When Darkness Comes - Part 2: The Dark

Last week I started a series on When Darkness Comes. I don’t know that I really need to define what I mean by that, but just in case, I will. When I talk about darkness, I am talking about those times in life when things are very difficult. I am not talking about simple inconveniences, although get enough of them all at once, and I certainly start wondering who is trying to beat me up. What I am referring to when I say darkness are those times when you feel alone, discouraged and overwhelmed. However, it is not just feelings, that make something dark. It is a blend of what is going on in life, either your own or in the lives of those you love, a weight that feels especially burdensome, and how much of it you are carrying alone.

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“Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that darkness spreads over Egypt—darkness that can be felt.’”

— Exodus 10:21 (NIV)

There are times darkness can be felt. This type of darkness is thick, dank, visceral, like a fog that rolls in over our souls from which we feel we will never be free. Grief is one of these dark times. When my father passed away 15 years ago, I felt as though a fog had rolled into my life and it seemed that it would always be there. Obviously, over time, the fog lifted and the darkness finally pulled away, but it is inevitable that these dark times will come. Let’s take a look at what God’s word says about darkness.

We already know that darkness was at the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth.

“ 1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
2 And the earth was a formless and desolate emptiness, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.”

— Genesis 1:1 (NASB)

Image by Ronile from Pixabay

I really like how this is phrased in the New American Standard Bible, “…and the earth was a formless and desolate emptiness.” I know when I am going through an especially dark struggle, I feel as though I am like that formless and desolate emptiness. I think many people can relate to this feeling. If we started to look at statistics on how many people are on psych medications, I would say that this feeling of emptiness is becoming more and more prominent.

As we look at darkness there are several things we must understand.

1 - To God Darkness and Light are no Different.

Image by jplenio from Pixabay

We looked at this verse last week, but let’s look at it again.

“Even darkness is not dark to You, And the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You.”

— Psalm 139:12 (NASB)

For our limited minds it is hard to think that light and darkness could possibly be the same thing, but to an Almighty Creator, they are. Obviously, God can see just as well in the darkness as He can in the light. The differentiation of light and darkness was for our benefit. Knowing that God doesn’t make this differentiation can help us to understand how we can be walking through darkness or at least things that appear dark to you and I, and still have the solid assurance that God is with us.

Many times when we are encountering difficulty we tend to think God has left us, or at the least, that He is not listening to us. This is where we need to go back to the truth of God’s word. Hasn’t His word told us He is with us, always?

“Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or in dread of them, for the Lord your God is the One who is going with you. He will not desert you or abandon you.”

— Deuteronomy 31:6 (NASB)

2 - Darkness was for our benefit.

Image by Enrique Meseguer from Pixabay

God knew exactly what His creation would need, from the plants that grew, to the creatures that walked, flew and swam, to the people He made, God knew that darkness would be a time to refresh, rest and relax from the busyness of work. Just like so many things that God made that were good, it is our enemy that has taken them and twisted them for his benefit alone.

“14 Then God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and they shall serve as signs and for seasons, and for days and years;
15 and they shall serve as lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so.
16 God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night; He made the stars also.
17 God placed them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth,
18 and to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.”

— Genesis 1:14-19 (NASB)

When we look at this passage from Genesis 1, we see that God made the differentiation between day and night, and the lights that were to govern these time frames. There was even a reason given as to why He made the sun, moon, stars and planets; it was so we could use them as signs for days, seasons and years. If you know anything about how the earth is positioned on its axis, how far it is away from the sun and the way it rotates, and revolves around the sun, you understand the complexity of this Creator and that even in the darkness, He provided the light of the moon and stars. This was all done for our good!

3 - Darkness is not bad.

Image by Tim Hill from Pixabay

It is easy to be afraid of the dark. Darkness can be a scary thing, especially if you have watched a creepy movie, or read a horror story. When I was growing up I loved to watch scary movies. I am also a fan of books like Dracula by Bram Stoker, The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux, and Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. However, in this world of incredible evil, spending too much time immersing ourselves in scary things can easily cause us to forget that darkness was created for our good.

Darkness is the absence of light, however, as we saw in the first chapter of Genesis, darkness wasn’t meant to be something evil, oppressive or gloomy. Darkness was created by a loving God who cared for His creation. Next week, we will take a closer look at how our enemy, Satan, turned what was meant for our wellbeing into a tool for our destruction.

I hope you will continue to follow along. If you ever have any questions or concerns about things you see on my blog, feel free to shoot me a message via Facebook, Instagram, or if you are a subscriber, you may email me directly. Thanks for all your support.

Our Need for Rest - Part 1

As I was pondering what to talk about this week on my Faith page, it occurred to me, perhaps we need to talk about rest. I have heard many people throwing around the term Covid fatigue and have had conversations with multiple friends who say how tired they feel. I know both my husband and I are tired. We all are longing for those days when we don’t have to wear masks and we can go about life as usual, but what if that day never comes? How can we find rest during the “new normal?” I am even tired of hearing that phrase. Pooh on the new normal. I would, very much, like to go back to the normal, normal! Ha, ha.

Image by Мария Ткачук from Pixabay

The word rest is mentioned over five hundred times in the Bible. The word, as we know it, originated before the 12th century with the Old to Middle English word, rasta - rest, and reste - literally stoppage, short for areste, as well as Anglo-French - rester - to remain. God, from the beginning, designated a cessation from activity on the 7th day of creation, or what He termed the Sabbath.

“By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.”

— Genesis 2:2 (NASB)

“but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the Lord your God; on it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male slave or your female slave, or your cattle, or your resident who stays with you.”

— Exodus 20:10 (NASB)

I am often amazed that so many people fight against rest. This is very different from the inability to sleep. Insomnia is a widespread problem and is leaving hundreds of thousands of people sleep deprived. Stress, diet, lack of exercise and excessive screen time is contributing to the zombification of our world, but this is not the kind of rest that I am talking about today. The rest I want to look at has to do with an inner peace and calm.

I want to take a look at a few things that cause us to miss out on the internal rest that God has for us, and then I want to provide a few ideas for how to obtain His rest.

Anxiety

Image by María Prieto from Pixabay

Anxiety is an ever increasing problem in our world. More and more people are feeling the pull of worry, much like the pull of gravity that keeps us rooted to the earth. Anxiety has become a companion that we try to ignore, but are all too aware of. I am picturing a pirate with his trusty parrot constantly sitting atop his shoulder, muttering about crackers and dead men telling no tales. Our anxiety is like that companion. It is unwanted, yet we seem to be unable to shoo it away, settling instead for the weight of it on our shoulders, but also trying to completely ignore it.

Lack of Hope

Image by KLEITON Santos from Pixabay

Hope is a word we sprinkle in our everyday conversations without really thinking about what we are saying. “I hope I get a raise.” “I hope it snows today.” “ I hope I can take a vacation this summer.” “I hope I get to go to the concert.” We are a people who desire hope, yet we don’t know how to truly obtain it. It is not wrong to want a raise, enjoy a weather change or take a vacation, but deeper hopes become longings and all to often our longings go unmet. When we are longing for something we often become weary with the desire.

Misplaced Trust

Most of us have been guilty of putting our trust in someone or something and having it or them disappoint. Over the last year, I have heard people putting their trust in science, the CDC, WHO and their elected officials. Millions of us place our trust in our masks, the vaccine and social distancing, thinking that is the answer to all of our problems. The Right places its trust in conservatism and the will of the people and the Left places its trust in liberality and their elected officials. As we have seen, all of the things in which we place our trust, can let us down.

So what is the answer? How do we obtain much needed rest, when the world around us is still a chaotic frenzy of half truths, and unknown ramifications? How do we help ourselves to find rest, when we are unable to stop the influx of negative information? Let’s take a look at what Jesus says about rest.

“28 “Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
30 For My yoke is comfortable, and My burden is light.””

— Matthew 11:28-30 (NASB)

We know in the Old Testament, the Sabbath was a day of literal rest. No one was supposed to do any sort of work on that day. While Jesus did away with the need for the law, I still believe God wants us to rest from labor. In addition to that I would add that God would want us to rest from the things that are causing us a lack of rest.

In the above verse we see that Jesus calls us to action. Even though we are weary and burdened, He tells us to do three things: come, take and learn. The result is palpable: we will find rest for our souls. Why do we find rest when we come to Him? Let’s take a closer look.

Action 1 - Come

Image by Pezibear from Pixabay

Webster’s Online Dictionary has a slew of meanings for the word come. It means to move towards something or someone; to arrive at a particular place or end result; to take on the aspect. Our coming to Jesus makes us more like Him. How will we ever be transformed if we are not spending time with our Savior? How will ever find rest, when we are not still at His feet? How will be ever overcome anxiety, or misplaced trust if we do not go to the source of truth and true trustworthiness?

Action 2 - Take

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What is it that we are to take from Jesus? He instructs us to take His yoke upon us. The meaning of the word yoke as Jesus uses it in this verse is the “wooden bar or frame by which two draft animals are joined at the heads or necks for working together.” (Webster’s Online Dictionary) Why, of all things, would Jesus want us to take on this type of yolk. The point of a yolk is equal distribution of weight. In a farming situation, the yolk joined two powerful animals, like oxen together, to plow a field or pull a heavy load. Oxen must be trained to wear the yoke. Often the farmer will use an older more experienced ox with a younger less experienced ox to train them.

It might seem counterintuitive to take on a yoke, when we are in need of rest, but Jesus knows best how we should live this life and obtain rest. The goal is to take on His yoke so we are working through life together; so we are not bearing the difficulties of life alone. This working together, enables us to find rest in Him.

Action 3 - Learn

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When we take on Jesus’ yoke he also wants us to learn from Him. Why does Jesus tell us to learn from Him? He says it is because He is gentle and humble in heart. We will not learn what is most important if our teachers are prideful, arrogant or filled with selfishness and hatred. Think about the teachers you had during your years of education. Which ones were the ones you learned the most from? I definitely remember several Sunday School, elementary, middle and high school teachers who had the greatest influence on me. Every single one was a person of character, humility and gentleness.

We can learn from Jesus, because of His humble and gentle heart. It is these characteristics that incline us to rest. Humility and gentleness enable us to find rest, because we are not trying to do everything in our own strength. Our reliance is on Christ.

Next week I’ll take a look at few practical ideas for finding rest. Until then, go to Jesus, take on His yoke and learn from Him.

Foolish? Yes!

It is easy to let the busyness of life keep us from focusing on what is going on around us. For instance, this weekend is Easter weekend. Today is Good Friday. With all the other things vying for our attention we really need to invest a little time into remembering why this day and this weekend is important. Sure, it is fun to color eggs, have candy, eat together with the family and do fun things for the kids, but it is also easy to get totally caught up in that busyness and forget the whole reason we as Christ followers celebrate. Just as Jesus is the reason for Christmas, He is also the reason for Easter.

Image by S. Hermann & F. Richter from Pixabay

The Easter bunny has become the focus of the secular world as far as Easter celebrations go. It gives families another reason to have a meal together and gives parents and grandparents another event to show love and share fun with the little ones. But this holiday is not just a light hearted parade of colorful eggs and Easter grass. It is a celebration of a battle that was fought and won; a life that was laid down; a gap that was bridged.

The term Good Friday is a conundrum. How can something that seems so bad, be good? How does the Roman practice of tying people to two cross pieces of wood and raising them up so they slowly asphyxiate give us a warm feeling? How is it, a holy being, deciding to become a man, brings us joy. For people who know nothing of Easter, or its true meaning, that whole dying on the cross must look ridiculous and macabre. They probably think those of us who believe in such a historical event as being foolish. We are.

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

“For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”

— I Corinthians 1:18 (NASB)

You see, the entire basis of our faith as Christ followers is on these two things: the death and the life. Without the death, there was a wall between us and God. Without the life, there was no way to bring down the wall. Where did the wall come from? It was built brick by brick by man’s choice to sin. It started with Adam and Eve and has gotten bigger and bleaker with each passing generation.

“Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all mankind, because all sinned”

— Romans 5:12 (NASB)

God is a holy being. He cannot sin. He cannot tolerate sin. Now He has a problem. His creation, the beloved thing that He spoke into existence, can no longer be in His presence. The only way for His fallen creation to be united with Him is through their ability to be holy, as He is holy. This is where the system of laws, feasts and sacrifices came in.

Image by Jeff Jacobs from Pixabay

Now, don’t think for a moment, that God didn’t already know that He was going to send His only Son. He knew this, but He was setting the stage. God does everything with a purpose. His plans are perfect. His thoughts and ways are way beyond what we are able to think or imagine. He is a holy, eternal being after all. While we all bear His image, we are most certainly not God.

Jesus chose to do the Father’s will, to make a way for us to once again be reunited with His Father. It is His shed blood that was offered as the final sacrifice. No longer do we have to offer a lamb, because He is the spotless lamb.

“The next day he *saw Jesus coming to him, and *said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

— John 1:29 (NASB)

“17 For if by the offense of the one, death reigned through the one, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.”

— Romans 5:17 (NASB)

Good Friday is about remembering Christ’s sacrifice. This sacrifice was necessary for us to be able to once again, walk with God.

Are we foolish to believe in Calvary? Are we foolish to believe that Jesus paid it all? Yes, but only to the world.

“For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.”

— 1 Corinthians 1:21 (NASB)

A Walkabout with God

The term walkabout was first heard of in 1897 and was used to describe the Aboriginal period of wandering bush life. A young man between the ages of 10 and 16 would go on his walkabout to make the journey to manhood, spending anywhere from a few weeks to six months out in the Australian bush country fending for himself. In more recent times the term walkabout is used in Britain to describe a casual outing among other people, mingling and socializing.

Image by falco from Pixabay

The other day I was struggling. I am human and real life often weighs heavily on me, causing me to lose clarity about who I am and who I belong to. I was sitting at the small, bar height, table that is strategically placed in the corner of what used to be a dining room, right next to a window. I love to sit there, (see below) especially in the winter, as that is where the sun light streams in for a good portion of the morning and afternoon. I was trying to pray, pleading with God to clear the fog out of my brain and help me to get back to His center, because that is always where I am most content.

Picture from Pantone Spring 2018 photo shoot by Rebecca Trumbull.

As I am often inclined to do when I am alone in the house, I got up and started to pace around the kitchen table and pray out loud. At times, I will stray from my elliptical orbit around the table, and walk a lap or two around the living room. I told God how I was feeling. I confessed my struggles: those of the flesh and those of the spirit. Like a young Aboriginal boy on his quest for manhood in the open country of the Australian outback, I walked, searching for a way to survive. I needed to find my place, my purpose and His peace.

The journey to spiritual maturity, or what we as Christ followers often refer to as holiness, or Christ-likeness is not an easy one.

“10 For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness.”

— Hebrews 12:10 (NASB)

Life is often harsh and unrelenting, much like the heat of an Australian day or the deep, bone chilling cold of that same country’s nights. Survival depends on a variety of factors, including food, water, and a way to keep cool during the day and warm at night. In the same way, the process of maturing in our life with Christ is dependent on several factors. Let’s look at these more closely.

1 - The Need for Food

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Obviously, we are talking about spiritual food, but the analogies I am going to draw apply to both our physical and spiritual beings. What we put into our bodies directly affects how we feel, what we are able to do and our quality of life. Believe me, this is an area I struggle with, and I know for a fact when I am eating better, eating less and getting enough water and exercise, I feel like a new person.

The need for the right kind of food for our spiritual lives is just as important. If we are feeding our minds a steady diet of news, social media, music without a positive message, movies, books or other forms of entertainment that do not glorify God, we are going to feel it. I am sure most of you, like me, were caught up in watching the news nonstop when the pandemic began. I am also sure many of you followed the media storm leading up to the election and its ensuing aftermath. It is very easy to become discouraged and hopeless when things are out of control, thus the need to feed on the good food of God’s word.

We are living in different times, but our God has not changed. He has provided all the nutrients we need to endure in this harsh reality we now find ourselves living in.

“For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven and gives life to the world.””

— John 6:33 (NASB)

“Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; the one who comes to Me will not be hungry, and the one who believes in Me will never be thirsty.”

— John 6:35 (NASB)

Jesus said He is the bread. He also says that if we come to Him we will not be hungry. Are you feeling a bit peckish in your spiritual life? Come to Jesus. Is your heart longing for fulfillment and satisfaction? Come to Jesus. What spiritual food are you longing for? No matter what your heart is aching for, Jesus can fill it up and make it feel whole again.

2. The Need for Water

Image by Arek Socha from Pixabay

The human body is made up of approximately 60% water. Our cells, tissues and organs cannot operate effectively if we do not have enough water. I am constantly telling my family to drink more water. This life giving substance is even more important if you are in a survival situation like the Australian outback. The area is arid and there are very few trees. Having water with you, or finding a clean water source is essential to survival.

Once again, we see this need for water extends to our spiritual lives. Without true water, we will always be returning to the well to try to quench our thirst. That well may be food, alcohol, drugs or sex. It could also be buying more things, or immersing ourselves into romance novels and pornography. It seems to satisfy for a time, just like drinking a soda or a cup of coffee can give you a little hydration. The problem is, it does not last.

Jesus told us in John 6:35 that if we come to Him we will never be hungry. He also says we will never be thirsty. Many of you know the familiar Biblical event of the woman at the well, found in John 4. You can see two posts I did on that passage last fall: May the Source Be with You: A Woman, a Well and Some Water and May the Source Be with You: An Exclamation, an Explanation and an Effect. What did Jesus tell her?

“13 Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again;
14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never be thirsty; but the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up to eternal life.””

— John 4:13-14 (NASB)

Imagine you are walking in that dry, arid bush country, or perhaps you are crossing a vast desert. How would you feel after days and days without so much as a drop of water, to come upon an oasis; a place of palm trees and a cool, bubbling, trickling spring of precious water? Wouldn’t your heart swell with relief and your throat constrict with tears of gratitude? My dear friends, Jesus is our oasis. He is the water we need when our lives have become a long journey through the arid regions of living. He is that cool, sweet, bubbling brook, when we no longer have the strength or the will to go on. He is the God who fills our hungry stomachs and soothes our parched throats. All this He does for us, and more!

3 - The Need for Comfort

Image by Katrina_S from Pixabay

We all want to feel comfortable. In the cold of winter we never give a thought to turning up the heat. In the heat of summer some of you switch from heat to air conditioning. Others of us, throw open the windows and get out the fans. When we have a headache we take medicine and when we are anxious or upset we find a friend to talk to who will listen and give us comfort. Is our God, not so much more than heaters, fans and pain medication? He is the God who comforts.

“When my anxious thoughts multiply within me, Your comfort delights my soul.”

— Psalm 94:19 (NASB)

“Shout for joy, you heavens! And rejoice, you earth! Break forth into joyful shouting, mountains! For the Lord has comforted His people And will have compassion on His afflicted.”

— Isaiah 49:13 (NASB)

“3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,
4 who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
5 For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ. ”

— 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 (NASB)

These are just a few of the verses in the Bible that mention the word comfort, but there are so many more. In addition, if you look up the attributes of God and the characteristics of those attributes you begin to realize, God loves to comfort His people. Yes, He is a righteous, holy and just God and He cannot tolerate sin, but He has provided the way, through His son Jesus Christ, the Lord of all comfort.

When we are faced with difficulties, it is easy to run to things that are convenient and well, comfortable. I have gone shopping when I am stressed. I eat junk when I am discouraged. I veg out on Netflix shows when I want to escape, but none of those things are going to give me the comfort I really need. God, and God alone, truly knows how to comfort the deep layers of my soul.

4 - The Need to Change our Mindset

Image by John Hain from Pixabay

I have to believe that a young man who walks off into the Australian bush country alone, to survive for who knows how long, has to be going into it with a certain mindset. He knows what is expected of him, because it has always been expected of young men by his people. His mother may feel anxious about this step for her son, but she knows it is what he must do to become a man. She knows he will draw upon all he has learned up until this point to survive, including how to find food and water, and how to get through the harsh conditions.

I think that we have done a disservice to our children. We have coddled them. We have protected them. We have neglected to put the expectation on them, that one day they have to grow up and be men and women. We have also not taught them the truth, that life is harsh and hard; that people will hurt them and that they will need to understand forgiveness and love are choices, not feelings.

“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”

— Romans 12:2 (NASB)

One of the most important things I have learned over the last decade as a Christ follower, is growing in Christ is a choice. I cannot just sit around thinking I’ve got the ticket to heaven so all is good. I want to know God. I want to enter in to His inner most layers, because that is where I will truly find His peace, His joy and His contentment. That only happens as we walk, run and fly with Him. That only happens in the dark places, when the clouds are relentless and the pain is an hourly companion.

If you are struggling, take a walkabout with God. He will bend you, stretch you and sharpen you. He will also encourage you, comfort you and remind you of His great, undying love!

“37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.
38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,
39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

— Romans 8:37-39 (NASB)

Our Unseen Enemy - Part 6: Zoomorphism - The Serpent

I want to finish up this series on our Unseen Enemy before I move on to a new topic on my Faith page. It would probably be beneficial if I start with just a little bit of review, to refresh our minds. Satan is our Unseen Enemy. He is a very powerful angel; a created being of God, but one who became proud because of his beauty and decided to try to usurp the throne of the Almighty One. Due to his rebellion, God cast him out of heaven. He now roams about on the earth seeking to create chaos and destroy. We learned that he is a manipulator, a schemer, a liar and a divider. We are now looking at three images, found in scripture that describe the devil. In the case of the lion, which was the first image we looked at, we discovered that it is his predatory behavior that is most lion like. He prowls, he stalks, he harasses and he kills.

Image by antriksh kumar from Pixabay

This week we are going to look at the image of the serpent. Perhaps the most telling passage on this creature is at the very beginning of the Old Testament, where we see the Serpent in the Garden of Eden. Ezekiel 28:13-17 was mentioned in the introductory post of this series. If you remember it talks about a being who was in Eden, the Garden of God, who was very beautiful, and covered in all manner of jewels. This being, I believe, was Satan in the form of a serpent. (These are just my opinions, and conclusions I am drawing from the totality of the Scriptures. I am not a theologian or Bible scholar. You can do more of your own research by reading the Word and by looking at Bible reference materials like concordances, study Bibles, and texts on the original Hebrew language.)

“Now the serpent was more cunning than any animal of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God really said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; 3 but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’” 4 The serpent said to the woman, “You certainly will not die! 5 For God knows that on the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will become like God, knowing good and evil.” ”

— Genesis 3:1-5 (NASB)

Image by Michael Siebert from Pixabay

I want to look at several snake characteristics first and then I want to examine the above passage in a little more detail.

Snake Characteristics

Loose, flexible jaw - Most members of the snake family have these loose flexible or hinged jaws. These jaws allow them to ingest their food whole, as they do not have normal teeth for chewing.

Backwards, curved fangs - Unlike most other creatures, including ourselves, whose teeth remain in place by a combination of jaw, roots and gums, the snake’s teeth are permanently fused to the supporting bones of the head.

No eyelids - The eyes, that remain open at all times, are covered by a transparent membrane, also know as ocular scales.

Make no noise - Unlike most animals, snakes make very little noise. Other than hissing and certain types with rattles, they make no noise at all.

Good camouflage - Many snakes live close to the ground in dens, or nests that are not easily visible to the human eye. There are numerous snakes that also blend in with their surroundings, making them less visible to their prey.

Ways they kill their prey - Most snakes prefer to consume their prey live. They do not feed off carrion. They will typically seek out a place where various prey come and go, then lie in wait until they see something they want. After they pick out a victim, they will stalk it, then strike at the opportune moment. Depending on the type of snake they will kill one of three ways: pinning prey to ground, squeezing prey so it can’t breath, or injecting prey with poison.

Now that we have a better understanding of snaky characteristics, let’s see how Satan works like snake. I am using the terms serpent and snake interchangeably.

Image by Denis Doukhan from Pixabay

He knew the habits of his prey - I wanted to address this first, because I feel it is important to the rest of the story. Satan knew where Eve would be at that particular time, on that particular day, because he had been watching her. Don’t underestimate the patience of our Unseen Enemy. He is used to waiting. He waited and watched until Eve was alone. If you read on in the Genesis account there is some debate on weather Adam was actually with Eve when she was tempted or if time had passed and when she convinced him to eat the fruit he was with her. (Here is an article on that point if you are interested.)The main point to take from this is that our enemy knows our weaknesses and he most often attacks when we are alone.

Image by PublicDomainPictures from Pixabay

He uses his jaws - There is an old idiom that most of my older subscribers would be familiar with - flapping your jaws - which means to talk in a meaningless, aimless or idle manner. Satan used his jaws to speak to Eve. He immediately caused her to question God’s love and authority. “Has God really said…” The use of the word really indicated that beautiful serpent was out to deceive Eve from the moment he started flapping his jaws.

Image by Karsten Paulick from Pixabay

He sinks in his teeth and swallows - The wily serpent was, no doubt, beautiful, but don’t look at his smile. Those sharp fangs are ready to grab on and not let go. Isn’t it interesting that Satan didn’t speak complete lies to Eve. He just set her on a path and then gave her a snippet of truth; just enough to get her questioning and wondering. Isn’t it often the case that when we start to obsess over something bad that has happened or the way someone has treated us, that we eventually start begin consumed? A snake swallows his prey whole, slowly causing death by asphyxiation. Satan uses the same tactic. If he can get the bite on you, causing you to overthink, overreact, fuss and fret, then he will gradually attempt to swallow you whole, burying you alive in the villi of his hate.

Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay

He never stops searching - Remember how we talked about the lion prowling, well the snake is similar, in that it waits for its prey, then stalks its prey. While the snake is waiting, his eyes are always open. Satan is always looking for prey, or for the opportunity to trip up those who follow Christ. He never closes his eyes.

Image by rebekaillesova from Pixabay

He doesn’t make noise - Satan is proficient at quietly creating havoc. Sure, the outcome we see is typically noisy, violent and hateful, but no one would attribute the events going on in our country to an unseen enemy. We are creatures who want to have someone to blame. It used to be funny to say, “The devil made me do it.” Now the devil is merely looked at as a fictitious creature with red skin, horns, a tail and a pitchfork. He is an entity that is used to mock those who actually believe in an Almighty God and the enemy who hates Him. Evil has gone through the cartoon box and come out the other side looking like a character who might have interactions with Bugs, or Daffy.

Image by Engin Akyurt from Pixabay

He is good at camouflage - One of the reasons I began this series on Satan was to help you identify his behavior out in the world. When we review this past year and even what happened recently as people stormed the capitol, we need to recognize that this is not just people with diverse opinions and simmering frustrations. These are blatant manipulations of the enemy. He is hiding behind the scenes, but clearly waiting for the opportune moment to encourage hate, and violence.

Image by S. Hermann & F. Richter from Pixabay

His ultimate goal is our death - Satan doesn’t just want to lie, manipulate, scheme and divide, he wants to destroy. The only thing the snake is concerned about is feeding his appetites, whether it be his appetite for food, safety or sex; his desires are primal, unaffected by compassion, goodness or joy. Satan wants to crush that which the Creator begat, the crown of His creation, us.

Next week, we will look at the last zoomorphic analogy, that of the dragon. I hope you will continue to follow along.

Have a great week!

Thinking About Christmas - A Closer Look at Scripture: Part 3

I had a bit of a busy week last week and was unable to get this faith post written. I apologize for my lack of consistency. The holidays are always busier and even in the midst of a pandemic, that is still true. This week is going to go by in a flash and I really can’t believe Christmas is on Friday. Where does the time go?

Image by anncapictures from Pixabay

This speedy passage of time can be overwhelming and it can be very hard to find the time to take a breath and truly think about or dwell on the real meaning of Christmas. It is easy to lose Jesus in the midst of buying presents, baking cookies, decorating and planning family gatherings. I know they are saying to not gather, but I think most of us are going to still have at least a small get together. My daughter’s and I are already very regularly around each other, so it will be the six of us on Christmas morning for brunch.

Let’s take a final look at Isaiah 9:6-7.

“6 For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of his government and of peace
there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.”

— Isaiah 9:6-7 (ESV)

Today we are going to look at the final two names for this Child who is born to us; this Son who is given to us.

If you don’t remember we had been looking at how each of these names reveals the fully God, fully man characteristics of Jesus. We looked at Wonderful Counselor and Mighty God last time. If you need a refresher you can go back to that post here.

Image by 4144132 from Pixabay

“…Everlasting Father…”

The word everlasting is fairly easy to define. It means, lasting forever. Webster’s Online Dictionary defines it as, “…lasting or enduring through all time.” Other words that mean the same thing include, ceaseless, eternal, dateless, deathless, immortal, timeless and imperishable.

The word father is also fairly self explanatory; it means, “…a man who has begotten a child, one who originates or institutes, or to care or look after…”

We probably can easily understand the God aspect of Jesus as everlasting, since He Himself is part of the Godhead and the triune God has no beginning or end. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are timeless and eternal. The thing that might stump us a little bit is the human concept of fatherhood, when it comes to our Savior. Jesus never married, or had relations that would have produced a physical offspring. How, then, can we call Him father?

Jesus exemplifies the concept of fatherhood in three ways:

1 - He has begotten children through His work, death and resurrection. Those of us who believe in His person and what He did are spiritually His children. We are called the sons of God and since Jesus is God, we are His sons and daughters.

“For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.”

— Romans 8:14 (ESV)

2 - Jesus instituted the way of salvation. He originated our rebirth. Once we become a Christ follower we are part of the family of Christ followers.

“18 So then, as through one offense the result was condemnation to all mankind, so also through one act of righteousness the result was justification of life to all mankind. 19 For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous. ”

— Romans 5:18-19 (NASB)

3 - Jesus cares for us, just as a father cares for his child. Obviously, earthly fathers can fall far short of what a father should be. Earthly fathers can be neglectful, removed, uncaring and abusive. How good to know, our Lord Jesus is not that kind of parent. Our Everlasting Father is one that cares for our good and desires only what is best for us. He makes the tough calls to sometimes let us wander in our own selfishness for the purpose of directing us back to Him. He protects and He offers guidance, and it is only our choice that keeps us from His gentle and loving arms.

“16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace, 17 comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word.”

— 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 (NASB)

Image by RÜŞTÜ BOZKUŞ from Pixabay

“…Prince of Peace…”

In a world divided by hatred and marred by sin, it is good to know that Jesus is the Prince of Peace. The word prince is a title given to one of royal blood. Webster’s defines the word as, “…monarch, king, ruler of a principality or state, member of a royal family - especially the son of a sovereign…” Jesus is all this and more. He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. He is the ruler over all creation. He is the Son of God.

The word peace is defined by Webster’s as, “…a state of tranquility or quiet; a state of security; freedom from disquieting thoughts or oppressive emotions; harmony in personal relations…” Are you living in a state of tranquility? Are you hounded by oppressive thoughts and emotions? Are you experiencing harmony in your relationships?

The phrase says that Jesus is the Prince of Peace. He is the ruler of peace. He is the one who is able to bring about complete harmony, quiet and tranquility, even in the midst of the most turbulent storms of life.

“These things I have spoken to you so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.””

— John 16:33 (NASB)

Jesus knew we would have tribulation. He knew this life would be hard. When sin entered the world it completely changed the relationship we were supposed to have with our creator. It changed our relationship with creation itself. That is why Jesus came. To reunite us to the Almighty and right our relationship with what He created. Only Jesus can give us this peace. Only the prince of peace can calm the torrential storms of life.

Looking quickly at verse 7 of Isaiah 9, we can see that this Child; this Son’s kingdom will never end. He will rule over all, and His kingdom will be one of peace. While this kingdom is not established yet on this earth, we know a day is coming, when all will come under the headship of the Lord Jesus Christ. It will be established and it will be upheld forever, because of the zeal of the Lord. This is something God is excited about, and we can be too.

The baby child that we celebrate on Christmas day is this King. The Wonderful Counselor. The Mighty God. The Everlasting Father. The Prince of Peace.

Merry Christmas and God bless us, everyone!

Thinking About Christmas - A Closer Look at Scripture: Part 2

Last week I started looking at an Old Testament passage that is considered part of the Messianic prophecy. Scripture passages in the Old Testament that point to the coming Messiah are not unusual and Isaiah 9;6-7 is one of the more famous pieces.

“For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon[d] his shoulder,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of his government and of peace
there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.”

— Isaiah 9:6-7 (ESV)

Last week I focused on the first three lines of verse 6 talking about the Child of Mary and the Son of God. I also mentioned how the phrase, “…and the government shall be upon His shoulder…” referred to the authority Jesus was given by the Father and how, when at last, all others have come under that authority, Christ Himself will then subject Himself to the Father, so that God can be all in all.

This week i want to continue by looking at the rest of verse 6. When it comes to the names of God, we could easily spend a long time, looking at what each one means and how those names apply to us as His created beings. For today, I just want to look at two of the four mentioned in this verse.

“…and His name shall be called…”

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

The thing that struck me about this phrase is that it has a forward look to it. Isn’t Christ already called these names? Since Christ has been with the Father from the beginning of our time and most likely from times time before that, wouldn’t all of these names already apply to Him? I think the answer lies in understanding what becoming human did to Christ.

Taking on human form, was a choice to limit Christ’s Godly abilities. Think about his very birth. This God-Man, became embryonic cells inside His mother’s womb. He spent nine months in the darkness of that womb and at the end of His life He spend three days in the darkness of a tomb. During His earthly life He knew hunger, fatigue, sadness and pain. He felt the hurt of betrayal and the stab of thorns and nails. When He was with His Father in the Heavenly realm He was perfect, powerful and a present part of the triune God. When he became a man he suddenly felt dirty and distant from His holy family.

This dichotomy of being fully God and fully man leads us right into the list of names given in the passage. I want to look at two of these this week and two next week.

“…Wonderful Counselor…”

Image by Tiyo Prasetyo from Pixabay

The word wonderful is an adjective. It describes something, such as when I say, “That was a wonderful performance.” According to Webster’s dictionary wonderful means, “…marvelous, astonishing, staggering, stunning, unusually good..” How perfect are these words to describe our God. There is no one as marvelous or good as the Creator. There is no beauty on this earth that can compare to the staggering and stunning beauty of a Holy, Perfect being like Jehovah.

When we use the word counselor, it brings two ideas to mind. The first, is that of a mental health professional who helps people work through their emotional and relational issues. The second image is a lawyer, or a person who gives legal advice and aid. These both convey human professions, yet they fully apply to the God-Man.

Jesus is one we can turn to when life is beating on us. He always listens with an attentive ear and sound advice. He truly understands the human condition and knows that all things are meant to bring us back to center…His center. He is the marvelous counselor.

Jesus is also the perfect lawyer. He knows exactly what our sentence is and He also knows how to totally abolish our punishment. He knows when we are standing before that jury of demonic beings, he need only say, “She is washed in my blood,” and the judgment is done. There is no prosecutor who will be able to argue against us, when we have Jesus in our corner. He is the astonishing counselor.

The summary then is this; Jesus is wonderful, because He is fully God. He is a counselor, because He is fully man.

“…Mighty God…”

Image by Stefan Keller from Pixabay

Here again we have two words. One is a descriptor and the other is the object being described, or in this case the who. Mighty, according to Webster’s means, “…possessing might, powerful, accomplished or characterized by might, imposing in extent or extraordinary.” While it is true that men and women can be described as mighty, it is more likely the word would be used in tandem with a being beyond our infinite human understanding.

The word God is described in the dictionary as, “…a Being perfect in power, wisdom, and goodness who is worshipped as creator and ruler of the universe.”

“Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth;
For I am God, and there is no other.”

— Isaiah 45:22 (NASB)

We can see how the name, Mighty God, fully reveals Christ’s Godliness, but how does it describe His humanity? I believe the revelation lies in the contrast. Only a being who is mighty, could transform Himself into that which is not. It is only a Mighty God, who could change into a fully human man and still be fully God.

This may seem a bit confusing, but it is in the mystery of those things we do not understand, that the beauty of faith and belief truly reveals itself.

Next week we will look at the names, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace. Until then, I hope that this will help to remind you of our blessed Savior’s birth and why it is so important to keep that focus not just at Christmas, but all year long.

Have a great weekend!

Thinking About Christmas - A Closer Look at Scripture

Happy Sunday, everyone. I don’t usually post on Sundays, but my schedule has been all over the place, so I figured I would post, when I get something out there for you to read.

I was going to keep plodding through my series on Our Unseen Enemy, but then I began to feel that we needed to take a break from that, to put our minds, and focus on the beauty surrounding the birth of Christ in the Scriptures. I know that many people celebrate Christmas without any regard for the birth of Christ. In fact, there are some movements to do away with the greeting of “Merry Christmas”, because we are a nation of mixed religions and belief systems. I would hope that those who desire to do away with the Christ in Christmas would at least take a moment to think about what they are asking. It is the case, in fact, that if I must tolerate and have respect for the many religions and thoughts systems that do not honor Christ, then ought not the same be done towards those of us who still choose to believe in the Christ of Christmas? I am not going to spend any more time on that, but I am going to encourage everyone who takes the time to read my blog, to extend the kindness, goodness and gentleness of our Lord Jesus to everyone you come into contact with at this time of year. Many are suffering and dealing with tragedies and brokenness and we are to be the light of the world.

Image by congerdesign from Pixabay

I came across a challenge on Instagram put out by Lauren Ash Lambert, a Faith, Fashion and Lifestyle influencer, who also does videos which are posted on Instagram. The challenge was called, Writing my Way to Christmas and is basically a list of scriptures in both the Old and New Testaments covering the prophecies and actual story of the birth of Christ. I thought it would be a great thing to do. My only problem, I haven’t gotten past the first day. I got so wrapped up in the first scripture and have just been spending time each day savoring that, that I have not gone any further. That’s when it came to me, to do a few blog posts on these beautiful Words of God.

The passage I want to look at first is Isaiah 9:6-7. Just like we do in my Mulling It Over series, I want to delve into these verses and take them apart piece by piece.

“For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of his government and of peace
there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.”

— Isaiah 9:6-7 (ESV)

You may recognize this passage from Handel’s Messiah. Turn up your speakers if you listen to it and imagine the angles in heaven singing this on the night of His birth.

For to us…

This announcement was made to us. To every single individual on this little, blue and green gem of a planet. Why is this important? Because if this announcement was made to the angels, or to some other entities that might be out there some where, it would be meaningless. We are God’s created beings. It is us, He chose to have a relationship with and place His image upon. This three word phrase is mentioned twice. I believe something twice mentioned is worth listening to twice as close.

…a Child is born…

Image by Gerad Noble from Pixabay

I chose to use the English Standard Version in this post, but I want to point out, in the New American Standard translation, there are several words that are capitalized. I will be showing those as capitals in the subtitles. I think it is important to look at several translations of the Bible when you are doing a more in depth study to see the different nuances of each.

The capital letter on Child causes me to believe this child is one of great importance. All of us, when referred to by our proper names, receive a capital letter at the beginning of our names. We all were taught that proper nouns, names of people, places, days of the week, months and so on, all begin with a capital letter. I am not sure why these details vary from one translation to the next, but this passage has long been looked at by theologians as a Messianic prophecy.

…a Son is given…

Image by Dorothée QUENNESSON from Pixabay

Once again, we see that Son is a proper noun. The belief is, both Child and Son, are referring to Jesus. Jesus, the Child of Mary; Jesus, the Son of God. He is fully God, but also fully man. The blessing in this phrase is that the Son is given. If it is the case that the Son is given, we need to ask ourselves, why was He given? Revisiting a familiar verse, will remind us of the why.

“16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life.”

— John 3:16 (NASB)

…and the government shall be upon His shoulder…

My NASB version gives several cross references for this phrase. What does it mean, exactly, that the government will be on His shoulder?

“18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.”

— Matthew 28:18 (NASB)

First of all, it means that Jesus was and is, the complete authority. This authority was placed upon Him by His heavenly Father. The Father did this, so His Son would have the final say.

“25 For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet.
26 The last enemy that will be abolished is death.
27 For He has put all things in subjection under His feet. But when He says, “All things are put in subjection,” it is clear that this excludes the Father who put all things in subjection to Him.
28 When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, so that God may be all in all.”

— 1 Corinthians 15:25-28 (NASB)

Second, this phrase, “…and the government shall be upon his shoulder…” reveals that he alone will have the ultimate power over his enemies, who will all be subject to Him; even the most final enemy of all, death.

Take a look at verses 27 and 28 of the 1 Corinthians passage. The Son, who was given the authority and responsibility by His heavenly Father, recognizes His place and subjects Himself, “..so that God (the Father), may be all in all.”

You have probably heard the quote, “With great power, comes great responsibility.” Truly that applies to our Savior. He took on this responsibility to save us.

There is so much in these verses, and I don’t want this post to get too long, so I am going to stop there and pick it up again in a few days. It is my hope that taking a look at these verses will remind you of the hope that you have, no matter what your current circumstances are.

Have a great day!

Our Unseen Enemy - Part 5 - Zoomorphism - The Lion

The idea of comparing a human to an animal, more specifically, comparing the human’s behavior to animal behavior is called zoomorphism. I only know that because I looked it up. Ha, ha. While our unseen enemy is not technically human, he does have human characteristics. The scripture uses three different animals to describe Satan: the lion, the serpent and the dragon. Over the next few weeks we will look at each of these more closely.

Many of you may remember C.S. Lewis’ fictional series, The Lion, the Witch and The Wardrobe. It is an amazing fantasy series, geared especially to young people, but equally appropriate for fantasy lovers of all ages. In C.S. Lewis’ story, Aslan, the Lion was the good and kind King of Narnia. At one point in the series, Aslan dies and then comes back to life. Obviously, there is a direct correlation to the death and resurrection of Christ. As much as we would like the ideal of the Aslan type lion representing God and God alone, there is a verse in scripture that compares our enemy with the king of beasts. Let’s take a look.

The Lion

“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”

— 1 Peter 5:8 (ESV)

I want to point out that the most important word in this verse with regard to Satan, is the word “prowls”. God the Father and Jesus are both referred to as the Lion of Judah, so the idea that both God and Satan are compared to a lion is a little unsettling. I had to think about this for a while before I decided what to write. My belief is the lion is used in this verse to better exhibit the actions of our unseen enemy; the action of prowling about.

Remember when Satan came to God at the beginning of Job. God asked him where he had come from and what did Satan respond?

““From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.””

— Job 1:7 (ESV)

There is a distinct predatory vibe in Satan’s response. He didn’t say, “Oh, I was going for a walk and I stopped by the ocean and watched the waves.” No! He was going to and fro. He was walking up and down. I get the definite impression that Satan was pacing. He was looking for something to do; for someone to pounce on.

When a lion prowls, he/she is typically looking for prey. The action of roaring when in tandem with prowling shows the lion’s attitude of dominance. The lion is saying, “Hey! This is my territory. If you are in my territory, I am either going to have you for dinner, or I am going to give you such a butt whipping that you will have to crawl back to your pitiful cave!”

Read 1 Peter again. Satan isn’t just prowling, he is roaring and he is seeking someone to devour. Let’s take just a few moments to talk about that idea. Typically, it is the female lions that stalk and kill prey. The male then comes, often chasing the females and cubs away, so he can have the first morsels of the dead.

“The canines of a lion, which are long, sharp and slightly recurved, are excellent tools for grasping and wounding prey, while the sharp premolars are effective in tearing away chunks of flesh. The molars are rudimentary because their food is swallowed in chunks, unchewed. The skull has large surfaces for the insertion of the powerful jaw muscles.

Male lions usually leave almost all of the hunting to the females, but once a kill is made, they will sometimes drive off the females and cubs in order to be the first to feed upon the prey.

Usually, several lionesses, working as a team, spread out and approach a herd from different directions. They stalk up as close as possible, using every bit of available cover before making a final charge, going for the closest individual. There is a rush and a leap as the lion comes in range of its victim. But, although lions can reach a top speed of 60km/hr for short distances, their prey usually escapes (only about one stalk in six is successful).

Typically, a lion kills a large animal by strangulation, biting down on its throat or, sometimes, on its nose and mouth. Small animals are killed with a bat of the paw or a quick bite to the head.”

— What do lions eat? - Online Biology Dictionary - article by EUGENE M. MCCARTHY, PHD

The above description deserves a little bit of our time. I want to look at three of the lion’s attributes and show how our enemy is very much the same.

The desire to stalk.

Image by Corinna Stoeffl from Pixabay

When I looked up this word in Webster’s online dictionary it lists several definitions, but the one I want to focus on is the verb meaning: “to pursue obsessively and to the point of harassment.” I also found it interesting when I looked at the word origins.

“Middle English, from Old English bestealcian; akin to Old English stelan to steal ”

— Webster's Online Dictionary

A lion is looking to steal a life. He or she searches until they find their prey. Once they find it, they begin to stalk. They follow. They pursue. They obsess. They harass, then they attack and they kill.

Our enemy and his pride of demons behave very much the same way. They search for their prey. Usually, they will look for prey that has wandered from the herd, or attack one that is very young or very old. They follow. They pursue. They obsess. (Can’t you just see the drool hanging off of their sharp fangs?) Then they begin to harass. I think harassment is one of the enemy’s defining characteristics.

Have you ever had those thoughts that you just can’t get rid of; thoughts that keep coming back either dragging you down to the pit of despair, or leading you down the steps of temptation. This is a tactic of our enemy, the roaring lion. The more he harasses, the more discouraged we become.

Often, when a lion is harassing its prey it will run after them trying to catch them and get their sharp teeth or claws in. However, as the above article states this is only effective about 1/6th of the time. The tactic that seems to work best is to gang up on a victim that is young, elderly, injured or ill. Isn’t that just like our enemy to come after us when we are already down? That is part of the dilemma with this long term pandemic. It grates on us, harasses us and just when we are feeling discouraged, it kicks us in the teeth.

The desire to bite.

Image by Cayenne8 from Pixabay

God obviously created many creatures with teeth and the lion is no exception. Look at those fangs! As the above article states the sharp canines of the lion are meant for grabbing hold and tearing flesh. These large incisors enable the large cat to eat the muscular flesh of a zebra or other animal without having to tenderize or cook it first.

Just as with the tactic of stalking, the devil wants to grab hold of us and sink his teeth in. Obviously, we are not talking about real teeth, but let’s go back to the idea of lies. If Satan can get us to hear a lie, and then start listening to a lie, and then slowly start believing the lie, isn’t that very similar to the physical beast sinking its teeth into its victim? Just as every bite the lion or lions can get on their intended prey starts to drain it of blood, sending its body into shock, and eventual collapse, so too our enemy intends that every lie drains us of truth and sends our minds, hearts and souls collapsing into darkness.

The desire to kill.

Whitby England

The final desired outcome for both the lion and the devil is death. They want to end their desired prey’s ability to breath. I found it very interesting that a lion kills a large animal by strangulation or asphyxiation. That is a very disturbing image, especially when we know this current virus is killing many people by literally taking their breath away.

This analogy goes all the way back to the beginning. When God created man, He formed him from the dust of the earth and then breathed life into him. Satan has been trying to remove that life giving breath, both physically in the form of physical death and spiritually in the form of deceit, since the Garden of Eden. If he could he would burn the very image of God from our literal souls…that is how much our enemy hates us and the One who created him.

I know that all of this may seem overwhelming and it can be, but we need to remember we worship an Almighty God who is much more powerful than our enemy. The enemy’s time will come, but until then, we need to stay in the protection and care of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We need to remember truth and dwell on it. We need to remember and claim those precious and magnificent promises.

Sending each one of you hugs and prayers. Have a good weekend!



When I looked up this word in Webster’s online dictionary it lists several definitions, but the one I want to focus on is the verb meaning: “to pursue obsessively and to the point of harassment.” I also found it interesting when I looked at the word origins. The verb came from an

Our Unseen Enemy - Part 4 - The Divider

Last week we finished looking at why Satan is called the Father of Lies. While I gave you samples of the lies he weaves about God, about ourselves and about others, my study was not all inclusive. There are many lies that Satan whispers about so many things. What I am trying to accomplish is to get you to think about this characteristic of our unseen enemy, so that you can be better prepared to “truth check” the messages that are constantly coming at you from all directions. Believe me, I know what it feels like to start questioning what I believe to be true and what I think is right, when I come up against pressure to believe otherwise. That is why it is so important to know your scripture and understand how Satan operates.

This week I want to look at another of Satan’s characteristics. If it weren’t for his ultimate goal of devouring us, I’d say division is of prime importance to our scheming enemy. Most of you will remember this famous quote:

Image by John Hain from Pixabay

“A house divided against itself cannot stand.” I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved — I do not expect the house to fall — but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing or all the other.”

— Abraham Lincoln - address at Republican State Convention - 1858

You might also remember that approximately 1800 years earlier Jesus said the very same thing to the Pharisees:

“25 Knowing their thoughts, he said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand.
26 And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?”

— Matthew 12:25-26 (ESV)

In my opinion part of what has made our country thrive and prosper has been the work of God who blessed us because we formed this nation using His principles and truth. Obviously, not everyone was a Christ follower. In fact Abraham Lincoln was a deist who believed in a deity, but never really made a proclamation of faith in Christ. Many of our forefathers were slave owners and obviously the Civil War saw true believers on both sides of the debate.

The other factor that contributed to our country’s strength was its ability to be unified even though we were and still are a conglomeration of differing beliefs, backgrounds and cultures. There has always been enough of an ideological crossover in our differences to keep us all pulling for the same thing. We idealized freedom and rights. I think we still have those things in common, but our enemy is striving to get our focus off of the foundational building blocks to create division and strife. Under these circumstances we will not stand.

I want to take a look at several areas Satan has targeted to bring about division. I will also try to explain why these areas are important to unity as a whole.

Politics

Gettysburg Battlefield

I put this one first because with our presidential election only a week past we are feeling the ramifications of the outcome, good or bad. The use of Abraham Lincoln’s quote was no mere coincidence with regard to the direction of this post. It is completely obvious that our country has not always been united. The Civil War in the United States produced one of the longest and bloodiest conflicts in history. We were not fighting a force from outside our borders, we were fighting for a principle from within.

While we have always been a country with differing political parties, in the past we have not spent large amounts of money and time purposefully attacking the current incumbent. We have allowed the media to take over implanting opinions into the general public by vehemently suggesting we think a certain way. This is the work of a manipulative enemy.

Politics has always been an area of differing opinions and beliefs about how the country should be run and what ideals are of prime importance. However, with the evolution of media, freedom of speech and the lowering of societal norms and mores politics has descended into a muddied battle of cynicism and wit, and, unfortunately, this battle is out there for all the world to see.

“Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.”

— Henry Ford

Henry Ford’s words make a lot of sense. Keeping our nation together as a unified entity is work and will only be successful if we are willing to make it work. Our unseen enemy will do whatever he deems necessary to cause division in this area.

Religion

Image by Sasin Tipchai from Pixabay

It is understandable that a country founded on freedom, which has opened its doors to immigrants from all over the world and has prided itself on being dubbed a “melting pot” of cultures, personalities and beliefs, will have division with regard to who or what to worship. The problem does not lay in our differences, but in the actions we deem necessary to live out those differences. In addition, our beliefs about the deity or deities we worship will make a difference in how we behave.

Unfortunately, it seems to me the greater problem is the divisions created in same-faith based churches or more specifically the Christian church. We have so many different extensions of the Christian church that is hard to keep track of them all. There are similarities with regards to doctrine: Jesus was born to a virgin, He died on a cross, He rose again, but we tend to get lost in the details. Do we worship with electric guitars and drums? Do we allow gay marriage? Do we believe in evolution or creation? There are multiple layers of points of view and opinions about how everything is suppose to work and what exactly the Bible is teaching about various things. It is normal to have differing opinions about things, but our enemy targets those differences and works to make us believe they are the primary point of contention.

God desires unity, more specifically, He desires unity among those people who claim the name of His son. Arguing about things like what color carpet to put in the foyer, whether to have wine or grape juice or whether or not to have an evening service are details that should not be creating division.

“I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. ...”

— Ephesians 4:1-3 (ESV)

“Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!”

— Psalm 133:1 (ESV)

“Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind.”

— 1 Peter 3:8 (ESV)

Family

Image by sathyatripodi from Pixabay

Unfortunately, due to the division in the above areas, we are seeing marriages and families falling apart at an alarming rate. It is too easy to allow differences of opinion to turn into hurt feelings, and years of dysfunction. Those of us who raised our children in the church are seeing them walk away from the faith and beliefs we tried to teach them as they were growing up. Family gatherings that were once happy and carefree are now fraught with tension over political and religious differences. This is the work of our unseen enemy.

“I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them.”

— Romans 16:17 (ESV)

“I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.”

— 1 Corinthians 1:10 (ESV)

While these verses were written specifically to the church as a whole, they certainly pertain to our families as well. God does not want us to be divided. Divisiveness is listed along with idolatry, immorality and other sins.

“19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality,
20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions,
21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. ”

— Galatians 5:19-21 (ESV)

I believe that those who purposefully create division are not looking out for the best interests of our country, our communities or our families.

How, then, when we are living in a world where the enemy is working overtime to tear us apart, do we keep our marriages, our families and our communities from completely collapsing. The answer is found in 2 Timothy.

Image by Angelo Giordano from Pixabay

“22 So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.
23 Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels.
24 And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil,
25 correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth,
26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.”

— 2 Timothy 2:22-26 (ESV)

I did a study on these verses two years ago. There are several directives we can see if we give the passage a brief look.

1 - Flee

2 - Pursue

3 - Have nothing to do with

4 - Do no quarrel

5 - Be kind

6 - Teach patiently

7 - Endure

8 - Correct with gentleness

This is one of those passages that really packs a punch and if you are interested in seeing the original study you can click on the link: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, and Part 7.

Our unseen enemy is doing everything he can to divide and conquer. Unfortunately, in many ways he is winning, but we know this earthly battle will not end well for the beautiful serpent.

Next week we are going to look at the beasts that Satan is compared to. I hope you are learning from this study. If you have any questions or suggestions, leave me a comment below, or shoot me an email.

Have a good weekend.

Our Unseen Enemy - Part 4: The Liar - Lies About Others

We are studying our unseen enemy, the devil. We have looked at his ability to manipulate, scheme and the last few weeks have been studying his lies. His greatest work is in the lies he convinces people to believe. Our beliefs about certain things affect our choices, our relationships and many other aspects of our lives. Take, for example, two children who are raised in completely different environments. One is raised in a home that offers stability, love, protection and kindness. The other is raised in a home that showed neglect, verbal and/or physical abuse and possibly abandonment. It will most likely be easier for the child who is raised in the nurturing home, to feel good about themselves, and be able to see good in other people. The child who comes out of the abusive home may struggle with self-acceptance issues, trust and may think that abuse and neglect is the norm, or that they did something wrong to deserve it. Standing on the outside we can see the erroneous thinking on the latter child’s part, but without counsel and without love and consistent examples in their life, he/she will probably always struggle.

Image by DarkmoonArt_de from Pixabay

Satan targets our beliefs and understanding about God, ourselves and others, because he knows that if he can wear away at the foundation, the house will eventually fall. This same analogy is true in our relationships with other people. Satan knows that relationships built on trust, love, self-sacrifice and the desire to truly care for others will stand firm, but relationships that use manipulation, criticism, harshness or deceit will likely fall apart.

Let’s take a look at lies, Satan tempts us to believe in our relationship with others.

You Owe Me

Image by Mediamodifier from Pixabay

This is probably one of the biggest deceits that Satan uses to undermine relationships between people. In a marriage this is especially concerning due to the fact that both partners come into the relationship with their own sets of emotional baggage. If a man is raised in an environment where his dad talked down to his mother and treated her in a derogatory manner, then he will most likely take that into the marriage. He will believe the lie, that because this woman is his wife, she is obligated to be at his beck and call and to be his doormat if he so chooses.

Women can also have this attitude. How many times have you had the thought run through your mind, “Well, I cooked him a good meal, cleaned the house and took care of the kids, now it is his turn. He owes me.” Since when did the marriage relationship become a bargaining table? Unfortunately, this is the society we live in.

Once again, Satan’s tactic is to get us to focus on what we are not getting, rather than focusing on our Heavenly Father and every single thing we have to be thankful for. I am not condoning violence, abuse or any sort of degradation in a marriage. If you are in a relationship of this nature, please contact someone who can help you. Many cities have domestic abuse hotlines.

We see this same attitude among many people in our society today. They believe that they deserve something. Whether it be government aid, freedom of speech (especially with regard to things that are unnecessary or vulgar), or the ability to do whatever they want, whenever they want, people, especially in our country, have forgotten that things like hard work, commitment, investment, education and other factors are what make a difference in the world, not freebies that they think are owed to them.

“Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.”

— Romans 13:8 (ESV)

We have all felt the need to receive compensation for our hard work at times, whether it be a mom who just wants to hear, thank you, a wife who wants to hear, I love you, or an employee who wants to be commended for his efforts. It is not wrong to want these things. The lie of the enemy is when the desire becomes an obsession and drives our thoughts and attitudes.

You Offended Me

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Would I be snarky if I started this off by saying, “I hope I don’t offend anyone?” I believe that offense is a result of the fall. If there were no sin, there would be no offense. What does the Bible say about offense?

“A brother offended is more unyielding than a strong city, and quarreling is like the bars of a castle.”

— Proverbs 18:19 (ESV)

“Whoever covers an offense seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates close friends.”

— Proverbs 17:9 (ESV)

“Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense.”

— Proverbs 19:11 (ESV)

“as it is written, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.””

— Romans 9:33 (ESV)

Taking offense seems to be a natural part of who we are, but that does not make it right. It is even more disturbing that in our current circumstances people are taking offense over things that never should have been part of our society. The Bible is clear though, that we will do better if we seek to overlook an offense.

I have noticed in the last ten years the excessive use of foul language in books, movies and in social settings. It used to be, the use of such language was offensive. Now you can see the F-bomb on tee shirts, book covers and music titles. I personally find that offensive. However, I do not control what publishers publish, movie makers produce or what the fashion industry finds trendy. I do control me, or at least I try to. Ha, ha.

The problem is, the above example is just a symptom of an internal darkening; a belief that everything is allowable. God never said that, Satan did. Today, what people are finding offensive is the expression of truth, God’s truth. The Bible is clear in its stance on many behaviors that people engage in. It does not mince words. The message is clear, certain things are sins and sin is wrong. That offends people.

In the Romans 9:33 passage Jesus is the “stone of stumbling and a rock of offense…” and the passage does not end there, it says that if we believe in Him we will not be put to shame. Satan is manipulating the world and lying to them. He is wooing them to sleep with his song of freedom and equality, which really is a song of enslavement and imprisonment.

It’s All Your Fault

Image by Steve Buissinne from Pixabay

As we have seen in the first few chapters of Genesis, the blame game has been around since the beginning of time. Adam blamed Eve. Eve blamed the Serpent. What Satan started in the Garden of Eden has carried through to the current age. Children, tweens, teens, young adults, middle agers and the elderly have all been guilty of ascribing blame.

The idea of individual responsibility is pertinent to ending the blame cycle. Every individual is responsible for their own attitudes, actions and beliefs. No matter what the Father of lies is whispering in your ear, you are responsible for you.

I had to talk to my grandson about this a week or so ago. He had gotten several answers wrong on an assignment. The words he was supposed to use to fill in the blanks were at the top of the page in a bolded box. I told him the answers were right there. He started telling me he didn’t see that box, the instructions weren’t clear, the teacher isn’t a good teacher and so on. Once again, I explained that he is responsible for making sure he reads the whole paper. He is responsible for him self. The sad and funny thing was, when his mom got home and I told her about it, she looked at the paper and began to make excuses for him saying she wouldn’t have seen the box either, there weren’t clear instructions on the sheet and a few not so impressive remarks about his teacher.

I am not saying this to put my grandson or my daughter down. She is doing a great job as a single mom and he is doing pretty well in school, so I can’t really complain. However, I do think it shows a tiny sample of what is going on in our society nationwide. No one wants to be responsible.

- Can’t do your job? Blame your boss.

- Burn your dinner? Blame your kids.

- Have an affair? Blame your spouse.

- Get pregnant? Blame the sperm donor.

Satan has pretty much convinced hundreds of thousands of people they are not to blame; they are not responsible; they do not have to deal with the consequences.

“1 Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.
2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
3 For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.
4 But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor.
5 For each will have to bear his own load.”

— Galatians 6:1-5 (ESV)

Our unseen enemy doesn’t care who you are, what color your skin is, how much power you have, nor how much money you earn, he is only interested in your failure and one of the ways he can get you there is to convince you, you are not to blame and you are not responsible.

Satan is the Father of Lies. What greater deceit could an enemy have than to convince the world he is not real? Take out the enemy factor and we are left with a world full of suffering, death, violence and hatred, all brought about by people. So much for the idea of ongoing evolution. We are not evolving into smarter, better human beings. We are devolving back into the primordial goop that we came from.

Image by jaymethunt from Pixabay

I would much rather believe we are on a battleground, fighting for our lives and the lives of those around us from an enemy that is beautifully deceptive and seeking whom he may devour!

There are many other lies our unseen enemy temps us to believe. The best way to know a lie is to know the truth and make a stand on it. Believing even one small lie, opens our hearts and our minds to believing others. Knowing God’s words as they are written in the Bible helps us separate the truth from the lies. I challenge you to be in His word and to regularly ask yourself, “What do I believe to be true, and does it coincide with the Scripture.”

Have a great weekend everyone!

Our Unseen Enemy - Part 4: The Liar - Lies About Ourselves

Last week we saw how Satan uses lies about God to manipulate our feelings and beliefs towards Him. I showed you specifically lies about the earth’s origin, God’s goodness, God’s authority and God’s desire to have an intimate relationship with us. There are many more lies that Satan weaves about our sovereign God, but I only want to spend one week on each of these areas.

Today we are going to look at lies Satan tells us about ourselves. Have you ever noticed that voice that whispers in your ear, telling you, you aren’t pretty enough, smart enough, good enough and so on. Have you ever felt that your rights are being infringed upon, that you deserve better or that you are not being treated fairly? I believe most of us could say yes to at least a few of those questions, if not all.

Let’s look at a few of the lies Satan tells us. Be prepared for a multiplicity of opposing messages.

I am Not That Bad

Image by Alexas_Fotos from Pixabay

Aside from our struggles with self-worth I think many of us like to think, we really aren’t that bad. But, what does God’s word say about us?

“23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

— Romans 3:23 (ESV)

“6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.”

— Romans 5:6 (ESV)

“ 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

— Romans 5:8 (ESV)

“23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

— Romans 6:23 (ESV)

We really are a hot mess aren’t we? We are sinners. This is a word we rarely see in our society and one that is preached on less and less in the church. We are sinful. We have missed the mark of perfection that God ordained from the first day of creation, because Adam and Eve chose to listen to that beautiful, beguiling serpent.

No matter how good you are, you are not good enough. That doesn’t mean we aren’t capable of doing good things, of serving others, of donating money, of helping those who are not able to help themselves, but that does not make us good enough for heaven.

“8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

— Ephesians 2:8-9 (NASB)

This is an important tenant of the Christian faith. Look at that verse again. What was Satan’s biggest sin? Pride. If he had never been prideful, consumed with his beauty and desirous of God’s position, he probably would still be in heaven. Pride, is an insidious sin. It reaches its tendrils deep into our hearts. Why is salvation a gift of God? Because he knew our capacity for pride. Humility is key to entering the Kingdom of God. Remember the Rich Young Ruler? (See Matthew 19:16-26 for the full story) How many will be kept away from the streets of gold, by Satan’s lie, that they really aren’t that bad?

I am Not Enough

Image by Ryan McGuire from Pixabay

Is it any wonder we feel confused all of the time? When we listen to Satan’s lies, we hear messages like the first, telling us we aren’t that bad, we are all going to get into heaven in the end. On the other hand he is constantly telling us, “You are a loser, a failure and you are never going to measure up.”

Our enemy is quite proficient at making us feel like we don’t quite hit the mark. We are constantly being bombarded by these messages through social media, movies, books, advertising and so on. Believe me, even in the blogosphere there is a great temptation to compare ourselves to each other. I fall easily into the message that I am not as pretty as, as thin as, or as productive as. When we hear these voices (or more specifically, our enemy’s voice) in our head we need to go to scripture and see what God says about us.

Yes, we have already established that we are sinners and nothing we can do will measure up to God’s perfection, yet, there is something we can do. We can acknowledge Christ as our Lord and Savior. It is by His perfect sacrifice and His spilt blood that we come to realize our worth in God’s eyes.

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

— Romans 8:1 (ESV)

If we are Christ followers, then Satan’s words are useless against us, as long as we claim truth. I have done a study on Romans 8 and if you remember verse 1 is one of my favorites. Every time, I hear those thoughts in my head that say, “You are an idiot; What a failure; You’ll never amount to anything,” I take that verse and I wield it like a sword. No one can condemn me, because I AM HIS! His blood made me enough, no matter what anyone else says or thinks.

I Deserve This

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Being a wife and mother, as you have no doubt heard, is a thankless job. One of the lies that Satan loves to taunt us with is the idea that I deserve something. How many times have you felt let down because your husband didn’t notice your new hair cut, or remember your birthday or anniversary? How often did your kids neglect to say thank you or acknowledge all that you have done to make their lives easier? How did it make you feel when that friend who said they’d meet you for lunch, never showed up? It definitely makes a person feel invisible. I know, because I have been there.

During these times, it is easy to listen to Satan’s voice telling us we deserve to be angry, feel slighted or discouraged because of the way others have treated us. In addition, we often feel, that because we have been wounded we deserve to treat ourselves whether it be to a shopping trip or a pint of ice cream. Unfortunately, the only thing that listening to Satan’s lies gets us is a bad attitude, bills and extra pounds.

Our best defense is to be on the offense. Recognize that your spouse, kids, friends and others who have let you down are human, just like you. We will look more at that when we look at Satan’s lies about others. The best thing to do when we are feeling like we deserve something is to take those feelings to our Lord and let Him examine them. Are they feelings brought about by a success or an accomplishment? By all means treat yourself, but if they are feelings brought about by pain and discouragement there is only one place to feel fulfilled and at peace. At the nail pierced feet of our Lord, Jesus.

Read the whole of Psalm 139 for a reminder, that God knows you inside and out and He is always attentive to your feelings.

“23 Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
24 And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting!”

— Psalm 139:23-24 (ESV)

I Have a Right

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The desire for rights is innate in us. We want things to be fair. We want to be treated with respect and dignity and want that all people are treated that way; at least we say we do, until our rights are infringed upon.

I do believe there is a place for rights in our world, but I also believe that what God intended as a preservation for those who were and are afflicted and needy has become the war cry of anyone who wants to get their way. Look at all the law suits that have gone to court over attempts at misplaced rights. How much money did McDonalds have to pay to compensate the customer who spilled coffee on themselves and sued the retailer because she got burned? I’m sorry, but if I am buying a cup of coffee at McDonalds, I want it to be hot. If I spilled scalding coffee on myself, I would automatically think, “What a klutz I am,” and then go home and nurse my wounds. I would have never thought that my rights had been infringed because the retailer gave me exactly what I asked for.

The problem with a rights based mentality is that everything that does not measure up to your standard suddenly becomes about your rights. How many of the riots that happened over the last few months were truly about rights? How much of the violence that ensued at many of them were instigated by people who had nothing at all invested in the protest? Please don’t get me wrong. I believe racial, and economic disparities need to be investigated and changed, but in a true rights oriented society rights are for the good of the whole society, not just one particular person or group.

Satan will use whatever means it takes to create division, hatred, lust and covetousness among us all. He knows that these things will be our undoing and undoing is exactly what he wants.

Martin Luther King, Jr. is probably one of the first people we think of when we think of human rights in our country. He was a man of spiritual depth and wisdom. Read the following quotes.

“Property is intended to serve life, and no matter how much we surround it with rights and respect, it has no personal being. It is part of the earth man walks on. It is not man.”

— Martin Luther King, Jr.

“An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.”

— Martin Luther King, Jr.

“The limitation of riots, moral questions aside, is that they cannot win and their participants know it. Hence, rioting is not revolutionary but reactionary because it invites defeat. It involves an emotional catharsis, but it must be followed by a sense of futility.”

— Martin Luther King, Jr.

“We are not makers of history. We are made by history.”

— Martin Luther King, Jr.

“Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into friend.”

— Martin Luther King, Jr.

“People fail to get along because they fear each other; they fear each other because they don’t know each other; they don’t know each other because they have not communicated with each other.”

— Martin Luther King, Jr.

“In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force”

— Martin Luther King, Jr.

There are many more tidbits of wisdom from this man. Being a black man at the time, he completely understood the gaping crevice caused by the disparity between blacks and whites, but he also understood that the way to bring about change was not through hatred. Demanding our rights through anger, violence and force is a plot of the enemy, to be sure, both for those who are angry and for those who are fearful.

I Shouldn’t have to Feel Pain

Image by Stefan Keller from Pixabay

Perhaps one of the most detrimental lies the enemy dangles in front of our faces is that we shouldn’t have to feel pain, have things go wrong or live without pleasure. I am lumping this all together, because so often pain and pleasure go hand in hand.

God created a perfect world; a world without pain or suffering, but Adam and Eve’s choice to eat from the tree God had told them not too, ushered in a lifetime of generations of pain, sorrow and hardship, most of which are directly related back to sin. Childbirth, as most women who have had children naturally know, is painful. Kidney stones are painful. Surgery, cuts, headaches, achy joints and aging can all be painful. The amount of money, time and effort that our world spends trying to deal with pain is overwhelming and the ramifications of the desire to live without pain is evident in the catastrophic use of pain meds, psych meds and related therapies that cost millions of dollars every year. Many of these drugs lead to permanent addictions, that are extremely hard to pull out of and cost millions more to pay for different drugs, counseling and therapies.

In addition our society is consumed with pleasure. The desire to feel good all the time has become a way of life that eats away at our time, our pocketbooks and our very souls. Pleasure seeking and its related pursuits also results in many forms of addiction and bondage from eating disorders and drug use, to pornography and human trafficking.

Satan would like us to think that we shouldn’t have to deal with pain or that gnawing sense of emptiness. His lies tempt us to believe that people, or things, drugs or drink, sex or perversion will assuage the numbness that becomes our death companion when we are alone. People do not want to be alone and they don’t want it to be silent, or they will remember they are not fulfilled or happy.

“Man is also rebuked with pain on his bed and with continual strife in his bones,”

— Job 33:19 (ESV)

“For I am ready to fall, and my pain is ever before me.”

— Psalm 38:17 (ESV)

“But I am afflicted and in pain; let your salvation, O God, set me on high!”

— Psalm 69:29 (ESV)

“Why do you cry out over your hurt? Your pain is incurable. Because your guilt is great, because your sins are flagrant, I have done these things to you.”

— Jeremiah 30:15 (ESV)

“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.””

— Revelation 21:4 (ESV)

Pain is a reality and the yearning we feel that often goes unfulfilled is the imprint of God on our hearts. He was, is and always will be the One who was meant to fill all of your longings.

Satan is lying to us about God and he is lying to us about ourselves. He uses our desire to be “somebody”, our desire to get what we think we deserve, our demand to have our rights fulfilled, and our desire to not feel pain, but only pleasure, to control us. The freedoms we as people are yelling about have become the shackles binding our hearts and our minds. He has us bound and has thrown away the key.

But, there is good news. Someone has a copy of the key and He can release us from these binds.

I hope you are encouraged in your walk with Jesus through this study we have been doing on our

Our Unseen Enemy - Part 4: The Liar - Lies About God

There are two books I want to recommend right off, before I even get started. I have been through both of these books as part of a women’s Bible study at the church we used to attend. These are excellent books, both by women. I referred to Lies Women Believe: and the Truth That Sets Them Free by Nancy Leigh Demoss, last week. The other is Battlefield of the Mind by Joyce Meyer. I am not receiving any compensation to recommend these books, I just believe they are two of the best books on this topic of lies of our enemy. I will definitely be using some of the same ideas as Nancy Leigh Demoss’s book and I want to say that at the outset. I would have never gotten to the point in my walk with Christ that I am at if it weren’t for the teaching and wisdom of other believers.

Let’s start by taking a look at why Satan would seek to discredit God. He can’t possibly think it will make any difference in the long run. Of course not, but remember we are dealing with a creature who is full of pride. Even though he knows the ultimate outcome is his demise, I believe he is seeking to take as many unbelievers down with him as possible. I also believe, he finds great joy in every failure on our part as Christ followers. Can’t you just see him, “Ha! You are a failure! So much for being bought with the blood. So there!”

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Let’s take a look at some of the main areas where Satan lies with regard to God’s character and His relationship with His creation.

Earth’s Origin

Image by Colin Behrens from Pixabay

You might wonder why I am delving into this particular lie. I believe when we don’t adhere to the Biblical teaching of Creation, we set ourselves up for additional problematic issues concerning other truths that the scripture teaches, the first being the omnipotence of the Almighty God. As my husband always says, “I don’t know why God took so long. He could have created the whole world and all that is in it in six seconds!” I try to reassure him God did it for our benefit, because only one second of sleep would certainly not be enough. Ha. ha.

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth”

— Genesis 1:1 (ESV)

“And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.”

— Genesis 1:31 (ESV)

Why would this lie be so important to Satan and what does it mean with regard to God? Taking away the dignity of the creative effort with regard to humanity takes away the dignity of the human being. Why do we have issues with race and hatred? Could it be one man believes he is more “evolved” than another. What exactly was Hitler doing when he condemned millions of Jews to concentrations camps? What about the whole history of slave trade. Black slaves specifically, were looked at and talked about as being less “evolved”, even by people who called themselves Christians.

If you don’t believe Satan is involved in this lie, then take a deep breath. Do you smell that? Doesn’t it smell like pride? Isn’t pride the very thing that brought our enemy from his lofty position to a place of “going to and fro on the earth…” Pride can be blatantly worn on the sleeve in the form of white supremacy, or it can be as subtle as the thought, “They are not the same color as me, so they must not be as smart as me,” or “They live in that part of town, so they must be criminals.” By believing the lie that the earth evolved over millions and millions of years, we deny the most beautiful part of being human, the imprint of God on our very beings.

God’s Goodness

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

When God created the world, He “saw that it was good.” It was good, because the Creator was and is good.

“Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in the way.”

— Psalm 25:8 (ESV)

“Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!”

— Psalm 34:8 (ESV)

“Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for the sake of your goodness, O Lord!”

— Psalm 25:7 (ESV)

“And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.””

— Matthew 19:17 (ESV)

While the Bible does not have a ton of verses that say specifically that God is good, it does contain plenty of verses that show the results of God’s goodness.

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

— Romans 8:28 (ESV)

“For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving,”

— 1 Timothy 4:4 (ESV)

The reason Satan focuses on God’s goodness is simple. If we question His goodness, then we will begin to doubt His love. When bad things happen we are all tempted to question whether God really has our best at heart, this is a result of questioning His goodness. The problem with that is, our doubts about God’s goodness do not change the fact that He is good.

There is a place where a choice has to be made to believe what God says. Faith is the tool that enables us to take the step out into the unknown. Choosing to believe, when the tsunamis of life assail on all sides, is the process that takes us into the deeper layers of God. You see, God’s characteristic of goodness does not change. He is fully good, all of the time. The only thing that changes is our perception of Him. If we allow pain, tragedy and discouragement to become the focus of our thoughts, we slowly begin to believe the lie, that God is not really good.

“Listening to counsel or ways of thinking that are not according to the Truth is the first step in developing wrong beliefs that will ultimately place us in bondage. Once we have listened to the lie, the next step toward bondage is that we . . . DWELL ON THE LIE.”

— Nancy Leigh Demoss - Lies Women Believe: and the Truth that Sets Them Free

God’s Authority

Image by morhamedufmg from Pixabay

This is an area that Satan has done intense work to spread the lie that God is a tyrant and does not truly love His creation. The very essence of secular humanism is to take away authority from a good and sovereign God and give it to the created being. While humanistic ideas such as equal treatment of all individuals, looking out for the good of others and being involved in entities that help others are good and needed parts of society, the more militant secular humanists, insist that we are perfectly capable of muddling through life without a tyrannical God looking over our shoulders waiting to squash us the very moment we mess up.

Just like a young person begins to question the ideas and authority of his/her parents, when humanity begins to question and cast aside the authority of God, he/she becomes a chaotic tangle of questions, emotions and doubts. When Satan steps in during these vulnerable times, it is easy for the teen, or other seeking individual to look to places, teachings, people and experiences that have nothing to do with a Holy and loving God. From there it is just a step into beliefs and mindsets that are either destructive or at the least blinding. During these times, many people would rather believe the lie, that they themselves are the ultimate authority, than believe there is a God who is bigger than they are.

Just like with God’s goodness. The fact that people choose to not believe in God’s authority, does not make it disappear. God was, is and always will be the One who has complete control over the whole picture. We may think it is our vote that determines the outcome of the upcoming election, but God has already determined the outcome. Does that mean we just don’t vote, or get involved? Certainly not. Everything in this life is allowed by the authority of the Almighty God, yet He gives us the freedom to make choices.

“And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”

— Matthew 28:18 (ESV)

Who was it that gave Jesus “All authority…?” It certainly wasn’t Satan, and it wasn’t Aristotle or Socrates. God the Father gave His Son, all authority in heaven and on earth. Only one who has ultimate and full authority could give another deity, ultimate and full authority.

God’s Intimacy

Image by My pictures are CC0. When doing composings: from Pixabay

While there are many other lies our unseen enemy bombards us with about God I only want to look at one more. This one, I believe, is important to us as Christ followers. When I was a child being taught Bible stories in Sunday School, my teachers talked about “asking Jesus into my heart.” I wanted Jesus to be in my heart, because then I knew he would always be with me. When I got older and learned more about God, I began to see that He didn’t just want to be in my heart, He wanted to have a relationship with me. I surrendered my life to Christ when I was 12 years old, but it wasn’t until I was a senior at Moody Bible Institute that I realized God didn’t just want a relationship with me, He wanted to be intimate with me. This came about in a counseling session with a theology instructor, who helped me to understand, that my father issues with my own dad (he was somewhat distant and uninvolved in my life as a young person), were affecting my understanding of God.

Now, before some of you start accusing me a blasphemy, saying that a Holy God would never assume an intimate relationship with his creation, let me take you back to the Garden of Eden.

“8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
9 But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”
10 And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.”
11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”
12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.”
13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.””

— Genesis 3:8-13 (ESV)

God walked in the Garden. He talked to Adam and Eve. I have to believe that this was a regular occurrence. If God had simply created them, gave them a few instructions and then left, I don’t think we would see this conversation play out the way it did. He speaks to them gently. He already knew what they had done, but like a gentle parent he coaxes the truth out of them and then delivers the consequences.

I know that we must have respect and “fear” towards this Almighty, Omnipotent being. He made us from dust and to dust we will return, but I also see repeatedly throughout His word, His desire to have a relationship with us. Satan will say there is no God and there is no greater being who controls the things that come in and out of our lives, but the truth is, He is! The last thing Satan want for you and I is to be an Enoch.

“Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.”

— Genesis 5:24 (ESV)

“By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God.”

— Hebrews 11:5 (ESV)

A number of years ago I did a Beth Moore Bible study (I don’t remember which one, because the work book has been packed away), but she talked about how Enoch walked with God. Enoch’s name means dedicated, trained or diligent. Beth, who is an avid student of the Hebrew roots and meanings of words explained that Enoch’s name conveyed the idea of narrowing. As he walked with God, his focus narrowed, so that his main desire in life was to please and glorify God. Can you imagine how much demon butt we could kick if we were more like Enoch?

I hope you are learning and enjoying this study. Be sure, our unseen enemy does not want you to benefit from this study. He wants you to remain focused on the pain in your life and not the God in your life. The truth: God is the Omnipotent Creator of the world, God is good, God is the true Authority and God desires to have a relationship with you.

Have a good weekend!

Our Unseen Enemy - Part 4: The Liar - Introduction

We have seen that Satan is a manipulator, and a schemer, but one of the characteristics that we most often associate with this unseen enemy is that of lying. We often hear of Satan referred to as the Father of Lies. Jesus called him this in the following passage.

“39 They answered him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works Abraham did,
40 but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did.
41 You are doing the works your father did.” They said to him, “We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father—even God.”
42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me.
43 Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word.
44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me.
46 Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me?
47 Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.””

— John 8:39-47 (ESV)

Image by GeorgeB2 from Pixabay

The Bible doesn’t talk a great deal about Satan being a liar, yet there are various passages that talk about lying, our thought life, and being truthful. It makes sense that a being whose sole desire is the fall of what God created, and whose characteristics include scheming and manipulating, would also feel at ease with lying.

God has commanded us to not lie.

“11 “You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; you shall not lie to one another.
12 You shall not swear by my name falsely, and so profane the name of your God: I am the Lord.”

— Leviticus 19:11-12 (ESV)

“Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord,
but those who act faithfully are his delight.”

— Proverbs 12:22 (ESV)

“9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices
10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.”

— Colossians 3:9-10 (ESV)

“12 “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done.
13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”
14 Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates.
15 Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.”

— Revelation 22:12-15 (ESV)

It would seem that God absolutely does not approve of lying, in fact, to Him it is an abomination. Those who practice lying will not be allowed into the Celestial City of God. I am a firm believer in honesty. Have I lied? Yes, and I have always felt bad about it and tried to repent as soon as possible.

Do you know why Satan uses this tactic so frequently? He uses lying because it is easy. His ability to prod and manipulate a person might cajole them into telling a small lie, but the small lie becomes another, and soon another, and eventually, lying is a chronic condition. All Satan had to do was get the ball rolling.

Image by Smim Bipi from Pixabay

An analogy comes to my mind about the ferocious carnivore, the Tyrannosaurus Rex. It has long been touted that this beast was the king of dinosaurs, tromping about in prehistory, gobbling up his prey like a toddler would gobble up candy that was within his grasp. While it is true that he was large, toothy, and made a formidable opponent, many times he fed off the carcasses of other beasts that had previously died. It seems Mr. T-rex wasn’t always the most motivated when it came to obtaining his supper.

Satan is much the same way. He will do as little work as possible to obtain his desires. He knows the sinful nature of humanity will go a long way to achieving his goals; all he need do is arrange a meeting, whisper a lie, and let hatred, pride and lust take over.

“Listening to counsel or ways of thinking that are not according to the Truth is the first step in developing wrong beliefs that will ultimately place us in bondage. Once we have listened to the lie, the next step toward bondage is that we . . . DWELL ON THE LIE.””

— Nancy Leigh DeMoss - Lies Women Believe: And the Truth that Sets them Free

In order to do this tactic of Satan justice, I feel that I need to divide this into three more posts. It is essential that we understand what this tactic looks like and how it affects our world view. Over the next three weeks I am going to look at three areas that are affected by our unseen enemy’s lies and how these are brought about. I will divide these posts as follows:

1 - Lies that affect our view of God.

2 - Lies that affect our view of ourselves.

3 - Lies that affect our view of others.

Our Unseen Enemy - Part 3: The Schemer

Last week we looked at Satan’s tactic of manipulation. Truly he is a master manipulator. He takes truth and twists it so that it seems different than it was really meant to be. We saw that specifically in how he manipulated Eve in the Garden of Eden in his form of a serpent. While last week we saw that he stuck to the truth, but bent and twisted it so that it was a slightly different version of the truth, this week we are going to look at how Satan schemes. This ability to connive and plot affects not only unbelievers, but Christ followers as well.

The Schemer

This guy looks like he is scheming doesn’t he? He’s hunkered down, his beady eye keeping watch for the prey and he is probably thinking about when his quarry gets close enough, he is going to use those powerful toothy jaws to latch on and gobble it up. Our enemy is much the same way as our reptilian friend. He has a scheme, a plan, and a plot. He is waiting, hunkered down, looking for each and every opportunity to trip up his quarry or even more boldly, to latch on and swallow them down.

Image by Surendra Shekhawat from Pixabay

“10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.
11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.
12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”

— Ephesians 6:10-12 (ESV)

We can see from the above passage that our enemy already has schemes in place to use against us. Verse 12 reiterates that our struggle is not against flesh and blood, although in our country right now it seems that many of our problems are being manifested on the physical plateau. Obviously, Satan will not keep his battles in the spiritual realm. He will strike in our physical realm whenever he is given the leeway. Let’s take a look at another passage in the Bible that deals with just this issue.

“6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them.
7 The Lord said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.”
8 And the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?”
9 Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason?
10 Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.
11 But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.”
12 And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.” So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.”

— Job 1:6-12 (ESV)

Image by WikiImages from Pixabay

This passage might be a little uncomfortable to read. Here we see Satan coming to God, so it tells us that he still has access to God. I have to imagine, that even though Satan was cast down from heaven, God still knew exactly what he was up to and where, after all, God knows everything and is everywhere present. Whatever the case, Satan came to God among the other sons of God. Perhaps he was wearing his disguise as an angel of light, and while God would know who he was, perhaps the others in attendance, most likely other angels, would not see through his fraudulent exterior.

“13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.
14 And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.
15 So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.”

— 2 Corinthians 11:13-15 (ESV)

Looking at what takes place in this passage, I am sure, Satan entered into this assemblage with a scheme in mind. Whether he was hoping to make a fool of God, usurp his throne or just wreak havoc, Satan wasn’t coming hoping to have tea. He was plotting. Of course, I am convinced that God knew exactly what Satan was up to.

We might be tempted to think God was unfair to Job to unleash Satan’s wrath on everything he had. If you read the passage following, we see that Job lost all of his children, everything he owned was destroyed and his health evaporated. This only happened because God allowed it. God knew Job’s heart and knew through it all Job would remain faithful. He also knew the ultimate outcome, restoration. If you read the book through to its conclusion we see that Job learned some very important lessons about God, but God restored him sevenfold. Yes, he would always miss the children that he lost, but he knew this fully to his core:

“But he knows the way that I take;
when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold.”

— Job 23:10 (ESV)

Let’s move this into the context of today’s world. There are many terrible things happening. We are inundated every day, multiple times a day with the knowledge that evil is running rampant. If you don’t believe in the devil, I would ask you to reconsider. He is alive and well and scheming to bring about your ruin. However, nothing comes into our world without God knowing. It says in Matthew 10:30 that every hair of our heads is numbered. God knows what Satan is about and the time will come, when all that is lost will be restored, but know this, until that time Satan is scheming to take us down.

“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”

— 1 Peter 5:8 (ESV)

Image by Hans-Jürgen Münzer from Pixabay

Satan isn’t just sitting around twiddling his thumbs. He is at work. He is plotting, planning and scheming the best ways to keep the world in darkness and extinguish the lights of those who know Jesus. Think about the state of our country. Darkness is being exalted and the light is being hidden. This is not just a matter of political and socioeconomic differences. What we see happening has the mark of a hidden power; one that will not rest until every flame is put out.

But…we have hope! Jesus is alive. Everything that He did on the cross still stands. The only way we can change this world is by bringing the light of the Gospel to those who are walking in darkness. Do not be afraid. Do not hide. Pray, speak truth and lift up the name of Jesus.

Image by Greg Montani from Pixabay

“16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;
17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,
18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints”

— Ephesians 6:16-18 (ESV)

May the Source Be With You: A Woman, a Well and some Water

I was going to start a series on the devil, but I am going to put that off for a week or two. I was doing my devotions the other day, when I came across something I thought may be more helpful for today. I know all of us are struggling with the chaos that we call “the new normal.” None of us really wants to have to deal with the ripple affects of a pandemic, but we are.

Image by David Mark from Pixabay

With the advent of fall we are seeing universities and schools struggling to stay in session. My husband’s university has 60% of their classes online, or hybrid, which is an online, face to face combination of teaching. It has most of the faculty and staff feeling exhausted and overwhelmed. I know the same is true for my grandson’s elementary school as teachers and staff try to deal with technology glitches and having live stream school sessions that last from 9 in the morning to 3:30 in the afternoon. His school is hoping to go to a hybrid plan next week, where students will attend school two days and have three days off. I can’t even imagine how hard this is for everyone. We are not able to go places, see extended family and have regular meet ups with friends at coffee shops or bookstores.

In addition to that, incidents of protests, riots and violence across our country continue to take place. We are heading into an extremely volatile election and the silencing of many with contrary views to the underpinning current of anti conservative voices is leaving us feeling exhausted, anxious and hopeless.

When I read this verse and Oswald’s accompanying devotion, I realized that no matter what happens in the world around us, we are always at liberty to return to the Source

“Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’””

— John 7:38 (ESV)

If we believe in Jesus, we have the source of living water. If you take the time to read the story of Jesus and the Samaritan women here in John 4:7-41, you will see this idea of living water spoken of previously by Jesus. This woman who came to the well, knew what hardship was like. She was not only a Samaritan, who the Jews did not look favorably on, she also had been in a number of relationships that went haywire. As Jesus pointed out, she had had five husbands and the man she was currently living with was not her husband.

It was not coincidence that brought her to the well at the exact same time Jesus came to quench his thirst. We can learn a lot from this passage, so let’s take a closer look.

Jesus took the initiative.

“A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” ”

— John 4:7 (ESV)

Under normal circumstances a woman was expected to do a man’s bidding. Not only that, but the woman would have had a vessel of some sort, something she could carry water in, making it easier for her to draw water. For Jesus to tell her to give him a drink, would not have been unusual. However, the fact that He was a Jew and she was a Samaritan, made it completely abnormal that Jesus would talk to her, let alone allow her to give him a drink.

She knew her place.

“The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.)”

— John 4:9 (ESV)

This woman wasn’t in denial. She knew that Jews did not like Samaritans. She also knew she was a woman in a man’s world. Her response to Jesus was’t one of bitterness or snippiness. I believe she responded with genuine surprise. She restated something both she and Jesus already knew.

Jesus got right to the point.

“Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” ”

— John 4:10 (ESV)

Jesus didn’t argue with the woman about whether she should draw water for Him. He immediately began to tell her about what He had to offer her…living water.

She knew history.

“The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.”

— John 4:11-12 (ESV)

Image by Yoosaf Abdulla from Pixabay

Just in case you are wondering, the Samaritans were Jewish descendants from the tribes of Joseph’s sons Manasseh and Ephraim. They were all descendants of Jacob. The main source of contention between these two people groups revolved around the chosen place to worship God. They were considered mongrels by the Jews due to their being descendants of Jews who had been in captivity in Assyria. In truth, they were all Jews, in the same way today’s term Christian includes both Protestants and Catholics.

Jesus used a physical object to explain a spiritual truth.

“Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.””

— John 4:13-14 (ESV)

Image by PublicDomainPictures from Pixabay

Often when Jesus was teaching he would speak in allegorical pictures. In this particular instance He is describing the relationship with God that all can have, if they just drink His truth. From personal experience, I know this to be true. I have never known anything nor anyone to satisfy like Jesus. Yes, I still walk in this flesh and it craves all sorts of things from clothes to chocolate, but those splurges almost always leave me feeling dissatisfied. Only the time spent with Him in prayer, study of the word, journaling, ranting or singing truly makes me feel full and complete.

You see, the water that Jesus offers to give us is no ordinary spring. It is a spring from an unlimited source and it bubbles eternally. There is no end to this source of living water. It is both unlimited and fulfilling. You might be wondering, how can it be both limitless and yet give complete fulfillment? What would be the point of it being unlimited, if we only had to drink from it once and have our thirst forever quenched? We will get to that in a bit.

Right response, wrong reason.

Image by sutulo from Pixabay

“The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.””

— John 4:15 (ESV)

The woman’s response is one of desire. She wants this living water, but not for the reason Jesus offered it to her. She wasn’t looking beyond her immediate circumstances and comfort. She wanted the water she thought He was offering, so she would never have to worry about coming to the well again. My suspicion is, she was not always looked upon with kindness in her daily journey to the well. It would have been so much less trouble if she never had to go to the well again.

Nothing is hidden from Jesus.

“Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” 17 The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.” ”

— John 4:16-18 (ESV)

Image by Pexels from Pixabay

If the Samaritan woman had been alive today, she would have been wondering if Jesus was part of the CIA or MI6. She would have immediately started looking for hidden cameras and microphones. However, those types of technology didn’t exist back then and even if they did, there was no reason to spy on a middle aged Samaritan woman who was having a string of bad relationships.

The woman was paying attention.

“The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.”

— John 4:19-20 (ESV)

I believe this woman was rather intelligent. She knew the history of her people, the Samaritans, but she also knew the beliefs of the Jews. Perhaps she is trying to direct the conversation away from the spotlight Jesus has shone on her personal life, or she may actually be curious to know what His opinion was on the point of contention between her people and His. She seems to me, a curious and articulate individual.

A prophet and so much more.

Image by John Hain from Pixabay

“Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

— John 4:21-24 (ESV)

The next few sentences Jesus articulates, open a window of knowledge to the woman. I absolutely love how Jesus, in this passage is affirming the value of women. Not only is He speaking to her, even though she is a Samaritan and He is a Jew; He is speaking to her like he would speak to a man. He is giving her an opportunity that many in that time period would not have had. He is giving her a peek into the future. He is also giving her a one on one theology lesson.

Jesus plainly states that things are not going to remain as they were. A day was coming when neither the Jews or the Samaritans would be worshipping in the temple nor on the mountain. If you know anything about Jewish history, you know that is true. In addition, Jesus instructs her that soon all true worshippers would be worshipping God in spirit and in truth. I believe he was giving her a little look into the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. (This is just my opinion. You can find a much more knowledgable opinion in Matthew Henry’s Bible Commentary, here.)

She believes in the Messiah.

“ The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” ”

— John 4:25 (ESV)

This woman has faith. She believes the Messiah will come and that when he does, he will explain everything.

Jesus makes a declaration.

“Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.””

— John 4:26 (ESV)

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I will continue with this passage next week, but what I want you to take away from this week’s portion is these ideas:

1 - Nothing happens by chance. Jesus knew he would meet this woman, in fact it was known from the foundation of the world.

2 - He knows everything about you. I know as a woman, I have always had this romantic desire that the man who loved me would study me. He would know everything about me, from the tiniest wart on my toe to the grandest dream I have ever had. My hubby is a good guy and I love him dearly, but he ain’t no Jesus. He is fallen and flawed just like the woman he married.

3 - Women and their desires and dreams are just as valuable and important to Jesus as men.

4 - Only Jesus can provide the living water. All of our efforts to satisfy, get by, pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps, and so on only lead to exhaustion, anxiety and discouragement.

I hope you will join me again next week for the rest of the story. Have a great week.



Be Encouraged! Remembering the Spirit.

The last two weeks, I have been taking you through a journey of encouragement by looking first at the characteristics of God, then the characteristics of Jesus. I find encouragement during these difficult times by remembering these unchanging characteristics of the triune Godhead. The reason these things are encouraging is based on Philippians 4:8.

“8 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.”

— Philippians 4:8 (NASB)

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We are told in this verse to dwell on these things; the things being whatever is true, honorable, pure, etc. What I do know at this point in time is that not everything that is being written and put out by the media is true. Certainly, many of the goings on in our country are not honorable or pure. When this sort of chaos ensues, I think the best place to focus our minds is on God Himself. He characterizes every single one of the traits mentioned in Philippians 4:8. How do we know these things to be true? This is where we look at the Holy Spirit. One of His main jobs is the communication of truth to our spirit.

The Holy Spirit is the third person of the trinity. God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Each of these Holy Beings is separate, yet they all have one mind and one desire: our salvation and glorification. There are churches that place too much emphasis on the Spirit, claiming that without the filling and subsequent slaying of the Spirit we are not saved. There are also churches that don’t place enough emphasis on the Spirit, claiming that it is the mind that is influenced by God and emotions have little place in the Christian religion.

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My view, is one of balance. The Holy Spirit is just as important as God the Father and God the Son, but He is not more important than them. He is not mean to be worshipped as first and foremost, but is is also not meant to be excluded.

Let’s look at a a few of the traits of the Holy Spirit.

He is a helper.

“26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.”

— John 14:26 (NASB)

I think the Holy Spirit helps us in many ways, but Jesus points out a few important ones in this verse.

He will teach us all things. I believe that when we become a Christ follower, the Spirit comes and takes up residence in us. He then works to teach us things we didn’t know; things like what sin looks like, who Jesus is, and how we are able to relate to an Almighty being like God.

He helps us remember what Jesus said. Have you ever memorized Scripture? It is amazing how, the Spirit will bring it back again and again. even when we no longer remember exactly what book and chapter it is in. Even when our minds are cluttered with so many things, the Spirit can still bring to our memory concepts and truths, even when we don’t remember the actual scriptures.

He baptizes and fills.

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There is plenty of confusion and debate over the baptism and filling of the Holy Spirit, and I am not claiming to know exactly when and how each of these things happens. I believe we are baptized with the Spirit when we receive Christ as our Lord and Savior. This happens once, just as the literal baptism with water is a one time act to identify ourselves in the life, death and resurrection of Christ.

“for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

— Acts 1:5 (NASB)

Filling, seems to be a more repetitive act that occurs as we give ourselves to God and to His work, not only in ourselves, but in the world.

“And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.”

— Acts 2:4 (NASB)

“Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of the people,”

— Acts 4:8 (NASB)

“And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness.”

— Acts 4:31 (NASB)

“And the disciples were continually filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.”

— Acts 13:52 (NASB)

He speaks and directs.

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The Holy Spirit is the one who leads and directs us. He helps us to have wisdom, make decisions and understand the will of God. Some people will claim that the little voice inside our heads is our conscience. For those of us who claim to be Christ followers we believe those whispers and urgings are from the Holy Spirit Himself. This is especially true when we are faced with a temptation to sin. Have you even felt that tug or check from the Spirit I am talking about? Often, it is a thought that pops into my head. “Don’t do that,” or an urging in my spirit, “Go talk to that elderly lady.” Many times the Spirit brings back to my mind those Scriptural truths that I need to remember at just the right time. During this overwhelming time of Covid life, He constantly reminds me of Philippians 4:4-7 which is one of the best passages for dealing with anxiety.

“While they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.””

— Acts 13:2 (NASB)

“So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia and from there they sailed to Cyprus.”

— Acts 13:4 (NASB)

““For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these essentials:”

— Acts 15:28 (NASB)

He embodies fellowship.

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One of the things that many of us are missing right now is the ability to fellowship with other believers. It is good that churches are doing live streaming and a number of them are also doing outdoor services to provide another option for people to be together and still maintain social distancing. My spouse and I left the church we had been attending for over 20 years a few years ago, for reasons I am not able to disclose, so we have been without regular fellowship for a long time. We have looked at other churches, but as of yet have not found a new church home. I believe there are times that God leads us out into the wilderness for reasons only known to Him. While this journey has been difficult, I will say the Holy Spirit has been a true and faithful companion each and every day. There are moments where my fellowship with Him, the Lord Jesus, and God my Father, are sweeter than anything I have ever known with a person. If you are feeling alone and cut off from your family of believers, remember the Holy Spirit lives in you and you can have sweet, blessed fellowship at any time with Him.

He gives gifts to us.

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One of the reasons we are able to have sweet fellowship with and through the Holy Spirit has to do with the gifts that He gives to us.

“for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”

— Romans 14:17 (NASB)

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Righteousness - It is through Jesus’ work on the cross and the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives that “we become the righteousness of God in Him,” (2 Corinthians 5:21). This is such an encouragement to me and where Christianity differs from all other religions. It is not our goodness that makes us righteous and holy, but Christ’s shed blood and the Holy Spirit’s possession of our hearts.

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Peace - Who couldn’t use a little peace right now? Yet peace is something we are guaranteed as a Christian, if we put our minds in the right place.

“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.””

— John 16:33 (NASB)

“In peace I will both lie down and sleep, For You alone, O Lord, make me to dwell in safety.”

— Psalm 4:8 (NASB)

“The Lord will give strength to His people; The Lord will bless His people with peace.”

— Psalm 29:11 (NASB)

“Those who love Your law have great peace, And nothing causes them to stumble.”

— Psalm 119:165 (NASB)

“For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace,”

— Romans 8:6 (NASB)

“for God is not a God of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.”

— I Corinthians 14:33 (NASB)

“And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

— Philippians 4:7 (NASB)

If you are lacking peace right now, do a Bible study on the word. You will find many scriptures that talk about peace. It is definitely worth while to know some of these scriptures.

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Joy - This is another word that has been the focus of some debate in the Christian community. What is the difference between joy and happiness. I personally think joy is much deeper and more enduring than happiness. Happiness is based on our present circumstances or attitudes, whereas joy is ours simply because we are His, no matter what the circumstances. I am sure many of you have heard the phrase, “Choose Joy.” While this might seem a bit trite in our current circumstances, it is a good idea. Just as we need to think on those things that I mentioned at the beginning of this long post, we also can choose to focus on the joy we have because of our relationship with Christ.

“You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.”

— Psalm 16:11 (NASB)

“For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for a lifetime; Weeping may last for the night, But a shout of joy comes in the morning.”

— Psalm 30:5 (NASB)

He intercedes for us.

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The Holy Spirit does many things for us, but this is perhaps my favorite. We went over this portion of scripture when we did our study of Romans 8.

“26 In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;
27 and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”

— Romans 8:26-27 (NASB)

To know that the Spirit is praying for me, not just praying, but interceding with groanings to deep for words makes me feel overwhelmed with gratitude. How many times, especially over the last few months, have you found yourself not even sure how to pray? I know I have many times, but it is during these difficult days our Holy Spirit is taking up the cause and praying to the Father on our behalf. The beautiful thing is, He is praying according to the Father’s will which is always for our good.

There are many other characteristics of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit in the Bible. If you are feeling discouraged, I want to encourage you to dig deep into the truth of God’s word. It will lift you up, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

Have a great week!

Be Encouraged! Remembering God.

I am really struggling with so many different things, that I am not sure what to write about. Being a faith based blogger means that many people will simply overlook my blog, because they have no interest in anything having to do with religion. I can understand that, because my husband watches a plethora of YouTube videos on survival, boxing and other “manly” types of topics. He has no interest in fashion, so why would he stop and read a fashion blog. The same is true for faith based topics. Why would a person stop to read a chapter in the Bible when they have no interest in what is written there? Why would a person read a cook book, who could care less about learning how to cook?

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As Christians, I think a lot of us are struggling with how to respond to the goings on in our world right now. I know I am. How do I instill courage when we are faced with people dying from a virus that we still know so little about? How do I know the difference between what is real news and what is made up just to get a reaction? How do I talk about race and injustice, when what I say might be taken as racist or unjust? These are all questions I have asked myself over the last few months.

I know I am just a small blog with only about 250 subscribers. I don’t do much with affiliates and retailers to promote products and make money. Sure making money would be great, but the purpose of my blog has never been about making money. The purpose was to encourage. I think we all could use a big dose of encouragement right about now. I realize I won’t reach a lot of people and that is okay, but maybe I can reach you. Maybe you need to hear something I am going to say today, or maybe this is just God’s way of enabling me to cope.

What do I do when I am upset? I write. Here are a few things I know I need to hear right now, and maybe you do too.

God is in control.

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This may seem a bit unsettling to you. You might be thinking, well, if He is in control then why is there so much bad stuff going on? However, the facts are this, God is bigger than all of us and all that is going on. He is the Creator. He formed the world from nothing and spoke with just a few words the entirety of the natural world. When he was finished with all of that, He decided the natural world needed a caretaker and He created man and woman out of dust. Yes, you heard that right, dust. After they were formed into what we now know as our human bodies, He breathed life into them. Just a simple breath gave us life. If you think an almighty being like that doesn’t have this all figured out already…well, you have a few things to learn.

“29 Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.
30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
31 So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.”

— Matthew 10:29-31 (NASB)

You are known.

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It is very easy to forget this in the bumbling chaos that we call life. When you are young, you have your whole life ahead of you, with countless opportunities. When you become an adult maybe you decide to marry and have children and you suddenly have more to worry about than just yourself. Life becomes a tangled dance of crazy schedules, conflict, and unmet expectations. The things you might have learned as a child, somehow, disappear along the way and you suddenly feel like you are handling all of this alone, and you have forgotten who you are, but God knows you. He has been there from the moment you were conceived. In fact the psalmist states,

“Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.”

— Psalm 139:16 (NASB)

God doesn’t get weary.

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I don’t know about you, but I am tired; tired of reading and hearing about the virus; tired of hearing people argue about politics and social issues; tired of having to be careful everywhere we go; tired of not being able to go see our extended family or get together with friends. I may be tired, but the one who holds my hand and hems me in behind and before, is not.

“ 28 Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
29 He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
30 Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
31 but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.”

— Isaiah 40:28-31 (ESV)

God is always present.

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God is always with us. He doesn’t wander off to get a drink, or take a nap, or go do His laundry. He is a being that is both eternal and omnipresent. He is not confined by space or time, nor influenced by the mistakes of the past or the foreboding of the future. He is constant and His presence is with us both continually and continuously.

“9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.””

— Joshua 1:9 (ESV)

The above verse is one of my favorites. I love that God reminds Joshua ( and us), that it is a command to be strong and courageous. We are also commanded to not be frightened or dismayed. The word dismay means to lose our courage. God then gives us the reason we are not to be fearful or lack courage, but strong and courageous, because He is with us wherever we go.

“17 The Lord your God is in your midst,
a mighty one who will save;
he will rejoice over you with gladness;
he will quiet you by his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing.”

— Zephaniah 3:17 (ESV)

The following quote is from My Utmost for His Highest:

“Having the reality of God’s presence is not dependent on our being in a particular circumstance or place, but is only dependent on our determination to keep the Lord before us continually. Our problems arise when we refuse to place our trust in the reality of His presence.”

— Oswald Chambers - My Utmost for His Highest - July 20

If we do not believe in the reality of His presence, we will never know that His is present.

God doesn’t change.

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I am often in need of hearing this. With life all around us rapidly shifting and changing, it is good to know that He is a constant in our lives. Our God isn’t changed by pandemics, natural disasters, social unrest, war, political elections or upheaval.

“8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”

— Hebrews 13:8 (NASB)

“19 God will hear and answer them—
Even the one who sits enthroned from of old— Selah.
With whom there is no change,
And who do not fear God.”

— Psalm 55:19 (NASB)

“14 “And to Him was given dominion,
Glory and a kingdom,
That all the peoples, nations and men of every language
Might serve Him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion
Which will not pass away;
And His kingdom is one
Which will not be destroyed.”

— Daniel 7:14 (NASB)

I hope that these verses have reminded you of how loved you are and that by following Christ, you are standing on a foundation that is unshakable.

Thanks for taking a few minutes to stop by the blog. Have a good day. Keep laughing and keep looking up.

Nothing Can Separate Us from Him

This week, I hope to finish our study of Romans chapter 8. We have learned a lot from this one chapter of Scripture. We have been reminded that “there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” We are told that “what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering.” We learned that the “Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.” We also are reminded that, “the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us.” We are given testimony of God’s desire to adopt us, Christ’s desire to be a sacrifice for us, and the Spirit’s delight to make us like Him.

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“36 As it is written:
“For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,
39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

— Romans 8:36-39 (NASB)

Verse 36 might be a little confusing, yet as we look at it we must admit that we are indeed facing death each and every day, each and every moment. We do not choose this death, but Christ did and He did it, so that we might be victorious.

“We are conquerors: though killed all the day long, yet conquerors. A strange way of conquering, but it was Christ’s way; thus he triumphed over principalities and powers in his cross. It is a surer and a nobler way of conquest by faith and patience than by fire and sword. The enemies have sometimes confessed themselves baffled and overcome by the invincible courage and constancy of the martyrs, who thus overcame the most victorious princes by not loving their lives to the death,”

— Matthew Henry Bible Commentary on Romans 8:36

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“They triumphed over him
by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony;
they did not love their lives so much
as to shrink from death.”

— Revelation 12:11 (NASB)

Verse 37 says that we are more than conquerors, and it adds that it is through Him who loved us. You see we are not conquerors on our own. Sure, there are times when we pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps, but more often that is how we keep going: keep working, keep loving, keep running, keep caring, keep on keeping on. To truly conquer all the things that the enemy and life throws our way requires someone much more like a super hero than I.

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The beauty of this idea, is that Christ, not only saves and conquers for us, but he loves us. Once again, we are reminded of His love. I think that truly believing God loves us, is very hard for us to do. We often find it much easier to love and forgive others, but when it comes to loving and forgiving ourselves we stumble, fall and sometimes just give up. Aren’t you glad, that our view of ourselves does not limit Christ’s view of us?

Verse 38 and 39 begins with Paul’s confidence in the person of the Christ. If Paul can be confident in Him, should we also share that confidence? Paul says he is “convinced.” From that we can derive that at one point in time, Paul did not share this conviction or confidence. If you are familiar with Saul’s conversion on the road to Damascus, the Lord Himself changed his name to Paul and convinced him of the truth and solidity of the Gospel and the person of Jesus Christ.

What is Paul convinced of?

“That neither - “

death nor life

Image by Benjamin Balazs from Pixabay

angels nor demons

Image by Karina Cubillo from Pixabay

the present nor the future

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nor any powers

height nor depth

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nor anything else in all of creation

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Will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

We must realize that God’s love is only fulfilled through the sacrifice of His perfect Son. It is that love, the love that we obtain when we call Him Lord, that will keep us forever with Him. Nothing, will be able to separate us from Him and from His love. If you want a real romance story, then this is it. He is the great warrior prince who will never leave you, and if you are taken away and enslaved by the enemy, He will not rest until you are back in His loving arms.

I wanted to share this chapter with you, because it is such an encouraging one to me. I hope you have been encouraged by it as well.

He Intercedes for Us

As we slowly come to the end of Romans chapter 8, I am simply amazed at the amount of “good stuff” in this single chapter of the Bible. God’s Word is, indeed, living, active and sharp. I hope that this chapter has had a deep impact on you, as it has on me. Today we need to look at some questions.

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“33 Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies;
34 who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.
35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? ”

— Romans 8:33-35 (NASB)

The questions continue as we look at these verses.

Who will bring a charge against God’s elect?

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We are living in times where the more we talk about not judging and not hating, the more we judge and hate. People are angry, upset, frustrated, sick and tired. It it so easy to want to judge. We fall into this mindset easily as we are normally prone to want to defend ourselves and our actions. However, there is only One who judges with truth and equity.

“And He will judge the world in righteousness; He will execute judgment for the peoples with equity.”

— Psalm 9:8 (NASB)

God is the one who justifies.

The definition we looked at a few weeks ago for justification reads this way, “to judge, regard, or treat as righteous and worthy of salvation.” This definition is specific to situation where salvation is needed, as in a prisoner’s salvation from the death sentence, or our salvation from eternal damnation. Only God is able to justify. He is the perfect one.

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“Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

— Matthew 5:48 (NASB)

Who is the one who condemns?

We often act as though we are judge and jury, that what we say goes and there is no other alternative, but only Jesus who passed through the gates of death, walked into Hell and vaporized the chains of sin, is able to condemn.

Christ Jesus is He who dies, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.

It was because of our sin, that His sacrifice was necessary. It doesn’t matter how we try to justify our actions, our words, our thoughts or our yearnings, we are sinners. Each and every one of us. The only way to get out of this bramble of thorny sin infested vines is to give our lives to Him. The reason He makes the difference, is because He rose again. Not only did He rise again, he returned to His place at the right hand of His Father, and ours, and there He intercedes for us. He speaks to His father about us.

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This image of Father and Son conversing over our behalf is an emotional one for me. My dad and brothers did not always see eye to eye. My dad was also not a very affectionate person towards us kids. As we got older, that changed, but growing up it was my mom that took care of us and met our emotional needs. The thought of Jesus the Son and God the Father having these talks over you and I is an amazing concept.

Who will separate us from the love of Christ?

I find it interesting that Paul asks this question, but then follows it with another question.

Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril or sword?

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This is not an answer to the Who will separate us, but a further questioning of the What will separate us. Will tribulation? No! Distress? No! Persecution? No! Famine? No! Nakedness? No! Peril? No! Sword? No! None of these things will separate us from Christ and no person will separate us from His love.

“The Lord appeared to him from afar, saying, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness.”

— Jeremiah 31:3 (NASB)

I found this song when I was looking for something that would go with the idea that Jesus is interceding for us. It might be a little old fashioned, but the message is clear and the harmony is beautiful. Enjoy!

Next week we will finish up Romans 8. Have a great week everyone.