Sa Tan

The coach shouted instructions to the players frantically, hoping to win the mindset of the opponent, the reward? A goal for the winning team. The devil whispering lies into our mind, the reward? Another lost soul, back slide by his deceptions...

The violent rages of a father. The secret binges of a mother. The sudden rebellion of a teenager. Maxed-out credit cards. Internet pornography. Satan does not sit still. Spiritual warfare as much as you can deny, it is real...

Self-imposed pain. The demoniac used rocked. We are more sophisticated; we use drugs, sex, work, violence, & food. Obsession with death & darkness. Even unchained, the wild man loitered among the dead. Evil feels at home there. Communing with the deceased, sacrificing the living, a morbid fascination with death & dying - this is not the work of God...

Endless restlessness. The man on the eastern shore screamed the day & night [Mark 5:5] Isolation. The man is all alone in his suffering. Such is Satan’s plan. "Be well balanced [temperate, sober of mind], be vigilant & cautious at all times; for that enemy of yours, the devil, roams around like a lion roaring [in fierce hunger], seeking someone to seize upon & devour." 1 Peter 5:8 [Amplified Bible] Fellowship will foils his work. & Jesus. Jesus wrecks his work. Christ steps out of the boat with both pistols blasting. "Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!" [Mark 5:8 NASB]. No chitchat, No niceties. No salutations. Demons deserve no tolerance. They throw themselves at the feet & mercy of Christ...

"My name is Legion; for we are many." & he began to implore Him earnestly not to send them out of the country. [Mark 9-10, NASB] Legion is a Roman military term. A roman legion involved six thousand soldiers. To envision that many demons inhabiting this man is frightening but not unrealistic. The demons are not only numerous, they are equipped. A legion is a battalion in arms. Satan & his friends come to fight. Hence, we are urged to 'take the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, & having done everything, to stand firm" [Eph. 6:13]

"We are fighting against forces & authorities & against rulers of darkness & powers in the spiritual world" [Eph 6:12 CEV]. The devil is a strong devil. But and this is the point of passage, in Jesus's presence, the devil is a wimp. Satan is to Jesus what a mosquito is to an atomic bomb. How hell's court cowers in Christ's presence! Demons bow before him, solicit him, & obey him. They can't even lease a pig without His permission. Then how do we explain Satan's influence? Satan can disturb us, but he cannot defeat us. The head of the serpent is crushed by Jesus! Halleluiah! Thank you Jesus...

"God disarmed the evil rulers & authorities. He shamed them publicly by His victory over them on the cross of Christ." [Col. 2:15 NLT] So how does that leave us? Confident. The punch line of the passage is Jesus' power over Satan. One word from Christ, & the demons are swimming with the swine, & the wild man is 'clothed and in his right mind" [Mark 5:15] Just one command! No séance needed. No hocus-pocus. No chants were heard or candles lit. Hell is an anthill against heaven's steamroller. Jesus "commands...evil spirits, & they obey Him" [Mark 1:27 NCV] The snake in the ditch & Lucifer in the pit- both have met their match...

And yet, both stir up dust long after their defeat. For that reason through confident, we are still careful. Satan spooks our work, disrupts our activities, & leaves us thinking twice about where we step. Which we need to do. Alertness is needed. Panic is not. The serpent still wiggles & intimidates, but he has no poison. He is defeated, and he knows it! "He knows his time is short" [Rev. 12:12 CEV]...

"Little children, you are of God [you belong to him] & have [already] defeated & overcome them [the agents of the antichrist], because He who lives in you is greater [mightier] than he who is in the World. [1 John 4:4 Amplified Bible]. Believe it. Trust the work of your Savior. "So be subject to God. Resist the devil [stand firm against him], & he will flee from you. [James 4:7 Amplified Bible] "Draw near to God & He will draw near to you." [James 4:8 NASB]...

Inspired by:

Max Lucado

Inside Out

The weeks battling with Satan over my health, just like I always like to say, the Lord fights in all battles, we simply stand still & receive the victories. It is important to proclaim from your mouth, believe in your heart & a miracle you need, a miracle you will receive Amen?! I truly believe the God we serve is a good God, so close, calling Him Father, even Abba, seems to be distant; He is our dear Daddy in Heaven! Who constantly bless us with His mercy & loving kindness, Oh How Great is our God...

Jesus changes our nature from the inside out! "A new heart I will give you & a new spirit will I put within you, & I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh & give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you & cause you to walk in my statutes, & you shall heed my ordinances & do them." Ezekiel 36: 26-27 [Amplified Bible] Jesus doesn't send us to obedience school to learn new habits; He sends us to the hospital to be given a new heart. Forget training; He gives transplants...

You want to go to Heaven? Doesn't matter how religious you are or how many rules you keep. You need a new birth; you need to be "born of water & the Spirit." God gives no sponge baths. Washes us from head to toe. Paul reflected on his conversion & wrote: "He gave us a good bath & we came out of it new people, washed inside & out by the Holy Spirit." [Titus 3:5 MSG] Your sins stand no chance against the fire hydrant of God's grace. But more in needed. Jesus is not content to clean you; He indwells you. Jesus deposits within you "His power, which mightily works." [Col. 1:29]

Don't for a microsecond think God does this with you. Washing the outside isn't enough for Him. He places power on the inside. Better stated, He places Himself on the inside. God is constantly working in us Amen?! Religious as Saint Peter's Square, but feeling just as old? Pious, but powerless? If so, may I remind you of something?

When you believe in Christ, Christ works miracle in you. "When you believe in Christ, He identified you as His own by giving you the Holy Spirit." [Eph 1:13 NLT]. You are permanently purified & embowered by God Himself. The message to the religious person is simple: It's not what you do. It’s what Jesus does. Jesus has moved in. And in time we can say with Paul, "I myself no longer live, but Christ lives in me." [Gal. 20:20 NLT]

If that is true, Godwyn why do I still sputter? If I'm born again, why do I fall so often? Why did you fall so often after your first birth? Did you exit the womb wearing cross-trainers? Of course not. And when we started to walk, we fell more than we stood. Should we expect anything different from our spiritual walk?

But I fall so often I question my salvation. Again, we return to your first birth. Didn't you stumble as you were learning to walk? And when you stumbled, did you question the validity of your physical birth? Did you, as a one-year-old fresh flopped on the floor, shake your head & think, I have fallen again. I must not be human?

Of course not. The stumbles of a toddler do not invalidate the act of birth. And the stumbles of a Christian do not annul his spiritual birth. Do you understand what God has done? He deposited a Christ seed in us. As it grows, you will change. It's not that sin has no more presence in your life, but rather that sin has no power over your life. Temptation will pester you, but temptations will not master you. What hope this brings! It's not up to us! Within us abides a budding power. Trust Jesus!

Do you like the old person or the new? Do you count yourself as having a new heart or old? You have a choice to make. You might say, "I can't climb stairs; I'm too weak." Does our choice negate the presence of a new heart? Dismiss the work of the surgeon? No. Choosing the elevator would suggest only one fact- we haven't learned to trust out new power. It takes time. But at some point you've got to try those stairs. You've got to test the new ticker. You've got to experiment with the new you. For if we don't, we will run out steam...

Religious rule keeping can sap your strength. It's endless. There is always a class to attend, Sabbath to obey. Ramadan to observe. No prison is as endless as the prison of perfection. Her inmates find work but never find peace. How could they? They never know when they are finished...

Christ, however, gifts you with a finished work. He fulfilled the law for us! Bid farewell to the burden of religion. Gone is the fear that having done everything, you might not have done enough. We climb the stairs, not by our strength, but His. Jesus pledges to help those who stop trying to help themselves.

"And I am convinced & sure of this very thing, that He began a good work in you will continue until the day of Jesus Christ [right up to the time of His return], developing [that good work] & perfecting & bringing it to full completion in you." [Phil. 1:6 Amplified Bible] Break every strongholds of the Devil & trust the power in you, Christ the hope of Glory!

Inspired By:

Max Lucado

DTPs

Remember viral infections were treated by doctors & quarantine meant the isolation of diseased people & pets? No Longer. Nowadays computer get sick. I was infected with gastric flu that brought me down a single week, yet I pushed on with my work leading to stairways of nowhere. I was diagnosed with ulcers deep in the throat that generated high fever, dizziness & great fatigue. Finally my system ‘crashed’ resulted in the much needed rest...

Think of our mind as a computer made to store & process massive amounts of data. Think of our strengths as software. Pianists are loaded with music programs. Accountants seem to be born with spreadsheet capacity. Fun lovers come with games installed. We are different, but we each have a computer & software, & sadly, we have viruses. You & I are infected by destructive thoughts...[I was suffering in depression silently]

Computer viruses have names like ILOVEYOU, Klez & Chernobyl. Mental viruses are known as anxiety, bitterness, anger, guilt, shame, greed & insecurity. They worm their way into our system & diminish, even disable, our mind. We call these DTPs: destructive thought patterns. Do you have any DTPs? When you see the successful, are you jealous? When you see the struggler, are you pompous? Ever argue with someone in your mind? Rehash or rehearse your hurts? Do you assume the worst about the future? If so, you suffer from DTPs...

What would our world be like without then? Had no dark or destructive thought ever entered your mind, how would you be different? Suppose you could relive your life sans any guilt, lust, vengeance, insecurity, or fear. Never wasting mental energy on gossips or scheming. Would you be different?

Oh, to be DTP-free. No energy lost, no time wasted. Wouldn’t such as person be energetic & wise? A lifetime of healthy & holy thoughts would render anyone a joyful genius. But would you find such an individual? An uninfected computer can be bought - but an uninfected person? Impossible. Trace a computer virus back to a hacker. Trace our mental viruses back to the fall of the first man, Adam. Because of sin, our minds are full of dark thoughts. "Although they knew about God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but their thinking became futile & their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools" [Rom. 1:21-22 NIV]...

Blame DTPs on sin. Sin messes with the mind. But what if the virus never entered? Supposed a person never opened Satan's emails? What would that person be like? A lot like the twelve-year-old boy seated in the temple of Jerusalem. Though He was beardless & unadorned, this boy's thoughts were profound. The boy name Jesus...

Why? What made Jesus different? The Bible is silent about His IQ. When it comes to the RAM size of His mental computer, we are told nothing. But when it comes to His purity of mind, we are given astounding claim: Christ "Knew no sin" [2 Cor. 5:21] Even the demons declared His unique status, "I know who you are-the Holy One of God!" [ Luke 4:34 NIV]...

The loudest testimony to His perfection was the silence that followed this question. When His accusers called Him a servant of Satan, Jesus demanded to see their evidence. "Which one of you convicts Me of sin?" [John 8:46]. Ask around my circle of friends to point out my sin, and watch the hands shoot up. When those who knew Jesus were asked this same question, no one spoke. Christ was followed by disciples, analyzed by crowds, criticized by family & scrutinized by enemies, yet one person would remember Him committing even one sin. He was never found in wrong place. Never said the wrong word. Never acted the wrong way. He never sinned. Not that He wasn't tempted, mind you. He was "tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin" [Heb 4:15]...

Lust wooed Him. Greed lured Him. Power called Him. Jesus-the-human-was tempted. But Jesus-the-Holy God-resisted. Contaminated email came His way, but He resisted the urge to open it. The word sinless has never survived cohabitation with another person. Those who knew Christ best, however spoke of His purity in unison & with conviction. And because He was sinless, His mind was stainless. DTP-less. No wonder people were "amazed at His teaching" [Mark 1:22 NCV]. His mind is virus-free...

But does this matter? Does the perfection of Christ affect me? If He were a distant Creator, the answer would be NO. But since He is our Savior & redeemer, the rely is a super sized YES! We are made to be like Christ! God's priority is that we be "transformed by the renewing of your mind" [Rom. 12:2 NIV]. You may have been born virus-prone, but you don't have to live that way. There is hope for your head! Are you a worrywart? Don't have to be one forever. Guilt plagued & shamed stained? Don't have to be one forever. Prone to anger? Jealousy? Jesus can take care of that. Jesus can change your mind...

God answers our prayers. He changes the man by changing the mind. And how does it happen? By doing what we are doing right now. Considering the glory of Christ. "But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit" [2 Cor. 3:18]. To behold Him is to become like Him. As Christ dominates your thoughts, He changes you from one degree of glory to another until - hang on! - you are ready to live with Him. How Great is our God! Amen?!

Heaven is the land of sinless minds. Virus-free thinking. Absolute trust. No fear or anger. Shame & second-guessing are practices of prior life. Heaven will be wonderful, not because the streets are gold, but because our thoughts will be pure. So what are you waiting on? Apply God's antivirus. "Set you mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died & your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory." [Col. 3:2-4]

Inspired by:

Max Lucado

God knows...

It's the start of the new week, works are piling up, stress is building up full steam ahead...I learn one thing new this week, apart from looking away from our flesh to the complete work of the Christ on the cross, the Lord says He knows our stress...

Jesus is Himself. Not an angel. Not an ambassador. Not an emissary, but Jesus himself! Shared fully. Not partially. Not nearly. Not to a large degree. Entirely! Jesus shared fully. In all our experience. Every hurt. Each ache. All the stresses & all the strains. No exceptions. No substitutes. Why? So Jesus could sympathize with our weaknesses...

Jesus knows how you feel. From the wake to the factory to the frustration of a demanding schedule. Jesus understands. When you tell God you've reached your limit, He knows what you mean. When you shake your head at impossible deadlines, He shakes His, too. When your plans are interrupted by people who have other plans, He nods in empathy. He has been there. He knows how you feel...

Jesus knows how you feel. You're under the gun at work? Jesus knows how you feel. You've got more to do than is humanly possible? So did He. You've got children who makes a 'piranha hour' out of your dinner house? Jesus knows what that's like. People take more from you than they give? Jesus understands. Your teenagers won't listen? Your students won't try? Your employees give you blank stares when you assign tasks? Believe me, friend, Jesus knows how you feel...

The story of God who became human, sounds familiar? Jesus did! So that you & I would believe that the Healer knows our hurts, He voluntarily became one of us. He placed himself in our position. He suffered our pains & felt our fears...

Rejection? Jesus felt it. Temptation? Jesus knew it. Loneliness? Jesus experienced it. Death? He tasted it. And stress? He could write the best selling book about it! Why did He do it? One reason. So that when you hurt, you will go to Him - your Father & your Physician & let Him heal!

You are precious to Jesus. So precious that He became like you so that you would come to Him. When you struggle, Jesus listens. When you yearn, He responds. When you question, He hears them...Jesus battles with hell itself to protect you...

For in Luke 1:37 [Amplified Bible] it says, "For with God nothing is ever impossible and no word from God shall be without power or impossible of fulfillment." Hang in there, Jesus knows...

Inspired By:

Max Lucado

And I will remember your sins no more...

And I will remember your sins no more...

Says Who? We have to repent! Confess our countless sins daily, why? To be holy? Fear of losing our salvation? Hebrews 8: 12 [NASB] written in the Bible says, “For I will be merciful to their iniquities, And I will remember their sins no more.” Says Jesus, again in Hebrews 9:17 [NASB], “And their sins & their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”…

This is the New Covenant, we are redeemed not by the blood of goats & bulls but by the blood of Christ, Son of God, thus our sins are paid, yesterday, today & tomorrow Amen?! Seekers of popularity, power, & pleasure. The end result is the same: painful unfulfillment…

God doesn’t just forgive, he forgets. He erases the board. He destroys the evidence. He burns the mirco film. He clears the computer. He doesn’t remember our mistakes. For all the things He does do, this is one thing he refuses to do. He refuses to keep a list of our wrongs. When we ask for forgiveness He doesn’t pull out a clipboard & says, “But I’ve already forgiven you for that seven hundred & seventeen times.”…

“As far as east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.” Psalm 203:12 [NSAB] “Even if you are stained as red as crimson, I can make you white as wool!” Isaiah 1:18 [TLB]

No, He doesn’t remember. But I do, you do. You still remember. You’re like me. You still remember what you did before you changed. In the cellar of your heart lurk the ghosts still linger of yesterday’s sins. Sins I’ve confessed; errors of which I’ve repented; damage I’ve done my best to repair…

And though I’m a different person, the ghosts still linger. Though I’ve locked the basement door, they still haunt me. They float to meet me, spooking my soul & robbing my joy. With wordless whispers they remind me of moments when I forgot whose child I were. That horrid lie. That jealousy. That Habit. That Date. The time I exploded in anger…

Do you think God sent that ghost? Do you think God is the voice that reminds me of my past? Do you think God was teasing when He said, “I will remember your sins no more?” To love conditionally is against Jesus nature. Just as it’s against our nature to eat trees & against mine to grow wings, it’s against Jesus nature to remember forgiven sins…

You see, Jesus is either the God of perfect grace…or He is not God Grace forgets. Period. He who is perfect love cannot hold grudges. If Jesus does, then He isn’t perfect love. And if Jesus isn’t perfect love, you might as well stop reading this blog and go kite flying, because both of us are chasing fairy tales…

But I believe in His loving forgetfulness. And I believe He has a graciously terrible memory. Think about this. If He didn’t forget, how could we pray? How could we sing to Jesus? How could we dare enter into His presence if the moment He saw us He remembered all our pitiful past? How could we enter His throne room wear the rags of our selfishness & gluttony? We couldn’t…

“For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” Galatians 3:27 [NASB] We have ‘put on’ Christ. When God looks at us He doesn’t see us; He see Christ! We ‘wear’ Jesus. We are hidden in Jesus; we are covered by Jesus…

Presumptuous, you say? Sacrilegious? It would be if it were my idea. But it isn’t; it’s Jesus. We are presumptuous not when we marvel at His grace, but when we reject it, And we’re sacrilegious not when we claim His forgiveness, but when we allow the haunting sins of yesterday to convince us that God forgives but He doesn’t forget...

Do yourself a favor. Purge your cellar. Exorcise your basement. Take the Roman nails of Calvary & board up the door. And remember…Father God forgot…

Inspired By:

Max Lucado