Beth Moore - When Godly People Do Ungodly Things: Finding Authentic Restoration in the Age of Seduction

Copyright 2002 by Beth Moore

All rights reserved

Printed in the United States of America

ISBN: 978-0-8054-2465-2

Published by B&H Publishing Group,

Nashville, Tennessee

Subject Heading: CHRISTIAN LIVING

Unless otherwise stated all Scripture citations are from the NIV, the Holy Bible, New International Version, copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society; other versions cited are NASB, the New American Standard Bible, the Lockman Foundation, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977; used by permission, and the New Testament The Lockman Foundation 1954, 1958, used by permission; KJV, the King James Version.

To L. L.

You have been an unspeakable inspirationespecially at times when I've grieved while a few othersrefused to go the distance and let their Redeemer redeem.What needless defeat!I am so proud of you. Can you imagine how He must feel?

A great harvest awaits you, Dear One.

I can't wait to look over your shoulder and celebrate!

T hough many have supported this message and helped bring it from heart to page, One must be acknowledged over all others. My Father, I will never understand the extravagant nature of Your grace and mercy. You continue to take the worst blights on my Christian track record and use them for good. If anyone has tested Romans 8:28, surely I did! I am proof You are true to Your Word. My Lord and my God, the Love of my life, thank You so much for not being ashamed of me. I will proclaim Your loving-kindness as long as I live. I adore You.

Keith, Amanda, and Melissa, what would I do if you were too embarrassed or private to allow me the freedom to use my own testimonies, failures, and experiences publicly? I love the three of you so much. Keith, you are my best friend. Thank you for also believing so strongly in this message of warning, protection, and full redemption. Girls, I can't leave you a perfect track record for an inheritance but in the words of Peter in Acts 3:6, such as I have give I thee. Lessons learned. Grace received. Love lavished. These are the things of your inheritance. Pour them out in humility and abundance upon others.

Susan and Sabrina, thank you for not resting until this message got out. I will never forget how you reacted when Satan hit me with second thoughts. Your experiences and testimonies were inexpressible inspiration throughout these pages. I love all of you at Living Proof Ministries so much. Let's watch our backs, Ladies! Satan's going to be mad.

My brothers and sisters at Broadman & Holman, I am so grateful for your partnership in this work. I have never felt more strongly about a message God has given me. Having a publisher who did not believe in the full restoration of the repentant would be a laughable irony in my case. I wouldn't be in ministry if God were not a willing and able Redeemer. Thank you for not being afraid of this message and for leaving so in tact. We said it loud. Now, may God make it clear!

Finally, I am so grateful to God for those He appointed to risk telling me their stories. None of them had any idea so many others were experiencing similar horrors. May God expose the enemy of our souls, and may the Body of Christ become equipped in this unparalleled age of seduction. The time is now.

PREFACE

T his book represents one of the most unique writing experiences I've ever had with God. Unbeknownst to me, He's been writing each chapter on my heart for several years. When the message for this book was complete (in His estimation not mine! ), God compelled me to ink it on paper with a force of the Holy Spirit unparalleled in my experience. He whisked me to the mountains of Wyoming where I entered solitary confinement with Him, and in only a few short weeks, I wrote the last line. My most overwhelming emotion at this point is relief . My soul is at rest. I have done to the best of my understanding what God seemed to require of me with a relentless passion.

On behalf of all authors who seek the sole leadership of the Holy Spirit, please allow me to say that we don't just pick and choose our subject matter. In fact, sometimes God assigns us a message that is more radical than we'd choose to be and requires more transparency than we'd ever want to invite! I am being as honest as I know how to be when I say that I did not write these pages by simple preference. I wrote them because had I not, the rocks in my yard would have cried out. What God does with what He's required is His business. I entrust this message entirely to the One who delivered it while I sat bug-eyed.

Certainly I'm not audaciously implying that this book is written under the same kind of divine inspiration as the Holy Scriptures! The Word of God is our only volume of pure truth. We mortals no doubt taint everything we touch however accidentally. What I'm saying is that I wrote this message to the best of my ability under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and I do not believe it conceptually departs from the precepts of God's Word. I may unknowingly err in interpretation or application, but the overall message of warning, redemption, and restoration are consistent with a God so merciful and courageous, He would dare use a pauper like me.

The only other of my manuscripts Satan tried as hard to hinder or destroy was Breaking Free . He hates to let go of a captive. He also hates being exposed as the fraud he is and that's one of the chief goals of this book. My specific prayer for this message is threefold:

• that God will use the pages of this book to shed light on Satan's massive campaign, in our current and future generations, to seduce the saints.
• that God will use this message to remind a battered and bruised believer how loved he is and how much the Father longs for his complete restoration. We have never gone so far that we can't come home. Oh, thank You, Lord!
• that many readers will wise up to Satan's seductive schemes and fortify their lives before he traps them into something ungodly.

This book is written in three parts. Part 1 is the warning, both biblical and experiential, that Satan is heightening his attack on devout believers in Jesus Christ. Part 2 comprises ways we can fortify ourselves against Satan's full-scale attack on the lives of the elect in the latter days. Part 3 is the road home for the one who has been deceived and seduced by the enemy into a season of ungodliness. If you are fairly convinced you are a victim of satanic seduction, please read the book in this important order: Part 1, Part 3, then Part 2. All others should read the message in the order it is written.

When Godly People Do Ungodly Things would never have been written without the vigilant prayer and fasting of a thousand prayer warriors who built a firewall fortress around me for several weeks. I am unspeakably humbled by their around-the-clock provision of prayer protection. Many took hits on my behalf that can only be explained as spiritual warfare. I am astonished and deeply indebted to them for their willingness to war so faithfully on behalf of this message. They enabled me to write while entirely alone many miles from home without experiencing a single hint of oppression. Satan was utterly defeated.

One of the peculiarities about this assignment is that God also required me to fast. He would not release me to eat until the very end of each day after all writing for that day was accomplished. Sometimes He would not release me until the end of the next day. Never before has He asked me to do such a thing while writing a book. Many authors may fast in advance of a project but we feel we need the brain food during the actual process. This time God would not permit any such approach. To tell you how adamant He was, the one time I thought I'd be fine to eat breakfast; my thoughts became completely warbled and confused until midafternoon. The requirements of this message were so unusual and intriguing to me that I couldn't help wondering why. Finally God gave me understanding and I realized that He was applying the principle Christ introduced in Mark 9:29 (KJV). This book written specifically to expose one of the most insidious assaults of the evil onewould come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting . What God required of a thousand prayer warriors and me gave us just a hint how much the enemy was raging against us in the heavenlies.