Satan is a servant of God.
No, Satan is a fallen angel who was, before he was a fallen angel, a righteous servant of God. Just as are all of the god-honoring angels. But Satan found sin in his heart and tested God to rebel against His ultimate authority and God set him in his place until his destruction which has been established. Being a servant of God would imply that he will do what God wants. I'm pretty sure that Satan isn't doing what God wants. I mean, how fair would that be if God intentionally set Satan upon us. If we would have remained sinless and Satan would have never visited the earth, then we'd still be living in paradise. You think God told him to do that?
That would just seem to be cruel of someone to take people who would have been good and then set them the test that if they failed they would then live a life of strife and struggle and need and pain and suffering. No, I don't think God sent Satan to mankind as some sort of test that they failed. Satan came here all on his own against God's will. He spoke with the new creature that God had created and convinced her withing minutes to defy God. Satan is not God's servant. Although, if you want to consider him like Nebudchudnezzer, a sword of the Lord, I suppose one might make that stretch. But Israel had done evil before God sent Nebbie to overrun their cities for their defiance. Eve had done no evil before Satan spoke with her.
The Bible is a love story, Jesus wants a bride that loves him absolutely and will give themselves to Him as He gave Himself for us.
I absolutely agree, friend. I would add however, that Jesus' righteous measurement of love for him, per his own words, was obedience to his commands.
Satan is given permission to tempt people to find out if they are in fact true to the Lord.
No, that only happened with Job because Job was a righteous man and he knew that he shouldn't mess with him without God's permission. God knew Job was a righteous man and when Satan again defied God and said, "Let troubles fall on him and see if he doesn't curse God?" (Ted paraphrase version) So, God told him. Ok, I'll let you at him. You can do anything within your power to seduce him to curse me, except to take his life. Then we are treated to one of the greatest, if not the greatest short duration dialogue between God and any man that we have read about to this point. Job is so amazing that he is sitting around with his friends bemoaning his lot and that it must have been caused by some great sin in his life, and God just speaks to them and sets them straight on the matter.
But that's the only time we hear of Satan having to ask permission to come after any of us. And he seemed to be running pretty wild when Jesus was here.
You can never truly take up your cross without someone to slander you, falsely accuse you, have a monkey trial and then crucify you.
I'm sorry, but I disagree with that outcome being the truth all the time. Sure, do we run into people who might swear at us, or tell us to get lost? Sure. But I've shared the good news with people and that is more the exception than the rule... if you're doing it right. You can't be confrontational, and unless you're some big evangelical outfit, it's just going to be you and a friend or acquantance or two. And one of the things that one must be really sensitive to is that the Scriptures tell us to be prepared to give an answer for the hope that we have... when asked. So, someone should be careful and respectful to bring it up unasked.