Our Enemy (Luke 4:2-14)

After Jesus' baptism, the spirit of God led Jesus into the wilderness.  While there, he was tempted by the devil who used all of his power expecting him to fall as every person before who had been tempted had fallen.  The power displayed by the devil is only a portion of his potential and reveals to us that our tempter is not on an equal plane with us.

The devil had the power to take Jesus to a high mountain and reveal to him all kingdoms of the Earth.  Regardless of how high a mountain, there was no way that all kingdoms could be viewed naturally.  Satan made this possible with the power that he had given to him at his creation.  He then took him from the wilderness to a high pinnacle of the temple.  Who would allow them access to this holy place and how would they get to the high pinnacle?  The temple was not a multistoried building.  Again, the devil used his power to make this possible.  Other passages reveal that he is a deceiver (1 Timothy 2:14), the father of lies (John 8:44), and can make himself appear as an angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14). 

From Jesus' temptation and this Information, you can formulate a strategy of defense.  To be victorious, you must recognize that your enemy, as he displayed in his tempting of Jesus, has greater power than you and you cannot defeat him in your own strength.  Just as you needed Jesus to deliver you from the penalty and bondage of sin, you need him to deliver you from the temptation to sin. You also must recognize that the enemy will make promises that he cannot or will not keep. Although his promises may appear to be pleasing, sin always robs the believer of the joy they are seeking.  It is also important for the believer to settle the matter in their heart that supernatural happenings should not be immediately credited to God.  The way to be cautious is to make sure that actions believed to be from God do not contradict God's word.  God is not the author of confusion.  Therefore, he will not say one thing in his word and then do another.

God has promised to guide, direct, comfort and empower us.  With these promises of his presence, power, and directing, we cannot fail.

Seeking For Jesus (Luke 2:49)

This passage is very familiar because it is the first recording of words spoken by Jesus.  His statement, "How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?" is made in reply to his mother who in exasperation from searching for him questioned his behavior.  In today's terms he would be telling her that she really didn't need to search for him because she should know where he would be: going about his father's business.

Jesus has promised to never leave or forsake us, but we can stray or wander away from him. The question is, "Can we ever really lose Jesus to where we need to search for him so that we can get back?"  If we were to ask The Lord, his answer would be very similar to the reply made to his mother.  He would probably tell us, "You don't need to search for me.  You will find me where you left me."

When people stray from The Lord, it is usually around an event or circumstance.  It may result from being hurt in losing a loved one.  It could have resulted from a sickness in themselves or someone that they love greatly.  They may have strayed because they ran after an empty opportunity offered by the world.  Trust in others may have been shattered.  In any event, people usually stray in response to life and its circumstances.  

How do these people get back?  The answer: they need to return to where they left The Lord.  If they accused him of not caring, then they need to return to him, confess their error and exercise faith that God does care.  If they were lured by the trinkets of the world, they need to return, confess loving another and set their affection on things above.  If they felt abandoned, they need to cease believing that lie and instead tell God that they will believe the promises of his word.  When a person is away from God they strongly believe the lies of the enemy just as much as we believe the promises of God and the only answer is repentance.  That is to change their mind from what they believe or think to something different.  Abraham experienced this when he went back to Bethel.  It was there that he built an altar and met with God and it was there that he returned to God after coming out of Egypt.

This is a very difficult thing to accomplish and the longer somebody is away from The Lord the more difficult the task will be.  However with God nothing shall be impossible.  If you have wandered away, come back to God.  You will find him at your Bethel.  If you have a son, daughter or loved one who has wandered away, continue praying for them. God wants them to come back to him much more than you do.

Widows Mites (Mark 12:41-44)

In the temple was a treasury where people would give offerings to God.  The rich gave from their overflow.  The widow, in spite of being financially short, gave anyway.  From the text, it appears that she emptied her purse.  Because of her poverty, she probably did not have any savings and after her offering was given, she was without any money and needed to trust The Lord and live by faith for her next meal and supply.  Why did she give?  Others were giving more.  Why give in this manner when the amount given would not be recognized or make any significant difference?  With all the wealth given, how much of a difference would her little bit make?

Because the Lord commends her giving, her motive for providing such an offering could only have come from right motives.  Truly spiritual motives for giving are empathy, obedience and love.  Had the offering been used for the poor, then it would be reasonable to think that her motivation could have been from empathy, but the gifts were to be used for various purposes including servicing the temple and not just caring for the poor.

Obedience could possibly have been the motive, but most likely was not the case.  In Luke 17:7-10, Jesus teaches that servants are not commended for tasks that they complete in obedience to commands of their masters.  Therefore, the reasonable explanation for the widow giving so sacrificially to the point of dependency upon The Lord for her own needs to be met, could only have been motivated by love.

Love: the sacrificial desire to meet the needs of those loved.  This definition describes the widow.  The great question to ask is, does this definition describe you?  Ask yourself, "Why do I do the things I do?  Is it out of responsibility or love?  Is it for what I can get back or is it from love?  Is it because of who is watching or is it love?  Is it because of fear or is it love?"

Christ demonstrated the greatest act of love by becoming our sin bearer.  He sacrificed for what we needed.  We must do the same.  We must live as he lived, love as he has loved and die to self or our own desires.  In doing so, we become a living testimony of his work of love in our lives.

A Heart Twisted By Imaginations (Psalm 81:11-12)

Have you ever known somebody who for years lived for The Lord and then came to a point of no longer following God?  I have seen it countless times.  How did he or she get to that point or what happened to bring about such a drastic change?  

But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me.  So I gave them up unto their own hearts' lust: (Psalm 81:11-12)

From this passage, it can be seen that what takes place when this occurs is that a person comes to a point in his life that he no longer hears The Lord with the intent of listening.  He reads the scriptures and attends preaching services, but he is not hearing with the intent of listening for the Lord's voice or calling.  A battle begins to take place in their heart and mind.  Thoughts or imaginations of their heart begin to change the desires of the heart.  After some time, the believer, who at one time panted after God as a deer pants after the water brook, now no longer rests content in The Lord.  As the passages states, the Lord eventually lets them go to run after the twisted imaginations of their heart.

Such a sad state that can only be overcome by repentance, which will be essential for them to return.  Since they have ceased listening to The Lord, they more than likely will only repent after The Lord brings some type of chastening and even at that point they can still resist.

If this is you, pray while you still can and ask The Lord to keep you from wandering any farther away from him.  If this describes somebody you know, pray for them daily that God would have liberty in working on their heart and that God would grant them repentance. 

In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; (2 Timothy 2:25)

Keeping From Error (Mark 12:24)

As the unbelievers came to Jesus to tempt him, he identified their cause of error being in that they did not know the scriptures and failed to recognize the power of God.  For these people, they failed to understand marriage and also how the scriptures support that God resurrects people from the dead.  Had they known truth and believed in their hearts, they would not have walked in error.

Life is not any different today.  Identifying truth for life's situations and recognizing the power of God will keep you from being led astray.  In order for this to happen, You must know truth that is pertinent to your life and then by faith walk believing that God will bless it and provide his powerful guidance and blessing.  If You fail to seek truth for your life, You will rely upon the reasoning of your heart and that reasoning will lead you to error.  There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. (Prov. 14:12)

God reminds us that the word of God is a lamp to our feet and a light for our path. (Psalm 119:105). He will guide us to truth that will provide the direction we must go.  He will not illuminate the entire way, but he will show the next step.  Our part then is to believe and follow.

But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.  Edit. 4:29

Sacred (Mark 11:15-17)

There are some things that God sees as sacred.  Sacred is something that is set apart as holy unto God.  The tabernacle was sacred as well as all of the items inside.  Samson because of his Nazarite vow was sacred.  The silver, gold, brass and iron of Jericho was consecrated or considered holy unto The Lord.  In this passage, it was the temple.  When The Lord arrived, it appeared that it was being used for every reason other than for what it was intended.  There may have been offerings there, but the actions were mechanical and heartless.  Greed, profit and the mundane ceremonial practices filled the place that was intended for heart communion with God.

There isn't any temple today and sacrifices are no longer needed.  So what is there that is holy to God.  As the temple and all other sanctified objects of the Old Testament were set apart unto The Lord, he wants our hearts set apart for him.  He wants our hearts to long for his presence and to occupy themselves with motives and desires that are holy.  The Lord admonishes us to keep his commandments (John 14:15).  The word keep in this passages carries the idea of guarding something.  The Lord wants us to guard our hearts so that only that which is pleasing to him will reside in it.  The Psalmist stated it this way, "Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer". 

We cannot accomplish this task on our own, but with the power of his spirit and the working of his grace, we can have a heart like this.  As you walk through life today, continually ask for God's grace to reveal that which you should shun and to direct your focus towards things that will motivate you to praise him.  We don't have much to give back to him, but we do have a heart and all of its desires that can be presented to him daily.

Root of Bitterness (Heb. 12:15)

Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;

Bitterness may spring up like a root, but if left unattended, will grow to mammoth proportions.  Bitterness in the heart of the believer is like a poison.  Important questions to ask are how does a person become bitter and where does bitterness come from?  

As humans, we interact with people daily and in that interaction, we can be offended or hurt.  If we carry these hurts in our hearts and fail to forgive as the scriptures instruct, the hurts will remain.  As future days pass, daily hurts continue to accumulate.  If this process continues for a while, it will not be long until the individual is facing major issues of hurt and anger.  This person's anger will continue to grow towards others and even themselves for allowing the hurt to happen.  Bitterness develops from unresolved hurt and anger.  Anger is best described as a person's emotional state, but bitterness will develop and become their attitude or perspective towards life and others.

To keep yourself from being overcome with hurt, anger and bitterness, you must forgive those who have sinned or wronged you.  Forgives means to release.  A common phrase that people say today instead of telling people to forgive is, "Let it go".  When we forgive, we let people go or release them from any obligation towards us.  Because they don't owe us, it will be difficult to become angry towards them and without anger, there also be an absence of bitterness.

So, as you face people daily who hurt or offend you, look for reasons why you should forgive them. It may be because of issues in their lives.  It may be because of things that you have done towards them or possibly because they simply may be having a bad day.  But by releasing them, you are really freeing yourself rom all of the baggage that leads to bitterness.

Take a quick inventory of your life.  If you have hurt, anger or bitterness, identify the causes and those involved and LET THEM GO!

Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.  Ephesians 4:31-31

Expectation (Mark 11:2-6)

Jesus sent his disciples into a village to get a colt.  Under normal circumstances if a person were to walk up to an animal, unloose it and begin to leave, it would be considered stealing.  Normal reactions would be to contact the law and prosecute.  However as the owner sees these men, he ask about their intentions.  Their reply of, "The Lord hath need of him" caused the owner to allow them to take his possession.

I have often thought about this passage.  What took place behind the scenes?  Did God previously speak to the man and let him know that the disciples of The Lord would come for the animal?  Had the man recently yielded himself to the Lord and dedicated all of his possessions or did he beckon The Lord to use him in some way to bring him glory?  For now, we cannot know, but what we do know is that The Lord knew how he would respond.

As I consider this text, I ask myself, " What choices does the Lord know that I will make?  Is he expecting me to make choices that reflect my dedication to him or is he knowing that I will stagger in my faith?  How can I know that my choices and actions will be pleasing to him?  I can better accomplish this and direct my actions of the future to be pleasing to him by following a few guidelines: keep a short account of sins and confess them immediately, spend time with God in his word and in prayer, yield myself to him daily, express thanks for what he has done for me, and forgive those that have offended me.  By doing these, I am not guaranteeing that I my actions will always be pleasing to him, but it will cut off those things in the world which may negatively affect me.

One Way Or The Other (Mark 10:24)

Trust is an important word in Christianity.  It is similar to the word faith in that it carries the idea of being convinced or persuaded.  Man's heart is the aspect of his being that contains trust.  Just as you are only able to think of one thing at a time, so your heart can only focus trust on one entity at a time.  The greatest problem that man has is recognizing his heart and what it is trusting.

In this passage we see a perfect example of one who believes that his life is pleasing to The Lord.  He questions as to what he needs to do so that he may inherit eternal life.  Jesus responded with the measuring stick of the Law.  The young man, as looking into the law, saw himself as blameless.  He may have appeared blameless on the outside, but his heart was a different matter.  The one thing that the young man lacked was not another action, but a heart that trusted the LORD and not the idol of financial security.  After his short discourse with the Lord, he is left standing at the crossroads: shall I give up everything and completely trust this Jesus or shall I hold on to what I have.  His answer revealed his heart.

Before i jump on the band wagon and attack this man, I need to ask myself the following questions.  How often have I balked on The Lord?  Since saving my soul, how often has my heart been divided against him?  How often have I been motivated by my idolatrous heart and tried to work myself out of my troubles.  How often have I focused my deliverance on a person instead of The Lord.  Am I trusting my job as security or am I really focusing on God.  To be honest, my heart is a constant battle ground.  It is not so much over whom I will trust, but recognizing when my heart has turned to trust another.  The heart is still deceitful above all things and desperately wicked (Jer. 17:9).

The way to victory is to stay close to The Lord, expose yourself to his word, daily submit yourself to his will and pray for him to reveal to you the unpleasing things in your heart

Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.  Psalm 19:14

Law Versus Grace (Mark 10:3-4)

The Pharisees were again trying to test The Lord by posing a question that they believed to be settled by the law.  Can a man divorce his wife?  As The Lord answered the question, he revealed the root cause for the giving of the law: it was because of the condition of man's heart.  

As you look at the law, you will see countless "thou shalts" and "thou shalt nots".  The lost see these as rules for earning salvation, but as the scripture states, the law was our school master teaching us our condition before God so that we may recognize our need for a savior.  Another purpose for the law was to restrict the man who walks in his flesh and to create a cognitive reminder as to limits he must live within.

However grace is just the opposite.  Grace does not hinder the believer from performing any act, but is intended to enable him to perform works beyond his ability.  The Pharisees, like many of us today, wanted to live their lives in the realm of the Law with the end result being a strict, stifled, unfulfilling life.  However those, who have experienced victory and the abundant life, found that grace is essential for that life.

For us, we must decide how we shall conduct our lives before God.  Shall we have the view of him as unaccepting and always needing to be pleased or shall we see God as our loving and accepting Father who wants to deliver us from the works of our flesh and cause us to abound in his grace.  You cannot have both.  Both views are manners by which believers strive to yield themselves as instruments of righteousness to God (Romans 6:13): the former unto greater bondage and the latter to victory.

God's Completing Work (James 1:4)

Grin and bear it.  How many times has that been said to you or you have said it to yourself?  I remember a comic strip in the papers that boasted that title.  It was about the trials in life that we need to just deal with and move on.  There is a biblical term that has much the same meaning.  It is, patience.  Patience is not waiting because waiting only entails enduring until the end.  However patience is enduring until the end, but with cheerfulness.  How many people have you met who are in the midst of a great trial and struggle and yet they remain cheerful.  It isn't any secret to have that attitude because it will result from the Holy Spirit meeting with you and changing your hopeless view to that which agrees with his perspective.  

But, how do I get this view?  You get this view by seeing the end.  Just as God sees the end from the beginning, so you need to do the same.  You may not be able to see the details as he sees them, but you can see that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.  You can see that whatever takes place it will be what is best for you and greatest for his glory.  You can even see that God will continue to be in control and that whatever happens, it is only by his will that it can take place.  When you truly have this perspective, you will also have patience.

Now when you have patience, it will do a work for you and in you.  When you allow God to do his complete work in your life, you become complete. The word perfect in this passage does not pertain to somebody who is without sin, wrong or error, but it means to be complete as in a complete set.  Patience is what you need so that you can be what you are intended to be.  The only place that You can get it is from trials.  Trials bring you to the end of yourself and when You are there, it is then that God can do something in and through you.

So, think of your trial.  Will you allow it to cause you to give up and quit, or will you yield to God so that he can do something even greater in your life: the completing work of patience?

Mount of Transfiguration (Mark 9:2-9)

Jesus leaves the crowd of people and takes three disciples with him up onto a high mountain.  While on the mount, he is transfigured into his glorified state as John would again see him on the Isle of Patmos.  As the disciple see Jesus changed and also the presence of Moses and Elijah, they become exceedingly afraid.  In response to the fear, Peter suggests making three tabernacles.  Peter is corrected by another manifestation of God as his voice is heard from the cloud.

Over the years, I have asked myself countless times why would Peter suggest making three tabernacles similar to that made by Moses.  It is difficult to explain why we do what we do when we are afraid, but fear is Peter's reason.  Man's motivation since the fall has been to perform some work in response to his fear of God.  It started in the garden and has been ever present even up to today.  What Peter failed to grasp is that God wanted to do a work in Peter and the others and was not looking for them to do any work.  

When God reveals himself to you it is intended to affect your relationship with him and not cause you to perform a work.  When he revealed himself to you at salvation, he was working to get you to cease from works and to trust him and his resurrection power for salvation.  As we walk through difficult trials, we are always put into a position so that our works cannot deliver us.  At some point in the trial, God will reveal himself to you.  it will not be a physical manifestation, but he will reveal himself through his word.  It is only when we trust him who is invisible (Heb. 11:27) that deliverance comes.

As God reveals himself to you focus on your relationship with him.  Search your heart for motives, fears, selfishness, shame, goals and worries.  God is trying to work on the condition of your heart.  If there is a work he wants you to do, he will perform it through you when your heart is as he desires.  God is concerned about what you are and not what you do for him.  When you are what he wants you to be, you can then do what he wants you to do.

Direction Versus A Sign (Mark 8:11-12)

Seeking direction from God is not requiring from him a sign.  Those who are seeking guidance have faith that needs direction and the sign seekers, like the Pharisees, have a hardened, adulterous heart that needs repentance.  Matthew 12:38-39

When you need a sign to create or strengthen faith it is a sin because you are testing God.  In reality, you are testing to see if he is listening and still present as he said he would be.  On the other hand, if you need a sign to provide direction or to confirm what you by faith believe to be God's will, it is not sin, but a manner of seeking his face.

Many years ago, I was in the midst of a trial that had lasted for a few years.   My strength was waxing week and I was becoming discouraged.  After praying for some period of time and also weeping, I asked The Lord for a sign to let me know how much further I would need to go.  At that point, I really thought myself to be spiritual.  I then picked up my bible and with my thumb flipped open to a random spot.  I looked down and read, "But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign."  I closed the bible and in tears cried out to God and asked for forgiveness.  What had I done wrong? I was testing God in order to get something to convince me to have faith.  Had he done something, my faith would have been in the event and not directly dependent upon him.

It isn't wrong to seek guidance from God.  By seeking guidance, we are really seeking his wisdom.  The scriptures tell us to ask for wisdom and for those who seek it, he will not upbraid or rail against them for it (James 1:5).

Taking Up Your Cross (Mark 8:34-38)

Over the many years of being a Christian, I have heard messages preached on this topic.  Many with the greatest of intentions have tried to identify the meaning of this passage.  They have focused on the cross and its meaning and with that understood, they try to parallel the meaning of the cross to the life of a Christian.  They held that the cross represented a burden carried for the good of others.  Some saw it as a representative of death and that bearing the cross would be accomplished by living a life dead to self.  Each of these ideas for application are important aspects of the Christian life, but are not a true representative of this passage's meaning.

The events in this passage contain a conversation with the disciples about whom the people and the disciples believed Jesus to be.  While speaking, he admonished them about following or associating themselves with him and not trying to save or protect their own lives and then he makes this statement, "Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."  From this passage, it appears to be that taking up your cross is to identify yourself with Jesus (following Jesus) and not to be ashamed of Him.  

What would make a person be ashamed of being identified with Jesus?  People become ashamed of Jesus when they become concerned about what others think of them.  That is what causes them to cave in to pressures among peers or at work.  They are afraid to resist gossip, dirty jokes or of joining the complaining crowd.  We don't act as we should for fear of being rejected because of our identification with Christ, but as we do that, we have rejected Christ and his will to work in our lives.  The latter is the greater of sins.

Live in the realm of the Lord's presence in your life.  If you continually focus on him and what he has been doing in your life, your perspective about life, others and what they think will be changed.