February 21, 2012

"When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained, what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him?” Psalm 8:3-4

Why did God create some 350 BILLION galaxies!

Because He can!

Here are just a few facts about ONE galaxy:

Our Milky Way galaxy is a spiral galaxy. A spiral galaxy is shaped like a flat disk with a thicker bulge in the center. Bright spiral arms start from the center and then coil outward like a pinwheel. All spirals rotate very slowly. The Milky Way completes a single revolution once every 250 million years.

Most galaxies are billions of years old. The youngest known galaxy is 1 Zwicky 18. At an estimated age of a mere 500 million years, it is a babe in diapers compared to the Milky Way at 10-14 billion years, which is the average age of the known galaxies (Some dispute these ages but even if they are correct only a matter of a few years in God’s timing).

The Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy is the closest galaxy to ours. It is actually contained within the Milky Way and only 42,000 light years form the galactic core.

A light year is the distance light travels in a year at a speed of 186,000 miles per second. That factors to about 6 trillion miles in a year! Now think about 42,000 x 6 trillion!

Now consider that is a relatively SHORT distance in space between galaxies – all 350 BILLION of them!

Uh………wow!

Why did God make everything SO Big?

Because He can!

Now think about the intelligence that knows just how much space that is needed to maintain the gravitational balance to keep everything synchronized and moving together at thousand of miles per hour without crashing into one another and without running out of space!

 

Who can do that?

God can!

There must be someone (or Someone) bigger than all that vastness and maintains control over it all! Whoever that is would necessarily be larger and more powerful than all of this! Who could be that infinite?

God is!

Whoever is that HUGE and that powerful had better be kind and holy or we would have a frightening threat hanging our heads!

God IS kind and holy and loving and has done everything He possibly can to reveal Himself to you as the powerful, personal and loving God He is!

Why would you not receive that love and embrace it and treasure it and surrender to it and grow in it and share it?

You can!

February 20, 2012

“When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained, what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him?”  Psalm 8:3-4

This was a common conversation between young boys back in my day, “My dad is bigger than your dad!”

“Huh! My dad is way stronger than your dad!”

“No way!”

“Way!”

In the highly competitive world of boyhood strength and size won you some respect among your peers. When you had the respect of your peers it raised your level of self-respect.

That is the tone of the Psalmist as he boasts, “My God is bigger than your gods!”

He was impressed with his God as he sat out under the stars in the high meadows where his sheep grazed. Night after night he stared into the sky and became familiar with the constellations and the various phases of the moon. Some nights he would see meteors and shooting stars. Etched in his memory were scores of spectacular sunsets and glorious sunrises. Over time he became aware of the predictable precision of the universe further impressing him with the intelligence of the Divine.

It is hard to know if the Psalmist loved God before He became so impressed by His greatness or if he grew to love Him through his awe of creation. But it is obvious that he is thrilled by the prospect that a God this great and powerful has chosen to love him.

When you think about it, it IS pretty amazing! So think about it!

Where better to begin a study on the love of God than with the greatness of God?

How can you understand how huge His love is until you understand how huge and powerful He is? First He CREATED this amazing, expanding, never-ending universe with just a few words and then He FILLED it with His presence and His love!

Surely, who are you that He should take notice of you? Who are you that He should create ALL of this in order to sustain and enrich your existence? Who are you that He should give of Himself – His only Son – to die on a cross to redeem you from your sins? Who are you? You are His! And what sort of love is this? Crazy love!

Will you make some time today to meditate on His greatness?

Will you take the time to notice all the wonders of creation? Gaze on the fresh blanket of snow. Listen to the sounds of the birds. Feel the breeze in your face. Hear the laughter of a child.

And as you take notice of all these wonders think, “He loves me this much!” And then worship Him!

February 18, 2012

There is powerful equipment for us, "......but deliver us from the evil one....."

Once you have conquered the temptation within God makes available powerful weapons for you to use against the attacks of the enemy.

 ^"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.  Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.  For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.  Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,  and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;  above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;  praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints"  Ephesians 6:10-18

What does prayer have to do with these weapons? Arm yourself with these weapons using prayer!

Belt of Truth – “Holy Spirit, guide me in truth and convict when I don’t”

Breastplate of Righteousness – “Father, make my heart right and keep it right”

Gospel Shoes – “Help me walk worthy of your good news so I can share it!”

Shield of Faith – “Father, fill me with your faith today against the enemies attacks”

Helmet of Salvation – “Holy Spirit, guard my mind against lies and accusations.”

Sword of the Spirit – “Father, I hide Your Word in my heart today”

HERE IS THE GOOD NEWS ABOUT SPIRITUAL WARFARE – The battle is won!

LORD’S PRAYER SUMMARIZED IN FOUR WORDS:

I believe the important truths of this significant prayer can be capsulized in these four concepts:

“FATHER” - Do you know God as your spiritual Heavenly Father? Are you living in an intimate personal relationship with Him?

 

“KINGDOM” - Do you know God as the King of your life? Have you surrendered to Him? Are you living in obedience to Him?

 

“FORGIVE” -- Have you repented of all your sins? Have you received His forgiveness? Have you forgiven all others? Anything that is not forgiven with be used against you by the enemy.

“LEAD” - Are you living under the leadership of the King? Are you following Him?

 

IN THESE FOUR WORDS ARE THE KEYS TO VICTORY!

Based on how our culture is crumbling and judging by the direction our world is heading, with the attacks against Christianity and recent assault on the Catholic Church, we very well could be facing some very trying times. If you put on the armor of God and if you know Him as your Father and follow Him as your King, you will face those tests and trials triumphantly!

February 18, 2012

There Is Personal Evil Against Us, "...but deliver us from the evil one."

This is one time I like The Message paraphrase because it words verse 13 like this: "Keep us safe from ourselves and the devil." And you can be sure that the devil wants us to respond to trials in sinful ways. He's hoping we'll be weak. He's hoping we'll slip up when we go through the difficulties of life.

God promises to help us deal with this form of temptation.

As Psalm 37:23-24 says, "The steps of the Godly are directed by the Lord. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will not fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand."

 

 

(TLB) So effective prayer includes saying, "God I know the devil wants me to stumble. He wants me to slip up. So, help me. Help me to stand up to his temptations in ways that further Your kingdom."

 

 

 I Peter 5:8 – “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”

 

 

John 10:10 – “The thief comes to steal, kill and destroy, but I am come that you may have life and have it abundantly”

You know, the exciting truth is, we can pray this prayer with confidence, because God can always turn the tables on Satan. Our Abba has the wisdom and power to take the trials and tribulations that come to us in life, the tough times that Satan loves to use as his tools--our completely sovereign God takes these ordeals and Satan's foolish plans and uses them for His purposes. If you doubt this, then look at the Bible. It's full of examples!

 

 

JOSEPH – Went through a trial when his brothers gave into a temptation to sell him to slave traders. Then he went through another trial because he WOULDN’T give into temptation by Potipher's wife. In the end he had a temptation to get even with his brothers – but he couldn't because he saw how God had worked!

MOSES – The enemy tried to eliminate him by having all the Hebrew male infants killed but his mother put him in a basket in the Niles and he ended up being raised in Pharoah's palace! Gave into to a temptation to kill Egyptian and had to flee Egypt. But years later, God called him from a burning bush and sent him back to the Pharoah to deliver God's people from slavery.

PETER – Failed his trials and gave into temptation denying Christ three times but after Christ restored him he was the keynote speaker for the event that launched the Church!

Lucado refers to this part of the prayer and writes, "Like a confused basketball player, every time Satan scores a basket, the other team gets the points. Over and over again the Bible makes it clear Who really runs the earth. Satan may strut and prance but it's God Who calls the shots."

 

 

JESUS – Just when Satan thought he had destroyed Jesus – HE ROSE AGAIN!

 

 

Lucado writes, "Finally the devil thought he had scored on the right end of the court. And not only had he scored, he'd slam-dunked the MVP and left him lying on the floor. But all of a sudden there was a light in the tomb and a rumbling of the rock; then Friday's tragedy emerged as Sunday's Savior and Satan knew he'd once again been a tool in the hand of the gardener. All the time he thought he was defeating Heaven, he was helping Heaven. God wanted to prove His power over sin and death and that's exactly what He did. Once again Satan's lay-up became a foul-up. Only this time he didn't give heaven some points, he gave heaven the championship game."

I John 4:4 – “Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world!

Have you prayed today, "deliver me from the evil one?"

February 17, 2012

"And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever." Amen. Matthew 6:13

There is a notion that permeates much of the thinking in our culture and pervades our education systems. It is the belief that human beings are essentially good and it is up to the government to create the proper environment, the proper education, the proper diet, the proper health and social justice to bring out that inherent goodness.

You may recognize this idea as secular humanism. It is the religion of our post-Christian, anti-Christian modern social order. As nice as it sounds and as wistful as it may be secular humanism has no basis in reality and doesn't square with the record of human behavior or human history.

In fact, human history records that our race has its origin in a perfect environment, a paradise called Eden! And in the midst of that perfect world which was created to bring them joy and fulfullment in the presence of their Holy Creator and God, they committed a deliberate act of disobedience and lost their holiness before God and passed their sinful nature to every succeeding generation up to our present day. So, an idlyllic world that met all the conditions Secular Humanists say will lead to goodness, became the place of origin for the evil human nature each of us have inherited.

Jesus taught that we are sinners by nature and that sinful nature alienates us from a God Who is holy. Left untreated, the human nature will lead us to a lifetime of spiritual separation from God, loneliness, futulity and sinfulness.

One of the purposes for which God gave His sons to die for the sins of billions yet to come is to provide us with the power to overcome the destructive tendencies of a sinful mind and heart.

Jesus is acknowledging the falled human nature when He taught His disciples how to pray the Lord's Prayer. From this statement we can understand - There Is Powerful Evil Within Us, "And do not lead us into temptation....."

It is a heart problem – I have a sinful heart

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; Who can know it?" Jeremiah 17:9

One reason Jesus teaches us to pray, "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done"  is because this prayer confronts the essence of your sinful nature. You are prone to temptation and sin because by nature you want to rule YOUR kingdom and you want YOUR will to be done. There is only room for one King in your life and that must be God!


It is a head problem – I have a sinful mind

"If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.  Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.   For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God."  Colossians 3:1-3

"And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."  Romans 12:2

The corrupt human mind does not think what pleases God but schemes ways to get what it wants. Until you allow God to transform your mind and put it under the control of His Spirit it will continue to lead you into temptations.

It is a habit problem – I have sinful habits

"Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness,  idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies,  envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God."  Galatians 5:19-21

When your heart is sinful and your mind is corrupt, your habits and behavior will reflect that selfish, sinful nature.

C. S. Lewis once said, "A silly idea is current that good people do not know what temptation means. This is an obvious lie. Only good people only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is."

You knew it was harder to do the right thing that to do the wrong thing. You already struggle with pleasing God and living a godly life. You are well aware how powerful temptation can be. Know you know why - it is your sinful heart, your sinful head, and your sinful habits. That is your nature!

So, how can you ever hope to resist temptation? How can you be lead away from temptation and sin? Only by a SUPERNATURAL change in your heart, your mind and your behavior. If you do what you have always done you will get what you have always had - bad decisions, bad judgement, troubled relationships, spiritual bondage and guilt, and empty living.

Time for a change?


"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service."  Romans 12:1



"I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.  For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish." Galatians 5:16-17

 

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February 16, 2012

"And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen." Matthew 6:13

I feel that I need to spend one more post discussing temptation so you can fully understand and appreciate the importance of invoking God's help against it.

As I meditate on this portion of Scripture it occurs to me that we can fall into a "victim mentality" in regard to temptation. It is human nature to neglect responsibility whenever and where ever we can. And when it comes to temptation - we do.

How many times have you heard someone say (including yourself), "I can't help it, I'm only human" to excuse surrendering to temptation?

What Jesus is telling us here is, "You can't help it BUT if you call on Me I can help you help it! You ARE responsible and YOU are accountable to God for how you respond to temptation."

Here's what Jesus' half-brother, James wrote in his epistle:

"Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.  Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.  But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.  then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death." James 1:12-15

It is time to "man up" in regard to temptation guys! Temptation is not something that happens TO you, temptation is something that happens IN you!

Let me illustrate with a couple of examples:

You could surround me with sushi and I could be coming off a 40 day fast and there would be ZERO temptation for me. You could dip them in chocolate and the needle might move slightly but still they would be no temptation to me. I have no interest in sushi - unless I need some bait.

Take away the sushi and replace it with cheeseburgers and the battle is on! I love cheeseburgers - how they look, how they smell, and how they taste - LOVE cheeseburgers! Cheeseburgers tempt me because there is a strong inner appetite for cheeseburgers!

Obviously, there is nothing inherently wrong with sushi or cheeseburgers when consumed in moderate and reasonable quantities. But the point is, I must exercise control  over my appetite for cheeseburgers and have to make no effort at all to resist sushi.

My human nature is biased against God and toward sin. It is easier for me to sin than it is to resist sinning. It is easy for me to be tempted by sinful pleasures than it is to deny them. But, God calls me to do just that if I am going to be a follower of Christ. I cannot practice sin and selfishness and call myself a Christian. I cannot allow myself to live as a slave to temptation and expect to please God. As Jesus said, I "cannot serve God and materialism".

I must choose to take responsibility for my sinful lust and appetites. I must deny those destructive tendencies and pursue God's holiness. I cannot do that without His help. So I must frequently pray, "Lead me not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one."

Own your lustful desires! Confront them and confess them and ask God to cleanse then and control them! Pray for God's help daily - hourly or moment-by moment if necessary!

God holds you responsible so take responsibility! God holds you accountable so why not find an accountability partner to help you do right?

You cannot serve a VICTORIOUS God and continue to live like a victim.........

February 15, 2012

"And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen." Matthew 6:13

This phrase "do not lead us into temptation"  may be a bit confusing when used in this context of praying to God. How can a holy God lead us into temptation?

Since a basic understanding of the definition of temptation is the key to making sense of this part of Jesus' teaching, let's see if we can arrive at some clarity here.

In the New Testament, words translated as "temptation" can mean "an enticement to sin" or it can mean a "test" or sometimes it means a "trial".

While those three concepts are closely related and sometimes interchanged, there are subtle and distinct differences in them.

Let me try to clarify the differences using a very relevant example. The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition came out recently. This annual publication features photos of beautiful young models that show a lot more model than swimsuit. The purpose of this issue is not to sell swim wear it is to sell magazines to men who enjoy staring at the shapely young beauties.

When I heard that the swimsuit edition had hit the newstands and the internet that was a test. Would I find a copy of the magazine or go to the SI website and take a look? I had decided I would not. I passed that test.

But over the last several days several of the photos show up on the msn home page so that when my home page popped up there were two of them prominently posted center page. That was a temptation. I couldn't help the first look but I could decide not to take a second (or third) look. I resisted that temptation.

Later in the evening I was watching Fox News on TV and up popped a story on one of the SI Swimsuit models and there she was on the TV screen. Again, it was a temptation - would I stare or would I look away? I looked away.

So, there has been a test and there has been temptation. Let me make it clear that neither a test nor a temptation is sin. The Bible makes it plain that Jesus was "tempted in every way like man, but without sin". Everyone knows that Jesus lived a  sinless life but He did not live a temptation free life.

Suppose I did decide to pull up the SI website and look at the models, or I went to the news stand and bought a copy of SI Magazine and while I was staring at the scantily clad young beauties in their "barely" bikinis Barbara walked in and saw me. Let's say that upset her and she becomes hurt and angry toward me. Let's say that it shakes her trust in me and negatively affects our relationship. If that lasts several days or if those days stretch into weeks that would become a trial.

Tests confront me with temptation. The temptation reveals my true commitment to Christ and my moral character. If I yield to the temptation and sin against God that could open the door to a trial - a prolonged period of dealing with the consquences of my sin.

While that is generally the pattern of the relationship between tests, temptations and trials, let me point out that Jesus went through some trials that were not caused by failing a temptation. For Him it was a prolonged period of testing.

I also think of Joseph in the Old Testament who suffered some trials even though he was righteous and resisted temptation. There were others as well.

As a student in school and college, I passed a lot of tests. There were chapter tests and semester tests and final exams. Those tests were scheduled ahead of time and announced so I made sure I was prepared to take the tests and pass them. But I lived in fear of those moments when the teacher would begin class saying something like this, "Students, put your texts books under your desk and get out a clean sheet of paper and a number two pencil."

"Oh, no! A dreaded pop quiz!"

There were times when I got caught unprepared by a pop quiz.

Because I know that life brings "pop quizzes" I must live prepared each day for the tests that day could bring. "Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil" is praying, "Father, make sure I am prepared for any "pop quizzes" life may surprise me with so that I won't be overcome by the temptation and flunk the test."

Rarley do I get though a day without some sort of a test to my faith. Hardly a day passes that I don't have to face temptation. So knowing that, why would I not want to make sure I prayed for God's help to prepare me for whatever that day brings.

Does that make sense?

What do you need to do about it?

That decision is a test in itself!