I got a phone call last night that bewildered me. In full disclosure, I struggled to accept the situation. I don’t think I can even begin to understand how the events expressed by my caller would put one in a hospital.
After the call, I sat and pondered what was told to me. I eventually had to ask God to help me understand. He didn’t. But He did help me remember that all of us are individuals, and we all have our weaknesses. We all have areas where we are strong and weak. What doesn’t take me out can devastate another. It’s all because of sin in the world. It’s like attracting a disease in a way. One illness that can harm another may not affect me at all.
One thing that immunizes me against being affected is my relationship with God. I spend time with him. I talk to him during the day, and I read his word. I call out to him for help when I struggle with an issue and ask him to take the weight off of me when I stumble.
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Ps. 46:1 (NIV)
So understanding the truth about people and how or why some are affected by events in life more than others leads to one conclusion. And this is what God did reveal to me. It’s not about understanding others but accepting others.
You don’t have to watch the news for very long before you will see someone got caught. It doesn’t matter for what, either. Stealing, murder, inappropriate behavior, etc. It seems that, for the most part, no matter what someone has done or how long ago, the truth comes out.
People don’t just have to be on TV to be guilty of doing wrong. The world is full of individuals that choose to do evil. It’s not always murder or stealing but something that hurts someone else. It’s difficult to watch these less-than-perfect ones seemingly get by with inflicting pain on another.
Guess what? They don’t, and they won’t!
For there is nothing hidden that shall not be disclosed, nor anything secret that shall not be known and come out into the open. Luk. 8:17 (AMPC)
There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs. Luk. 12:2-3 (NIV)
I am just as guilty. I have said and done things I am not proud of either. I have hurt people that never asked to be inflicted. By recognizing Jesus Christ is the Son of God and by accepting Jesus into my life and asking him to forgive me of all of those wrongdoings, they are forgiven.
I will admit, though we may have to wait a long time to see it, knowing that those who have hurt us will be dealt with is reassuring that they won’t get away with it after all. Everyone someday will know the truth. The lies will no longer be believed. On that day, the only judgment that will matter is God’s!
My earliest memories are sitting in the back pew of a church. I was four years old. I remember the minister preaching Truth hard and loud. Some would classify his sermons as “hell fire and brimstone.” He always explained that the wages of sin, is death. Eternal death in hell.
A few years later, I accepted Jesus into my heart. I can honestly say the pastor’s messages scared the hell out of me! Even at that young age, I knew I was a sinner. You see, I was a convicted cookie thief who would later lie about it. “Convicted” because I had been found guilty by my mother. I knew dishonoring my parents and lying were both wrong. They were sin. I had learned that in church.
We went every time the doors were open, it seemed. As a result, I witnessed many signs and wonders. People got healed, repented of their sins, and had significant reformations in their lives. I learned how to minister to people and how to witness to pre-Christians (unbelievers). I had friends who believed in God like I did. I got to know them through the fellowship events that were held. I saw the Spiritual gifts of the Holy Spirit. Therefore I saw the supernatural. I learned about tithing and what a joy it was to give.
The supernatural is to get people’s attention for what God wants to do next.
So, why church? Why is it important?
People can find God there and accept Him. (Jer. 29:13)
People can get prayed for and find healing. (Mark 16:18b)
People can find friends who will become a community with them. (Acts 2:46)
People can learn how to minister. (Eph. 4:11)
People can give their tithes cheerfully. (Mal. 3:10)
People can learn how God is relevant in their lives.
The church I wrote about in the beginning is still there and thriving. At least 56 years and counting. The church should preach the entire Word of God (The Bible). A good, balanced church will do and be all six things listed above. I should mention that by the time I was seventeen, I finally realized that it was about having a two-way relationship with God, and that was the real reason to accept him. Not just to have “Fire Insurance!” Meaning, not to only escape eternity in hell. Realizing this has made life with God an exciting adventure.
Do we still need churches? Yes! As long as they are doing the work of God, for God, by God’s power, for His Glory and kingdom.
They say cats have nine lives, and in some weird cases, that may be true, but a man?
“I have fallen off two roofs, maybe three, I can’t remember. I was digging a hole for a tank, and I hit a transmission line. I was lying on the ground about forty-five feet away when I woke up. A witness said there were lots of sparks and I should have died. Then there was the time I was involved in a vehicle accident where my truck went off the road and landed in some trees thirty feet above the ground,” said a man I had recently met.
I was shocked and amazed, and my reaction showed it. Then he said there had been several other times he probably shouldn’t have survived. The phrase of having “nine lives” was spoken. I sensed the Holy Spirit, and I said. “Man! God really must love you because your life has been spared so many times!”
“I don’t know about that.” He said.
“Well, do you have a personal relationship with God?”
“No.”
I then explained how one could have a personal relationship with God by asking His Son, Jesus, into their heart. How doing so would forgive them of their sin and wrongdoing. He squirmed and acted like he didn’t want to hear this. Then I felt as though he thought if he accepted Jesus into his life, he would have to change his behavior. I explained to him that getting to know God is the best thing to do. Start loving Him back. I mentioned how a relationship with God was not about “rules” or “do’s and don’ts.”
“This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person’s failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him. John 3:16-18 (MSG)
I went on to explain that everyone will die once, not nine times. Then they will be standing before God giving an account of how they lived their life. I explained how if one has accepted Jesus, they will continue that loving relationship with God for eternity in heaven. Or they will be forever separated from God’s presence in hell if they have not. He said he was a good man, and I agreed that he was. But I then informed him that our good doesn’t forgive us of our wrongs. That is why we needed Jesus. How Jesus was a perfect sacrifice for sin when He died on the cross.
Everyone has to die once, then face the consequences. Christ’s death was also a one-time event, but it was a sacrifice that took care of sins forever. And so, when he next appears, the outcome for those eager to greet him is, precisely, salvation. Heb. 9:27-28 (MSG)
He then told me that he had to return to the project he was working on. My heart was broken knowing how much God loves us all. He simply wants us to receive His love and have a great relationship with him. Before we finished our conversation, I told him that he had heard the truth and there was no way he would ever be able to tell God, “No one told me!” Now you have been told as well.
Prayer: God, may everyone receive your love and your Son, Jesus, into their life. May they experience that love in all areas of their life. May they feel your love and go tell others so that no one will perish but have everlasting life with you.
“Life would be easy if it wasn’t for all of the freaken people!” Anonymous
True confession: The older I get, the less I enjoy getting out. Not sure if that’s common or not. I enjoy getting to stay home. The main reason is because of self-serving, distracted drivers these days. And sometimes those same drivers are standing in line in front of me.
This last week, I encountered two such individuals. The first one was while I was in line at a discount store. I looked, and the lady in front of me had “two” carts full. I had “four” items. She even turned, looked at me, and I was holding my “four” items up high to make sure she could see them. I was expecting her to say, “Oh, go in front of me.” But she didn’t. So I proceeded to count my items out loud. “1, 2, 3, 4, items,” I said. Again she looked at me. Even the cashier seemed bewildered by the woman’s self-serving action. The woman proceeded to check out. “87 items,” the cashier noted. I was mad, but I held my tongue and then even helped the lady by putting her two carts up where they went. The woman seemed to be angry, evil, and perhaps oppressed by a demon.
The second was, of all places, the post office. The mother seemed decent, at first, at least until her exhausted little girl started acting out. There were a lot of others there as well, and getting annoyed quickly! The man behind me left. I tried my best to ignore her behavior and the mother’s obnoxious parenting. You’ve witnessed this scene, I’m sure. “Now, (name of child), stop it. You’re going to get spanked. Stop hurting my face. It’s not nice. Yes, everyone is looking at you and your bad behavior. I’m going to leave you here.” The line was long and moving slowly. I was hoping the woman would leave and take her child home and put her to bed. Everybody was hoping!
Then I decided to pray over the child and the atmosphere. As I was praying, the little girl looked right at me, and with her dark eyes, she seemed to snarl at me. It was scary. I then whispered for the evil spirit to leave the little girl. He didn’t. I prayed for the environment to be flipped. From a place of distress to one of peace. It didn’t work. There were thoughts of going “postal.” Just kidding.
I realize now why my prayers didn’t work. I should have thought of it earlier because I am writing a book on the subject. I didn’t try to cast out the demon from the little girl out loud. Neither did I speak to the environment to change out loud. In my book, I write about how spiritual warfare has to be done out loud. Whenever Jesus encountered “people” who needed to be set free from anything, He spoke out loud. Yes, I know the others in the post office would have heard me, but shouldn’t they witness that we can have dominion over this world and the evil spirits that try to rule it?
10-12 And that about wraps it up. God is strong, and he wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way. This is no weekend war that we’ll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels.
13-18 Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life. God’s Word is an indispensable weapon. Eph. 6:12-17 (MSG)
The more familiar version says:
12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens. 13 For this reason, take up the full armor of God so that you may be able to stand your ground on the evil day, and having done everything, to stand. Eph. 6:12-13 (NET)
I can’t avoid going out, and I can’t avoid people. I shouldn’t want to because it is people that need to hear the truth about God and how much He loves them. It’s people, and their daughters, that need to be set free from sin, bondage, and demonic influences. Love people as Jesus did. Have compassion on them and take your authority in the name of Jesus and do what Jesus would do. Just do it out loud!
Below is part of the story where Jesus cast out demons from a possed man. The whole story can be read in Mark 5:1-20.
5 1-5 They arrived on the other side of the sea in the country of the Gerasenes. As Jesus got out of the boat, a madman from the cemetery came up to him. He lived there among the tombs and graves. No one could restrain him—he couldn’t be chained, couldn’t be tied down. He had been tied up many times with chains and ropes, but he broke the chains, snapped the ropes. No one was strong enough to tame him. Night and day he roamed through the graves and the hills, screaming out and slashing himself with sharp stones.
6-8 When he saw Jesus a long way off, he ran and bowed in worship before him—then howled in protest, “What business do you have, Jesus, Son of the High God, messing with me? I swear to God, don’t give me a hard time!” (Jesus had just commanded the tormenting evil spirit, “Out! Get out of the man!”) (MSG)
How desperate do you have to be before you make a deliberate decision to sin? Do you tell a lie to cover something you did wrong, so you don’t lose your job or your spouse? Do you take money that isn’t yours because you don’t know how you will make it financially? Are you that desperately lonely that you get into the wrong relationship?
King David had an affair with Bathsheba. Then he had her husband placed on the front line of the battlefield, knowing he would most likely be killed. Why? An attempt to hide his sin.
I know a minister who recently told his daughter it was okay to live with her fiancé before marriage. Why? I believe he is counting on them getting married so his new son-in-law would support them. He probably wants a more comfortable life.
It is never okay to willfully sin. Sin as defined by God’s word. If God says no and you do it anyway, it’s a sin. A big problem today is humanity is trying to make their own definitions of what sin is.
The truth always comes out! (Numbers 32:23) King David’s sins were revealed when the prophet Nathan brought them into the light of day. (2 Sam. 12)
God is faithful to forgive us of sin when we ask for it. (1 John 1:9) There is nothing we can do that prevents us from being forgiven.
Whenever someone sins, people get hurt. King David, though forgiven, still had to pay a price for his sin. I have had to pay big time for some of the sins I have committed. Several people have been hurt too.
The minister I mentioned earlier is already paying a price for blessing sin. Some members of his family are now not speaking to him. And what will happen when the people in his church hear of what he allowed his daughter to do? He might say, “Well. She wouldn’t have listened and have done it anyway.” Then that’s on his adult daughter to pay for her sin. Until she is married, there is no guarantee he will marry her.
God doesn’t list certain parts of life as “sins” to prevent us from enjoying life, but ironically the opposite. A life obeying God brings about an abundant life. A good life full of God’s blessings and provisions.
Do your best to live according to God’s word. Ask Him to help you because keeping our flesh in check is difficult. It is too easy to justify why circumstances call for us to sin. God loves obedient children and rewards them accordingly.
I’m not God. That’s for sure! For He is Holy. For He is pure. I have moments where I imitate him, but not consistently because of sin.
I want to be, for He is love. His Spirit is gentle as a dove. He accepts everyone for who they are. I have expectations that hurt and leave scars.
I don’t like it when my attempts to be like him fail. It makes me feel as though I want to die and deserve hell. Is that what God meant when He said, “You eat this fruit, you will die.”? Satan certainly didn’t want us to believe that and said, “it’s a lie.”
I’m grateful for second, third, fourth, and more chances to get it right. It’s a daily challenge, a yearly struggle, and a lifetime fight. There is grace for the times I fall short of the Glory of God, It’s for everyone through Jesus. I know his grace is so odd.
We don’t deserve it, yet it is there for us to receive, if upon Jesus Christ and his forgiveness, we believe. I’ll keep trying with his help to be like him, for God is love. The world needs me to obtain, conquer sin, and rise above.
What reason do I have to wake up with the rising sun And not be held down by the weight of all the things I’ve done? What reason do I have to feel this hope instead of hurt? How can it be I don’t receive the judgement I deserve?
How can you see me at my worst and still say I am loved? What promise can I stand on when I don’t feel good enough? When the enemy’s reminding me of all that I’ve done wrong What freedom do I have to sing this new creation song?
I know the only reason I can stand here free of all my shame Is wave upon wave of grace upon grace Wave upon wave of grace upon grace Upon grace
I have done so many things wrong in my life and, at times, still do. I’m not too fond of it when my wife, who is full of love and grace herself, sees the darkest side of me. There are times I am ashamed of my behavior. I thought by now, with God’s help, all my personal struggles would have been defeated. I can only continue to ask for forgiveness, ask for help, receive God’s grace, and continue fighting the good fight of faith. God’s grace is for you too!
But you, Timothy, man of God: Run for your life from all this. Pursue a righteous life—a life of wonder, faith, love, steadiness, courtesy. Run hard and fast in the faith. Seize the eternal life, the life you were called to, the life you so fervently embraced in the presence of so many witnesses. 1 Tim. 6:12 (MSG)
Parts of the song “Grace Upon Grace” were used. Songwriters: Matthew West, Aj Pruis
I don’t usually open with scriptures, but I need to today to set the stage. I love this true story from the Bible. It speaks of love in action and adequately uses of “words of knowledge.”
John 8:1-11Jesus returned to the Mount of Olives, 2 but early the next morning he was back again at the Temple. A crowd soon gathered, and he sat down and taught them. 3 As he was speaking, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd.
4 “Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?”
6 They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger. 7 They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” 8 Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust.
9 When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman. 10 Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?”
11 “No, Lord,” she said.
And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.”
One could write about a lot from this passage, but I want to focus on one part. Most theologians, of which I do not consider myself to be one, honestly I had to look up how to spell it, agree that when Jesus bent down and wrote in the dust, he was writing the sins of the woman’s accusers.
So one might ask, “How did Jesus know their sins?” Yes, Jesus was the son of God, but he was the son of man when he walked the earth. Here is the answer; Jesus was filled with the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
16-17 The moment Jesus came up out of the baptismal waters, the skies opened up and he saw God’s Spirit—it looked like a dove—descending and landing on him. And along with the Spirit, a voice: “This is my Son, chosen and marked by my love, delight of my life.” Mat. 3:16-17 (MSG)
The Holy Spirit filled Jesus the moment the dove landed on him. With the infilling comes power, as Jesus foretold his disciples before he ascended into heaven. Part of that power is knowing things about people. Sometimes, something they don’t want you to know. This is called; “word of knowledge.” This gift of the Spirit is sometimes needed to lead you on how to pray for someone, to get someone’s attention, so they will hear what comes after the supernatural event. One should not focus or get hung up on the gift when it is demonstrated but instead focus on what God wants to do.
I once got word of knowledge concerning a man and a woman in our church who weren’t married to each other. The Holy Spirit whispered, “affair.” After the initial shock, and I didn’t tell anyone in the church, which would have hurt them tremendously, but I prayed for them. A few weeks later, the woman’s husband was offered a job out of state, and they moved. God wanted me to pray, potentially preventing their desires from overtaking them. Am I special? Am I a saint? Am I a super Christian? No! The Holy Spirit chooses who to give this gift to, when, and where. (see 1 Cor. 12:11 but not now. After you finish this post.)
It is humbling to know things, to be used of God. So take it seriously, and be responsible with what you know. Jesus used his knowledge of the woman’s accusers to demonstrate forgiveness and love. Do you think the woman went away unchanged? No. She left forever changed, and no doubt shared her story with everyone. Be filled with the Spirit of God, and be open to being used by God to help change lives for eternity.
I am writing this blog post while at a church. I’m not listening to the sermon, for one is not being given. That’s because today is Thursday. I’m assuming the main doors are closed. The office is probably open, but I have no business inside. Although I would prefer to be inside because it is warm outside and there is not much breeze.
Some churches utilize their buildings all week while others do not. Kind of like people. Some people only have a use for God on Sundays. The rest of the week, they live however they want to. It seems as if I will never be able to forget the shocking statement of one of my classmates when I was in the eleventh grade. That was a long time ago! She said, “I love being (popular religion). I can have my sins forgiven on Sundays and live like hell the rest of the week.” I think I recall almost falling out of my desk after she made that declaration.
Her statement seemed to go against everything I had been taught about God and living for him instead of living for myself. Sadly, a few months later, her life was cut short when her husband put a shotgun in her mouth and pulled the trigger. I have often wondered if she regrets living the way she did.
“Going” to church doesn’t guarantee you will make it into heaven. It comes down to accepting Jesus Christ into your life, asking him to forgive you of your sins and wrongdoings, and then living for him. It’s about the attitude of your heart, and only God can know that. So maybe it doesn’t matter if the “church” is open or not; God is! It never hurts to attend church, though. There you can find people like you, and together you can encourage each other as we all face the challenges of living like God in an ungodly world.
So let’s do it—full of belief, confident that we’re presentable inside and out. Let’s keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going. He always keeps his word. Let’s see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out, not avoiding worshiping together as some do but spurring each other on, especially as we see the big Day approaching. Heb. 10:22-25 (MSG)
I wish this building was open, and I had the nerve to go in and ask to use their bathroom. That is my most significant need right now!
This church’s building is beautiful! I only hope the people who attend here are as well. I know for sure two of them are because they are my neighbors, and this is their church.
(This blog post continues on Friday, July 8th, 2022)
brady, mark a. 