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…”!

Psalms Of Trust

PSALMS OF TRUST

King David was one of a number of figures of the Old Testament who stands out unique from the others in his own way. He sinned much, read much, wrote much, and importantly, he trusted God much. He trusted the Lord in many ways. Consider Psalm 91. David finds security in God's care, His character, His protection, and His love. David finds security in His secret place, which is His tabernacle (Ps. 27:5), in His pavilion (Ps. 31:20), even God Himself is David's hiding place (Ps. 32:7). Ps. 119:114 also has it that God is his hiding place and shield. Under the Almighty's shadow and wings are often used terms to describe the gentle loving protection of God (Ps. 17:8). Consider a mother bird and her babies; they are quiet when the mother is settled over top of them, and they are safe under her wings, and so they make no fuss. When she is gone hunting food for them, then they make noise, because their mother's safety is absent as she herself is, and this is the character of the safety God's wing offered David, and us, too.

When David says He is a refuge and a fortress, you think of protection from enemies, right? When calling God "the Lord", it is His most noteworthy appellation, because it means He is the active, self-existent One, and Israel's Redeemer. If your protection never sleeps, isn't this a noteworthy character of that protection? So it is with the Lord, and David's trust is wisely placed.

Now in Psa. 91:2 - 3, understand that the fowler is the devil, and he has a number of snares. One of the worst is pride, and it is a popular snare in today's world. Nebuchadnezzar was proud up until the point he lost his mind for about 7 years. Then he acknowledged God as the Most High and Almighty, blessed Him, praised Him, acknowledged His everlasting dominion over all, and in this he humiliated himself under the Lord, and after this his sanity and his kingdom were restored to him, and you can read this in Dan. 4:28-37. We are further told to beware pride in 1 Tim. 3:6-7; even an experienced person can have an off moment and get caught in this snare, but much easier a person who doesn't read the bible, or believe the bible, or has not read it enough to be wise to the many avenues down the road of pride, and it indeed goeth before a fall, and great is that fall.

Psa. 91:5-7 are about His care for our security. remember when as a child you most likely had something you were afraid of in the dark? You are safe with the Lord. Job 5:19 shows that just like David, he, too, trusted in God to care for him and be secure in Him, even though he went through so much adversity. In Ps. 112:7, he believes a good man's heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord. Believe also that a good woman's heart is equally justified by trusting in God. God is your protection both day and night (Ps. 121:6)! When your mind is stayed on God, you should have a good night's sleep just as it is written in Prov. 23-24. Isa. 43:2 has it that He shall be our protection through all manners of water and fire, just as He did for Shadrach, Meshach & Abed-nego in Dan. 3:13-30.

Now one of the blessings of our safety in Him is His protection, which is given us in Psa. 91:9-13. Now remember earlier I submitted to you that "the Lord" meant Israel's Redeemer, but also realize He's our Redeemer, too. Our dwelling place is to be Him, our Habitation, as David also cries out for His help in Ps. 71:3. There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. David knew what he was talking about here, possibly remembering the last plague on Egypt. Remember the last plague? Israel obeyed God's instruction through Moses and applied the blood of a lamb on their doorposts and all the firstborn of Egypt died, but not those of Israel, and it was the finishing touch to make pharaoh let Moses' people go. Exod. 11:1-12:33 recounts the story of this last plague. In the hands of His angels are the believers, to protect us in all our situations of all our lives. Heb. 1:14 fortifies this statement of David, doesn't it? David has also written of this in Ps. 34:7. Even the devil knew this to be true, as he tempted Jesus concerning it in Matt. 4:6, and in Luke 4:10-11! Job 5:23 has it also that God's protection is even from the stones of the field.

From the last three verses we learn of blessings of love in His protection. David loved the Lord, and knew His name, and therefore, God showed His love in David's deliverance, and we can expect the same. By loving God, knowing Him by name and for who He is, we can trust His protection, just as in Ps. 9:10. He will show us His salvation with love. When we call upon Him, He will answer us (Ps. 50:15), He will be with us in times of trouble, and in honoring Him, He will return honor with honor (1 Sam. 2:30).

Biblical Finance Tips

BIBLICAL FINANCE TIPS

When it comes to finances, the first thing most people don't even think of is the fact all we have, whether it's real estate wealth, currency wealth, liquid assets, stock wealth...we have what we have by God's grace. God owns everything. Refer to Gen. 1:1 if you need a reference. Col. 1:16, Ps. 24:1, 50:10-12 further substantiate this, although common sense to the believer would already make this concept a no-brainer. He made everything; the entire world. So all its assets are rightfully His! How easy it is to take this for granted, isn't it?

Okay, so now that we've established that He owns everything, and what we have is by His grace, we are therefore essentially using what He made, right? But it is also nice to know that in His great benevolence and by His great provision, He only wants a tithe, or a tenth, in return as you receive what you have from Him. One reference to this is found in Prov. 3:9-10 and 2 Cor. 9:6-7, and the latter reference promises scarcity to be met with scarcity, and generosity with generosity, for God loves a cheerful giver, to honor the Lord who gave us what we have by returning honor from what we have with the firstfruits of our increase. Mal. 3:10 promises us abundant blessing from God for tithing! On another note concerning giving, Phil. 4:19 points out those who give to missionaries will find their own needs met by our Lord God.

Matt. 6:33 has a promise from God to the believer that He will supply all our needs and more, after we seek the kingdom of God, which comes first! And what a relief to those who suffer anxiety over whether or not their needs will be met on a daily basis, is it not? And this is from Jesus Himself! Luke 12:31 echoes the same.

Now while we are stewards of the finances we have as gifts from God, we also are expected to work with what we have responsibly. Yes, we need to do and not do things in regard to what we have; for example, Prov. 6:1-5 advises not to be liable for others, such as a co-signer. Even family has defaulted on cosigning for generations on end, and so it is quite prudent not to trust your finances to even your own flesh and blood!

Deut. 24:10-13 has it written what are fair standards for usury, or borrowing, that the Israelites had in those days, but in this day, it is best to avoid usury, as so many are unscrupulous and it is so easy to get in over your head.

Prov. 24:27 and Luke 14:28-30 are ensamples of advice to develop and follow a budget, the latter Scripture advice from Christ, causing one to be mindful that one who allows themselves to become bankrupt will be probably mocked by people aware of the financial state. How true that is, isn't it?

There is wisdom in Prov. 21:20, 15:16, wherein is given that we should save wisely and honestly and regularly, and not squander what we have when it well with us, as foolish people do. When prosperity is over, the foolish will be in dire wanting, while the wise who save will reap their savings during the drought.

Lastly, I would be remiss if I didn't point out our spiritual finances. In Matt. 6:19-20, we are told by Jesus not to lay up treasure on earth, because it is not permanent in that either moth or rust can ruin itand take it away from you, just as a thief can. Rather, we are to sow treasure up in God's system, lay treasures up in heaven. Luke 6:38 has it that we should give, and it shall be given to you, as a container of wheat or barley running over, good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over. Prov. 19:17 perhaps explains it more plainly, that he who lends to the poor the Lord will recompense. Also, 2 Cor. 9:6 has it that, "...he which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully."

So here we have learned we should be stewards with God's gifts of all we have, honor Him with His tithe, and be wise in dealing with our finances, saving, budgeting, and not borrowing or cosigning, looking to Him to supply all our needs as we so believe on Him. Don't forget your spiritual finances, those are safer than what you have on earth! Indeed, praise God from whom all blessings flow!

The Value Of You

THE VALUE OF YOU

Ever hear the cliché that someone’s life “isn’t worth a plugged nickel”? Ever feel worthless?  Sad, because nobody wants anything to do with you?  Useless because something went wrong, and you seem to be to blame? Well, stop blaming yourself for being worthless, because God values you! Yep, He sure does! What? You think I’m kidding? I’ll take you 10 places in the bible where it explains how He values you.

1. Luke 12:6-7; “Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God? But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.” Hopefully you feel a little more valuable with that piece from Scripture; but there’s more…

2. Matt. 10:29-31; “Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? And one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not, therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.” If all the hairs of your head are numbered, surely you feel more value in that, unless maybe you’re bald. This appears to be a recount of Luke 12’s sparrows, but let’s look at another piece of Scripture to get you feeling of more value and pick you up…

3. Prov. 3:12; “For whom the Lord loveth He correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.” You might say, “Oh, great, since my Dad loved me, he took a switch to my behind when I did wrong.” But you have to understand that you grew up to be good because of his correcting you with that switch, and you admit he did it because he loved you, it just didn’t feel good. But you love your Dad, and you know he loves you, so understand that if our Father corrects you, it’s because He loves you, and you accept it because you love and respect Him too, and it is as the same as you loving and respecting your Dad. Your Dad valued you when correcting you, and so it is with the Father in heaven. You don’t know how different it may be to have God correct you; He may decide you need a “spanking” that last years! Ouch! Rev. 3:19 has similar wording from Jesus Himself! Job 5:17-18 has similar verbiage as well. Okay, next…

4. John 10:3; “To Him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear His voice: and He calleth His own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.” So here in this passage we know that He knows our names and calls us by them. Surely you feel more valuable that God would call you by name; after all, some people might not remember your name because you’re not so important to them, but look at how important God is to you, and He remembers your name…

5. Phil. 4:19; “But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Jesus Christ.” Supply all my needs for giving to missionaries? This is what the passage means here for the church, but don’t forget; we the people make up the church. For the believer, truly we know when we make supplications to Him when we want something, if it is His will and we truly need it, we get it. Isn’t it comforting and nice to know that if we need something, and He knows it, we can have faith that He will supply it to us? How much value we must have that He pays that much attention to someone like you and me; sinners?

6. Job 31:4; “Doth not He see my ways, and count all my steps?” What? He bothers to count my steps? That’s very humbling! I have that much value to the Creator of everything that He would bother to count my steps? Now come on, you have to feel better that the Creator would bother to count your every step. He is always watching us, as is in 2 Chron. 16:9. But there’s even more…

7. Mal. 3:16-18; “Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another; and the Lord harkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon His name. ‘And they shall be Mine’, saith the Lord of hosts, ‘in that day when I make up My jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth not.’” Naturally I fear the Lord, who can destroy me, but I can’t imagine bothering to write down whatever we say; again, it’s humbling to have our Father and Creator make so much of us that He should value what we say enough to have it all written down. And to make jewels of those of us who fear Him and think of His name? As a special, valued treasure? Wow! What value we seem to have; and yet, there’s even more!

8. Ps. 56:8-9; “Thou tellest my wanderings; put Thou my tears into a bottle; are they not in Thy book? When I cry unto Thee, then shall mine enemies turn back: this I know, for God is with me.” Wow! He bottles our tears, and saves them in His book, too, as He did David’s? What love He has for us, that He saves our tears in a bottle in His book. And as God is for us, He is on our side, and as it says in Rom. 8:31, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” He values us a lot, huh?

9. Isa. 41:13; “For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, ‘Fear not, for I will help thee.’” Just as Israel counted on God to help them in this passage, so we can count on Him to hold our hand and bring us through this life and all the troubles of each and every day, and sometimes our troubles last a year or more, but He brings us through it all until He calls us home.

10. John 3:16; "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." This is the greatest sign of love we have from God; because He values us so much, He spared not His Son that He sent Him to die on a cross for our redemption, that we may all have the opportunity to be in His eternal joy. See the value you have, that our Creator, yes, the Creator of all that is, our Father in heaven, will hold your hand, count the hairs on your head, and your steps, and even bottle your tears for safekeeping. And the greatest demonstration of our value to Him was that He sent His Son to cover our sins, and all we need do is believe on Him!  How wonderful it is to have so much value!