"Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil." (Matthew 4:1)
Rest assured that once you accomplish something great for God, Satan will counterattack as soon as he can. Now, we should not give Satan power which he does not have. After all, he is a created being, and, as such, has limits on what he can do. That being said, underestimating him is foolhardy and dangerous, especially since he had the audacity to challenge Jesus Christ Himself. In this case, Jesus Christ had just been baptized by John the Baptist. After His act of obedience, He was publically honored by God the Father and God the Holy Spirit.
"...At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:16b-17)
It was right after this that the Holy Spirit led Him out to face the one who tried to usurp His throne. From this event, we learn several things:
1) God will allow temptations and trials into your life in order to strengthen you. Very often, these will occur after you have a wonderful spiritual experience. It's sort of like becoming a UFC champion. Once you win the belt and have your moment of glory, you need to accept the fact that the strongest, fastest, smartest, and most ruthless fighters in your division will be out for your head. In our case, the top contenders will come out of Satan's two training camps: the sinful world and the demonic kingdom. Expect them to come for you after:
A) You get saved.
B) You get baptized.
C) You minister to a friend.
D) God allows a miracle to happen in your life.
Also, unlike a mixed martial arts champion, you don't have the option to lose the belt and fade into obscurity. According to John 10: 27-29, salvation is permanent, so you are going to be in battle for the rest of your life.
2) Satan does not fight fair. Remember, when he came after Jesus, He was alone and starving after having fasted for 40 days. Rest assured that when your life descends into complete chaos, Satan will be choosing his moment to finish you off. He will send your dead-sexy ex-girlfriend back into your life when your marriage is on life support. He will arrange for a new casino to open up in town right after you are appointed Chief Financial Officer of your company. He will send a handsome, understanding older man to "comfort" you when you have lost your father. Criminals will offer their "help" in getting you that government position when your opponent has you against the wall. In the same way that Bane waited until Batman had been run ragged by Gotham City's criminals before he broke his back, so will Satan wait until you have been run ragged before he tries to break yours.
3) Christ will empower you to succeed. He even showed us, through His example, how to use our deadliest weapon against Satan: the Bible.
"For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." (Hebrews 4:12)
Think the lightsaber was an amazing weapon? Let's see it cut through souls and spirits. Christ answered every temptation that Satan threw at Him with scripture. This is especially amazing, considering that Satan was quoting scripture to make His temptations more appealing. Fortunately, Jesus recognized when it was being taken out of context and would use verses to show what the Bible was really saying. In other words, if you know scripture and use it properly, you will have victory over the enemy. Then, through the power of Christ, you will be able to defeat the devil, as Christ did when He said the following:
"... Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’” (Matthew 4:10)
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Sunday, July 1, 2012
July's Celebrity Prayer Project: Trent Reznor
"Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” (Matthew 19:24)
I've toyed with the idea about praying for celebrities for years. Now it's time to put it into practice. The fact of the matter is that everyone, rich and poor, will die and stand before God one day. For that reason, each month, I will pray for fifteen minutes a day for the salvation of one celebrity. To kick it off, I am going to begin with my favorite musician: Trent Reznor. While I decided to stop listening to his songs after I heard "Heresy", I was struck by the lyrics of "Terrible Lie", in which he expresses a painful disillusionment with God based on what is going on in his life and world. For that reason, I will be praying that Trent gets the answers that he seeks, and that he has a real and true encounter with the God who loves him so much that He sent His Son to die for him.
(Photo from wikipedia.org)
(Photo from wikipedia.org)
Why Forgive?
"Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you." (Colossians 3:13).
Today, I am still reeling from a situation where someone screwed me over several months back. For a completely frivolous reason, they threw me under the bus and turned my life upside-down. I will explain the situation in my memoir, which I am calling "That Was Then, This Is Now." However, I will say that just because someone claims to be a brother in Christ, does not mean that they will always act like it.
Let's just face it: life isn't fair. Therefore, it is no surprise that sometimes, you will be given the wrong end of the stick. The fact is that anyone who claims that people are inherently good has either been blessed to live in an unusually good community, or is simply naive. The fact is that, as Romans 3: 11 states, "There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God." People are sinners, and ultimately, are only out for themselves. Dale Carnegie put it this way:
"When dealing with people, remember that you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but with creatures of emotion, creatures bristling with prejudice, and motivated by pride and vanity."
In my case, I was stabbed in the back by someone who lacked the courage to stand up to someone else's emotions and prejudice. It was rather ironic, because this other person was under their authority, and not the other way around. However, even though people are going to misuse you and abuse you in life, you really only have one option when it comes to dealing with them: forgiveness. Now obviously, if the situation warrants it, you must take whatever LEGAL options you have at your disposal to rectify it. God is not honored by vigilantism. However, you still need to forgive others, for these simple reasons.
1) Your bitterness is only hurting yourself. Your offender has probably forgotten about what they've done to you and moved on to screwing someone else over. Don't let them hurt you any more than they already have. Release the pain and move on.
2) "Getting even" does not make them better. It makes you worse. Not to mention that it will likely lead to really bad consequences, such as getting fired or going to jail. One extreme example of this is "West Side Story", where Tony kills Bernardo after Bernardo kills his best friend, Riff. Due to his actions, Tony not only severely damaged his relationship with Maria, but he also became a fugitive and was eventually killed himself by Bernardo's own best friend, Chino. Now, obviously, none of us are 1950s gangsters, so we probably won't find ourselves in that position. However, it is important to note that it is far better to keep our cool than to react in a way that will get us into serious trouble.
3) We need to forgive because God forgived us. Remember, Jesus took the heat for what we did. We were the ones who turned our backs on God. We were the ones who betrayed Him and screwed Him over, even though He did nothing but good to us. Yet, He chose offer us forgiveness, coming down from heaven and dying on the cross so that we could go to heaven instead of burning in hell forever.
"But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed." (Isaiah 53:5)
So in my case, I am simply going to forgive the person and move on with my life. Now, it is important to remember that, as my friend Pastor Marv said, forgiveness is an ongoing process. Memories of what happened to you are going to cause anger to flare up in your heart. That being said, when this happens, for your own sake, forgive them again. And again. And again. Eventually, you will heal, and be freed from the evil which they have done to you forever. Then you will learn what Booker T. Washington had discovered before he said this:
"We are most like God when we forgive."
Today, I am still reeling from a situation where someone screwed me over several months back. For a completely frivolous reason, they threw me under the bus and turned my life upside-down. I will explain the situation in my memoir, which I am calling "That Was Then, This Is Now." However, I will say that just because someone claims to be a brother in Christ, does not mean that they will always act like it.
Let's just face it: life isn't fair. Therefore, it is no surprise that sometimes, you will be given the wrong end of the stick. The fact is that anyone who claims that people are inherently good has either been blessed to live in an unusually good community, or is simply naive. The fact is that, as Romans 3: 11 states, "There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God." People are sinners, and ultimately, are only out for themselves. Dale Carnegie put it this way:
"When dealing with people, remember that you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but with creatures of emotion, creatures bristling with prejudice, and motivated by pride and vanity."
In my case, I was stabbed in the back by someone who lacked the courage to stand up to someone else's emotions and prejudice. It was rather ironic, because this other person was under their authority, and not the other way around. However, even though people are going to misuse you and abuse you in life, you really only have one option when it comes to dealing with them: forgiveness. Now obviously, if the situation warrants it, you must take whatever LEGAL options you have at your disposal to rectify it. God is not honored by vigilantism. However, you still need to forgive others, for these simple reasons.
1) Your bitterness is only hurting yourself. Your offender has probably forgotten about what they've done to you and moved on to screwing someone else over. Don't let them hurt you any more than they already have. Release the pain and move on.
2) "Getting even" does not make them better. It makes you worse. Not to mention that it will likely lead to really bad consequences, such as getting fired or going to jail. One extreme example of this is "West Side Story", where Tony kills Bernardo after Bernardo kills his best friend, Riff. Due to his actions, Tony not only severely damaged his relationship with Maria, but he also became a fugitive and was eventually killed himself by Bernardo's own best friend, Chino. Now, obviously, none of us are 1950s gangsters, so we probably won't find ourselves in that position. However, it is important to note that it is far better to keep our cool than to react in a way that will get us into serious trouble.
3) We need to forgive because God forgived us. Remember, Jesus took the heat for what we did. We were the ones who turned our backs on God. We were the ones who betrayed Him and screwed Him over, even though He did nothing but good to us. Yet, He chose offer us forgiveness, coming down from heaven and dying on the cross so that we could go to heaven instead of burning in hell forever.
"But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed." (Isaiah 53:5)
So in my case, I am simply going to forgive the person and move on with my life. Now, it is important to remember that, as my friend Pastor Marv said, forgiveness is an ongoing process. Memories of what happened to you are going to cause anger to flare up in your heart. That being said, when this happens, for your own sake, forgive them again. And again. And again. Eventually, you will heal, and be freed from the evil which they have done to you forever. Then you will learn what Booker T. Washington had discovered before he said this:
"We are most like God when we forgive."
Saturday, June 30, 2012
Pray Like A Man (Or Woman)!
As I've grown closer to God, I've discovered the difference between true, faith-driven, heartfelt prayer and fluffy, froo-froo religious babble. In the former, you are honestly opening yourself up to God and allowing Him to do His will in your life. In the latter, you are just mindlessly reciting a vague and empty monologue so that you can put a check on your "Fred the Pharisee To-Do List", pat yourself on the back, and go to sleep and dream about what you really care about. You know, things like members of the opposite sex, money, cars, clothing, etc. Which kind of prayer do you think God answers? The first one! Duh! However, this is not for the faint of heart. It requires honestly looking at your heart and your true motives for what you are praying about. It requires leaving the outcome in God's hands and relinquishing control. It requires putting others ahead of you and your list of wants that you think you can't live without (but know deep down in your heart that you can). In other words, it's not for sissies. However, if you are a Christian who is tired of having a spiritual life as lively as a college student at an 8:00 a.m. lecture (zzzzzzzzzzzz), then man up (or woman up, if you're a lady), and pray like you mean it!
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Bring On The Blessings!
"Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it." (Malachi 3:10)
Many people don't tithe because they think that they don't have enough money. Yet, many of these same people are able to afford Iphones, Ipads, Xbox 360s, and still have enough left over to drive a Mercedes. My friend Richard once told me that people always have money for the things that they want to buy and do, and that is correct. I dare anyone who thinks that they can't tithe to show their pastor their latest blu-ray player (or their shoe collection, if they are ladies) and then claim that they can't even scrounge together two pennies to put in the offering plate. At any rate, people who short-change God only hurt themselves in the long run. Instead of using their money to make a difference in their communities and in the world, they wind up with a bunch of e-books which they don't read, a bunch of clothes which they don't wear, and a DVD set which they don't watch. To paraphrase Tyler Durden from "Fight Club", they waste their lives at jobs which they hate to buy crap that they don't need. Now obviously, becoming an underground anarchist is not the answer. However, radical, positive change is needed. That's why I always tithe ten-percent. Not when I feel like it. Not to impress my pastor with my righteousness or the cute college girl with my "bling." I do it to honor God, and God has blessed me back. It's not always immediate, and it's not always a monetary blessing. That being said, sometimes it is. I got a sweet freelance gig over the weekend which I am very thankful for, and know that God arranged it as part of the blessings downpour. He may not bless you in the exact same way if you tithe, but He will open the doors of heaven for you in one area of your life or another, for God keeps His promises.
Many people don't tithe because they think that they don't have enough money. Yet, many of these same people are able to afford Iphones, Ipads, Xbox 360s, and still have enough left over to drive a Mercedes. My friend Richard once told me that people always have money for the things that they want to buy and do, and that is correct. I dare anyone who thinks that they can't tithe to show their pastor their latest blu-ray player (or their shoe collection, if they are ladies) and then claim that they can't even scrounge together two pennies to put in the offering plate. At any rate, people who short-change God only hurt themselves in the long run. Instead of using their money to make a difference in their communities and in the world, they wind up with a bunch of e-books which they don't read, a bunch of clothes which they don't wear, and a DVD set which they don't watch. To paraphrase Tyler Durden from "Fight Club", they waste their lives at jobs which they hate to buy crap that they don't need. Now obviously, becoming an underground anarchist is not the answer. However, radical, positive change is needed. That's why I always tithe ten-percent. Not when I feel like it. Not to impress my pastor with my righteousness or the cute college girl with my "bling." I do it to honor God, and God has blessed me back. It's not always immediate, and it's not always a monetary blessing. That being said, sometimes it is. I got a sweet freelance gig over the weekend which I am very thankful for, and know that God arranged it as part of the blessings downpour. He may not bless you in the exact same way if you tithe, but He will open the doors of heaven for you in one area of your life or another, for God keeps His promises.
Monday, June 25, 2012
Good Samaritan Skit Goes Awry, Lol!
The Good Samaritan is perhaps the most famous of Jesus' parables. For that reason, it's not a surprise that the youth of my church chose to act it out at a nursing home during their trip to M-Fuge. Unfortunately, our youth minister did such a good job as a bandit that one of the residents thought that he was really hitting the kid who was playing the victim. You can see the hilarious outcome here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLahThF9oOA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLahThF9oOA
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Blessed Are The Persecuted...Seriously
As I continue to have my daily quiet times, I have noticed that life gets more difficult. Not just running into more difficult people, but more difficult situations as well. The fact is that often, God allows these things to happen in your life to test your faithfulness. Just like a UFC match reveals how skilled a fighter truly is, so do trials reveal how strong a believer's faith is. Matthew 5:10 says the following:
"Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
This clearly states that those who are persecuted for following Christ will receive an eternal inheritance. However, there is one important caveat: it has to be for His sake. Being ridiculed for walking around in neon boas and singing Justin Bieber songs at the top of your lungs does not count. Neither are you being persecuted for His sake if your boss fires you for always being late, if your spouse files for divorce because she caught you in bed with a stripper, or if you are arrested for "borrowing" your neighbor's Mustang for a joy ride. It only counts if you are living for Christ and behaving in an ethical manner. Regarding things such as wearing boas and music tastes, it's okay to be yourself. Just be aware that having someone snicker at your eccentricities doesn't guarantee you a larger mansion beyond the pearly gates.
"Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
This clearly states that those who are persecuted for following Christ will receive an eternal inheritance. However, there is one important caveat: it has to be for His sake. Being ridiculed for walking around in neon boas and singing Justin Bieber songs at the top of your lungs does not count. Neither are you being persecuted for His sake if your boss fires you for always being late, if your spouse files for divorce because she caught you in bed with a stripper, or if you are arrested for "borrowing" your neighbor's Mustang for a joy ride. It only counts if you are living for Christ and behaving in an ethical manner. Regarding things such as wearing boas and music tastes, it's okay to be yourself. Just be aware that having someone snicker at your eccentricities doesn't guarantee you a larger mansion beyond the pearly gates.
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