Mon, Nov 24th - 12:24AM

"Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded."

James 4:7-8

One of the promises of God which should encourage believers is found in Proverbs 3:34. There you find, "Surely He scorns the scornful, But gives grace to the humble". It is difficult for Christians to live a holy life, wholly for the Lord, in this fallen world. Satan’s schemes are many. He never rests from working to destroy life and ruin the Christian’s witness.

The phrase in the previous verse, "but gives grace" refers to God’s gracious help. His grace is promised to the one who is humble or to a dependant individual. It isn’t offered to the proud or self-sufficient.

Living this side of Heaven means that we will continue to be confronted with the powers of Satan as he works through the ungodly. Paul reminded believes in the Ephesians church that their battles weren’t against each other. Rather the warfare for believers comes from "the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places"(6:12).

Therefore, we shall not ever be victorious over the devil’s attacks simply by being brave or strong-willed. Christian victory requires more than human strength.

The writer, James, in his letter, gives to us the formula for overcoming Satan. There is no shortcut to gaining victory against this powerful enemy. James gives us the "how to" in 4:7-8.

First, the believer must come to God. James writes, "Draw near to God". This is where the victory begins. During the reforms of Asa, in 2 Chronicles, there is an interesting statement. "Now the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded. And he went out to meet Asa, and said to him: ‘Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin. The LORD is with you while you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you"(15:1-2).

That promise to Asa is no different from the promise to us in our time of spiritual warfare. That is precisely what James is telling today’s believer through his writing. James has already emphasized the importance of humility and that is what drawing near to God creates in the believer. Its good to have close communion with God through our Jesus Christ in times of testing and temptation.

Second, the believer is to "submit to God". Submission is surrender. We can refer to our commitments, but commitments can change. But whenever one surrenders, that means giving up one’s freedom to be anything one desires to be. Surrender is raising the white flag, lifting one’s hands into the air, and proclaiming my fight against you is over.

Third, the believer is to repent to God. James puts it this way: "Cleanse your hands, . . .; and purify your hearts, . . ." (V. 8). The word hands in this verse refers to one’s outward conduct. Contrary to the belief of some, who proclaim "just Jesus" is all that is needed, there is outward change as well. If believing in Jesus cured all of Satan’s temptations, then James wouldn’t have written a word for believers to "cleanse your hands".

The word "purify your hearts" has reference to the inward motives of a person’s life. "Drawing near to God" through surrender, commitment, prayer, and the study of God’s Word will replace one’s worldly desires with holy desires.

Now, and only now, is the believer ready to do the last thing in this formula: "Resist the devil". You and I are not and never will be strong enough in the human flesh to demand for Satan to flee from us. To command the devil to do anything in Jesus’ Name, requires a personal walk with Him by "drawing near to Him", by surrendering one’s life to Him, and by repenting of sins committed in the body and mind.

It is then that you can watch the race where Satan leaves tempting you so you experience the joy of victory. Wait! Don’t rush off that email too soon. I’m not finished. I’m fully aware that one small victory doesn’t a lifetime of freedom from Satan make. Our victories are over particular attacks. The war won’t be finished until we sit at Jesus’ feet in the Heavens. Like a roaring lion, Satan will return tomorrow and the battle will be fought again. But each victory makes us spiritually stronger.

Don’t seek a shortcut to victory because there isn’t any. You come to Him, surrender to Him, repent of sin against Him, and then enjoy victory.

Sun, Nov 16th - 11:50PM

"Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. For each one shall bear his own load."

Galatians 6:1-5

The body of Christ always comes under attack whenever the claims of Jesus Christ are affirmed by a society of people groups. Government tolerates preaching for a season. The pendulum swings from need to faith, then from faith to satisfaction, from there to self-reliance, then back to need.

In the beginning of this great country called America, a gift from the Almighty to men and women in search of religious freedom, there was dependency upon God for guidance and Spiritual leadership. Carved out from a wooded land were farms and homes and hamlets, then towns and cities.

The rugged men and women who were the framers of our modern day lifestyles where people of faith. Many of the families put their faith in God, their trust in His goodness and they opened the spiritual envelope from which sprang streams of blessings. If they had not come, if there had not been a reliance upon God, if they had not stayed with their dreams, we wouldn’t have the America we know today.

Wars have been fought to preserve the freedoms which we hold dear. Thousands of tears have been shed because of the heartache brought on by these conflicts, both on the American soil along with the blood of Americans which has poured out on foreign lands.

These latter days have been good. We’ve seen old ideas of racism diminish. We’ve watched homeowners being added to the rosters of our cities. The freedom to step out and make a life of oneself is being enjoyed.

But debt has caught up with our nation and with a vast majority of our population. We once cringed at the idea of a nation millions of dollars in debt. That ceiling kept on inching upward until we looked with amazement when it hit the billion dollar ceiling. And now, only a short time later, the trillion dollar mark seems to turn only a few heads.

Along with these potentially disastrous trends comes an anarchical type of rebellion by some defeated in the polling box. Trends of government and open rebellion toward the God of creation are becoming an alarming trend. Hopefully, it will pass but there is little encouragement it will. As the Bible’s prophecies concerning a falling away before the ending of time becomes more apparent, it’s not unreasonable to foresee the God haters becoming more vocal.

Where does that leave the body of Christ? Our only recourse for a physical and emotional hiding place is inside the family of God. The bitterness, the hatred, the backbiting, the unchristian attitude must stop. We have to realize who we are and to Whom we belong. Paul gives us a good outline to follow in Galatians 6:1-5. Actually, the verses which follow these are important as well but space doesn’t allow them here.

The bottom line is that we all face our times of trial. Sometimes we fall. That’s were the church family can help the fallen. Bearing one another’s burdens is to take the burdens of our Christian brothers and sisters upon our shoulders and to walk through the trouble with them. In so doing, we are seeking to help them find forgiveness for the sins which brought on their problems.

Christians helping each other in the body of Christ, I believe, gives great pleasure to the Lord. Think of it this way. Tomorrow will be too late. You may never have that tomorrow to say "I love You", "I forgive you", or to encourage someone along life’s journey. Yesterday is gone forever.

The only thing we hold in our hands at this very moment, is the moment He has given to us. So, don’t forfeit His blessings by holding onto unforgiveness , hate, bitterness, and condemnation. Rather, release His blessings into your life by loving others, by forgiving without having been ask, through encouraging fellow believers, and by worshiping and praising the true and only God.

Sun, Nov 9th - 11:44PM

Sun, Nov 2nd - 10:45PM

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith as it is written, ‘The just shall live by faith."

Romans 1:16-17

The Gospel of Christ is powerful. The worldly minded around us tries to tear it apart, to dilute its influence in the lives of people groups in our society, while at the same time, seeking to elevate humanistic wisdom above the wisdom of God. Paul writes that "Professing to be wise, they became fools"(Ro. 1:22).

In his opening verses of chapter 1 in Romans, Paul declares his loyalty to the Gospel of Christ. He testified that he wasn’t "ashamed" of it and then gave his reasoning for it. And as you look back at your salvation experience, you too will want to testify with Paul that you aren’t ashamed of it either.

Note two important truths this verses sets forth. First, Paul affirmed his loyalty to the gospel because of its power. "It is the power of God to salvation".

You can select a number of books which sets forth principles for salvation. But in none of those books will you find the original plan for the salvation of mankind. They all write about what the Gospel, the good news, has to say about Jesus’ trip to Calvary.

This Gospels, the commonly known four Gospels, along with the other New Testament writers, who were inspired by the Holy Spirit of God, points lost people to the Savior. It is within these pages one discovers the lostness of mankind. It is within the scriptures lost people discover they have hope, that God loved the world so much that He sent His Son to become the sacrifice for the sins of the world.

Jesus Himself said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."(Jo 14:6). To seek some other way, through some religious jargon of fallen man, is to deny the Word of God. Paul certainly wouldn’t be classified in that group, because he affirmed "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ". And neither am I!

A second important truth which this verse sets forth is the fact that God’s saving power is "for everyone who believes". There seems to be a whole lot of people in our society who thinks that Heaven, or some glorious paradise, is a guaranteed destination for every single individual born of woman. There seems to be a pervading idea that death ushers everyone into a new and higher spiritual realm for an eternal bliss. They claim there is no such thing as sin, there is no Hell for the unbeliever, that everyone is right in their own eyes.

But Paul points out that salvation, though available to all, will only be given to those who believe. There comes a point in one’s life when sin is realized and the only way to cure the sin problem is by trusting in the Lord. The way to trust Him is discovered in the good news of Christ.

Within the gospel is revealed "the righteousness of God"(v. 17). Righteousness is God’s response toward faith or trust. Some believe that God creates faith in some folk so they can be saved. But John 3:16's meaning is clear to me. I see it saying that salvation is for "whosoever will". When sinfulness is realized, and one turns to Jesus in faith believing Him to be the Savior, God imparts righteousness or a right standing with God to the believer.

Believers who are ashamed of the Gospel of Christ are suspect as to whether they really believe He is the Savior of the lost soul. Instead of being ashamed, let’s be shining lights set on a hill, let’s live as Christ would have us live so that when we stand before Him in eternity, we will have brought others with us through our faithful witness.