):
Yeah, we get lazy and we don't even think about it.
And it's lazy as in not keepingour eyes open and studying and
building up our relationshipwith the Lord, so that when
those things happen, we couldsay not today, satan, you're not
(28:36):
doing it Exactly.
Speaker 2 (28:38):
We use the ice cream over the Bible study.
Speaker 1 (28:43):
Yes, you know, and things like that.
And it's just like you get tothe point to where you're just
like nope, nope, nope, nope,nope, nope, nope, and it is, and
that instigates spiritualwarfare, right, because your
flesh is like I'm really cravingthat ice cream, and what harm
is it going to do to just eatthe ice cream?
(29:06):
It's ice cream for ground outloud.
You know what I'm saying.
But if you already have healthissues, you know, or something
like that, or you have a problemwith eating, overeating or
gluttony or sweets or anythinglike that, anyway, and they've
been studying for a while andthey're like I'm going to put
this thought in there, you know,and it's going to be so good,
but oh, my goodness, this is thebest ice cream ever.
(29:26):
It tastes so good, and yetyou're trying to do your
devotional.
What is happening?
The word that devotional is notgetting into your heart, right,
it's not getting into it theway it could be, because now
you're distracted, and that'sthe whole point of devotional.
You are devoting that time toGod, whether it's a 30 seconds
(29:49):
or just 30 minutes, that meansdevoted.
That's the one thing you aresupposed to be doing, right?
You're not supposed to haveanything else, you know, as a
distraction.
Now, obviously, not everyonehas an issue with food, right,
and someone could be eating abowl of cereal by doing their
devotional and it's not aproblem.
But there are others to whereit just leads into other things.
(30:11):
Right, it becomes a very strongdistraction for them And that
is what we have to watch out for, because it can be so subtle.
It's so subtle And even intoday's world there are people
who are telling you that A isnot A and B is not B.
I don't care what you say.
It may look that way, it mayhave been that way since the
(30:34):
first human was on the earth,but A is not really A and B is
not really B.
Because you know, you candecide that you want to be a C
or an E or an F or an L or a Q.
You can decide all of thosethings and you could be like oh,
(30:55):
you know, i want to be this,you know, or something like that
.
But reality is saying what areyou doing?
This is ridiculous.
There is only A and there'sonly B.
That's the reality.
But then you have this demoninfluencer coming and you may be
(31:19):
aware but are not be aware.
Like what are you?
that is nonsense.
Like, who told you that?
Who told you that there wasonly A and there was only B?
You can be cute.
Like you can be cute, and youknow what?
that reminds me of The Gardenof Eden, sherry.
Yeah, it reminds me of theGarden of Eden, where the Satan,
(31:46):
the serpent, is saying theycan't really tell you that you
can't eat of the tree, of thatparticular tree or whatever.
Did he really say that or didhe say this?
And the only reason he don'twant you to is because of this.
She was beguiled.
(32:06):
Eve was beguiled by the serpentbecause he was leading her to
believe something that wasn'tnecessarily true.
And in today's society, whenyou know, when reality itself,
things in the real world thatyou've always known and always
has been, that there's an A andthere's a B, but yet there's
(32:27):
this demon influencer tellingyou nope, you can be a cute, you
can be a cute.
You know who said like, is itreally an A?
Is it really just a B?
But why can't you be a cute?
Why can't you be something else?
You have to ask yourself, andespecially as believers where is
that thought coming from?
Are you being beguiled by asnake with a forked tongue, just
(32:56):
like Eve was.
Speaker 2 (32:59):
And you also have to ask yourself, cara are you being
loving to the person whobelieves they're a cue by going
along with them, or are you moreloving if you show them the
truth in love?
Speaker 1 (33:14):
Absolutely 100 percent, Because if you truly
love that person, you don't wantthem listening to a snake
that's going to lead them down agone path, as they used to say.
And for you to agree with thatperson and say, oh, you're a cue
, let's celebrate you being acue, you know, or whatever, and
(33:38):
you know that there's only an Aand a B, but you want to try and
show your support.
You know what you're supportingthem in.
You're supporting them in theirinevitable fall, because that is
what's going to happen.
That's what you're supportingthem in.
You are not supporting them inthe truth.
You're help leading them down apath that leads to more
(34:02):
confusion.
And as believers, we know whothe father of confusion is.
It is Satan himself, and hesends his demons out to
influence people in theirthoughts, to make them think
that reality is really notreality and that let's question
reality and we're going tocreate our own reality.
(34:22):
Okay And so.
And then you know, you startbelieving into that, and then
you find out that it leads downa darker and darker and darker
path.
And when you support someone, inthat you have helped lead them
there, whether it wasintentional or unintentional,
because you yourself have beeninfluenced in saying by a demon
(34:47):
influencer, saying, oh, you'vegot to support them.
How can you not support whenthey're just trying to be a cue?
How can you not do that?
Right, how can you?
I thought you'd love them.
That's your sister, that's yourbrother, that's your cousin,
that's your friend.
How can you not support them?
Shame on you for not supportingthem, shame on you for not
supporting them.
So you've been influenced aswell and it leads you both.
(35:10):
Now he has two for the price ofone, but if you love them, like
Sherry said, you will say, okay, let's talk about this, and
this is not the way that Godwants you to go, and let me
explain to you why.
So thank you for bringing thatup, sherry.
That is a very good point.
(35:31):
Anything else you want to addbefore we wrap up today's topic
on reality and thinking andversus experience and being
influenced by our thoughts?
Speaker 2 (35:41):
I think the only other thing that I want to
encourage people with is that,as there are minions and demons
and the enemy prowling aroundthe world, we have the Holy
Spirit inside of us We have thatsecret weapon And he is our
comforter, our advocate.
(36:02):
When we ask for wisdom, god saysthat He'll give it to us.
So we have that secret weapon,we have that missile that can
demolish and destroy.
So we actually are morepowerful, and that's one of the
reasons why Satan and hisminions are so persistent and so
intentional and so insidious.
(36:22):
One thing is they are onlyimitators.
They cannot create anything new.
So, therefore, anything that hedoes, he only has like a
handful of tricks up his sleeve.
Now he can change them in alldifferent ways to make it look
different and to catch us offguard, but he cannot create
(36:43):
anything new.
He can only imitate what Godhas done, which makes it more
confusing, which is why we needto stay in the Word, so that we
know the truth from thefalsehood, and the truth will
set us free.
But having said all that, wehave the secret weapon, the
ultimate secret weapon, and thatis the Holy Spirit.
(37:05):
And the Holy Spirit, when wetake that time to get to know
Him and when we take that timeto grow our relationship with
God, he is going to reveal to us, he's going to give us those
nudges, he's going to give usthose uncomfortable feelings of
man.
This person sounds like they'resaying all the right things, but
(37:26):
I just have this feeling thatit's not right.
There's something not right.
Holy Spirit, will you give mewisdom and revelation and
clarity to figure out what it is, or show me that they are up
and up and true?
and I just don't know enough ofthe Bible that I need to learn
more or reveal to me where theyare false, where they are trying
(37:48):
to get me away from the truth,where they're trying to deceive
me.
And He answers every singletime, not always right away.
Sometimes He wants you to digdeeper, sometimes He wants you
to get quiet, sometimes He'ssaying I would love to give you
that answer, but you need toslow down for a minute so you
can hear me.
You got to stop for a littlebit so you can hear us, so we
(38:10):
can have this conversation.
But He always answers Andthat's what I love.
So John 1633 tells us thatthese things I have spoken to
you.
This is Jesus speaking in me.
You may have peace In the world.
You will have tribulation, butbe of good cheer, i have
overcome the world.
If you're looking for a way togrow that relationship with God,
(38:34):
we suggest the Bible believingchurch.
If you want something extra anda little bit more than I
suggest, or I would encourageand invite you to come check out
the Jesus in the EverydayMembership.
You can find out more about iton my website,
cheeryswallwellcom.
I also would love for you to goover to Cara's website,
(38:54):
cararhuntcom.
She has all kinds of goodiesover there.
She has videos, she hasinformation about her books, she
has information about how tobecome a believer, how to become
a Christ follower all kinds ofwonderful things.
I would just like to invite youall to go check out both of our
websites.
(39:15):
If you need prayer orencouragement, email us at
cheerapodcastcom.
And we would love for you tojoin the Facebook group again
called Cheer Up Podcasts niceand easy so that we can continue
our conversation about thescrew tape letters, because we
want to hear from you.
We want to hear your opinions,your thoughts, your comments.
How do you take your thoughtscaptive?
(39:37):
How do you grow yourrelationship with God?
How do you discern the truthfrom a lie?
We want to hear from you.
We want to know your tips andyour tricks and your disciplines
so that we can implement theminto our lives as well.
We learn from you just as muchas we hope we encourage you.
So have a great rest of yourweek.
(39:58):
Next week, come back, becausewe're going to talk about love
of neighbor versus hatred.
I hope you are enjoying thescrew tape letters as much as I
am.
Like I said, kara, i'llprobably be thanking you every
single week for having us dothis series because it is so
much fun.
Have a great week, the rest ofthe week, guys, and we will talk
to you next week.
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!