Randy Green's Blog - Posts Tagged "devil"
My Enemies Are Three – Part 1
And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest [Ephesians 2:1-3].
In 1 Kings 21 the story is told of evil King Ahab of Israel and his wicked wife Jezebel. King Ahab wanted an Israelite named Naboth to sell his vineyard to the king. Trouble was, the Law of Moses interdicted the sale because ownership of tribal land had to remain within the tribe. If Naboth sold the vineyard to King Ahab, the land would pass from Naboth’s tribe to Ahab’s tribe.
Being the mighty king he was, Ahab went home and moped about it. Wicked Jezebel crooned him into telling her the tale, and was she irked! So she hired some wretched lowlifes to falsely accuse Naboth of cursing God. Here was Naboth upholding the Law, and there was Ahab/Jezebel perverting it. Naboth paid with his life, as did his entire family. Ahab went in and took over the vineyard.
The Lord was none to pleased with this state of affairs. All authority is established by God. He established it to represent Him. Ahab blasphemed God’s character by his crime, and he was the king of Israel! So the Lord took action against Ahab. He sent the prophet Elijah to confront Ahab and pronounce the Lord’s verdict on him and his family.
Elijah went to Jezreel, the city where Naboth’s vineyard was situated. When Ahab saw Elijah, he knew his crime was exposed. He knew the Lord dispatched Elijah to pronounce judgment against him because he had a predilection for sinning and had experienced the Lord’s pronouncements many times already. Let’s read verse 20 of 1 Kings 21 and hear what Ahab had to say to Elijah.
Ahab said to Elijah, “ Have you found me, O my enemy?”
Elijah was the Lord’s prophet, not his own person. What Elijah had to say to Ahab or anyone else was the Word of God, not the words of Elijah. Accordingly, if Elijah was Ahab’s enemy, then the Lord was Ahab’s enemy first. If the Lord was Ahab’s enemy, then Ahab was sinning and not repenting of his sins. These are the straightforward facts of spiritual life, dear people.
Well, I’ll leave the rest of the story to your imagination. Better yet, go to your Bible and read the story. It’s better and safer that way, rather than depending on the imagination.
What I want us to take from the story is how Ahab recognized Elijah as his enemy. Ahab was a child of the devil, Elijah a child of God. So Ahab rightly discerned this truth about Elijah.
I thought of this connection when I began reading the second chapter of Ephesians. God has His enemies and His family shares these enemies with God. There are three broad categories of enemies generally associated with the Lord and His people.
Oh, but time demands we cease our investigation. We will continue it on the morrow. Jesus summons us into His presence for personal time with Him now. Don’t keep Him waiting!
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Exodus: Volume 2 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
In 1 Kings 21 the story is told of evil King Ahab of Israel and his wicked wife Jezebel. King Ahab wanted an Israelite named Naboth to sell his vineyard to the king. Trouble was, the Law of Moses interdicted the sale because ownership of tribal land had to remain within the tribe. If Naboth sold the vineyard to King Ahab, the land would pass from Naboth’s tribe to Ahab’s tribe.
Being the mighty king he was, Ahab went home and moped about it. Wicked Jezebel crooned him into telling her the tale, and was she irked! So she hired some wretched lowlifes to falsely accuse Naboth of cursing God. Here was Naboth upholding the Law, and there was Ahab/Jezebel perverting it. Naboth paid with his life, as did his entire family. Ahab went in and took over the vineyard.
The Lord was none to pleased with this state of affairs. All authority is established by God. He established it to represent Him. Ahab blasphemed God’s character by his crime, and he was the king of Israel! So the Lord took action against Ahab. He sent the prophet Elijah to confront Ahab and pronounce the Lord’s verdict on him and his family.
Elijah went to Jezreel, the city where Naboth’s vineyard was situated. When Ahab saw Elijah, he knew his crime was exposed. He knew the Lord dispatched Elijah to pronounce judgment against him because he had a predilection for sinning and had experienced the Lord’s pronouncements many times already. Let’s read verse 20 of 1 Kings 21 and hear what Ahab had to say to Elijah.
Ahab said to Elijah, “ Have you found me, O my enemy?”
Elijah was the Lord’s prophet, not his own person. What Elijah had to say to Ahab or anyone else was the Word of God, not the words of Elijah. Accordingly, if Elijah was Ahab’s enemy, then the Lord was Ahab’s enemy first. If the Lord was Ahab’s enemy, then Ahab was sinning and not repenting of his sins. These are the straightforward facts of spiritual life, dear people.
Well, I’ll leave the rest of the story to your imagination. Better yet, go to your Bible and read the story. It’s better and safer that way, rather than depending on the imagination.
What I want us to take from the story is how Ahab recognized Elijah as his enemy. Ahab was a child of the devil, Elijah a child of God. So Ahab rightly discerned this truth about Elijah.
I thought of this connection when I began reading the second chapter of Ephesians. God has His enemies and His family shares these enemies with God. There are three broad categories of enemies generally associated with the Lord and His people.
Oh, but time demands we cease our investigation. We will continue it on the morrow. Jesus summons us into His presence for personal time with Him now. Don’t keep Him waiting!
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Exodus: Volume 2 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
My Enemies Are Three – Part 2
And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest [Ephesians 2:1-3].
The children of God are daily confronted with three categories of enemies. The first three verses of Ephesians 2 reveal them. Let’s dissect these verses and see for ourselves. But before identifying the enemies, let’s not overlook the two categories which comprise the children of God.
The first two verses depict one type, while verse 3 portrays the other. We recognize the first type by the words “you were dead in your trespasses and sins”. The other type is revealed by the words “we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh”. Do you see the significant difference? I’ll give you a hint. Notice the two pronouns “you” and “we”.
We know both of these categories of persons belong to God’s family because of the concomitant descriptions. The “you” folks are described this way:
• you were dead in trespasses and sins
• you formerly walked
Those words depict children of the devil, yes. But notice the words no longer applied to those whom Paul was addressing. The verbs are past tense. Those qualities once were true of these people, but no more. They were no longer children of the devil, though they once were. This means they were born again into the family of God.
The “we” folk are described this way:
• we too all formerly lived
• we were by nature children of wrath
You will observe how the same applied to the “we” folks as applied to the “you” folks. They once upon a time were children of the devil, but no more. The verbs are past tense. Now they belonged to God’s family.
So then, who were the “you” folks and who were the “we” ones? Well, Paul did the writing, so the language means he was one of the “we” folks. Paul was writing to the Christians in the city of Ephesus, so they were the “you” folks. So what distinguished Paul from the Ephesian Christians?
It’s really quite simple, dear friends. Paul was a Jew by ethnicity, the Ephesian Christians predominantly Gentiles. The first two verses of Ephesians 2 note how the Gentile Ephesian Christians used to belong to the devil’s family. In the third verse Paul added that the Jewish Christians were in the same boat. They too once belonged to the devil’s family, even though they had the Law and the Temple.
In fine, Paul lumped all mankind, Jew and Gentile alike, into the same lump of clay. Every person, regardless of ethnicity or any other distinction, is conceived in sin and born in iniquity. Every person is born dead to God and by nature a child of the devil. Every person must be born again, if he would see the Kingdom of God.
We will conclude this analysis in our next study. For now we have plenty on our plate on which to feed.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Exodus: Volume 2 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
The children of God are daily confronted with three categories of enemies. The first three verses of Ephesians 2 reveal them. Let’s dissect these verses and see for ourselves. But before identifying the enemies, let’s not overlook the two categories which comprise the children of God.
The first two verses depict one type, while verse 3 portrays the other. We recognize the first type by the words “you were dead in your trespasses and sins”. The other type is revealed by the words “we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh”. Do you see the significant difference? I’ll give you a hint. Notice the two pronouns “you” and “we”.
We know both of these categories of persons belong to God’s family because of the concomitant descriptions. The “you” folks are described this way:
• you were dead in trespasses and sins
• you formerly walked
Those words depict children of the devil, yes. But notice the words no longer applied to those whom Paul was addressing. The verbs are past tense. Those qualities once were true of these people, but no more. They were no longer children of the devil, though they once were. This means they were born again into the family of God.
The “we” folk are described this way:
• we too all formerly lived
• we were by nature children of wrath
You will observe how the same applied to the “we” folks as applied to the “you” folks. They once upon a time were children of the devil, but no more. The verbs are past tense. Now they belonged to God’s family.
So then, who were the “you” folks and who were the “we” ones? Well, Paul did the writing, so the language means he was one of the “we” folks. Paul was writing to the Christians in the city of Ephesus, so they were the “you” folks. So what distinguished Paul from the Ephesian Christians?
It’s really quite simple, dear friends. Paul was a Jew by ethnicity, the Ephesian Christians predominantly Gentiles. The first two verses of Ephesians 2 note how the Gentile Ephesian Christians used to belong to the devil’s family. In the third verse Paul added that the Jewish Christians were in the same boat. They too once belonged to the devil’s family, even though they had the Law and the Temple.
In fine, Paul lumped all mankind, Jew and Gentile alike, into the same lump of clay. Every person, regardless of ethnicity or any other distinction, is conceived in sin and born in iniquity. Every person is born dead to God and by nature a child of the devil. Every person must be born again, if he would see the Kingdom of God.
We will conclude this analysis in our next study. For now we have plenty on our plate on which to feed.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Exodus: Volume 2 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
My Enemies Are Three – Part 3
And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest [Ephesians 2:1-3].
The first three verses of Ephesians 2 enumerated two types of Christians. There are those of Jewish ethnicity, and there are those of Gentile origins. By birth every Christians was a child of the devil. He had to be born again, born a second time, in order to die to the devil’s family and be adopted into God’s family.
As children of God we face three categories of enemies daily. These three were our one-time friends. While we ate and drank and partied with old Lucifer, we were the best of friends with these three rascals. But all that changed when we joined the family of God. Now the three rascals are our inveterate enemies.
So just who are these villains? Well, the usual epithets applied to them are,
1. the flesh
2. the world
3. the devil/Satan
Paul, you see, noted how the Christians consisted of both Jews and Gentiles by ethnicity. Simultaneously with this he identified the three enemies of Christians, thus making it evident that the three were enemies of all God’s children, whether Jew or Gentile.
You say you don’t see the flesh, the world, and the devil specified in verses 1-3 of Ephesians 2? I’m sorry. But they sure are there! Allow me to show them to you.
The first villain who Paul identified was the world. He wrote:
And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world.
The Gentile Christians in the past used to conduct their lives according to who again? Answer: according to “this world”. They wallowed in the same sorts of sins as all unbelievers do. Only because they were born again did they cease engaging in such a lifestyle.
The second villain Paul identified was the devil. He wrote:
According to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.
The prince in question is the spirit of disobedience. Friends, that would be none other than the devil, or Satan for short.
The third villain—well, the process of elimination leaves only the flesh, so the flesh it is! Paul wrote:
We too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh.
And that makes a grand total of three enemies, the flesh, the world, and the devil. The three are inveterate enemies of every child of God, but they are BFFs for every child of the devil.
Oh, I almost forgot. Paul also made specific reference to the children of the devil in our three verses. Listen:
• the sons of disobedience
• children of wrath
I’m so glad I’m a part of the family of God. Aren’t you? I sure don’t look back with longing on my life of disobedience and wrath. Once escape from the grasp of sin by God’s grace, and we no longer find pleasure in such filth as we once did. Praise the Lord! Thank you, Jesus.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Exodus: Volume 2 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
The first three verses of Ephesians 2 enumerated two types of Christians. There are those of Jewish ethnicity, and there are those of Gentile origins. By birth every Christians was a child of the devil. He had to be born again, born a second time, in order to die to the devil’s family and be adopted into God’s family.
As children of God we face three categories of enemies daily. These three were our one-time friends. While we ate and drank and partied with old Lucifer, we were the best of friends with these three rascals. But all that changed when we joined the family of God. Now the three rascals are our inveterate enemies.
So just who are these villains? Well, the usual epithets applied to them are,
1. the flesh
2. the world
3. the devil/Satan
Paul, you see, noted how the Christians consisted of both Jews and Gentiles by ethnicity. Simultaneously with this he identified the three enemies of Christians, thus making it evident that the three were enemies of all God’s children, whether Jew or Gentile.
You say you don’t see the flesh, the world, and the devil specified in verses 1-3 of Ephesians 2? I’m sorry. But they sure are there! Allow me to show them to you.
The first villain who Paul identified was the world. He wrote:
And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world.
The Gentile Christians in the past used to conduct their lives according to who again? Answer: according to “this world”. They wallowed in the same sorts of sins as all unbelievers do. Only because they were born again did they cease engaging in such a lifestyle.
The second villain Paul identified was the devil. He wrote:
According to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.
The prince in question is the spirit of disobedience. Friends, that would be none other than the devil, or Satan for short.
The third villain—well, the process of elimination leaves only the flesh, so the flesh it is! Paul wrote:
We too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh.
And that makes a grand total of three enemies, the flesh, the world, and the devil. The three are inveterate enemies of every child of God, but they are BFFs for every child of the devil.
Oh, I almost forgot. Paul also made specific reference to the children of the devil in our three verses. Listen:
• the sons of disobedience
• children of wrath
I’m so glad I’m a part of the family of God. Aren’t you? I sure don’t look back with longing on my life of disobedience and wrath. Once escape from the grasp of sin by God’s grace, and we no longer find pleasure in such filth as we once did. Praise the Lord! Thank you, Jesus.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Exodus: Volume 2 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Armor-Plated Saints – Part 1
Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil [Ephesians 6:11].
The bank alarm sounded. Armed gunmen had invaded the building and were holding hostages at gunpoint. “Turn over all the money or else!” they barked. No one argued. Not one person was defiant. Money the gunmen wanted. Money the gunmen would have.
So instantaneously the money drawers were yanked open by every cashier, no exceptions. Each person was eager and anxious to give away all the money inside those drawers. The bank president hastened to the vault, opened the unwieldy steel door, and helped the gunmen to the goodies inside.
Not a soul resisted. No one cared about the money under such a scenario…no one, that is, except the bank robbers. Because the victims were totally cooperative and aided the gunmen in achieving their goals, the gunmen didn’t shoot anyone. The gunmen didn’t even pistol whip anyone. For a time it seemed all would end well.
Alas, but when the gunmen exited the bank with the loot, things took a sudden turn for the worse. No, none of the folks inside the bank ran out, in an effort to retrieve the stolen money. The problem arose from someone on the outside.
A policeman arrived on the scene, unaware that a bank robbery had just occurred in the bank he was about to enter for personal business. The policeman was in uniform. The bank robbers were not. They had discarded their disguises upon exiting the bank, so as to blend in with the surroundings. Hence the policeman hadn’t an inkling of who they were.
But the bank robbers didn’t know that. All they saw was a police uniform, and their guilty consciences took over. Two of the robbers pulled out their pistols and, without hesitation, shot the policeman in the chest twice. He fell to the ground prostrate, motionless, giving the appearance of a dead man.
The robbers hightailed it out of there, before reinforcements arrived from the police station. They made their getaway, never to be heard from or seen again. They knew they had to disappear for good. The sentence was death by injection for cop killers, you see.
But wait! The policeman wasn’t dead after all. He was stunned senseless, yes, but not dead. He still lived! How could such an amazing thing transpire? Who gets shot with two .45 caliber bullets at point blank range, and in the chest at that, and gets up, shakes it off, and walks away sore but safe? Who does that except super heroes and TV stars?
I’ll tell you who does that in real life. Policemen wearing bullet proof vests, that’s who! Yes, our policeman had his vest on at the time of the shooting, so the bullets knocked him senseless. But they were unable to penetrate the vest, so the policeman wasn’t seriously injured, just badly bruised. He felt like a beef steak which had been tenderized. Unlike the beef steak, however, he was still alive!
I’ll bet you are wondering what this story has to do with our Bible verse for today, aren’t you? Yes, you are. I saw you thinking those very thoughts just now. You can’t fool me. Well, you’ll have to wait until tomorrow to find out because we’re out of time now. Enjoy some time with Jesus then.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
The bank alarm sounded. Armed gunmen had invaded the building and were holding hostages at gunpoint. “Turn over all the money or else!” they barked. No one argued. Not one person was defiant. Money the gunmen wanted. Money the gunmen would have.
So instantaneously the money drawers were yanked open by every cashier, no exceptions. Each person was eager and anxious to give away all the money inside those drawers. The bank president hastened to the vault, opened the unwieldy steel door, and helped the gunmen to the goodies inside.
Not a soul resisted. No one cared about the money under such a scenario…no one, that is, except the bank robbers. Because the victims were totally cooperative and aided the gunmen in achieving their goals, the gunmen didn’t shoot anyone. The gunmen didn’t even pistol whip anyone. For a time it seemed all would end well.
Alas, but when the gunmen exited the bank with the loot, things took a sudden turn for the worse. No, none of the folks inside the bank ran out, in an effort to retrieve the stolen money. The problem arose from someone on the outside.
A policeman arrived on the scene, unaware that a bank robbery had just occurred in the bank he was about to enter for personal business. The policeman was in uniform. The bank robbers were not. They had discarded their disguises upon exiting the bank, so as to blend in with the surroundings. Hence the policeman hadn’t an inkling of who they were.
But the bank robbers didn’t know that. All they saw was a police uniform, and their guilty consciences took over. Two of the robbers pulled out their pistols and, without hesitation, shot the policeman in the chest twice. He fell to the ground prostrate, motionless, giving the appearance of a dead man.
The robbers hightailed it out of there, before reinforcements arrived from the police station. They made their getaway, never to be heard from or seen again. They knew they had to disappear for good. The sentence was death by injection for cop killers, you see.
But wait! The policeman wasn’t dead after all. He was stunned senseless, yes, but not dead. He still lived! How could such an amazing thing transpire? Who gets shot with two .45 caliber bullets at point blank range, and in the chest at that, and gets up, shakes it off, and walks away sore but safe? Who does that except super heroes and TV stars?
I’ll tell you who does that in real life. Policemen wearing bullet proof vests, that’s who! Yes, our policeman had his vest on at the time of the shooting, so the bullets knocked him senseless. But they were unable to penetrate the vest, so the policeman wasn’t seriously injured, just badly bruised. He felt like a beef steak which had been tenderized. Unlike the beef steak, however, he was still alive!
I’ll bet you are wondering what this story has to do with our Bible verse for today, aren’t you? Yes, you are. I saw you thinking those very thoughts just now. You can’t fool me. Well, you’ll have to wait until tomorrow to find out because we’re out of time now. Enjoy some time with Jesus then.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Armor-Plated Saints – Part 2
Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil [Ephesians 6:11].
What does the story about bank robbers and a policeman have to do with our Bible verse? Well, it’s like this. Paul exhorted the Ephesian Christians to don the garb which the Lord affords Christians, so that they may conduct spiritual warfare against the forces of wickedness. That would be the devil and his ilk, for those who might be wondering.
God has provided each and every Christian, each and every child of His, with the full complement of military apparel and equipment needed to have victory against the wicked one and his minions. Indeed, this wardrobe and weaponry are indispensable against the siren songs of the world and the devious temptations of the flesh as well.
Paul employed a phrase to depict this military matériel we receive from God. He called it the full armor of God. The policeman had his bullet-proof vest as a part of his armor against the bank robbers. The Christian has the full armor of God.
God has provided for his kids to be a part of His army. His provision transforms us into armor-plated saints. When the Lord is done with His kids, they are metamorphosed into a formidable force to be dealt with. The plan of God cannot fail. When we Christians put on the full armor of God, we are equipped to stand with the Lord against the forces of darkness and participate in His war against wickedness.
This is a holy calling, beloved, a calling not to be taken lightly. About the only thing worse for the Christian than taking this calling lightly is to turn the back to it and refuse to join the cause of Christ. The devil is on the prowl, seeking some juicy saint to chomp on at dinner time. Without the full armor of God we are sitting ducks. Sitting ducks never fair well.
Not to fret! Just don’t turn the back to the fight. You’ll get stabbed in it if you do. No, but instead put on the full armor of God. Then you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. It’s so much more gratifying to be one of the victors, rather than one of the losers.
I’ll bet you are wondering where your full armor of God is, aren’t you? Well, it’s not up in heaven, waiting for you to climb Jacob’s ladder to fetch it! Neither is it in the depths of the sea, daring you to hold your breath long enough to swim to it. It’s in your mouth and in your heart, ready for you to claim it.
We will begin in our next study to expound on the full armor of God piece by piece. So don’t miss out. Be there.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
What does the story about bank robbers and a policeman have to do with our Bible verse? Well, it’s like this. Paul exhorted the Ephesian Christians to don the garb which the Lord affords Christians, so that they may conduct spiritual warfare against the forces of wickedness. That would be the devil and his ilk, for those who might be wondering.
God has provided each and every Christian, each and every child of His, with the full complement of military apparel and equipment needed to have victory against the wicked one and his minions. Indeed, this wardrobe and weaponry are indispensable against the siren songs of the world and the devious temptations of the flesh as well.
Paul employed a phrase to depict this military matériel we receive from God. He called it the full armor of God. The policeman had his bullet-proof vest as a part of his armor against the bank robbers. The Christian has the full armor of God.
God has provided for his kids to be a part of His army. His provision transforms us into armor-plated saints. When the Lord is done with His kids, they are metamorphosed into a formidable force to be dealt with. The plan of God cannot fail. When we Christians put on the full armor of God, we are equipped to stand with the Lord against the forces of darkness and participate in His war against wickedness.
This is a holy calling, beloved, a calling not to be taken lightly. About the only thing worse for the Christian than taking this calling lightly is to turn the back to it and refuse to join the cause of Christ. The devil is on the prowl, seeking some juicy saint to chomp on at dinner time. Without the full armor of God we are sitting ducks. Sitting ducks never fair well.
Not to fret! Just don’t turn the back to the fight. You’ll get stabbed in it if you do. No, but instead put on the full armor of God. Then you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. It’s so much more gratifying to be one of the victors, rather than one of the losers.
I’ll bet you are wondering where your full armor of God is, aren’t you? Well, it’s not up in heaven, waiting for you to climb Jacob’s ladder to fetch it! Neither is it in the depths of the sea, daring you to hold your breath long enough to swim to it. It’s in your mouth and in your heart, ready for you to claim it.
We will begin in our next study to expound on the full armor of God piece by piece. So don’t miss out. Be there.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Truth or Dare? – Part 1
Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth [Ephesians 6:14].
There is this silly game which folks of all ages have played over the years. It has even been codified into books of questions to be used in the game. It is called Truth or Dare. Have you ever heard of it?
I’ll bet you have, even if you don’t know it by that name. There are numerous variations of it, so no telling what form you might know it by. To tell the truth, to me kiddie Halloween celebration is eerily similar to Truth or Dare. The main difference would be that kiddie Halloween doesn’t challenge with “truth or dare”. It challenges with “trick or treat”.
Anyway a group of people plays the game. Basically, a challenge is issued by one of the contestants, daring another contestant to tell the truth. Hence “truth or dare”. Either the person being challenged tells the truth, or else he loses.
Of course in normal life we want people to tell the truth, not to lie. But that isn’t what this game is about. When some folks play the game, personal questions of a private or embarrassing nature are asked. The end result is that, for those who choose to play, their inhibitions are broken down when their privacy is eliminated.
Of course when kids play the game, they ask kiddie questions, sort of like “trick or treat”. The real danger comes when, say, college students play the game. They are away from home and at an age of heightened sexual awareness. And in today’s social climate sex is worshiped, rather than handled with inhibitions.
Consequently, it is not unusual for college students to ask questions of a sexual nature. If the person challenged doesn’t want to be mocked for being an old prude, he or she will cough up the truth and expose his or her private affairs. A little time wallowing in such shenanigans, and the entire group feels 100% uninhibited. Promiscuity tends to follow closely on the heels of this game in consequence.
Truth can be a good thing, if given in the proper context. As Rule #1 for Bible study teaches, “A text without a context is a pretext.” Questions and information related to sexual matters are private and should be kept private. Only within the context of one man/one woman marriage is the topic suitable between two people.
We are exhorted in the Bible to speak the truth in love. Sexual questions and information in a board game between folks not married might be truth, but they are certainly not love! The only true way to participate in such a game is to refrain from speaking. That would be wisdom for the child of God.
We will pause for now and spend time with the Lord Jesus. Tomorrow we will continue this topic.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
There is this silly game which folks of all ages have played over the years. It has even been codified into books of questions to be used in the game. It is called Truth or Dare. Have you ever heard of it?
I’ll bet you have, even if you don’t know it by that name. There are numerous variations of it, so no telling what form you might know it by. To tell the truth, to me kiddie Halloween celebration is eerily similar to Truth or Dare. The main difference would be that kiddie Halloween doesn’t challenge with “truth or dare”. It challenges with “trick or treat”.
Anyway a group of people plays the game. Basically, a challenge is issued by one of the contestants, daring another contestant to tell the truth. Hence “truth or dare”. Either the person being challenged tells the truth, or else he loses.
Of course in normal life we want people to tell the truth, not to lie. But that isn’t what this game is about. When some folks play the game, personal questions of a private or embarrassing nature are asked. The end result is that, for those who choose to play, their inhibitions are broken down when their privacy is eliminated.
Of course when kids play the game, they ask kiddie questions, sort of like “trick or treat”. The real danger comes when, say, college students play the game. They are away from home and at an age of heightened sexual awareness. And in today’s social climate sex is worshiped, rather than handled with inhibitions.
Consequently, it is not unusual for college students to ask questions of a sexual nature. If the person challenged doesn’t want to be mocked for being an old prude, he or she will cough up the truth and expose his or her private affairs. A little time wallowing in such shenanigans, and the entire group feels 100% uninhibited. Promiscuity tends to follow closely on the heels of this game in consequence.
Truth can be a good thing, if given in the proper context. As Rule #1 for Bible study teaches, “A text without a context is a pretext.” Questions and information related to sexual matters are private and should be kept private. Only within the context of one man/one woman marriage is the topic suitable between two people.
We are exhorted in the Bible to speak the truth in love. Sexual questions and information in a board game between folks not married might be truth, but they are certainly not love! The only true way to participate in such a game is to refrain from speaking. That would be wisdom for the child of God.
We will pause for now and spend time with the Lord Jesus. Tomorrow we will continue this topic.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Truth or Dare? – Part 2
Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth [Ephesians 6:14].
Sex, even conversations about sex, are meant to occur in the context of one man/one woman marriage. As Christians we must be on guard against the world’s seductive traps to lead us into sexual sin.
This point bears weight in understanding one aspect of our Bible verse. The devil is prowling about like a roaring lion, seeking some juicy Christian to devour. He loves to engage the child of God in conversation, knowing that the more we open our mouths and utter verbiage, the more we are likely to step into it.
So the devil slithers up to us appearing as an angel of light and asks with the innocence of a toddler, “Did God really say…?” He couldn’t care less what God said, but he greatly cares to get us flapping our jaws, you see. He’ll soon have us right where he wants us.
It is almost automatic for the Christian to want to defend God’s honor. We want to set the record straight, when the devil’s innuendo about our blessed Lord pricks us like a sharp barb. We are constrained to speak the truth, you see.
This perspective furnishes one context for understanding our Bible verse. We are studying spiritual warfare. As we learned in our last study, it is essential that we “put on the full armor of God”, before we go to war against the wiles of the wicked one.
This armor consists of several items. Our Bible verse identifies one such piece of armor as “the belt of truth”. That is how the New International Version translates it. The NASB reads “having girded your loins with truth”. We “gird” ourselves with a “girdle”, which is a belt of sorts which wraps around the waist area.
The Apostle Paul bases his depictive armor on the wardrobe of the Roman legionnaires. The piece of equipment they wore around the midriff was a belt. It held a sleeve for carrying the sword. In today’s military the belt might have a pocket for carrying a compass and other paraphernalia. It might also have a canteen attached to it.
In Biblical times men wore robes and tunics, not shirts and trousers. A tunic was none too practical for work, and even less so for fighting the enemy! The tunic got in the way and there was a danger of tripping over it.
To alleviate this predicament, a belt or girdle was worn atop the tunic. When it was time to work or go to war, the bottom portion of the tunic was pulled up away from the feet and tucked into the belt, to keep it out of the way.
In our next study we will consider the relevancy of this information to our Bible verse. For now let’s take a breather and go off alone with Jesus. He has some things He wants to share with us.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Sex, even conversations about sex, are meant to occur in the context of one man/one woman marriage. As Christians we must be on guard against the world’s seductive traps to lead us into sexual sin.
This point bears weight in understanding one aspect of our Bible verse. The devil is prowling about like a roaring lion, seeking some juicy Christian to devour. He loves to engage the child of God in conversation, knowing that the more we open our mouths and utter verbiage, the more we are likely to step into it.
So the devil slithers up to us appearing as an angel of light and asks with the innocence of a toddler, “Did God really say…?” He couldn’t care less what God said, but he greatly cares to get us flapping our jaws, you see. He’ll soon have us right where he wants us.
It is almost automatic for the Christian to want to defend God’s honor. We want to set the record straight, when the devil’s innuendo about our blessed Lord pricks us like a sharp barb. We are constrained to speak the truth, you see.
This perspective furnishes one context for understanding our Bible verse. We are studying spiritual warfare. As we learned in our last study, it is essential that we “put on the full armor of God”, before we go to war against the wiles of the wicked one.
This armor consists of several items. Our Bible verse identifies one such piece of armor as “the belt of truth”. That is how the New International Version translates it. The NASB reads “having girded your loins with truth”. We “gird” ourselves with a “girdle”, which is a belt of sorts which wraps around the waist area.
The Apostle Paul bases his depictive armor on the wardrobe of the Roman legionnaires. The piece of equipment they wore around the midriff was a belt. It held a sleeve for carrying the sword. In today’s military the belt might have a pocket for carrying a compass and other paraphernalia. It might also have a canteen attached to it.
In Biblical times men wore robes and tunics, not shirts and trousers. A tunic was none too practical for work, and even less so for fighting the enemy! The tunic got in the way and there was a danger of tripping over it.
To alleviate this predicament, a belt or girdle was worn atop the tunic. When it was time to work or go to war, the bottom portion of the tunic was pulled up away from the feet and tucked into the belt, to keep it out of the way.
In our next study we will consider the relevancy of this information to our Bible verse. For now let’s take a breather and go off alone with Jesus. He has some things He wants to share with us.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Truth or Dare? – Part 3
Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth [Ephesians 6:14].
People in Bible times, including the Romans, wore tunics instead of trousers and shirts. The tunics dragged around the feet when walking and working. So a belt was worn around the waist, allowing the tunic to be pulled up off the feet and tucked in to keep it out of the way.
In Ephesians 6 Paul painted that image for us, except in Paul’s case the belt represented truth. If we don’t want to trip over our flapping jaws by quibbling with the wicked one, we need to employ the belt of truth. The operative word here is “truth”, dear friends. Jesus said that He is the truth. The Psalmist noted that the Word of God is the truth.
The devil is a liar and the father of all lies. He won’t tell you the truth, not even by accident. The antichrist will be a man who the devil possesses. He will present the world with the lie, and all the world will follow him like mice behind the Pied Piper.
But the devil doesn’t speak only the lie during the Tribulation. He is incessantly engaged in this sordid practice of his. We must go to war against it daily, both in our lives and in the world as a whole. Who is sufficient for these things? Not me, and not you either. Only the Lord is, which is why He provides us with “the full armor of God”.
When we wear the belt of truth—or when we gird our loins with truth, which is the same thing—we are fitting ourselves to go to war, you see. And the only defense against the lies of the devil are the truths of God. We have these truths in written form in the Bible. As Rule #2 for Bible study teaches, “The Bible is our sole and final authority in all matters of faith and practice.”
Not convinced? Then consider how Jesus warded off the devil’s attacks, during His forty days of fasting in the wilderness. To each of the devil’s temptations, our Lord answered by quoting the Word of God. Jesus didn’t argue with the devil. He told him the Word of God.
Jesus didn’t correct the devil because the devil wasn’t repentant. Jesus deflected the devil’s temptations by clinging to the Word of God as the truth. He put on the belt of truth, you see. In doing this Jesus role modeled for His people how to combat the wicked one.
In the garden the woman engaged in conversation with the devil. It only took a few exchanges of words between the devil and her before she stepped in it. She didn’t recognize that the devil wasn’t really interested in the truth. She innocently thought she could straighten him out.
Oh, dear. We’re out of time again. Let’s betake ourselves to Jesus for a refreshing time of fellowship. We will continue this topic on the morrow.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
People in Bible times, including the Romans, wore tunics instead of trousers and shirts. The tunics dragged around the feet when walking and working. So a belt was worn around the waist, allowing the tunic to be pulled up off the feet and tucked in to keep it out of the way.
In Ephesians 6 Paul painted that image for us, except in Paul’s case the belt represented truth. If we don’t want to trip over our flapping jaws by quibbling with the wicked one, we need to employ the belt of truth. The operative word here is “truth”, dear friends. Jesus said that He is the truth. The Psalmist noted that the Word of God is the truth.
The devil is a liar and the father of all lies. He won’t tell you the truth, not even by accident. The antichrist will be a man who the devil possesses. He will present the world with the lie, and all the world will follow him like mice behind the Pied Piper.
But the devil doesn’t speak only the lie during the Tribulation. He is incessantly engaged in this sordid practice of his. We must go to war against it daily, both in our lives and in the world as a whole. Who is sufficient for these things? Not me, and not you either. Only the Lord is, which is why He provides us with “the full armor of God”.
When we wear the belt of truth—or when we gird our loins with truth, which is the same thing—we are fitting ourselves to go to war, you see. And the only defense against the lies of the devil are the truths of God. We have these truths in written form in the Bible. As Rule #2 for Bible study teaches, “The Bible is our sole and final authority in all matters of faith and practice.”
Not convinced? Then consider how Jesus warded off the devil’s attacks, during His forty days of fasting in the wilderness. To each of the devil’s temptations, our Lord answered by quoting the Word of God. Jesus didn’t argue with the devil. He told him the Word of God.
Jesus didn’t correct the devil because the devil wasn’t repentant. Jesus deflected the devil’s temptations by clinging to the Word of God as the truth. He put on the belt of truth, you see. In doing this Jesus role modeled for His people how to combat the wicked one.
In the garden the woman engaged in conversation with the devil. It only took a few exchanges of words between the devil and her before she stepped in it. She didn’t recognize that the devil wasn’t really interested in the truth. She innocently thought she could straighten him out.
Oh, dear. We’re out of time again. Let’s betake ourselves to Jesus for a refreshing time of fellowship. We will continue this topic on the morrow.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Truth or Dare? – Part 4
Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth [Ephesians 6:14].
The devil loves to engage the Christian in conversation. He knows our proclivity for flapping our jaws at a speed too fast for our minds to keep up. Soon we are speaking half-truths along with him, and he has won the battle against truth.
In the garden the woman fell for this trick. The devil led her straight to lies and into sin. Jesus too was tempted by the devil. However, Jesus recognized the devil for who he is. He is a liar and the father of all lies. This means the devil is the opposite of the truth. Jesus is the truth (cf., John 14:6). The Word of God is the truth (cf., John 17:17). The devil is a liar.
This dichotomy between the devil and God, between lies and truth, was taught to the man and woman in the garden by means of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and the tree of life. If the man and woman had faith in God, then they would obey Him. He permitted them to eat fruit from every tree, including the tree of life.
On the other hand, if they hadn’t faith in God, then they would do the one thing He forbade them to do, viz., eat fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This was why, in the garden, the devil immediately queried the woman about the fruit she was permitted to eat. “Did God really say that you can’t eat any of the fruit from any tree?” He got the woman discussing the issue with him, and he tripped her up in her words. She should have said, “It is written…” and left off talking after quoting the Word of God.
If we Christians don’t want to be the devil’s next meal, then we perforce have to fight spiritual warfare daily. And if we are to be successful in conducting spiritual warfare, we must don “the full armor of God”.
This armor includes wearing and properly utilizing “the belt of truth”. To wear the belt of truth, we must feed on our Bibles daily in quiet time alone with Jesus. We must learn Bible truth not only in the head but also in the heart, so that we are spiritually armed to stand firm against the lies of the devil.
The good ol’ USA today is not a Christian society. We are not even a post-Christian society. We are an outright antichrist society! And I’m not speaking hyperbolically either. The Book of the Covenant has been lost in the house of God. That should tell us how much it exists in the rest of society. It doesn’t.
We must daily prepare ourselves to walk in the ways of the Lord and conduct spiritual warfare, if we would not succumb to the wiles of the devil. We cannot do the Lord’s work and fight the Lord’s battles with our tunics dragging on our feet. We must needs wear the belt of truth. Only then will we be successful in standing firm.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
The devil loves to engage the Christian in conversation. He knows our proclivity for flapping our jaws at a speed too fast for our minds to keep up. Soon we are speaking half-truths along with him, and he has won the battle against truth.
In the garden the woman fell for this trick. The devil led her straight to lies and into sin. Jesus too was tempted by the devil. However, Jesus recognized the devil for who he is. He is a liar and the father of all lies. This means the devil is the opposite of the truth. Jesus is the truth (cf., John 14:6). The Word of God is the truth (cf., John 17:17). The devil is a liar.
This dichotomy between the devil and God, between lies and truth, was taught to the man and woman in the garden by means of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and the tree of life. If the man and woman had faith in God, then they would obey Him. He permitted them to eat fruit from every tree, including the tree of life.
On the other hand, if they hadn’t faith in God, then they would do the one thing He forbade them to do, viz., eat fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This was why, in the garden, the devil immediately queried the woman about the fruit she was permitted to eat. “Did God really say that you can’t eat any of the fruit from any tree?” He got the woman discussing the issue with him, and he tripped her up in her words. She should have said, “It is written…” and left off talking after quoting the Word of God.
If we Christians don’t want to be the devil’s next meal, then we perforce have to fight spiritual warfare daily. And if we are to be successful in conducting spiritual warfare, we must don “the full armor of God”.
This armor includes wearing and properly utilizing “the belt of truth”. To wear the belt of truth, we must feed on our Bibles daily in quiet time alone with Jesus. We must learn Bible truth not only in the head but also in the heart, so that we are spiritually armed to stand firm against the lies of the devil.
The good ol’ USA today is not a Christian society. We are not even a post-Christian society. We are an outright antichrist society! And I’m not speaking hyperbolically either. The Book of the Covenant has been lost in the house of God. That should tell us how much it exists in the rest of society. It doesn’t.
We must daily prepare ourselves to walk in the ways of the Lord and conduct spiritual warfare, if we would not succumb to the wiles of the devil. We cannot do the Lord’s work and fight the Lord’s battles with our tunics dragging on our feet. We must needs wear the belt of truth. Only then will we be successful in standing firm.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Don’t Give Your Heart Away – Part 1
Stand firm therefore…having put on the breastplate of righteousness [Ephesians 6:14].
Springtime is in the air. Ah, amore! Venice is nice for the atmosphere it affords springtime lovers, or so I hear tell anyway. Gay Paris is not exactly chopped liver, if you’re looking for a substitute. What is indispensable is the amore part, not the scenery.
Isn’t life in Tinseltown romantic? There are the fairy tales, and there are the fairy tales, and then there are the fairy tales. Who needs reality when fairy tales are so readily available? We modern Americans are real dupes.
No matter how much we want to pretend reality isn’t real, it is still there, waiting to bite us in the rear end at the first opportunity. Money cannot buy us happiness…or fairy tales…or eternal life. Optical illusions and cheap parlor tricks are not reality, so we would do ourselves well not to give away the farm for pie in the sky.
In our last several studies we have been delving into spiritual warfare and “the full armor of God”. This armor is God’s provision for the Christian, in resisting the evil one and overcoming the world. The first piece of armor we descanted upon was “the belt of truth”. Tinseltown is anything but the truth, dear friends. Why are we in America so willing to pretend it is?
We call ourselves being “romantic” when we chase after our lusts, in imitation of the antics of the silver screen. We should be burying our noses in the Word of God to learn of what real life consists. We instead prefer to play Mr. Magoo or Don Quixote and pretend Star Wars is reality.
We fancy ourselves Luke Skywalkers, out to save the lovely Princess Leia from those repulsive alien-looking whatever-they-are. Not to worry. The force will be with us, whatever that is. Oh, I know what it is! It once upon a time wore the epithet “animism” and “ancestor worship”. It was standard fare for the ancient pagans and their heathenism.
But we are so smart today, aren’t we? Just change the label and redo the packaging, display it on the silver screen as “the force be with you”, and presto! we have made Greek mythology modern and returned us to our heathen roots. And this from the intelligentsia wannabes who mock Christianity as a fable and superstition! Who woulda thunk it, huh?
Have you noticed how much mega-millions of dollars these repackaged Greek myths are making? What does that tell us, if not that modern Americans are too “smart” to buy into Ma & Pa’s old-fashioned superstition (read “Christianity”), so we buy into the polytheism of the ancient Greeks and Canaanites and Egyptians?
Not a pleasant note on which to end the song, is it? But we must stop and take our rest for the night. We’ll meet up again tomorrow. Enjoy time with Jesus now.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Categories: Church Age
Springtime is in the air. Ah, amore! Venice is nice for the atmosphere it affords springtime lovers, or so I hear tell anyway. Gay Paris is not exactly chopped liver, if you’re looking for a substitute. What is indispensable is the amore part, not the scenery.
Isn’t life in Tinseltown romantic? There are the fairy tales, and there are the fairy tales, and then there are the fairy tales. Who needs reality when fairy tales are so readily available? We modern Americans are real dupes.
No matter how much we want to pretend reality isn’t real, it is still there, waiting to bite us in the rear end at the first opportunity. Money cannot buy us happiness…or fairy tales…or eternal life. Optical illusions and cheap parlor tricks are not reality, so we would do ourselves well not to give away the farm for pie in the sky.
In our last several studies we have been delving into spiritual warfare and “the full armor of God”. This armor is God’s provision for the Christian, in resisting the evil one and overcoming the world. The first piece of armor we descanted upon was “the belt of truth”. Tinseltown is anything but the truth, dear friends. Why are we in America so willing to pretend it is?
We call ourselves being “romantic” when we chase after our lusts, in imitation of the antics of the silver screen. We should be burying our noses in the Word of God to learn of what real life consists. We instead prefer to play Mr. Magoo or Don Quixote and pretend Star Wars is reality.
We fancy ourselves Luke Skywalkers, out to save the lovely Princess Leia from those repulsive alien-looking whatever-they-are. Not to worry. The force will be with us, whatever that is. Oh, I know what it is! It once upon a time wore the epithet “animism” and “ancestor worship”. It was standard fare for the ancient pagans and their heathenism.
But we are so smart today, aren’t we? Just change the label and redo the packaging, display it on the silver screen as “the force be with you”, and presto! we have made Greek mythology modern and returned us to our heathen roots. And this from the intelligentsia wannabes who mock Christianity as a fable and superstition! Who woulda thunk it, huh?
Have you noticed how much mega-millions of dollars these repackaged Greek myths are making? What does that tell us, if not that modern Americans are too “smart” to buy into Ma & Pa’s old-fashioned superstition (read “Christianity”), so we buy into the polytheism of the ancient Greeks and Canaanites and Egyptians?
Not a pleasant note on which to end the song, is it? But we must stop and take our rest for the night. We’ll meet up again tomorrow. Enjoy time with Jesus now.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Categories: Church Age
