"THINK" SERIES: PART 4 - "BRING IT IN"

"Casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5)

I can tell you what's not in captivity, it is this one - we could be in the middle of the most uplifting conversation, bible passage, morning devotions, and/or prayer, and the most vile thought will appear out of nowhere. This kind of spiritual ambush is nothing new. Great men of the Faith, like the late giant of a preacher Dr. Charles Stanley and Swindoll, have both mentioned being invaded by the troll from the dark side, while we are in the most secret place with our Heavenly Father.

(There is encouraging news. What I have discovered, in my almost four-decade-long walk with King Jesus is this - the more I press into my daily exercise of prayer, praying the Scriptures and walking with Him, the less those evil thoughts are allowed to come across.  I think this happens to everyone who is maturing in the Faith, as we saturate every fiber of our being with His Word.)

So, how about this one? You may be reading an online newspaper and an image for a new diet smoothie comes across the computer screen. You are concentrating on the devastation caused by California fires, but your eyes are pulled astray and you recall some preacher in the past saying "The first look is free, but the second one is a sin". Forget the joke about some guys taking a longer first look so they don't think they are committing a sin. That too is a sin.  How about this other one - "you can't stop a bird from flying overhead and depositing something on your head, but you sure can stop him from building a nest there".

It is the same with our thoughts. Every living human being has a battle with temptation or some form of invitation to the dark side, sometimes being caught completely unaware/blindsided/bushwhacked or what have you. The believer has the upper hand in this battle, primarily because we are indwelled by the Spirit of God Who, in my case, quickens my heart rate to let me know - "get out of here now"! 

NOTE: Since these are short articles and not epistles, we may split Part 4  into two or three pieces to rightfully examine "taking every thought captive" in light of Sola Scriptura (Scripture alone).

The original word, in Biblical Greek, for "bringing" is aichmalótizó which has the inference of subduing a subject, thought, or even a person (for instance the enemy on the battlefield when in combat), and then bringing it under our control. Folks, we have the power to do this thing....and do it well. If you or I receive an invitation to go out with the office gang after work, to an adult beverage establishment to celebrate somebody's birthday, no matter how much you like or respect the person - we DO have the power, authority, and absolute RIGHT to decline, turn down, nix, say no and bug out.

While not as beautiful and divinely constructed as the Paleo-Hebrew of the Old Testament, the inspired New Testament has the same power in words, that enables our neurons to fire up Critical Thinking. At this point, the "flow-chart" in our minds should kick in right away, as we remember this part of the Lord's Prayer "do not allow us to fall into temptation".

The Book of James, written by the half-brother of Jesus says in James 1:15 "Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death". Let your Critical Thinking go immediately into a "what if" overdrive as in "what if you swear off the wagon and have a drink and then one too many... Then what if that loosens things up and everyone is whooping and hollering. Then God knows who could forget their morality and/or vows etc. etc....then before you know it - someone has crossed that line which is not meant to be crossed.

Before it even gets to the point where you let your guard down and potentially sin, - bring or take that flowchart in, recall every Scripture you have ever memorized, and then, resist the devil and he will flee. It is the most beautiful, liberating thing to say no to sin! You don't even get to the James 1:15 point and God is honored.

It is THAT simple.

Father, In Jesus' Strong Name, I pray that You will continue to guide, guard and protect our hearts, minds and souls, so that every living thought, action, choice and potential deed will NEVER ever bring anything but Glory to Your Name and honor and shalom to our loved ones and those whom we love. We ask these things in Your Precious and Holy Son's Name amen.

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WORD OF LIFE, PART 5: FORTIFIED BY THE WORD

Maybe you have been in an extremely tempting situation, where one more step on your part will lead your life, your family, your career and more over cliff. Similarly, you may have been faced with what looked like a “can’t miss” opportunity. In fact, it looked so good, or he or she looked so good, that you incorrectly think “God wants me to have a good time” or “I can really score big here and not have to work so hard”! Each time, we ignore the very Spirit  of God, Who is sometimes shoved aside as we go our own merry way, thinking we have free will and reign to do as we please.

Each time, we are dead wrong and our conscience knows it. In the first example of temptation, if we turn around and flee at the crucial “moment of truth”, then our integrity remains intact….not to mention our testimony and peace of mind. Each time, for the Christian, it is the word of God which rescues us. We are told to “flee immorality”. James – who grew up in the same household as his half- brother – the Lord Jesus Christ – warns us to “resist the devil and he will flee from us”.  “One little word shall fell him (the devil) and that word is – JESUS!
In Psalm 119:33-40, we read:
Psalm 119:33-40
He (pronouced "Hay")
33  Teach me, O Lord, the way of Your statutes,
And I shall observe it to the end.
34  Give me understanding, that I may observe Your law
And keep it with all my heart.
35  Make me walk in the path of Your commandments,
For I delight in it.
36  Incline my heart to Your testimonies
And not to dishonest gain.
37  Turn away my eyes from looking at vanity,
And revive me in Your ways.
38  Establish Your word to Your servant,
As that which produces reverence for You.
39  Turn away my reproach which I dread,
For Your ordinances are good.
40  Behold, I long for Your precepts;
Revive me through Your righteousness.

Something actually happens to us when we are put under the enemy's weapons of sin - we sometimes either panic spiritually or feel abandoned. If you are honest with yourself, you will know this is the truth. So what can the righteous do in this case? We actually need to double down and hunker down in our Mighty Fortress, Who is our God! We can protect our flanks like the ancient Roman soldiers, not just from sexual sin by literally running from it, but thinking globally. This is not global thinking in the sense of a secular global agenda, but a going outside of the immediate oppression from the enemy of sexual sin or lust and bringing to mind the other sins of greed, covetousness and other such arrows from the pit which have the potential to be fired at us. We gather all that can cause us to fall, in full knowledge of how destructive they are. Then we seek God in the most strategic way possible (verses 33-34).

This is what verse 35 tells us! The Word here calls for God to bring His truths and commands to full consciousness so we can bring all this spiritual attack under that umbrella and defeat it mightily, But note that this defeat is not only for the sake of defeat. God created a purpose for defeating sin, as Defeat becomes Delight!

Delight leads to our spiritual heart leaning to the right side of the ledger and we see bright clear daylight (verse 36). The clarity of the cleansing power of His Word averts our eyes from the morass of the mundane to the miracles of the Mighty one. He has turned our eyes from seeing death and darkness to a revival of the Spirit in anticipation of an exploding, over abundant joy which the heart cannot contain (verse 37)! 

The exuberance which cometh from being fortified by His Word, accompanied by the oil of joy, reminds us (if we are completely in sync with God) that He is not just worthy to be praised but deserving of our respect and reverence. He is God Eternal, wise and powerful (verse 38) and everything in us should require wonder and worship of He Who sits on the Throne.

In troubled times of spiritual oppression, we are able to defeat the enemy by His Spirit and the Word of God. This is our defense. We shall not be moved or hurt if we are armored up and protected on all sides by the Word and Wonder and Will of God - if we obey Him and do not fall short into reproach (verse 39). 

The letter under which this portion of Psalm 119 falls under is "HE" ...pronounced "Hay or Hey". In Biblical Hebrew, this signifies "breath" - i.e. the very Breath of God. It is used several times in the Creation account from Genesis chapters 1 and 2. It is also used for the words "light" as in Genesis 1:3-4 ("let there be light"). It is no accident that the Lord is giving us the weaponized response to spiritual attack by naming this portion of Psalm 119 by the word "Light" as in the original "He". Yahweh is the Light (the two "H's" in Yahweh are the same letter - "He"). In Him there is found NO darkness. He has breathed His Words and commands into the human authors of the Bible so that we can understand how He uses humans to do His Will. We can choose to remain under His protection, and allow His Spirit to guide us away from darkness back to the lighted path and we can long for this (verse 40)....if we are wise. Amen.

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PRAYERS OF THE BIBLE SERIES - THE BOOK OF JAMES, #2

THE METHODOLOGY OF ANTI-TEMPTATION PRAYER

12 Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. 13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. 14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. (James 1:12-15)

The second important prayer of the Book of James follows immediately after the directive to pray for Wisdom. If any more evidence is needed of James’ concern for the sanctification of the believer, look no further than his Prayer Directives. First, the Lord’s half-brother exhorts us to “ask our generous God” if we are in need of Wisdom.  This need will cover 100% of all Christians. However, immediately following that, James moves from the foundation of Wisdom to the Perseverance of the Saints.

His teaching on patiently enduring “testing and temptation”  illumines us on the sources of both while driving us to our knees. Indirectly, James shows us God’s plan for us to be able to successfully maneuver through these treacherous times in the Christian life. We can grasp this truth easily.  It is based on the knowledge that everything James, the head of the Christian church in ground zero of Judeo-Christianity – Jerusalem- taught, pointed us to a closer relationship with God. He accomplished that in what the English translators put as five chapters of the Book of James.

There is no doubt that testing is from the Lord and temptation from the devil. Please do not confuse both by thinking they have the same sources, when Biblical Truth says otherwise. If it were not for the testing and discipline of the Lord, none of His Elect – true Christians – would grow in maturity and sanctification to be more like Christ.  How we respond to this testing leads to either more and intense radical testing of our faith and commitment to Christ, or a higher level of knowledge of the Holy. Either scenario depends, in full measure, on our positional relationship to prayer.

Testing leads to perseverance which leads to spiritual maturity and the reward of the Christian life well lived. Temptation had better lead us to prayer or we will fall, as too many Godly people have, in human history. Temptation should lead us to pray Scripture immediately while RUNNING AWAY from it.

Jesus Himself gave the order in Matthew 26:41 ~~“Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak!"

Sometimes we cannot see the tempter or the temptress and are blindsided. As far as humanly possible, flee and depart from it, her or him – IMMEDIATELY. Reject it as from the devil and pray the situation at once into the Hands of the Lord, knowing that we are mortal flesh under demonic attack. The Lord will honor that and deliver from all evil.

Knowing Scripture is a powerful weapon against temptation as Jesus Himself demonstrated three times when the devil tempted the hungry and thirsty Messiah in the desert. Three statements dismissed the evil one as Jesus responded “IT IS WRITTEN” to every single temptation. The great Martin Luther wrote in “A Mighty Fortress is Our God” that “one little word shall fell him (the devil”). That Word is the Name of JESUS. Sometimes our prayers are simply the confident recitation of God’s Word back at the tempting situation or person and the command to “be gone, in the Name of Jesus”. When possible, speak it out loud! That will not only preach, but will pray!

Psalm 119:11 says “Thy Word have I hidden in my heart that I may not sin against thee”.  A follower of Christ who is read up, prayed up and stayed up on Jehovah is absolutely less likely to fall if the Word of God richly dwells and abides in such a one! 2 Peter 2:9 (the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment)is therefore what we stand on as our promise and the REASON we have to pray or say the Word for victory over Temptation. It says:”

This is unorthodox in method, but it is a level of prayer which the man or woman of God has to mature into, if we wish to live in the victory which is promised the believer. What an exciting thing James has led us to, as we blow open the Word, from his inspired words, to expand our universe of how indeed, we grow deeper in relationship with our Lord!

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ARE YOU FRIEND OF GOD?

Who am I that you are mindful of me?
Who am I that you hear me when I call?
Who am I that the King would bleed and die for?
Who am I ...just who am I and...who do I think I am anyway?

One thing I know is the Biblically-based self-esteem is a lot different from that of the world.  Another thing I know, all those "Who am I...” phrases above would make some good Christian songs! The Holy Scriptures tell us that Abraham, the father of the Hebrews and Christianity - was a friend of God. (James 2:23 ...and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "AND ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS," and he was called the friend of God.")

The great prophet Daniel was well thought of by the God of Heaven and Jesus Christ Who sent him as a messenger. He was just doing what he was called to when God sent an angel to tell the Prophet how important he was to the Kingdom of Heaven....we pick up the account here:

(Daniel10:10-12) Then behold, a hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees. He said to me, "O Daniel, man of high esteem, understand the words that I am about to tell you and stand upright, for I have now been sent to you." And when he had spoken this word to me, I stood up trembling. Then he said to me, "Do not be afraid, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart on understanding this and on humbling yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to your words..."

These two powerful men of God have similar traits - the Lord Himself thought the world of them...yet in different ways. We see above how much Daniel was respected in Heaven, even more so than Abraham, for God did not say those same things to anyone else in history! Daniel was a humble, lowly, sold out, committed servant of the Great God of Heaven.

Jesus did appear to Abraham right before He destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah and the Messiah said in Matthew 8:11 that ""I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven". The pre-Resurrection "heaven" or paradise was known as the "Bosom of Abraham".

So where do we, in the 21st century fall into, in these two categories? Well, there is absolutely no reason why we cannot have the traits of both these Bible heroes!

The Book of James tells us what being a friend of God IS NOT! James is the half-brother of the Lord Jesus and was the head of the Church in Jerusalem before the high priests murdered him. He said in James 4:1-4 “What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this that your passions are at war within you?  You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask.  You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

So, you want to be a friend of God like Abraham? Well, Mary’s son (and the son of Joseph), James gave you the steps here in James 4:7-10 “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.  Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you”.

Here are these same steps in bullet points:

1. Submit yourself to God. That is – surrender your entire life to Christ and His leading, through the Holy Ghost. Don’t follow any man, philosophy, thing or even yourself. But follow God.

2. Resist the devil. That is – turn against everything James said above in James 4:1-4…adultery, gossip, backstabbing, ungodly passions, longing for things that you can’t have, can’t afford.

When the devil tempts you to look at that bad stuff in movies or the internet, say NO.

When he tempts you to go out and get drunk with the boys and girls, say NO.

When he tempts you to date that married man or woman, say NO….say NO NO NO and tell him to get lost. Rebuke him and tell him to back to the hell he came from and is going permanently.

Then call on Jesus. The devil can’t stand any of this standing on the Rock of Christ!

3. Draw near to God. This is Daniel –like.  Abraham did what he was told…sometimes to a fault as we found out when he agreed to sleep with Hagar and gave us the current Middle East problem. Daniel prayed and prayed and prayed and obeyed. Among all the Bible heroes, in the face of persecution, Daniel is the humblest and most loved by people like us. So be like Daniel – and pray!

4. Do NOT be double-minded. You and I cannot indulge in watching things like the Satanic performances of Katy Perry or Beyonce at the 2014 Grammy awards and the abomination which took place during that program, give our affirmation to it by even viewing it and then switch back to a mind full of the Spirit of Christ.  This is double-mindedness. When this happens, immediately seek purification, cleansing and repent of that, while staying away from any future things like that. There are so many other worldly things we can be double-minded about, but if we follow the Word of God about the Seven Things He hates as well as ANYTHING which the Holy Spirit checks us on, we can avoid a whole lot of regret.

These are the four basic things to being a complete friend of God – like Abraham and having real significance in Life, like Daniel had.  There is absolutely no reason why you and I cannot be a friend of God and a person whom God favors. This is something which nothing and nobody in this corrupt world can take away from us. This defines both our humanity and our spiritual condition, because such a person walks with the Fragrance of Christ that few possess.

So, now…who am I that You – oh My God in Heaven, would even consider?
Answer – GRACE….GREAT GRACE!

GUARD YOUR HEART....

THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT

(Exodus 20:14)

Just a few weeks ago, the most popular evangelical preacher in Indiana was discovered to have committed adultery on his wife, the daughter of another famous charismatic preacher in that state. Strangely enough, the 54 year old married father and husband had just recently completed a sermon series on youth and pre-marital sex, when a deacon accidentally found his cell phone. The preacher had left his smartphone on the pulpit and as the deacon was about to return the phone, a photo popped up in a text from a 17 year old college kid which showed this famous preacher and the co-ed in an extremely uncompromising position.

Within days, this man was fired by the church and is still under investigation by the local authorities and the FBI to see if he ever crossed state lines with an underage girl! How can something like this happen to a man of God? How can he allow himself to fall into not just an adulterous relationship of any kind, but more specifically with potentially a minor? How? How? How? 

The answer is SIN! All kinds of sin are always crouching at the door and many of us choose to answer the knock and invite them in! Sin is exceedingly sinful and too many children of God choose to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short season, after which comes the destructive consequences which last a lifetime or 1000's of years! Too bad King David did not heed the warning of King Jesus, Whose Spirit lived in David at the time he stayed back on purpose to spy on Bathsheba, when he should have been at the head of his army. Here is what Jesus said in Matthew 5: 28 "But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart".

King David knew exactly what he was doing. He broke that first rule where his eyes were fixed on a neighbor, knowing fully well who her husband was. Uriah the Hittite was one of David's "Mighty Men" (read 1 Chronicles 11) - Close friends who stood with him for years when Saul was trying to kill him. These mighty men gave their lives to serve this king and Uriah was repaid for his loyalty and friendship by having David kill him and steal his only wife (when David already had other beautiful wives)! The consequences of David's sin are still with us, just as those of, not just this, yet another fallen pastor or anyone who wrecks an entire family by breaking the Seventh Commandment. David's sin led to the completely breakup of mighty Israelite empire which will never be restored until the Second Coming of Jesus Christ and the 1000 year reign from Jerusalem. There will be no chance of Sin in this Kingdom, because Jesus Himself will be sitting on the Throne in Jerusalem!

Our great God put that Commandment in there for a reason - He wanted a pure, sinless and holy people who would show their loyalty to Him by how we show our loyalty to our spouses and families. It was immediately violated, both before and after the giving of the Law on Mt Sinai to Moses and continues to this day. 

Temptation to sin is as natural as breathing air. It is all around us and we have all been tempted in this sin more than once. The next thing is this - if you are a Bible believing Christian who is up front about who you are and WHOSE you are, the devil has the biggest bullseye on your forehead as well as your back. He, the devil, wants to destroy  the effectiveness of your testimony for Christ. This way, if we give in to his temptation, the world he now controls for a short time more, will look at the rest of us with open contempt and disgust! How many more times should we be have to be called "hypocrites" and worse or have some unbelieving pagan say "I knew he/she was a fake all along"....and more and more, this is happening in youth groups, between choir members or best friends who are married to other people!

If anyone tells you that he or she has never been tempted with this sin, and offered up forbidden fruit for the taking, they have just broken another commandment - LYING! Even worse, they have now opened up themselves to be tempted even more by the devil! Because of this specific pride and stupidity, they are now in MORE danger than the man or woman who humbly seeks God's protection from this evil! 

Christians who flirt with disaster by continually talking about sex or watching provocative TV shows, movies etc are sowing the seeds of their own destruction by opening up with minds to thoughts of the "grass being greener" elsewhere where the first opportunity to grab a hold of that forbidden fruit may not be successfully fought off! The devil can't make us sin. All he can do is serve up the dish. All we SHOULD do is refuse his hand and walk away from it as fast as we can.

God uses several pro-active words to exhort us to go as far away from temptation when this type of thing happens. He uses words like "resist the devil and he will flee from you"..."flee immorality"..."flee the desires of youthful lusts"...in fact the word "Flee" is used quite a bit! In the Greek language it is "pheugo" which specifically means seek the absolute safety of escaping and running AWAY from danger! There is nothing cowardly of doing what a Christian is supposed to do when confronted by a floozy with bedroom eyes, who may dress or smell better than the wife you left at home with the screaming kids and the snotty noses! Run like hell from those types of women (or men)! Literally! Take to heart what the Admiral (NBA star David Robinson) once said "If it comes down to my wife getting hurt and some other women (made a pass at him), his wife is not going to be the one hurt".

This is another way of repeating what Jesus said in Malachi 2:15 "Did he not make them one, with a portion of the Spirit in their union? And what was the one God seeking? Godly offspring. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and let none of you be faithless to the wife of your youth." If we live by these words and stay close to the Word of God....if we love our families as much as we say we love God....and if we CONSTANTLY remember to guard our hearts, there is less chance of actually breaking this most important of Commandments, no matter how intense the spiritual warfare against us and our souls!
Amen

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