Wednesday Morning Devotional

Rise Up (Part 3)

And he slew an Egyptian, a man of great stature, five cubits high; and in the Egyptian’s hand was a spear like a weaver’s beam; and he went down to him with a staff, and plucked the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand, and slew him with his own spear. — 1 Chronicles 11:23

Benaiah killed a huge Egyptian.  This is listed as his last great exploit for which he had become famous.  It also gives us some insight as to how he did it.  Benaiah purposefully went out to fight him with an inferior weapon, a staff.  NIV says “a club.”  The Egyptian had a mighty spear.  Anybody watching would have realized that Benaiah was smaller and fighting with an inferior weapon.  I could go into why Benaiah did this, but by now you’ve probably figured it out.  Benaiah  was simply continuing to pattern his life after David.  He remembered that David fought Goliath with a sling and a stone…a much inferior weapon (or so everyone thought) to Goliath’s sword, which was probably as big as David.  Anyone betting on the fight would have put their money on Goliath.

Today, the world would look at me and laugh…in fact, I have a few that do.  I have learned in 21 years as a Christian to fight with the Word of God.  Incidentally, the Bible calls the Word of God the “Sword of the Spirit.”  (Ephesians 6:17)  This is my weapon of choice.  The Devil is much bigger than me.  He is more powerful than me.  Before I picked my Sword up, he brutalized me.  He constantly brought up my past.  He used hatred, alcohol, pre-marital sex, pornography, discontent and greed to constantly beat me down.  Anybody watching the fight would have put their money on the devil.

Then, one day, I don’t really when it was, I picked up my Sword with the intent of actually using it.  I think I heard the Devil laugh at me in pretty much the same way that Goliath laughed at David.  I read that “He who is in me is greater than he that is in the world.” (1 John 4:4)  It told me that I was God’s child and I could be one who overcomes this world.    Evil, along with the worldly ways that told me I had to have the best of everything and have it right now slowly but surely began to lose out to God’s word.  I began to follow Jesus.  I began to actually do what the Bible teaches.  The more I read, the more I loved Him.  The more I loved Him, the more I wanted to do what was right.  The more I did what was right, the more the devil ran out of fuel to tell me how much I had failed God and let me know how angry God was at me.

I think that was the best part.  I no longer had to do what was right to keep a judgmental, angry God from being mad at me.  I began to want to serve a God who was quick to show mercy to us extremely vulnerable and frail human beings.  I wanted to serve Him.  I saw Jesus as He really was, not filtered through the words of Satan.

So what does all this mean for me and you today?  It means there are battles to be fought.  It means that there is sin to overcome.  It means there are demonic powers that would love to make us a casualty of war.  Sounds kind of scary doesn’t it?  Fortunately, I still have my weapon of choice.  People may call me “simple minded” and say that I‘m “unable to think for myself,” but so far, the Word of God has stood the test of time.  There is nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing that I have applied to my life that I got from reading the Bible that has not worked!  I see no reason to think it is going to stop working any time soon.

Pick up your sword…read it…live it!

Rise up ye mighty men and women of God!

Later

Adam

Rise up (Part 2)

He also went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion. —  1 Chronicles 11:22

After killing two of Moab’s best men, the Bible records that Benaiah went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion.  Why?  Well, remember that Benaiah was using David’s life as a pattern for his own life.  Even though he had probably witnessed the slaying of Goliath with his own eyes, he also heard the stories.  Someone told Benaiah that they heard as a young shepherd, David killed a lion while protecting his flock.  Well, Benaiah wasn’t a shepherd, so he got this idea:  I will go find me a lion and kill it.  This brings about 3 points that I would like to share with you.

First, it was in a pit.  This is a very inconvenient place.  Not only is it dark, it is the enemy’s territory.  It will absolutely never be convenient for us to serve the Lord.  This world is enemy territory.  The devil is still the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:2) and he utilizes that power against us mightily.  Some say “when I get out of school, I’ll serve him.”  Others say “If I can just get this new job, it will be easier to serve Him.”  Others might even say “If I can just marry this man, I will be able to honor the Lord.”  Some might even say “If I can just divorce this woman, it will be easier to honor God.”  Whatever the excuse…it is never going to be easy to serve God.  Never.

Second, it was on a snowy day.  Visibility was  bad, and it would have been a million times easier to stay inside where it was more comfortable.  Visibility here on Earth is bad.  All we can see is today.  We can reflect on what happened yesterday, but we honestly have no clue what tomorrow, or even the rest of this day is going to bring.  Perhaps this is why James says “Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.’ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.’  As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil.”  (James 4:13-16)  Today is the day of salvation.  No more excuses.  If you don’t serve the Lord on purpose each and every day, it’s never going to get more convenient than today.

Last, and this is the best part, he hunted and killed the lion.  Nobody goes looking for a lion, especially in that day where high powered rifles were non-existent.  The Bible says “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”  (1 Peter 5:8)  What if we turned it around today?  What if instead of living our lives out of control and being completely oblivious to an enemy that is waiting to prey on our weakness, we went on a hunt?  What if we hunted the lion instead of waiting on him to devour us?

I don’t know about you, but I get tired of the devil bringing me down.  I get tired of him pushing me and my family around.  Through Christ…I have the power.  Remember the words?

Lead me not into temptation, but deliver me from the evil one. (Matthew 6:13)

It’s not that I’m that strong, but He who is in me is!  He has overcome this world. (John 16:33)

If you seek to honestly live for Him every day that you exist, I think Benaiah teaches us that it‘s time to go hunting!

Lord, thank you for the cross that gives me access to Your mighty power.  I cancel the devil’s assignment on me, my family, my school, and my friends!  I pray everywhere that I walk today that demonic powers have to dive under my feet as I crush them with every step I take.  Help me stay self-controlled and alert for the rest of my days.  Thank you with all my heart.

Later

Adam

Rise Up You Mighty Man!

Benaiah son of Jehoiada was a valiant fighter from Kabzeel, who performed great exploits. He struck down two of Moab’s best men.  — 1 Chronicles 11:22

Here I come, I’m bout to rise up — Disciple

Benaiah, to me, is the baddest dude (other than Jesus) in the Bible.  The first great exploit that King David gave him credit for was striking down two of Moab’s best men.  Undoubtedly, when Benaiah was younger, he saw a young David rise up and slay Goliath in the name of God.  I can only imagine how this stirred his soul.  If there was a God that would do that kind of thing for people who would truly make a stand in His name, Benaiah was all in.

Benaiah didn’t want to simply go out and slay a mighty warrior as David did.  He wanted more.  When it comes time to fight the Moabites, Benaiah said “Don’t just send one, send two!  In the name of the God of Israel, I will fight your two best men and God will give me the victory!”

This brings about two questions.  Who are the mighty men that you pattern your life after?  Also, what are the giants you need to go after and slay?

One of the first mighty men in my life was a man named Jimmy Boggs.  He was a pastor at Open Door Baptist church.  He had to be the busiest dude on the planet.  Yet, he still took a college student who was all over the place spiritually, sat him down, and taught him how to read and interpret the Word of God.  He taught me that real men love God.  Mighty men do His will.  Mighty men love one woman in marriage as Christ loves the Church.  Real men hunger and thirst for righteousness and forsake the things of this world.  I will forever be grateful for this man of God who is still making disciples today.  I’ll never forget kneeling by my bed and telling God that I’m sorry for being a hypocrite.  I finally put on the armor of God and told Him I was ready to fight for what is right.

Lately, I have been weighed down.  This semester, I have to take 3 graduate level courses and take a Praxis test (the test that you have to pass to be a teacher) even though I’ve been a teacher for 15 years.  I get to do this on top of all of my teaching, coaching, and family responsibilities.  I have to admit, up until today, all of this has defeated me.  It has deflated me spiritually.  I absolutely hate having all 168 hours of the week filled with something to do or somewhere to be.  This is kind of ironic, because up until a few years ago, this was all I knew.  Yes, I have giants in my own life.  But Benaiah teaches me that I can rise up.  I just need to pattern my life after people who have the victory, not losers who bow down to the ways of this world.  I am a mighty man of God!  I can let the world defeat me, or I can overcome the world.  Philippians 4:13 is still in the Word of God…

I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength!

Later

Adam

Perfection

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.  —  2 Corinthians 5:21

Are you doing what God wants you to do?  I have always been fascinated with the answers I get when I ask others this question, and yes, I have said stuff like this as well.  Here are 3 popular answers:  “Nobody’s perfect!”  “Before I become old and wise, I must be young and stupid.”  “I’m not as bad as some other people.”

What does it mean to be perfect?  The best definition as it pertains to this topic is “without defect or blemish.”  Each of us was born with blemishes and defects simply because we come from the seed of Adam who ate of the forbidden fruit (see Romans 5:12).  If you have ever had kids, those blemishes and defects are really obvious.  I never had to teach one of my kids to hit the other when one did something the other didn’t like.  I didn’t have to teach them to say “MINE!“  I didn’t have to teach them to lie to get out of trouble.  I never had to teach them to talk back to their mother.  When somebody says “nobody’s perfect,” of course they are right.  However, possibly the most pathetic thing in the world is a 37 year old who says they have had Christ in their heart for YEARS, yet they still yell “MINE!”

Now, right dead in the middle of history came a man named Jesus Christ.  He was born of a virgin.  This means He didn’t have Adam’s DNA coursing through his body.  God literally created His second son, Jesus.  He would be just like Adam was at first, without spot or blemish…absolutely perfect.  Yes, the devil would try to get him to sin, just like he did with Adam, but Jesus would have none of it (see Matthew 4:1-11).  What would Jesus choose to do with that perfection?

Read the verse at the top once more.  I don’t know how God does this, but when I asked for forgiveness as a 16 year old teenager, my sins were transferred to Jesus.  ALL of my sin…past, present, and future.  Several years ago, I would have argued with this point because I believed that if I ever sinned again, I wouldn’t be right with God until I “asked for forgiveness.”  That is until the day that I realized that when Jesus died, ALL of my sins were in the future, even the ones in my past.  Either way, Jesus was made to BE sin FOR US.  You want to talk about unfairness?  He lives right, I don’t, and He takes the punishment for MY wrong!  Why would he do that?

Read the verse at the top once more.  He did this so I might become righteous…like Him!  Am I perfect?  No way!  Can I become righteous?  Absolutely!  I can tell you that I am a LOT closer to perfection than I was as a 16 year old teenager.  In fact, every year (well, maybe not a few of those years), I can say that I grew closer to Him and became more like Him.  I was in my 30’s before I stopped saying “mine” and saying “here…you can have it.”  If someone needs to be wronged, I’ll be wronged.   That’s a big difference from when I used to  blame everyone else and say “It’s their fault.”

Jesus was and is perfect.  Therefore, if I am seeking Jesus, I am seeking perfection.  The more of Christ I have in my life, the more perfect I am.  Luke 9:23 says “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross and follow me.”  Why do you say “nobody’s perfect”?  Is it so you can continue to sin?  That’s why I used to say it.  These words gave me a license to underage drink, cuss, look at trash, and sleep with my girlfriends.  Now, I want to be as perfect as possible, so how do I get there?  I go after Jesus Christ.  How do I go after Him?  It starts with self denial…I have to deny those things that are keeping me from intimacy with Him.  I know what mine are, and you know what yours are.  Next, you pick up a cross that is VERY inconvenient to carry, especially in the United States of America.  While carrying this cross you study and learn absolutely everything you possibly can about Jesus Christ and how He chose to live His life on this Earth.  Last, you follow in His steps.

Nobody is perfect.  But why do you say it?  Is it so you can feel better about continuing in sin?  I did, for about 6 years after I got saved.  Or, is it because you realize how badly you need more and more of Jesus in your life?  I hope this is my answer for the rest of my days.

Later

Adam

The Pharisee’s Chair

Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.  You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. — Luke 7:44-45

I hate how easy it is to become a Pharisee.  To me, a modern day Pharisee is simply someone who uses the things of God to exalt themselves.  It is a person who picks a set of rules that is easy for them to follow, then looks down on others who don’t follow that particular set of rules as well as they do.  Basically, Pharisees are people who say “if you’ll be more like me and do more of what I do you will be blessed…like me”  I can only imagine the stink this produces in God’s nostrils.

I wonder why it is so easy to start putting your faith in what you do as opposed to what God did?  It is amazing how sin shrinks God…and puffs us up.  Can you imagine the Pharisee in this story inviting Jesus to His house and not even giving Jesus any of the common courtesies?  He didn’t provide Jesus any water for His feet.  He didn’t greet Him with a kiss.  Our Lord Jesus Christ was shrunk down to the level of the Pharisee in his mind.  The Pharisee saw himself as equal with Jesus.

Even now, I want to become a Pharisee and chastise this Pharisee.  That is, until I look back and see how many times I’ve marched into God’s House, sat down, propped my feet up and said “feed me…entertain me.”  No, I didn’t say this out loud, but that was my attitude.  I didn’t pray before the service.  I didn’t ask God to examine my heart and see if there was anything in there that needed to be placed at the foot of the cross.  I didn’t prepare my sinful and selfish heart at all.  Jesus and I were equals.  I needed Him, but I thought He needed me too.  How honored Jesus must have been to have me in His house!  Then, one day…Jesus brought my attention to the woman in the story.

I will never forget one Sunday at Open Door Baptist Church in Walhalla, South Carolina.  I knew something powerful was going on, I just wasn’t in on it.  I watched dozens of grown men and women just weep before the Lord.  God’s Presence was just that thick.  Yet, there I was…no tears.   I was just being a “good person.”  I was reading my Bible.  I was staying away from sin better than I ever had before and God was just pleased with His servant Adam Hopkins…yes He knew me by name!  But, what did these “criers” know that I didn’t know?  What was the difference?  Their experience was certainly different than what I was experiencing in my chair across from Jesus.  All I knew to do was pray.  “Lord, next time this happens…I want to cry.  I want to feel what they are feeling.”

It only took a couple of weeks.  I became so aware of how much sin I still brought to the table.  For the first time I wanted to get out of my chair and bow down there at His feet with the sinful woman.  I think for the first time I realized that I was forgiven MUCH.  I soon found myself weeping in church.  It was powerful, it was emotional…it was wonderful!

And to think all I had to do was go from the Pharisee’s chair that placed me equal with Jesus, to the floor, which placed me at His feet, equal with the sinful woman.

Lord, help me never sit in that chair again.

Later

Adam

False Witness

Thou shalt not bear false witness.  — Exodus 20:16

I try to come up with a different roll call question every time I take attendance in my class.  Today, my question was:  If you could be paid $100 per lie that you tell, and could be paid for up to 10 lies per day, would you become a liar for $365,000 a year?  It was about an even split.  Half said “yes,” and half said “no.”

At first, I was gasping inside my heart.  Then I thought about how as a 7^th grader or an 8^th grader, I lied for free, so of course I would lie for $365,000 a year…I wouldn’t even have to change.  Then, I thought about how even as a Christian I’ve done some pretty dishonest things.  When I have to take classes for re-certification every 5 years, it is so tempting to find other people’s work who have already taken the class, and turn it in as my own…bearing false witness.  Though it is tempting, I like to think I’m at a point now in my life where I’d rather be right with God and fail, than take any kind of “easy way” and not be right with Him.  It really does expose the fact that there really is a broad way that leads to destruction, and a narrow way that leads to life (Matthew 7:13-14).

Now, here is what I learned through asking this question.  I can not change one of the hearts of my students about this matter.  I can tell them it is wrong.  Some of the students said they would not choose the life of a liar because it is “in the Bible” and “God says it is wrong.”  Unfortunately, simply knowing this information does not change the heart of any sinner.  I remember Tonya and I being on one of our Anniversary cruises.  There was a comedian on the ship who had people raise their hands if they were married, raise their hands if they were single, and finally to raise their hands if they were “shacking up” with someone they were not married to.  When several people raised their hands for this last one, he said “look children…sinners!”  Everyone laughed.  I couldn’t help but think that everyone laughed because they knew in their hearts it was wrong…just didn’t really care that it was wrong.  Knowing that it is wrong to “shack up” and knowing that it is wrong to lie does not keep us from going ahead and doing it anyway.  Yet, what many Christians and many churches do is point out sin and make judgments about people who sin instead of praying for hearts to change.  This, in turn, drives sinners further and further away from the things of God because the whole “Christian life” seems impossible.

Here is the bottom line:  God must change each person’s heart, or that heart will remain wicked.  Upon asking Him into your life, I am convinced that the worst thing you can do is try really hard to change.  On your own, you can’t stop lying, stop cheating, stop sleeping around, stop…well, sinning.  The truth is, if you don’t really WANT to stop, you are certainly not going to stop because you HAVE to stop or because some preacher is in a pulpit badgering you with ought to’s and ought not‘s.

The person who has asked Jesus to forgive them has had the stink of sin removed from their lives.   I believe this stink removal is His primary purpose for you and for me.  You go from smelling repugnant to smelling like a rose.  He can now spend time with you.  Not only can He spend time with you, He wants to spend time with you.  In fact, He wants to indwell you.   Because of the atoning blood of Jesus, He literally places His Spirit inside of you.  The only thing that you really have control of is the amount of time you spend cultivating your relationship with Him.  Simply be still and know that He is God on a regular basis. You will not have to change yourself because over time He will change you.  This change is the only way that I know for sure that I have truly been saved.  The ways of my sinful nature have decreased, and the fruits of the Spirit have increased.  In no way does this mean that I have “arrived” and can put it on cruise control until I enter Heaven.  I am just now beginning to realize that this kind of heart change truly comes from God.  I want so bad to want His Presence in and on my life more than I want anything else that this world has to offer.  I don’t want to bear false witness and simply say I’m a Christian as I did for many years after my initial conversion.

I want to really be one.

Lord, help me be one!

Later

Adam

The Gate

Enter his gate with thanksgiving  — Psalm 100:4

I am almost finished reading “The Pilgrim’s Progress.”  I am reading the last few chapters really slowly, I just don’t want it to end.  That book describes the life of every Christian who has ever set out on the journey to really follow the Lord Jesus Christ.  I am most fascinated by the people that Christian (the main character in the first half of the book) encounters that started out on the journey, but did not enter at the Narrow Gate.  It is where all “pilgrims” who desire to reach the “Celestial City” must begin their journey.

I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.  — John 10:9

I am so thankful that “the gate” is clearly defined in scripture.  Jesus flat out tells us that He is the gate.  Every single person that desires to be saved must go through Him.  If you examine all of the religions, the ticket to “heaven,” or “enlightenment,” or whatever else is promised is found in keeping some set of rules.  Do this, don’t do this, do that, don‘t do that, look like this, don’t look like that…all sorts of rules.  Not so with Christianity.  Even though many denominations try to paint a picture of exactly what a “Christian” looks like, the bottom line is that salvation is a gift given to us by the Lord Jesus Christ.  He is the gate.  The journey to heaven begins with Him.

I know this is a rather simple WMD.  I just want you to examine your heart and make sure that you began your journey at the gate, the cross of Jesus Christ.  Maybe you bypassed the gate and sit in church every Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night and think that makes you right with God.  Maybe you just decided to be a better person and did a pretty good job of making yourself over and think that because you changed you are right with God.  Maybe you play the “I’m a good person” card.  The Bible is clear…there is NO ONE good…not even one (Romans 3:10).  We are not good people that occasionally do bad things.  At our core, we are bad people that can occasionally do good things.  The only way we can be saved is if we accept the forgiveness offered at the foot of the cross.  Have you received this forgiveness?

When did your journey begin?  I don’t know my exact date, but I do know it was in the Summer of 1991.  In a car parked in a lake parking lot with my youth pastor, he led me in the prayer of salvation.  I went in through the gate.

What a journey I have been on ever since then!  This pilgrim has made some progress, though I realize there is a lot more progress to be made before I enter Celestial City.  With the help of God, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit…I will make it.

And to think…it all started at this really narrow gate named Jesus.

Later

Adam

The Last Temptation

“All this I will give you, “ he (Satan) said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”  Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan for it is written:  ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’  Then the devil left him.”  — Matthew 3:9-10

In the third and last temptation, Satan offers something for nothing.  He basically says “I’ll stop all my deception, I’ll stop all the work I do to destroy your kingdom, I will just give it all away if you will just take a knee Jesus.”  Jesus says “There is no way that is happening!”

As a math teacher, I get to teach all kinds of different students…smart ones, the opposite of smart ones, and every kind in between.  That is all well and good, I honestly do not care which kind they are.  However, I like to classify them in a different way:  Either they try…or they don’t try.  In my 16 and a half years of teaching, I have seen the number of students that try decrease, and the number of students that don’t try increase.  In fact, they are increasing at a rapid rate.  As if that isn’t bad enough, here is what is really bad:  They want a good grade…they just don’t want to earn it.  I know Mitt Romney got in trouble for his “47%” comment.  I honestly wish he would have embraced what he said and stood by it.  Mainly because the next generation isn’t much better.  If something doesn’t change, we are raising a generation where half are willing to work and contribute, and half don’t want to work, but want to be given the same luxuries as those who do.

In the last temptation of Jesus, Satan tried to convince Jesus that He could save the world without working for it.  Better yet, he tried to say that Jesus could have it without denying Himself, without taking up the cross, and without following His Heavenly Father.  How appealing does that sound to 47% of this country?  You can have Salvation and all of its benefits!  You can keep following the world and its ways!  You don’t have to change anything about your life…no disciplined Bible reading, no self-denial, no praying, no WORK…You really CAN have it BOTH WAYS!

Have you fallen for it?  I did.  I had a season of life where I thought I could live any way I wanted and God still have my back.  It didn’t work out so well.  In fact, there was a single day when all of my sinful ways came crashing down on me.  I am so thankful for forgiveness!  I am so thankful, not for just second chances, but hundred and second chances.  When I realized that I had fallen for the devil’s temptation, I could only put myself at the mercy of the cross.  Once again, Jesus forgave me, but this time it was different.  This time, I actually appreciated it.  This time, I realized I was like the woman in Luke 7:47…I was forgiven much!  When that happened, I began to love and appreciate Jesus as opposed to keep on trying to perform well for Him…I was a terrible performer anyway.

Thank God Jesus didn’t fall for any of these temptations.  If He had, He would not have been our spotless lamb.  The sacrifice made for our sins would have been insufficient.  Keep in mind…HE DID ALL THE WORK!  He did the hard part…He kept all the rules perfectly because He knew absolutely NOBODY else ever could or would.  When you accept Him into your heart, you receive His perfection.  You receive His righteousness.  The only thing you can do for Him is live a life of thankfulness.  Read His Word, understand His Word, live His Word…it is FOR YOU!!!  As you drink in His Word, your love for Him will increase.  You will WANT to live for Him!  You will find out that living for Jesus is simply a better way to live!  Not to mention, it benefits others, because they will want what you have.  Hopefully, you know how to help them receive Him.

There has never been, and never will be, anyone like our Lord Jesus Christ!  There is no one with more grace, with more forgiveness, with more compassion, or with more mercy.  If He is not your Lord…please make Him your Lord today!

Lord, Jesus…I am a sinner in need of a Savior.  I stand before you guilty and condemned.  I believe you died on the cross for my sins.  I believe that you took the punishment that I deserve.  I believe that by your stripes I am healed.  Come into my heart.  Make me brand new.  Help me learn to love you and live for you until I draw my last breath on this Earth.  Thank You!

Later

Adam

It is Written

Matthew 4:4:  Jesus answered, “It is written:”

Matthew 4:7:  Jesus answered, “It is also written:”

Matthew 4:10:  Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan!  For it is written:”

Today, I want to talk about the second temptation that Jesus experienced.  The devil tried to get Jesus to do something stupid.  Check out Matthew 4:5-6:  Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple, “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down.”  Once again, don’t forget the fact that the devil says “IF you are the Son of God,” and he leaves out the fact that God loves Him as he already stated at the very end of Matthew chapter 3.  But, this time the devil quotes a scripture.  As a general warning, don’t believe that everyone who posts scripture on Facebook is a genuine Christian…even the devil can quote scripture!  Let’s examine what it looks like when he quotes scripture.

Satan quoted Psalm 91:11-12.  Here is the real scripture:  “For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways;  they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”  Now, here is the devil’s version:  “He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”  all Satan left out were the words “to guard you in all your ways.”  In other words “if you  really are God’s Son, you can do whatever you want and no harm will come to you.  This might have been true of Jesus…however, Jesus knew that the rest of the verse said that he was also to consider his ways.  There was no way that Jesus was going to tempt His Heavenly Father in this manner.

How I wish as a beginning Christian I had considered my ways!  I see now how Satan convinced me I could go places I shouldn’t go, do things I shouldn’t do, and ultimately live like I shouldn’t live…and still have God on my life.  I believe the lesson in this temptation is that we can not live any way we please and expect everything to work out just fine.  However, that is exactly what the devil wants us to believe.

If you are God’s kid…meaning that you have a point in your life where you have asked Jesus into your heart and have surrendered your life to Him, are you considering your ways?  Let’s examine just a few:

How do you treat people?  Especially people you don’t like.  Do you make a conscious effort to love them?  Remember Matthew 5:44 “But I tell you: Love your enemies”  If you are hating anyone, please consider your ways.  You can not have both your hate and God’s presence!

Do you love the things of this world more than you love Him?  I sure did.  I used to love new golf clubs, new televisions, new computers, new girlfriends and new guitars WAY more than I loved Him.  But, consider Matthew 6:20: “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”  The devil had me convinced I could have BOTH.  Unfortunately, verse 24 says “No one can serve two masters.  Either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other.  You can not serve both God and Money.”   I sure tried.  But, it left me miserable.

Do you judge others?  I see Christians all the time posting things about how THEY go to church, about how THEY spend hours upon hours with the Lord.  Some even go as far to look down on others that don’t spend time with Him as much as THEY do.  These people are simply modern day Pharisees.  I may think these things from time to time, but there is no way that those thoughts are coming out of my mouth and they are DEFINITELY not coming out in a post on Facebook.  For one, I want to consider my ways.  For two, I know Matthew 7:1 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.”  I don’t think that verse means that we should NEVER point out sin…I’m kind of doing that here.  But, here is what we need to consider:  In the same way that I judge others, I will be judged when I stand before the King.  Therefore, I will choose mercy every single time.  I want and need mercy when I stand before Him.  I definitely do not want to rely on my own goodness…it just ain’t that good.

These examples could go on and on and on…I just pointed out a few that I had to deal with and still deal with quite frequently.

This is what the LORD Almighty says:  “Give careful thought to your ways.”  —  Haggai 1:7

And remember, the devil left these words out when he was tempting Jesus.  Could it be that a lot of Christians believe they can live any way they please and still complete God’s assignment for their lives?

It is written, so we had better know it…and know it well!

Later

Adam

Jesus Fasted

After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.  — Matthew 4:2

Why do you reckon the Son of God fasted?  Did He have to?  Couldn’t He have certainly overcome the devil’s temptations without fasting?  I am inclined to believe that He didn’t have to fast and that He certainly could have overcome the devil without doing so.  Then I consider Hebrews 4:15:  For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are–yet was without sin.  I think I often forget that Jesus was fully God and fully man.  I believe Jesus fasted to absolutely bring the “fully man” part of himself to his knees, even the verge of death.  He was literally conquering His flesh and living completely by the Spirit.  Jesus was very aware that He was about to go public with His ministry.  He was about to draw some amazing crowds and some intense scrutiny from the religious leaders.

This brings me back to the question:  Why did Jesus fast?  I think the next verse gives us a clue.  Check out Matthew 4:3:  The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”  Interesting.  Compare this verse with what God Himself proclaimed from Heaven at the end of Matthew 3:  And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

Notice that God proclaims “This is my Son!”  Notice the devil says “If you are God’s Son.”  Notice that God says “I love Him!”  Notice Satan leaves that part out.  The temptation has begun.  Satan simply wants Jesus to doubt that Jesus is who the Father says He is.

Do you think Satan is still playing these same games with God’s children today?  I certainly know he played them with me.  Within a week of my own salvation, he made me doubt that I was God’s child and made me doubt the Father’s love for me.  Why did Satan’s trick work for me and not for Jesus?

Jesus fasted…He prepared Himself for the attack.  I didn’t.

In no way am I saying that I should have starved myself for 40 days and been as hardcore as Jesus.  I don’t really think any beginning Christian is ready for that.  However, looking back, there are lots of things I could have and should have done.  For one, I should have immediately only hung out with people who were actually walking the walk that I was about to begin.  I should have asked them questions about their struggles at the beginning and inquired about some of the pitfalls.  Secondly, I wish I had filled my mind with as much of the Bible as possible.  I wish I had taken forty days and forsook the television, video games, walkman (for those who remember those), and just got away from all the junk I pumped in my head with and pumped it with God’s Word.

I can’t help but believe that this is the first fast for believers.  Take a period of time and get away from social media, video games, cell phones, simply get away from all the things that suck your time doing absolutely nothing.  Replace that time with God time.  Write your prayers in a journal, talk to Him, read His Word, listen to Praise and Worship, listen to really knowledgeable preachers preach, read books written to help you follow Him more closely, and basically fill your mind with Him.  Why?  I’m glad you asked.

Because when you finish 10 days, 21 days, 40 days….however many days you choose, you will emerge different.  Your friends will say “what is different about you?’  Your face will begin to shine as the face of Moses did when he came down from the mountain (Exodus 34:35).  God’s Presence will be on your life.  You will be so much more grounded in your faith.  Best of all, you will have such confidence, as Jesus did, that what God has said of you is true…

I am born of God, and the evil one can not harm me. — 1 John 5:18

I am alive with Christ… I have been saved by grace!  — Ephesians 2:5

I have received the gift of righteousness. — Romans 5:17

I am a new creature in Christ — 2 Corinthians  5:17

I am forgiven of all my sins and washed in the blood.  — Ephesians 1:7

It is not I who live, but Christ who lives in me. — Galatians 2:20

This could go on all day!

Later

Adam