Tag: Lies

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The walking drones.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Jesus instructed his disciples to have a boat ready so the crowd would not crush him. He had healed many people that day, so all the sick people eagerly pushed forward to touch him. And whenever those possessed by evil spirits caught sight of him, the spirits would throw them to the ground in front of him shrieking, “You are the Son of God!” But Jesus sternly commanded the spirits not to reveal who he was. Mark‬ ‭3‬:‭9‬-‭12‬ ‭NLT‬‬

They walk among us. They are us, or they used to be. Horror stories and stereotypes have completely destroyed the truth or have severely masked it under mental euphemisms. A recent poll asked, “Do you believe demons are real?” Result, 45 percent of Americans believe demons and ghosts really exist. Ghosts? Seriously? Weirdly, they also found that Republicans are statistically more likely to believe in demons, ghosts and aliens than Democrats! 😳

The gospel journalist, Mark, has quite a few demon reality stories. How does one get possessed? Is it by invitation or infestation? Is it by brute force or sips and bits of lies believed over time? There is a whole section of theology (study of God) called demonology (study of demons). I was taught it was much better to study the ways of God, than the enemy. Sounds safer too, right?

The Bible is clearly filled with episodes where Jesus shows up and demons demonstratively show up as well. BTW: My fav demon story is the mad naked man in Mark 5. Mark’s whole purpose and presentation of demons or evil (unclean) spirits, as they are referred to, is to show the reader that Jesus has power and authority over all things! Power over demons is not considered a high level use of invoking Jesus name. It’s down there with healing the sick. Miraculously reproducing food, commanding wind and waves, and bringing the dead back to life – now that’s some power! In the very next section, Jesus appointed the apostles and gave them the authority to cast these dark, spiritual creature out of human beings! Also, Mark, the evangelist and author of this book wasn’t an apostle.

I am fascinated by a few facts:

One, Jesus wasn’t the least bit fearful nor intimidated by these hybrid human/demon encounters. I get the feeling that to Jesus, all the antics of shrieking, flopping about, and behaving like a wild animal came off about as scary as a toddler throwing a tantrum!

Two, Jesus deeply felt compassion, not for the demon, but for the human trapped inside! These humans, image bearers of God, imprisoned in their own skin, commandeered by some low level minion of satan.

Three, these creatures knew who Jesus really is! What a rip off! These puppet masters had the insight and ability to know the true identity of Jesus when thousands could only see him as a lowly carpenter’s son from Nazareth! I don’t think they were trying to “out” Jesus, I think they had to confess who He is – the Son of God!
And, for unknown reasons, Jesus did not cast them out at that time.

Bottom line; the ancient world and what we call “third world,” or countries filled with the poor and disenfranchised know all about demons and spirits. Us, on the other hand, live in a culture of denial. Like we are so enlightened and far too intelligent to believe that evil, darkness and chaos is at war with us! C.S. Lewis, in his book Screwtape Letters, reveals that “non belief” is much preferable in satan’s domain. We’ve got thousands of mental diagnoses (DSM-5) labels to cover up any possibility of demonic possession or oppression. I’m not a psychiatrist, but it seems that most of these disorders are rooted in our own rebellion to do whatever we want, or a deep seated need to find relief from someone else perpetrating on us! The Bible just defines it as sin or the wounds of someone sinning against us.

There may be hundreds of different methods on how a demon might take up residence in a human, but there’s only one way to kick them out – by the power of Christ!

Prayer

Dad,

I have no idea why we would think these things, these creatures don’t exist. And, I have no idea why we would be so blind, so full of ourselves to think that we could somehow “get along” with these spirits and that they might be helpful to get us what we want, what we crave or desire. In our denial of who You are, we seem to believe the strangest, darkest, most dangerous lies, believing it leads to freedom. It only leads to being the walking dead or evil drones for the enemy of our soul. Help us, Oh God! Reveal truth in our panmoralistic culture. Shine light in our dark hearts. We desperately need You!

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The search for answers.

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Bring out the people who have eyes but are blind, who have ears but are deaf. Gather the nations together! Assemble the peoples of the world! Which of their idols has ever foretold such things? Which can predict what will happen tomorrow? Where are the witnesses of such predictions? Who can verify that they spoke the truth? Isaiah‬ ‭43‬:‭8‬-‭9‬ ‭NLT‬‬

People search with eyes that do not see and listen with ears that do not hear. Sounds like a riddle, right? When it comes to looking for answers though, it’s not a joke.

Is Isaiah’s point that we, as human beings, have physical eyes and ears, but what we lack is a solid spiritual perception? God confidently puts out the universal challenge. Get the world together and ask them about their “gods!” Which one predicts the future? Which one sticks around long enough to witness their future, let alone verify that they are true and came to pass? Lies get buried in a myriad of time. The more time, the less likely anyone was around or will be around to prove their “truth.”

Take the fake-god/religion of evolution. The lies just keep adding a few million or billion of years hoping that our limited understanding just believes that anything might be possible given enough time. Time doesn’t verify truth! There were no single cell organisms proclaiming truth or making promises of the future of humankind. Who was there? Were there witnesses to this impossible unscientific “fact?” Even with eyes to see and ears to hear, we are blind and deaf to truth.

What about all the other fake-gods peddling their “truth.” They demand obedience, sacrifices of time, money and belief. What do they promise? What do they really know or give back – NOTHING. Their hucksters promise knowledge, enlightenment and strange glories of an afterlife, but who can verify that it’s true? None of them can fulfill on their fake promises, because it’s all based on lie. Name one prophecy, one prediction that has come true. And, who was there to record such promises? And who will be the one to validate that those promises have come true?

God speaks to Isaiah who captures and records God’s words. The promises from the beginning of the earth and creation of human beings are well known. And the fulfillment of those promises have been verified to be true. The promises God had John write down and recorded in Revelation will be the same – it will all happen just as God said it would.

In all the searching for answers, I pray that people take a hard look at what God has promised. A hard look at what has already come true. And, a really hard look at how it all ends. God has and always will be trustworthy and true.

Prayer

Dad,
It’s all been written and recorded. It’s all there. The answers we seek as humans are all found in You through your Word. We’ve done some amazing mental gymnastics to avoid the truth. We’ve believed in fake gods, fantasy theories of our beginning, all while seeing and hearing what we want just to get answers that will never be true. Answers that will never satisfy, never fulfill, never save us. We are such an interesting bunch! Thank you for your enduring patience and mercy for those who look, but have yet to find You. Let your undeniable love penetrate our selfish theories and moral avoidance of truth. Amen.

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Cults that diminish Jesus’ divinity.

Reading Time: 2 minutes

”Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets. And now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son. God promised everything to the Son as an inheritance, and through the Son he created the universe. The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven.“ Hebrews‬ ‭1‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Hebrews, chapter one, is the gold-standard verse against dozens of cults that proclaim that Jesus is just another… and fill in their own blank. A high-ranking angel, or the brother of Satan. Cults that walk our neighborhoods, knock on doors and stand around our city corners spreading lies, made up from Satan himself. Cults will give some pittance of honor to Christ, but ALWAYS diminish his divinity.

It’s one of the oldest heresies known since the first century. The early church was on constant guard and teaching against this warped theology. They will say that Jesus is the elder brother to Satan and “other churches,” have given the devil a bad rap. They will say that Jesus was also a created being, giving a false and damnable hope that humans can obtain a similar standing as a god. Folks, if Jesus was not God himself, as the Bible declares him to be so, then there is no salvation. There is no redemption or restoration back to God.

For only a sinless human can accomplish the payment necessary for our sins. Jesus became human and lived among us as fully God, fully human. Verses following in Hebrews, tell us it impossible for any angel to fulfill that requirement. Subjugating Jesus to be a created being, an angel, is an insult and impossibility for our salvation! Hebrews writes, “For God never said to any angel what he said to Jesus: “You are my Son. Today I have become your Father.”

It is forbidden to worship angel’s, because they are created servants who are supposed to be serving humans. John fell at an angel’s feet and was told not to worship, saying “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your fellow prophets.” (Rev. 19:10) Worshipping anyone or anything other than God is a direct violation of God’s command to worship him alone (Deut. 5:7). Jesus received worship because He is God! The Magi worshipped Christ at his birth, the disciples worshipped him after the storm, and the women worshipped Christ after his resurrection. Don’t be misled, anyone who denies Christ as God or claims that Jesus is a created being is false and should be called out as a cult.

Prayer

​Dad,
These cults, these lies are not even trying to hide what they believe! Each one will say that we are all “believers,” and a part of Your Church, but it is not true. They have caused so much harm, so much confusion, and I find it difficult that they would be allowed to continue to spread their cheap knock-off beliefs. Help us know you, know the truth, know Jesus! Give us your mercy and grace to believe and share the gospel – the good news of Your salvation! Amen.

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Waiting for final justice.

Reading Time: 2 minutes

“But for those who are righteous, the way is not steep and rough. You are a God who does what is right, and you smooth out the path ahead of them. Lord, we show our trust in you by obeying your laws; our heart’s desire is to glorify your name. In the night I search for you; in the morning I earnestly seek you. For only when you come to judge the earth will people learn what is right.” ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭26‬:‭7‬-‭9‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Isaiah, in telling the true tale of two cities, one of Babylon and the other of Jerusalem, describes the citizens of each. Even though the walk up the hill to Jerusalem is steep – from the valley below to the top of the mount is 2,500ft. Yet, Isaiah writes, “for the righteous, it’s not steep and rough.” Most of the stories of people coming to Jerusalem, or even returning to Jerusalem after years of captivity, write about it being a joyous journey. They come up to the city with excitement.

Isaiah tells us, yet another reason, this is true. Of course, it has always been depicted as the “city of God,” but in this passage he writes about its citizens. The citizens of God’s city, who are righteous, will not even break a sweat because it is God who smooths out their path. Imagine for a moment the true wonder of a city that is known for doing right, filled with justice and held accountable by God himself. Think of the cities we have now! We’ve got cities that are not safe and are filled with poverty, violence, and powerful gangs (in the streets and in the government 😳). Have you noticed our driving habits on the freeways lately? High speed, reckless drivers, racing as though there were no CHP to stop them. Businesses have practically given up trying to stop shoplifting and smash-n-grab mobs. Many have just closed stores rather than deal with the massive financial loss. There is a certain brazen behavior when there are no apparent consequences. The laws are there, but there is no enforcement. Isaiah challenges me when he writes, “we show our trust in you by obeying your laws.” It is both God’s laws and His justice that make this future, great city safe! The final word is hopeful and disturbing at the same time, it is “only when you come to judge the earth will people learn what is right.” That finality of accountability to what is right, will for many, be too late. Our behaviors testify that people do not believe God exists nor will He be perfect in His justice and judgment.

Prayer

Dad,
I thought everyone wanted to live and possibly raise a family in a safe city. Apparently, this is not true for all. The wicked, those who race to do wrong, preying on the weak and innocent; disregarding the law and peace, they just want the freedom to do whatever they want, to whomever they want to do it to! It’s no wonder our cities are full of pain and brokenness. Those who want to just live their lives and enjoy their neighborhoods will have to wait until you bring justice to the whole earth. Even though Isaiah was Your spokesperson, it did not protect him from the violence in his own time and from his own people. May your peace and mercy go before us as we wait for the fulfillment of your promises.

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May your cause be true.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

“After this, I heard what sounded like a vast crowd in heaven shouting, “Praise the Lord! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God. His judgments are true and just. He has punished the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality. He has avenged the murder of his servants.” ‭‭Revelation‬ ‭19‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

The voices of those who have seen, known, maybe experienced the bait, the traps, the allurement of this great prostitute are now shouting the praises of God for His judgements. Who, or what is this great prostitute? Interesting that the word, porné, for prostitute, is also the word used for an idolatrous community. That’s the true nature of porné, a person or thing that pulls us away from God. When we leave the covenant with God to turn to an idol. We find try to find fulfillment in ANOTHER. John says this porné, is the corrupter, the moral deterioration – i.e. decomposition (break-down), due to the corrupting influence of sin.

The cheer rising from the crowd is the great relief, the rejoicing of pure accountability for the one who lies, steals and kills the lives of those he has lured away. The shout is for justice and judgment to be served!

This generation aches for justice. This generation wants judgment so badly that it looks for any opportunity to rise, riot and celebrate what it deems to be worthy of violence to achieve justice. The passion is real, their hearts desire for wrongs to be made right. The difference between the many false causes that manufacture and manipulate the crowd and this gathering in heaven is God Himself.

God is the only one whose judgements are true and just. Crowds have always found their voice in violence throughout history. And crowds are easily swayed by salacious lies that appear to be based in truth, their truth, group-think, mob truth. In my mind, I can still hear the crowd screaming, begging for the death of an innocent man. The hate-filled rage that drove the lie that would lead to the torture, beating and horrendous death on a cross for Jesus. The crowd screamed, “crucify him,” and took a paradoxical pledge to prove their commitment, “may his blood be on us and our children!” Their just cause seemed real, seemed true, but it was all based on subterfuge and lies. It was but a plot from this same great prostitute to poison the truth and an attempt to silence the judge and justice over all humanity.

No wonder the crowd in heaven shouted and cheered, giving God glory. There will be no force great enough to silence these final moments of God’s judgment. It will be final and it will forever end the deceiver’s reign of terror. This will happen. The book of revelation is the book of truth of humanity’s future and the end of the war against our souls.

Prayer

Dad,
The greatest relief in knowing that you are in control and will judge rightly and rightfully are found in this book of endings. I know and I have settled the issues, questions and doubts of my youth. My course is set and I believe! You are always just, right and true. Your Word is truth, it is the light that illuminates my path. Your cause is the redemption of humans. Anything or anyone that detracts from that is of the lie, of the deceiver. I will join with that crowd that cheers for Your judgment. For all things to be laid out bare before you. Nothing hidden, nothing silenced or spun for further discussion. Even when my life, along with every life will be fully exposed and disclosed, we will all rejoice for the war to be over. Praise to You for your salvation, glory and power!

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Living right side up in an upside down world.

Reading Time: 2 minutes

“But the Lord reigns forever, executing judgment from his throne. He will judge the world with justice and rule the nations with fairness. The Lord is a shelter for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. Those who know your name trust in you, for you, O Lord, do not abandon those who search for you.” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭9‬:‭7‬-‭10‬ ‭NLT‬‬

David writes this Psalm after the victory over Goliath. The Psalm was a song, sung to the tune of “death of a son.” WHAT? A Bible commentary mentions this odd detail about this Psalm, “Upon Muthlabben, or, after the manner according to “death to the Son,” by which some song was known, to whose air or melody the musician is directed to perform this Psalm.” Another admits to the mystery of who this person or what this musical notation is, “To the chief musician upon Muth-labben” which has given rise to infinite conjecture. It may be either upon the death (muth ) of the fool (labben ), as an anagram on Nabal or as Gesenius, “to be chanted by boys with virgins voices,” i.e. in the soprano. Who is Muthlabben, and why did David borrow the tune to give praise to God over the triumph over the Philistines? Apparently, we just don’t know!

Yet, the content of the Psalm is clear, God reigns over all things, all nations and all people. I find it comforting and odd. Comforting that God is completely and totally perfect in judgment and justice. Odd, because that is NOT what many people believe about God! And, clearly God is maligned and misunderstood in modern culture today. God, and “religion,” is blamed for the majority of offenses and pain including slavery, oppression, colonialism, and social inequalities. It matters not that these massive atrocities are because of human sin and selfishness. Who cries and protests of the secular, darwinian, godless barbarity?

Folks proudly declare lies about God as truth and post them as yard signs and bumper stickers. My prayer, similar to David’s is, “Oh Lord, do not let the lies of Satan and humankind obscure or obstruct your goodness from those who seek you!” It’s frustrating to see or hear people call out God to be something He is not. They are 100% wrong about Him. This is further proof of the lies that Satan has permeated and perverted our understanding of God. It becomes difficult to believe and live upright in an upside down worldview. This is the contrarian, revolutionary message of Christ indeed. Jesus’ declaration of truth of who God is, clashes with culture (then and now), but it does so because it bristles against our own self determination and will to be our own god. I want everyone to see God as David saw Him – as a shelter, a refuge, a secure place and safe relationship to run to, not run from.

Prayer

Dad,
I have always found these words David wrote, thousands of years ago, to be true! No matter what I’ve done, what I feel or how desperate things look around me – you have always been my safe place. When I am sad, angry, wrong, happy, or fulfilled I can run towards you. My sin, my past, my stinky attitudes are always before me, yet I can still come to you. Thank you for that place of comfort under the shadow of your wings, that cleft in the rock.

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Who moved the truth?

Reading Time: 2 minutes

“Justice is a joy to the godly, but it terrifies evildoers.” ‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭21‬:‭15‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Justice, like truth, seems to be a matter of opinion, a perspective. The wisdom writers didn’t have an “open source,” public opinion, social media slant on justice. Wrong was wrong, right was right. Cheating the poor – wrong. Lying for gain – wrong. Bullying and beating the oppressed – wrong. Murder, theft, rape – wrong, wrong, wrong.

The only reason that justice and truth have been blurred or distorted are because some in our culture refuse to acknowledge the God behind such realities. No God – anything goes. No God – no one is right and no one is wrong. There’s only noise, violence and protests. Loud and proud do not equate to justice or truth.

Justice is joy to the godly because there is a judge, an arbitrator who is perfect – always, right, true and yes, JUST. It is terrifying to evil because it strips away the thin veneer of selfishness and ill-gotten gain. Of course, every human wants what we want and do not want anyone or anything to tell us NO, or cross us with the reality that we are wrong!

There is that one creepy story in 1 Kings 3, where Solomon has to judge a difficult decision. Two women, one living child and one dead child. Two stories, both claiming the living child is theirs. No other witnesses, no DNA test – just two plausible stories of what happened on the night in question. Truth seemed to favor BOTH stories, both women. How can that be? Both women are yelling – the living child is mine! Are both telling the truth? The woman whose child died in the night certainly is in pain and now her truth becomes a boldfaced lie. If the living child is going to be raised by one or the other, should it be the real mother or the liar? You know the story. Solomon asks for a sword and tells both women, he will equally give them half a dead child! Done, settled. Both lose a life, but it’s fair, right? Of course the real mother wants her child to live over the other mother’s perceived truth. The real mother speaks first, “please don’t kill my son, give him to her!” The other mother then speaks, “go ahead cut the child in half, that way we both lose.” Solomon gives the child to the real mother and justice is served. Along with it, the godly, those who do right, want to live right rejoice at the decision. Evil would probably rather have seen the child divided to satisfy the “fairness” of the situation. Life is cheap and worthless to evil! If I want to see who believes in justice all I have to do is see who is loud about ideals not caring about the loss of life. True justice should terrify evildoers, because it exposes their lies.

Prayer

Dad,
It is difficult to discuss right and wrong and justice in a world where people have decided that truth is an opinion, a perspective. I ache for your final judgment only for the sake of seeing absolute justice and for all our lies to be exposed. There will be joy and terror in those days. Help us O’ Lord, pour out your Spirit of Truth and give us the chance to make things right with you before that day comes.

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Following the voice of God

Reading Time: 4 minutes

“But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world. Those people belong to this world, so they speak from the world’s viewpoint, and the world listens to them. But we belong to God, and those who know God listen to us. If they do not belong to God, they do not listen to us. That is how we know if someone has the Spirit of truth or the spirit of deception.” 1 John‬ ‭4‬:‭4‬-‭6‬ ‭NLT‬‬

John uses his position and authority to help us, warn us, about who we should be listening to and who we should not be listening to.

In the earlier verses John writes clearly, “DO NOT listen to those who believe that Jesus wasn’t a real human being.” Jesus was fully God and fully human. The early Church not only argued several positions about Christ’s divinity and his humanity, but the Church did so for about 500 years after his death!

John was laying down a baseline – any denial of both divine or human is not worth listening to – period (‭‭1 John‬ ‭4‬:‭2‬). But wait, there’s more.

John takes a position and helps us build a decision-grid, not only of truth, but of following the voice of God. God gave you and me His own Spirit, living and active in our lives because we have made a declaration of faith in Jesus. This Spirit of truth is enough to help us lean in and listen to God about ANYTHING we struggle with, any question we may have about faith and obedience. John writes, “The Spirit within is GREATER than the spirit of the world.” This is helpful in knowing the truth and yielding to Christ. I’m not sure how effective it is in knowing the truth and telling other nonbelievers of Jesus how they should live their lives.

John doesn’t really use the phrase, “those people,” that’s a clarification found in the NLT version of the Bible. John simply writes, “they” referring to those who do not believe nor yet belong to God. “They,” belong to this world. They speak from the world’s viewpoint and it is the world that listens to them. At this point it sounds like John is describing an “us versus them” situation, like one of us are aliens! Well, that’s not too far off.

There is a spirit of the world (kosmos) and it is different and from the Spirit of Christ. The world order is not only based on the idea of “original sin,” where there was a chasm created between God and humans based on disobedience and the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:15-17). There is also a real enemy, the slanderer (liar, deceiver) who was thrown out of heaven and down to earth’s domain (Isaiah 14:12–14, Ezekiel 28:12–18, Luke 10:18 & Revelation 12:7–12). The Apostle Paul tells us that satan is in fact the god of this world and has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe (2 Corinthians 4:4).

Here’s the summary: There are quite a few voices to listen to and it’s important to know the difference between them and make decisions based on only one of them! There’s a voice inside our head which gets pretty loud and often confusing. There’s the voice of others Godly or worldly. There’s the voice of the slanderer himself, thwarting and twisting everything. And there is the voice of the Holy Spirit, God himself. Wow. Simple, right?

John’s advice, which is Godly wisdom, is to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit, who WILL LEAD US (and is greater – mega good). He also says we can, and should, listen to the voice of the Spirit of God coming from a trusted believer. Paul uses this helpful phrase in Romans 8:16, “The Spirit of God bears witness with our spirit,” Saying, it’s a match and it’s trustworthy. That same principle is applied when we are speaking into one another’s lives in helpful ways with affirmation, encouragement and sometimes even admonishment (gentle correction). We CAN hear from God and from one another. Clearly, John wants us to know that this whole idea of hearing from God and listening to the Holy Spirit is helpful, but it becomes critical when deciding about TRUTH. Is it the Spirit of truth or is it the spirit of deception? Spirit of God or spirit of the world? I also believe that God has given every living soul a conscience of right and wrong, that’s a topic for another time. Know this: you can hear and be led by the voice of God through the Holy Spirit!

Prayer

Dad,
The only way I discovered how to listen and discern your voice was to read Your Word, listen and obey your Holy Spirit! Both took discipline and practice. It was not simple at all. It took time and patience. It was filled with joy and grief. Getting it right, learning to be obedient and trusting you was not easy. Yet through years of practice (and still today) it has helped me to truly discern your Spirit from the spirit of deception. And oftentimes, in hindsight, I discovered I had been thrown off by my own desires, voices of others and flat out lies when trusting the wrong person! It has not been a perfect process, but it has built trust and faith in you. It has also built some confidence and boldness when I had to choose you over all other voices. I am thankful that your Spirit in me is greater than the spirit of this world.

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Newsflash Reminder.

Reading Time: 2 minutes

“Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.” ‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭2‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Once you were dead! I don’t know about you, but I remember my disobedience and MANY sins. I wasn’t born a believer. I did not surrender my life to Jesus as a child. I had a fairly high sin-rate in Junior and Senior High School. I agree with the Apostle Paul, I used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world – obeying the devil and the disordered desires of my heart. In fact, I’m not exactly sure I had a decent conscience. I had a twisted view of guilt. Not only did I rarely feel guilty for my decisions and behaviors, I was really good at masking those feelings behind massive blame of others and the crummy chaotic, dysfunctional life I was handed from my parents.

It was those decisions to ignore my conscience where I can clearly see myself being subject to God’s anger – just like everyone else. Being a sinner didn’t make me special or unique at all. In fact it was slowly stripping away the real me that I was trying to push away.

When I look around at the multiple sin-fests on constant display in entertainment, socials and curated news cycles, I must remember Paul’s words. There is a real devil and he’s commanding the powers of unseen world! My heart breaks as I see my friends, family and neighbors swallow the reverse sour-patch candy. First the lies are sweet, by a well crafted design to follow our passionate desires and inclinations, but turn bitter as they produce rotten results.

I pray that God reveals Himself and rescues them, just as He did for me. These verses lead Paul, via the Holy Spirit, to release one of the most powerful truths found in the New Testament. “For it is by grace you are saved, through faith. It is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.” My path, my decisions, my sin was disrupted and redeemed by that powerful, undeserved grace of God. I will never forget who I was. Yet, I will remember what God can do that for others even today.

Prayer

Dad,
Do it again in those I love! Arrest them by your grace. Hunt them down by your love and mercy, relentlessly pursuing them as you did for me. Lift the blinders from their eyes. Penetrate their hearts with light that shatters the lies that lead them to darkness. Expose the wicked plans against them to reveal your love and true freedom. I ask in Jesus name, Amen.

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Proverbs promotes purity

Reading Time: 2 minutes

“For the Lord sees clearly what a man does, examining every path he takes. An evil man is held captive by his own sins; they are ropes that catch and hold him. He will die for lack of self-control; he will be lost because of his great foolishness.”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭5‬:‭21‬-‭23‬ ‭NLT‬‬

The entire chapter is a contrast/comparison to giving into immoral decisions or staying true to one person and remaining pure. The cast of characters is the young man, referred to as son. The immoral woman, seen as a thirst trap, luring and devouring innocence. And, the wife of one’s youth, depicted as a spring, a fountain filled with blessing and satisfaction.

The wisdom writers get gritty in detail when they ask, “Why spill the water of your springs in the streets, having sex with just anyone?” Directly referring to not just love but a man’s semen seed for procreation. This is clearly a chapter on purposeful restraint, shutting down the entire fallacy that sex should be abundantly and freely engaged with anyone you like.

Again, since Proverbs is mostly a young man’s wisdom curriculum, I’ll let you figure out how to reverse the roles and applications for young women seeking moral men instead of being seduced by fantasy and false promises of “players.”

Proverbs chapter five gives a summary that captures a strong word of advice for the wise and the fool. God sees all. God knows the motive of EVERY human heart. In the end, the hell or heaven that one finds is determination of decisions. Hell is the cage constructed by our own desires. The ropes of slavery and captivity are woven by our sins. And death awaits because we will lack the will to be made pure and whole. The warning to the young and old – be very careful about giving into the lust and cravings of our body, mind and soul.

The promiscuous lies that promise peace and fulfillment are not just dangerous, they are deadly. Words like chastity and purity are for temporal and eternal safety as well as real satisfaction.

Prayer

Dad,
How absolutely ludicrous that the cultural lies pitched today are all word-swapped, redefining truth. Phrases and words like sexual freedom, exploration, experimentation all masked by this lie. It’s a very clever trap leading to the opposite of everything we really need. It quickly becomes exploitation leaving perpetrators and victims with hollowed out souls, finding no peace. We are left with a vicious cycle of unquenchable desires that become our master of a slaved life. Oh, how we need your Spirit to pour over us. Breathe life in us once again for we have descended back into the dust of our dirty lives.