"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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A HYMN OF PRAISE TO OUR GOD

Our King, Creator and Lord of the Universe, all Creation worships You. All who are called by Your Name, most gracious Yahweh, stand in awe of You and one day, every knee shall bow, even those lost to perdition and cry out - Jesus Christ is Lord.

Father, as we come to the final week of what has to be the swiftest month ever, we stand grateful that You delivered us from the dominion of darkness, into the Kingdom of Your marvelous light.

While we were lost in our transgressions and stuck in the filthy miry clay, of rebellion, stubbornness and sin, like even some who call themselves Christians today, You turned to us and heard our cries. 
While we waited patiently, You brought us up from the desolate pit.

While we were sinking in the quicksand of a vortex of sin, You set our feet upon a rock

You put a new song in our mouths. A hymn of praise to our God.

You put a new birth of freedom in our hearts. We rejoice, oh we rejoice.

You put a blanket of shalom over our troubled souls. You are the balm of Gilead

You put our bitterness aside and cause us to run to You. Then Jesus came.

Jesus came, oh Lord, and set us free

Jesus came, oh joy and happy are we

Jesus came, when the dark night threatened hopeless and fear

Jesus came, and fill our hearts with His loving care.

Lord, we are not proud. We are delight in You. We will sing mightily of Your wondrous works. We will tell the world, from the rooftops, even the mountaintops, of the great things You have done for us. 

Your plans will not be thwarted. No man can defeat You. No devil or his demons can place obstacles or bad people in Your Way. 

You are for Your Elect, dear Holy One of Israel. Your Eyes runneth to and fro across the whole earth in search of those few who remain loyal to You. Lord, here we are - send us. We have overcome by the Blood of the Lamb and by the word of our testimonials to a lost and dying world of what a good, good Father You are. There is none like You. There is none like You.

So as we come to the end of one and the start of another, help us to remember that Time is in Your Hands. Our Time is in Your Hands.  Eternity draweth nigh. Help us to not play games, to not sin or become narcissists and to not bring shame upon Your Holy Name.

Give us wisdom and direction, day by day, as the times are evil and we never know what one day would bring or the next. May we always trust You completely in everything we do, say, or think and may it all be for the Glory of God, Who sits on the Throne with the Mighty Savior, the Lord Jesus at His Side, in His Name I pray, amen.

PRAYERS OF REPENTANCE LEADS TO REVIVAL

TEXT: Ezra 9:6-15 6 saying: “O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift my face to you, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens. 7 From the days of our fathers to this day we have been in great guilt. And for our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests have been given into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plundering, and to utter shame, as it is today.  8 But now for a brief moment favor has been shown by the Lord our God, to leave us a remnant and to give us a secure hold[a] within his holy place, that our God may brighten our eyes and grant us a little reviving in our slavery. 9 For we are slaves. Yet our God has not forsaken us in our slavery, but has extended to us his steadfast love before the kings of Persia, to grant us some reviving to set up the house of our God, to repair its ruins, and to give us protection[b] in Judea and Jerusalem. 10 “And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken your commandments, 11 which you commanded by your servants the prophets, saying, ‘The land that you are entering, to take possession of it, is a land impure with the impurity of the peoples of the lands, with their abominations that have filled it from end to end with their uncleanness. 12 Therefore do not give your daughters to their sons, neither take their daughters for your sons, and never seek their peace or prosperity, that you may be strong and eat the good of the land and leave it for an inheritance to your children forever.’ 13 And after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great guilt, seeing that you, our God, have punished us less than our iniquities deserved and have given us such a remnant as this, 14 shall we break your commandments again and intermarry with the peoples who practice these abominations? Would you not be angry with us until you consumed us, so that there should be no remnant, nor any to escape? 15 O Lord, the God of Israel, you are just, for we are left a remnant that has escaped, as it is today. Behold, we are before you in our guilt, for none can stand before you because of this. English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

PSALM 103 VERSE 3 - "TO HEAL AND FORGIVE"

"Who pardons all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases" (Psalm 103:3)
Iniquities are basically the worst type of offense against the Lord our God. It goes like this: Sin -> Transgressions -> Iniquities. Let us examine the man whom God used to write this Psalm himself – King David. When he first saw Uriah the Hittite’s wife, it was not while he was absent-mindedly walking on the roof.  Uriah was one of the elite 37, called “David’s Mighty Men”.  His beautiful wife, Bathsheba had to have been known by everyone in the palace and societal circles. 

Later on, when the Bible says that “in the Spring when Kings went off to war”…David stayed behind, sin had already formed in his mind. He had allowed the lustful thoughts about Bathsheba to form a nest in his hair and instead of taking it captive, rebuking the temptation and turning from it, he doubled down on his “missing the mark” (the definition of sin).

Then David took his sin a little further into an action plan. He did the recon on the rooftop, saw what he saw and sent for her. He was the king and she obviously has some culpability in this. This is transgression. He had not done anything yet, and could still back out of complete rebellion against God. If anyone of us ever gets that far into sin, to the second tier of rebellion – turning around and fleeing immorality is still the best option. However, David went over the cliff. On purpose, he willingly disregarded God, Whose Holy Spirit lived in David so he could write Scripture and then not just committed adultery but murder to cover up what he did. This last stage of sin is iniquity. 

It is not just King David who has gone as far in open rebellion against God to commit iniquity. All manner of Christians has done either one of these three levels of sin or all three at once. God has, is now and will continue to forgive even the worst violation of His Law and Commandments.  Everyone from pastor to well-known TV evangelists to politicians and regular folk has done it. Most of us never go as far as King David or some three-times divorced fancy pants preacher…. or you name them. Most people just do the everyday sins of losing tempers, swearing or not following through on promises to the Lord.  Sins can also include things like not making proper uses of time, resources and spiritual gifts.  We are all guilty in some way of one or the other of these. The amazing thing is God still loves us, even if the conduct of the sinner stinks to the high heavens! 

This is the kind of sin which God forgives – the foulest and worse. Even the little sins we commit, after being saved, are not kosher with the Lord. He forgives….but there is a caveat here.  We must first stop sinning. Then we must turn away from all the stumbling blocks which have temporarily broken our wonderful fellowship with God. Then, we must repent. Seriously repent and ask forgiveness. Now, we cannot keep committing the same sin and doing what Paul said “should we keep sinning that Grace may abound? May it never be” (Romans 6:1-2)

Here are the kinds of prayers of repentance, as a guide. We must add our own specific circumstance, or where we are in at the time, for which we need forgiveness. From Psalm 51:
9   Hide Your face from my sins
And blot out all my iniquities.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me away from Your presence
And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation
And sustain me with a willing spirit.
13 Then I will teach transgressors Your ways,

And sinners will be converted to You.

God not only forgives the vilest of sins, but He heals diseases. Even diseases caused by sin – from alcoholism to sexual – can be healed by the Almighty.  Not all disease is caused by sin or circumstances of birth. Remember the incident in the Bible here: "And His (Jesus) disciples asked Him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?" John 9:2.

The human body is exceedingly frail in the grand scheme of things, due to the Fall of Man in Genesis chapter 3, but it is also created with certain immune mechanisms to fight off all kinds of plagues and diseases.  Christians were the first to bring hygiene, healthful living and hospitals to the world…and especially the uncivilized world, hundreds of years ago. Conditions for life – air/water and other essential entities- have improved from the Dark  Ages where plaques and other widespread diseases killed millions and millions. But in spite of the best medical technology and advances in medicine in the 21st century, a vast amount of sicknesses still cannot be defeated.

There is still no cure for the common cold or cancer. But there is God. He Who made us and knows every hair on our heads, and every cell He created. He knows how everything works better than 100 teams of doctors at John Hopkins.  He can heal. He heals when He wishes and He does from time to time when we pray and ask.  

Sometimes, He does not heal because there is a lesson to be learned from the ensuing trial and test of our perseverance. Sometimes He does not heal because it is time for the person to leave this earth. But He heals and He touches so many in a miraculous way.  I have seen people healed from lumps in the chest. I have a friend who was healed from Stage 3 colon cancer because the man of God praying about it. I was there when that happened to listen to him pray…and on and on. Our God reigns and our God heals! Bless His Holy Name! 
Amen.

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WORD OF LIFE, PART 2 - FIGHTING FIRE WITH THE SWORD

A 22 PART 21st CENTURY LOOK @ #PSALM 119

Anyone who tells you they have never been tempted, in the worse way, to sin and knowingly cross the line, is either lying or six feet under in the graveyard. In times where up is down, wrong is right and there seems to be no red line this corrupt group alive today will apparently not disrespect.  We see it everywhere. We see young beautiful female teachers, who spend years studying, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in college fees, throw it all away for illicit lust. We see godless filthy from Hollywood that is so horrible. What they do not comprehend is fifty shades of hell….is still hell. We see institutions of education and even churches misuse their God-given privileges – and they are given by God – to misinform and corrupt God’s children under their care. They do so, under the guise of being "relevant" to the culture and do "outreach"....whatever that means.

While there is an eternal price to pay for these iniquities by the godless, there is a paradigm which stands like the Statue of Liberty before the Christian woman and man. This is one which if applied as directed, not just heals and protects us, but results in delight! Yes! Delight in your life, my life and delight in the Giver of Life – Yahweh.

This is – W.A. – the Word Applied. To comprehend how deadly powerful W.A. is, just ask the devil. He tempted Jesus three times in thedesert, when Jesus was at His physical weakest and hungry and thirsty as a man.He tempted the God Who became man with money, power, riches and more power. Thedevil threw the kitchen sink and all the plumbing at the Lord in the desert.Each time, Jesus knocked the devil flat with the Word of God. Each time, evil and temptation were defeated by the Pure and Powerful Word of God.

The child of God already HAS the ability and is thoroughly capable of staying the course on the straight and narrow. Not just that, we can do so fearlessly and without guilt and with joy….and all this because we obeyed Malachi 2:15 (Guard our hearts).

Check this – the devil not just knows our weaknesses and deficiencies, he knows how to exploit them. If we are exposing ourselves to attack by sneaking a little sin here, and another little one there, pretty soon, he is going to set us up – big league. Even the mightiest preacher has to guard against pride, even if he does not do these things.  God tells us to hide His Word in our hearts. That means we have to not just read and comprehend but remember it!  The section of Psalm 119 which we now progress to, speaks directly to this issue, as we see here in verses 9-16:
PSALM 119:
Beth
9 How can a young man keep his way pure?
By keeping it according to Your word.
10 With all my heart I have sought You;
Do not let me wander from Your commandments.
11 Your word I have treasured in my heart,
That I may not sin against You.
12 Blessed are You, O Lord;
Teach me Your statutes.

13 With my lips I have told of
All the ordinances of Your mouth.
14 I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies,
As much as in all riches.
15 I will meditate on Your precepts
And regard Your ways.
16 I shall delight in Your statutes;
I shall not forget Your word.

ACTIONS:
-    Note from verse 9, that righteous living can only come from living according to the BIBLE - the very living, breathing Word of God.
-    Seeking God is NOT a one time act (verse 10). The inspired writer "sought"...and kept on seeking. This is true meaning of the original language.
-    Seeking in the past as prologue, is NOT the only action the man or woman of God needs to have DONE in the past, but need to keep doing. In verse 11, we see we have had to TREASURED in the past and continue to treasure the Bible and its specific commands from Heaven, with every fiber of our being.
-    To have sought and continue to see...to have treasured and continue to regard as priceless and needfully so....bring immediate results...and will continue! In verse 14, we note that seeking and treasuring lead to REJOICING! Not just that, but it is an active joy that happened when we did the seeking and treasuring and then God guarantees that we will have joy. Not just that, but the word riches in this verse tells us the joy therein, is: oh so dear and divine!
-    Finally, because of the three actions we have just, we are in desperate need of making two significant promises and life-transforming Covenants with God. One, we promise to not just study in depth the Commands of the Commander in Chief of Heaven's Armies, but to "regard" or pay special personal attention to them (verse 15). Secondly, because we have studied and held God is such esteem, we cannot afford the sheer happiness, peace, joy and feeling of well-being we have! It is something we will never lose sight of, forget or walk away from (verse 16)!

This is how we fight the fire of temptation and evil in this world. We do so with the Bible. We do so with confidence. We do so fully backed by the verifiable true and powerful promise of God, the great Giver of Life and all things. Amen. 

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NEW LIFE - A MONTH OF VERSES: JANUARY 9, 2017

VERSE: For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus (Philippians 1:6)

FORMULA: If God is the originator of something, He seems it through. Q.E.D. (Quod Erat Demonstrandum - That which has already been proven)

ACTION: The verse explains itself. Our part in the equation is simple - yet sober and difficult without commitment and perseverance. We have to cooperate with Him. Without our acknowledgment of His Lordship over our lives, sanctification to the high standards He set, will be either slow or almost non-existent, since we do grow even if by a centimeter. Trust and obey, because there is no other way,

PRAYER: Oh most kind and gracious God in Heaven, creator of all heaven and earth and as Charles Wesley says He Who loves our souls, we repent this day for having fallen short in our reaction to that to which You have called us in Your and Grace to us. First of all, Lord, thank You for calling me to Your side. Thank You for sending the Ancient of Days to sacrifice His Life for the forgiveness of my vile sins. Thank You for saving me and sticking with me through this process of drawing me even closer. Thank You that as time is fleeting, You still call me, and all Who will listen to come to the Knowledge of You so much so that it will mold and transform our lives into what You would have us be and what you created us to be, Father, we cry out for Your longsuffering and mercy as we grow more and more into the Image of Your Dear Son, so we will not be ashamed on that Day, to the Praise and Glory of His Name, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, amen and amen.

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NEW LIFE - A MONTH OF VERSES: JANUARY 7, 2017

VERSE: "He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, But he who walks wisely will be delivered" (Proverbs 28:26)

EQUATION: Navel-gazing + Puffed-up self esteem divides from Authentic Relationship

ACTION: Christians in the west seem to have a problem separating the temporal from the eternal, thereby making horrible, even life-altering choices. We were not bought at the highest possible price- the Life of the Son of God on a Cross- to give the devil a foothold in our lives. So let's cut this out. Let's stop acting like fools and let's cease giving the world ammunition with which to beat God over the head with, by calling us hypocrites.

PRAYER: Our Great God and Father in Heaven, we repent for every wrong choice in life, which each and every one of us has made, sometimes many times over. Help us not to take Your matchless Grace for granted so we can keep on sinning, but remind us all that You gave us the Spirit of Power and Self- discipline what we may be delivered from all evil and temptation, when put upon by the evil one. Help us to choose wisely and to defend our bodies, minds and souls from all sides while cutting off the angle of sin that we may be shining lights for Christ, at all times and for all the days of our lives, in Jesus' Strong and Holy Name, we ask these things, amen.

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THE PRAYER OF MOSES - PART 6

7 For we have been consumed by Your anger, and by Your wrath we are terrified.
8 You have set our iniquities before You, our secret sins in the light of Your countenance.
9 For all our days have passed away in Your wrath; we finish our years like a sigh (Psalm 90:7-9)
Fortunately, Moses was not speaking of himself personally here, even though his sin in striking the Rock for water, when God told him specifically to SPEAK to the Rock here in Numbers 20. Moses was punished for this and never got to lead the children of Israel into the Promised Land - Joshua did. 

Moses saw firsthand the terrible anger of the Lord. From the Ten Plagues of Egypt, which were directly right at each of the ten pagan demonic gods of the Egyptians to fiery serpents which killed thousands of rebellious Israelites in the desert, and everything in between – Moses knew it was a fearful thing to fall into the Hands of the Living God. Nothing could shake the image in his head of God’s discipline of the grumbling ungrateful elders of Israel who were led out of Egyptian bondage and wanted to go back under it. Moses knew how swift and fierce the Judgment of God against evil doers could be.

Secondly, as the author of the Book  of Genesis, Moses was given the historical record of the early days of mankind directly from God. He knew exactly what he wrote in Genesis 6 which led up to Great Flood of Genesis chapters 6-9. All of corrupt mankind except Noah and his family and two of each kinds of animal, were wiped off the face of the earth, by a God Who said He regretted making man. That scroll he wrote must have stuck in his mind until the day he died at age 120.

So we know the Mighty Power of God to destroy evil. He will do so again. John 3:17 said that ( in the First Coming) Jesus did not come to condemn the world but to save it. This is true.  However later on, Romans 1:18-32 describes the filthy condition of mankind today, from the highest to the lowest level across the entire world. The coming Judgment of Jesus in the Book of Revelation, and as described in detail in Isaiah and Ezekiel 38 and onwards, is not a picnic. The opportunity for humankind to be saved will also be over. The armies of the United Nations and the antichrist will be no match on that day for the Commander in Chief of Heaven’s armies as He reclaims His creation and sets up His 1000 year Throne in Jerusalem. 

Psalm 90:8 mentions our iniquities – the worse of the three levels of sin.  Sin, Transgression and Iniquity are ascending in their offense against Holy God. Romans 1:18-32 contain the indictment against all evil men and women; the corrupt culture, massive pagan religions which destroy people and deny God and a synagogue of Satan which claims the Name of Christ for respectability but is a wolf clothed as one of Jesus’ sheep. Those iniquities of Psalm 90 precipitate the Wrath of the Lamb.

When the Books of all mankind are opened before the Great White Throne of God, all secret sin will be revealed and judged of those who were not sealed as truly born-again Christians. (see Psalm 90:8b).  They – the majority of all human kind- will be eternally separated from God and depart with more than a sigh. However when Moses wrote this part of the prayer in Psalm 90:9b, he did not know of the Redemption plan of Yahweh, His best Friend in the desert for 40 years, to step off the Throne 1500 years later and sacrifice Himself on a Cross for the Hope of all who believed! It was not revealed to Him.

Our takeaway (and/or Action Point) from this portion of the Prayer of Moses (Psalm 90:6-9) is that we do not have to pass from this life to the next with a dissatisfied or scared sigh! We should check out of here with all flags flying, dirty boots and torn jeans from fighting for one more soul with the Gospel of Christ –whether through prayer or evangelism!  At the very least, it is the easiest thing in the world to have all our sins, transgressions and iniquities forgiven so we can march under the Banner of the Christ, with Jesus as our Lord and Master right into eternity, where He has prepared a place for us with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob!

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UPROOTING THE TREE OF TEMPTATION

BY DR. RICHARD HERBERT 

(GUEST WRITER)

Overcoming temptation is a subject of interest to every Christian, as it’s a subject that affects us all. 

We probably know that the Bible contains a number of guiding and encouraging  scriptures to help us in overcoming, but we may not be aware of biblical analysis of the cycle of temptation and sin that grows from “seed” to burgeoning “tree,” if we let it.  It’s an understanding found in both the Old and New Testaments and one we can apply.

The clearest analysis of the growth of sin is found in the first chapter of the Book of James which describes the genealogy or “family tree” of every temptation leading to transgression: “… each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death” (James 1:14-15).

If we analyze it, the growing “tree” of temptation that James elaborates can help us understand how we can break sin’s growth before it breaks us:
Seed:  “each person is tempted…” – Exposure to temptation
Roots:  “each person is … dragged away by their own evil desire” – Considering the temptation
Trunk:  “and enticed”  – Intellectual acquiescence
Branches: “then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin” – Submission to sin
Fruit: “…sin … gives birth to death” – The eventual result of sin

The pattern is a universal one.  We see it as early as the story of the first sin in Genesis 3 when the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil” became the focus of Eve’s attention:“When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it” (Genesis 3:6).

Dividing up this example of the tree of temptation, we see exactly the same pattern:
Seed:  “the woman saw …” – Exposure to temptation
Roots:  “… the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye” – Considering the temptation
Trunk:  “and also desirable for gaining wisdom” – Intellectual acquiescence
Branches: “she took some and ate it” – Submission to sin
Fruit: “when you eat from it you will certainly die” (Genesis 2:17) – The eventual result of sin

Once we understand the structure of this figurative tree of transgression, we can see that the only logical place to stop the growth of temptation is at the beginning – by killing the “seed” before the “roots” begin to grow.
  
Physical seeds need the right conditions in order to germinate.  Spiritually we must do everything we can to make sure that the conditions are not in our lives for the seeds of sin to continually grow.  In some circumstances, of course, we cannot help but be exposed to temptation – its potential is present in so much of modern society. But we can prepare our environment to avoid a good deal of it.

Gardeners wanting to avoid the growth of weeds regularly use “pre-emergent” herbicides to stop the germination of those unwanted plants, and our regular use of the spiritual “pre-emergents” of prayer, study and other spiritual disciplines can have exactly the same effect on temptation.

But whenever we are exposed to temptation, it is imperative that we kill the “roots” before they take a firm hold.  It is always easier to pull up the small roots of a sapling than to cut down a grown tree trunk, and easier to cut the trunk than to try to cut off every branch.  It is the one unfailing principle that can help us overcome temptation more than any other – the earlier we attempt to end the growth of temptation, the more likely we are to succeed.

Transferring the analogy to actual everyday life means throwing everything we can at temptation the moment it begins to grow within our minds.  That can mean asking God’s help in immediate prayer (Matthew 6:13), putting something else that is attractive but good into our minds to replace the wrong thoughts (Philippians 4:8), or simply getting ourselves into a different environment till the temptation passes (2 Timothy 2:22-24).

Sometimes, all three strategies are necessary to help us stop the growth of a sin in our lives. But the encouraging thing is that just as there is no tree that cannot be felled, there is no temptation that cannot be overcome if we are willing to attack it – before it grows.  
DR. HERBERT'S WEBSITES:
TACTICAL CHRISTIANITY
LIVING WITH FAITH

PRAYERS OF THE BIBLE SERIES: THE BOOK OF NUMBERS #4

REJECT GOD AT YOUR OWN PERIL!

17And now, please let the power of the Lord be great as you have promised, saying, 18'The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but He will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.' 19Please pardon the iniquity of this people, according to the greatness of Your steadfast love, just as You have forgiven this people, from Egypt until now." Numbers 14:13-19

Many do not believe in generational curses, but do believe in generational blessings. If you look at some of the great men of God in all history, there may be something to that. The greatest sermon in America was preached by Jonathan Edwards in 1747 in East Windsor, Connecticut. It is "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God". This sermon was read in monotone off notes by a near-sighted Pastor Edwards and 500 people got saved that day. He was the great reformed preacher from the First Great Awakening in America which led to the American Revolution, and the birth of the greatest country ever on planet earth.

Now many will say that generational curses do not apply anymore, since the Age of Grace. There is some validity to this. However, whatsoever a man sows, that shall he reap.  The principle does not change. America’s great preacher of the 18th century – Jonathan Edwards’ descendants were college presidents, and pastors. There was even one Vice President of the United States in there. There is another prominent North Eastern American family, from the same state, whose patriarch was a notorious rum runner and manipulator and womanizer. A lot of his descendants became drug addicts, divorce-ridden multiple times and even dead at an early age. These are not generational curses but family traits. The son of one of the biggest atheists in America became a pastor....thereby showing the Sovereignty of God....and how He fits nobody's patterns or thoughts. This man's mother is Madelyn Murray O’Hair, the person who got prayer and the Bible out of American schools.

In this prayer above, Moses acknowledges the patient mercy, grace and long-suffering of the Lord.  From our personal experience, we know God has been patient with us in all our stupidity and sin from the day we were born. Even when we continue to sin after we were born again, our Father Who art in Heaven, forgives and removes our sin from our record. Not so with the unsaved and especially those who have committed transgression and iniquity. Transgression and Iniquity are places no Christian would wish to go because they represent severely willful defiance of God.

We are all sinners saved by grace and will have a nature in us which continually misses the mark. This will decrease as we grow more mature in the Lord and will last with us throughout our lives on earth. Transgression, however, is crossing the line from trying to live right and sinning occasionally, to willfully disobeying God. Samson is good example.  As a Nazarite, he was not supposed to be around any dead animal, drink alcohol, go near pagan women or allow his hair to be cut. He violated all of this. 

Iniquity is the mother of all sin. It is as vile as King David willfully staying away from his duty and ogling his one of his Mighty Men - Uriah the Hittite’s wife – Bathsheba. This led to the culmination of years of ungodly lust for her, as he summoned her and they willingly had an affair. The affair then resulted in Bathsheba becoming pregnant. However, David went one step worse than crossing the line from Transgression.  He committed premeditated murder of Bathsheba’s husband and his own friend, Uriah thereby breaking every single one of the Ten Commandments. This was his iniquity as it was unrepentant sin of the highest degree which he plotted and committed. It was cold, calculated sin (iniquity) and a slap in the Face of God, which took two years for him to be caught by the Prophet Nathan. It took two years for King David to repent before God.

The people under Moses’ care and leadership had reached that point (of no return) when they rejected the reports of Joshua and Caleb and sided with the other ten scouts who basically called God a liar. It was God Himself who had Moses send out the 12 tribe representatives to view and scout the Promised Land.

The rebellion against God was so evil that the people wanted to choose a leader who would lead them back to Egypt! That would be like God rescuing us from a sewer pit and then having tasted of His miracles and His goodness, we decided that we actually loved living like pigs in the muck, dirt and sewage rather than worship in the Freedom, Purity and Goodness of Almighty God. This is what the majority of the tribes did. When Joshua and Caleb spoke up to defend the Lord and tell of His Truth and the wonders of the Promised Land, the people tried to stone them.

For their rejection of the One True God, He wanted to wipe them out right then and there…and this is where the humble man of God – Moses, interceded once more.  Here is where Moses also sought to maintain the reputation of the Lord, while attempting to save his people from destruction. He knew God was more than justified in wiping the memory of them off the earth and off His books, but Moses also knew the Egyptians will hear of about one million people dying in the desert at the Hands of “their God”.  Because Moses sought no other purpose other than the Glory and Good Name of the Lord, God did not immediately destroy every person in that motley group of Israelites. God mentioned the ten times they rejected him and it was only then, that He decreed them wandering in the desert for forty years, after which every single adult except Joshua and Caleb over the age of 20 would die in the desert. To show His utter rejection of them as a people, He called their future perishing bodies “carcasses”! 

What are the lessons for us today? First, simply put – we should never cross that line. When we were saved, God saved us from the Power of Sin, however the presence of sin still abounds.  We see it everywhere.  Scripture teaches us to "take every thought captive". When the devil puts a tempting thought to distract and divert us away from God, to sinful thoughts, we MUST eradicate it with the Power of the Holy Spirit and not dwell on it.  Even good Christians have the potential to fall and fall hard if we do not run from sinful thoughts, but allow then to embed themselves in our consciousness and then develop into lustful fantasies which may or may not cross the line into active sin.  God has created several firewalls before we even get to that point of transgression and pre-meditated commission of sin.

We must activate those firewalls by knowing the Scripture and how to beat back the lies of the devil with them. We must also run from sin and we should not worry about offending the person tempting you to sin. Worry more about offending God and bringing bad consequences of any potential actions. There is a reason the Bible tells us to “flee immorality” and “resist the devil and he will flee from you”. They work! The firewall against sin, transgression and iniquity is the Word of God and the willingness to follow what it says.

The second lesson is this – God WILL punish all who reject Him. He is patient and kind and will allow people to reject, blaspheme and ignore Him more than ten times. However they will pay the price. In fact, if you want to go back to the pit where you came from, God will allow your choice because He does not wish to coerce anyone to love and respect Him, who is not inclined that way. Hell is full, and will be replete with the majority of mankind from all eras, who have shaken their collective fists at God, shouting that He is "dead" or how much they "do not believe in Him". The Kingdom of Heaven remains open to all, who fear God, keep His commands and accept the Son - Jesus Christ - as Lord and master over all. This also has not changed and the free offer stands as long as there is time.

The third lesson is God is patient. While He can destroy anyone at anytime, He listens to prayer and the prayer of one of His most faithful servants - Moses. Abba Father still pay attention to the prayers of His saints and desires that none should perish but that all will come to repentance. The entire account from Numbers 13 and 14 about what led up to this prayer and God's angry reaction is symptomatic of life today. Christians and others are always asking "where is God while....X Y or Z is happening".... or "how long can the wicked reign..." and all its variations. His patience, grace and love should not be mistaken for weakness, because when He acts, it is always final and the results are devastating. The key is for the Faithful to remain faithful in prayer, supplication and obedience. The modus operandi for remaining in the good graces of God is finally, to keep short accounts with God and man; to walk the straight and narrow and to live a repentant lifestyle....not in fear, but out of love and respect for the One Who has saved us by His Grace.

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PRAYERS OF THE BIBLE SERIES - THE BOOK OF JAMES, #12

METHODOLOGY CONCERNING: EFFECTIVE PRAYER

Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much (James 5:16a).

When a righteous man (a saved person- male or female) prays, God hears and remembers. Even if the answer is to be sent from Heaven 20 years later, God has it. Conversely, scripture tells us that God will not listen to the prayer of an unrighteous man – unless that person is crying out to Him for forgiveness of sin, the first step to salvation. From the Word of God:
- But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear (Isaiah 59:2)
- Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him (John 9:31). 

As just an example, these two verses above prove that there is no doubt God will never listen to the "prayers" of the unsaved. However, God will not pay attention to a Christian who is out of fellowship either. That is, one who is currently going through a season of rebellion and is not praying or reading the Bible….or even attending church, on purpose. The Apostle Paul said “should I keep sinning that grace may abound? May it never be!” Think if the fuel injector in your car. If it is clogged by the impurities (sin) of the gasoline going in through it from the pump (the human), there is no way the internal combustion engine can function as was meant by the automaker.

Therefore, we must be free AND forgiven from current sin. We should never be like the person whom James talks about here in James 1:6-7 "But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord". 

So what about about the "effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man"? This is simple and here is what the Word of God through James really says about it: "the many and constant intensive prayer of a man or woman made whole (or righteous) by God can, will and always will accomplish much". Let us not minimize the power behind the word "accomplish" because the original biblical textual word implies energy and power behind this "accomplishment". This is the INTENT of the Christian who prays with power and the expectation that God will hear and respond, in like manner to the fulfillment of the prayer request.

Therefore, let us pray: "Father, in the Mighty Name of Jesus, first of all thank You that You resist the proud and giveth Grace to the Humble. Thank You that You are a good good God and Your patience, mercy, grace and compassion are long-suffering and full of love towards us. We confess all sin in our eyes, minds, thoughts, and speech and deed right now and ask that You search our hearts, minds and souls and see if there is any wicked ways within us and rout and root them out and lead us to the Paths of holiness, goodness and complete righteousness in our sanctification that We may be worthy of being in Your Holy Presence as we pray for others. And Lord, may these prayers be fervent and full of the fire of Jesus Christ through the Power of His Name and in the inspiration of the Holy Ghost that we may reach Thy Throne of Mercy and Grace to bring our supplications, petitions and prayers for those who need healing, for those who need comfort, for those who need love, understanding, food, shelter, work, a friend or a kind word today and always. Let our souls and hearts be aligned with Thy Heart, oh Great God of the Universe, that we may seek Thee more and more to accomplish the goal and task and calling of the elect, to which Thou hast set before us, to do in Thy perfect will, until that day, unto which Thou will bring us home. We love Thee, praise Thee and magnify and adore Thy Holy and precious Name, HaShem, in Jesus Strong Name, amen.

All Scriptures in the blog: BIBLE GATEWAY

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THIRTY ONE DAYS OF BIBLE TRUTHS - DAY 12 (VICTORIOUS)

BIBLE VERSE:  For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace (Romans 6:14)

TRUTH:  Can a Christian live in victory in these times of evil and destruction? Of course we can. So why are so many Christians cowering and hoping Jesus would come tomorrow and take them away? This is so because of little understanding of the meaning of this verse and the authority the Believer now has over sin.  This also argues for true conversion from the dominion of darkness into the kingdom of His Marvelous Light! Because most of us have difficulty memorizing or remembering endless chapters of the Bible, let us then resolve to remember this Truth: the Grace of God which saved us when we trusted in the finished work of the Cross and repented/renounced/rebuked our sin and our past, has activated the NEW nature within us  which has the Power of God embedded, via His Holy Spirit. This Power is what  has now enabled us, through daily vigilance and diligence,  to say NO to the sin that destroyed us in the past and threaten to do so until we are called home. The use of this sin-busting Power is what gives us confidence to win the victory daily. This is a Truth that leads to True Peace and one worth celebrating - YOU CAN OUTRUN SIN!

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THIRTY ONE DAYS OF BIBLE TRUTHS - DAY 2 (DARKNESS)

VERSE: “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” (John 3:19)

TRUTH:  We must remember that in our zeal to tell the world about the Hope that is within us, that the vast majority are not really concerned about hearing Truth. The god of this world (sin, self and Satan) has deceived them and they are blind to the wonders of God as a cloud of darkness has descended over their spiritual eyes and remains there. We never give up when these same people, whether friend, family or foe, reject us. We pray mightily and intensely for them to see the error of their ways. We pray for a realization, on their part, that the things they hold up as important and good, are worthless compared to the Eternal Light Who can chase away the blackness of the soul and reconcile it to its Creator. #Pray

PRAYERS OF THE BIBLE SERIES: THE BOOK OF JOB, Prayer #4

Job is starting to progress in his prayers, or in a sense - his one-way conversation with the Lord and ask some questions which many alive, throughout the ages, either thought of asking or asked. Here is a major timeless question which has burdened the soul of men and women forever who often wonder about the meaning of life: "If a man dies, shall he live again?" (Job 14:14a).

JOB 14:13-17

13  “Oh, that You would hide me in the grave,

That You would conceal me until Your wrath is past,

That You would appoint me a set time, and remember me!

14  If a man dies, shall he live again?

All the days of my hard service I will wait,

Till my change comes.

15  You shall call, and I will answer You;

You shall desire the work of Your hands.

16  For now You number my steps,

But do not watch over my sin.

17  My transgression is sealed up in a bag,

And You cover my iniquity.

Even with the previous ramblings, brought on by excruciating physical pain, Job has a great question and reveals a certain Truth that should comfort the Christian. When a Christian dies, he/she is concealed in rest in the grave (i.e. with the Lord) until God's wrath is past and we go on to our reward. (See Verse 13)

One thing to keep in mind when we come to God's answer to His Prayer in Job Chapter 38 is this - Job gets exactly what he asks for! In verse 15 here, Job prays "You shall call, and I will answer You". When the LORD- Yahweh (Jesus) answered Job in the whirlwind in Job 38, Yahweh says "brace yourself like a man- I WILL QUESTION YOU, AND YOU WILL ANSWER ME!" (Job 38:3). The moral of this prayer is - BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU PRAY FOR, because you may not be able to handle the answer!

Next, in verses 16 and 17, Job lays out for us a confession of the three progressive ways which mankind has gone against God:

Sin

Transgression

Iniquity

Of these three, Iniquity is the worse and unless one pulls back from the cliff, it is the worse of the three which can lead to eternal separation from God. Sin is missing the mark and even Christians sin - daily sometimes, in both little and even big ways. Transgression is what King David did when he not only purposed in his heart to steal one of his Mighty Men's (Uriah the Hittite's) wife, but ignored his duties and broke the commandment against adultery. Iniquity is when he went even further, had Uriah killed and covered this transgression up for two years, putting himself completely out of the Will of God. If he had not confessed and repented (as recorded in Psalm 51), it was all over and he would have been just like the late lost King Saul. 

In short, when you and I wonder as Job did in verse 14, "if a man dies, shall he live again", the answer can be found in how we pray and respond to the teaching found in verse 17 as regards the various forms of sin. A person can only live again if his/her sin/transgression/iniquity has been covered by the Lord and that can only happen through the Blood of Christ and the Atonement He made for us on the Cross of Calvary. Confession and repentance - these are the lessons of this prayer from Job, of which he was completely unaware he was doing at this point in the wonderful Book of Job!