This Rejoice & Praise God Sunday Open Thread, with full respect to those who worship God on the Sabbath, is a place to reaffirm our worship of our Creator, our Father, our King Eternal.

It’s also a place to read, post, and discuss news that is worth knowing and sharing. Please post links to any news stories that you use as sources or quote from.

In the QTree, we’re a friendly and civil lot. We encourage free speech and the open exchange and civil discussion of different ideas. Topics aren’t constrained, and sound logic is highly encouraged, all built on a solid foundation of truth and established facts, and not by agenda-driven accusations and pronouncements.

We have a policy of mutual respect, shown by civility. Civility encourages discussions, promotes objectivity and rational thought in discourse, and camaraderie in the participants – characteristics we strive toward in our Q Tree community.

Please show respect and consideration for our fellow QTreepers. Before hitting the “post” button, please proofread your post and make sure your opinion addresses the issue only, and does not confront or denigrate the poster. Keep to the topic – avoid “you” and “your”. Here in The Q Tree, personal attacks, name-calling, ridicule, insults, baiting, and other conduct for which a penalty flag would be thrown are VERBOTEN.

In The Q Tree, we’re compatriots, sitting around the campfire, roasting hot dogs, making s’mores, and discussing, agreeing, and disagreeing about whatever interests us. This board will remain a home for those who seek respectful conversations.

Please also consider the Guidelines for posting and discussion printed here: 
https://www.theqtree.com/2019/01/01/dear-maga-open-topic-20190101/

On this day and every day –

God is in Control
. . . and His Grace is Sufficient, so . . .
Keep Looking Up

Hopefully, every Sunday, we can find something here that will build us up a little . . . give us a smile . . . and add some joy or peace, very much needed in all our lives.

“This day is holy to the Lord your God;
do not mourn nor weep.” . . .
“Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet,
and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared;
for this day is holy to our Lord.
Do not sorrow,
for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

. . . god of this world . . .

The phrase god of this world (or god of this age) (2 Cor 4:4) indicates that Satan is the major influence on the ideals, opinions, goals, and views of the majority of people. His influence encompasses the world’s philosophies, education, and commerce. When people live as if there is no God, they by default follow the god of this world. The unholy thoughts, destructive ideas, wild speculations, and false religions of this world have sprung from Satan’s lies and deceptions.

Satan is also called the “prince of the power of the air” in Ephesians 2:2. He is the “ruler of this world” in John 12:31. These titles and many more signify Satan’s capabilities. He wields a certain amount of authority and power in this world. He is not a king, but a prince, a ruler of some sort. In some way he rules over the world and the people in it: “The whole world is under the control of the evil one” (1 John 5:19).

This is not to say that Satan rules the world completely; God is still sovereign. Satan is not God—capital G—he is a god—small g. God, in His infinite, inscrutable wisdom, has allowed Satan to operate in this world within the boundaries God has set for him. Satan’s limits are clearly seen in Job 1 and 2. There, Satan must give an account of himself to God, and it seems he must have God’s permission to carry out his plans. At no time can Satan do all he wants, for God restricts his actions.

Satan may be the god of this world, but his domain is limited to unbelievers. Born-again children of God are no longer under the rule of Satan. God the Father “has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves” (Colossians 1:13). The apostle Paul was sent by God to turn people “from the power of Satan to God” (Acts 26:18). Unbelievers, however free they may think they are, are caught “in the snare of the devil” (2 Timothy 2:26) and lie in the “power of the evil one” (1 John 5:19).

As the god of this world, Satan exercises his power over the unbelieving world to keep them from Jesus. Second Corinthians 4:4 indicates that he is responsible for the spiritual blindness of people without Christ: “The god of this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ.” Satan snatches the gospel from people’s hearts (Matthew 13:19). He promotes false philosophies and “doctrines of demons” (1 Timothy 4:1, NKJV). Satan’s philosophies are the fortresses in which people are imprisoned, and they must be set free by Christ.

As the god of this world, Satan has spread his lies far and wide. Many of his lies have been successful in taking root and deceiving millions. Here are a few of his more popular ones:

• “God doesn’t exist”
• “God doesn’t care”
• “God cannot be trusted”
• “God is evil”
• “Jesus did not rise again”
• “You can go to heaven if you’re good enough”

As the god of this world, Satan puts forward his agenda, and the unbelievers in the world follow. Thankfully, our Lord is greater than the god of this world, as He proved every time He cast out a demon (e.g., Mark 1:39). Jesus came “to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness” (Isaiah 42:7). The god of this world is no match for Him (John 12:31).
xhttps://www.gotquestions.org/Satan-god-world.html