The Truth About God

Ever notice how “lie” is smack-dab in the middle of the word “believe”?

It makes a great word picture, showing us that Satan is much too clever to come at us with a boldfaced lie. Instead, he wraps some truth around the lie — like he did by quoting Scripture to Jesus to tempt him into sin.

Likewise, he comes at us by telling us the truth about our earthly nature. Or, to put it more precisely, he points out reality instead of Truth.

In 2 Corinthians 10:4-5, Paul describes thoughts as strongholds and tells us to “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

But every wrong thought doesn’t necessarily originate from Satan. There is also the mind of the flesh which is hostile towards God:

...for the mind of the flesh [is] death, and the mind of the Spirit — life and peace; because the mind of the flesh [is] enmity to God... (Romans 8:6-7, Young’s Literal Translation)

But whether the thought comes from devil or the flesh, the solution is still the same... take every though captive. Here’s what I mean:

I woke up one morning feeling particularly down. I had been taking care of the kids while my wife was out of town visiting her mother and I was feeling overwhelmed. I sat on the edge of the bed for a long time thinking about how I didn’t have the strength to even start my day and contemplated staying home from work.

But then I remembered a verse. Or, more precisely, I remembered a song. It was Everlasting God, by Lincoln Brewster. At the end of the song a young child reads Isaiah 40:28-29, but it was verse 29 that popped into my mind that morning:

He gives power to the weak
   and strength to the powerless.

As I spoke the words, I could feel strength return to my body. I got up, got ready for work and had a great day. But here’s the deal: I had to say these words out loud. Romans 10:17 says that faith comes by hearing, not by thinking. Would I have had the same experience if I’d sat on the bed and just thought about that verse? I doubt it.

Does it feel strange to do that, like you’re talking to yourself? David didn’t think so... he talked to “himself” regularly:

Why are you downcast, O my soul?
    Why so disturbed within me?
    Put your hope in God,
    for I will yet praise him,
    my Savior and my God.

- Psalm 42:5 (Also see Ps 42:11, 43:5)

And:

Praise the LORD, O my soul;
    all my inmost being, praise his holy name.

Praise the LORD, O my soul,
    and forget not all his benefits-

who forgives all your sins
    and heals all your diseases...

- Psalm 103:1-3 (Also see Ps 104:1,35, 146:1)

Your soul (i.e., you mind, emotions and will) must submit to either the flesh or the Spirit... there’s no middle ground. Remember, your flesh dwells within you, but you are not your flesh. So tell your flesh to shut up, tell your soul to rise up, and walk in the victory He’s promised.

The Truth About You

This video will have a greater impact without any introduction. Please watch!

We’re the Apple of His Eye

Here’s an election I watched closely, for non-political reasons.

Incumbent Alan Grayson ran a vicious attack ad which twisted challenger Daniel Webster’s words at a Christian Men’s Conference completely around...



Daniel Webster won tonight with 56 percent of the vote to Grayson’s 38 percent in their central Florida district around Orlando.

“—for whoever touches you touches the apple of his eye—”

- Zechariah 2:8

Why are Christians so…?

Photo by Natalie Dee

You’re probably already familiar with Google’s autosuggest feature (even if you didn’t know what it was called). That’s when you begin typing a phrase in the Google search box, and Google completes it with a number of suggestions.

Because the suggestions are based on the most common searches starting with that phrase, it can also reveal popular opinions and beliefs about a specific topic. The website Blame it on the Voices decided to see how Google’s autofill would complete phrases like:  why are christians so… and  why are muslims so… (You can see the results here.)

They even took it a step further and created a venn diagram to demonstrate what traits people perceive Christians and Muslims as having in common. And here they are...

• Crazy
• Hateful
• Ignorant
• Stupid

I decided to conduct my own experiment with why are christians so... and came up with the following:

If this merely confirms in your mind that we are being “persecuted” for what we believe, think again. When I type in why are atheists so…, I get:

So my own venn diagram shows the traits that we share with non-believers are:

• Stupid
• Mean
• Hateful
• Intolerant
• Annoying

Are you surprised that we seem to have the exact same attitude towards those that disagree with us as non-believers have towards us? And does it bother you that we do?

Maybe Google’s algorithms can answer this: why are christians so unloving?

The Gates of Hell

Photo by divemasterking2000

In Matthew 16, Jesus asks his disciples who the people say he is. Their responses vary: John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah or one of the other prophets. Then he asks, “But who do you say that I am?” to which Peter replies: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Then Jesus makes this statement:

Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. (Matthew 16:17-18, NIV)

The word translated here as overcome in the NIV is rendered in other translations as overpower and prevail. Many commentators say that this conveys the image of hell attacking the church, but that the church will prevail over everything the enemy throws at it.

But here’s my question: Since when do gates attack?

Gates are used for defense, not offense. Gates are a part of a wall and keeps attackers out of one’s fortress. If the picture here is hell attacking the church, why didn’t Jesus say the armies of hell will not overcome it?

In the NIV, the footnote to “overcome” in v.18 offers an alternative translation: not prove stronger than it. So verse 18 could well read: “...on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prove stronger than it.”

The Wycliffe New Testament renders this verse like so:

…upon this stone I shall build my church, and the gates of hell shall not have might, or strength, against it.

Answers In Action blog makes the point that this verse plainly says something much more dramatic than mere assurance that the church will prevail over all adverse circumstances:

The church will overcome anything the Devil may raise in defense against it. In other words, it is not merely that the church will endure, but more positively that it will take over what the Devil seeks to keep from it.

And...

So, if the gates of Hades or hell cannot prevail against the church, that must mean that the church will mount a successful offense against the powers of evil... In other words, when the gates “will not prevail,” that means that the church, in effect, knocks down the gates.

With a fresh perspective, we can go forward confidentially, knowing that we have “authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm [us].” (Luke 10:19)

Whatever You Do, Don’t Run!

Photo by chris.merwe

Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. - 1 Peter 5:8

We think of the lion as an African species, but in ancient times, lions ranged from Greece to India and Persia. By 100 A.D., they had become extinct in Europe, but they survived in considerable numbers in the Middle East until the early 20th century. So New Testament writers like Peter would have been quite familiar with lions and their behavior.

Much has been written by modern Christian authors about how a lion will roar to scare its prey into running the other way... towards a waiting ambush of other lions. I couldn’t find any information confirming that. But I did find one reason they do roar: as a territorial display.

A lion’s roar can carry 5 miles or more. Males roar only when on their own territory. In other words, it’s a display of ownership that is only given by resident lions on their own territory.

Does that put 1 Peter 5:8 in a whole new perspective? Satan is acting like he owns the place, roaring in a lion-like territorial display. But we’re told not to give him any ground (see Ephesians 4:27).

The Safari Guide, a website that provides information to tourists visiting the bush on safari, gives this advice when encountering a lion in the wild:

One thing to remember with lions – whatever you do, don’t run! If you run away from a lion it will regard you as prey and it will chase you.

If you do get charged by a lion, you must stay still and hold your ground. This is easier said than done, but you cannot outrun a lion anyway. Lions often mock charge and break away at the last moment. They do this to show their displeasure, as an act of bravado and to ‘test’ you.

Notice how many times the word stand appears in the well-known Armor of God passage:

Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.

God’s already given you all that you need for the battle, so next time the adversary confronts you, keep in mind that he’s only “like a roaring lion.” He isn’t actually one.

The Devil is Afraid of You

Photo by David Thunander

When I started walking with the Lord again in the late 80’s, it felt like the devil was soooo powerful, and I cowered before him because he was always “attacking” me. But, in reality, I was just acting out my victim mentality. (I can’t do anything because the devil is always hindering me.) It was just an excuse to remain a victim.

There’s a powerful a payoff in being the victim. You always have someone else to blame when you always fail. It’s like No-Fault Insurance – it absolves you of all responsibility for what happens in your life. The payoff can also be sympathy from others. All this may feel completely “normal” if you’ve never known anything different.

But the reality is the devil’s supposed to be fleeing from us, not the other way around:

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (James 4:7, NIV)

Think about the word “flee.” It’s likened to running away from something dreadful or terrible. Who flees from something they’re not afraid of?

Here’s something else to consider: the devil is more afraid of you than he was of Jesus when he tempted him in the desert.

Do you find that hard to accept? Then take another look at Luke 4:1-13. After Jesus resisted Satan’s three temptations, it says that the devil “left him until an opportune time.” Notice it doesn’t say he fled from him. Quite the opposite… it implies that he would be returning with even more temptations when the time was right.

So how can I claim that Satan is more afraid of you today than he was of Jesus on that day? Because since that day, Jesus died and rose again… and in doing so, he:

…disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. (Colossians 2:15)

You see, we focus on verses that call Satan “the god of this age” (2 Corinthians 4:4) and that “the whole world is under the control of the evil one” (1 John 5:19). But as far as God is concerned, he is a defeated foe. God is not at war with Satan. Yes, he is our enemy, but the only power he has against the Christian is what we give him. He’s only “like a roaring lion…” (1 Peter 5:8). He isn’t actually one.

So the next time the devil seems so big and God so small, remember that:

…you are of God [you belong to Him] and have [already] defeated and overcome them [the agents of the antichrist], because He Who lives in you is greater (mightier) than he who is in the world. (1 John 4:4 AMP)