When most people think about prophets, they picture some fortune teller, predicting disaster to come. This picture is distorted.
Prophets did warn people of consequential disaster if proper decisions weren't made. They saw a bad future as a result of disobedience. The future they saw was not hundreds of thousands of years down the road (EX: 2000 and beyond); it was their immediate future.
Prophets saw tragedy coming because of disobedience to God, idolatry and social injustice, but they also saw restoration after the doom. Let me repeat this: They saw visions of their near future. Later, early Christians saw glimpses of their own times in those messages, times predicting the coming of a new day, led by Jesus.
Prophets warned, promised a better future, and stood as lawyers defending their clients.
That last part is what is least known, but possibly the most important job description of a prophet. The job responsibility of a prophet was to stand in the courts of heaven and plead for their clients who were their own neighbors and fellow countrymen. Their clients usually hated them and didn't want them to defend or to warn them. They just wanted them to go away so they could go on with their lives without interuption and negativity.
Remember Moses? He delivered his own people from slavery in Egypt, and when the people got out of Egypt, they complained against him and wanted to kill him, because the land they went through made for difficult living. When the people complained about him and decided to set up other rulers to take them back to Egypt, God got ticked off at the people and threatened to let them die in the desert and let Moses become a great nation....
But Moses did not agree with God, and he stood up to God; willing to sacrifice his own life on behalf of the people (he even went so far as to ask God to remove his name from God's book, if God did not back off from judgment). Moses stood on behalf of the people to protect them from God's wrath.
This was the picture: God's wrath was on its way like a rushing army prepared to destroy Israel. Moses and the prophets after him (and Abraham before him), stood up to protect the people from that army/God's wrath. They protected the people in several ways:
1. They took the people's side. They never cheered on God's wrath. The only exception to this rule is when God's wrath was directed toward Israel's enemies. Jonah wanted to see God's wrath poured out on Ninevah, but God showed them mercy, which disappointed Jonah.
2. Prophets fought with God in prayer for the people. Prophets reminded God of his mercy and the honor he would lose by seeing his people destroyed. They also reminded God of His promises for his people, thus challenging Him to keep the vows He made with Abraham, Moses, and David.
3. Prophets included themselves with the people they were defending. Let me explain this one. When prophets prayed for their people who may or may not have hated them, they included themselves as a part of the same people. For example, the prophet would pray, "Forgive us O Lord, for our sins... We have sinned against you..." and so on. They did not seperate themselves from their clients. Even if the prophet alone was righteous before God, he would not and dared not seperate himself from his clients.
So how does this relate to us today?
As Christians, we should not cheer on or gloat over disasters that happen to others that we don't like; such as when disease ravishes the gay community, or a flood destroys a city that we consider immoral (remember Abraham prayed like a prophet for Sodom and Gomorrah, asking God to pass over judgment), or an earthquake destoys a third world country that is steeped in Animism.
Contrariwise, we need to pray for God's compassion and forgiveness for these places. We need to beg God to help hearts to be turned to Him and to turn His heart to these people who do not hold on to our values. We need to pray for our politicians and not seek their destruction. We need to pleed before God for our nation and others that face or may face disaster after disaster.
Don't focus only on the suffering of your own people or church, open your eyes to the injustices that take place in other groups that do not share your values. Stand on the side of Muslims who are overwhelmed with war, poverty and injustice. Let your voice be heard on high for the poor and the powerless, for the tormented and abused, for the sinners and those who turn their backs on the Living God.
Jesus told us to love our enemies. The Apostle Paul said that while we were God's enemies, Jesus loved us and died for us so that we could be reconciled to Him.. how much more we should love our enemies.
Learn to pray like the prophets. Learn to love like Jesus.
"But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you (Luke 6:27-28)."
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Pornography - Kicking the Habit
20th Century porn magazines led the way to this century's internet porn which has taken the world by storm.
WHAT'S SO BAD ABOUT PORN?
1. Pornography takes up too much valuable time. When someone spends hours a day on internet porn, it is time taken from other things that can and should be done.
2. Over the long run, pornography does not satisfy; it loses it's excitement, and the desire for more or something different to keep the excitement can lead to some bad places. Here are just a few examples of what I have seen:
a. An ex co-worker of mine spends all of his savings and even goes into debt to support his need for strippers and erotic messages. He hates what he does, but he will not stop.
b. Another co-worker lost his job and his reputation because of child pornography.
c. Jimmy Swaggart (the tele-evangelist) was once the most watched evangelist in the world, but because his pornography habit eventually became a habit of visiting prostitutes and he was caught. His ministry and his reputation has suffered a huge loss.
THE 3 SENTANCE HISTORY OF PORNOGRAPHY
1. Some nude statues of the Roman Empire era had ancient sperm on them.
2. From the very beginning of photography, there have been pictures of nude women.
3. From the beginning of film, there has been pornography.
4. The internet has brought porn into every home.
SOME OBSERVATIONS
1. Most people like to keep it secret.
2. Usually the people who preach against it the most have problems with pornography. This is true about a lot of things.
a. Ted Haggard railed against homosexuality, during which time he visited homosexual prostitutes.
b. Jimmy Swaggart wrote a book about the evils of pornography right before he was busted for porn.
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT PORN?
The only porn anybody saw in the Bible times were the forms of statues, clay statuettes, or drawings.
1. The Bible does forbid the making of statuettes designed for idolatry, but didn't see statuettes leading to pornography.
2. The Bible does speak against uncontrolled desire.
3. The Bible does speak against fornication (sex outside of marriage). The Greek word is "porneia" from which we get the word "pornography"...but this is not the same as pornography as we know it.
4. The Bible says that sin separates us from God. When Isaiah stated that it had to do with economic injustice, but the concept is the same for other sins as well. Sin eats away at what is spiritually good in our lives.
PORNOGRAPHY IS A STRUGGLE
Many Christians struggle with pornography. One Fox news article (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,586303,00.html) says that the amount of women who admit using pornography to get off is around 76% - those are just the ones who admit it. New York Daily News placed the number for women at 30% and for men at 70% (http://articles.nydailynews.com/2010-02-11/entertainment/27056038_1_study-big-issue-problem).
WAYS CHRISTIANS DEAL WITH PORN?
1. Deliverance - The concept behind this is that Satan has kept you bound for so many years, and by getting rid of his hold over your life you will be freed from porn.
a. Plus - it provides a temporary fix.
b. Minus - Porn is an issue with your flesh. In time you will probably go back into it if you do not take other precautions.
2. Prayer and fasting - Absolutely pray and fast! But prayer and fasting alone will not usually suffice. Jimmy Swaggart grew tired of fasting for his addiction.
3. Just say no! - This is great, but for most people it is not enough.
WHAT SHOULD A CHRISTIAN DO ABOUT PORN
Besides praying and perhaps fasting, the best way to deal with porn is to block access to it using 2 steps.
First of all, get somebody you can trust. If your best friend likes to reveal other people's secrets, avoid him or her. You want someone who can keep secrets. If you've ever heard your friend say, "Don't tell this to anybody else..." or "I shouldn't say this, but..." or anything like that - do not confide in him/her. Find someone you respect who is good at keeping secrets. Pray about it.
Tell that person that you would like him/her to be your accountability partner and then sign up with covenanteyes.com. On covenanteyes.com you will be asked to put your friend's email address, and he/she will receive weekly updates, revealing everywhere you've been on line. It also categorizes into different ratings.
This is the best way to hold yourself accountable and to avoid digging into pornography.
If there is a sexual addiction group at your church, you may want to check into it and join.
WARNINGS
Do not confide in your issue with a member of the opposite sex.
If you are attracted to people of the same sex, do not choose someone you are attracted to. Furthermore, be on guard, because opening up to someone even spiritually, and praying with them, may increase desire.
Unless you are in a group designed to meet the needs of sexual addiction, don't open up your issues to a group of people. Some people are too open with their issues and for some reason feel that it is important to tell the whole church or bible study of men and women about their sexual issues. Don't fall into this. A trusted accountability partner will be good enough.
If your church has a group dedicated to overcoming pornography, by all means join it.
WHAT TO TELL THE ACCOUNTABILITY PARTNER
1. Be honest. Tell him/her (for simplicity I will use "him" from now on) that you have an addiction.
2. You can tell him that you are embarrassed about telling him.
3. Tell him that you would like him to receive covenanteyes report.
4. Tell him that you need him to call you once a week.
WHAT TO EXPECT FROM YOUR ACCOUNTABILITY PARTNER WHEN YOU TELL HIM
1. "I don't have that problem." This may be true, but don't let this trouble you. Your partner has other issues. Count on it, after all he is also human. Also, don't let this deter you - you may be embarrassed and humiliated, but it is how you will become a better Christian.
2. "You should tell your wife." I am not convinced of this. For some people, this is the right thing to do, for others, it may ruin their marriage.
FOR THE ACCOUNTABILITY PARTNER
1. Meet regularly with the person who is struggling, even if it's only by phone. You will need to meet more at first...at least once a week.
2. Don't act shocked or disappointed.
3. Don't ever tell anyone else, unless the person coming to you is abusing children, raping women or harming others. In this case, you are bound by law and decency to bring it to proper authorities.
4. Don't be afraid to ask him/her point blank how its going, challenging him/her to be honest. Call your friend every week or every other week.
5. If you are struggling as well, then you may want to confide this to your friend and work together with covenanteyes.com.
WILL THE FEELINGS EVER GO AWAY?
Feelings of desire will never go away entirely, but can be brought down to a manageable level. We are sexual beings. We will have desires. They can be controlled. You may struggle from time to time, but you can overcome.
The Bible does not reward those who never sin, because there are no such people. It does reward those who overcome (Revelation 2 & 3). In other words, life is filled with battles in temptation that need to be fought and overcome.
ITS NOT ALL OR NOTHING
Be careful about falling into the lie that its all or nothing. In other words, just because you failed does not mean you should give up and give in. Its a battle...you may lose some, but get back up and keep fighting. Take territory, bit by bit if necessary, but take territory.
...for though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again...(Proverbs 24:16).
SOME OTHER IDEAS
-If you are steeped in porn, set apart a few days or a week for fasting from porn. Add this to a food fast, or fasting meals, or whatnot. This is to pray for important things in your life. You may also do this in seeking for God's help in overcoming porn.
-The sooner you deal with porn, the better. The problem won't go away with time, but gets worse.
-Even as you get older and your sexual drive begins to wane, porn will not become less of a temptation, because you will need more stimulation to get excited. So don't count on age being your way out.
WHAT'S SO BAD ABOUT PORN?
1. Pornography takes up too much valuable time. When someone spends hours a day on internet porn, it is time taken from other things that can and should be done.
2. Over the long run, pornography does not satisfy; it loses it's excitement, and the desire for more or something different to keep the excitement can lead to some bad places. Here are just a few examples of what I have seen:
a. An ex co-worker of mine spends all of his savings and even goes into debt to support his need for strippers and erotic messages. He hates what he does, but he will not stop.
b. Another co-worker lost his job and his reputation because of child pornography.
c. Jimmy Swaggart (the tele-evangelist) was once the most watched evangelist in the world, but because his pornography habit eventually became a habit of visiting prostitutes and he was caught. His ministry and his reputation has suffered a huge loss.
THE 3 SENTANCE HISTORY OF PORNOGRAPHY
1. Some nude statues of the Roman Empire era had ancient sperm on them.
2. From the very beginning of photography, there have been pictures of nude women.
3. From the beginning of film, there has been pornography.
4. The internet has brought porn into every home.
SOME OBSERVATIONS
1. Most people like to keep it secret.
2. Usually the people who preach against it the most have problems with pornography. This is true about a lot of things.
a. Ted Haggard railed against homosexuality, during which time he visited homosexual prostitutes.
b. Jimmy Swaggart wrote a book about the evils of pornography right before he was busted for porn.
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT PORN?
The only porn anybody saw in the Bible times were the forms of statues, clay statuettes, or drawings.
1. The Bible does forbid the making of statuettes designed for idolatry, but didn't see statuettes leading to pornography.
2. The Bible does speak against uncontrolled desire.
3. The Bible does speak against fornication (sex outside of marriage). The Greek word is "porneia" from which we get the word "pornography"...but this is not the same as pornography as we know it.
4. The Bible says that sin separates us from God. When Isaiah stated that it had to do with economic injustice, but the concept is the same for other sins as well. Sin eats away at what is spiritually good in our lives.
PORNOGRAPHY IS A STRUGGLE
Many Christians struggle with pornography. One Fox news article (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,586303,00.html) says that the amount of women who admit using pornography to get off is around 76% - those are just the ones who admit it. New York Daily News placed the number for women at 30% and for men at 70% (http://articles.nydailynews.com/2010-02-11/entertainment/27056038_1_study-big-issue-problem).
WAYS CHRISTIANS DEAL WITH PORN?
1. Deliverance - The concept behind this is that Satan has kept you bound for so many years, and by getting rid of his hold over your life you will be freed from porn.
a. Plus - it provides a temporary fix.
b. Minus - Porn is an issue with your flesh. In time you will probably go back into it if you do not take other precautions.
2. Prayer and fasting - Absolutely pray and fast! But prayer and fasting alone will not usually suffice. Jimmy Swaggart grew tired of fasting for his addiction.
3. Just say no! - This is great, but for most people it is not enough.
WHAT SHOULD A CHRISTIAN DO ABOUT PORN
Besides praying and perhaps fasting, the best way to deal with porn is to block access to it using 2 steps.
First of all, get somebody you can trust. If your best friend likes to reveal other people's secrets, avoid him or her. You want someone who can keep secrets. If you've ever heard your friend say, "Don't tell this to anybody else..." or "I shouldn't say this, but..." or anything like that - do not confide in him/her. Find someone you respect who is good at keeping secrets. Pray about it.
Tell that person that you would like him/her to be your accountability partner and then sign up with covenanteyes.com. On covenanteyes.com you will be asked to put your friend's email address, and he/she will receive weekly updates, revealing everywhere you've been on line. It also categorizes into different ratings.
This is the best way to hold yourself accountable and to avoid digging into pornography.
If there is a sexual addiction group at your church, you may want to check into it and join.
WARNINGS
Do not confide in your issue with a member of the opposite sex.
If you are attracted to people of the same sex, do not choose someone you are attracted to. Furthermore, be on guard, because opening up to someone even spiritually, and praying with them, may increase desire.
Unless you are in a group designed to meet the needs of sexual addiction, don't open up your issues to a group of people. Some people are too open with their issues and for some reason feel that it is important to tell the whole church or bible study of men and women about their sexual issues. Don't fall into this. A trusted accountability partner will be good enough.
If your church has a group dedicated to overcoming pornography, by all means join it.
WHAT TO TELL THE ACCOUNTABILITY PARTNER
1. Be honest. Tell him/her (for simplicity I will use "him" from now on) that you have an addiction.
2. You can tell him that you are embarrassed about telling him.
3. Tell him that you would like him to receive covenanteyes report.
4. Tell him that you need him to call you once a week.
WHAT TO EXPECT FROM YOUR ACCOUNTABILITY PARTNER WHEN YOU TELL HIM
1. "I don't have that problem." This may be true, but don't let this trouble you. Your partner has other issues. Count on it, after all he is also human. Also, don't let this deter you - you may be embarrassed and humiliated, but it is how you will become a better Christian.
2. "You should tell your wife." I am not convinced of this. For some people, this is the right thing to do, for others, it may ruin their marriage.
FOR THE ACCOUNTABILITY PARTNER
1. Meet regularly with the person who is struggling, even if it's only by phone. You will need to meet more at first...at least once a week.
2. Don't act shocked or disappointed.
3. Don't ever tell anyone else, unless the person coming to you is abusing children, raping women or harming others. In this case, you are bound by law and decency to bring it to proper authorities.
4. Don't be afraid to ask him/her point blank how its going, challenging him/her to be honest. Call your friend every week or every other week.
5. If you are struggling as well, then you may want to confide this to your friend and work together with covenanteyes.com.
WILL THE FEELINGS EVER GO AWAY?
Feelings of desire will never go away entirely, but can be brought down to a manageable level. We are sexual beings. We will have desires. They can be controlled. You may struggle from time to time, but you can overcome.
The Bible does not reward those who never sin, because there are no such people. It does reward those who overcome (Revelation 2 & 3). In other words, life is filled with battles in temptation that need to be fought and overcome.
ITS NOT ALL OR NOTHING
Be careful about falling into the lie that its all or nothing. In other words, just because you failed does not mean you should give up and give in. Its a battle...you may lose some, but get back up and keep fighting. Take territory, bit by bit if necessary, but take territory.
...for though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again...(Proverbs 24:16).
SOME OTHER IDEAS
-If you are steeped in porn, set apart a few days or a week for fasting from porn. Add this to a food fast, or fasting meals, or whatnot. This is to pray for important things in your life. You may also do this in seeking for God's help in overcoming porn.
-The sooner you deal with porn, the better. The problem won't go away with time, but gets worse.
-Even as you get older and your sexual drive begins to wane, porn will not become less of a temptation, because you will need more stimulation to get excited. So don't count on age being your way out.
Friday, July 22, 2011
How to Fight Temptation
1. QUOTE SCRIPTURE
Jesus showed us the best way to fight temptation by quoting short verses when he was faced with the desire to do wrong, during a time of doubt. The verses he quoted were as short as 3 to 5 words long in the Hebrew. The English translations make them longer.
The point is, you don't need to memorize paragraphs of scripture to fight temptation.
Jesus prefaced his verses with, "It is written...."
So lets say you are tempted to get drunk with some friends. You might say, "The Bible says, 'don't be drunk....'" You don't need to quote the entire verse. Verses and chapters were actually added hundreds of years after the Bible was written. Jesus had no chapter and verses, so when he quoted from Deuteronomy, he did not try to quote an entire section or verse as we know it, but only what was necessary for the temptation.
2. KEEP QUOTING SCRIPTURE
Just because you succeed in quoting a scripture does not mean the temptation will go away. Its going to keep coming back and you will need to continue to quote and fight. In a short time the temptation will go away. If you memorize verses, which is awesome, focus on the meaning of those verses.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO GET THE EXACT WORDS
But you do need to catch the core meaning of the verse. Exact words are good, but understanding the meaning of verses is better than rambling off memorized words.
SOME GOOD SCRIPTURE TO USE WHEN TEMPTED (Some I have put in my own words)
Go away Satan, for you do not serve God's interests, but human interests.
Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
Every temptation is common to people.
God will make a way to escape every temptation.
Don't test the Lord your God.
Don't depend on your own understanding.
Don't worry about tommorrow.
You will have no other Gods.
There are so many more verses you can use in the middle of temptation. As you read your Bible, pick out the verses that mean a lot to you, write down and memorize the parts that mean a lot to you.
Jesus showed us the best way to fight temptation by quoting short verses when he was faced with the desire to do wrong, during a time of doubt. The verses he quoted were as short as 3 to 5 words long in the Hebrew. The English translations make them longer.
The point is, you don't need to memorize paragraphs of scripture to fight temptation.
Jesus prefaced his verses with, "It is written...."
So lets say you are tempted to get drunk with some friends. You might say, "The Bible says, 'don't be drunk....'" You don't need to quote the entire verse. Verses and chapters were actually added hundreds of years after the Bible was written. Jesus had no chapter and verses, so when he quoted from Deuteronomy, he did not try to quote an entire section or verse as we know it, but only what was necessary for the temptation.
2. KEEP QUOTING SCRIPTURE
Just because you succeed in quoting a scripture does not mean the temptation will go away. Its going to keep coming back and you will need to continue to quote and fight. In a short time the temptation will go away. If you memorize verses, which is awesome, focus on the meaning of those verses.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO GET THE EXACT WORDS
But you do need to catch the core meaning of the verse. Exact words are good, but understanding the meaning of verses is better than rambling off memorized words.
SOME GOOD SCRIPTURE TO USE WHEN TEMPTED (Some I have put in my own words)
Go away Satan, for you do not serve God's interests, but human interests.
Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
Every temptation is common to people.
God will make a way to escape every temptation.
Don't test the Lord your God.
Don't depend on your own understanding.
Don't worry about tommorrow.
You will have no other Gods.
There are so many more verses you can use in the middle of temptation. As you read your Bible, pick out the verses that mean a lot to you, write down and memorize the parts that mean a lot to you.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Temptation Part One
WE ALL SHARE THE SAME KINDS OF TEMPTATION
The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure (1 Corinthians 10:12).
THERE IS NO ONE TEMPTED WHO DIDN'T WANT TO BE TEMPTED (UNKNOWN)
Too much credit for temptation goes to Satan. Indeed, he does have something to do with temptation, but as we see in James 1, we are tempted when our own desires lead us astray. Satan may add to or feed temptation, he may even introduce something new into our temptations; but he always works with one main ingredient - human desire.
JUSTIFYING WHAT IS WRONG
For Eve to eat what was forbidden, she needed to justify what she was doing. This is huge in understanding temptation. People don't usually run out and do wrong without some sort of excuse, justifying what is wrong. Eve found the excuses she needed.
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate (Genesis 3:6 ESV).
1. She saw it was good (not bad as she was told).
2. It looked good (businesses know that to sell a product, it is extremely important that the package looks good).
3. Eating from the illegal tree had a huge benefit - it would give Eve the knowledge of a world she knew nothing about - knowledge of and experience in the world of evil.
These were some of the attractions she saw that sold the product. The main justification however, was offered to her by the tempter who explained why God didn't want her to have something so good. God was covering up the truth that if Adam and Eve ate from the tree, they would become like gods, knowing good and evil. And that was in part true. When Adam and Eve did partake in evil, not only did they become wiser, knowing good and evil; but as God himself confessed, "They (literally ha-adam, meaning the man or adam, which was the word used for humankind or Adam or man) have become like us, knowing good and evil (Genesis 3:22)."
So the tempter offered enough truth in the overall lie, to convince Eve that disobeying God was the right thing to do.
And now back to the point of this section. Temptation leads us into areas that are wrong, but areas that we desire. Justifications of different types are needed and used to get us to chomp into the bait.
In counselling, a wife tells me that her husband has been ignoring her (justification) and therefore falls into an affair with a nicer guy (desire). A 14 year old burns illegal music he desires onto his hard drive, because the record companies and the bands make so much money (justification).
Some common justifications:
1. God wants me happy.
2. They won't miss....
3. God didn't mean....
4. I deserve....
5. Everybody else is doing it....
6. Its the smart thing to do....
SOMETIMES YOU NEED A FRIEND TO SIN
There are some things you would never do unless a good friend pulled you into it. Take Adam, for example. He waited until Eve ate and then he ate after he saw that she didn't die. In the end, he also was able to blame her for his own sin. The story suggests that Adam would not have sinned if somebody else was not there to lead him into it. It was his excuse.
WHEN YOU ARE CAUGHT, BLAME OTHERS
Blaming others is a common way to escape self-condemnation or guilt for sinning against God or others. Eve blamed the serpent, Adam blamed Eve and God as well, "She gave it to me...that woman you gave me." In the end all but God were guilty.
The story of the Fall of Humanity is amazingly accurate for all of us. Notice how every time you are tempted those dynamics repeat themselves. You are attracted to something and then you start making excuses why that something would be good, or right, or the only choice you have.
DOUBT
Some of Jesus biggest temptations were in the area of doubt. When the tempter came to him, he prefaced everything with "If you are the Son of God...." Along with desire and justification is doubt. The types of questions that come with doubt are:
1. Did God really say...?
2. Does the Bible really mean...?
3. God didn't mean that....
CONCLUSION
Three major dynamics of temptation are desire, justifications and doubt. All three of these ingredients were in the main temptation stories of the Bible; in the temptation of Eve, Israel in the desert, and Jesus' temptation. They are also in the temptations that we face.
The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure (1 Corinthians 10:12).
THERE IS NO ONE TEMPTED WHO DIDN'T WANT TO BE TEMPTED (UNKNOWN)
Too much credit for temptation goes to Satan. Indeed, he does have something to do with temptation, but as we see in James 1, we are tempted when our own desires lead us astray. Satan may add to or feed temptation, he may even introduce something new into our temptations; but he always works with one main ingredient - human desire.
JUSTIFYING WHAT IS WRONG
For Eve to eat what was forbidden, she needed to justify what she was doing. This is huge in understanding temptation. People don't usually run out and do wrong without some sort of excuse, justifying what is wrong. Eve found the excuses she needed.
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate (Genesis 3:6 ESV).
1. She saw it was good (not bad as she was told).
2. It looked good (businesses know that to sell a product, it is extremely important that the package looks good).
3. Eating from the illegal tree had a huge benefit - it would give Eve the knowledge of a world she knew nothing about - knowledge of and experience in the world of evil.
These were some of the attractions she saw that sold the product. The main justification however, was offered to her by the tempter who explained why God didn't want her to have something so good. God was covering up the truth that if Adam and Eve ate from the tree, they would become like gods, knowing good and evil. And that was in part true. When Adam and Eve did partake in evil, not only did they become wiser, knowing good and evil; but as God himself confessed, "They (literally ha-adam, meaning the man or adam, which was the word used for humankind or Adam or man) have become like us, knowing good and evil (Genesis 3:22)."
So the tempter offered enough truth in the overall lie, to convince Eve that disobeying God was the right thing to do.
And now back to the point of this section. Temptation leads us into areas that are wrong, but areas that we desire. Justifications of different types are needed and used to get us to chomp into the bait.
In counselling, a wife tells me that her husband has been ignoring her (justification) and therefore falls into an affair with a nicer guy (desire). A 14 year old burns illegal music he desires onto his hard drive, because the record companies and the bands make so much money (justification).
Some common justifications:
1. God wants me happy.
2. They won't miss....
3. God didn't mean....
4. I deserve....
5. Everybody else is doing it....
6. Its the smart thing to do....
SOMETIMES YOU NEED A FRIEND TO SIN
There are some things you would never do unless a good friend pulled you into it. Take Adam, for example. He waited until Eve ate and then he ate after he saw that she didn't die. In the end, he also was able to blame her for his own sin. The story suggests that Adam would not have sinned if somebody else was not there to lead him into it. It was his excuse.
WHEN YOU ARE CAUGHT, BLAME OTHERS
Blaming others is a common way to escape self-condemnation or guilt for sinning against God or others. Eve blamed the serpent, Adam blamed Eve and God as well, "She gave it to me...that woman you gave me." In the end all but God were guilty.
The story of the Fall of Humanity is amazingly accurate for all of us. Notice how every time you are tempted those dynamics repeat themselves. You are attracted to something and then you start making excuses why that something would be good, or right, or the only choice you have.
DOUBT
Some of Jesus biggest temptations were in the area of doubt. When the tempter came to him, he prefaced everything with "If you are the Son of God...." Along with desire and justification is doubt. The types of questions that come with doubt are:
1. Did God really say...?
2. Does the Bible really mean...?
3. God didn't mean that....
CONCLUSION
Three major dynamics of temptation are desire, justifications and doubt. All three of these ingredients were in the main temptation stories of the Bible; in the temptation of Eve, Israel in the desert, and Jesus' temptation. They are also in the temptations that we face.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Do I Have the Gift of Discernment?
When I pastored one of my churches, there were several people who believed, and told me that they had the gift of discernment. Watching their lives, I can tell you - they had no more discernment than anybody else in the group.
If you are one of these people who take great pride in discernment, I will tell you this:
The most discerning person realizes that he/she makes mistakes and can be fooled or even duped by others from time to time. If you can admit that and take that into any social equation, I will believe that you may have a gift in discernment.
If you are not aware of this, I would not give your gift the time of day. What you have is a human centered gut level feeling. Your belief that you have discernment is the result of a few times that you had a feeling; and it just happened that you were right. We've all had those experiences. Some more than others.
Those experiences which we have all had are subconscious conclusions based on data that we are not picking up consciously. God may at times goad something in you, but be careful about getting proud about it. And be careful about thinking, just because you were right in a case or two, that you are always right, or almost always....
If you are one of these people who take great pride in discernment, I will tell you this:
The most discerning person realizes that he/she makes mistakes and can be fooled or even duped by others from time to time. If you can admit that and take that into any social equation, I will believe that you may have a gift in discernment.
If you are not aware of this, I would not give your gift the time of day. What you have is a human centered gut level feeling. Your belief that you have discernment is the result of a few times that you had a feeling; and it just happened that you were right. We've all had those experiences. Some more than others.
Those experiences which we have all had are subconscious conclusions based on data that we are not picking up consciously. God may at times goad something in you, but be careful about getting proud about it. And be careful about thinking, just because you were right in a case or two, that you are always right, or almost always....
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Spiritual Battles
Occasionally, the Bible talks about battles that are going on in the spiritual realm. These battles are real.
WHO IS IN THE BATTLE?
Satan and those who are on his side against those who are on God's side.
WHAT IS THE GOAL OF THE BATTLE?
The Goal is to gain spirital territory, usually one person at a time.
WHY IS THERE A BATTLE?
The Bible does not spell out the answers to this in great detail, but what we do speculate is that Satan was expelled from the heights of heaven to beomce the evil leader that we know today. He was expelled because of pride. I think it may be possible that when he learned that God was going to make human beings, and that God would become one of them, he knew that he would no longer be the top angel; because in making humanity God was making a creature that in time would be exaulted above the angels.
MORE ABOUT THE BATTLE
In a way we are only pawns in the battle. Satan seeks to attack us because we are God's creation, made in his image. Because humans are precious to God, he attacks us to get to God. Sometimes a kid will destroy another kids toys to get to the other kid.
ARE THERE OTHER SPIRITUAL BATTLES?
The Biblical world was filled with spiritual fights between angels and people, Satan and people, and demons and angels.
WHAT ARE THE RESULTS OF SPIRITUAL BATTLES?
People were affected by these battles; nations were redirected and changed, human battles were turned around, peoples' lives were destroyed or saved, and churches felt and witnessed the effects of the battles.
WHEN DO THESE BATTLES HAPPEN?
Some battles take place constantly, some only during opportune times. Jesus faced his spiritual battles (temptations) in the desert, and then, at as better opportunities arose for the tempter.
HOW CAN I TELL THERE IS A BATTLE?
We don't always know when or how these are going on. But sometimes, you might struggle with something spiritual and you feel like something big is going on.
HOW DO WE PARTAKE IN BATTLE?
We partake best by keeping strong in God's Word (the Bible), keeping our lives dedicated to God, and praying. Praying includes every type of prayer, fastings and watchings.
CONCLUSION
Because the battles are fought for individuals as well as groups, we need to keep praying and fasting for ourselves, for churches, for people and for nations.
WHO IS IN THE BATTLE?
Satan and those who are on his side against those who are on God's side.
WHAT IS THE GOAL OF THE BATTLE?
The Goal is to gain spirital territory, usually one person at a time.
WHY IS THERE A BATTLE?
The Bible does not spell out the answers to this in great detail, but what we do speculate is that Satan was expelled from the heights of heaven to beomce the evil leader that we know today. He was expelled because of pride. I think it may be possible that when he learned that God was going to make human beings, and that God would become one of them, he knew that he would no longer be the top angel; because in making humanity God was making a creature that in time would be exaulted above the angels.
MORE ABOUT THE BATTLE
In a way we are only pawns in the battle. Satan seeks to attack us because we are God's creation, made in his image. Because humans are precious to God, he attacks us to get to God. Sometimes a kid will destroy another kids toys to get to the other kid.
ARE THERE OTHER SPIRITUAL BATTLES?
The Biblical world was filled with spiritual fights between angels and people, Satan and people, and demons and angels.
WHAT ARE THE RESULTS OF SPIRITUAL BATTLES?
People were affected by these battles; nations were redirected and changed, human battles were turned around, peoples' lives were destroyed or saved, and churches felt and witnessed the effects of the battles.
WHEN DO THESE BATTLES HAPPEN?
Some battles take place constantly, some only during opportune times. Jesus faced his spiritual battles (temptations) in the desert, and then, at as better opportunities arose for the tempter.
HOW CAN I TELL THERE IS A BATTLE?
We don't always know when or how these are going on. But sometimes, you might struggle with something spiritual and you feel like something big is going on.
HOW DO WE PARTAKE IN BATTLE?
We partake best by keeping strong in God's Word (the Bible), keeping our lives dedicated to God, and praying. Praying includes every type of prayer, fastings and watchings.
CONCLUSION
Because the battles are fought for individuals as well as groups, we need to keep praying and fasting for ourselves, for churches, for people and for nations.
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