Blasphemy

BLASPHEMY

It seems to me too few people realize what this means: let me start with the definition from the American Heritage Dictionary: "Any contemptuous or profane act, utterance, or writing concerning God. Any irreverent or impious act or utterance. The act of claiming for oneself the attributes and rights of God. (Judaism) Any word or deed meant to dishonor or revile the being or the work of God, as a curse or profanity."

If you think about that, let it settle out in your mind, and remember your entire week, you may remember at least one instance where someone blasphemed. It's not hard for the worldly minded to do. I can't forget hearing one at a place where I worked before the station I work at now. Two were talking, one on either side of me, so I had to hear everything whether I cared or not. They were joking in a derogatory way about women, and then one of them came to a point where he said "God did something stupid and gave women a mouth." If I were a cartoon, my skullcap and scalp would have come off and hit the ceiling! I spoke up so both could hear me and said, "you know, that's blasphemy!" At that, both shut up the entire rest of the time I was there until I was ready to go to the street.

Another blasphemy I have seen twice was on a social website. Two different people posted a mockery of the Lord's prayer as a tribute to their favorite football team. I of course, deleted their posting from my wall, but when I posted on my wall in the site that what was being done was blasphemous, a woman barely older than me told me to lighten up and not judge people! Then she told me, "Sorry Ricky, don't want to seem mean, but not everyone has the same beliefs you do...I believe there has to be something, there is no proof tho, only the bible...If there is a god, then shame on him if he judges me for questioning, if anything he, she or it should be happy I have my OWN mind & thoughts, a gift that was given to us..." I told her I knew that, and that was why people who believe pray for those who don't. It is very obvious from her comment that she doesn't know the Lord (had Catholic upbringing), called Him a "she" and "it", and obviously considers the bible a mere storybook. Even blasphemed right there in her comment saying "shame on Him if He judges her!" Absolutely no fear of the Lord...and the bible calls her and those like her a fool! "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction." (Prov. 1:7)

Then there's the famous Last Supper blasphemous picture that was on a news channel, and they asked for comments whether people were offended or not. The picture's heads of Jesus and the apostles were replaced with heads from the Looney Tunes' cartoons, such as Bugs bunny and Daffy duck. One person was foolish enough to post a comment to the TV station that they were a Christian, and they saw nothing wrong with it. To every Christian who knew who that was, this person sent them a different message than what they were saying. Really? Not outraged that a picture of the head of your Savior was replaced with the head of the cartoon character Bugs Bunny?! Not the least bit upset that He who died to save you from your sins and hell and eternal flames and the second death was depicted by someone with the cartoon head of a rabbit? Can you spell "insensitive"?

So what can we gather from my experiences with those who have blasphemed? Some say they believe there is a God, and yet they can speak of Him that way. They can make fun of Him. They can even say "shame on Him"?! I once interacted with an old military associate on the internet, and when I brought up God, he didn't want to talk about Him anymore, because he associated talking about God with being equivalent to "kiddie porn"! This, too, was an unusual blasphemy, as I never would have expected anyone to equate God with kiddie porn, as he said. I was a bit surprised that so many of my old friends and associates were so removed from God being around my age as they were, and so many of them, when you bring up God as a subject, would blaspheme about Him so casually!

Shall we see some biblical blasphemies, and learn what they were about? "Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in His sight? Thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon. Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised Me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife. Thus saith the LORD, 'Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun. For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun. And David said unto Nathan, 'I have sinned against the LORD.' And Nathan said unto David, 'The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die. Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die.'" (2 Sam. 12:9 -14) David would reap what he had sown in the deaths of his sons, and his son Absalom publicly appropriating his concubines, but as David's confession was immediate, so was God's gracious forgiveness, that David shoud not die; however, God's reputation was challenged by the sin of adultery, therefore God's judgment took the life of David's first child to Bath-sheba. By challenging God's reputation, being His anointed king of Israel sinning against God's law against adultery, this was a form of blasphemy, and so it was punished.

In the days of the Old Testament among the Israelites, people who heard a blasphemy took it deadly serious! "And the son of an Israelitish woman, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the children of Israel: and this son of the Israelitish woman and a man of Israel strove together in the camp; and the Israelitish woman's son blasphemed the name of the LORD, and cursed. And they brought him unto Moses: (and his mother's name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan:) And they put him in ward, that the mind of the LORD might be shewed them. And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 'Bring forth him that hath cursed without the camp; and let all that heard him lay their hands upon his head, and let all the congregation stone him.'" (Lev. 24:10 -14) So this reflects how serious it was to rebel so profoundly against God!

Blasphemy has happened all throughout history, and it is a somewhat common thing among men; "But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming. Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, 'It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.'" (Acts 13:45 - 46) The gospel and salvation was initially meant only for the Jews (see Matt. 10:6, Rom. 1:16), as they were God's chosen people; unfortunately, many Jews refused to believe what Paul and Barnabas were telling them, and since they blasphemed against the truth about God, they were said of Paul to be unworthy of everlasting life by their own judgment! This was not the only time the Jews blasphemed before Paul, either! "And when Silas and Timotheus were come from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ. And when they opposed themselves, and blasphemed, he shook his raiment, and said unto them, 'Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean: from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles.'" (Acts 18:5 - 6)

Here is another example of a blasphemy, this one in the book of 2 Kings, and it comes from a king of Assyria, Sennacherib; "Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered at all his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath, and of Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah? Have they delivered Samaria out of mine hand? Who are they among all the gods of the countries, that have delivered their country out of mine hand, that the LORD should deliver Jerusalem out of mine hand? And it came to pass, when king Hezekiah heard it, that he rent his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the LORD. And he sent Eliakim, which was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz. And they said unto him, 'Thus saith Hezekiah, This day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and blasphemy: for the children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth. It may be the LORD thy God will hear all the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to reproach the living God; and will reprove the words which the LORD thy God hath heard: wherefore lift up thy prayer for the remnant that are left." (2 Kings 18:33 - 35, 19:1- 4) As Hezekiah recognized the blasphemy before God, the Lord informed him through Isaiah that Sennacherib and his men would receive judgment from God for his reproach, and the Lord's angel killed 185,000 of the Assyrians in the camp! Sennacherib then went to Nineveh, where, while worshipping his false god Nisroch, his own sons killed him. Once again, it was a dangerous thing to blaspheme God!

Remember I wrote earlier that blasphemy is somewhat common to man; now hear it from a greater authority than I could ever be! "But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man." (Matt. 15:18 - 20) Here Jesus teaches us that things like blasphemies have an origin: the human heart! One who is saved will not normally entertain these temptations, while the unsaved bring them out on a regular basis!

Jesus' enemies, the scribes and Pharisees, were always making mistakes with Him. In this instance, they blasphemed in saying Jesus was in cahoots with the devil in order to cast out devils from people. Big mistake! "Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come." (Matt. 12:31- 32) While the special circumstances involved in this blasphemy cannot be duplicated today, there is one unforgivable sin; not accepting Christ as Savior to the last dying breath!

So here and now we understand about blasphemy and the severity of its nature. God guard us all to keep our tongues far from it!

What Do You Know About Baptism?

WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT BAPTISM?

To understand what baptism is all about, one must find the roots of it. When should a person be baptized? What does it mean to be baptized? What is the significance of it? Do I really have to? Shall we see what Scripture says of it?

It doesn't take long in the New Testament for the teachings of baptism to be made known. Matt. 3:1 - 17, Mark 1:1 -11, and Luke 3:1 - 22 all cover the baptism of Christ, and each give us a little more about it. In Matthew, John the Baptist preached repentance, which is a change of mind bearing fruit in a changed life. One must repent the past sinful life and accept Christ as Savior before being able to be baptized. This excludes the baptism of infants, because they are unable to verbalize or conceptualize the need to repent or accept Christ Jesus. At the time, only Jews were being baptized, and there was no church to join, so for them, they were acknowledging the truth of his message and choosing righteousness. The people in those days found it shocking that John and Jesus should preach personal repentance over the typical teaching of the day about the merits of Abraham. John taught that baptism was symbolic of an individual's need to repent in order for their sins to be forgiven. When many of the Pharisees and Sadducees were noticed by John coming to his baptism, John spoke skeptically to them, knowing them to be hypocrites, self-righteous, and they were the most persecuting of Jesus. He urged them to demonstrate repentance, and not lean on Abraham as their father, but take personal responsibility of the need to repent. Christian baptism is performed in the name of Jesus (Acts 2:38) as a witness to one's faith in Christ.

Jesus had His own personal baptism to be baptized into, and He spoke of it in Luke 12:50; "But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!" It can also be found in Matt. 20:22 - 23 & Mark 10:38 - 40, and the sons of Zebedee who were His apostles volunteered to be baptized in His baptism. Not the one we typically get baptized in, but rather the baptism of suffering and death. James was the first of the apostles to die, and his brother John was also martyred for Christ.

There is an instance of Christ using baptism as a problem for the chief priests, because He knew they could not admit the truth that it was from heaven; "And when He was come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came unto Him as He was teaching, and said, 'By what authority doest Thou these things? And who gave Thee this authority?' And Jesus answered and said unto them, 'I also will ask you one thing, which if ye tell Me, I in like wise will tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John, whence was it? From heaven, or of men?' And they reasoned with themselves, saying, 'If we shall say, 'From heaven'; He will say unto us, Why did ye not then believe Him? But if we shall say, of men; we fear the people; for all hold John as a prophet.' And they answered Jesus, and said, 'We cannot tell.' And He said unto them, 'Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things.' (Matt. 21:23 - 27, Mark 11:27 - 33, Luke 20:1 - 8)

There are many among us today in the world who reject the counsel of God, who reject the need for baptism to repentance, and it was the same in John and Jesus' day. Gospel evidence is available to attest of this; "And all the people that heard Him, and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John. But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him." (Luke 7:29 - 30)

When John was baptizing, in the first chapter of John's Gospel, he makes a distinction between his baptism with water and Jesus' baptism; "The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, 'Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. This is He of whom I said, "After me cometh a Man which is preferred before me: for He was before me. And I knew Him not: but that He should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water." And John bare record, saying, 'I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon Him. And I knew Him not: but He that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, "Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, the same is He which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost."'" (John 1:29 - 33)

Is baptism necessary for salvation? Consider this passage; "Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were ye baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius; Lest any should say that I had baptized in mine own name. And I baptized also the household of Stephanas: besides, I know not whether I baptized any other. For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect." (1 Cor. 1:12 - 17) Paul is clearly saying here that baptism is not necessary for salvation, but this begs the question, "Then why bother?"

It is an instruction from our Savior! "And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, 'All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.' Amen. (Matt. 28:18 - 20)

Peter explains in other words why be baptized; "Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that He was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection. (Acts 1:22) "Then Peter said unto them, 'Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.'" (Acts 2:38) Does it seem to you that if you be baptized in the name of Jesus as affirming your belief in the resurrection of Christ, this is your public demonstration not only of your repentance, but that you accept Christ Jesus as your Savior to everlasting life in His resurrection? "Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, 'Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth Him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with Him. The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (He is Lord of all:) That word, I say, ye know, which was published throughout all Judaea, and began from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached; How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with Him. And we are witnesses of all things which He did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree: Him God raised up the third day, and shewed Him openly; not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before of God, even to us, who did eat and drink with Him after He rose from the dead. And He commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is He which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead. To Him give all the prophets witness, that through His name whosoever believeth in Him shall receive remission of sins.' While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter, 'Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?' And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days." (Acts 10:34 - 48) Here we have biblical proof that believing in Christ is a prerequisite for baptism, and to Peter's amazement, Gentiles were included in God's plan of salvation. Since the Gentiles with Peter spoke in tongues, a gift of the Holy Ghost, he perceived they were included in the salvation plan of God, and this is the first documentation of the baptism of Gentiles.

The early church had some confusion about baptism. Acts 18:24 - 19:6 tells of an eloquent speaker named Apollos who taught of the baptism of John, and later he was corrected privately by Aquila and Priscilla. Paul found disciples on his third missionary journey who were baptised into John's baptism, and Paul baptized these into Christ's baptism, and Paul laid hands on them, and the Holy Spirit came upon them. While John's baptism was with water for repentance, it was in contrast to Jesus' baptism, which stands for eternal life and salvation because of belief in Him.

So what was the necessity of John's baptism when the more perfect baptism is that of Christ? "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death? Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him: Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over Him. For in that He died, He died unto sin once: but in that He liveth, He liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Rom. 6:1 - 11) John's baptism was the prototype of a concept of being condemned in sin transforming to salvation in eternal life. As the body is totally immersed in water (not sprinkled water on the forehead), it signifies burying the old nature, the sinful self, the washing away of your sins, the former life of rejection of Christ, the former self that was condemned by the holy and just law of God. When the body is lifted up out of the water, no longer fully immersed, it is symbolic of our faith in Christ Jesus that like the Father raised Him from the tomb and from death, so we shall be raised to eternal life with Christ to exist eternally with God. Coming up out of the water pictures coming back to life as a new creature in Christ Jesus. Let there not be confusion about baptism concerning infants, for they are unable to express faith in Christ Jesus, and I defy anyone to show me an example in scripture of godparents speaking for infants who are unable to grasp the concept of sin or salvation. Infants and toddlers are developmentally unable to grasp the concept of faith.

Here's a little more explanation of baptism; "And ye are complete in Him, which is the head of all principality and power: In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead." (Col. 2:10 - 12); " The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ: Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto Him. (1 Pet. 3:21 - 22)

Okay, I see this coming; another question: so how many times should one be baptized? If one is baptized correctly, only one baptism is necessary; for you cannot lose salvation. If you find a way, you cannot retrieve it, for Jesus only died once. "There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ." (Eph. 4:4 - 7) Let me show in another scriptural passage the irretrievability of the loss of salvation; "Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. And this will we do, if God permit. For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, if they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put Him to an open shame." (Heb. 6:1 - 6) Arminians and others versed in Scripture rage a debate about this passage. They hold that the backslidden who've fallen into apostacy are able to lose their salvation, while others hold that these weren't genuine believers, but only professed believers. Nevertheless, it's also written here that to try to regain salvation lost is to put Christ on the cross another time, putting Him to an open shame.

I feel I have exhausted further explaining the concept of baptism. If one not understand still after all this, let we who do know pray for them, and may God bless them with enlightenment because of our supplications on their behalf!

YOUR HEART & GOD

YOUR HEART & GOD

How's your heart in relationship to God?  Do you feel it's close to Him?  Do you feel it's fervent toward Him?  Do you just give Him the minimum hour or so in church every week, then nothing?  Or maybe you only go to Him in the middle of the week for emergencies?  Maybe you know someone who doesn't even think He exists, and call themselves an atheist. There are all kinds of conditions of the heart that either offend or displease God, and others that make Him pleased. Let's see what we can find in the bible...

Gen. 6:5 - 6 has a displeasing side of man's heart. Man was so wicked with every imagination of the thoughts of his heart, continually on evil, that God was actually sorry He made man. Fortunately for us Noah found grace in His sight! As we know of the rest of the story, Noah and his family were the only ones to survive God's wrath. Even in the days of Jeremiah, the Lord spoke through His prophet in Jer. 17:9 - 10 and said, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings." So between the other side of the flood and the days of Jeremiah, God made note that man's condition of his heart did not change, that it was desperately wicked. But let a man or woman find control over such a heart, receive help from Him to change it, from Christ Jesus, our Mediator, and believe they will receive it. He is faithful in His time; trust Him with all your heart! For as verse 10 alludes to, better to receive the judgment of the saved, than that of one lost!

The Lord, through Moses, instructed the Israelites how to please Him in Deut. 11:13 -14, 18. He wanted them to obey His commandments, and love Him with all their hearts and souls, and told them He would reward them with rain in due season, good harvests, wine, and even to take care of their cattle's need for grass! So here we learn that God equates obedience with love, and rewards it with good things for those who comply.

Consider Hannah in 1 Sam. 2:1 - 10, 21; the woman sang a song of rejoicing in the Lord's holiness, knowledge, power, and judgment, and how did God respond?  He rewarded her that she no longer was barren, but bore three sons and two daughters, using her as an example for fervent prayer, obedience, worship, and devotion to family.  Her heart was in the right place with him, and He rewarded her well, didn't He?

Then there is to be considered the house of Eli and his sons in 1 Sam. 2:22 - 36.  The Lord God knew the heart of Eli, that he was aware of what his sons were doing dishonoring God with the women of the congregation and in other such matters, and while Eli told his sons that they were of no good report and told them to stop, he made no further moves against his sons for their behavior which dishonored the Lord, and in this he proved to God that his heart was more for his sons than the Lord, and for this sin, the punishment was foretold to Eli by the prophet who told him that his priestly family would come to destruction.  Oh, how God tries the hearts of men! (Ps. 7:9)

1 Sam. 7:3 has Samuel pleading with Israel; And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, "If ye do return unto the Lord with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the Lord, and serve him only: and He will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines."  The bible is full of the Lord's counsel; if we are out of step with it, our punishment may be "a season long", or take up a period of time.  If our heart is not with the Lord, and we have made something a false god in His place, then our punishment is just, as the Lord is just.  However, if we return to the Lord, come to our senses, and put God back in His rightful place in our hearts, then He will forgive and may deliver us from our punishment, just as He did in this instance.  Heb. 12:5 - 8 says this of God's punishment when we let our hearts stray; "And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, my son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of Him: 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."  So in 1 Sam. 7:4, the children of Israel put away the Canaanite fertility gods and goddesses, and wisely so.  Then the Lord kept the Philistines away from the Israelites all the days of Samuel!  So we, too, may be rewarded for repentance and returning our hearts to His rightful ownership.

Oh, the qualities and colors of the heart; Ps. 51:10 has David asking God for a clean heart.  You see, he had committed adultery with Bath-sheba, and worse, he had her husband killed to protect him and her from being found out by Uriah of her pregnancy to David, and about a year had gone by before David finally caved in and confessed to God.  Not that God didn't know already, for we know of His omniscience.  But the way it works is that our loving Father is waiting for us when we commit sins to confess to Him, to admit that we agree we made a mistake, committed a transgression, and then He displays His great mercy and forgives us our sin to His glory!  If we find ourselves in a sin we seem hardpressed to get rid of, it is good to be like David and confess it to God, and ask Jesus to help us be rid of repeating it!  Then the renewal of a right spirit will be within us.

Ps. 138:1 has David praising God with his whole heart. He challenges the reliability in false gods, pagan idols, in putting God in all his praise.  Oh, that we should always have this type of heart each and every time God answers prayer.  Consider the ten lepers of 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.'" See how the leper, and yet a Samaritan, gave his heart to God with thanks for His mercy?  I have thanked Him so much after Remy's total recovery from her brain aneurysm, and even after her first surgery, because she lived by His grace!

How different are the types of hearts that there are!  Ps. 147:3 has it, "He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds."  Is your heart broken, and do you go to Him for healing?  A death in the family, especially someone close, and even some friends are closer than family!  David also wrote in Ps. 51:17, "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise."  If one's heart is humbled by guilt, and penitent for sin(s) committed, God faithfully forgives and heals the heart, that it might fly once more in songs of praise to Him!

Ps. 3:5 has written, "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding." Among Christians this is famous for meaning that God is in control.  Know the old "fall back and I'll catch you" game?  With Christ, that's for real!  The devil may attack you with anything, even what you see in black and white, trying to drive a wedge between you and God.  Ponder James 1:2 - 7; "My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.  But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.  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."  The devil uses diverse temptations where our understanding doesn't make sense nor matter.  Job knew that.  He lost his children and all he owned, and on top of that, he got a bad case of the boils.  Neither his wife nor his friends knew what was happening to him, and all they could offer him was bad advice, and yet, his faith never waivered through his bad season of temptation to "curse God and die", and the Lord rewarded him in the end.  In Job's case, the devil afflicted the material things he had, but keep an open mind that the devil can attack on a mental level; only trust with all your heart indeed in Jesus!

There is a kind of heart that is very difficult to attain, but blessed is he that has it; 1 Kings 8:60 - 61 says, "That all the people of the earth may know that the Lord is God, and that there is none else.  Let your heart therefore be perfect with the Lord our God, to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments, as at this day."  Marvelous is the person who attains this at an early age, because the bible is a large tome, and many are His commandments, laws, policies and statutes.  Not only must the individual ambitious to attain this state memorize all His wants of us, but they must also apply all to their daily life.  It is unquestionable I have a heart for Jesus, but perfect I am not.  For I indeed stumble as to my imperfections, although I pray daily, at least once each day, if not more, that He guide me and protect me.

Jer. 29:13 - 14 also addresses a matter of the heart that applied to Israel in his day, but also still applies to us today.  "And ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart.  And I will be found of you', saith the Lord: 'and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you', saith the Lord; 'and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive."  Often an unbeliever finds themselves captive of their worldly troubles, and they are enough that they cannot bear them.  At that time, they can call on Him, an Advocate whom they can trust, and search for Him with all their heart, and He will be found of them!

Can one imagine that the heart can be unclean more so than the hands?  Matt. 15:18 - 20 has it, "But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.  For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man." As was written at the beginning of this message, so it remains, from the Old Testament into the New.  The heart of a wicked person is dirty down to the soul!  How good for them that we are encouraged, yea, even commanded, to pray for them, that they might find God (or is it the other way around?), and wash them clean in the blood of our Savior, Christ Jesus!

In Matt. 22:36 - 38 God made the heart with a duty to perform, according to Jesus' partial quotation of the Shema (Deut. 6:5); "...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...'" Luke 10:25 - 28 has a similar version of the same thing.  Those of us who are saved and know Christ as our Savior attempt this as best we can, and isn't that all He can ask, knowing our imperfections?  So many of us didn't start out this way, but blessed are they who end up this way!  As each of us come to realize this, "...Thy will be done on earth..." becomes the reality He meant it to be!

To love the Lord with all your heart is to obey Him, and He asks you to believe with all your heart to righteousness in Rom. 10:1 - 11.

What Do You Know About Demons?

WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT DEMONS?

Demons, devils, evil spirits, unclean spirits - all are the same, aren't they? And Satan is the "head demon", isn't he? People have all kinds of concepts about the wicked of the spiritual plane of existence, but the best way to really know what these are all about is to go to the book that explains them best - the Word of God.

Angels that followed Satan in his rebellion against God are written of in Matt. 25:4; "Then shall He say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:" These angels that belong to the devil are demons, evil spirits, and unclean spirits.

Satan is first considered in Genesis as having spoken through a serpent to deceive Eve in the garden of Eden. "Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, 'Yea, hath God said, "Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?"' And the woman said unto the serpent, 'We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, 'Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.' And the serpent said unto the woman, 'Ye shall not surely die: for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.'" (Gen. 3:1 - 5)

The first reference to devils is also found in the Pentateuch, but what is meant by devils are the goatlike gods the heathens worshipped in those days. "And they shall no more offer their sacrifices unto devils, after whom they have gone a whoring. This shall be a statute for ever unto them throughout their generations." (Lev. 17:7) Unfortunately, it eventually became common for the Israelites to be chastised by God for a whoring after false gods, but the idols at the time were goatlike devil gods.

The first reference to an evil spirit, or demon, can be found in Judg. 9:22 - 24; "When Abimelech had reigned three years over Israel, then God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech: that the cruelty done to the threescore and ten sons of Jerubbaal might come, and their blood be laid upon Abimelech their brother, which slew them; and upon the men of Shechem, which aided him in the killing of his brethren." It is interesting to note that the bible says God sent it, because in doing so, this seems to include demons in the will of God, since He sent it. But this is not the only evil spirit God sent; "But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him. And Saul's servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee." (1 Sam. 16:14-15) Let me give example of one more evil spirit included in the will of God; "And the LORD said, 'Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramothgilead?' And one said on this manner, and another said on that manner. And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the LORD, and said, "I will persuade him." And the LORD said unto him, 'Wherewith?' And he said, "I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets." And He said, 'Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also: go forth, and do so.' Now therefore, behold, the LORD hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the LORD hath spoken evil concerning thee." (1 Kings 22:20-23) One might find it remarkable that these spirits, evil as they are, obey God! Now if anyone wonder how I can discern that this spirit in the third instance is of evil, let us recall that no liar will inherit the kingdom of heaven; "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be My son. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death." (Rev. 21:6 - 8)

The first reference to unclean spirits is found in Zech. 13:2; "'And it shall come to pass in that day', saith the LORD of hosts, 'that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall no more be remembered: and also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land.'" The term in this case, however, refers to false prophets and false teachers, their spirits not clean for their sinfulness.

There are several places in the gospel with documentation of more than one evil or unclean spirit in the same vicinity, and they were in possession of people! The first instance is found in Mark 5:2 - 13; "And when He was come out of the ship, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains: because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him. And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones. But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped Him, and cried with a loud voice, and said, 'What have I to do with Thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure Thee by God, that Thou torment me not.' For He said unto him, 'Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit.' And He asked him, 'What is thy name?' And he answered, saying, 'My name is Legion: for we are many.' And he besought Him much that He would not send them away out of the country. Now there was there nigh unto the mountains a great herd of swine feeding. And all the devils besought Him, saying, 'Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them.' And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand;) and were choked in the sea."

The second instance was when Jesus was driving them out of people where He had arrived; "And in that same hour He cured many of their infirmities and plagues, and of evil spirits; and unto many that were blind He gave sight." (Luke 7:21)

Jesus spoke of unclean spirits in Matt.12:43 - 45; "When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. Then he saith, 'I will return into my house from whence I came out'; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation." Here Jesus is teaching about demons, and how some are more wicked than others, and how they can repossess a person from whom they have been cast out.

Take note, also, that being possessed of a devil or demon can be the reason for physical problems. Consider this passage of Scripture; "As they went out, behold, they brought to Him a dumb man possessed with a devil. And when the devil was cast out, the dumb spake: and the multitudes marvelled, saying, 'It was never so seen in Israel.'" (Matt. 9:32 - 33) Note that the man was unable to speak because of a demon? Men of position and education recognized that demons caused men to do strange things, such as they accused John the Baptist, as witnessed by Jesus; "For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He hath a devil.'" (Matt. 11:18)

Another example of physical ramifications caused by possession by a demon is in Matt. 12:22; "Then was brought unto Him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and He healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw."

Yet another example is found again in Matthew's gospel. It doesn't tell what the physical ailment is, but there is one, nonetheless; "And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto Him, saying, 'Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.' But He answered her not a word. And His disciples came and besought Him, saying, 'Send her away; for she crieth after us.' But He answered and said, 'I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.' Then came she and worshipped Him, saying, 'Lord, help me.' But He answered and said, 'It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs.' And she said, 'Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table.' Then Jesus answered and said unto her, 'O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt.' And her daughter was made whole from that very hour." (Matt. 15:22 - 28)

This next example is the only instance in the bible where it is written that Jesus marvelled; "And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto Him a centurion, beseeching Him, And saying, 'Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented.' And Jesus saith unto him, 'I will come and heal him.' The centurion answered and said, 'Lord, I am not worthy that Thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, "Go", and he goeth; and to another, "Come", and he cometh; and to my servant, "Do this", and he doeth it. When Jesus heard it, He marvelled, and said to them that followed, 'Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' And Jesus said unto the centurion, 'Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee.' And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour." (Matt. 8:5-13)

Now this next passage of Scripture you should find quite fascinating, because Jesus does more teaching about demons. "And when they were come to the multitude, there came to Him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying, 'Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water. And I brought him to Thy disciples, and they could not cure him. Then Jesus answered and said, 'O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to Me.' And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour. 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.'" (Matt. 17:14 - 21) Here Jesus teaches His disciples that three things are necessary to drive out demons from anyone; belief, prayer, and fasting. Now this son had epilepsy, which they considered being a lunatic, so again, the physical affliction was caused by a demon.

Let's look at one more physical affliction in the Gospel of Luke; "And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself. And when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him, and said unto her, 'Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity.' And He laid His hands on her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God. And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because that Jesus had healed on the sabbath day, and said unto the people, 'There are six days in which men ought to work: in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the sabbath day.' The Lord then answered him, and said, 'Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering? And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?'" Luke 13:11-16

There has been a reason I have made points of all these demonic physical afflictions. We have these afflictions today, and who is to say the doctors do not misdiagnose these same maladies? Would not a doctor take this woman bent over 18 years and diagnose her as having severe osteoporosis? Do we not even today have doctors routinely diagnose people as having epilepsy and palsy? And we still have people dumb and blind, just as doctors diagnose, but has there ever been one who attributed it to a demon or evil spirit? Now let me expand on this; what's to say that new afflictions such as ADHD are not a demonic result? Certainly I give you food for thought!

Paul also spoke of being able to defend yourself from the devil and his demons: "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;" (Eph. 6:10 - 18) Note that protection from these demons of varying degrees of wickedness and power for evil is made effective once again with prayer. Note also the term, "be strong in the Lord"; believe in Him!

Now with all this enlightenment from the Word in demonology, what a different view we should have of people with physical afflictions, and what praises we should have to our benevolent God, that He has blessed us with no afflictions, those of us who have none! But for those who do have afflictions, look for other believers to lay hands upon you, pray, fast, and believe in Him, and be rewarded with healing by His power for your faith!