It’s pretty gloomy out there isn’t it? I’m not talking about the weather; I’m talking about the state of the union, our nation.
To hear some speak the end is near and God is no longer on His throne. He has forgotten America and His Church here. While God has removed His hand of protection from America, at least in some part, He can still be trusted to save us.
I want to return to our study on demonic influence. By now most of us would agree that demonic influence is real. We could probably cite cases of such occurrences we’ve personally witnessed. But what about the doubters? What about those in the Barna study we looked at recently that showed nearly 6 out of 10 self-described Christians stated they either strongly agreed or agreed somewhat that Satan “is not a living being but is a symbol of evil”?
I will not attempt to answer for them, but let me say Scripture is clear about one thing. You cannot straddle the fence on this issue. You cannot have one foot in hell and try to put the other in heaven. In other words, you cannot embrace this world and desire heaven at the same time. To embrace this world is idolatry, even if it’s a little bit. I remember before and even after I got saved that I tried, and sometimes I catch myself trying, to mix this evil world with my heavenly walk. The Bible warns us to flee from idolatry:
Last night on my way to church for Men’s Ministry, I turned on K-LOVE and the DJ was talking about tomorrow being Valentine’s Day and that it can be a tough day for the lonely. That first struck me as odd because even when I was single or had just come off of a broken relationship, I could not remember ever facing Valentine’s Day in such a way. But the DJ had experienced that loneliness and gave an encouraging word that no one has to be alone if they are in Christ. And that surely rang true in my heart.
I have faced lonely times but having given my life to Christ I have known His love in those sad times. Being a child of God means never being alone. As a Christian, no matter where I am at, I can find a brother or sister in Christ and be with family. The Apostle John recorded such sweet words to remind us of this:
When the kingdoms of Israel and Judah were divided, Rehoboam—the son of Solomon—had intended to attack Israel with the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, but God intervened. God told the man of God Shemaiah to tell Rehoboam not rise up against their brethren. Rehoboam obeyed and fortified the cities of Judah and Benjamin, stockpiling arms and supplies and having a ready reserve of able warriors for the defense of their kingdom. King Rehoboam’s willingness to obey God, at least in this instance, became known throughout the land.
And then an amazing thing happened. We’ll pick the story up in 2 Chronicles 11:
How many of you believe that the Founding Fathers had in mind Satanism and Wicca when the First Amendment was drafted?
Are you a self-described Christian? In other words, do you consider yourself a Christian? Do you believe in an actual being known as Satan, or is he just a symbol of evil? A 2008 Barna Group survey revealed that 59% of self-described Christians either strongly agree or agree somewhat that Satan “is not a living being but is a symbol of evil.” Twenty-six percent disagreed strongly and 9% disagreed somewhat with Satan being merely a symbol of evil. Eight percent weren’t sure what they believed (those would be the politically-moderate no doubt!).
Born-again Christians, those who say they’ve made a personal commitment to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, are twice as likely to disagree strongly with the notion that Satan is a mere symbol of evil. That means barely half of born again Christians believe that Satan is an actual being as described in the bible.
Today is February 1st, which means it is the first day of February. That means today will be the first day of the succeeding 28 days of February (2012 Is a leap year). So that means we are starting February 2012 today.
You’re probably thinking I must be starving for a topic on which to write. Actually, God gave me this topic as I opened my eyes and laid in bed after my alarm awoke me. God told me He wanted me to write about beginnings. Why? Because everything starts somewhere. There is always a beginning.
The Lord Jesus Christ teaches us how powerful love can be. We have all heard of the cases where a child lifts up the back of an automobile to rescue his father who has knocked the car of its jack. This kind of power is supernatural; it is not something of which man is normally capable. Another amazing display of love is the power it can bring out in us when it comes to laying down our lives for those we love. That love drove my son to face a fierce enemy, both physical and spiritual. Jesus said:
The Lord gave me a lot to meditate on after yesterday’s devotional. I ended it by writing “I must never forget to live through my Savior.” How is that possible? Well, let’s look closer at what is my daughter Tiffany and many others’ life verse:
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13)
Early voting started this past Saturday in Florida. And yesterday we began being inundated with ads by a SuperPAC that supports Mitt Romney. To say these ads were full of half-truths would be generous.
That’s the one thing that bothers you the most about politics, isn’t it dear Christian? You cannot stand all the lies and mudslinging. As my sweet bride always says, “I want to hear what each candidate’s plan is to help turn our country around.”
One year from today our nation will inaugurate either the 45th President of the United States or Barack Obama for a second term. As a nation we face the most important presidential election of my 55 years (when I vote) on earth. Some would say in history. I would say it is a close second to the election of 1860, because our nation’s survival hung in the balance then.
So what should we look for in our next president? Too many of us, me included for the longest time, looked for perfection whether we want to admit it or not. The truth of the matter is we all have fatal flaws and none of us are truly fit for office, for too many reasons to list right now. I know it gets very confusing in this time of year, and that is one of the reasons we began Aletheia Group L.L.C.; to help discover the truth no matter where it leads.
I’ve lost count the number of times I’ve felt like a failure in my Christian walk. Why? Because of sin, either it be a besetting sin that I cannot overcome or a sin I knowingly commit against the warning of the Holy Spirit, a sin usually wrought out of pride. You would think by now I would realize I cannot overcome sin in my own power. It is a lesson I understand yet never seem to learn.
The good news is I do not have to walk in my own power. There is a spiritual power, an abundant power working in us:
Grace is defined by the Random House Dictionary a number of ways, with the third definition closest to the Biblical one: favor or goodwill. W.E. Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words defines the Greek karis as “that which bestows or occasions pleasure, delight, or causes favorable regard.”
Theologians describe it as unmerited favor.
If there were ever a subject taught more falsely by peddlers of Christ than the title of today’s devotional, then I’ve yet to see it. The “name it and claim it” prosperity preachers found on the Trinity Broadcasting Network and similar stations LUUVVV to preach on this subject.
Well the aletheia truth is that Jesus does want us to live an abundant life, but let’s be sure we understand the abundance. This abundance comes from the Good Shepherd Jesus Christ. Read His words carefully:
Do you realize how blessed you are? Oh of course I do Bro Dave.
No, let me try it again; do you realize how blessed you are? Yes Bro Dave of course I do!
There is an old urban legend (meaning I don’t know if it is true or not) about Lee Trevino being approached by a woman who told the famed golfer that her little baby needed an operation or the baby would die. Lee gave the woman a few thousand dollars for the operation and later it was discovered the woman was a scam artist. When “The Merry Mex” Trevino was told of the scam, he reportedly replied, “Oh so you mean the baby isn’t going to die, that’s wonderful!”
That is what you call being generous to a fault!
How do I go about changing the way I think about my material goods, and that includes our income, homes, automobiles, boats, toys, etc.? Well Paul told the Philippians earlier in this chapter to be anxious for nothing. We must have a thankful heart for all we have and not dwell on the things we don’t.
We should also look at others who have less than us with some sympathy, even if they’ve placed themselves in their current predicament. Now I am not advocating that we enable bad behavior, but that person is in his or her bad place because of a lack of Biblical wisdom.
What causes stinking thinking, and just as important, how do we clear it up?
First, we use worldly principles to guide our thoughts and actions. Even as Christians we can get to the point that the world’s point of view governs our actions. One example is how Christians elected to office end up rolling over to a godless edict sent down from the courts. To bow at the steps of an unlawful judicial ruling not only is godless, it is also unconstitutional.
You’ve probably heard this old adage before: “When the times get tough, the tough go shopping.”
Okay, so it may not be an old adage, but too many people live by it. And why do some of us go shopping when times get tough? To make ourselves feel better, to have a sense that we are still in control. The problem is we are not in control of our lives. The outcome is in God’s hands.
My sister Minji (given name Mary) wrote yesterday in response to our devotional on the last conceit to go and said she has been struggling to understand her “artist self”, lately realizing that we never really understand ourselves. As we said, only God understands us. Minji is realizing a great freedom in losing herself instead of the exhausting fool’s errand of trying to find oneself.
