Posts Tagged ‘the devil’

THE COST OF LOSING FOCUS

Posted: September 29, 2012 in Art, Books, Christianity, Education, Encouragement, Faith, Family, History, Hope, Inspiration, Life, Lifestyle, News, Parenting, Photography, Politics, Quotes, Success, Travel, Uncategorized
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“Then the LORD said to Cain, ‘Where is your brother Abel?’ ‘I don’t know,’ he replied. ‘Am I my brother’s keeper?'”

Genesis 4:9 NIV

Just as there is a cost associated with following the path of righteousness in being a living sacrifice for Jesus, there is also a cost in choosing to go our own way living from the desires of the sinful mind. From the beginning of time, mankind has wrestled with its own humanity and has been the direct beneficiary of its own shortcomings with tragic results time and again. From the Ancient of Days, in the book of Proverbs, Solomon explains it like this, There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.” – Proverbs 16:25 NIV

According to her desires, it seemed right to Eve to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but in the end it resulted in death. Her innocent act of eating one measly fruit from a tree resulted in being spiritually severed from her intimate relationship with her Creator and ostracized from the abundant life God had created for her and Adam to live in with Him in the garden of Eden. Both Adam and Eve had equal access to eat from the tree of life freely, but they chose to intake from what they were forbidden to have. They were deceived into thinking and believing that what was forbidden was more rewarding and fulfilling than what they already had access to. Isn’t it interesting that we usually don’t give much, if any, consideration to the consequences of doing wrong, but we will think of the many reasons why we should not do the right thing. This is the hostile mind at work, even in the life of a sincere believer.

Cain’s disappointment of not having his sacrifice received by God brought a stern warning from God to do what was right in order to be accepted, but if he did not do what was right; sin was crouching, waiting for the opportunity to strike and take siege of Cain’s heart and mind. Cain desired to encounter God’s favor (acceptance) without doing what God required. God challenged Cain to master (manage thought life and resulting actions) his sin, but Cain ignored God’s warning and this is the result of not delighting in God’s law in Cain’s life: (see Genesis 4:1-17)

  • Cain ignores God and His word after God corrected Cain
  • Cain becomes jealous of Abel
  • Cain becomes consumed with anger (hatred)
  • Cain kills his brother
  • Cain lies to God about the whereabouts of his brother
  • Cain becomes indignant with God (am I my brother’s keeper)
  • Cain never admits to killing Abel
  • Cain complains about the consequences of his sin, but shows no remorse for it (my punishment is more than I can bear) Genesis 4:13 NIV

May God bless you and help you to remain focused, stand firm in your faith, continuing to do what is right so you may receive His favor and experience the fullness of life Christ came for us to have.

WHAT IS A HOSTILE MIND TOWARD GOD?

Posted: September 23, 2012 in Art, Books, Christianity, Education, Encouragement, Faith, Family, History, Hope, Inspiration, Life, Lifestyle, News, Parenting, Photography, Politics, Quotes, Success, Travel, Uncategorized
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“Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more.”

– Ephesians 4:19 NIV

The hostile mind is the mind that is not renewed in faith and opposes the attitude of Christ that prohibits the believer from displaying the likeness and image of God in their daily living. It is a mind that operates in resignation, reservation, resistance, doubt, unbelief and fear. The hostile mind is cynical in thinking and refutes the word of God as the authoritative doctrine of the Christian lifestyle. The hostile mind cannot embrace, accept, or validate the word of God as truth. The hostile mind is not sensitive to the Spirit of God when He speaks.

During the years of our pre-Christ conversion, we can clearly see how we could and have operated with a hostile mind towards God. Keep in mind, the Apostle Paul was writing this message within this passage of scripture in Ephesians 4 to those who considered themselves to be sincere followers of Jesus Christ. Paul is warning those who read and reflect upon this passage about the real reality that we are one thought away from turning back to a way of thinking that could prohibit us from living the victorious spiritual life God ordained us to walk in through faith in Jesus Christ. Even during the days of Jesus’ earthly ministry, there were those who find it difficult to accept what Jesus taught and no longer followed Him, according to John 6:60-70.

The reality of misfortune, grief, loss and the ongoing circumstances of disappointment and the discouraging moments of life is enough to distract us, deter us, and dissuade us from remaining loyal and devoted to anything, including God. It takes a deliberate, determined, disciplined resolve and strong  internal display of fortitude in order to remain sensitive to God when the harsh, cold reality of this world begins to harden our hearts towards the grace and truth of Jesus Christ. “Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me.” – Luke 7:23 NIV

May God bless you and help you to remain steadfast, immovable and unshaken in your faith walk with Him so you may experience the fullness of life Christ came for us to have.

THE AUTHOR OF MY PROSPERITY

Posted: September 15, 2012 in Art, Books, Christianity, Education, Encouragement, Faith, Family, History, Hope, Inspiration, Life, Lifestyle, News, Parenting, Photography, Politics, Quotes, Success, Travel, Uncategorized
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“He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not whither. Whatever he does prospers.”

– Psalm 1:3 NIV

Careful inspection of Psalm 1 reveals there is a lifestyle that results in productive living and the outcome of that lifestyle is prosperity. Verse 1 of Psalm 1 illustrates the depiction of a blessed man being one who is mindful about the company he keeps. “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.” – Psalm 1:1 NIV I don’t believe this verse is just referring to the proximity of my association with the types of people mentioned in this verse, as much as it is highlighting the necessity of not adopting such mindsets that would inhibit my ability to be a blessed man. If I’m never in the company of sinners how can I lead them to Christ?

Walk, stand, sit. What is my daily posture as it relates to God’s word and the application of its principles? A blessed man relies upon the truth of scripture as the basis, foundation and means of experiencing the type of lifestyle God has ordained for those who seek sincerely to be living sacrifices for Jesus. “But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.” Psalm 1:2 NIV The principle of prosperity, from the perspective of the Scripture, is inclusive of an intimate personal relationship where the sincere seeker is invested in God’s word and the application of its truth. It is illustrated in Psalm 1 as a man who delights in God’s law and meditates on it (i.e, thinks about it, reflects upon it, opens his mind to understanding greater revelation and illumination of what is written, sincerely desires to understand and accept God’s word as the authoritative doctrine on living a spiritual life).

In the gospel of John, Jesus reiterates this truth revealed in Psalm 1 by explaining to His disciples the necessity of the word of God in being productive. “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” – John 15:7 NIV If I walk in the way God has chosen for me to take, standing firmly upon His word as the foundation for living the life He has ordained for me as His child and consistently sit at His feet as one who sincerely seeks to learn from the Master ( a posture of humility) then, as the blessed man is described as one who is like a tree planted by the rivers of water and his leaves never wither, I should encounter prosperity in every aspect of my life (spiritual, mental, emotional, physical, financial, relational, and professional).

May God bless you and help you to walk in His ways, stand firm in your faith and sit at His feet to grow in His grace and truth so you may experience the fullness of life Christ came for us to have.

THE UNSEEN ENEMY

Posted: March 5, 2012 in Books, Christianity, Education, Family, History, Life, News, Parenting, Quotes, Uncategorized
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“And because the LORD had closed her womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her. This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the LORD, her rival provoked her till she wept and would not eat.” – I Samuel 1:6-7 NIV

In my faith walk with Christ I have discovered the unseen enemy of the soul that opposes me in walking by faith and prohibits me from desiring to please God by how I act and live. The enemy I am referring to is not as obvious as one may think, like the devil, but one more obscure but equally effective in deceiving and dissuading me to live contrary to what God requires of me. That enemy are the thoughts and emotions of my soul that wrestle against me for my devotion to Christ and adherence to His commands. The Apostle Paul teaches it this way in the book of Ephesians by saying that our struggle is not against flesh and blood (other people), but against dark forces in this world and spiritual wickedness in heavenly places. In the book of Romans it is the war between the flesh and the Spirit.

Hannah was experiencing conflict with Peninah, whom the bible introduces as her rival in chapter 1 of 1 Samuel, but Hannah’s greater conflict was within herself regarding her desires to be a mother and bear children. her greater conflict of her desire to experience fulfillment in motherhood was only perpetuated and exacerbated by Peninnah’s taunting that tormented Hannah. Behind the scenes we see God allowing this to happen year after year to the point Hannah no longer eats. What makes it even worse is that it happens at church (in the house of God). In verse 9 of 1 Samuel chapter 1, Hannah makes a bold step of faith that changes her disposition, her posture and eventually the reality of the condition of her current circumstances. Hannah stood up, as the bible records it, and goes with a deliberate intention to the house of God to pray. Despite her torment, the taunting of her rival and the tumultuous circumstances that happened year after year, Hannah is now taking charge and action of her life to make it better!

What I like most about this story is the insight gained from Hannah’s prayer. If you inspect it closely you will notice at no time does she mention Peninnah. Though year after year she was taunted by her rival, when Hannah prays she remains focused on her desire (dream) and the current state of her inner being. This tells me that although Hannah was attacked by her rival, she never internalized the source of her external conflict. Instead Hannah focused on the deep passion within her that would bring her life, fulfillment and contentment. Her act of surrender began with not reacting to Peninnah and coming to God in prayer and concluded with giving back to God what she desired from Him. God has put a desire, dream or vision within each of us He invites us to offer back to Him with a willing spirit to allow Him to bless us and bring to fulfillment what He deposited in us.

May God prompt you to surrender to His will in how you cope with and overcome your trials and come to Him in prayer with your feelings, dreams and desires to experience the fulfillment of His relationship with you and what He deposits within you to bless you and others.

TAKE ACTION

Posted: February 25, 2012 in Books, Christianity, Education, Family, History, Life, Parenting, Quotes, Uncategorized
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“But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat.” – Nehemiah 4:9

How do you normally respond when you to come to the place known as dissatisfaction? Faith in Christ is teaching me that there are one of 2 courses to take. One would be to take action to address the dissatisfaction and find responsible means to best remedy the situation or circumstance that brought about the feelings of dissatisfaction. The second course of action would simply be to do nothing about it and wallow in it and allow the normal temporal feeling to grow into a disposition of being disenfranchised, disgruntled, cynnical or ungrateful.

Learning to take a sincere assessment of why I am feeling and thinking about being dissatisfied is enabling me and empowering me to recognize when appropriate actions need to be taken to change my disposition from a place of dissatisfaction to a posture of contentment. As I mature in my faith walk with Christ I discover the need to make a sincere assessment of where I am in life and how I arrived there and what I am willing to do to better my situation. Learning to engage with God through prayer about how I’m feeling and what I am thinking about helps me in allowing Him to work in me both to will and to act (to want to do and follow through) according to what His will is for me in my circumstances to experience the full life Christ came for me to have.

Sometimes overcoming dissatisfaction first begins with accepting what the current conditions of my circumstances are before I can begin to take action. If I am stuck in frustration over what my state currently is, how can I effectively make reasonable, responsible decisions about making progress, moving forward and looking ahead? Acceptance brings me to the place called contentment and it is in that place where I can begin to think about the fulfillment I desire from a posture of expectancy to help me overcome my dissatisfaction. Take action first with prayer! I believe the first blessing of sincere prayer is peace of mind and a soul at rest.

May God illuminate the eyes of your mind and fill your heart with His peace to enlighten you and help you to take action to experience contentment and fulfillment from your current place of dissatisfaction.

PUSH BACK

Posted: February 25, 2012 in Books, Christianity, Education, Family, History, Life, Parenting, Quotes, Uncategorized
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“I was pushed back and about to fall, but the LORD helped me.”

– Psalm 118:13

The circumstances of life have a way of bullying us, intimidating us and tormenting us into a position or posture of feeling victimized and overwhelmed. Reading the bible intently has helped me to discover that I am not alone when I find myself in those moments of life feeling pushed back and pressed up against the wall. In fact, I have come to take solace in knowing and understanding that it is in those places where I discover the intimate imminent person, power and presence of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to aid, help and support me in having the courage, confidence and inner strength to stand firm and push back against what’s pressing me.

In the face of loss, misfortune and injustice, I learn to trust God and believe He is with me to help me and bless me no matter what the circumstances. I am learning to spread my concerns before Him in prayer with assurance and confidence He will answer me. Consistent reflection upon His word and His past deeds, reminds me and reinforces to me His concern and care for me as one He loves. God is my greatest resource to deal with life’s challenges and supplies me with everything I need to live and experience the full life Christ came for me to have!

It’s time to push back in the Spirit with prayer, praise and resolute proclamation of what you believe, by faith, instead of continuing to be pushed back by life’s troubles. From the sanctuary of His throne God declares Himself as One who brings forth life from death and calls things that are not as they ought to be. Allow your soul to become aroused with His Spirit and His word to grant you the spiritual fortitude and internal resolve required to begin to push back against what has sought to overwhelm you and prevail against you. Acknowledgement of Jesus Christ as LORD and Savior and recognition of His death and shed blood for the redemption of your soul from sin will give you unlimited power and strength to begin to push back against addiction, debt, sexual sin, rejection, sickness, rage, distress, depression and the whole host of challenges we face in this life!

I pray God will strengthen you and empower you to begin to push back!