Category: Discipleship Essentials

Part 3: The Basis of Our Freedom

 

This is the third article in a series entitled Wonderful Counseling.

We got ourselves into the current terrible situation by turning our backs on God, as I explained in my previous article, and we can only escape with God’s help. In fact, our deliverance, healing, and restoration depend entirely upon the graciousness or grace of God; although, we do have a part to play. Without his initiative and intervention, we would be hopelessly and eternally lost. Without his continual sustaining power through the indwelling Holy Spirit, we cannot keep ourselves free. But through him, we are able to experience all that Jesus died to provide for us.

Jesus came to restore us to God’s intended way of living in complete harmony and partnership with God. It is a gloriously freeing way to live!

All things begin, continue, and end with God. He is the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. It is crucial for us to understand that each Person of the triune Godhead contributes to what the Bible calls our “great salvation.” (Hebrews 2:3) Our heavenly Father, the first Person of the Godhead, is the One who has loved us from before the creation of the world and who planned our salvation before we ever took our first breath.

Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ. 4 For he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world that we may be holy and unblemished in his sight in love. Ephesians 1:3-4 (NET1)

Abba Father is the kindest and most loving Person we will ever know.

But God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us, 5 even though we were dead in transgressions, made us alive together with Christ — by grace you are saved! — 6 and he raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 to demonstrate in the coming ages the surpassing wealth of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:4-7 (NET1)

But He is also completely just, holy, and righteous, and our sin created a huge obstacle to our ever being able to enjoy the fellowship and intimacy that Father God originally planned for us to share with Him. We distanced ourselves from Abba through our sinful breach of his righteousness, as I described in my previous article. His desire to show mercy to us stood opposed to the requirements of his truth and righteousness. How could God’s righteous anger at our sin ever be reconciled with his tender mercies?

Abba’s amazing plan manifested wisdom which is beyond human. It is…

...the wisdom of God, hidden in a mystery, that God determined before the ages for our glory. 8 None of the rulers of this age understood it. If they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 1 Corinthians 2:7-8 (NET1)

Abba’s solution was for His only begotten Son, the eternal Word of God, to become a human being and offer Himself as a perfect substitutionary sacrifice in our behalf.

Now the Word became flesh and took up residence among us. We] saw his glory — the glory of the one and only, full of grace and truth, who came from the Father. John 1:14 (NET1) 

But when this priest [Jesus] had offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 where he is now waiting until his enemies are made a footstool for his feet. 14 For by one offering he has perfected for all time those who are made holy. Hebrews 10:12-14 (NET1)

In addition, by the genius of what theologians call “identification,” God caused us to participate in Christ’s death and resurrection, having placed us “in Christ”, in whom we have been blessed with all spiritual blessings.

God made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we would become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21 (NET1)

Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ. Ephesians 1:3 (NET1)

To make the solution perfect, our heavenly Father sent His Holy Spirit to indwell each believer. God’s Spirit lives Christ’s life in and through everyone who is born again. He is the Great Helper and Enabler. He is our life and power source. He is the One who transforms us into the people God always wanted us to be. He is our guarantee that God will complete what he began.

Then I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you forever — 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept, because it does not see him or know him. But you know him, because he resides with you and will be in you. John 14:16-17 (NET1)

For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory. 21 And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, 22 and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee. 2 Corinthians 1:20-22 (ESV)

Every great team has unity, clearly defined job descriptions, and superlative abilities. The Trinity is no exception. In fact, the very concept of team originates in God. The Father is the planner. The Son is the executor who carries out the Father’s plan. The Holy Spirit is the administrator who works behind the scenes to assure the success of Father’s plan and the Son’s execution of that plan. Another way to put it is that the Father chose us to be his very own. The Son died and rose again to ensure the outcome, and the Spirit draws us to faith in Christ through the Gospel and applies the benefits of the finished work of Christ to our lives, bringing the Father’s plan to fruition. This plan will be completed at the Second Coming of Christ, when we will experience the final installment of our great salvation, the resurrection from the dead.

Paul tells us that:

When all things are subjected to him [Abba Father], then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all. 1 Corinthians 15:28 (ESV)

God is our final destiny, the goal or end of salvation. To Him belongs all glory forever and ever.

It is extremely important to understand and believe that our salvation begins and ends with God.

For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6 (NASB) 

Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! 34  For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, OR WHO BECAME HIS COUNSELOR? 35  Or WHO HAS FIRST GIVEN TO HIM THAT IT MIGHT BE PAID BACK TO HIM AGAIN? 36  For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen. Romans 11:33-36 (NASB)

Our salvation began with Father’s plan to bring us into his family. The conclusion will be when we receive our resurrected bodies and heavenly reward. The in-between, the time in which we now live, is also dependent on God’s graciousness; although, as I said before, we play a vital role. The coming of our Lord, his death, burial and resurrection, and the sending of the Holy Spirit were all accomplished before we were born. None of us had any “say” in that plan or the accomplishment of it.

As Paul wrote,

So then, it does not depend on human desire or exertion, but on God who shows mercy. Romans 9:16 (NET1)

Our part arises when we hear the gospel and respond. If we are among those who believe, something happened in our hearts when we heard the gospel message. The Bible tells us that it was a result of the inner work of God’s Spirit combined with the outer call of the gospel that produced in us the desire to surrender our lives to Christ. Jesus made it clear that God is the initiator, not us.

No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day. John 6:44 (NET1)

Yes, we indeed must make the choice to believe in and serve Christ, but the mystery of God is at work beneath the surface of things, so that we can all agree that God deserves all the glory.

For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 it is not from works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, having been created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared beforehand so we may do them. Ephesians 2:8-10 (NET1)

The reason I have gone to such great lengths to show God’s integral involvement with every aspect of our salvation is to give us a solid foundation for hope.

If our salvation rests on our shoulders and faithfulness and depends on our abilities, our will power, our holiness, or our goodness, we are in big trouble. But if our salvation rests upon the Father’s choice to love us, the Son’s finished work, and the power of the indwelling Spirit, we are in good shape.

If we are going to experience true freedom, we will need to come to terms with acknowledging and relying on the God who works through his freely given grace. We cannot approach him through our own goodness or performance. Likewise, neither our lack of goodness (apart from Christ) nor our poor performance thus far, is any deterrent to our being able to experience God’s ability to set us free. We come to God solely on the basis of Christ’s righteousness. We have none of our own. We must make it our goal to..

.. be found in him, not because I have my own righteousness derived from the law, but because I have the righteousness that comes by way of Christ’s faithfulness — a righteousness from God that is in fact based on Christ’s faithfulness. Philippians 3:9 (NET1)

Only when we learn to rely on God’s love, kindness, righteousness, grace, power and authority can we experience all that Christ died and rose again to give us. We dare not short change ourselves and “frustrate the grace of God” by trying to save ourselves. It will never work and will only leave us confused and frustrated.

Jesus did not come to help the religious and the self-sufficient. He came to save sinners who acknowledge their spiritual poverty. (Matthew 5:3)

We must answer Christ’s call and come to Him with no pretended ability to save or liberate ourselves, but with full confidence that freedom can be experienced by grace alone. Jesus said:

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke on you and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and my load is not hard to carry. Matthew 11:28-30 (NET1)

God’s promise is that when we learn to live by faith in the power of the Spirit, believing what the Bible says is true, we will be able to live in a way that brings glory to God.

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. Romans 8:1-4 (ESV)

If we will make it your goal to rely on God’s grace, believe his truth, operate in Christ’s authority, and live by the power of the Spirit, we too can experience freedom in Christ. That is the basis of our freedom.

Go back to Part 2: Understanding the Components of Bondage

Read Part 4: The Table Has Four Legs

Share this post...

Part 2: Understanding the Components of Bondage

This is the second article in a series entitled Wonderful Counseling. I sometimes use other names for this ministry, such as Personal Prayer Ministry and Biblical Healing and Deliverance. The adjective "wonderful" is used because Jesus is the "wonderful Counselor" of Isaiah 9:6. This ministry attempts to make room for Jesus to personally counsel people by means of the indwelling Holy Spirit, with the human ministers acting as facilitators. This makes it different from most counseling. It is highly effective at teaching the recipient how to hear the voice of the Spirit and to receive his life giving words..

 

I believe any sane person would agree that the world is in a seemingly hopeless situation. We cannot even agree on the nature or root of the main problem, and we fight over how to solve it, believing that the other side’s “solution” is actually making matters worse. Human “fixes” generally have side effects that introduce a whole new set of unintended consequences. Individuals, families, corporations, people groups, and nations pursue selfish agendas at the expense of the less fortunate and less powerful. Ignorance, poverty, sickness and disease ravage the human race. Wars, genocide, infanticide, and general inhumanity to others abound. Religions vie for “top dog” status, their adherents often being willing to kill and oppress “non-believers”. Prisons are filled with those who flaunt the laws of civilized society, and those who believe in Biblical values find themselves in a “Twilight Zone” world where what was considered vile a generation ago is now paraded and applauded as good and normal. How did we get here? Is there a way out, either corporately or individually?

The Bible teaches us that God created a world in which there was order and goodness. He placed the first couple in a ideal situation where all their needs were supplied with a minimum of work. They were commanded to increase and multiply. Those first humans enjoyed the privilege of walking and talking with God. They were naked and unashamed, apparently clothed with a sort of aura of glory. They “had it made”, but since they had nothing with which to compare their situation, they were prone to think something might be wrong. God gave them amazing freedom and only one prohibition: they were forbidden to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

God created us to be dependent beings who only need to know what God reveals to us. If we could be satisfied to know him, be with him, and depend on his continual grace and lovingkindness, we would be happy and thrive.

You probably know the story. Satan cleverly deceived them into doubting God’s goodness and motives and to desire more than God had given them, which set them up to do the unthinkable. They did the one thing that could bring down the whole system of blessing and life. They turned away from God, choosing to try to live independently from him by relying on their own wits, discernment, and strength.

That rebellious act of disobedience set in motion what we see today. It opened the door to the horrific consequences of living apart from God and gave the keys of authority to our archenemy,

Satan. Instead of being under God’s protection, mankind was now victim and prey, contributing to his own demise by continuing to be deceived and cooperate with our new tyrannical master.

Romans 5:12-21 teaches us that Adam’s sin opened the door to death, condemnation, and the reign of sin in the human race. Let’s examine this in more detail.

God built within humanity the ability to procreate, that is, to reproduce after our own kind.

Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." 27  God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28  God blessed them; and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth." Genesis 1:26-28 (NASB)

We are much more than physical beings. The Bible teaches that we are a unique and marvelous combination of spirit and flesh, the joining of which produces the soul (translated “living being”) and personality.

The Lord God formed the man from the soil of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. Genesis 2:7 (NET1)

Not only do we pass on our physical DNA when we have children, we also pass on spiritual “genetics” – the sin nature and proclivities toward evil that were “encoded” into Adam and Eve when they first transgressed. That sin nature has been passed to each successive generation since the Fall.

This inherited indwelling propensity to sin is the root of most of our problems.

This means that people who have never been born again by the Spirit of God have for their “default” mode to live counter to what produces goodness, life, and order. No one has to teach a baby how to be self-centered. It comes naturally. No two-year-old needs a course in how to be defiant. It comes naturally. No adult needs to learn how to be tempted to do all manner of evil things. It just comes with the package.

In addition to this huge problem is the additional compounding effect that sin has upon people, families, people groups and nations.

Just as a stone thrown into a perfectly calm pool causes ripples that spread outwardly and eventually destroy the tranquility of the entire pool, sin also has a ripple effect.

To get a better idea, imagine throwing two rocks into the pool simultaneously and watch what happens. The ripples will go to the edge of the pool and then rebound back causing an intersection with other ripples. Now throw several more rocks into the pool in different places, including a couple of really big ones. Now imagine that the number of rocks thrown into the pool increases geometrically in size and number. I hope you get the picture. Sin’s ripple effect eventually produces a turbulent, choppy, and disordered world where once there was serenity and peace.

When people are born, they come into this confusion that sin has created, fully equipped with a sin nature. They are impacted by sin from within and from without.

The sin within propels us to do our own part to contribute to the already existing mess. The impact of sin from the outside further exacerbates things, often doing incredible damage to our already marred personalities. It is as if, in many cases, that little ones are born into a virtual landslide of evil that carries them right over the cliff into the abyss.

For example, children from broken homes never get the chance to experience family life the way God intended. They have missing or broken pieces in their personalities and flawed ideas about how to be a man or woman, a husband or wife, or even a child. Think of the little girls and boys born into families where generations of sexual abuse and incest have been the norm. What are their chances of growing up with any sense of normalcy? What about the little babies born in war ravaged and poverty stricken areas of the world? What about those born into political and religious systems to resist and prohibit the true gospel from even being heard? What are their chances to experience the life that God desired for us at creation? The list of examples goes on. Some people call this progression of evil generational sin. Regardless of the label, it is real.

Individuals and families pass on problems and proclivities to their offspring without the intervention of God.

Things are actually much worse because there is also a being, who commands hoards of like-minded beings, who has a master plan and insatiable desire to ravage and destroy humanity. As you know, his biblical name is Satan.

The devil has a plan for your life – to kill, steal, and destroy you. He is a master deceiver, accuser, and intimidator. He does not play fair and uses any and all means to oppress and harm human beings.

When Adam sinned in the garden, the authority God gave to humans was effectively transferred to Satan. For centuries Satan has used his rule to drag multitudes into hell with him and make life here on earth intolerable for countless people. Although, Jesus dealt Satan a death blow on the cross, he is still being allowed to  deceive those who will listen to him. He is still leading people astray. He is still stealing, killing, and destroying, and, if you are a follower of Christ, he hates you and is working against you.

As a result of his activity and the inner workings of sin and our sin-impaired ability to think, we end up afflicting ourselves by choosing to believe lies which are a form of idolatry. They are more important to us than the Truth, whose name is Jesus. They propel us to disobedience and keep us locked up in spiritual prisons of our own making.

The Bible calls these self-inflicted inner prisons of lies “strongholds.”

I call them lie-based strongholds, and Paul teaches us that they keep us from knowing, believing, and acting upon the truth about God and life.

For though we live as human beings, we do not wage war according to human standards, 4 for the weapons of our warfare are not human weapons, but are made powerful by God for tearing down strongholds. We tear down arguments 5 and every arrogant obstacle that is raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to make it obey Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (NET1)

These strongholds stand between us and the freedom that could be ours through Christ via the gospel. Notice that here for the first time I mention that there is a way out of this mess!

The gospel is all about Jesus Christ, who is the Truth, and what He did to accomplish our deliverance.

Satan operates in the milieu of the Lie. If we are going to get out of this quagmire of death and deception, we must allow God to tear down any lie-based strongholds that we have embraced. And, believe me, everyone has them.

Working in tandem with these deeply held lies, many people have experienced enormous hurts in their lives, which have deeply traumatized them and, in many cases, produced a fertile seedbed for growing lies about God.

For example, if a young girl was sexually abused by her grandfather over several years, as an adult she will most likely question the goodness of her heavenly Father. After all, could not He have prevented this horrible evil? And if He did not protect her then, how can she know that He is worthy of her trust now? So, we see that the pain inflicted by evil can easily set us up to believe lies about God, which in turn can block us from believing the truth which is able to set us free.

and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. John 8:32 (NET1)

The good news is that Jesus is the great Healer and is well able to heal those deeply wounded areas of our souls, but usually it requires us to pursue him for that healing.

Lastly, many individuals are harassed and oppressed by demons.

The Bible is unclear regarding the origin and exact nature of these malevolent beings, but makes it clear that they are real and, when relevant, their oppression must be removed for people to experience complete freedom. Jesus continually encountered and removed these pests from those to whom He ministered while He walked the roads of Israel.

you know what happened throughout Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John announced: 38 with respect to Jesus from Nazareth, that God anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, because God was with him. Acts 10:37-38 (NET1)

Demons gain access by various means. Often we open the door through participation in some sin, especially sexual sin and occult practices. Sometimes demons seem to be passed on through families, which somewhere along the line opened the door to them. Sometimes they gain access when people undergo trauma.

In other words, sometimes it is our own fault that we are demonized and sometimes we are victims of collateral damage resulting from the sins of others. The devil does not care. He will jump through any open door he can find.

Many are tormented today because of these creatures and don’t even know it.

You may have noticed that I began this paragraph describing the worldwide mess sin has produced and have concluded by focusing on the problems that individuals face. This is because I want you to see that people’s problems and issues are bigger than their own situation. However, the gospel focuses largely on the individual.

Jesus came to set the human race free one person at a time. When enough people experience the liberation found in Christ through the gospel and the power of the Holy Spirit, families, communities, and nations will be transformed.

The following articles in this series will be an attempt to explain how Jesus can and will set us free from every layer of bondage.

You can personally experience freedom in Christ, and you can move from being part of the problem to being part of the solution.

Go back to Part 1: Introduction

Read Part 3: The Basis of Our Freedom

Share this post...

Part 1: Introduction to Wonderful Counseling

 

This is the first article in a series entitled Wonderful Counseling. I sometimes use other names for this ministry, such as Personal Prayer Ministry and Biblical Healing and Deliverance. The adjective "wonderful" is used because Jesus is the "wonderful Counselor" of Isaiah 9:6. This ministry attempts to make room for Jesus to personally counsel people by means of the indwelling Holy Spirit, with the human ministers acting as facilitators. This makes it different from most counseling. It is highly effective at teaching the recipient how to hear the voice of the Spirit and to receive his life giving words.

 

The Almighty God of the Universe sent his Son Jesus to the earth on a mission to rescue and set people free from the awful tyranny and hopelessness of sin and its consequences. Human bondage began when Adam and Eve opened the floodgates of evil by abandoning and betraying their Creator and Sustainer, having been duped by the lying serpent into suspecting that God was a liar. Their decision to make a go at living independently from God proved to be the downfall of the entire race.

Adam and Eve separated themselves from the life of God when they sinned. They were still physically alive, but the death process had begun to work. Their spirits were cut off from the Holy Spirit, their minds and hearts were darkened, and their bodies began to die through what we call the aging process. Sickness – physical, societal, emotional, and spiritual – entered the picture. Satan’s promise of their becoming like God turned out to be a horrendous lie.

One of the things we learn from their fall is that humans, even newly created, did not possess an innate immunity to Satan’s deception.

Afterward, because our minds were darkened by sin, we became even more susceptible to the lies of Satan.

The Bible says that the entire creation took a nosedive that day, being subjected to bondage as a form of God’s judgment.

For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21  that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.  Romans 8:20-21 (ESV)

As bad as that day was, it is important that we see that God offered hope to the human race from the very beginning of his judgment upon our sin. God’s punishment was meant to be restorative ultimately, but for that to happen, his Son would have to die and rise again.

When the Law was later introduced at Mt. Sinai, it exposed how deep our sinfulness runs. It also brought upon the human race a new problem, what the Bible calls the curse of the Law, which is God’s specific judgment upon sin. Protection against evil spirits also was removed as a result of our rejecting God and his ways.

When Jesus arrived on the planet, things had been spiraling into a deepening darkness for centuries because generation after generation had drunk deeply from the poisoned cup of sin. The ripples of our lawlessness and rebellion escalated into a mad torrent of crashing waves of destruction and judgment.

After patiently waiting for God’s appointed time for thirty years, Jesus launched his public ministry with these words.

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and the regaining of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” 20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21 Then he began to tell them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled even as you heard it being read.” Luke 4:18-21 (NET1)

The above passage is the closest thing to a mission statement that Jesus gave us. For the next three years, Jesus went about “doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, because God was with him.” (Acts 10:38 NET1)

During his public ministry years Jesus made withdrawals upon a future deposit he would make into heaven’s bank.

The authority and power to he used to heal, to release people from demons, and to forgive sins was based upon what he would accomplish later through his death and resurrection. Each time he set a person free, he drove the nails a little deeper into his hands and feet. There was no way out for him. He had to pay the price, having made himself a debtor to God’s system of justice, which he did obediently and without complaint. When the innocent Lamb of God gave himself over to death, he defeated Satan, the one who had previously held the keys of bondage and death.

When our Lord rose from the dead, the power of sin, Satan, and death was effectively smashed. And yet we see people, even followers of Christ, still living in all sorts of sin and bondage. What gives?

God’s plan was always for his people to rule and reign alongside the Lord Jesus. After he ascended into heaven where he sits at God the Father’s right hand, Jesus delegated his authority to us who represent him to the world. He has given us his Holy Spirit to indwell and empower us. Now those who make up the church have the privilege and responsibility to proclaim his message of redemption and reconciliation to the Father and to release people from what holds them prisoner.

Jesus’ mission statement is now our mission statement. What he did on the earth during the short period of his public ministry, we are now to accomplish until he comes again to wrap things up.

The Great Commission involves more than just telling people about what Jesus did for them and asking them to believe on him as Lord and Savior. Christ’s followers are to demonstrate the power of the Kingdom of God as well as proclaim the words of the Gospel. Paul made it clear that the Good News is meant to be delivered in the power of the Holy Spirit.

We know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5 in that our gospel did not come to you merely in words, but in power and in the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction … 1 Thessalonians 1:4-5 (NET1)

God has given us, the church, the authority, the power, and the tools to accomplish this mission. In the following articles under the general heading of “Finding Freedom in Christ,” my desire is to present an overview of what I call Wonderful Counseling (WC), because it depends on the ongoing ministry of Jesus, the Wonderful Counselor. (Isaiah 9:6)

Wonderful Counseling integrates the truth of God’s Word, the power and gifts of the Holy Spirit, and the basic principles of repentance and faith to help people experience a real and growing freedom from sin and bitterness, deliverance from what I call lie-based strongholds, healing for inner hurts, and release from demonization, as needed and desired.

I will do my best to base all of this solidly on God’s Word and give practical applications based on what I have seen work. God has done some amazing things through this ministry, and I hope you will be encouraged that God cares deeply about you and wants you to be free, too. The best revenge we can get against the devil for all he has done to us is to allow God to set us free and use us to help others walk free from his clutches.

Go to Part 2.

Share this post...

The Key to Stress Free Living

 

 

 

 

 

 

The author of the Letter to the Hebrews listed repentance from dead works as one of the six foundational doctrines of Christ. (Hebrews 6:1 NASB)

Dead works can be defined as our human efforts to make ourselves look good in God’s and people’s eyes through our words and behavior.

People are unable to put themselves in a right standing with God (justify themselves) through human effort. The prophet Isaiah warned us that the attempt to do so is repulsive to God.

For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. Isaiah 64:6 (NASB)

Nevertheless, we deceive ourselves into thinking that we can make a few adjustments, try harder, and turn things around spiritually, not realizing that everything originating out of self is a dead work.

Anything that does not originate with God’s Spirit and derive from faith is a dead work.

Sin is much deeper than words, acts, and attitudes. It infects us to the core and is part of what we inherited from our forefathers due to the Fall. When we are born, we come into this world as little sin factories. No matter how hard we try to overcome this inherited condition, we will fail.

For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. Romans 7:14 (NASB)

That which originates in our own human effort is called the “flesh,” as opposed to that which originates in God, which is called the Spirit.

It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. John 6:63 (NASB)

Religion is mostly man’s attempt to gain and maintain a right relationship with God through human effort, which is a dead work. Religion approaches the sin problem and its resultant separation from God in one of two ways. It might deny there is a problem, as do Eastern religions which insist that both good and evil exist in God (Yin and Yang) and should not concern us. (e.g. Star Wars “the Force,” Buddhism, modern psychiatry, and various perversions of Christianity). This approach insists that God does not condemn anyone and salvation consists in coming to that realization. Basically, I’m okay and you’re okay. We don’t need a Savior because we are not separated from God. It is all an illusion, and Jesus died needlessly.

Those who deny that sin is a problem may gain a counterfeit and illusory form of peace, but will still have to account to God for their sinful condition and acts.

The other end of the spectrum is found in the Jewish Law of Moses. Under this system, by keeping God’s laws we gain access to God’s favor and blessing. This approach recognizes that sin is real, separates us from God, and causes death, but insists that we can work hard at keeping God’s commands and earn a right standing with God.

But the Apostle Paul explained that the purpose of the Law is to reveal our hopeless condition and the impossibility of gaining a right standing with God through keeping its requirements.

Is the Law then contrary to the promises of God? May it never be! For if a law had been given which was able to impart life, then righteousness would indeed have been based on law. 22  But the Scripture has shut up everyone under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. 23  But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed. 24  Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith. Galatians 3:21-24 (NASB)

Those who fall for the deception that a right standing with God can be achieved through self-effort either become religious zealots and intolerant of those who fall short of their standards or demoralized when they finally come to end of their striving with the realization that it is a hopeless endeavor.

When we choose this second option, there is no possibility of rest for our souls because we can never be good enough to clear the bar of God’s perfect holiness.

That is why we need a Savior and repentance from all self-effort.

The Essence of Sin: The Self-Directed Life

At its core, sin originates in a mistrust of God. Satan induced Adam and Eve to doubt God’s goodness. The result was their attempt to become independent from him. Sin is a rebellious self-aggrandizing attempt to make our own decisions, run our own lives, and impose our own rules – to be little gods. Satan deceived Adam and Eve into thinking that they could throw off the Creator’s built in limitations on our lives and “be like God” – needing nothing.

Because of the generational aspect of sin, the allure of living a self-directed life pulls at the heart of every person and is the essence of sin.

Repentance and the God-Directed Life

The gospel calls people back into alignment with God’s original plan – living in harmony with God and his will.

Through faith in Christ, we can be forgiven of our rebellion and come back into God’s family and blessing. We can experience his life inside us through the indwelling Holy Spirit. But for this to happen, we must repent. Because of our pride, it is deeply humbling for us to admit our need for God and to obey him; nevertheless, it is the most rewarding way to live. We think that becoming servants of God will strip us of our dignity and freedom and deprive us of some of the things that bring delight to our lives. This is the lie that Satan set up with our first parents and still pulls at us today.

Jesus, the perfect God-man, lived the way God intended. In his own words:

...“I tell you the solemn truth, the Son can do nothing on his own initiative, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise. John 5:19 (NET1)

When Jesus calls people to repent and enter God’s kingdom, he challenges us to turn away from the vain attempt to direct our own lives and to embrace His rule.

Repentance requires us to stop playing God and to acknowledge the rightful ruler, Jesus the Lord.

The Gospel and Christ’s Lordship

Paul understood that Jesus is both Lord and Savior. He calls us to confess that Jesus is Lord and believe in our hearts that he is the risen Savior – the Lamb of God.

The gospel challenges and invites us to repent (make Jesus Lord) and believe (receive salvation) – to surrender our “rights” and receive God’s blessings.

...because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:9 (NET1)

Confessing that Jesus is Lord is the most fundamental act of repentance. Doing so opens the door to receive all the benefits he died and rose to win for us. That begins a lifelong journey of daily surrender to God’s will.

The Restful Life

Attempting to direct our own lives creates stress that we were not designed to carry.

We do not have the wisdom, knowledge, or power to live self-directed lives. Repentance opens the door to life as God intended it to be. Jesus invites us to:

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke on you and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and my load is not hard to carry.” Matthew 11:28-30 (NET1)

Confessing that Jesus is the Lord is the gateway into the blessings he won for us on the cross, which include a life of rest by faith.

We are able to cease from religiously striving to be right with God when we accept that he won that privilege for us through his own perfect life.

So there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God. 10  For all who have entered into God’s rest have rested from their labors, just as God did after creating the world. Hebrews 4:9-10 (NLT)

The Lordship of Christ is an absolutely crucial part of the Gospel, requiring us to repent from the self-directed life, which Paul calls the “flesh,” which God refuses to bless, since it is an abomination to him.

So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh— 13  for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body [repenting], you will live. 14  For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. Romans 8:12-14 (NASB)

The only life that can receive the fullness of God’s blessing is the life that we live in cooperation with and dependence upon the Holy Spirit. Surrender to Jesus the Lord is the narrow door through which Gospel blessings are accessed.

Application

If you have never made a conscious decision to surrender every aspect of your being to Jesus, now is the time. This will include the following: relationships, time, money, health, your future, security, provision, self-image and fulfillment – everything, even life itself. Do this and you will begin to experience true freedom and a new level of rest.

In the same way therefore not one of you can be my disciple if he does not renounce all his own possessions. Luke 14:33 (NET1)

The Greek word translated “renounce” means to “say good-bye.” Say good-bye to everything that stands between you and a full surrender to Jesus. Say hello to the Spirit-led life and the rest that comes from being in a right relationship with God.

Prayer

Jesus, I am tired of trying to direct my own life. Please forgive me for living independently from you. I surrender myself and all I have to you. Thank you for forgiving my sins and including me in your forever family and blessings. Thank you for sending your Holy Spirit to live inside me. I look forward to seeing what you will do with my life. Have your way in me from this day forward. Amen.

Share this post...

Faith in God’s Sovereignty, the Gateway to Peace

 

The longer I live, the simpler some things become, even though much of life will never completely be understood this side of heaven. By his wise design God has reserved many “secret things” for himself, which requires us to trust fully in him without always understanding the “whys.” This is the essence of faith.

When suffering enters a person’s life, it is only natural to wonder why. Why me? Why now? Did I do something wrong? Is God still in control? Does he still love me? Did he abandon me? Can I really trust him?

In the book of the Bible that bears his name, a man named Job asked these kinds of questions when God allowed his life to be wracked with physical pain and the emotional suffering of losing his family and fortune and even his good name. He and his friends believed that “bad” things did not happen to “good” people. If we keep the rules, we get blessed, right?

After chapters that recount his struggle to understand why God allowed him to suffer and his anger against what he believed was God’s injustice, eventually Job was granted what he asked for – an encounter with God. Face to face with his Creator, he became speechless. All his arguments dissipated. These were the first words he spoke.

I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; 6  therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” Job 42:5-6 (ESV)

God never answered his questions or gave any sort of explanation for the suffering Job had endured. Instead our Lord revealed to Job his absolute sovereignty and greatness, and that was enough to ignite his faith and give him peace.

Faith in God’s Sovereignty, the Gateway to Peace

Why is it that faith in God’s sovereign power and wisdom is the gateway to peace? I know a man who went through a terrible ordeal with his wife, who had an advanced stage of cancer. Eventually she was healed and delivered from the cancer, but in the middle of the crisis, his testimony is that God spoke to his heart, saying, “I know about this.” Knowing that God knew gave him peace and revitalized his faith to believe for a healing. To the logical mind, this may not make sense; but, faith’s rationale is in the heart.

We don’t have to have all the answers. We simply need to know that God knows about our situation and has things under control.

Faith in God’s sovereignty means that we believe he ultimately controls everything and is working all things out for our good (Romans 8:28) and his glory (2 Thessalonians 1:11-12). This is the foundation of our peace. This, by the way, presupposes that He loves us. Presuppositions really matter. We all have them; so, make sure yours are biblical and true.

When we choose to worship God in the midst of tribulation and suffering, we glorify the Lord by acknowledging his loving sovereignty over our lives. We follow in the footsteps of those men of faith of old, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, when they stood before King Nebuchadnezzar. He threatened them with a fiery death unless they bowed down to the idol of his own glory and sovereignty, but they refused.

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17  If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. 18  But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” Daniel 3:16-18 (NIV)

Those who firmly believe in God’s loving sovereignty over their lives will make seeking God’s glory their top priority,  whether it results in deliverance or death.

When this faith is coupled with the knowledge that God’s love for us is beyond comprehension, our peace is unshakeable.

For clarity’s sake, let me restate the above.

  1. If we determine to bring glory to God through our response to whatever life throws at us, then we don’t have to have any particular outcome, except that God be glorified. He can be glorified by delivering us from evil or by our going through suffering without wavering in faith. Either way, God and we “win.” (Philippians 1:20)
  2. If we add to our determination a confidence that God is sovereignly overseeing our affairs and is ultimately in control, it allows us to yield ourselves completely to his will. Nothing will happen to us that he does not allow. The devil cannot slip something in on us behind the Lord’s back. (Daniel 4:34-35)
  3. If we also know that he loves us beyond comprehension, we understand that we have nothing to fear. Perfect love casts out all fear. Paul wrote that no test or trial can separate us from God’s love. (Romans 8:37-39)
  4. None of the above should be interpreted to mean that we should passively accept attacks from the devil or do nothing to remedy our situation. Consigning ourselves to God’s will includes doing everything reasonable, as led by the Holy Spirit, to fight against evil and to work for our deliverance.

Now I will give you a bit of wisdom. When we desperately cling to the answer we want God to give us, it works against our peace. However, when we surrender ourselves to the sovereign God who loves us past comprehension and works all things for good in our lives, our peace is rock solid. As we stop demanding a certain answer from the Lord, our hearts can more easily hear what the Spirit is saying to us. When that happens, we can pray in line with God’s will in a specific way, all the while remaining at peace.

When we trust in God’s loving sovereignty and hold on to the Bible’s precious promises, while letting go of the fear that he will not work things out as we want, we will have peace beyond comprehension.

Application

So, how do we get started on our journey to peace? Here are some steps you and I can take.

  1. Surrender to the Lord Jesus. This means we let go of all “rights” to direct our own lives and make demands from God. Whoever heard of a slave making demands? We learn to give God the reins and relax as he drives.
  2. Worship God in all situations. We thank God even for the most difficult, confusing, and challenging things in our lives. We thank him not because those things are good in themselves, but because we believe that he will work them for good in his loving sovereignty. (Romans 8:28)
  3. Listen to the Spirit as we worship. This is anti-passivity, even though it does not seem like it. The Holy Spirit will give us insight as we worship. When this happens, we are to pray and act according to those specific instructions. Proclaim aloud what God tells you in your heart. Prophetic proclamation is a big part of the prayer of faith. It goes without saying that what the Spirit tells us will always agree with God’s written word in the Bible. We must put into practice what he tells us to do.
  4. Hang on to God as we wait for the answer. Faith immediately receives God’s promises and is willing to wait as long as it takes for the fulfillment. Biblical hope is the confident expectation that God will keep his promises, no matter how long we have to wait.
  5. Enjoy God’s Peace!
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! 5  Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. 6  Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7  And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:4-7 (NASB)

 

If you want to read more about how to survive and thrive in the midst of life’s difficulties, you can purchase my book on the subject: Seeing God’s Smile When Life Is Difficult. It’s available on Amazon.

Share this post...

God: “I’ve Got This!”

 

 

 

 

 

In the weeks and months leading up to the 2020 presidential election, when it became increasingly apparent that the “fix” was in, I distinctly heard the Spirit of God speak to me one morning: “I’ve got this.” It brought rest to my heart, as you might imagine. However, I immediately I layered on top of that simple statement my expectations of what that meant, which is what we usually do when God speaks to us. We all tend to hear what we want to hear and project our hopes on to his words. Notwithstanding, I have hung on to those words for over a year now, confident that God indeed “has this,” but now that so much time has passed,

I realize that God’s version of being in control is quite different from mine.

Since his control is absolute, he is willing to let things play out far longer than I would. But then, he is God. This is a tremendous life lesson that all of us have to learn seemingly over and over again.

Since that morning, the Lord has spoken several other things to me that add layers to his first promise. Let me share those other messages with you, in the hope that it might encourage your heart, as it did mine.

The second thing I heard him tell me was this: “Let go and watch what I do.” This reminded me of a relevant Bible verse.

"Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." Psalm 46:10 (NASB)

This, of course, is an extension of the first word, “I’ve got this,” with the added promise that God is going to glorify himself in the midst of what is taking place on the earth. It reminds us that he has much more at stake than the survival of our Republic. His plan for the entire earth is playing out. His glory shall indeed fill the earth. We can be sure of that.

Rather than worry or be anxious about things, we should “let go” and engage in faith-filled praise and worship because God has everything in hand and with the expectation that he is working all things for our good and his glory. (Romans 8:28)

The third thing I heard the Lord speak to my heart came one morning as I was praying for our nation with a sense of angst. “Lighten up. I have already done this.” It was a gentle rebuke for my forgetting that he has indeed “got this.” God has taught me over the years that one of the most powerful spiritual weapons at our disposal is praise.

Let the godly ones exult in glory; Let them sing for joy on their beds. 6  Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, And a two-edged sword in their hand, 7  To execute vengeance on the nations And punishment on the peoples, 8  To bind their kings with chains And their nobles with fetters of iron, 9  To execute on them the judgment written; This is an honor for all His godly ones. Praise the LORD! Psalm 149:5-9 (NASB)

I realize that many believers are very uncomfortable with the idea that we are to execute judgment in God’s behalf. Certainly, we must forgive our enemies, but we also have a call to stand with God in righteous judgment. That is one of the functions of the church – judgment tempered with mercy. The way we do this in the here and now is by offering our praise and worship to the God of judgment. The two-edged sword is the Word of God. (Hebrews 4:12) As we worship the Sovereign Lord and declare his lordship over all things, we in essence bind evil plans and people over to the will of God. As Jesus taught us to pray: “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven,”

We are not to pray desperate prayers. Instead of pleading with God to do something, we are to stand in faith and declare that the victory is already won.

For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 1 John 5:4 (ESV) 

And he said, “Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the LORD to you, ‘Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God’s. 2 Chronicles 20:15 (ESV)

The fourth thing I heard him speak is elementary, but it bears repeating: “You have nothing to fear.” Fear is a natural response to the unknown, but it must be resisted. We are in the midst of a worldwide psy-op fear campaign designed to push people into abandoning sound judgment and doing irrational things. Fear impairs our decision making ability. The children of Israel made some pretty terrible choices in the desert because they were afraid of their enemies instead of trusting God. We are no different from them, except that we who believe have the Spirit of faith (2 Corinthians 4:13) living inside us. (A huge difference!) We have no excuse for fearing, except that we still live in these fleshly bodies and are subject to temptation. (You may with to read my previous article to get help in this area.)

God wants us to make the choice to fear not, because He has got things under control!

The fifth thing God spoke to me was the following: “You have no idea how powerful I am.” There are three basic reasons why we trust God. He is good. He keeps his Word, and he is powerful. In other words, he always does what he says. What he promises is always good, and nothing is able to thwart his plans. Plenty of well-meaning people make promises they cannot possibly keep, but never God. He always does what he says. Nothing is too difficult for him. Truly, we have no idea how powerful he is, this One who created the universe out of nothing.

As we praise and worship the Sovereign One, who loves us beyond comprehension and always does what he says because no one and nothing can possibly stop him, let’s encourage our hearts that God is truly in control!

All the people of the earth are nothing compared to him. He does as he pleases among the angels of heaven and among the people of the earth. No one can stop him or say to him, ‘What do you mean by doing these things?’ Daniel 4:35 (NLT)

 

Share this post...

You Are Not Alone

 

 

 

 

 

 

We have been living through a confusing and stress-filled period of time, which has taken a toll on many of us. Sometimes we may feel quite alone. After all, this is the end game of those who are pushing for social isolation. God did not create us to be alone. He created us primarily for himself and also for one another. After creating Adam, he said that it was not good for him to be alone. This truth still stands, even for hermits.

Sin isolates us from God and each other. So does fear. Christmas is the annual celebration of the coming of Emmanuel – God with Us. There is no greater truth in the Bible than the amazing good news that, because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, we need no longer be alone. Emmanuel has made it possible for us to not only know God and his forgiveness, but to experience what it is like to have him actually live inside us! (John 14:17)

Jesus promised his disciples that he would not leave us as orphans (John 14:18), or, as Paul described it – “without God in the world.” (Ephesians 2:12).

Without Christ people are hopelessly alone, but with him we are never left on our own.

God’s answer to Moses’ fear was that he would be with him. (Exodus 3:12) King David knew this glorious truth, too (Psalm 23:4), as did the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 41:10). When the disciples were afraid in the midst of the storm on the Sea of Galilee, Jesus comforted them with these words:

...“It is I; do not be afraid.” John 6:20 (ESV)

I prefer the translator’s note in the New Living Translation: “Do not be afraid. The I AM is here.” Jesus, the perfect representation of the Great I AM, the Creator-Sustainer-Redeemer-Righteous Judge and King, transcends all that seeks to attack and intimidate us.

Every fear must bow the knee to Jesus.

King David put it wonderfully.

When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. 4  In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me? Psalm 56:3-4 (ESV)

We all feel fear from time to time. When this happens, we must choose to put our trust and confidence in God. When we do this, fear must go. It is often a battle, but it is one we can and must win.

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. John 14:27 (ESV)

We let our hearts be afraid when we forget that the Great I Am is with us. With him at our side and inside of us, we truly have nothing to fear.

Share this post...

Does the Government Own Us?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Presuppositions must always be considered when engaging in debate. The things we consider “self-evident” may or may not actually be true. Our founding fathers considered that it is self-evident that our freedoms originate in God, but increasingly modern people do not believe this fundamental truth, largely because they do not believe in God. Instead, perhaps without thinking it through, many accept that freedoms issue from the state.

The state, by nature, always tries to assume that everything derives from it, belongs to it, and must serve it. In other words, it tries to be God.

Take, for example, private property. If you “own” any, you might assume that it belongs to you, but actually it does not. If you want to find out who actually owns it, try not paying your property taxes. Regarding children, you might think that they belong to the parents, but in reality the state maintains the “right” to take children away from their parents whenever it believes it is in a child’s (the state’s) best interest. In many cases, it is right to do this, but sometimes the system becomes corrupt and serves political interests instead of insuring the welfare of children. The state’s overreach also has played out on many fronts when it comes to Covid.

Our forefathers did not trust government. That is why they built numerous safeguards into our Constitution. Sadly, however, every system eventually gets “played” by conniving people, and that has happened to us as a nation. Our freedoms have been used against us, and currently we are in a situation where our constitutional and God-given freedoms are being routinely stripped by people in government who dare us to do anything about it.

Here is a passage that addresses the fundamental issue of ownership.

Then the Pharisees went and plotted together how they might trap Him in what He said. 16  And they *sent their disciples to Him, along with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that You are truthful and teach the way of God in truth, and defer to no one; for You are not partial to any. 17  "Tell us then, what do You think? Is it lawful to give a poll-tax to Caesar, or not?" 18  But Jesus perceived their malice, and said, "Why are you testing Me, you hypocrites? 19  "Show Me the coin used for the poll-tax." And they brought Him a denarius. 20  And He *said to them, "Whose likeness and inscription is this?" 21  They *said to Him, "Caesar's." Then He *said to them, "Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's; and to God the things that are God's." 22  And hearing this, they were amazed, and leaving Him, they went away. Matthew 22:15-22 (NASB)

The presupposition behind taxation is that the government has authority over us. No one “under” us will ever be able to tax us. In Jesus’ day, the Romans imposed heavy taxes upon subjugated people groups, which were often exacerbated by greedy middle men who acted as tax collectors. These taxes were punitive in nature and served to drive home the second class nature of the citizenry under Roman rule. The Jewish leaders attempted to catch Jesus in a trap. Either he would acknowledge the Romans’ right to impose such taxes, incurring the resentment of the common people, or he would get himself in trouble with the Roman authorities. Jesus, however, managed to answer their question in a way that surprised everyone. Instead of focusing on the issue of taxation, Jesus addressed the underlying presuppositions: whose identity do we bear and who owns us?

Caesar’s likeness had been stamped on Roman coinage, which made it clear that he basically owned the money, giving Rome the authority to collect taxes. People, however, bear the stamp of God’s image, meaning that they belong to him, not to the state. Whenever the state acts as if it owns people, it transgresses the limitations put upon it by God.

Today we have a clear cut example of such tyranny. Mandates requiring people to be injected with an experimental gene therapy against their will, which may permanently alter our God-given immune systems, assume that we belong to the state rather than to God. The “good” of the many is said to nullify our basic freedom of choice under God. For people such as I, refusing the jab is an issue of conscience as well as good sense. In this case, we cannot submit to a tyrannical state without violating our conscience by tampering with what God has committed into our care. (I acknowledge that many god-fearing people consider receiving the jab a good thing. I am not addressing such people in this article.)

When the state tries to overrule our conscience, it has overstepped its authority and should not be obeyed in that area.

In every other area, where it operates within its God-given boundaries, it should be obeyed, however. (Romans 13:1 and Acts 5:29) Jesus died to set us free to serve God. To voluntarily surrender to an overstepping government is to come into bondage.

It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1 (NASB)

Jesus gave up his life to deliver us from satanic tyranny. It is sadly and dangerously irresponsible to willingly submit to it again.

Never doubt for a moment that the state ultimately wants to own and control you. It is the beast rising out of the waters in the Book of Revelation (Revelation 13:1), whose antagonism against God will not be stopped until Christ ultimately destroys it at his Second Coming.

And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war...  14  And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. 15  From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. 16  And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, "KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS...."  19  And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. 20  And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone. Revelation 19:11-20 (NASB)

Stand firm.

Share this post...

Feeling Hopeless? Try This.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hopelessness shrivels the soul and saps our vitality and joy in living. If things get dark enough, we may be tempted to give up entirely. Suicide is the last decision made by some who conclude that death is preferable to continuing on without hope. There are many ways to commit suicide that don’t involve actively ending our physical lives. We can self-medicate and “check out” with drugs, alcohol, sex, sports, entertainment, etc. We can withdraw into a hollow shell of our true identity, alienating ourselves from those who love and can help us. Some people become angry and lash out. People who have no hope can be very dangerous. What do they have to lose?

Have you ever been in what seemed to be a hopeless situation? Is that where you are right now, or maybe you know someone who is despairing? If so, this article can help.

The Origin of Hopelessness

When Adam and Eve sinned, they alienated the human race from the life of God and gave the keys of authority and dominion on the earth to Satan. Since then, the devil, who is the father of lies, has stolen, killed, and destroyed, keeping untold millions in a dark prison of hopelessness.

But even though Adam and Eve rejected God’s rule in their lives, the Lord did not abandon them or us their descendants. In that time of seeming hopelessness, God injected hope into the human story by promising that someone in Eve’s line would rise up to defeat Satan.

The LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life.  15  I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” Genesis 3:14-15 (ESV)

When Jesus was born to Mary and Joseph, the Son of God infiltrated a hopeless and dying planet full of spiritually dead people infected with a terminal disease called sin. He came as the fulfillment of the promise God made to Eve in the Garden of Eden. The light of hope was finally dawning on humanity!

the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned. Matthew 4:16 (ESV)

Jesus understood that his mission was to liberate the prisoners of hopelessness.

And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,  18    “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me  to  proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed,  19    to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”  20  And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him.  21  And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” Luke 4:17-21 (ESV)

Jesus came to lay down his life for those who had no hope. He surrendered to the hopelessness of death, but, when he rose again, he lit a torch of hope that burns brightly to this day.

All who put their faith in him, will always have hope, no matter how bleak things may get because Emmanuel, God with Us, is alive eternally.

The Gospel is a beacon of hope to those in darkness. We who follow Christ, are messengers of hope to those around us, who live in darkness still.

For those of you readers who may not yet know Jesus, the Restorer of Hope, today is your day to finally surrender your heart and hopelessness to the only one who can help you. What is stopping you? Don’t be like the Jews who could not and would not acknowledge his right to rule.

Once we surrender to the God of Hope, hopelessness will be finally and forever extinguished!

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. Romans 15:13 (ESV)

Or perhaps you are already a follower of Christ, but you have slipped in your faith. All you need to do is repent and once again declare your resolve to fully trust Jesus in every situation.

Prayer

Dear Lord Jesus, I repent for living a self-directed life all these years. I now surrender to you as best as I am able. Holy Spirit help me to do this! I acknowledge your right to rule my life, and I receive all the blessings you died to give me – hope, forgiveness, eternal life, the Holy Spirit, and the privilege of being your child! I exchange my hopelessness for the joy of trusting you. Thank you that you rule over all things and are working all things in my life for good. I now know that you are the God of good endings. Hopelessness has no place in my life. Amen!

Share this post...

Don’t Let Disappointment Ruin Your Life

 

Everyone experiences disappointment. When we set our hearts on something, and it fails to materialize, it does something to our hearts, where faith lives.

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, But desire fulfilled is a tree of life. Proverbs 13:12 (NASB)

The reason we are disappointed is because our expectations are not fulfilled. The higher our expectations, the greater the possibility of disappointment. Some try to avoid disappointment by lowering expectations. This is not a good idea because our God is the God of hope. (Romans 15:13)

Hope is the ability to continue to maintain the high expectation that God will fulfill his promises, no matter how long it may take.

Many people claim to have faith because they have pushed the fulfillment of God’s promise into the indefinite future. It is a kind of reverse version of evolutionary thinking. Evolution claims that the complexity of life randomly developed from chaos over eons of time. If enough time is allowed, all things are possible, even the impossible. “Future” faith believes that “one day” God will keep his promises, but not right now. This is the kind of faith Martha had when her brother Lazarus died. Jesus was going to raise her brother from the dead “now,” but her faith was limited to the distant unforeseeable future. (John 11:23-27)

Restricting the fulfillment of God’s promises to the distant future allows us to avoid exercising our faith in the here and now, which can lull us into thinking we have faith when we do not.

Faith receives “right now” the promises of God, even if the fulfillment is yet to come.

Hope depends on “now” faith. It cannot exist by itself. Hope is stretched out faith. “Now” faith knows that God has already answered our prayer, but it is willing to wait for the manifestation of that answer, no matter now long it takes. It maintains an attitude of expectancy during the waiting period. This is very important.

If we have no sense of expectancy, we probably lack faith.

Rather than lower of expectations, which is another way of saying we do not believe, a better way to ward off the debilitating effect of disappointment is to submit our expectations to God.

My soul, wait in silence for God only, For my hope is from Him. 6  He only is my rock and my salvation, My stronghold; I shall not be shaken. 7  On God my salvation and my glory rest; The rock of my strength, my refuge is in God. Psalm 62:5-7 (NASB)

King David wrote this when he patiently waited for God to keep the promise to make him king. Saul was trying to kill him. Things looked bleak, but David refused to cave in to unbelief and hopelessness or grow hard and bitter. If those things are allowed to happen, disappointment becomes toxic and will likely ruin our lives. If we place our hopes and dreams in God’s hands, waiting patiently for him to fulfill his promises, we will be able to guard our hearts.

The life of Joseph provides us with one of the best biblical examples of properly handling disappointment. He began life with many advantages. His father loved and God favored him. He received a couple of amazing dreams that fueled an expectation of coming greatness. But his brothers’ jealous hatred caused his life to take a sharp turn into disappointment. He was betrayed, sold as a slave, falsely accused, imprisoned, and forgotten for years. In the midst of those disappointments, he kept his faith in God and refused to succumb to unbelief, hopelessness, self-pity, or bitterness. Eventually, after much waiting and suffering, God fulfilled everything and he was elevated to a very high position in Egypt’s government and was restored to his family.

The Psalms provide an interesting insight into his experience.

Until the time came to fulfill his dreams, the LORD tested Joseph’s character. Psalm 105:19 (NLT)

God allows us to encounter disappointments in life to test and develop our character.

We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. 4  And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. 5  And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love. Romans 5:3-5 (NLT)

If we rely on God during difficulties, the Bible says we will not be disappointed. That is good news.

Our disappointments can become appointments with God. If we turn to God, we will discover that his grace is enough.

God will help us refashion our expectations without sacrificing our faith. Then our expectations will match his plan for our lives. He will use our disappointments to develop Christ-like character in us. We can learn to glorify God in the midst of difficulties rather than slide into unbelief, self-pity, or bitterness. The choice is ours.

Prayer

And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love. Romans 5:5 (NLT)

Lord God, please forgive me for becoming disheartened and disappointed when my expectations are unmet. Help me instead to keep my eyes upon you. You promise that if we trust in you we will never be disappointed. Help me, Holy Spirit, to live by faith in your faithfulness, no matter how things turn out in the short run. Amen.

Share this post...
Share this post...