Saturday, October 30, 2010

What You See is Not All There Is... Battling Darkness

So, here we are in the middle of an unseen battle between the kingdoms of light (Jesus) and darkness (Satan). There are three things we need to know in this battle.

First, we can't treat our enemy lightly. Don't get caught up in the deception that Satan is some harmless little goofball in a red suit with horns and a pitchfork. His power and authority, while limited, is to be recognized. Jude 9-10 says even Michael, one of the mightiest of the angels, would not bring a direct accusation against Satan, but said, "The Lord rebuke you". Read the story in Mark 5:2-8 about the incredible physical power the demoniac who lived among the tombs exhibited.

1 Peter 5:8 says, "Be careful! Watch out for attacks from the Devil, your great enemy. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for some victim to devour." Does that sound like an enemy we should just brush off and take lightly?

Secondly, we must not flirt with darkness. I believe there are many Christians, young and old, who think it's ok to dabble with some questionable things. The word occult means "hidden", and the enemy uses many things that might seem harmless at first glance. Let's look at what the Bible says about how God views a Christian’s involvement with the occult. "And do not let your people practice fortune-telling or sorcery, or allow them to interpret omens, or engage in witchcraft, or cast spells, or function as mediums or psychics, or call forth the spirits of the dead. Anyone who does these things is an object of horror and disgust to the LORD." Deuteronomy 18:10-12. Pretty clear, eh?

While we can use "personal conviction" as an excuse to watch, listen or read something, I believe the question we need to ask is, "What is the source?". If we have to analyze and dig to find a biblical, godly meaning in something to justify our desire to associate with it... is it really good?

I don't think God has a gray area, that is on both sides of the fence, where His children can play because their personal convictions allow it. “Obey God because you are His children. Don't slip back into your old ways of doing evil; you didn't know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God-- who chose you to be his children-- is holy. For he himself has said, ‘You must be Holy because I am holy.’" 1 Peter 1:14-16

Isaiah 5:20 says, “Destruction is certain for those that say evil is good and good is evil; that light is dark and dark is light; that bitter is sweet and sweet is bitter." 1 Thessalonians 5:22 says, “Keep away from every kind of evil." We simply have no excuse to flirt with anything that has occult or demonic ties.

Lastly, we need to know that we don’t fight with our power, but with God’s authority. So many people live what I call, Roller Coaster Christianity because they are trying to fight the battle against darkness in their own power. They move one step forward and two steps back, all the while becoming more frustrated, angry or depressed because they never seem to have victory over the enemy.

Matthew 10:1 say, “Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to cast out evil spirits and to heal every kind of disease and illness.” He gave them AUTHORITY, not power. It is with the authority in Jesus’ name that we come against the kingdom of darkness.

There is a story in Acts 19, that tells of seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish priest, who went around casting out evil spirits. One day they came upon a demon possessed man and they tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus. The evil spirit answered, "I know Jesus, and I know Paul. But who are you?" and proceeded to beat all seven of the men so badly, they ran out of the house naked and badly injured. Because they didn't have a personal relationship with Jesus, they could not operate in His authority, but only in their own power.

We also must use the shield of faith and the Sword of the Spirit (God’s Word) in this battle. When Jesus was tempted by Satan in the wilderness (Matthew 4), he consistently responded with Scripture. The enemy cannot overcome the Word of God, and this is why we must read it, study it, and get it into our hearts.

I’ll close with this. “So humble yourselves before God. Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you. Draw close to God, and God will draw close to you.” James 4:7-8. If we will surrender every part of our lives to Christ, holding nothing back, and resist any temptation to compromise, the enemy WILL flee.

Remember, we are not fighting FOR victory, we are fighting FROM victory!

-P Dave

Friday, October 29, 2010

What You See is Not All There Is... Satan and his demons

Last night we closed the Supernatural series discussing Satan and his demons. There was so much I wanted to cover, but there was not enough time in the service to adequately do so, hence my appearance on the Ref Devo this week. So I would like to recap the message from last night and include a few additional things in a two part devotional this week. Here's part one...

First, we need to know that Satan is a real, created being. He was one of the most beautiful and highest ranking angels in Heaven and his name was Lucifer, or morning star. You can read about his creation and attributes in Ezekiel 28:12-17. Verses 16 and 17 describe his sin: pride, and the resulting punishment: losing his authority and being expelled from Heaven. In Isaiah 14:12-14, he made five "I will" statements, the last being, 'I will make myself like the Most High'. God's answer to that was essentially, 'No, you will not. I am God, and there is NONE like Me'. The lie that we can be like God or gods, is prevalent in many religions today and Satan used it in Genesis 3:5 when he tempted Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden.

The Bible says a third of the angels followed Satan in rebellion against their Creator, and were also cast out of Heaven (Revelation 12:4). Many believe these fallen angels are the demons who serve Satan now. One thing we should understand is that not every bad thing is caused by demons. If you have a bad hair day, don't blame it on the 'demon of bad hair'. Another key point is that born again Christians CANNOT be demon possessed. The instant you commit your life to Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit takes up residence in your spirit, and Satan no longer has any claim on your life. We CAN, however, be influenced and oppressed by demonic spirits, especially if we give them permission to operate in our lives. Last night we discussed four things that demons do.

First, demons influence leaders of nations. All you need to do is watch the news or read the paper to see the evil in many nations. How could Hitler and Stalin be evil enough to order the murder of millions of their own innocent people? What could possibly influence a nation's highest court to enact laws that allow the murder of millions of unborn babies? Daniel 10:13 speaks of the spirit prince of Persia, a demonic entity apparently appointed to influence the human ruler of Persia.

Second, demons desire to inflict suffering on you. Matthew 17:15-18 tells the story of a young boy who attempted to kill himself several times, had seizures, and suffered terribly. He was immediately made completely well, however, after Jesus cast a demon out of him. My youngest brother's step-son, suffering from severe depression, hung and killed himself at 9 years old. Nine years old! Demons inflict suffering, often through depression, with the ultimate goal being suicide. The thief's (Satan's) purpose is to steal, kill and destroy.

Thirdly, demons scheme to lure you away from God. They watch and study us, constantly looking for ways to bring deception. "Now the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times some will turn away from what we believe; they will follow lying spirits and teachings that come from demons." 1 Timothy 4:1 NLT. There are many people who have been swayed to follow false teaching and this verse tells us the origin of that false teaching is demonic. It is vital that we study and know the Word of God, so we can discern the truth from the lies. Be aware, there are things we can read, watch and listen to, that in initial appearance, may seem good, but everything is not always as it seems. "But I am not surprised! Even Satan can disguise himself as an angel of light. So it is no wonder his servants can also do it by pretending to be godly ministers." 2 Corinthians 11:14-15 NLT

Lastly, demons want to paralyze you with fear. Evil, in it's purest form, brings with it an innate sense of fear, but perfect love (God) casts out all fear. Having a fear of failure, being afraid of losing a loved one, or being worried sick about school are all forms of fear that the enemy uses to paralyze us. Remember, "God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love and self-discipline" 2 Timothy 1:7.

In the second part of this post, we'll discuss three ways we battle the kingdom of darkness.

-P Dave

Friday, October 22, 2010

Supernatural

Last service was intense for us all. Wouldn’t you say? Although it probably didn’t relate to the majority of us specifically, we all should have went home a little more knowledgeable. If you missed Reformation last Thursday night, or need a refresher, during service we had three lovely people describe to us their testimonies, all in which had similar trends, for example: witchcraft, idolatry, etc. I believe, although we may not all partake in these things on a daily basis, there may be some things we can change in our lives to avoid ungodly activities (even more then we already do).

To begin, there was a mention of Harry Potter and Twilight. I never realized it before, but now I believe that even though I don’t know it to be true, I still allowed vampires/magic into my life. We are buying books, posters, t-shirts, etc. which are all pleasing to the enemy. He is trying to win over that part of ourselves; the part where we defend Harry Potter and Twilight when it is being “bad-mouthed“. When was the last time you defended Jesus? He is truth. He is the one we should spend our time reading about, talking about, and praying about. I liked when Joe said something along the lines of, “If you can live without it, do you really need it?” Genuinely think about that.

Okay, so if you’re not a Twilight freak like me, or at least I was, what are some other things you idolize? Your cell phone? Facebook? How about: a famous star, like Oprah Winfrey? Rock bands? Your youth pastors? Guess what, none of these things or people are God. All of the people in your life have fallen short of the glory of God. Stop idolizing those secular, worldly things. Start focusing on God.

(By the way, my Twilight posters, books, and t-shirts are being thrown away today; you do the same?)

Please comment! All of this is up for discussion. And I would love for you to add things I’ve left out, or things you come up with on your own.

-Autumn

Friday, October 15, 2010

Faith With Knowledge

Have you been reading your Bible lately? Or do you think you can get by without it? How much do you truly know about your religion? I have just recently discovered pretty shocking stuff. I thought that I would let you in on it.

An article written by Heather Horn talks about a new study. “In a survey of religious knowledge, Americans did fairly poorly displaying little knowledge of world religions. Americans did not even know much about their own religions. A shocking forty-five percent of Catholics incorrectly answered a question about Catholicism and Communion, for example. To make matters worse, those who scored highest on this survey were atheists and agnostics. The next-highest scoring groups were Jews and Mormons.”

I don’t want this to be condemning. I want it to be inspiring. I want you to strive to read your Bible daily. Although reading multiple chapters a day is excellent, if you can only read half a chapter, DO IT. Don’t let the amount of what you read set you back. You are not a failure. I actually praise you for trying! Reading something is better than reading nothing.

Hosea 4:6- “My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge…you have ignored the law of your God...” Knowledge is so important. We have been trained to listen to teachers and complete homework all our lives, but when it comes to reading our Bible- it’s our choice, our decision. We were never really taught to take initiative to learn something that doesn’t involve getting a letter grade in the end.

Also, even though the vast majority of your readings will be God speaking to you through the word, don’t be discouraged when you can’t seem to relate to what you are reading. Remember, you are reading for knowledge and wisdom, not always just for improvement.

I know you’ve heard it before, but if you haven’t- ALWAYS double check what you hear. Your pastors and leaders aren’t always right. It is your responsibly to read through the Bible to make sure what was spoken is truly God’s word. Don’t always automatically believe what you hear.

Proverbs 24:5- "A wise man has great power, and a man of knowledge increases strength."

-Autumn

Friday, October 8, 2010

Taming Your Temper

So, I am going to be completely honest with you guys. I have been struggling with this for a while now. So, as I write this, I plan to learn and grow in this subject, just as I pray you do. Subject being: dealing with anger, stress, and our attitude. Are you the one to get annoyed easily? Do you often get frustrated with people? Well, let me ask you, how do you cope? Do you walk away to vent, or do you walk away and isolate yourself from all human contact? Do you confront people with an honest, level-headed attitude, or do you yell until you get your point across?

Are you the kind of person who holds grudges? As Christians, we should forgive and move on. With much experience, I understand this is extremely hard. It may easy to forgive (verbalizing “I forgive you”), but you may struggle to completely forget. Meaning, every time you see their face, you’re reminded of what you supposedly forgave them for. Now, together, we need to all let go of our pasts; let go of our anger. It’s not worth holding on to. It’s not worth damaging your walk with God because of it.

Need help when it comes to managing your problems? If you’re having an issue with someone, and don’t know what to do, talk to a leader or accountability partner. I cannot stress that enough. Don’t go around flaunting your problems with multiple people. If you do this, you are allowing your friends to fall. I say this because gossip easily forms when you tell multiple people your problem pertaining another person. Your accountability partner and/or leaders are the perfect people to talk to when you are angry with someone, and need help venting/fixing the problem.

REMEMBER- talk needs to turn into action; talk without action is just more gossip.

Proverbs 14:17 reads, “The quick-tempered do foolish things, and those who devise evil schemes are hated.” Don’t allow yourself to be easily aggravated. It only makes you more frustrated with people, and them more frustrated with you. Go into situations with a positive, understanding mind. Be patient with people; nobody is perfect. “Those who are patient have a great understanding, but the quick-tempered display foolishness.” Proverbs 14:29

Telling people you’re angry does not give you the permission to keep treating them badly. If you are stressed and admit it out loud let that inform you to stop showing it. It will only make people around you stressed too.

We should control our anger instead of letting our anger control us.

-Autumn

Friday, October 1, 2010

Judging Others

Judging others, it seems pretty straight forward- don’t do it. We all know it’s wrong; we all know it hurts the feelings of the people we talk about. But why do we choose to do it anyway? Why do we look at the girl walking by and automatically hate her? Why do we see a man on the side of the street and think- all he wants is my money? Is there anything more pleasant than discussing someone’s fault? We tend to make unnecessary judgments before we even begin to know the real truth.

I think it’s time to bring back the saying- ‘What would Jesus do?’ If we truly want to please God, we must obey His standards. In John 8:15-16 it states, “You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one. But if I do judge, my decisions are true, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father also.” We need to make the commitment to stop judging- whether it is people we know (like our closest friends), or people we don’t know (like the group of kids talking during a movie).

Remember the statement we learned in elementary school? If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all. Scripture wise we read, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” in Matthew 7:1-2. If you are judging others, except for it to happen to you.

Overall, strive on not jumping to conclusions, we do not know the history of others. It is a must that we do not envy their happiness, we do not laugh when they are hurt, and we do not judge others in a negative way under any circumstances.

-Autumn