Divided Against Itself

Just a thought: Division commonly ends in desolation. If we divide from one another, we become easy prey to a common enemy; much more if we bite and devour one another - we will consume each other. 

In Matthew 12, the Pharisees declared that Jesus was casting out demons (and healing others) by the work of "Beelzebub." Jesus stated (and proved) that he was the Son of God with his work.  At this point in the text, Jesus was so far from being in league with the devil that other were openly hostile and at enmity with him.  

The world sits in darkness in the devil's possession. Yet the design of Jesus' coming, the Gospel, was and is to spoil the devil's house, which as a strong man, he kept the world.  The devil will not set his sights on destroying himself, but on taking God's children with him to his own coming destruction by Christ's return. He knows he cannot defeat God. Instead, Satan will rule where and what he can. If Satan were to fall in line with Christ, then how could he stand? What would he have to rule? He would lose his control and cease to be in rebellion to the one true God.  

Christ, by his grace, has broken Satan's rule, and Christ spoiled the devil's house and will spoil it more and more.  

Carry on.

Back to Blogging!

It feels good to be back blogging again.

If you've never been here before, feel free to poke around - some good stuff from the past is archived, and I'm looking forward to developing some well-placed thought here in the future!

So, to kick off:

Just a thought:

If following God is a blessing, then for Jeremiah it was a curse. Nothing, nothing, went right for him. Wouldn't it be interesting if our current prosperity preachers had a talk with Jeremiah today? Would Jeremiah believe their were talking about the same God? Would Jeremiah have a crisis of faith and think he missed his calling? Would Jeremiah have become so embittered toward Yahweh that he would have denied his faith and become a follower of the God of the prosperity gospel?

Carry on.

The Ultimate Executive Action

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, 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 8:3-4)

All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)

The wages of sin is death (eternal separation from)  (Romans 6:23)

God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.  (Romans 5:8-9)

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)

Bonhoffer and the Christian-Biblical Worldview

Maybe I'm the only one (but I doubt it) that feels slightly overwhelmed by recent current events:  Ferguson, Missouri rioting; ISIS/ISIL/Hamas, Iran; the focus on persecution of Christ-followers in Iraq; a sluggish, if not poor, economy; world leader's inaction to address threats against peaceable and free people by those who would destroy them.

To one who sees only with their eyes could fall into distress quite easily, but to those with a Christian worldview, current events can be put into perspective because a) similar events have happened before, and b) these events can be predicted to happen again based on what we read in the Bible.

Most concerning to me is the apparent lack of action (maybe I'm just not able to see any action with my physical eyes).  These are times when men and women of faith must act, and Dietrich Bonhoffer gives us a glimpse of the necessity of action in his essays and letters.

"The great masquerade of evil has played havoc with all our ethical concepts.  For evil to appear disguised as light, charity, historical necessity, or social justice is quite bewildering to anyone brought up on our traditional ethical concepts, while for the Christian who bases his life on the Bible it merely confirms the fundamental wickedness of evil."

Elsewhere, Bonhoffer asks and states,

"Who stands fast?  Only the man whose final standard is not his reason, his principles, his conscience, his freedom, or his virtue, but who is ready to sacrifice all this when he is called to obedient and responsible action in faith and in exclusive allegiance to God - the responsible man, who tries to make his whole life an answer to the question and call of God."

Luther on Prayer

The importance of prayer cannot be overstated in our relationship with God, not so much in our asking for "stuff" and help, but in appreciating God who He is and ever will be.

One thing that amazes about my trips to Nicaragua is the faith and power of prayer expressed by the people we're with - there is a deep communion with our Lord and a prayerful literacy that is not often experienced here in the U.S.  That said, it becomes clear that there is a wealth of faith outside the States where our own abundance has created a reliance on self, ability, and the blessings of God rather than true and deep reliance on Him.

Many (including myself) say that we're too busy to slow down and be still (as the Psalmist wrote), often allowing time with God to be snatched away by the tasks and appointments of the day.  As a band-aid, we've decided to attempt to foster a relationship with God in the form of "prayer hits" or "fortune cookie devotions," snippets throughout the day in order to squeeze Him into our schedule (again, I'm writing to myself more than others here).

Looking at my watch and realizing I was running late the other day, I distinctly said, "Lord, I have ten minutes."  Realizing what I had just said, I had to consciously stop myself, decide to show up late, get on my knees, ask for forgiveness for what I said, and adore God for who He truly is.

Martin Luther wrote that he was so busy, he couldn't afford to pray less than 3 to 4 hours a day (!).  Below I've copied a dedication and an opening prayer by Luther that I'm focusing on this week that can benefit us all.  Care to join me?

Let this be for you an encouragement, that with all diligence and earnestness it may become your habit to pray.  For next to the preaching of the Gospel, in which God speaks with us and gives us all His grace and blessings, the highest and foremost work we can do is to speak with him through prayer and receive from Him what He gives us...By our prayer we seek and find what we are to receive.  Therefore prayer becomes our comfort, strength, and consolation, as well as our protection against all enemies and our victory over them.


Dear Lord!  You know that I cannot come before You on account of my own self, my presumption or my worthiness.  Just as I might desire to look upon You, yet in the same way I would not be permitted to do so and would not even know how I might begin to pray.  Nevertheless I do come before You because You Yourself have commanded it and You earnestly encourage that we should call upon You.  You have even pledged a promise.  You sent Your own Son, He who teaches us what we should pray, and You have promised to give us the words that we use in prayer.  Therefore i know that such prayer indeed pleases You, and that my claim, that I may commend myself as a child of God before You, as great as that may seem, comes from the fact that I must obey You as You would have it.  May I never inflict lies upon You and through other and greater sins trespass against You, thereby despising Your command and rejecting the gift of faith in Your promise.