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| My Soul Sustainer! |
I'm going to start off by giving some scriptures about our souls and what is said about them!
1) Psalm 121:7, "The Lord shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul."
2) Ezekiel 18:4, "Behold, all souls are Mine; The soul of the father As well as the soul of the son is Mine; The soul who sins shall die."
3) James 5:20, "let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins."
4) Proverbs 16:24, "Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, Sweetness to the soul and health to the bones."
5) 1 Corinthians 15:45, "And so it is written, “The first man Adam became a living soul.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit."
6) Psalm 142:7, "Bring my soul out of prison, That I may praise Your name; The righteous shall surround me, For You shall deal bountifully with me."
7) Mark 8:36, "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?"
8) Matthew 16:26, "or what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?"
9) Matthew 10:28, "And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."
10) Joshua 23:14, "Behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth. And you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one thing has failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spoke concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one word of them has failed."
11) Psalm 54:4, "Behold, God is my helper; The Lord is the sustainer of my soul."
To preface this post before continuing with its intended message, I will let each of my readers know that I am staying away from the politicized part of this "movement" and refraining from the controversy surrounding who backs it, who is driving it and why it's pushing what its pushing. I'll touch on the surface of some things as it will tie into this writing. I don't want to be part of the division. However, I also don't want to be part of the deafening silence that's surrounding this right now. The silence, when stifled too long, can be more harmful to eternal life than what is taking place in this temporal life.
There are over 500 references in the Bible regarding our souls! I'd say our souls were pretty important to our Creator, wouldn't you say!? Pretty impactful, but moreso, pretty IMPORTANT! Our souls matter so much to our Creator that He refers to it all through scripture. Our souls matter. ALL souls matter. LOST souls matter. The condition of our souls matter. This is what I see when I look out into the sea of angry, rage-filled, misguided, misdirected people fighting against something their enemy devised in order to break down their worth. It's quite sad, actually. As I look into the faces of what has been recorded by millions, I see the devil actively devouring, destroying, stealing and killing. I see the devil and his many minions wreaking havoc, dividing people even more, taking all the progress that has been made and crashing it back decades without the "followers" even realizing what is/was happening. But that's the enemy for you! That's exactly how he operates and manipulates situations and people for his benefit, for his agenda, for his bidding. People want "change." Some things do need to change, I agree. But that's with ANY organization, group, department, corporation, business, government, or establishment! It doesn't matter the race, religion or nationality. It's a people thing. It's a heart thing. It's a SOUL thing. Wherever people lead, wherever people work, there will be issues that need changes simply because man is fallen, and being sinful, nothing will ever be perfect, run perfect, look perfect, governed perfect. It's not possible on this side of heaven! That's the biggest problem I can see through all of this. One cannot destroy whole cities, businesses, kill and injure others, tear down or deface structures and expect a wonderful outcome. These kinds of hateful, divisive actions will do more harm than good, will cause more hate than love and will cause more pain than healing. This is nothing more than hypocrisy at its best, and worse, because they are doing the exact same thing they are supposedly fighting against, except they are doing it to the innocent people in their own community and those that protect and serve on many different levels. It is being done to their own people, their own race, their own streets. The very ones that suffered.
But the souls. The SOULS!! We are all the walking wounded with many battle scars, broken hearts, and snake-bitten minds. So, when the right buttons are pushed, there's a cascade of raw emotions, conflicts and behaviors that are ejected from us and projected onto others in our relationships, homes, our work and into our society. Our adversarial enemy, Satan, literally desires for us to dwell wholly and solely on these wounds, reliving and recycling them. By doing so, it can, and often times will, cause people to drink, use drugs or participate in some other form of self-medicating distractions. You see, the longer we live without the healing that comes from our Savior, the longer the enemy can take a stronghold and strangle our futures, hopes and dreams. Oftentimes, we don’t even realize the strength of Satan’s grip and how the past is affecting us in our present. The symptoms can get so bad that the pain exceeds the fear of addressing it. Once again, that's what Satan desires and aims for! His ultimate goal is to destroy our ability to realize God’s abundant life in the present, here and now. What the enemy does by doing this is to use an outside source, be it another person, event or social/economical cause to point it out so to scratch the scab back open only to reveal the wound that never healed. Satan wants to continue to cause pain and hurt and chaos. He doesn't want healing or peace. All of us have triggers. Satan knows that because, as I've pointed out in many of my posts, he cannot create anything new, he only uses our past and what he knows works to try to defeat us, hurt us, destroy us and steal from us. Satan will use any means possible to prey on his victims and when a society is already in ruin and uncertainty, he comes even harder, attacking with fire before anyone knows what hit them. All throughout the Bible, one of Jesus's primary missions is to heal. He's the ultimate Great Doctor! When Jesus walked the earth amongst the men, women and children of His day, he made the lame walk, the tongue talk, rose people from the dead and made the blind to see. He heals!!! He heals our souls too! Salvation by Grace IS a healing of our souls because through that wonderful gift, flows our ability to "see" with spiritual eyes, being able to "walk" with the Lord in His glory, the ability to "talk" with a new language of love and we are "risen from a dead state" of sin through the shed blood of Jesus on the Cross! Pretty powerful!!!
1 Thessalonians 5:23, "And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."
Let's take a quick look at the soul and what it means. First of all, God is a Triune being. This means He is the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. God created us in His image. This is found in Genesis 1:26-27, "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 27) So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them." Since we all have been created in His likeness and image, we, too, are a triune being as found in 1 Thessalonians 5:23! We are Spirit, Body and Soul. The body is the physical part of ourselves that keeps us alive here on earth. It gives our hidden parts, the spirit and soul, a housing and resting place. 1 Corinthians 6:19 says, "Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?" In the same way that your body connects you to earth for a temporary determined amount of time, by the physical means to live and inhabit the earth that man was originally created from as stated in Genesis 2:7, "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.", your spirit connects you to heaven, connecting you to our Creator God through His son, Jesus Christ. When you accept Jesus as your Saviour, and God's free gift of Salvation through Grace, the Holy Spirit comes in and resides in your spirit. You are born again. As this happens, it's your spirit that's now full of the Truth of God and His Agape love. Romans 8:16, says, "The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God," And now your soul. Your soul is the direct link between your body and your spirit. It's the house for your mind, will and emotions which makes up your nature and characteristics. So, when you accept Jesus in your spirit, your soul does not automatically change and take on God’s nature. Instead, Adam’s natural sin nature still fills your soul. What's in your soul (NOT what's in your spirit) is what determines the way you THINK, the emotions you have and how you interact with the others in the world. If you're feeling depressed, your body shows tell tale signs. If you're feeling full of joy, your body shows that as well. Our body shows the whole world around us that we interact with all the hidden contents of our soul. Proverbs 23:7 says, "For as he thinks in his heart, so is he." So from this, we can see it's the soul of man that is clearly messed up. Sin. Lies.
I've written about this in much greater detail in an article posted back in September 2014 called "The
Heart's Intent" and can be found here. It'll be a nice companion article to get a clearer understanding to how intricately we are created and how everything works together! God created you to be loved and every single soul has a very deep, strong desire imprinted upon them and the need to be loved! This is a basic need and desire in all of us and it's a basic fact that's been proven time and time again in psychological research. One such research has shown that children who were deprived of loving relationships early on in their young lives, such as those raised in understaffed orphanages, foster care homes or by abusive caregivers/guardians, suffer great emotional, societal and relational problems throughout life. We humans were created for love. In this need for love, and attention seeking behaviors, we can look at the rage filled riots, the hate-filled causes and can clearly see it's more than what we physically see on the surface. It's a heart and soul issue. Satan is hate, death, brokenness, evil and deceptive above all. He lies to the masses about God. God is love! God is truth! God is life! 1 John 4:16, "And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him." and in John 14:6 , "Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." The “enemy of our souls” doesn't want us looking, acting or speaking anything like Jesus! I had said in a recent post that there is a spirit of lawlessness running rampant throughout the world and causing some very frightening chaotic intended outcomes. That's what the "enemy of our souls" want us to look like, act like and speak like so he will continue to manipulate, lie, and lead those who will follow right into the darkest pit. Look around. You'll see what I mean if you have eyes to see and ears to hear. People are becoming unhinged in a very powerful way. That will only lead to more destruction if the Lord doesn't intervene first. My prayers are for His hand to calm the storm and to do something miraculous to show the lost souls how powerful, how wonderful, how masterful, how GREAT He truly is!
So as we muddle through these days filled with uncertainty, unrest and loosed evil, we need to understand it's our thoughts that hold us captive. Our thoughts are always what gets us into trouble! Every sin starts with a thought. But a thought alone isn't what is sinful or gets us into trouble, but rather, it's what we do with those thoughts that determine their outcome! WE can take them captive and turn from acting upon them or we can choose to act upon those thoughts and sin. We've all heard the saying, "you are what you think." Or, maybe in this context of, "if you think you can’t, then you can’t!" Both of these statements, and many more just like them, are a direct reflective observation that our own thoughts are extremely powerful! The things we think about can impact our lives in a significant and oftentimes life-altering, life-changing way. It’s truly amazing how our thoughts can change things and no matter what someone says to you, perspective DOES matter. What we think about is HUGE. God talks about the importance of our thought life all throughout the scriptures. Our thoughts are undeniably important and God has a design for our thought life. The more negative thoughts we think upon and meditate upon, the more troubled our minds become. The more troubled our minds become, the more anxious and angry one becomes. That will ultimately lead to an outburst of some sort, most often times than not, violent ones. There is a battle waging war for our thoughts and it's no doubt a stark reality and crucial to the victorious life of every individual. Taking our thoughts captive and making them obedient to God is a an extremely integral part, and imperative practice, in the life of every Christ following believer! But we just can't stop there, because if we do, then I believe we've missed THE ROOT of our struggle. You see, behind every errant thought, there is a heart problem. A soul problem. We can tackle our struggle head on with rejection, loss, lust or any other sinful, negative "thought" and try to stop ourselves from thinking about the ungodly fantasies or negative, evil thoughts that fight for our minds’ eye to hold us captive, not to our Savior, but to our adversary the devil! But the more we keep trying to "stop" those thoughts on our own, we wonder why we continue to fail! We then find ourselves paralyzed with fear because we are failing and we don't want to fail God so we begin to quote some of our memorized Scriptures in the hopes that they will distract our thoughts and free us from fear. And then we become despondent when the pit inside of our stomachs continues to almost incapacitate us. There begins the vicious cycle which is why it's so important to get to the ROOT of the struggle from the beginning!
The errant thoughts that pop in our heads that we instantly dismiss aren't the ones that I'm talking about here. I’m not even talking about those thoughts of temptation. But what I AM talking about are the thoughts that linger a little too long. The thoughts that stay over time, taking up residence in our minds. The thoughts that we begin to seriously entertain. The explosive thoughts that become our reality. The dangerous thoughts that can, and sometimes will, turn into beliefs. When people believe something to be true in their reality, even when others around know they are being deceived, it's a very dangerous road they begin to travel down. We have to fully understand that something always drives our thoughts! We have a human nature, a heart and soul condition that actively influences our thought life. The desires inside our hearts lure and entice us. Out of our hearts, thoughts flow! Proverbs 4:23 says it clearly, "Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life." And because we have a heart condition that's either very, very sick or in the process of being healed by our Savior, we really need to take seriously the state of our hearts. So let's take a look at what Romans 8:5 says, "For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit." You see, out of our hearts, will come the thoughts that we think! Our hearts are full of all kinds of desires, good and bad. Our desires are oftentimes expressed through our thoughts. The thoughts that linger. The thoughts that take up residence. The thoughts that become our reality, real or imagined. They become who we are so it's important to know what thoughts are residing in our home of thoughts! While intricately connected, we need to understand how the condition of our hearts directly impacts the nature of our thought life. If we are dominated by our sinful nature and heart, then our thoughts will ultimately seek out to destroy us, but more so, to destroy all that God loves. However, if we're controlled by the Holy Spirit, our thoughts will bring life, peace and joy into our existence, into our beings, and even to the lives of those around us!
So I take us back to what is happening all over the world right now, and ask that you take a moment to ponder on what it is that YOU see as being the driving force behind it all. I've taken many moments to do just that and what I see is the demonic forces driving these violent outbursts. I look at the "pathogenic crisis" in the same way but not for the "crisis virus" itself, but for what is happening to the people of the world as a result OF the "crisis." I see the demonic driving forces behind that as well. Why? Suicide. Separation from others. Domestic abuse. Child abuse. Isolation. Mental disorders such as depression, anxiety, paralyzing fears. Addictions. Loss of income, homes, dwellings, businesses. The impact on the psyche of individuals is staggeringly high! It's bad enough for those who are believers in Christ because they know He is there with us, but the non-believers who don't know His ultimate peace and joy inside are hurting and struggling deeply. My heart cries out to our Lord for those people, wherever they are, no matter who they are! No amount of OUR efforts or thought control will EVER be enough when it comes to the problems that we face in our lives. And we face a multitude of them ranging from the small and mundane to the over the top overwhelmingly devastating ones! Controlling our thought life is important, yes. But, we must get first things first. We must love God FIRST above ALL things, above ALL people in our lives, and yes that means your blood relatives to your spouses. When we love God, we will OBEY God. When we run to Jesus, our thought life will soon follow because the more we run to Him, the more we learn His ways, His thoughts and His love. It's all about what we focus on. It's about where we allow our thoughts to wonder, then reside. If someone focuses on the lies of the enemy and the wrongs of the world, they will become like the lies they believed and the wrongs of the world. Some people are more prone to violent dispositions that we are seeing played out right now in the current situations. Let me be perfectly clear here....as you look out into that "world" of violence, rage-filled destruction, know that they do NOT have the spirit of Christ within them. You cannot do what they have done and continue to do and have Jesus in your lives. Jesus is peace and calm. Not destruction and chaos. It's impossible to do what is being done and claim to love God with all heart, soul and mind. They don't exist together in the same place! Don't be fooled!
In John 15, Jesus warns us that apart from Him "we can do nothing." So it's ONLY through an intimate relationship with Jesus that our hearts, minds and lives can be transformed. The transformation doesn't happen overnight and as long as we are alive in this fallen world, it will be a DAILY sanctification and we'll always be a work in progress. But without daily intimacy with Jesus Christ, without running to Him anew every moment daily, our thought lives remain in a precarious and vulnerable position. They become so vulnerable that Satan is just waiting in the shadows to attack that very precious part of our bodies! That's his portal to enter and he knows this about us. And once again, look around you in the world, communities, cities, towns and villages around you. You will see a sort of "consumption" never before seen or witnessed in our time! This is why it's so important to guard your thoughts, take them captive and give them to the Lord to deal with because inevitably, those with a predisposition, will be consumed the greatest, causing the greatest problems. Thoughts drop to our hearts which are housed in our souls. See, our minds have the capacity for evil....to think evil thoughts, to think bad thoughts, to think less than holy thoughts. The Apostle Paul was intensely aware of the mind's capacity for evil thoughts. Someone can dwell upon lustful thoughts, wrong thoughts about some member of the opposite sex. Another person may seethe with jealousy and envy in his mind toward other people that they may be comparing themselves to. While others still are so desperately consumed with pride and with overly high thoughts about themselves. The "works of the flesh" in Galatians 5 is a long list of sins, many of which are sins of the mind. Let's see what Galatians 5:19-21 has to say, "Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, v20) idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, v21) 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." So if you really look long and hard at those "works" you will easily find the sins begin in the mind, with thoughts that begin to take up residence. From the residence, they will be acted upon....in time.
Have you ever sat back and just took a long, hard look at our society and the decaying stench that it wreaks and wonder how we got to this place in society? Have you noticed how it's never anybody's fault for what they've done? Have you noticed how it's everyone else's fault for the way someone has turned out, for how they act, for who they become, for all of their problems? Have you noticed that the victimizers become the victims? Have you noticed that there's rarely real consequences for the actions of those that are actually the perpetrators, for those who have done wrong, or for those who walk around mistakenly believing they deserve it all with their hands out? Have you noticed the increasing amount of people who declare that they "deserve" everything because they are OWED it all? Well, I have and I'm saddened by what I've been seeing. It's progressively getting worse with each passing year. If you haven't taken notice, maybe now is a good time to start. This is part of the systemic problem that just burst open the flood gates. A society of victim mentality. I want to start off by pointing out that we ALL are a VICTIM of something in our lives! This is one thing none of us can escape no matter how we try. Every single person in this fallen world has been hurt, oppressed, wronged, abused, used, sexually violated, abandoned, rejected, hated, battered, robbed, shunned, terrorized, and a number of other causes of victimization that labels us a victim. Some have been a victim to many things while others only a few but we ALL have been a victim. So then why do some people end up choosing to remain a victim? Why do some people end up victimizing others as a result of their own hardships? Why do some people end up living their lives AS a VICTIM rather than breaking free from the chains that bind them? It's important to note that no one escapes becoming a victim to "something" or OF "something" but we ALL can escape the chains that bind us and keep us in that place.
In John 5:6, Jesus says, "When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, ‘Do you want to be made well?" In the book of John chapter 5 it gives us a clear view about a place called Bethesda, a supernatural city where an angel would eventually come down and stir the waters. That has always fascinated my inquisitive mind to just imagine an angel coming down from heaven to literally stir up the waters is something of a beautiful picture that forever remains in my mind! This is where Jesus found a man laying by a pool, along with many others, sick and diseased in varying degrees and in various ways. When the angel would swoop down and touch the waters to stir them, the first person to jump in was healed of whatever disease or infirmity they had! Talk about an amazing opportunity for an instant healing! In this chapter and verse, it shows how Jesus walked up to a man who had been afflicted with an infirmity for thirty eight years. This disease gripped this man for most of his life. One thing Jesus knew is how easy it was, is and could be, for someone who has a disease for a long time to end up wrapping their whole identity around their disease. It happened then and it is still happening today. What comes against us, and something will, or has, can easily end up becoming a part of our identity, a part of who we believe we are, if we are not discerning enough. By that, I mean, simply put, we become comfortable with the very thing that holds us down or back from what God wants for us. We BECOME what our bondage is, we become our own victim. So, as you can see, the question that Jesus asks confronts the victim mindset right from the start. When you read this account, it may seem like Jesus is being a little bit uncaring, or even indifferent to the plight of this man, or at least by our modern day standards with our modern day minds. He doesn't ask for the man’s story. No need for intake to be done regarding what kind of factors even got him to this place. His question hits to the core of the man’s heart and motivation, point blank. "Do you want to be made well?" He cuts right to the heart of the matter, Do you REALLY want to be healed? That, my dear readers, is the key question for ALL of us. Do we REALLY want to be healed of whatever is holding us captive in bondage and keeping us a victim? That takes a lot of soul searching, being brutally honest with yourself and digging deep into the recesses of our hearts for things that will answer that question. This is something that I pray all of the rioters and the lost rage filled souls out there ask themselves!
Now from my point of view, when reading that one simple question that Jesus asked the man, "Do you want to be made well?" seemed like such a simple question to actually answer with an emphatic YES! YES! YES! I WANT TO BE MADE WELL! But, reality hits and it's not so easy. Jesus asked a CLOSED ENDED question. Yes or No. But that's not what kind of answer He received from this man. Instead, the man replied, in John 5:7, "The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me." The sick man felt a need to EXPLAIN the "why" instead of just answering YES. This is what we all do from time to time. We explain instead of just answering. Some NEVER answer while others eventually do. Now by not answering Jesus with a resounding yes, what we hear instead, is victimization telling Jesus a STORY. You see, Jesus just needed a yes or a no. If he wanted an explanation, He would have asked for one. But He didn't ask for an explanation, He just asked a simple closed ended yes or no question. Victimization doesn't answer those kinds of questions, because it draws a thick line in the sand of what would be a requirement from this day moving forward. If he says yes, well, then he is personally responsible, and accountable, from now on. If he says no, he'd look like a fool to everyone. So instead of either of those possibilities, he gives Jesus a list of reasons WHY he hasn't been able to get into the pool. Sounds a lot like our society today, doesn't it? Instead of just answering a "yes" or "no" to help that was offered, a story was offered in it's place by the "victim." All of us, if we aren't careful, can carry within us a story that isn't the story God has given us. The idea of a victim mentality first arose in Adam, perhaps being the best illustration, in the first ever sin, recorded in Genesis 3:12-13, "And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. v13) And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat." Then Adam blames Eve and God, and essentially Eve blames the snake. The CLEAR Principle here is take responsibility for your actions!
In Matthew 5:14-16, "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15) Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16) Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." We are now officially living in a "culture of death" society. It's a culture filled with hate, rage, propaganda, lies and destruction. By that, I mean, the average person is obsessed with death, dying or the illusion of it. Death is destruction. The media finds a newsworthy story, blasts it all over the headlines and not only do they eliminate all the facts, but they play on the already heightened emotions and the agenda of certain groups. The media makes these most recent tragedies out to be much more like a competition than to call it what it is....evil! The media is doing the same thing right now. They are reporting half truths but focusing on the evil, the darkness and the lies. They aren't reporting the good that has been done through this outcry. They are regularly pushing a specific agenda and narrative that is not only toxic but feeds the fire with combustible lighter fluid. They are pushing the evil on a loop, a never ending loop without reporting all of it. What is happening to our country and to the world in general is a tragedy! It's not to be celebrated. It's not to be instigated. It's not to be propagated. But that's exactly how it's being portrayed. They aren't showing the Light being shone into the darkness. Instead they are choosing, willingly choosing, to show the hate, the rage, the darkness and to instill fear. This only fans the flames that's already burning. But people are failing to see that to be the case. You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make them drink! Many people are facing their darkest hour all over the world. The evil has been compounded and been hurled at us all at once. Although I've said before that it's been building slowly and the foundation for the One World Order was being laid brick by brick, something changed overnight! Swiftly it all came to the proverbial head and popped! But in the midst of all this darkness, evil, rage and heaviness permeating our society, throughout the world, one can always see a shining light somewhere in the chaos of it all! From a kind gesture, a hug, a smile, a touch, a prayer or show of support, His Light will shine through. Darkness MUST flee when His Light is shone! People still FEEL. People still CARE. People still LOVE. People still are COMPASSIONATE. That, my dear readers, is NOT newsworthy. I find it appalling and sad because the only news being seared into our minds are those that are driven by the devil. It's not for naught mind you. The enemy drives the media's vehicles too and instructs what is being pumped out into the minds of the eyes and ears tuning in because the enemy clearly knows it will incite exactly what he wants the outcome to be. While I see a lot of the darkness and evil, I don't focus on it because I don't want to lose sight of the Light that could be shining in unsuspecting places. In every bad situation, in every dark corner, and in every unexplained situation, there is always His light to guide us, illuminate us for His glory and shine above all else. I know the Light inside of me is the Light of our Lord Jesus Christ and I have been witness to it shining brightly in the darkest recesses of the minds and lives of others. Being isolated and in lockdown, while being unemployed is difficult on me and in my spirit but I am still able to talk on the phone, text, email and continue my blog ministry! God never fails!
It's when His light shines on the darkness that unbelievers see the clearest and take notice the calling of the Lord! His Light seems to shine the brightest and sparkle the most when it's shining in the dark. Think about a street light for a moment. On an ordinary day, that street light wouldn't be bright at all. Hardly noticeable in fact. The light would blend in nicely with the daylight, against the sky. However, take that same street light and add a cloudy day. No sun peeking out from behind the clouds. Just a gray background and the lit street light. You can drive by and see it because you are able to notice it a little easier than on a clear bright day. Now, on a pitch black night, drive by that same street light and see how bright it shines! See how it illuminates the streets and objects beneath it, and all the surrounding areas. Although it's the same intensity and wattage as it was when viewing it in the day light, it's shining so much brighter because it's shining in the darkness! These are also the three "stages" of the human condition as well. Think about that for a second! Darkness is the absence of light! That's how God's light sometimes shines in the lives of others. Because they tend to see it more clearly when they are facing their darkest hours. I'm sure every eye that is reading this post has experienced a power outage of some kind at one time or the other in their lives. It happens swiftly and without warning. One minute you're in the light, the next you can't see your hand 2 feet in front of you. There's a small part of us that it feels ominous and we don't like being in the dark. Then, after some time in the dark, the lights come back on and the relief we feel is indescribable! Well, some people get comfortable in the "dark" as it somehow fits their character and their brokenness. That's not a place to get comfortable in nor is it a place to call "home." However, it's those people that the Light brings life. It's those people who really don't know what that kind of Light can bring to them.
Proverbs 3:25-26, "Have no fear of sudden disaster or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked, for the LORD will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being snared."
Isaiah 14:24, "The LORD Almighty has sworn, "Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will stand."
Jesus says distractions are like weeds that grow up in your mind and heart, just as weeds grow in a garden. How much effort does it take to grow weeds? None at all because weeds are a sign of neglect and they grow because of neglect. It's the same with our spiritual walk. When we neglect our time with God, the weeds start to grow in your life and before we know it, they're out of control and strangling out the good growths. So, in order to overcome those destructive weeds, we must learn to overcome our preoccupied minds. 1 Kings 19:12 says that when God spoke to Elijah, it wasn't in a wind or earthquake or fire; it was in a gentle whisper. If you want to hear God whisper to you then you're going to have to learn to be quiet! I will say at this juncture that being consumed with something, whether it be your talent, hobby, social media, social and societal causes or any of the number of distractions and obsessions in this world, then your mind is NOT focusing on anything else EXCEPT what you are doing at that moment and when those "moments" consume your day, then there is never any quiet time in your mind! We must learn to be quiet in our spirits as well as in our minds. We must learn to be quiet in our lives so we can focus on Jesus! 1 Peter 5:8, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." The Devil will seek you out in order to take you off course, and his greatest desire is to distract the people of God in any way that he can, and any way that we allow him to. The passage described him as our adversary, who, as a roaring lion seeks to devour us. Have you ever shared the Gospel of Jesus Christ with any person, and then all of a sudden, it seems that there are a hundred different distractions or attacks? It could be that the Devil is at work there, trying to shut down the preaching of God’s Word. As born again Christ believers, we are to spread the gospel and be the Light in a darkened world. Our adversary doesn't want us to shine the Light of the Lord Jesus Christ so he will pursue us in any way that he can. The devil already devoured the unsaved and is using them to do his bidding in hopes that they will be continually blinded to the Gospel. Even for them, it's not too late to come to know Jesus! To see His Light shine in their darkest recesses. We're in a very real battle, and if you truly know the Lord, then your spirit will bear witness with what I am saying here. Just think for a moment, if you weren't so distracted with whatever it was that was keeping you from hearing the Lord's instructions, directions, or pointing you towards doing something in His Kingdom for Him, how you could be used! But instead, you missed that chance. You missed that moment because the enemy was distracting you to the point that you've become consumed and obsessed. It's not a good thought, is it!? 1 John 2:15-17, "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16) For all that is in the world - the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life - is not of the Father but is of the world. 17) And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever."
Here are 4 ways the Bible tells us to avoid distractions:
1) Focus on doing God’s work. Luke 4:14-15, "Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region. 15) And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all." Overcoming the testing from Satan will end up strengthening us in Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit. He began His gospel ministry with power and acceptance. We shouldn't look for testing from Satan, but at the same time, we shouldn't be afraid of it either. He is not allowed to do anything that hasn't went through the Father's hands first. If we follow the examples of Jesus and overcome distraction from Satan, we'll become stronger, more focused, better equipped, and more effective witnesses for the Lord like Jesus did.
2) Focus on only serving God. Luke 4:8, "And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’" While Satan tried to mislead Jesus into worshiping power, splendor and glamour like most people in this fallen world do, Jesus brought the focus back around and centered it on God. Christians must be sure of their one focus for their life, God and God alone. In James 1:8, James told us clearly that a double-minded man is unstable in all things he does.
3) Focus on the right path. Luke 4:4, "But Jesus answered him, saying, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.'" Satan tried to mislead Jesus into focusing solely on His need for food, but Jesus pointed out that the higher path of life is to also focus on the word (promises) of God.
4) Focus on faith in, not test, God. Luke 4:12, "And Jesus answered and said to him, "It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.'" Very early in the journey to Exodus, the Israelis repeatedly tested God’s power and love in His provision of their needs. Moses also gave them a stern warning in Deuteronomy 6:16, "Do not test the Lord your God as you did at Massah." The most important weapon to defeat distraction is to focus on the faithfulness and power of God, instead of playing tricks to see if God is real or not.
Matthew 24:12, "And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold."
I believe people tend to forget this very simple yet profound statement that people’s love for one another, and the human race in general, will grow cold. The word for "love" is agape, and it speaks of good will, compassion, empathy and benevolence toward our fellow man. This particular part of the Scripture doesn't even necessarily mean the Christlike love to the fullest extent of selflessness and/or of being sacrificial. There has been an ingrained sense which the world has, at times, clearly understood to some degree what it takes to get along. Take for instance, in the 1950’s, the parents that experienced the Great Depression between 1929 and 1939, had compassionately created a culture of morality that penetrated all aspects of society. It was normal and safe to leave doors unlocked at the time. It was normal and safe for the children to play outside all day long into the nighttime when the streetlights came on because everyone was raising the children in the neighborhood! All the parents looked after the children. Safe. Secure. Normal. But now? We worry about the demonic perverts in wait to snatch our kids while our backs are turned for just a second. We're worried we'll be wrongfully sued if we look at somebody the wrong way. We're worried we'll get retribution if we get involved. We know that our politicians are lying to us and consistently breaking promises while catering to those with means and to those who have an agenda. People are constantly trying to gain an angle on us to get our money, to take advantage of the weak, and due to this lawlessness and crime are so widespread that our jails are filled to capacity. We are a fallen, twisted, and broken culture because our love has grown cold. There's widespread abuse of children, women, the elderly. Races are killing each other. Abuse is not limited to physical as it comes in many forms. There are physical, mental, emotional, and sexual abuse. ALL have the same power as the next one and can be just as damaging. There's violent outburst against one another in numbers that scream evil! There's widespread crimes of passion. There's animal abuse/sacrifice. There's a growing number of "groups" inciting violence across the world. The world of people are being numbed to the chaos around them and they're focusing on themselves. They don't and in many cases, can't, feel any real emotions. Then this happened. This crisis, this movement turned things around very quickly because people began to feel all kinds of pent up emotions. Good and bad. Happy and sad. As sin increases, love diminishes. As morality increases, love multiplies. Look at the free love and rebellion of the 60's. That wasn't an increase in love, but rather, it was an increase in lawlessness! Thus, the net result is a callous, selfish culture of passed down lawlessness and nihilism. Few people look to God for direction, and even fewer attempt to heed His commands. How can we expect the world to love? Actually, we shouldn’t really expect the world to know HOW to love given that only believers can truly love. 1 John 4:7-8, "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8) He who does not love does not know God, for God is love." Isn't that also a sobering Scripture?! I think so! And love that waxes cold towards others oftentimes, is a result of an unrighteous anger in the heart!
Violence, in it's many ugly forms and masks, is born out of anger. Anger unrestrained is a fire out of control. It starts as an ember but soon it's fanned and becomes an all-consuming fire that takes out many along its destructive path! Of all the things that are in the human heart, anger can be one of the most intense, destructive, and unhealthy emotions that we can experience. It's deceitful as a result. From our hearts, flow who we ARE. If the anger is not handled properly and in a righteous way, it can definitely have drastic life-changing consequences. Anger may be caused by a number of things, but the root cause of a spirit of anger is tension from past hurts and guilt. This mixture of pain and guilt is cumulative and inevitably, it erupts into uncontrolled anger when new offenses remind us of past experiences. Left unresolved, anger creates an intense desire to destroy something, or SOMEONE!!! Ephesians 4:31–32, "Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. 32) And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you." Violence is the result of a pathology of the soul. Violence doesn't begin with a standing of armies, generational ethnic hatred or longstanding social inequities. Violence is as close to us as our very own deceptive hearts. A lesson learned from Genesis in regards to Cain and Abel. Something as simple as jealousy that is/was left unchecked, left to grow, deepen and intensify, leads to acting out in unrestrained violence. God warned Cain in Genesis 4:6-7, "Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it." This is truly an amazing statement because it shows how jealously leads to anger. It shows, also, that sin is predatory. It's crouching at the door, looking to possess Cain. Just like it can with any one of you if anger is not in check! In other words, violence is often the tipping point after resentment turns to rage. What can be done about violence? God told Cain he'd better "master" the pathology of his soul. Since Cain didn't master the pathology of his soul, blood was spilled. God’s response to Cain was "your brother’s blood cries to me from the ground." And so does the blood of many today. Jesus speaks about the source of violence. Murder begins in the heart. One of the most revolutionary of Jesus’ teachings is that human violence begins in a much deeper place, a much more secret place. The sin of violence has already begun even before the blood is spilled or the words wound.
What can be done about violence? There are many professionals whose work is peacemaking, and we need to pray diligently for them and share our support for them. Law enforcement who are currently being vilified, criminal justice who are currently being attacked, educators, mental health professionals, and many others that have been called to keep peace, to stave off violence and to protect and serve. Safety and security in a community comes from a whole network of collaborators that work together towards the same goals. We will never be able to totally eliminate violence, at least not on this side of heaven, but we can surely lessen it and minimize it. We don’t need vigilantes running around loose in our society, we need VIGILANCE. Followers of Jesus are called to do more than passively wait for the next person to draw their guns or for someone else to jump in to help the helpless. Followers of Christ are called to be more than someone on the sidelines, hiding in the shadows, waiting for someone else to shine their light in the darkest of places. Our Lord and Savior commands us to close the gap with people rejected by others. To connect with the wounded before they lash out and wound others. To bring down the level of tension and stress around us by living in peace. Jesus said in Matthew 12:20, "A bruised reed He will not break, And smoking flax He will not quench, Till He sends forth justice to victory;" The next person in our community who may act out in violence is right now, today, somewhere, a bruised reed. They are a smoldering wick. They are broken. Some have been shattered. Will we notice that person who is a bruised reed? Will we help that person back away from the edge of the cliff? Will we be willing to be the one that stops the anger from touching the lives of others? Police officers can't and shouldn't supervise everybody’s lives. There is a point where we, as human beings, must be accountable. Our laws define civil behavior, but they most certainly can't tame human personalities. Shooting back is always worse than stopping the shooting before it ever begins. Sometimes, all it takes is someone to HEAR their pains and hurts and troubled spirits.....but do you have time for that? I know the world is a scary place and some people have been called to do the front line battles, while others the more obscure. God uses all of us if we allow. These times are tricky and limited but nevertheless, they are times that need our attention. Whatever you are able to do, whether it be pray or go to battle to lend an ear, go and do what the Lord calls you to do!
So as we watch society decay and rot with evil, as we watch love grow cold, and persecution increase, let us stand firm, speak boldly, and love truly and be vigilant in being our brother's keeper. For the sake of our Savior, for the sake of those who will be saved and who we'll be able to shine His light upon, let us show the entire world what it really means to love as we walk in purity before our Lord!! In Jesus' Precious Name AMEN!!
Let's take a quick look at the soul and what it means. First of all, God is a Triune being. This means He is the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. God created us in His image. This is found in Genesis 1:26-27, "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 27) So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them." Since we all have been created in His likeness and image, we, too, are a triune being as found in 1 Thessalonians 5:23! We are Spirit, Body and Soul. The body is the physical part of ourselves that keeps us alive here on earth. It gives our hidden parts, the spirit and soul, a housing and resting place. 1 Corinthians 6:19 says, "Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?" In the same way that your body connects you to earth for a temporary determined amount of time, by the physical means to live and inhabit the earth that man was originally created from as stated in Genesis 2:7, "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.", your spirit connects you to heaven, connecting you to our Creator God through His son, Jesus Christ. When you accept Jesus as your Saviour, and God's free gift of Salvation through Grace, the Holy Spirit comes in and resides in your spirit. You are born again. As this happens, it's your spirit that's now full of the Truth of God and His Agape love. Romans 8:16, says, "The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God," And now your soul. Your soul is the direct link between your body and your spirit. It's the house for your mind, will and emotions which makes up your nature and characteristics. So, when you accept Jesus in your spirit, your soul does not automatically change and take on God’s nature. Instead, Adam’s natural sin nature still fills your soul. What's in your soul (NOT what's in your spirit) is what determines the way you THINK, the emotions you have and how you interact with the others in the world. If you're feeling depressed, your body shows tell tale signs. If you're feeling full of joy, your body shows that as well. Our body shows the whole world around us that we interact with all the hidden contents of our soul. Proverbs 23:7 says, "For as he thinks in his heart, so is he." So from this, we can see it's the soul of man that is clearly messed up. Sin. Lies.
I've written about this in much greater detail in an article posted back in September 2014 called "The
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| True Love Casts Out Fear! |
So as we muddle through these days filled with uncertainty, unrest and loosed evil, we need to understand it's our thoughts that hold us captive. Our thoughts are always what gets us into trouble! Every sin starts with a thought. But a thought alone isn't what is sinful or gets us into trouble, but rather, it's what we do with those thoughts that determine their outcome! WE can take them captive and turn from acting upon them or we can choose to act upon those thoughts and sin. We've all heard the saying, "you are what you think." Or, maybe in this context of, "if you think you can’t, then you can’t!" Both of these statements, and many more just like them, are a direct reflective observation that our own thoughts are extremely powerful! The things we think about can impact our lives in a significant and oftentimes life-altering, life-changing way. It’s truly amazing how our thoughts can change things and no matter what someone says to you, perspective DOES matter. What we think about is HUGE. God talks about the importance of our thought life all throughout the scriptures. Our thoughts are undeniably important and God has a design for our thought life. The more negative thoughts we think upon and meditate upon, the more troubled our minds become. The more troubled our minds become, the more anxious and angry one becomes. That will ultimately lead to an outburst of some sort, most often times than not, violent ones. There is a battle waging war for our thoughts and it's no doubt a stark reality and crucial to the victorious life of every individual. Taking our thoughts captive and making them obedient to God is a an extremely integral part, and imperative practice, in the life of every Christ following believer! But we just can't stop there, because if we do, then I believe we've missed THE ROOT of our struggle. You see, behind every errant thought, there is a heart problem. A soul problem. We can tackle our struggle head on with rejection, loss, lust or any other sinful, negative "thought" and try to stop ourselves from thinking about the ungodly fantasies or negative, evil thoughts that fight for our minds’ eye to hold us captive, not to our Savior, but to our adversary the devil! But the more we keep trying to "stop" those thoughts on our own, we wonder why we continue to fail! We then find ourselves paralyzed with fear because we are failing and we don't want to fail God so we begin to quote some of our memorized Scriptures in the hopes that they will distract our thoughts and free us from fear. And then we become despondent when the pit inside of our stomachs continues to almost incapacitate us. There begins the vicious cycle which is why it's so important to get to the ROOT of the struggle from the beginning!
The errant thoughts that pop in our heads that we instantly dismiss aren't the ones that I'm talking about here. I’m not even talking about those thoughts of temptation. But what I AM talking about are the thoughts that linger a little too long. The thoughts that stay over time, taking up residence in our minds. The thoughts that we begin to seriously entertain. The explosive thoughts that become our reality. The dangerous thoughts that can, and sometimes will, turn into beliefs. When people believe something to be true in their reality, even when others around know they are being deceived, it's a very dangerous road they begin to travel down. We have to fully understand that something always drives our thoughts! We have a human nature, a heart and soul condition that actively influences our thought life. The desires inside our hearts lure and entice us. Out of our hearts, thoughts flow! Proverbs 4:23 says it clearly, "Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life." And because we have a heart condition that's either very, very sick or in the process of being healed by our Savior, we really need to take seriously the state of our hearts. So let's take a look at what Romans 8:5 says, "For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit." You see, out of our hearts, will come the thoughts that we think! Our hearts are full of all kinds of desires, good and bad. Our desires are oftentimes expressed through our thoughts. The thoughts that linger. The thoughts that take up residence. The thoughts that become our reality, real or imagined. They become who we are so it's important to know what thoughts are residing in our home of thoughts! While intricately connected, we need to understand how the condition of our hearts directly impacts the nature of our thought life. If we are dominated by our sinful nature and heart, then our thoughts will ultimately seek out to destroy us, but more so, to destroy all that God loves. However, if we're controlled by the Holy Spirit, our thoughts will bring life, peace and joy into our existence, into our beings, and even to the lives of those around us!
So I take us back to what is happening all over the world right now, and ask that you take a moment to ponder on what it is that YOU see as being the driving force behind it all. I've taken many moments to do just that and what I see is the demonic forces driving these violent outbursts. I look at the "pathogenic crisis" in the same way but not for the "crisis virus" itself, but for what is happening to the people of the world as a result OF the "crisis." I see the demonic driving forces behind that as well. Why? Suicide. Separation from others. Domestic abuse. Child abuse. Isolation. Mental disorders such as depression, anxiety, paralyzing fears. Addictions. Loss of income, homes, dwellings, businesses. The impact on the psyche of individuals is staggeringly high! It's bad enough for those who are believers in Christ because they know He is there with us, but the non-believers who don't know His ultimate peace and joy inside are hurting and struggling deeply. My heart cries out to our Lord for those people, wherever they are, no matter who they are! No amount of OUR efforts or thought control will EVER be enough when it comes to the problems that we face in our lives. And we face a multitude of them ranging from the small and mundane to the over the top overwhelmingly devastating ones! Controlling our thought life is important, yes. But, we must get first things first. We must love God FIRST above ALL things, above ALL people in our lives, and yes that means your blood relatives to your spouses. When we love God, we will OBEY God. When we run to Jesus, our thought life will soon follow because the more we run to Him, the more we learn His ways, His thoughts and His love. It's all about what we focus on. It's about where we allow our thoughts to wonder, then reside. If someone focuses on the lies of the enemy and the wrongs of the world, they will become like the lies they believed and the wrongs of the world. Some people are more prone to violent dispositions that we are seeing played out right now in the current situations. Let me be perfectly clear here....as you look out into that "world" of violence, rage-filled destruction, know that they do NOT have the spirit of Christ within them. You cannot do what they have done and continue to do and have Jesus in your lives. Jesus is peace and calm. Not destruction and chaos. It's impossible to do what is being done and claim to love God with all heart, soul and mind. They don't exist together in the same place! Don't be fooled!
In John 15, Jesus warns us that apart from Him "we can do nothing." So it's ONLY through an intimate relationship with Jesus that our hearts, minds and lives can be transformed. The transformation doesn't happen overnight and as long as we are alive in this fallen world, it will be a DAILY sanctification and we'll always be a work in progress. But without daily intimacy with Jesus Christ, without running to Him anew every moment daily, our thought lives remain in a precarious and vulnerable position. They become so vulnerable that Satan is just waiting in the shadows to attack that very precious part of our bodies! That's his portal to enter and he knows this about us. And once again, look around you in the world, communities, cities, towns and villages around you. You will see a sort of "consumption" never before seen or witnessed in our time! This is why it's so important to guard your thoughts, take them captive and give them to the Lord to deal with because inevitably, those with a predisposition, will be consumed the greatest, causing the greatest problems. Thoughts drop to our hearts which are housed in our souls. See, our minds have the capacity for evil....to think evil thoughts, to think bad thoughts, to think less than holy thoughts. The Apostle Paul was intensely aware of the mind's capacity for evil thoughts. Someone can dwell upon lustful thoughts, wrong thoughts about some member of the opposite sex. Another person may seethe with jealousy and envy in his mind toward other people that they may be comparing themselves to. While others still are so desperately consumed with pride and with overly high thoughts about themselves. The "works of the flesh" in Galatians 5 is a long list of sins, many of which are sins of the mind. Let's see what Galatians 5:19-21 has to say, "Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, v20) idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, v21) 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." So if you really look long and hard at those "works" you will easily find the sins begin in the mind, with thoughts that begin to take up residence. From the residence, they will be acted upon....in time.
In John 5:6, Jesus says, "When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, ‘Do you want to be made well?" In the book of John chapter 5 it gives us a clear view about a place called Bethesda, a supernatural city where an angel would eventually come down and stir the waters. That has always fascinated my inquisitive mind to just imagine an angel coming down from heaven to literally stir up the waters is something of a beautiful picture that forever remains in my mind! This is where Jesus found a man laying by a pool, along with many others, sick and diseased in varying degrees and in various ways. When the angel would swoop down and touch the waters to stir them, the first person to jump in was healed of whatever disease or infirmity they had! Talk about an amazing opportunity for an instant healing! In this chapter and verse, it shows how Jesus walked up to a man who had been afflicted with an infirmity for thirty eight years. This disease gripped this man for most of his life. One thing Jesus knew is how easy it was, is and could be, for someone who has a disease for a long time to end up wrapping their whole identity around their disease. It happened then and it is still happening today. What comes against us, and something will, or has, can easily end up becoming a part of our identity, a part of who we believe we are, if we are not discerning enough. By that, I mean, simply put, we become comfortable with the very thing that holds us down or back from what God wants for us. We BECOME what our bondage is, we become our own victim. So, as you can see, the question that Jesus asks confronts the victim mindset right from the start. When you read this account, it may seem like Jesus is being a little bit uncaring, or even indifferent to the plight of this man, or at least by our modern day standards with our modern day minds. He doesn't ask for the man’s story. No need for intake to be done regarding what kind of factors even got him to this place. His question hits to the core of the man’s heart and motivation, point blank. "Do you want to be made well?" He cuts right to the heart of the matter, Do you REALLY want to be healed? That, my dear readers, is the key question for ALL of us. Do we REALLY want to be healed of whatever is holding us captive in bondage and keeping us a victim? That takes a lot of soul searching, being brutally honest with yourself and digging deep into the recesses of our hearts for things that will answer that question. This is something that I pray all of the rioters and the lost rage filled souls out there ask themselves!
Now from my point of view, when reading that one simple question that Jesus asked the man, "Do you want to be made well?" seemed like such a simple question to actually answer with an emphatic YES! YES! YES! I WANT TO BE MADE WELL! But, reality hits and it's not so easy. Jesus asked a CLOSED ENDED question. Yes or No. But that's not what kind of answer He received from this man. Instead, the man replied, in John 5:7, "The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me." The sick man felt a need to EXPLAIN the "why" instead of just answering YES. This is what we all do from time to time. We explain instead of just answering. Some NEVER answer while others eventually do. Now by not answering Jesus with a resounding yes, what we hear instead, is victimization telling Jesus a STORY. You see, Jesus just needed a yes or a no. If he wanted an explanation, He would have asked for one. But He didn't ask for an explanation, He just asked a simple closed ended yes or no question. Victimization doesn't answer those kinds of questions, because it draws a thick line in the sand of what would be a requirement from this day moving forward. If he says yes, well, then he is personally responsible, and accountable, from now on. If he says no, he'd look like a fool to everyone. So instead of either of those possibilities, he gives Jesus a list of reasons WHY he hasn't been able to get into the pool. Sounds a lot like our society today, doesn't it? Instead of just answering a "yes" or "no" to help that was offered, a story was offered in it's place by the "victim." All of us, if we aren't careful, can carry within us a story that isn't the story God has given us. The idea of a victim mentality first arose in Adam, perhaps being the best illustration, in the first ever sin, recorded in Genesis 3:12-13, "And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. v13) And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat." Then Adam blames Eve and God, and essentially Eve blames the snake. The CLEAR Principle here is take responsibility for your actions!
In Matthew 5:14-16, "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15) Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16) Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." We are now officially living in a "culture of death" society. It's a culture filled with hate, rage, propaganda, lies and destruction. By that, I mean, the average person is obsessed with death, dying or the illusion of it. Death is destruction. The media finds a newsworthy story, blasts it all over the headlines and not only do they eliminate all the facts, but they play on the already heightened emotions and the agenda of certain groups. The media makes these most recent tragedies out to be much more like a competition than to call it what it is....evil! The media is doing the same thing right now. They are reporting half truths but focusing on the evil, the darkness and the lies. They aren't reporting the good that has been done through this outcry. They are regularly pushing a specific agenda and narrative that is not only toxic but feeds the fire with combustible lighter fluid. They are pushing the evil on a loop, a never ending loop without reporting all of it. What is happening to our country and to the world in general is a tragedy! It's not to be celebrated. It's not to be instigated. It's not to be propagated. But that's exactly how it's being portrayed. They aren't showing the Light being shone into the darkness. Instead they are choosing, willingly choosing, to show the hate, the rage, the darkness and to instill fear. This only fans the flames that's already burning. But people are failing to see that to be the case. You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make them drink! Many people are facing their darkest hour all over the world. The evil has been compounded and been hurled at us all at once. Although I've said before that it's been building slowly and the foundation for the One World Order was being laid brick by brick, something changed overnight! Swiftly it all came to the proverbial head and popped! But in the midst of all this darkness, evil, rage and heaviness permeating our society, throughout the world, one can always see a shining light somewhere in the chaos of it all! From a kind gesture, a hug, a smile, a touch, a prayer or show of support, His Light will shine through. Darkness MUST flee when His Light is shone! People still FEEL. People still CARE. People still LOVE. People still are COMPASSIONATE. That, my dear readers, is NOT newsworthy. I find it appalling and sad because the only news being seared into our minds are those that are driven by the devil. It's not for naught mind you. The enemy drives the media's vehicles too and instructs what is being pumped out into the minds of the eyes and ears tuning in because the enemy clearly knows it will incite exactly what he wants the outcome to be. While I see a lot of the darkness and evil, I don't focus on it because I don't want to lose sight of the Light that could be shining in unsuspecting places. In every bad situation, in every dark corner, and in every unexplained situation, there is always His light to guide us, illuminate us for His glory and shine above all else. I know the Light inside of me is the Light of our Lord Jesus Christ and I have been witness to it shining brightly in the darkest recesses of the minds and lives of others. Being isolated and in lockdown, while being unemployed is difficult on me and in my spirit but I am still able to talk on the phone, text, email and continue my blog ministry! God never fails!
It's when His light shines on the darkness that unbelievers see the clearest and take notice the calling of the Lord! His Light seems to shine the brightest and sparkle the most when it's shining in the dark. Think about a street light for a moment. On an ordinary day, that street light wouldn't be bright at all. Hardly noticeable in fact. The light would blend in nicely with the daylight, against the sky. However, take that same street light and add a cloudy day. No sun peeking out from behind the clouds. Just a gray background and the lit street light. You can drive by and see it because you are able to notice it a little easier than on a clear bright day. Now, on a pitch black night, drive by that same street light and see how bright it shines! See how it illuminates the streets and objects beneath it, and all the surrounding areas. Although it's the same intensity and wattage as it was when viewing it in the day light, it's shining so much brighter because it's shining in the darkness! These are also the three "stages" of the human condition as well. Think about that for a second! Darkness is the absence of light! That's how God's light sometimes shines in the lives of others. Because they tend to see it more clearly when they are facing their darkest hours. I'm sure every eye that is reading this post has experienced a power outage of some kind at one time or the other in their lives. It happens swiftly and without warning. One minute you're in the light, the next you can't see your hand 2 feet in front of you. There's a small part of us that it feels ominous and we don't like being in the dark. Then, after some time in the dark, the lights come back on and the relief we feel is indescribable! Well, some people get comfortable in the "dark" as it somehow fits their character and their brokenness. That's not a place to get comfortable in nor is it a place to call "home." However, it's those people that the Light brings life. It's those people who really don't know what that kind of Light can bring to them.
Proverbs 3:25-26, "Have no fear of sudden disaster or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked, for the LORD will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being snared."
Isaiah 14:24, "The LORD Almighty has sworn, "Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will stand."
Let me say that a distraction, whatever that may be in your life, is much the same as an obsession. Every obsession begins with a distraction. And remember, every obsession is an idol. The reason I am talking about an obsession and connecting it to distractions is because we live in an extremely busy world. A very distracted world and what has just recently engulfed us all is nothing more than distractions themselves. A busy, technologically advanced world supplies us with endless distractions and those endless distractions take us away from our faith, worship and from God. When we become distracted from our faith, we ultimately become separated from God because our focus is being put on something, or someone, else. And the trip from distraction and separation is a short one, and very quick! Think of your faith walk as taking a drive. Would you really want to be in a car with a distracted driver who wasn't paying attention to the road and the obstacles? Of course not because you know that all sorts of things can, and will, happen as a result of it! You could miss your exits, run off the road, take a wrong turn, miss the warning signs and there could also be possible death. It's no different in our faith than driving with a distracted driver. The devil is the driver of the distraction vehicle! Never forget that if you don't remember much else! There's all kinds of spiritual distractions taking us on, and down, all kinds of wrong paths and those spiritual distractions will eventually take us far away from God. It's a constant struggle to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, and to not become distracted by the passing concerns and things of this world. We are all guilty of this, but we also need to be aware of those distractions so we can fight the battle against the enemy to keep our eyes focused on Jesus! If we become aware of what can, and does, interfere with our walk with God, then we can begin to take the necessary actions to prevent them from becoming the obsessions that they inevitably will become. Remember, in Matthew 6:33, it tells us "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." This "movement" and this "crisis" are distractions with many, many layers being peeled back, in what feels like a daily shedding. Each layer revealing more destruction and more distractions. Turn off the tv. Turn off the radio. Turn off your phones. Step away from social media and refocus your thoughts and minds upon Jesus!
Distractions of this world are growing exponentially because the more distracted one becomes, the quicker boredom sets in, and that boredom demands a bigger, better, more intense thrill for many. It's a vicious cycle but it's true. If you look around at all the distractions that started in this year alone, it's astonishingly telling of the condition of the human mind, but also, the society in which it has gripped so tightly. What's happening in this world, in my country, in yours, is a severe case of distractions, sleight of hand, evil and boredom. Satan is the puppet master and his minions are out gather up the willing participants. I realized just how much I fought distractions on a daily basis at one point in my life! I've also realized just how much the Lord worked on me to help me refrain from those things that I KNOW could cause me to stumble and fall away and to take my own eyes off of Jesus! The Lord has worked with me, and in me, with many of my own distractions, but as humans with the sinful human nature, distractions will be present. Nothing like what is happening now and nothing as destructive to a society as a whole. You'll never be able to hear God when your mind is crowded with all those thoughts, worries, fears, plans, and curiosities, or if you always have to have the radio or TV on. Distractions. I've found that many people can't stand the "silence" and it's a sad thing! Silence is when we can hear the sound of the Lord's voice drowning out the craziness of the day! And if you constantly have your phone against your ear, when God does call, all He's going to get is a busy signal! I don't know about you, but I don't want to miss His call when He's trying to call ME! All of these distractions are what Jesus was referring to in Luke 8:7 when he talked about the seed falling in the weeds. This verse says that those weeds grew with the seed and strangled it. Luke 8:7, "And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it." Notice that this scenario is a little bit better than the shallow soil because the seed actually sprouts and grows. But the weeds choke it out so it never bears fruit. So many people hear God speak, but as they go on their merry little way, all of life’s worries, riches, pleasures and distractions choke them, so they are never able to mature. Think about this, if you're always on the go and you can’t hear God when He's trying to speak to you or get your attention, then you're facing the barrier of busyness. Oftentimes, we confuse busyness with productivity and they are NOT the same thing. Some people feel productive if they're busy, but busyness is not always productive. If you keep going and going, but you aren't really spiritually growing, growing, growing, then it's obvious that you are busy, and not productive.
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| Stay Vigilant! |
Through all of this, it's important to see just how much the soul matters to God! That's what matters! This world is full of distractions to take us away from our Lord God Almighty! We must pray for what we see taking place around us, we must stand in the gap and fight the spiritual battles being waged. It's getting darker out there and we must not focus on the agenda being fed to us all via the media. Because that's all it is....an agenda and narrative of what they WANT you to see and hear. They use fear tactics because Satan is the author and he's their author as well. To help you stay focused see below!
Here are 4 ways the Bible tells us to avoid distractions:
1) Focus on doing God’s work. Luke 4:14-15, "Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region. 15) And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all." Overcoming the testing from Satan will end up strengthening us in Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit. He began His gospel ministry with power and acceptance. We shouldn't look for testing from Satan, but at the same time, we shouldn't be afraid of it either. He is not allowed to do anything that hasn't went through the Father's hands first. If we follow the examples of Jesus and overcome distraction from Satan, we'll become stronger, more focused, better equipped, and more effective witnesses for the Lord like Jesus did.
2) Focus on only serving God. Luke 4:8, "And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’" While Satan tried to mislead Jesus into worshiping power, splendor and glamour like most people in this fallen world do, Jesus brought the focus back around and centered it on God. Christians must be sure of their one focus for their life, God and God alone. In James 1:8, James told us clearly that a double-minded man is unstable in all things he does.
3) Focus on the right path. Luke 4:4, "But Jesus answered him, saying, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.'" Satan tried to mislead Jesus into focusing solely on His need for food, but Jesus pointed out that the higher path of life is to also focus on the word (promises) of God.
4) Focus on faith in, not test, God. Luke 4:12, "And Jesus answered and said to him, "It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.'" Very early in the journey to Exodus, the Israelis repeatedly tested God’s power and love in His provision of their needs. Moses also gave them a stern warning in Deuteronomy 6:16, "Do not test the Lord your God as you did at Massah." The most important weapon to defeat distraction is to focus on the faithfulness and power of God, instead of playing tricks to see if God is real or not.
Matthew 24:12, "And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold."
I believe people tend to forget this very simple yet profound statement that people’s love for one another, and the human race in general, will grow cold. The word for "love" is agape, and it speaks of good will, compassion, empathy and benevolence toward our fellow man. This particular part of the Scripture doesn't even necessarily mean the Christlike love to the fullest extent of selflessness and/or of being sacrificial. There has been an ingrained sense which the world has, at times, clearly understood to some degree what it takes to get along. Take for instance, in the 1950’s, the parents that experienced the Great Depression between 1929 and 1939, had compassionately created a culture of morality that penetrated all aspects of society. It was normal and safe to leave doors unlocked at the time. It was normal and safe for the children to play outside all day long into the nighttime when the streetlights came on because everyone was raising the children in the neighborhood! All the parents looked after the children. Safe. Secure. Normal. But now? We worry about the demonic perverts in wait to snatch our kids while our backs are turned for just a second. We're worried we'll be wrongfully sued if we look at somebody the wrong way. We're worried we'll get retribution if we get involved. We know that our politicians are lying to us and consistently breaking promises while catering to those with means and to those who have an agenda. People are constantly trying to gain an angle on us to get our money, to take advantage of the weak, and due to this lawlessness and crime are so widespread that our jails are filled to capacity. We are a fallen, twisted, and broken culture because our love has grown cold. There's widespread abuse of children, women, the elderly. Races are killing each other. Abuse is not limited to physical as it comes in many forms. There are physical, mental, emotional, and sexual abuse. ALL have the same power as the next one and can be just as damaging. There's violent outburst against one another in numbers that scream evil! There's widespread crimes of passion. There's animal abuse/sacrifice. There's a growing number of "groups" inciting violence across the world. The world of people are being numbed to the chaos around them and they're focusing on themselves. They don't and in many cases, can't, feel any real emotions. Then this happened. This crisis, this movement turned things around very quickly because people began to feel all kinds of pent up emotions. Good and bad. Happy and sad. As sin increases, love diminishes. As morality increases, love multiplies. Look at the free love and rebellion of the 60's. That wasn't an increase in love, but rather, it was an increase in lawlessness! Thus, the net result is a callous, selfish culture of passed down lawlessness and nihilism. Few people look to God for direction, and even fewer attempt to heed His commands. How can we expect the world to love? Actually, we shouldn’t really expect the world to know HOW to love given that only believers can truly love. 1 John 4:7-8, "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8) He who does not love does not know God, for God is love." Isn't that also a sobering Scripture?! I think so! And love that waxes cold towards others oftentimes, is a result of an unrighteous anger in the heart!
Violence, in it's many ugly forms and masks, is born out of anger. Anger unrestrained is a fire out of control. It starts as an ember but soon it's fanned and becomes an all-consuming fire that takes out many along its destructive path! Of all the things that are in the human heart, anger can be one of the most intense, destructive, and unhealthy emotions that we can experience. It's deceitful as a result. From our hearts, flow who we ARE. If the anger is not handled properly and in a righteous way, it can definitely have drastic life-changing consequences. Anger may be caused by a number of things, but the root cause of a spirit of anger is tension from past hurts and guilt. This mixture of pain and guilt is cumulative and inevitably, it erupts into uncontrolled anger when new offenses remind us of past experiences. Left unresolved, anger creates an intense desire to destroy something, or SOMEONE!!! Ephesians 4:31–32, "Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. 32) And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you." Violence is the result of a pathology of the soul. Violence doesn't begin with a standing of armies, generational ethnic hatred or longstanding social inequities. Violence is as close to us as our very own deceptive hearts. A lesson learned from Genesis in regards to Cain and Abel. Something as simple as jealousy that is/was left unchecked, left to grow, deepen and intensify, leads to acting out in unrestrained violence. God warned Cain in Genesis 4:6-7, "Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it." This is truly an amazing statement because it shows how jealously leads to anger. It shows, also, that sin is predatory. It's crouching at the door, looking to possess Cain. Just like it can with any one of you if anger is not in check! In other words, violence is often the tipping point after resentment turns to rage. What can be done about violence? God told Cain he'd better "master" the pathology of his soul. Since Cain didn't master the pathology of his soul, blood was spilled. God’s response to Cain was "your brother’s blood cries to me from the ground." And so does the blood of many today. Jesus speaks about the source of violence. Murder begins in the heart. One of the most revolutionary of Jesus’ teachings is that human violence begins in a much deeper place, a much more secret place. The sin of violence has already begun even before the blood is spilled or the words wound.
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| God's Justice! |
So as we watch society decay and rot with evil, as we watch love grow cold, and persecution increase, let us stand firm, speak boldly, and love truly and be vigilant in being our brother's keeper. For the sake of our Savior, for the sake of those who will be saved and who we'll be able to shine His light upon, let us show the entire world what it really means to love as we walk in purity before our Lord!! In Jesus' Precious Name AMEN!!
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