sin

The Devil is Defeated

“And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” – Genesis 3:15 I can’t imagine what God felt at the moment Adam and Eve rebelled against His perfect plan. He must have been crushed, and I’m certain that his anger burned against Satan. After all, the lineage of mankind — the glory of His Creation — was now tainted by sin, and He wanted to make sure that such an atrocity never happened again. To seal the deal, He cursed the devil and his forces of darkness forever. Though there would be an ongoing battle, or enmity, between humanity and demonic powers, He promised that one day, the father of lies would be crushed on the head and defeated. This means that now, while our adversary can still inflict surface wounds, he

July 5, 2021 1 Comment

The Two Great Temptations

“‘You will not certainly die,’ the serpent said to the woman. ‘For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’” – Genesis 3:4,5 We can learn a lot about how the devil works in our lives by examining the story of Creation. In fact, when the serpent approached Eve in the Garden of Eden, he used two specific tactics that he still employs today, and I think it behooves us to look at them in greater detail. First of all, he attacked the woman by planting doubts in her mind about the Word of the Lord. He slithered up to her and said, “Did God really say…?,” and unfortunately, he’s been doing this ever since. He knows that human flesh is weak, and he’s aware that it doesn’t take a lot to get us to

July 4, 2021 No Comments

God is Your Guide

“With the coming of dawn, the angels urged Lot, saying, ‘Hurry! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away when the city is punished.’ When he hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the Lord was merciful to them.” – Genesis 19:15,16 Yesterday, we looked at how God and two angels stopped by Abraham’s tent and warned him that they were going to Sodom and Gomorrah to assess the conditions there, and if need be, swiftly execute judgment. Later, when they arrived at the city gate, Abraham’s nephew Lot was waiting for them. Possibly having heard about the Lord’s intent to destroy his hometown, he wanted to get the men to his house, either to deter them or to keep them safe. Unfortunately,

June 25, 2021 No Comments

Deception

“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” – 1 Peter 5:8 While it’s not pleasant to think about, it’s important to remember that there is a kingdom of darkness surrounding us and that as Christians, we have an adversary named Satan who is serious about wreaking havoc in our lives. Though we often envision the forces of hell warring in acts of blatant evil, violence, or malice, the primary strategy of the devil is always deception. The enemy is an angel of light, and he is really good at slyly deceiving us so that we begin to fall away from abundant life. He knows that if he can get us to doubt the Lord’s love in any fashion, he gains a foothold, and we start to suffer. By convincing us ever-so-subtly that our best existence is

June 20, 2021 No Comments

Preservation

“He has preserved our lives and kept our feet from slipping.” – Psalm 66:9 Yesterday, we talked about the presence of salt in the ancient world, and we learned that it was valuable enough back then to play a role in the founding of the Roman Empire, was the basis for the name given to soldiers, and was sometimes even used to pay wages. Knowing this, we’re logically inclined to wonder why. What was it about salt that made it so vital to life in that time? Since answering this question gives us insight into our role in the Kingdom of God, I want to spend the next few days unpacking three important properties of salt. First of all, it was critical because it preserves. If you were a family of five in the Middle East 2,000 years ago and you needed to store enough meat and provisions to feed

June 13, 2021 No Comments

The Power of Peace

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” – John 14:27 It’s interesting that the dictionary defines peace as “freedom from disturbance.” And while I love to imagine life without all forms of distraction, noise, and chaos, I realize that such a state of existence isn’t possible on a planet that’s marred by the effects of sin and brokenness. The reality is that the weight of the world is heavy, and it’s easy to become bogged down by the pain and trouble that surround us. Each of us has gone through a lot in the past twelve months, and we’ve seen things unfold that we never imagined we would. The global pandemic, loss of life and income, civil unrest, and a prolonged change to our daily

March 8, 2021 1 Comment

Justice Is In the Lord’s Hands

“Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; love and faithfulness go before you.” – Psalm 89:14 One of the most powerful things we can do as we look ahead to a new year is to focus on letting go of bitterness. I think many who’ve been hurt deeply feel invalidated when hearing messages on unforgiveness, because there’s a sense that surrendering something takes away from the sting and severity of the wrong done. I’m certain many of you have been wounded so deeply that you’re still dealing with the ramifications and consequences in your daily life. If that’s you, I want you to know that I’m very sorry for what happened. The way you were sinned against broke the heart of our Heavenly Father, and He is grieved over your pain. Knowing that, I believe the truth that all of us can grab hold of today is that

December 29, 2020 No Comments

The Root of the Problem

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.’” – Matthew 5:27-29 As Christians, we should constantly seek to become more like Jesus. While this is an everyday aspiration, looking ahead to a new year gives us an opportunity to commit ourselves again to the call of discipleship. In light of our divided culture — one in which social media has given everyone a platform — many of us feel a burden to cultivate unity. More than ever, we’re zealous about bringing divine justice and mercy to earth, yet

December 28, 2020 No Comments

Born to Triumph

“Then one of the elders said to me, ‘Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.’” – Revelation 5:5 Merry Christmas! Though it’s been an unprecedented and bumpy road that’s brought us to this December 25, today can be a milestone we’ll never forget, because when we walk through seasons of turmoil and loss, God brings our hearts closer to that which is eternal. While our focus in times gone by has been on entertaining, presents, and holiday “perfection,” this year has made it clear what’s most important. In 2020, none of us will take for granted good health, food on our table, a job that pays the bills, or the loved ones who surround us (even virtually). More importantly, we won’t forget the Guest of Honor at our Christmas

December 25, 2020 No Comments

Righteousness is Greater Than Regret

“But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 3:13,14 Yesterday, we looked at how Paul considered all of his worldly accomplishments garbage compared to the gift of having Jesus as His Savior. Knowing that, I’m almost certain that his impassioned letter to the church at Philippi was, in part, a response to a past that he wasn’t proud of. Though his previous transgressions were repugnant to him, his encouragement to fellow believers was to forget what was behind, strain toward what was ahead, and press on. You see, while it sounds crude, Paul understood that the only way to escape the stench of trash was to move farther away from it, and this remains true in our lives today. No matter

December 11, 2020 No Comments

The Devil is Defeated

The Two Great Temptations

God is Your Guide

Deception

Preservation

The Power of Peace

Justice Is In the Lord’s Hands

The Root of the Problem

Born to Triumph

Righteousness is Greater Than Regret

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