Hey, Why Aren't My Prayers Being Answered?

HEY, WHY AREN'T MY PRAYERS BEING ANSWERED?

New Christians learning how to pray may look excitedly for their prayers to be answered, and wonder what's wrong when they pray for something or someone, and their prayer doesn't get answered; or at least, not in the way they expect. They may not know that every prayer they pray, God hears, but He has three ways of answering them, and two out of three are not necessarily how we want them answered, but that's God's way. God's three answers to prayer are yes, no, and wait, but often in our humanity we want the answers to always be yes, and we want His response to be immediate, but again, God doesn't work that way, and we really don't want His answer to be no, and He may try our patience with His answer of "wait". Let's look at how prayer started and evolved into what we know of it today. There is a way to pray effectively, but again, you don't always get the answer you want.

In the days of Abram, or Abraham, it was considered a blessing from God to have a son, an heir to hand down to. God promised Abram a son in Gen. 12:2, but when would God answer the prayer of Abram to have a son? Gen. 17:21 - 24 gives us that Abraham was 100 years old when his wife Sarah finally bore Isaac! It may seem an extreme answer "wait" from God to you, but imagine the joy Abraham and Sarah must've had to have their son Isaac finally born well into their old age! While "wait" tries our patience, when the answer is finally "yes", imagine the joy a person may have such as the joy Abraham and Sarah had.

When you pray, do you know it is a demonstration to God that you believe in Him? Consider 1 Sam. 12:23; "Moreover as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you: but I will teach you the good and the right way:" Samuel actually considered it a sin against the Lord not to pray! This is not confined to the Old Testament, because in James 5:16 we are also commanded to pray for one another, that we might be healed, and it says to confess our faults to one another, that the other may pray wisely for your sake. Now consider the prayer of one of the greatest prophets of the bible, Elijah, in 1 Kings 17:20 - 23; "And he cried unto the Lord, and said, 'O Lord my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son?' And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the Lord, and said, 'O Lord my God, I pray thee, let this child's soul come into him again.' And the Lord heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived. And Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the chamber into the house, and delivered him unto his mother: and Elijah said, See, thy son liveth." Note that Elijah prayed for a good thing, the resurrection of the boy, and that the other person involved was a widow. There are a number of references to widows and the fatherless where God commends we take care in how we treat them, and here is an instance where a prayer was answered immediately "yes" by God.

Let us look upon another example of the Lord saying yes to a prayer. 2 Kings 20:1 - 6 has God changing the fate of a king due to his effective prayer; "In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live. Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the Lord, saying, 'I beseech thee, O Lord, remember now how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore. And it came to pass, afore Isaiah was gone out into the middle court, that the word of the Lord came to him, saying, 'Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, Thus saith the Lord, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the Lord. And I will add unto thy days fifteen years; and I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for Mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake.'" Note how the king took a position of humility, his face to the wall as he prayed, and he cried unbridled tears, a sign of a genuinely contrite heart. Our compassionate, merciful, forgiving God answered Hezekiah's prayer with a yes, and sent the prophet Isaiah back to the king to tell him the Lord granted him 15 more years of life! Unfortunately, his son, Manasseh, did so much evil in the sight of the Lord, prophecies against Judah resulted, so some prayers should not be prayed, and we should trust God. It can be a marvel when God answers a prayer like Hezekiah's, knowing the result will be offspring highly abominable in their behavior toward God.

1 John 3:19 - 24 has this to say about prayer; "And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him. For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment. And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us." We can sometimes be too strict in examining our lives, in our judgment of ourselves, and this can rob us of the confidence we should have when we pray. If we do not come confidently to the Father with our petitions, our prayers may be answered with a "no". We need to believe all that Christ is, not just for the salvation He gifted us with, but also for answered prayer, as He is our Mediator to the Father. Ask for things of the Father in Jesus' name, and believe, just as Jesus commanded, that you will receive them. If they are in His will, you will receive them. He commanded this in Matt. 18:19 - 20; "Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." Whereas more than one of us are gathered in fellowship praying for a good thing, believing we shall receive, Christ assures us He is with us as we pray. In Matt. 7:7 - 11 it is written that Jesus said, "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask Him?" Again, here it is said by the Lord that if we ask, believing, for any good thing, we shall receive it. And in Mark 11:23 - 24 it says, "For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them." Once again Christ tells us strong belief that we shall receive what we pray for, that we shall have. If you pray for the recovery of some person in 4th stage cancer, and you allow the grimness of health and the sureness of the disease under ordinary circumstances to cause doubt to prevail that your prayer will be answered "no", then you will probably get the answer "no". After all, didn't you expect such an answer? However, Jesus is telling you right here in this passage of scripture that if you have faith as strong as that of Elijah's in what I have previously written, He will bring the dead back to life! In John 14:12 - 14 it is written, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto My Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in My name, I will do it."

Now at this point I would like to show a part of the gospel where Jesus appears to explain how fasting must be combined with prayer to make it possible to expel a certain demon. If you go to Matt. 17:14 - 18, Jesus rebukes a devil, and it departs from a child. But in Matt. 19 - 21, this is written; "Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, 'Why could not we cast him out?' And Jesus said unto them, 'Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.'" Apparently the apostles tried previously to expel this demon, and they couldn't do it, and also apparent is that they did not fast prior to attempting to expel it, which would account for Jesus bringing it up. Nevertheless, He also points to their lack of belief that they could do it that the devil refused to leave the child. This points again to what I said about trying to pray for someone in a final stage of cancer; any doubt can equal a "no" answer.

In 2 Kings 20:2, Hezekiah faced the wall when he prayed, and his prayer was effective. Jesus also speaks of standing when praying in Mark 11:25; "And when ye stand praying...". But kneeling is also an acceptable position, as in Dan. 6:10 - 11; "Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime. Then these men assembled, and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God." The position doesn't seem to be a problem for God to find acceptable, but there do seem to be some problems with the methodology involved, which Jesus explains in Matt. 6:5 - 8; "And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask Him." If someone has it in their heart to pray in public and for the wrong reason, it is NOT condoned by God, they have their reward from people looking at them as honorable for doing so. But if you pray in private, where people do not see, this is an honorable method of prayer that the Father is guaranteed to reward openly as it is the promise of Christ in this passage of scripture. Note also that Jesus says not to say the same words over and over, or the same prayer all the time, as it hardly comes from the heart.

More instruction on prayer is found in 1 Tim. 2:1- 8; "I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; for kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time. Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not;) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity. I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting." Here Paul instructs that we pray for one another, including our senators and presidents and all others in authority, whether we approve of them or have a high disdain for them; note no reason for omitting praying for anyone is given. Men are to lead in public prayer, and there can be no wrath or doubting present in the mind for prayer to be acceptable.

Now there are two scripture passages that explain how prayer will not be answered by God. The first is in James 1:5 - 8; "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways." If someone goes back and forth between believing and unbelief, God isn't going to give them anything they ask, for throughout this teaching, you can find passage after passage of scripture wherein it is written that you MUST believe to get a "yes" answer.

There is one more reason for God not to answer prayer, and it is found in James 4:3; "Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts." This means if a person asks for something of God for selfish reasons, or for an evil cause, that person is wasting their breath. These people can be people who believe that there is a God, but do not have a relationship with Him, or if they do, they do not realize what they are asking for is selfish or has an evil end to it, or it is not in God's will for you. For example, asking God to damn someone, or kill them, is against the commandment of Jesus in Matt. 5:44, wherein He commands us to love our enemies, bless them who curse us, and even to pray for them who persecute and use us! At the worst, we might ask God to put distance between us and a persecutor, but to ask harm upon them is amiss. Then there are those who ask God for a million dollars, or a Mercedes Benz, or some other thing of worldly value, and these are examples of asking amiss. Still other forms of asking amiss are petitions of a carnal nature or other perverse things.

Lastly, don't forget to thank God for answered prayer, as the Samaritan leper in Luke 17:12 - 19; "And as He entered into a certain village, there met Him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And when He saw them, He said unto them, "Go shew yourselves unto the priests." And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, And fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. And Jesus answering said, "Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger." And He said unto him, "Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole."

So now we have seen that one of the greatest pillars of successful prayer are belief. We should pray for things in the realm of the Father's will, and not for selfish or evil things. The cornerstone, of course, is asking in Jesus' name, as Jesus instructed, believing He will do what you pray for. Pray selflessly more often than for things to your benefit, and pray both for those who love you and those who hate you. Finally, don't forget to thank Him who answered your prayer!

The Demise Of The Word "If"

THE DEMISE OF THE WORD "IF"

Well, I really don't mean for it to die from your vocabulary completely, but I do mean for it to die from how one speaks of their salvation. What I mean is, when one has faith enough that they believe in Jesus as their Savior, they no longer use the word "if" as they used to when they did not realize their salvation in Christ Jesus. I hear people now who go to church, but have no relationship with Jesus, and they say, "I hope He will let me into heaven if I was good enough all my life". Or you might hear someone say, "If He will let me into heaven...". These are statements of one lacking faith! Another common line I've heard is, "If I go to heaven..." This is where a new Christian must understand that there is no "if" when they realize their salvation in Christ Jesus. Let me use some Scripture to illustrate further...

"By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him." - Heb. 11:5-6. One of the pillars of a house built on Jesus is faith. You have to truly believe He exists and that He rewards. He rewards your belief in Him with salvation! If you didn't believe He rewards for belief in Him, why would you obey Him, and if you don't obey Him, He will reward you with the consequences! See how Enoch believed and had so much faith, that God translated him into heaven without tasting death? If we could do the same as he did, how wonderful, but it is not written exactly what he did to warrant the reward of translation.

Now the people in an unsaved status may wonder why someone would be a Christian, and why put faith in Him. Many people go to church, and even some of them, while they're at home, don't show much, if any, faith. Let me direct you to John 3:16 - 18; "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." Many recognize the John 3:16, but neglect to add the warning that follows the announcement of love. Many will give you the "sugar", but will not make you aware of the "vinegar". You can choose to have faith in Jesus, or not, but if you choose wrong, expect the consequence.

Now you would think that with this being said, that all people with one accord would jump on believing in Jesus, and all would eliminate the "if" from their concept of the potential of going to heaven; after all, we have the promise of John 3:16, and more good news of emancipated living, or owning grace, in Rom. 8:1 - 11; " There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you." Unfortunately, this is not so that everyone jump. Why?

Jesus told this parable that explains why: "And He spake many things unto them in parables, saying, 'Behold, a sower went forth to sow; and when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: and when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: but other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.'" (Matt. 13:3-9). But this is a parable, so many who read this will not understand it without the explanation, which Jesus also gave: "'Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower. When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side. But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended. He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful. But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.'" (Matt. 13:18-23).

Jesus explained it so well why so many people have the word "if" in their vocabulary concerning the concept of going to heaven! Eliminate all of the examples except for the last that Jesus gave in His solution to the parable, and you will have eliminated the "if"! When anyone who has not truly accepted Christ as their Savior hears the word, Satan comes and immediately removes what they heard from them, and they come out of their church and act as worldly as they usually do until they go to church again, as they do it like a chore or a conditioned ritual or just to appease all family who are watching to see if they are carrying out family tradition, as it were.

Then there are those who would turn on the Lord in the face of persecution or tribulation, and this will really be tested during the short reign of the antiChrist. I once edified a Christian who was witnessing at his apartment complex, and I reminded him of that which Jesus said; "Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for My sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you." (Matt. 5:10 -12). I told him that for a twofold purpose. Not just for his edification, but also so that he not be "offended" and become silent of witnessing. I sensed he was young in his Christian walk, and I thought it would be letting down Christ in not coming to this young man's edification.

The last are those who let worldly riches stick Satan's thumbs in their eyes. These are they whose wealth become their god, and as God is supplanted, they become not only unfruitful, but adulterers, gone a-whoring after the god mammon. If one knows not about mammon, see Matt. 6:24; "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon." Okay, this still doesn't tell the everyday person what mammon is; it is wealth! I would think many not understand the concept of adultery concerning God, so let me show you an example in Jer. 9:2 - 3; "Oh that I had in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfaring men; that I might leave my people, and go from them! for they be all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men. And they bend their tongues like their bow for lies: but they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith the LORD." As His church is His bride, so Christ experiences adultery from those who leave Him for another god of the world, such as mammon.

And now let us come full circle, and return to the concept of removing the word "if" from the vocabulary of those who have not come to realize Christ as their Savior. Perhaps this message may be of use to a witness who wants to convince one or more to come to Christ and give Him the victory in their lives, to espouse Him who gives eternal life, and come to remove the word "if" from the concept of going to heaven.

THE OLDEST PROFESSIONS

Sometimes people older than you profess to know something, but they only fool themselves by being proven wrong by factual data, and such is the case when someone tells you that the oldest profession in the world is prostitution, and that the next oldest is being a politician. Neither one make it into the top ten oldest professions that ever existed! Let's have some enlightenment from the historical section of the world's greatest book - the bible!

The answer to the question, "What is the world's oldest profession?" is - gardener! To find this answer, we logically must turn to Gen. 2:15; "And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it." And so we have here proof that Adam was the gardener of the garden of Eden. With no gardener, perhaps it would have better been called a wilderness?

The next profession is the profession of Adam and Eve's youngest son, Abel, and so, naturally, this profession can also be verified in Genesis. "And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground." (Gen. 4:2)

I thought it might be interesting to note that Cain was the first to experience a career change, forced on him by the Lord God, as a consequence to slaying his brother; "And He said, 'What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto Me from the ground. And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand; when thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth." (Gen. 4:10-12) So the next profession was borne out of the sin of Cain, and he became a city engineer! " And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch." (Gen. 4:17)

Okay, that's three professions, seven to go; the next profession is that of a cattleman and rancher! "And Adah bare Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle." (Gen. 4:20) And the fifth profession was that of being a musician! "And his brother's name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ." (Gen. 4:21) The sixth profession was borne of Tubal-cain, and he was a metalworker! " And Zillah, she also bare Tubalcain, an instructer of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubalcain was Naamah." (Gen. 4:22)

This next profession is only subtly spoken of, rather nebulous of the timing, but before the flood they were drinking wine, according to Jesus Himself in Matt. 24:38, so someone unnamed had to be a winemaker! " For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be." (Matt. 24:38-39)

Now the next profession some may find debatable, but I, in my eyes, see Noah as the father of shipbuilding; his was the first, and it is the most famous to this day. As a matter of fact, I would go as far as to say it would be also fair to think of Noah as the first zoo keeper! See these two passages from scripture as my establishment of my claims: "Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch. And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits. A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it." (Gen. 6:14-16) And; "And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female. Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive. And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them." (Gen. 6:19-21)

One more profession left, and nowhere in sight is the mention of prostitution or politics! The last profession was created of a curse from the mouth of Noah, and that profession was that of being a servant. "And he said, 'Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.'" (Gen. 9:25)

So there you have it; ten professions, and none of them are prostitution or politician! So if anyone make the mistake of telling you that either are first, or second, or even in the top ten oldest professions, you now have the proof that they are flat out wrong! Thanks be to God for the wisdom in His Word!

David Loved God's Laws (And you should, too!)

David Loved God's Laws (And you should, too!)

There are many reasons why people don't go to church. Some weren't raised by church-going, God-believing parents. Others went to churches to start, but it was as a chore to them, because they got no spiritual nourishment from the preacher, poor were his abilities to preach and shepherd, so they dropped out, and the pastor failed to go after the one sheep. But there's this other group I'm concerned for, and those are the sheep who don't want to hear God's laws, nor do they want to feel their conviction. If you had a good Dad while you were growing up, he had laws in your house, didn't he? And they were good laws, too, because they kept the house affairs in order, and kept you out of trouble worse than the trouble you were in with him at the moment that you disobeyed, because the law of the hand against where you sat down when you disobeyed his other laws let you know he loved you, because later on you realized that kept you from spoilage. So it is with God's laws. They are good laws, they keep us in order, and obedience breeds absence of consequences for disobedience. God also equates our obedience as love for Him, because we obey our good Father's wishes, and then He needs not chasten us while we obey. "Thou shalt also consider in thine heart, that, as a man chasteneth his son, so the LORD thy God chasteneth thee. Therefore thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to fear him." - Deut. 8:5-6. And then there's Hebrews: "For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the Father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons." - Heb. 12:6-8. Obedience also is a demonstration of faith, which also pleases God. "But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him." - Heb. 11:6.

In Psalms, David proclaimed his love for God's laws: "O how love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day. Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies: for they are ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the ancients, because I keep thy precepts." - Ps. 119:97-100. "I hate vain thoughts: but thy law do I love." - Ps. 119:113. "I hate and abhor lying: but Thy law do I love. Seven times a day do I praise Thee because of thy righteous judgments. Great peace have they which love Thy law: and nothing shall offend them." - Ps. 119:163-165. Now let's examine these statements David has made concerning God's law. David meditated on them all the time, so he has written. Why do you suppose he did that? I think I've found the answer in Josh. 1:7-8; "Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses My servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest. This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success." Whoa, now, there's a good reason to love His laws; they will make us prosperous and successful! But notice God instructed Joshua to study the laws day and night! And look what else David said; they made him wise! He found himself wiser than his teachers and the ancients. So all wisdom comes from God, just as He said in Exod. 28:3; "And thou shalt speak unto all that are wise hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron's garments to consecrate him, that he may minister unto Me in the priest's office." See how God gave wisdom to men in this passage? Lastly, he says loving God's laws brings great peace and nothing shall offend them. Well, if we live by laws, don't we have order, and isn't there peace in order? And if we accept what laws we have, is there any offense in the keeping of the laws?

Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy have the heaviest concentration of God's laws. God's famous Ten Commandments are in Exod. 20:1 - 17, and are repeated in Deut. 5:6 - 21. (Many people don't realize the repetition unless they've read the bible several times.) Leviticus is a manual for the Levite priests, and many of the laws concern all the Israelites. The title means "And He called", and the deeper concept is that He calls us to holiness through the obedience of His laws. Leviticus has a dual theme: the way to God concerning sacrifices and through the priests, and how to walk with God through the sanctity of living your life by His instructions. While we don't do much in the way of sacrifice, we still hold many of His laws regarding walking with Him as wisdom in this country. So long as the Israelites obeyed the laws, they had peace and safety, and for breaking any laws, they had sin and trespass offerings.

One might sadly think, "Oh, that Adam and Eve had not sinned in the garden, that we should have only had one commandment to be concerned with." Well, consider the wisdom Jesus gave us during His ministry. In the Gospel, Jesus summed them up into two commandments. A shyster of a biblical lawyer asked him a question: "Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, 'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.'" - Matt. 22:36-40. Can you see how all the laws in the bible are so wisely nestled into these two commandments Jesus gave? As we love ourselves, so we should love our neighbor, and If we study and obey the bible, indoctrinating all His laws into our daily life, then we show God how we love Him with our heart, soul, and mind. God's laws are perfect, because obeying them all means absolutely nobody gets hurt physically or mentally by anyone else, and if there is hurt, the law has reparations for that instance.

Now there are some who speak of the bible concerning an age of the law and age of grace; this is not said well, because it seems to imply that there was something wrong with the law, or that the law has some kind of malevolence to it in contrast with grace. I tell you, the law and grace both are good; it's the people that there is something wrong with, and that something is disobedience.  God's grace was in both the Old and the New Testament: "But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD." - Gen. 6:8. And Lot, too, found grace from the Lord; "And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city. And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed. And Lot said unto them, Oh, not so, my Lord: Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shewed unto me in saving my life..." - Gen. 19:16-19. And Moses, he too found grace in the sight of the Lord; "And Moses said unto the LORD, 'See, Thou sayest unto me, Bring up this people: and Thou hast not let me know whom Thou wilt send with me. Yet Thou hast said, 'I know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in My sight.' Now therefore, I pray Thee, if I have found grace in Thy sight, shew me now Thy way, that I may know Thee, that I may find grace in Thy sight: and consider that this nation is Thy people.' And He said, 'My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.' And he said unto Him, 'If Thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence. For wherein shall it be known here that I and Thy people have found grace in Thy sight?  Is it not in that Thou goest with us?  So shall we be separated, I and Thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth.' And the LORD said unto Moses, 'I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in My sight, and I know thee by name.'" - Exod. 33:12-17. And Gideon, too, he found grace in God's eyes; "And the LORD said unto him, 'Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.'  And he said unto Him, If now I have found grace in Thy sight, then shew me a sign that Thou talkest with me." - Judg. 6:16-17. And of course, God gave him the signs he asked for. So now let us see these four instances of proof that there be no need for an "age of the law and age of grace" distinction, because we know full well God's laws applied in the New Testament and beyond into today, and God's grace was also available in the Old Testament as well as it is today.

For the modern Christian, this passage of Scripture is considered a concept of owning grace through Christ Jesus; "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God..." - Rom. 8:1-16. Perhaps it may be considered more accurate to say an age of sacrifice and an age of grace embodied in the death of Christ Jesus on the cross, because we no longer do burnt or meat offerings, nor do we do offerings of animals of any kind, Because Jesus' perfect sacrifice eliminated the need for further sacrifices for sin.

Nonetheless, let us now go enlightened by all this to study the word of God day by day for as often as we are able, and soak up the wisdom of God. As did Joshua and David, let us strive for His wisdom to work in our daily lives, that we, too, may be prosperous, have good success, and be obedient to the Lord.

The Three Great Mistakes Of America

THE THREE GREAT MISTAKES OF AMERICA

     When our forefathers came to this country on the Mayflower so long ago, they came because of their many personal reasons, but they were predominately Christians. This country, when it became independent of Britain, was founded by Christian forefathers who created a very sound constitution and founded a very good government, and much if not all of the legislation that the people were ruled by was based on the bible! However, despite all their careful work to lay the foundation of a nation great and long lasting, I ponder the idea that they made a number of mistakes that have proven very hurtful to this country, and in man's entire history on this planet, no civilization, not one nation, has ever been perfect in eliminating all three of these mistakes from their foundation. Let's look at the first to be considered.

     God's own people saw all that God did for them, and knew of this God-given strategy for nation building from their own leaders, Moses and Joshua, and still they made the same mistake all nations before and after them have made; they allowed nonChristian people to live amongst them. In Deut. 7:1-4 it is written, "When the Lord thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than thou; And when the Lord thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them: Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son. For they will turn away thy son from following Me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the Lord be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly." Now consider how our country is faring today, and see if you can see the flaw we have in our governance, that we have allowed other religions to come to our country, and how they have affected us the same way that the Israelites were affected. Did not the perverseness, corruption, and sinfulness of the people of other religions cause the downfall of the Israelites, and didn't they pay the consequence of being conquered by other nations, because they failed to obey God? We've actually allowed the ungodly to put God out of our schools, and they have been working to oust Him from our public property in the form of crosses and Ten Commandment displays! Oh, how do we wrest the power from the ungodly who work to offend Him and rouse Him to wrath? Let's look at another mistake, shall we?

     Exod. 18:19-21 has it, "Hearken now unto my voice, I will give thee counsel, and God shall be with thee: Be thou for the people to God-ward, that thou mayest bring the causes unto God: And thou shalt teach them ordinances and laws, and shalt shew them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do. Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness;...". We as a nation have also not recognized this precept in the way we elect people to lead our nation, not from the lowly councilperson to the presidency. We seem to elect people for good looks, false promises, and without checking their backgrounds or past indiscretions instead of electing them based on at a minimum of at least proclaimed Christian values and beliefs! This nation has suffered many consequences as a result of unwise choices of the leaders of our country. Look at Dan. 7:25; "And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time." As the antiChrist shall seek to change times and laws, don't some politicians try to do that already? There is one more mistake that I feel our nation has made over the many years, and it is probably the greatest mistake of all.

     While we are young, we are able to accomplish much with our strength. We are able to learn quickly with a youthful mind. We are able to bring in an income to support ourselves and our family, if God is willing to bless us with a job. We are able to raise children, if God is willing to bless us with them. But once we become stricken with age, once we must depend on the retirement funds we (hopefully) were wise enough to put away because we can no longer work, once we are finished with the job of raising children, we can no longer sow, and we must reap of our actions when we were young. If we voted wrong, politicians may change laws or take our retirement away, or worse, may allow our nation to become weak enough to be beaten and lose its sovereignty. If we failed to raise our children properly, we may suffer their behavior as a result of how we reared them. This has become very evident over the decades; people have not raised their children correctly, and our nation continues to suffer more and more as a result. Let's look at this passage in Deut. 4:1-10; "Now therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them, that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers giveth you. Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you. Your eyes have seen what the Lord did because of Baalpeor: for all the men that followed Baalpeor, the Lord thy God hath destroyed them from among you. But ye that did cleave unto the Lord your God are alive every one of you this day. Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the Lord my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it. Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people. For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon him for? And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day? Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons' sons; specially the day that thou stoodest before the Lord thy God in Horeb, when the Lord said unto me, Gather me the people together, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they shall live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children." I tell you, many parents through the lifetime of our nation since it was created have not followed the wise instruction of this part of the Old Testament. Our nation is faster and faster going to its destruction in corruption, perversity, and godlessness. What number of real Christians as are left see this and are troubled, but God rewards action! Let us pray to our God for His help, and let us reprove our children with the bible. Let us lead the distraught and weary and influence them to believe His word, and allow God to reward appropriately those who refuse to hear and even mock Scripture. But let us preach, teach, and pray with love for those who need it, as Jesus wanted done then, and even now.

The Story Between God And Satan

THE STORY BETWEEN GOD AND SATAN

If you haven't been able to piece it all together, there's a history between God and Satan that's rather sad, because Satan wasn't supposed to be such a bad egg like he is. Ezekiel wrote about all the love God put into the creation of Lucifer; "Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, 'Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created...'" (Ezek. 28:12-15).

The devil sounds like he has every reason to be an obedient creation to God, but something went wrong; terribly wrong. Iniquity was found in him (Ezek. 28:15). What was that sin? Pride. His beauty was so bright, it corrupted his mind (Ezek. 28:17). As we who read the bible know from Prov. 16:18, pride goeth before a fall, and how great was Satan's fall! According to Luke 10:18, Jesus spoke as an eyewitness that he fell like lightning, and that's faster than I would ever want to fall down! As Isaiah said of Satan after his fall, "Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; that made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?" (Isa. 14:16-17).

So you might next want to know how this sin manifested itself in Satan, that God came to notice it, and that answer is in Isaiah's book; "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High." (Isa. 14:12-14). Satan didn't even have to speak his sin, it was read in his heart by our omniscient God, and immediately God dealt with the devil and his sin!

Now many, if not all who read this, have heard of the fires of hell, but remember that part of the gospel where Jesus talks about hell, and where "...their worm never dies"? Look in Mark 9:43 - 44; "And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched." If you want to see another reference to those worms, look now into Isa. 14:11; "Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee." Are there any volunteers to be in hell where the fire is never quenched and there are worms? Believe it or not, all who disbelieve in Jesus till their final breath.

So now the story becomes ugly for you and me. We didn't want a part of what happened between God and Satan, but the devil brings it to us. He started with some of the other angels, and you can find them in 2 Pet. 2:4; "For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;". Satan goes after people, too, such as novices at Christianity who get into positions of leadership too quickly and then become proud, as is written in 1 Tim. 3:6; "Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil." So while we're trying to follow Christ, we have to be careful Lucifer doesn't drag us into the mess he's in. And then there's false teachers; they teach everything and anything unScriptural, even up to denying Christ who bought us, and them, too. They exploit who they will, walk after the flesh...how many have been exposed for molestation, homosexuality, and adultery and fornication?  There are also the covetous who do religious work for personal gain. These are all spoken of in 2 Pet. 2:1 - 22. The devil has many devices; he wants us to think we can thrive independent of God; but in the end, it will prove to eternal damnation.

Other ways the devil tries to steal souls is the idea of worshipping demons and false idols, and this has been since the Old Testament, as when the people were warned in Exod. 20:3 - 6; "Thou shalt have no other gods before Me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate Me; and shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love Me, and keep My commandments." From one end of the bible to the other, man is warned about false god and demon worship. Even to Rev. 9:20 - 21; "And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk: Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts."

Oh, who can count the devices of the devil? Idolatry, suicide, fortune telling, astrology, witchcraft - all these works of the devil are told of in the bible, and from the time God warned up to even now, people do these things. Exod. 20:13 has it that "thou shalt not kill", and yet people will believe the thoughts demons put in their heads that suicide will release them from some great guilt, or from serious problems they have.

Yes, Satan and his evil angels are determined to drag as many human souls to hell with them as they can. Here is a passage from 1 Tim 4:1-3; "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth."

So understand that Satan is our enemy, just as he has made himself God's adversary. Actually, his very name means adversary, and the name "devil" means slanderer. We never went to him to pick a fight with him, he came to us to take our souls. See in 1 Pet. 5:8; "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:"

Satan uses his workers, besides himself, to try to fool you. They will imitate God's disciples as if they were His, too, so they have to be observed in order to discern if they be of God or of Satan. As it is written in 2 Cor 11:12-15; "But what I do, that I will do, that I may cut off occasion from them which desire occasion; that wherein they glory, they may be found even as we. For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works."

And so Satan and his demons try to trick us and use us, because he knows it is the will of the Father that all of us would be saved, but as he is God's adversary, his will would be that none of us get saved. He wants us to worship him (Matt. 4:8 - 9), he wants us to worship false gods and idols (Rev. 9:20), he wants you to believe perversions of the gospel and bible (Gal. 1:6 - 7), and really wants you not to believe in the bible at all so that he can lie to you in all ways, because he is the father of lying (John 8:44). He seeks to eat us up as a roaring lion (1 Pet. 5:8), knowing that sating his appetite on each soul is against the will of our loving Father.

So long as we believe, however, Satan cannot have us. John 3:16 guarantees it to the true believer, and Jesus Himself said nobody can take us from His hand in John 10:28. Jesus, in His death, defeated Satan by nailing our sins to the cross (Col. 2:13 - 15). And God has given us armor, that we may stand against the Devil and his demons (Eph. 6:11 - 19), who are not mere flesh as we are. We can resist the devil (James 4:7) because God is in us (1 John 4:4)! Let me emphasize Eph. 6:18 in relation to putting on this armor properly, "... Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit...".

Now the devil is by no means done and giving up. He will test the world with his antiChrist (2 Thess. 2:8 - 9). Rev. 13:11 - 17 has more trouble for men in the Tribulation, that mankind must worship or die and submit or starve! But for those who resist this terrible trial, and don't take the mark of the beast, nor worship his image, they will never hunger or thirst, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes! (Rev. 7:14b - 17) Satan will lose his war with God in heaven (Rev. 12:7 - 10), and Jesus will rule both in Jerusalem according to Rev. 20:2 - 4, "And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years." and in the new Jerusalem over all His believers (Rev. 21:1 - 7).

And so this is the story, from beginning to end, of God and Satan, and how we got caught up in it all. Though we suffer trials and tribulation, believing in Jesus through it all, we will enjoy eternal bliss with Christ Jesus!

Oh, But Politics And Religion DO Mix!

OH, BUT POLITICS AND RELIGION DO MIX!

I can just imagine hearing many out there reading the title and saying to themselves, "Oh, no, he can't be serious!" - but I am! All who claim to be Christians have an obligation to demonstrate their belief by voting with their Christian faith, and not because the candidate is good-looking, a smooth talker, or promises change for the better without naming exactly what that change is. Even then, we must look at their history, and their friends, and judge their words. Look at Dan. 7:25; "And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time." As the antiChrist shall seek to change times and laws, don't some politicians try to do that already?

The bible has it that Moses was advised by Jethro, his father-in-law, to elect godly men. Jethro was a priest in Midian, and owned a flock. Let's see what all is written in Exodus about this: "And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses sat to judge the people: and the people stood by Moses from the morning unto the evening. And when Moses' father in law saw all that he did to the people, he said, What is this thing that thou doest to the people? why sittest thou thyself alone, and all the people stand by thee from morning unto even? And Moses said unto his father in law, Because the people come unto me to enquire of God: When they have a matter, they come unto me; and I judge between one and another, and I do make them know the statutes of God, and his laws. And Moses' father in law said unto him, The thing that thou doest is not good. Thou wilt surely wear away, both thou, and this people that is with thee: for this thing is too heavy for thee; thou art not able to perform it thyself alone. Hearken now unto my voice, I will give thee counsel, and God shall be with thee: Be thou for the people to God-ward, that thou mayest bring the causes unto God: And thou shalt teach them ordinances and laws, and shalt shew them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do. Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens: And let them judge the people at all seasons: and it shall be, that every great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they shall judge: so shall it be easier for thyself, and they shall bear the burden with thee. If thou shalt do this thing, and God command thee so, then thou shalt be able to endure, and all this people shall also go to their place in peace. So Moses hearkened to the voice of his father in law, and did all that he had said. And Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people, rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. And they judged the people at all seasons: the hard causes they brought unto Moses, but every small matter they judged themselves." - (Exod. 18:13-26).

This explains what I feel is one of the three great mistakes of America, because not everybody votes using their belief in God and the advice of the Scriptures. Do you see the qualities that Jethro names to Moses for the men he should elect to be judges over God's people? Jethro said, "...thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness..." And Jethro also said, "...thou shalt teach them ordinances and laws, and shalt shew them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do." So from this, we should understand that Jethro's counsel to Moses was to elect godly men, educated in God's laws and hateful of corruption and perversity. This is good advice; it is godly advice. Moses heeded it. Shouldn't we?

Moses elected men that he had to teach, because God's laws and statutes weren't available on paper, nor on a CD, nor on a website. However, in this day and age, we should be electing church-going Christians, educated in godliness. People who go to Christian churches and who are believers that will behave as godly men and women and execute their elected positions with godly values. They will be the same kind that Jethro spoke of, God-fearing, truthful, and hating covetousness. But even more valuable to our country and people they will be who are instilled with obedience to God's laws and statutes. Imagine if we voted with our Christianity; the media would be hurting for news! They wouldn't have any politicians to write about for any type of corruption or perversity, or any other form of wrong doing. And would this be a bad thing, seeing as some forms of media only survive on gossip and exposing the evil done by the ungodly?

So what would you look for when choosing a nominee for a political position? Most logically, you would choose the more godly of the candidates. Now all of us are human, so it is quite natural you're not going to find a perfect candidate, but you can educate yourself on each candidate's stand on issues and then choose more wisely the best candidate for the position. Are they Christian? Are they pro-abortion ((Exod. 20:13 ("thou shalt not kill.")? Pro-abortion is like offering a child to the god Molech in Lev. 20:1 - 5! Do they have a perverse or ungodly history? Are they known for a past position wherein they caused debt and thereby put taxpayers or a business into a position of paying interest ((see Exod. 22:25) "If thou lend money to any of my people that is poor by thee, thou shalt not be to him as an usurer, neither shalt thou lay upon him usury.") Using the ten Commandments and God's statutes of the bible, you can pick the best candidate for each position of authority in your city, state, and country, and thereby strengthening it with God-given values.

Consider what happened with our schools. We, as a country, allowed an atheist to change our entire public school system by allowing God to be taken out of our schools. What happened? Almost immediately, God was replaced by guns, and Columbine high started the sad parade of media-covered school shootings and killings of all sorts. Who was in authority over what happens in the schools that allowed God to be taken out? An unChristian person, I submit to you, was given the office of authority, that they took God out of our schools. An ungodly person was allowed to have that office of authority, and so long as God is kept out of schools, it seems apparent to me that guns and drugs will be in His place, or until a godly person puts Him in one of His many rightful places in our country. A majority of people elected this person into that position. A majority should recognize the consequence of the ungodly decision and vote out the incumbent and replace them with a godly person who will reinstate God into the public school system.

Finally, I submit to you for consideration this; that in the final analysis, politics will be swallowed up by what is written in the bible. That in the end, after the white throne judgment, we will be under a theocracy, whether any be Christian and accept Christ's rule with great joy or whether any be in rejection of what is written in Rev. 22:5 and Dan. 7:27. ("And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.") Rev. 22:5), ("And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him.") Dan. 7:27). I accept Christ's rule with great joy!

WHY YOU SHOULD NEVER CELEBRATE HALLOWEEN

WHY YOU SHOULD NEVER CELEBRATE HALLOWEEN

Halloween's origin is not Christian; it is of a Satanic druid holiday. It is an unconscious approval of Satan worship, a partaking in that which is evil, which we are instructed in Scripture not to do. 1 Thess. 5:22 has it, "Abstain from all appearance of evil.". To dress your children up as ghosts and goblins and devils and such is teaching them approval of it! Witch covens and Satanists have an annual worship service of the devil on that evening, including a blood sacrifice! The Celtic druids chose this night to celebrate everything wicked, evil, and dead. They gathered arounda acommunity bonfire and offered sacrifice, and the celebration remained the same even after the Romans conquered the Celts.

The Druids considered the oak trees and mistletoe and hours of midnight and noon as sacred, and practiced divination, which is also a violation of God's laws. Deut 18:9-12 has it, "When thou art come into the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord: and because of these abominations the Lord thy God doth drive them out from before thee."

Trick or treating and Jack-o-Lantern carving and display, these too are associated with Halloween. The candy and fruit given at Halloween are of a pagan tradition concerning that if wicked spirits came to your door, they were satisfied with being fed, and so would not scare people as they would if nothing was offered. The Jack-o-Lantern was born from a false theology that a man named Jack died one day and couldn't enter heaven or hell, and so he was doomed to wander in darkness with his lantern until Judgment Day. What a terrible, evil hogwash! Christians trust that Jesus our Savior died for our sins, His blood paid for all our sins at the cross, and we don't have to wander nor wonder until Judgment Day. Anyone who has read Rom. 8:1-6 knows it reads this: "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace."

These Druids were false teachers, spreading folklore such as that men's souls do not perish, but rather transfer from one person to another after death. Many people believe they existed in a former life. This is unscriptural: according to Heb. 9:27, "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:" They also believed that on Halloween, the wicked souls were allowed to inhabit the bodies of animals. It is written in a tract by Rev. D.A. Waite that the Roman Catholics accepted this "Halloween" in the early 700s, and thus it came to America and has been established to this day.

So what other warnings and accounts against Halloween should I bring to mind for you? Acts 19:18-20? ("And many that believed came, and confessed, and shewed their deeds. Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver. So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed.") Lev. 19:31? ("Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God.") Or how about Eph. 5:11-12? ("And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret.") While it is a shame to speak of these things, it is done in the open every Oct. 31st, as soon as darkness falls, and some adults dress up as all manner of creatures and things before the night even falls!

So I tell you therefore that bible reading/believing true Christians will not participate in any way, not by displays nor by teaching their children to participate in any manners related to this annual wicked and evil concept. If you have done this in the past, unaware of all these things you have read today, repent, turn away from practicing, for we have a forgiving God to those who confess all sin. Rather, teach your children 1 Cor 10:31, wherein it is written, "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God."

I OWN You!

I OWN YOU!

While going through life, after becoming a Christian, one must come to a point where we learn we no longer are free to do with ourselves as we please, but rather that we are not our own; we are owned! That's right, we who are Christians are bondservants! 1 Cor. 6:19-20 tells us distinctly that we are not our own, and that we were bought with a price, and further tells us our purpose in life, which is to glorify God in our body and our spirit, because they belong to God. In other words, act like and think like you belong to Him. Obey His commandments, and you're glorifying Him.

Now one might wonder where the term came from, but Christians were first called Christians in Acts 11:26. The disciples were in Antioch at the time, and there was where they first received the title.

There may be some out there who read this and think they don't like this concept of being owned, but we all are, regardless of whether we want to accept it or not. Gen. 2:7-8 and 21-23 gives us good reason; He made us! God spoke the world into existence, but He formed man from the dust of the earth; how special is that? All who believe in creationism that is documented in the bible understand by this passage that we are decendants of that first living soul, and that every one of us He made. Melchizedek in Gen. 14:19 also recognized that God possesses, or owns, all heaven and earth.

Now in knowing that the Lord made us, He can also destroy us! He thought about it in Gen. 6:7, and, except for Noah, who found grace in His sight, we almost didn't exist for very long! Think that was a one-time almost? Check again, because in Gen. 19:24-26, He totally destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah with fire and brimstone, and Lot's wife looked upon it, and she was destroyed to for her disobedience! If one were to think He wouldn't bother with only one person, guess again! Acts 12:21-23 explains that even if one offend Him, He can destroy them! If He should choose to give mercy and not destroy, He could also allow affliction to overcome an offensive person, such as in Acts 13:8-11, where a sorcerer was caused to be blind.

But let not your mind settle on these things of the disobedient, for all who accept Christ as Savior and believe in the Father have good things to look forward to. First of all, He saved us! That's right; we deserve death for our sinfulness, but John 3:16-17 clearly gives us the joyful good news that Jesus came to save us from our sins, and we only need believe on Him! God didn't send Him into the world to condemn us, but rather to save us. Now if you don't understand the need for being saved from death, Rom. 6:20-23 explains that sin creates a debt to be paid in blood, in death, but Jesus paid that debt, and so as a gift from God, we have eternal life through Christ Jesus. No other stipulations apply.

As God owns us, we should also understand we are to be His obedient servant, just as Paul proclaimed to be in Rom. 1:1. As believers in Christ, we willingly do His will, understanding that living as He wants of us gives us forgiveness and eternal life. This leads us to owning grace, Rom. 8:1; "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." Okay, what's that mean, exactly? Let not sin own you (Rom. 6:14, 16-18). Learn what sin is, and don't do it anymore. This involves reading the bible and going to church, as when you go to a GOOD church, the pastor will answer questions that arise from reading the word and also orchestrate a good bible study plan for anyone who will attend. As your pastor gives you Christian truth, and you learn it over time, guided by the Holy Spirit, you apply it to your lives, and you become servants of righteousness.

At this point you may be wondering where I'm going with all this being owned by God, but trust that it's all good. Rom. 8:13-17 explains that if we kill the deeds of the body, and live and walk in the Spirit, we are then adopted by God, and when we are adopted by God, we are His children, and thus joint heirs with Christ of the Father's kingdom!

So now as you understand that it is good, yea, even fabulous to be owned by God, that we should inherit the kingdom, let us with emphatic joy shout, "Amen!"

The Sinner's Superheroes - It's All A Matter Of Faith

THE SINNER'S SUPERHEROES - IT'S ALL A MATTER OF FAITH

I would like in this issue to give hope and instill faith to those who are afraid to make the decision to accept Christ, to those who have recently done so, but think back on their past, and for those who, even having some maturity in their walk, may get a chink in their armor from he who plants seeds of doubt, knowing that as humans we have imperfections and are not always impervious to his (the devil's) darts. I would like to showcase some biblical figures, particularly a few with many sins on their record, but because of their faith, they are with Jesus and in heaven.

The first is one who knew Jesus only just before He died, and then he, too, died. The man called by many, "the good thief". Now this is quite the misnomer, because he was not a good thief at all, but rather he was the one of the two who asked Jesus to remember him when He comes into His kingdom, and then was promised paradise. So really, he was "the thief made good", because he died with a promise from Christ to be with Him there in paradise. Now this was just a typical thief for the most part; his sins caught up with him, and there he was, up ther on the cross next to Jesus'. He initially wasn't any better than those who were there at the scene, because like many there, he was mocking Him, as is documented in Matt. 27:44, and Mark 15:32. Now in Luke 23:40 - 43 is where I point out that this thief, who obviously lived a life sinful enough to warrant death on a cross, suddenly came up with faith enough to not only rail the other thief and his taunting of Christ, but to ask Him to remember him when He came into His kingdom! For that, he was rewarded with verification from Jesus that he would be there that day with Him in paradise! Takes a lot of those "Yeah, but..." doubts out of your mind, doesn't it?

Let's go with another person with many sins, only this one is from the Old Testament; how about David? Have you not heard how he killed Goliath (1 Sam. 17:50), after the sixth commandment was given from Moses that "...Thou shalt not kill" (Exod. 20:13)? And not only did he kill Goliath, but tens of thousands (1 Sam. 18:7)? And he killed after that 200 more for a form of dowry (1 Sam. 18:27)? And he further killed more, as is recorded in 1 Sam. 27:8 - 11 and 30:16 - 17. Even in 2 Sam. 8:1 - 18, David killed thousands upon thousands from Philistia, Moab, Zobah, Syria, and Edom. Well over 40,000 he slaughtered in his defeat of Ammon in 2 Sam. 10. As if these many killings were not enough sin, David also sinned in adultery (2 Sam. 11:2 - 5), and to make it worse, after finding out she was pregnant with his child, David had her husband Uriah killed, and sent the letter of instructions how to have him killed in Uriah's own hand! While all these sins are documented in the books of Samuel, despite all these, God's salvation was his. Understand that David had great faith, even before he was king of Israel. He would not harm Saul, the Lord's anointed (1 Sam. 24:6, 10 -12). For all that he did, God promised David his house, kingdom, and throne established for ever (2 Sam. 7:16). This was because David's faith pleased God. As Heb. 11:6 has it, it is impossible to please God without faith. One must believe He is and that He rewards. David praised God much, as in 2 Sam. 7:18 - 29, and don't forget the 73 Psalms David wrote concerning so many aspects of God, and much of it was praise to Him! David's song of his faith in God can be found in 2 Sam. 22:1 - 51.

The last I want to cover is Paul, once Saul. Before his conversion, Saul was into persecution of Christians. Acts 26:9 - 12 has Saul, now Paul, confessing to king Agrippa that before his conversion, he did everything he could contrary to the name of Jesus, shutting up saints in prison, having them put to death, punishing them in synagogues, and compelling them to blaspheme, even persecuting Christians in strange cities. Acts 7:57 - 8:1, 3 has him approving of the stoning of Stephen, a Christian, and documents that he went after Christians with such hatred, he was like a rampaging beast. Acts 9:1-6, 10 - 18, 21, however, explains his wonderful metamorphosis caused by Jesus Himself! After his incredible transformation, Saul, now Paul, became a great champion for Christ, full of faith. He blinded Elymas the sorcerer by the power of God, and when he healed a cripple in Acts 14:8 -20, the people of Lystra called him and Barnabas gods, but after he corrected them, there were visiting Jews who persuaded the people to stone him (ironic that he should learn how Stephen felt!), but later, surrounded by disciples, he got up and went to Derbe. Acts 16:16 -39 has a story of Paul driving a spirit out of a damsel, and ended up being beaten and given stripes for his good deed. Acts 19:6, 11-12 has it that God wrought many miracles up until his death, but what faith he suddenly had after his conversion! He was the first major missionary for Christ, making 3 journeys as His missionary that were so remarkable for any man in that time in history. His final journey was to Rome, where he was martyred.

So when someone thinks they've committed too many sins, that there's no hope for someone who has done so much wrong for so long, or that you can't do much at your age for the Lord, consider one of these superheroes of a sinner like you and me, who, despite when they realized they displeased God in their lifetime, had faith that He is and He rewards, and that they should do and say the righteous things with whatever time they had left. Especially look at the "good thief"; the only thing he could do was to defend Christ in His last hours before He died, and Christ's answer to his request to remember him was an invaluable reward to any who should hear it; (Luke 23:43) "...Verily I say unto thee, to day shalt thou be with Me in paradise."!

R U Bulletproof?

R U BULLETPROOF?

Ever see someone do a lot of things that amazed you they could perform them, and you say to yourself, "How'd they get away with (all) that? Or, "How did they perform that great feat, or those great feats? One would think some people "bulletproof", and perhaps, Phil. 4:13 comes to mind for some Christians. If we have the faith, indeed, His assistance makes us able to do all things through His strength.

Consider Job in Job 1:9 - 11; the devil seemed to be complaining to God that he couldn't test Job because of the hedge God had around Job and all he had, suggesting Job had selfish motives in His blessings for serving Him. Do you feel a hedge around you and your things? And if perhaps a string of things go wrong for you, do you wonder if you're going through a "Job experience"?

Psa. 91:1 - 7 has the author proclaiming his trust in God, calling Him Refuge and Fortress. The author further trusts the Lord to remove him from the snare of the fowler, that is, the devil. Verses 5 - 7 proclaim our security in the Lord always, not necessarily in the physical sense, but definitely in the spiritual sense, which is vastly more important, even priceless. Matt. 16:26 provides insight from Jesus just how invaluable the soul is!

Imagine being king Hezekiah in the Old Testament in Isa. 38:1 - 6. Here you had a ruler sick and and near death, told by the prophet Isaiah he was going to die. This king, not wishing to be gone from the earth just yet, humbled himself before God, crying out his heart, and asked God to remember how he had lived prior to his sickness. The prophet returned with a guarantee from the Lord that he would live another 15 years! On top of this, the Lord said He would keep Hezekiah and his city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and the Assyrians never even got close enough for Israel to see their shields! While they didn't have bullets in those days, I'd say the king and his city were at least Assyrian-proof.

Peter had Jesus' word in John 21:18 that he would live long enough to be old, but not that he would die a natural death, but that of a martyr. True to His word (as we knew He would be!), when Peter was imprisoned by Herod, in Acts 12:6 - 11 he is unchained by an angel and led from prison and thought it was all a vision until the angel departed from him. Peter did not die until 34 years after the crucifixion of Jesus, martyred the same year as Paul.

In Luke 10:1 - 12, 17 - 20, Jesus sends 70 disciples to go do what is today called doorknocking, and gives them specific instructions, advising them that He sent them as lambs among wolves. They returned to Him with great joy that they had power over devils, and Jesus assured them that He gave them power over everything the enemy had, and that nothing would hurt them, but even more wonderful for them was His assurance that their names were written in heaven! These 70 were "bulletproof" not only in life, but in death, and it was sealed with the promise of Christ Jesus!

Remember that we have an Advocate (1 John 2:1); Christ Jesus, and He is our Rock, just as He was in Luke 22:31-32 for the disciples. Jesus told Peter the devil desired him that he might sift him as wheat, and Jesus gave him comfort by telling him that He had prayed for him, that his faith not fail. Of all you who read this and have ever had a time in your life when you had little or no faith, that has to be some anxiety attack! How wonderful it is for us who believe to know in the present that we are bulletproof from the devil and the gates of hell in the blood of Christ Jesus who died for all our sins.

Eph. 6:10 - 20 tells us that we have armor; yes, armor of God! We have the devil for an adversary, and he's not alone. He's got his demonic hosts, principalities, powers, and rulers of the darkness of this world. We have the helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness, the sword of the Spirit, the sandals of the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, and the belt of truth. This is not to say that an armored Christian is invulnerable to attack and difficulties. Psa. 44:22 and Rom. 8:36 tell of great difficulties, not meant to be obstacles for the people of God, but He allows us to be tested by them. Remember Job? Here's a man who loved the Lord, a practiced godly man, and he is greatly tested by the devil's work against him. Now he doesn't know what's going on, and some friends condemn him as having done something wrong. Eliphaz tells him he's obviously being disciplined by God, and needs to repent. Bildad tells him he's suffering because of his sins, and calls Job a hypocrite. Zophar tells him he's suffering from his sinfulness and deserves much worse, and that he needs to repent. Got friends like these? Job did nothing wrong, but he was attacked by the devil, and his friends made him out to being a sinner. Great to have these friends, who put down your counsel, and hurl stones at you from their own glass houses. The devil will use your friends to see if you're bulletproof, too, and even your wife, as Job found out (Job 2:9). Also understand that while Job's test was extrinsic, that is to say, an attack on his physical external self and possessions, do not underestimate that the devil will not launch an attack of intrinsic nature, that is to say, on your mind. Satan may attack you with doubts, misinterpretations, delusions, paranoia...and you must wear the belt of truth and hold up the shield of faith against Lucifer's lies and fiery darts. Knowing the bible well and edifying one another in the faith, even yourself with the promises of God, give great strength to this shield.

Paul asserts that those who are in Christ Jesus are inseparable from God in Rom. 8:38 - 39. As we know Christ's salvation for us with open eyes, those who are saved cannot be separated from the love of God in Christ Jesus. Jesus Himself promised in John 10:27 - 28, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me: and I give them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand."

Mark 4:6, 17 describes people who fall away in a parable Jesus tells, and later, He explains to His disciples His parable. There are some who will be tested, and may even be being tested now, and, if they have no root, if they are not genuinely saved, it will be known, because they will fall away from the faith. These will stop obeying the commandments, stop proclaiming the gospel, and walk the path of the lost because of persecution or great affliction. Even some will need only little affliction, and they will buckle. For those who are saved, we have 1 Cor. 10:2, which tells us God is faithful and won't suffer us a temptation we cannot bear, but make a way we can escape our test. Now in this understand Paul doesn't mean we get out of the test, but rather that we will be able to bear it, because God will give us the power. Don't forget the martyrdom of the apostles. They did not give up their faith, and were able to bear the death they had at the hands of their persecutors.

So now we understand that while the saved are not necessarily physically bulletproof, they are indeed spiritually bulletproof. Friends and family may be used by the devil to test that, and no matter how severe the test, God will give us the power to withstand the test, we who are genuinely saved. Our assurance is spoken by Christ; "neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand."! Oh, what a reason to praise God!

Satan - Thief Extraordinaire!

SATAN – THIEF EXTRAORDINAIRE!

Satan, that evil angel with the corrupt mind - is a thief! But he is not just a thief of your material goods; he wants souls! And he wants to steal them from God. While it is the will of the Father that all would be saved, the devil would have it that not a one be saved; so he does what he can to steal souls! Matt. 13:4, 19, Mark 4:4, 15, Luke 8:5, 12 is where Jesus tells the parable of the sower to illustrate how many people don’t absorb the word of God to the point of becoming believers. The devil snatches away those who don’t understand the word of God.

Paul warned of departure and doubt in Heb. 3:12-15, using Israel’s experience. The devil wants you to lose your faith in God. He wants you to doubt, directly opposing Jesus’ instruction in the gospel not to doubt. The devil will use tricks on your mind to give you cause to doubt, and if he can blind you to the truth and lead you astray, then he has stolen your belief, giving you an evil heart of unbelief. If we have faith that He will help us in any needs we have, then our hope will not allow us to commit such an act of faithlessness. We are warned of this work of Satan for a reason in Mark 16:14-16, wherein it is written that Jesus Himself said, “…He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.”

Satan can steal our friends by the power of sin, and this is why we need to edify one another. James 1:12-15 has it that we are blessed if we can endure temptation. James goes further to say not to say that you’re tempted of God, because God cannot be tempted with evil; we are tempted by our own lusts.

2 Tim. 4:10 has Paul commenting that one of his friends, Demas, has forsaken him, having loved this present world, and departed from him. The pleasures of the world are carnal, and at odds with God. 1 John 2:15 explains. It says that if any man loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. Satan is in charge of the world, and if one loves what is of Satan, who is God’s enemy, then one is at enmity with God.

Worldliness causes the practice of sin. James 4:1-8 has something of an explanation of this. It starts about where wars come from, but not always meaning over land and property and one of the opposite sex, but also a war to be spiritual instead of carnal, as Paul also alludes to in Rom. 7:23, & Gal. 5:17. When we war with our carnal selves and lose, it is an act of unfaithfulness, and this is where Paul is coming from when James calls his readers adulterers and adulteresses. When he says a person makes themselves a friend of the world, he means that they have gone awhoring after a friendship with the world, thus they have in effect given themselves separation from God. Jesus also spoke of this to His apostles in John 15:19, wherein He said, “If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.” Because the apostles were joined to God in a relationship, they were hated by the world. So the consequences of being a friend of the world, being in practice of sinfulness, puts us at enmity with God. Now in order to repair our condition of enmity with God, we are advised to submit ourselves to God, obeying His commandments and statutes. We need resist the devil, and he will flee from us; for greater is He that is in us than is in the world! Amen! Make that decisive break with the old life! Be clothed with humility, and God will exalt you. Do not give place to the devil (Eph. 4:27); in other words, don’t give him an opportunity. And how are you to protect yourself from the devil? Eph. 6:11-18 has the answer, and verse 18 means that we should pray fervently and persistently for one another, because we are all prey of the devil. If he attacks you with a temptation in your mind, tell him to go away in Jesus’ name! Don’t take him on alone. Jesus told him to “…get behind Me, Satan…”

Satan also tries to steal you from God by devotional failure. Perhaps that was what David was concerned about when he wrote in Ps. 119:10-11, “With my whole heart have I sought Thee: O let me not wander from Thy commandments. Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee.” We seek the Lord by reading what He says in the bible. David seemed concerned in this passage that he might wander away from His commandments and into sin. He seems to be saying his acquiring of the Word in his memory will keep him clean from sin, because if David keeps the word of God, how can he sin? Don’t want to be stolen by devotional failure to God! Heb. 10:25-27 has it another way. The unforgivable sin is rejection of Christ’s death for sin, because how else do you get to the Father? Stopping going to church is devotional failure, in that we stop glorifying God in the assembly of the faithful, and being alone at home, or even with our family, how do we edify each other in the Word if we are not joined with other Christians in the study of the bible? And how do we pay God His rightful tithes, and avoid being God robbers, as is written in Mal. 3:8-10? And if we are on death’s door, and have failed in devotion to Him, does one not believe in the everlasting furious fire of hell? Let not Satan steal your salvation in this way, either!

Another failure is called domestic failure, by which I mean, not teaching your family to serve God the Almighty, and remember that you lead by example. If you don’t go to church, why should the rest of your family? And in doing so, you’re not teaching them respect for the Lord. Now in Josh. 24:15 it is written, “And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, In whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” By saying this, Joshua is asserting that he will cause his family to serve the Lord. Now he causes this to happen by going to the tabernacle (church) and worshipping God, and reading His word, which at that time was the Pentateuch. “On the other side of the flood” means all those who served not God save Noah and his family of seven. From father to son to grandson, none taught their descendants to fear and respect God, and they were washed away in the flood, save only Noah and his family. So we have a responsibility to teach our children and spouse to be devoted to God, lest Satan steal our family from their eternal life with Christ in heaven.

2 Tim. 3:1-5 tells of the peril of apostasy, or dedicational failure to God. “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.” “What last days is Paul talking about?” Man has been like this since Adam’s children, when Cain slew Abel; This should mean from since Paul wrote this letter to Timothy until Christ comes again, although thanks to multiple forms of media such as television and the internet and radio, we seem to feel this abounds now more than at any other time in history. There are more human beings in the world now than there ever were, and so all this evil seems greater because there are more men and women to perpetrate all the evil attributes Paul mentions. Some of these types of evil characteristics of people need better clarification. For lovers of their own selves, see Phil. 2:21, where it explains they love themselves more than Christ. Covetous means as in 2 Pet. 2:3, and Peter has a fearful condemnation of those who practice this personal trait. Boasters means those who speak great swelling words, such as in Jude 16. The proud can be found in 1 Tim. 6:4, including teachers of heresy. Blasphemers refers to those who make shipwreck of their faith, such as are in 1 Tim. 1:19-20, and Paul seems to be saying that he ostracized Hymenaeus and Alexander from help or fellowship from the church. Perhaps they were the first excommunicated, and what a dreadful condition it seems they had imparted on them, because Paul says that he delivered them unto Satan. In this instance, Satan has stolen two souls. Disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, means just how you read it. All these things come with divine abandonment, as is explained in Rom. 1:24-32. Heady refers to being reckless in what they’re doing. Lastly, we were all made in the image of God, but not behaving so are those who demonstrate these characteristics.

Lastly, look in Matt. 24:11-12 to find the other way Satan steals souls; when one is overcome with that “don’t care” attitude. “And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.” Jesus warned of the false prophets, as ravening wolves, in Matt. 7:15 earlier, and as grievous wolves in Acts 20:29-30, to draw people away from the true word. Paul, too, warned of deception by these false teachers in 1 Tim. 4:1, those that would teach that Christ has already come, and Paul warned that these heresies were inspired by demons. Because so much deception and wickedness abounds in the church is not an excuse for not going anymore at all, but it is justification for not going to that church (2 Tim. 3:5)!

So indeed, the devil is as a roaring lion, devouring all whom he can. Thank God that Jesus said of His sheep, “…and no man can pluck them from My hand…”!