Satan is a total pervert. By definition, a pervert is one that corrupts something from its intended purpose. Clean jokes get perverted all the time. Seemingly innocuous statements become sexual innuendo because of the perversion of someone's mind. Satan is one that tries to pervert that which is pure and cause it to be profane. When Job was "on trial", Satan tried to pervert God's justice and cause God to punish Job unjustly but God did not take the bait.
Satan's perversions can be seen everywhere. Pornography is a perversion of sexual purity. God intended sex to be enjoyed between a husband and a wife. It is meant to be mutually beneficial and enjoyed by both parties. The porn industry, on the other hand, objectifies one party in favor of the other, they reduce sex to a quick fix, they promote promiscuity, fornication and all manners of sexual immorality. Pornography has been the downfall of many married men that have lusted after the images displayed on the computer or TV screen or depicted in the pages of dirty magazines. Coming from someone that has dealt with a porn addiction, those images are hard to get rid of. The whole idea of using a woman for your own selfish desires and to treat them as a piece of meat is a perversion of the intimate, selfless relationship that God intended for man and wife.
Satan has even perverted the weather. Perfection reigned until sin entered the world. Now, the chaos that we see in the environment mirrors the chaos that is in the world as a result of sin. The weather and the natural events that occur are even in rebellion. Tornadoes spring up and kill hundreds of people with no warning. Tsunamis wash away entire cities. Hurricanes come ashore and blow down houses, flood streets and destroy electrical infrastructure. Satan takes something that God intended for good and causes it to rebel, thus corrupting it and causing it to act contrary to its purpose.
Satan tried to pervert the plan of God by tempting Jesus to worship him. He waited until an opportune moment and then came when Jesus was at his weakest point. That's when he tried to tempt Jesus and that's when we see how to deal with Satan's lies and his tricks...use the Word of God against his lies. That's why it is important to have God's word written on our hearts!
Satan tried to pervert the priesthood (See Ezekiel 34) by causing the shepherds to feed on the flock versus feeding the flock. Ezekiel indicates that the priests made themselves fat off of the flock rather than being servants of the flock. The priesthood in and of itself was not corrupt, but the people that were a part of the priesthood were corrupted. God understood this and because of this, in eternity He made up His mind to replace the high priest with the true High Priest (Hebrews 4) and the priests with a new, holy priesthood (1 Peter 2) that are made holy through the finished work at Calvary of the High Priest, Jesus Christ.
Our bodies are also in rebellion because of the perversion of Satan. Cells multiply too rapidly and become cancer. Children are born with genetic defects, deformities and health problems that and leave us wondering why a child would have to enter the world with a challenge from the outset of life. Sickness is everywhere. The devil is a master at taking what God created and trying to use it to kill us. Take, for instance, when Jesus and the disciples were in the boat on the Sea of Galilee (See Luke 8) and that storm came out of nowhere. Well, the tempest that showed up can bee seen as an ambush of sorts because Jesus and the disciples would later encounter a man possessed with 2000 demons. He was eventually set free from demonic oppression and went on to become an evangelist in the Decapolis. That storm, from the water that God created, was intended to stop this man's deliverance- but notice, Jesus spoke to the winds and the waves...and they OBEYED!
This we know, regardless of the ferocity or the perverseness of Satan- when Jesus speaks, even the most perverse event is abated and must obey the words of our Lord. When the words "The Lord Rebuke you Satan (Zechariah 3)" are spoken, Satan has no choice but to tuck his tail between his legs and go. Whether it is the weather, cancer or some other illness, whatever it is has to give way to the command of Christ! That is good news for those of us suffering from illness, those of us affected by different issues, those of us that have had recent problems with Hurricane Sandy etc. Jesus is still the Master even though Satan seems to be in control. The devil is nothing more than a glorified landlord and one day, Jesus is going to kick him out of the house and restore everything back to where God the Father intended it to be from the beginning. Jesus has already taken away the keys of death and Hades when He got up from the grave and when He returns, everything will be made perfect. There will be no more tears and there will be no more perversion of what God created in holiness and in perfection! Thank you Jesus for sitting on the throne and thank you that the pervert will soon be put in his place.
Monday, November 26, 2012
The Open Road
I am writing this to share a testimony. On Sunday morning I was travelling back from Mobile to Montgomery. I left Mobile at 5:30am to ensure that I got back in time to teach Sunday School. I hadn't made plans to be absent, I did not notify the superintendent that I wouldn't be there and I even cut my time with my family short so that I could prepare my lesson.
I have been teaching about Paul's journey to Rome (Read Acts 22 through 28 to get the big picture) and how he encountered so much opposition in his quest to get there. He was beaten, he was tried by the Jerusalem council, tried by Felix the Governor, Agrippa the King, shipwrecked, snakebitten and finally he got a chance to get to Rome- although the bible never records that he spoke to Caesar, he did get a chance to preach freely although he was under house arrest. There is are several underlying currents to this story: 1. God's plan is totally unstoppable 2. God's grace is totally unlimited and 3. Although we are all endowed with a mission from God, we do not know what they journey will be like to carry that mission out.
So, with that lesson in mind, I will finish my story about the trip. My daughter was sound asleep in the back seat, my gospel music was sounding sweet and all of a sudden, about 80 miles into the trip...traffic came to a complete stop! I looked at my watch and it was about 7am. Traffic was so bad that people were getting out of their cars and jogging over to the rest area to relieve themselves and walking back to find their cars in the exact same place. One guy's truck's battery went dead and he got a jump off right there in front of me! I called my wife and I am on the verge of spazzing out because Sunday School started at 9am and I wanted to go home, change clothes and then go back to church. The time ticked and we moved up enough for me to see some red flashing lights on the horizon. Obviously there had been an accident and I am thinking now, "I am not going to make it to Sunday School." I send the superintendent a text message and asked her to pray that the lanes on the road would open up.
At about 8:00 am, traffic finally started moving. I passed the rest area and saw cars lined up trying to get back onto the interstate. I was roughly 86 miles from my exit with one hour to get there and I was not about to be the "courteous" driver and let 10 cars come over in front of me. The miraculous thing was this, as I drove up, those emergency vehicles that were on the horizon were absolutely gone! It was as if they vanished into thin air. Because I commute about 100 miles round trip every day to work and I have seen a ton of accidents on the road, I know that it takes WAY longer than one hour to clean up an accident. Traffic was backed up for at least two miles and all of a sudden, the lights were no longer flashing and we were driving along...and as I picked up speed, I noticed that I was not slowing down or having to use my brakes because everything was moving very smoothly. Where did the emergency vehicles go? Where did the accident go? What happened?
I am a firm believer that IF God has a message for even one person, that nothing is going to stop that. The bible says in Isaiah 43:13 that when God acts, no one or no thing can reverse it. I am in no way trying to say that I am so special or that someone else couldn't have taught the lesson but I simply want to give thanks to God for getting me to my destination safely and for opening up a situation that was stagnant and threatening to keep me stranded on the highway. God's grace is sufficient, even in spite of our doubts. I was doubting that I would make it on time. Although I was about 10 minutes late, I did get there, I did teach the lesson and I do believe that God was glorified.
Here is the take home message, do not doubt God when things look bleak or things look as if they won't work out. The bible says that God works all things together for good for those that love the Lord and that are called according to His purpose. I learned a valuable lesson sitting there on the interstate, never doubt, never fear because God is awesome and whatever God has prepared for us, He is faithful and will deliver it. I know that it is human to doubt but faith is divine and faith comes from God! Whenever we walk in faith, we please God. Some of you are facing some situations were you are stranded on the interstate with an assignment in front of you...let me encourage you to remember that once God acts, no one can reverse it. Once God says go, once He flips the on switch, there is no one that turn it off. Continue in grace and peace.
I have been teaching about Paul's journey to Rome (Read Acts 22 through 28 to get the big picture) and how he encountered so much opposition in his quest to get there. He was beaten, he was tried by the Jerusalem council, tried by Felix the Governor, Agrippa the King, shipwrecked, snakebitten and finally he got a chance to get to Rome- although the bible never records that he spoke to Caesar, he did get a chance to preach freely although he was under house arrest. There is are several underlying currents to this story: 1. God's plan is totally unstoppable 2. God's grace is totally unlimited and 3. Although we are all endowed with a mission from God, we do not know what they journey will be like to carry that mission out.
So, with that lesson in mind, I will finish my story about the trip. My daughter was sound asleep in the back seat, my gospel music was sounding sweet and all of a sudden, about 80 miles into the trip...traffic came to a complete stop! I looked at my watch and it was about 7am. Traffic was so bad that people were getting out of their cars and jogging over to the rest area to relieve themselves and walking back to find their cars in the exact same place. One guy's truck's battery went dead and he got a jump off right there in front of me! I called my wife and I am on the verge of spazzing out because Sunday School started at 9am and I wanted to go home, change clothes and then go back to church. The time ticked and we moved up enough for me to see some red flashing lights on the horizon. Obviously there had been an accident and I am thinking now, "I am not going to make it to Sunday School." I send the superintendent a text message and asked her to pray that the lanes on the road would open up.
At about 8:00 am, traffic finally started moving. I passed the rest area and saw cars lined up trying to get back onto the interstate. I was roughly 86 miles from my exit with one hour to get there and I was not about to be the "courteous" driver and let 10 cars come over in front of me. The miraculous thing was this, as I drove up, those emergency vehicles that were on the horizon were absolutely gone! It was as if they vanished into thin air. Because I commute about 100 miles round trip every day to work and I have seen a ton of accidents on the road, I know that it takes WAY longer than one hour to clean up an accident. Traffic was backed up for at least two miles and all of a sudden, the lights were no longer flashing and we were driving along...and as I picked up speed, I noticed that I was not slowing down or having to use my brakes because everything was moving very smoothly. Where did the emergency vehicles go? Where did the accident go? What happened?
I am a firm believer that IF God has a message for even one person, that nothing is going to stop that. The bible says in Isaiah 43:13 that when God acts, no one or no thing can reverse it. I am in no way trying to say that I am so special or that someone else couldn't have taught the lesson but I simply want to give thanks to God for getting me to my destination safely and for opening up a situation that was stagnant and threatening to keep me stranded on the highway. God's grace is sufficient, even in spite of our doubts. I was doubting that I would make it on time. Although I was about 10 minutes late, I did get there, I did teach the lesson and I do believe that God was glorified.
Here is the take home message, do not doubt God when things look bleak or things look as if they won't work out. The bible says that God works all things together for good for those that love the Lord and that are called according to His purpose. I learned a valuable lesson sitting there on the interstate, never doubt, never fear because God is awesome and whatever God has prepared for us, He is faithful and will deliver it. I know that it is human to doubt but faith is divine and faith comes from God! Whenever we walk in faith, we please God. Some of you are facing some situations were you are stranded on the interstate with an assignment in front of you...let me encourage you to remember that once God acts, no one can reverse it. Once God says go, once He flips the on switch, there is no one that turn it off. Continue in grace and peace.
In Total Shock
So I am on my evening commute home and listening to Al Sharpton on MSNBC. I'm at a red light and a commercial comes on that I quickly write off as a spoof. Then it came on again and I quickly realized that it was a serious advertisement for a serious company. The commercial featured an African-American man asking Santa Claus for a special gift...a mistress! He says, "it's been a while Santa, I need a mistress for Christmas." I was floored.
Ashley Madison is a company that promises that any married person can get hooked up with someone and have an affair. They promise discretion and they promise that you can find someone with no problem. I don't even know where to begin. I was so shocked, I drove all the way home with my mouth open in disbelief. Their slogan is "Life is short...have an affair." Wow. I mean there are no other words but...wow.
Let's see, biblically, marriage is the first institution, coming before the church was even established. Marriage is the analogy that God uses to describe His relationship to His people. Marriage is the analogy that Christ uses to illustrate His relationship to the church. I mean, marriage is SACRED. It's actually the one thing left in the world that actually means something to people. Yet, this company has chosen to dismiss all of these things and set up a business that is in the business of breaking up marriages. They tout the fact that you can find someone to meet your needs, someone that will listen to you, someone that matches up with you. My advice to you if you are married and your needs are not being met...it's time for you and your spouse to have a meeting and lay EVERYTHING on the table. Before going out seeking fulfillment outside of the marriage bed, find out what the problem is and why the fire has gone out. Bringing that other man or woman into your situation is Satan's trap for you and won't benefit anyone. It will only cause sorrow for the wife, husband and children if there are any. Something else to consider, you might be the reason that the fire has gone out...it might not have anything to do with your spouse. The best way to keep a marriage healthy is to constantly be working on yourself and making sure that you are constantly walking in love. We have to always be evaluating ourselves and making adjustments so that we are the best possible person that we can be.
The bible says this in Hebrews 13:4, "Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous..." Marriage is to be held in HONOR among ALL- married and unmarried. The marriage bed is to be undefiled. There is no room for a third person to fit into any marriage. The final statement is enough to cause this website and any like it to shut down- God's judgment will be upon the sexually immoral and the adulterous. That's very plain and simple. Jesus even went so far as to say that even lusting after a person, without even committing the act, is just as bad as committing the act of adultery.
Quite simply, this website is leading people into sinful relationships and causing married folks to have sinful desires. That temptation is serious and this is just beyond bad. How can anyone be so wicked as to lure a married person to sin. But this shouldn't be a shock because the prince of the air, Satan, is in firm control of the media, the airwaves, the music industry, etc.
Ok, so if you're reading this and you've considered visiting Ashley Madison or you've already been there, my prayer is this: That God would deliver you from the lustful desires of your heart. Their slogan says a lot about what they think of their patrons. "Life is short...have an affair." The more appropriate thing to say is this, life is short...have you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? Life is short...are you encouraging one another as we see the day approaching (Hebrews 10:25)? Life is short...Jesus is coming back like a thief in the night (1 Thess 5:2)...will you be ready? Life is short...are you living a life that glorifies God (Ephesians 4:1, Colossians 1:10)? They are absolutely right, life is short but that's no reason to have an affair. It is, however, a very good reason to have a RELATIONSHIP with Jesus.
Ashley Madison is a company that promises that any married person can get hooked up with someone and have an affair. They promise discretion and they promise that you can find someone with no problem. I don't even know where to begin. I was so shocked, I drove all the way home with my mouth open in disbelief. Their slogan is "Life is short...have an affair." Wow. I mean there are no other words but...wow.
Let's see, biblically, marriage is the first institution, coming before the church was even established. Marriage is the analogy that God uses to describe His relationship to His people. Marriage is the analogy that Christ uses to illustrate His relationship to the church. I mean, marriage is SACRED. It's actually the one thing left in the world that actually means something to people. Yet, this company has chosen to dismiss all of these things and set up a business that is in the business of breaking up marriages. They tout the fact that you can find someone to meet your needs, someone that will listen to you, someone that matches up with you. My advice to you if you are married and your needs are not being met...it's time for you and your spouse to have a meeting and lay EVERYTHING on the table. Before going out seeking fulfillment outside of the marriage bed, find out what the problem is and why the fire has gone out. Bringing that other man or woman into your situation is Satan's trap for you and won't benefit anyone. It will only cause sorrow for the wife, husband and children if there are any. Something else to consider, you might be the reason that the fire has gone out...it might not have anything to do with your spouse. The best way to keep a marriage healthy is to constantly be working on yourself and making sure that you are constantly walking in love. We have to always be evaluating ourselves and making adjustments so that we are the best possible person that we can be.
The bible says this in Hebrews 13:4, "Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous..." Marriage is to be held in HONOR among ALL- married and unmarried. The marriage bed is to be undefiled. There is no room for a third person to fit into any marriage. The final statement is enough to cause this website and any like it to shut down- God's judgment will be upon the sexually immoral and the adulterous. That's very plain and simple. Jesus even went so far as to say that even lusting after a person, without even committing the act, is just as bad as committing the act of adultery.
Quite simply, this website is leading people into sinful relationships and causing married folks to have sinful desires. That temptation is serious and this is just beyond bad. How can anyone be so wicked as to lure a married person to sin. But this shouldn't be a shock because the prince of the air, Satan, is in firm control of the media, the airwaves, the music industry, etc.
Ok, so if you're reading this and you've considered visiting Ashley Madison or you've already been there, my prayer is this: That God would deliver you from the lustful desires of your heart. Their slogan says a lot about what they think of their patrons. "Life is short...have an affair." The more appropriate thing to say is this, life is short...have you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? Life is short...are you encouraging one another as we see the day approaching (Hebrews 10:25)? Life is short...Jesus is coming back like a thief in the night (1 Thess 5:2)...will you be ready? Life is short...are you living a life that glorifies God (Ephesians 4:1, Colossians 1:10)? They are absolutely right, life is short but that's no reason to have an affair. It is, however, a very good reason to have a RELATIONSHIP with Jesus.
Saturday, November 17, 2012
Momentary Atheism
Proverbs 3:5-6 says this: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not unto your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path." These are wise words from King Solomon and words that every Christian must live by. To trust in the Lord with all of our hearts is a daunting task. We get weary, we get worn down and we carry burdens that are, at times, unbearable. However difficult things get, we are still supposed to trust God above all else. Many times, we let the flesh or the physical man win out and we end up as momentary atheists. This term came from a good friend of mine, Brother Ken Moore. We were sitting in bible study and talking about worry and he said, "worry is momentary atheism" and I totally agree. It is a fitting euphemism for those of us that place circumstances above our God! We forget that God works all things to the good, we forget that God is the Sovereign Ruler of the universe, we forget that God can simply think about us and things change! Most of all, we forget that Jesus is at the right hand of the Father and that there is nothing that comes to us that hasn't come through Them!
Jesus had sage advice for the worrier- he says the phrase "do not worry" or "don't be worried" five times in 10 verses through Matthew 6:25-34. Worrying won't add an hour to our lives, but it can actually take years off because of the stress that it causes. Worrying won't change our circumstances, but it can actually make them worse because of the stress that it causes. Worrying won't put food on the table, but it can cause you to lose your appetite because of the stress that it causes. Worrying about tomorrow won't change what tomorrow holds because tomorrow has enough trouble of its own. These are words from the Lord of glory and we would be wise to take heed to them.
Lest I sound like a hypocrite, I have been worried about things. I have stressed over situations and I have had moments of "momentary atheism". My worry made my problems bigger than my God and that was an even bigger problem than the problem that I had! Try saying that three times fast. My worry caused me to spaz out on my family, to snap at my kids and my wife and it caused me immense physical stress. Then I had a moment alone with God where He spoke peace to my soul. Once I remembered WHO GOD WAS and that I actually had a relationship with Him through Jesus, my worries dissipated and my faith went to work! God spoke plainly when He said for me to live in faith and not in fear. That's why Paul's words mean so much when he says that we walk by faith and not by sight. Walking by sight creates emergencies for us and rather than understanding that God has already fixed them, we bug out and start trying to solve the problem ourselves.
Having an unyielding trust in an all powerful God is essential to the Christian walk. When those moments of doubt and worry come up, remind yourself that God's name is Jireh, the great provider. Remember that His name is Nissi, the banner in battle. His name is Shalom, the peace that surpasses all understanding. Be blessed and please keep me in prayer. I will do the same for you!
Jesus had sage advice for the worrier- he says the phrase "do not worry" or "don't be worried" five times in 10 verses through Matthew 6:25-34. Worrying won't add an hour to our lives, but it can actually take years off because of the stress that it causes. Worrying won't change our circumstances, but it can actually make them worse because of the stress that it causes. Worrying won't put food on the table, but it can cause you to lose your appetite because of the stress that it causes. Worrying about tomorrow won't change what tomorrow holds because tomorrow has enough trouble of its own. These are words from the Lord of glory and we would be wise to take heed to them.
Lest I sound like a hypocrite, I have been worried about things. I have stressed over situations and I have had moments of "momentary atheism". My worry made my problems bigger than my God and that was an even bigger problem than the problem that I had! Try saying that three times fast. My worry caused me to spaz out on my family, to snap at my kids and my wife and it caused me immense physical stress. Then I had a moment alone with God where He spoke peace to my soul. Once I remembered WHO GOD WAS and that I actually had a relationship with Him through Jesus, my worries dissipated and my faith went to work! God spoke plainly when He said for me to live in faith and not in fear. That's why Paul's words mean so much when he says that we walk by faith and not by sight. Walking by sight creates emergencies for us and rather than understanding that God has already fixed them, we bug out and start trying to solve the problem ourselves.
Having an unyielding trust in an all powerful God is essential to the Christian walk. When those moments of doubt and worry come up, remind yourself that God's name is Jireh, the great provider. Remember that His name is Nissi, the banner in battle. His name is Shalom, the peace that surpasses all understanding. Be blessed and please keep me in prayer. I will do the same for you!
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