Enduring Satanic Attacks..... Dr. Charles Stanley

 Enduring Satanic Attacks

Dr. Charles Stanley

Ephesians 6:10-14

Every believer faces temptation. Take a moment to recall a particularly enticing situation involving something that would displease God. Did you realize you were involved in a satanic battle.

The Devil is real. Scripture reveals that he leads an army of fallen angels and is prideful enough to think he can gain victory over God. By definition, a satanic attack is a deliberate assault upon an individual, which is designed to cause spiritual, physical, material, or emotional harm. Satan desires to thwart the Lord's purpose in believers' lives, to rob them of joy and peace, and ultimately to deny God the worship He receives through yielded followers.

As in any war, knowing the enemy's plan helps us prepare for the attack. First, be aware that the battlefield takes place in our minds. To walk in a godly manner with Christ, we must first be sure that our thoughts are in submission to His Spirit. This takes daily surrender and time in God's Word. Second, Satan tempts us during vulnerable moments. Be cautious when you are hungry, angry, lonely, or tired (This is often known as the H.A.L.T.  warning). Third, he is deceptive; we won't recognize the trap as an evil scheme. Instead, it will seem good, and we'll likely wrestle with some sort of doubt.

As Christians, we should walk closely with Jesus. Satan desires to lure us into destructive actions that rob us of God's plan for a good, full life. Stay connected to the Savior: read the Word, pray, and fellowship with other believers. These are weapons we use against the Devil in spiritual war.

Looking at the Light..... Craig Denison

 

Looking at the Light

Craig Denison

Weekly Overview:

We live in the reality that there is both light and darkness around us at all times. This world has both good and evil, right and wrong. As believers we must grow in both our acceptance of this reality and our pursuit of the light. We must allow God to mold and shape us into those who rid ourselves of any darkness, become fully known to God, and allow his light to transform us into reflections of his Son. May the Lord open our eyes to see the glorious light before us this week.

Scripture:“Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is bad, your body is full of darkness.” Luke 11:34

Devotional:

We live in a world filled with darkness of all forms. On any given day we are inundated with temptation after temptation, lie after lie, darkness after darkness. But in the person of Jesus a powerful hope has entered into the story of humanity. Matthew 4:16 says, “The people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned.” You and I now have the choice to fill our lives with the light of God. We’re delivered from a life marked by darkness and set free to fill ourselves with the things of God.

But still, there is a choice set before us. The light has come, but we have a real enemy trying to draw us back to the darkness at every turn. It’s for this reason Jesus said in Luke 11:34, “Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is bad, your body is full of darkness.” You and I must choose to look to the light if we want to be spiritually healthy and full of light. We must look to the light if we want the abundant life God offers us throughout every season of this life.

Paul writes in Philippians 4:8, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” I pray that God would train us to look upon only that which will fill us with more of him. I pray that he would train our minds to think about only that which will truly satisfy the deep desires of our hearts.

Darkness is often only tempting to look at because we have yet to experience the immense satisfaction found in the light. So often God is characterized as a taskmaster out to ruin all the fun. And so often our church services, speech, and lives depict our Father as anyone but a fun, satisfying God. But if we will take some time to trust the truth of Scripture and get to know our heavenly Father as a friend, we will discover a wellspring of life to which no darkness could ever compare. The pleasures of the enemy are nothing but a shadow of the satisfaction we have in the light. Lust, adultery, earthly glory, the opinion of man, and pride in possessions are nothing compared to total, open, and eternal relationship with a good, near, and loving God.

Look to the light today for all you need. Cultivate a hunger and thirst for the things of God that can only be quenched in relationship with your heavenly Father. Run to God with your temptations, needs, and desires and ask him to lead you to satisfaction. And open your heart to him today that you might receive a wealth of love, purpose, joy, affection, and enjoyment from the only true source of life in this earth.

Guided Prayer:

1. Meditate on the importance of looking to the light. Allow Scripture to fill you with a desire to spend your day out of the darkness and in the light.

“Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is bad, your body is full of darkness.” Luke 11:34

“If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.” 1 John 1:6-7

2. What darkness do you normally look to? Where are you running to satisfy desires that should be met in God? In what ways do you not trust that he will satisfy the needs of your heart?

3. Go to God with whatever needs you have and ask him to reveal the ways in which he wants to satisfy them. Take time to wait on him, press into his heart, and receive the wealth of his affections for you.

“Your sun shall no more go down, nor your moon withdraw itself; for the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your days of mourning shall be ended.” Isaiah 60:20

At times, the desires we feel are wrong desires that God cannot satisfy. However, these wrong desires are always indicative of a deeper desire that God does want to satisfy. Lust and adultery are desires indicative of a need to be loved, liked, seen as beautiful or handsome, or simply enjoyed. Wrongful ambition and glory-seeking are wrong desires indicative of a true need to have passion and make a deep and lasting impact on the earth. The temptations of the enemy and satisfactions we find in darkness are mere shadows compared to the true satisfaction available in God. Discover the root of your wrongful desires. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the true needs within your heart and to guide you to a lifestyle of fulfillment in God. May your eyes be wholly focused on the light today as you seek fulfillment in your heavenly Father.

Extended Reading: Isaiah 60

Finding the Fruit..... ALEX KUYKENDALL

 Finding the Fruit

ALEX KUYKENDALL

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV)

When I heard about the year’s theme for the MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group at my church, I worried it might disqualify me as a leader.

The theme was “Fresh Fruit,” based on the fruit of the Spirit. Fresh fruit? I thought. How am I supposed to teach other women how to cultivate the fruit of the Spirit when I so lack patience, kindness and gentleness myself?

The nine external fruits of internal growth are outlined by Paul in Galatians 5:22-23: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”

As mothers of littles, we were a group desperate for more gentleness and forbearance (patience). How about some self-control? With babies on our hips and diaper bags on our shoulders, we were running on empty.

Our “mom guilt” was strong, and we knew all the ways we weren’t experiencing joy or peace. Love was there — we were overwhelmed by how much we loved our children — but kindness was often determined by how well rested we were, and it wasn’t the season of a good night’s sleep.

Our groups talked about how we strived to muster up more gentleness but seemed to always fall short. It often felt like one step forward, two steps back. It was difficult to see God’s everyday work in us.

But through these discussions, you know what we became really good at? Seeing the fruit in each other and calling it out to encourage one another.

I could easily see faithfulness in the group leaders who dropped off food the night before a meeting even though they wouldn’t be able to attend because of a sick child at home.

I saw kindness over and over as women called each other to check in when someone had shared something difficult the week before.

I even saw patience as a leader led a small group discussion with a woman who always dominated the conversation.

We gave each other the fuel we were desperate for by saying out loud “You showed gentleness right there” or “How you handled that situation took so much self-control.” This was the kind of refreshing talk that propelled us forward. We were calling out the good in each other.

When the Holy Spirit is stirring in us and shaping our thought patterns, we can’t help but have these “fruit blossoms” — love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control — appear and grow into more substantial fruit.

A lemon tree doesn’t decide to grow lemons; it is created to do so, and under the right conditions, it produces lots of good and flavorful fruit. A lemon tree doesn’t give us hamburgers or broccoli; it gives us lemons. The Holy Spirit doesn’t produce jealousy, bitterness or selfishness. The Spirit produces love, joy and peace.

When we’re looking for hope in the world, for God’s goodness, there is no purer expression than these traits that result from God working in us. And when we see these traits in others, it is a gift to name them because sometimes we need someone else to remind us that we are producing fruit … especially when the conditions are harsh.

And it’s there that we’ll see God’s goodness — through the people around us who are producing the Spirit’s fruit.

Lord God, help me to see Your goodness in the people and places around me. Give me clear eyes to notice and a gentle tongue to speak affirmations out loud. May You be glorified in my seeking and finding. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

He Is Near to the Brokenhearted..... by Lynette Kittle

 He Is Near to the Brokenhearted 

by Lynette Kittle

BIBLE VERSE OF THE DAY: “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” – Psalm 34:18

In much of Christian content and chatter, it’s easy to believe that God is looking for the strong, the go-getters, the over-achievers in life. Many individuals and groups assert that He is closer to those who are strong, to those who are achieving their goals and making things happen around them, the “Movers and the Shakers” of the faith.

Perhaps you’ve believed it, too? At your lowest points, maybe you’ve doubted if God is close by, or wondered if He’s turned His back on you?

When looking at Scripture, we realize God never turns his back on his children. So much is written of God’s heart towards those who are weak, broken, and in despair.

Jeremiah 31:25 states how God wants to refresh the weary and satisfy the faint. Isaiah 40:29 also reveals His compassion, describing how “He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.”

Often when experiencing heartbreak, disappointments, setbacks, weakness, weariness, and more, it’s easy to feel like God isn’t near, like He doesn’t care or even has time for you.

Yet Psalm 147:3 assures that, “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”

Still, it’s too easy to feel hopeless and fearful believing there is no one around to help you.

Nevertheless, Isaiah 41:10 encourages you to “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

Through His Word, God reaches out over and over again to the weary and despondent.

Scripture describes how the Apostle Paul dealt with an ongoing weakness, yet reassures of God’s presence in the midst of it. 2 Corinthians 12:9 states, “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”

During discouraging times, 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 encourages you to remember God is with you, even if you are hard-pressed on every side, you’re not crushed. If you’re feeling perplexed you don’t have to be in despair, and if you are being persecuted, you can be confident God has not abandoned you. Even if you have been struck down, because God is with you, you are not destroyed.

Psalm 73:28 tells us that it is good to draw near to God. So take heart today in the knowledge he is always closely present in your life.

Abounding in Thanksgiving in a World of Grumbling..... by Mike Pohlman

 Abounding in Thanksgiving in a World of Grumbling

by Mike Pohlman

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. - Colossians 2:6-7

My family and I just completed our first full week in our new home in Richmond, Virginia after leaving Los Angeles to begin my new job. And if I’m honest I cannot say I’ve been “abounding in thanksgiving” over the last several days. No. In fact, “abounding in grumbling” may be the more accurate phrase to describe my disposition of late. I’ve grumbled about the weather, traffic, leaves, the movers and a myriad of other things petty and not-so-petty. None of this grumbling, however, has been constructive or justified. And, most importantly, it’s been sinful.

To help combat this steady bombardment of grumbling I corralled our children the other night for a family time of thanksgiving. You’ve probably practiced this exercise many times as well: go from person-to-person and highlight things you’re thankful for (it’s tough to grumble when you pause to consider the many blessings in your life).

It took my nine-year-old Samuel some time to get warmed up, but eventually, he offered a short list of things he’s thankful for, including our new church. Anna was next. What would our seven-year-old daughter express gratitude for? Her new neighbor friends across the street and the Bible. Good stuff. Finally, it was John’s turn. He echoed his big brother on some things and agreed with Anna that the neighbors are great, and then with the zeal of most six-year-old boys who love sports, Johnny thanked God for his new basketball hoop out front (and proceeded to remind me of how he beat me in “21” over the weekend, 21 to 17). As Julia left to put our newborn down for the night, I shared with the kids several things I was thankful for. But it wasn't until the next day that I realized the inadequacy of my list.

While I voiced gratitude for God generally, I failed to highlight specific attributes of God that, when I consider them, cause me to “abound in thanksgiving.” Driving to work the next morning I found myself asking, “What is it about God that I am most grateful for?”

The one attribute of God that flooded my heart and mind was His providence—the fact that He orchestrates everything in my life for His glory and my good. It’s the promise of Romans 8:28: “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.”

In his helpful book, Respectable Sins: Confronting the Sins We Tolerate, Jerry Bridges applies Romans 8:28 to the sin of ingratitude. He counsels: “The meaning is that God causes all things to work together for good; for ‘things’—that is, circumstances—do not work together for good themselves. Rather, God directs the outcome of those circumstances for our good.” And what is the “good” God is working? Christlikeness. Indeed, all of our circumstances God uses as a means of our sanctification. I began to abound in thanksgiving as I visualized God as the great conductor over my circumstances, using them as an instrument for my growth in grace.

This Thanksgiving holiday I want me and my family to be “abounding in thanksgiving.” And for this to happen I know being thankful for God in a merely general sense will not suffice. We need to meditate on some particular glories of our great God—not least of which is His sweet providence over our lives. For this I am most grateful.

Intersecting Faith & Life: Take a moment this Thanksgiving and ask yourself, “What specific attribute of God am I grateful for?” Perhaps you’ll recall His love or mercy or grace or forgiveness or patience or wrath or providence. Challenge your mind to meditate on, and prayerfully consider, some particular glory of God as a means of abounding in thanksgiving

Further Reading

Psalm 63:3
Lamentations 3:22
Colossians 2:13-15
Ephesians 5:20
1 Thessalonians 5:18

A Prayer to Recognize False Teaching..... By: Emily Rose Massey

 A Prayer to Recognize False Teaching

By: Emily Rose Massey

"As for you, let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. This is the promise which He Himself made to us: eternal life. These things I have written to you concerning those who are trying to deceive you. As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him" - (1 John 2:24-27 NASB).

Charles Spurgeon once said: “Discernment is not knowing the difference between right and wrong. It is knowing the difference between right and almost right.”

Living in the age of information literally at our fingertips as well as the reality of “fake news” means that sometimes it can be overwhelming to wade through what is true and what is not. This is also true for Christians when it comes to what is being proclaimed as truth from the pulpit.

False teaching distorts the Bible and your view about God. Most often, false teaching is a sticky trap for the undiscerning; It is subtle because it is often masked in truth yet mixed with error, so we let our guard down because we recognize the truth in it. Soon that error will begin to distort the truth you may already know. Deception is often progressive.

The only way we can avoid the trap of deception is to abide in God’s Word daily and be serious students of the Bible, for it is a light unto our path and lamp unto our path (Psalms 119:105). Thankfully, we are not left alone in our studying of scripture; We have been given the precious gift of the Holy Spirit, who is our great Teacher. The Apostle John admonishes us in his first letter to abide in the truth and promise of eternal life and the gift of the Holy Spirit:

"As for you, let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. This is the promise which He Himself made to us: eternal life. These things I have written to you concerning those who are trying to deceive you. As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him"
(1 John 2:24-27 NASB).

At the root, we will find the fruit produced from false teaching will inevitably be bad because bad trees do not produce good fruit. The fruit of false teaching will not nourish one’s soul or renew one’s mind in the long-run because even a little error mixed in with a lot of truth will leave you starving and lead you astray in the end caught up in the thorns and briars of deception.

Jesus gave us direction in John 15 as well that can ensure that we are protected against deception:

“I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing” (vs 5, NASB).

May we abide in the Lord and abide in His Word our great Teacher, the Holy Spirit, will teach us and help us discern what is right and almost right.

Lord, we know the enemy is the father of lies and he wants nothing more than to bring confusion by mixing truth with error. He often tries to mask himself as an angel of light so we pray that you would give us eyes to see through his lies that are masquerading as truth.

Father, we thank You that You are a giver of good gifts and so we thank You for sending us the Holy Spirit who guides us into all truth and helps us discern all things.

We ask that You would create in us a deep hunger in our hearts to help us be students of scripture. We pray that You would give us the discernment and wisdom to always line up what we are hearing and thinking with Your Holy Word.

We abide in Jesus who is the Vine so that we can produce fruit that lasts and that we can point others to You and Your truth.

In Jesus’ Name, Amen

WHEN YOU DON'T FEEL THANKFUL..... Pastor Jeff Schreve

 WHEN YOU DON'T FEEL THANKFUL

Pastor Jeff Schreve

He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors me.
Psalms 50:23

What do you do when your life is going south? What do you do when it is “THANKSGIVING” and you have just lost a loved one… or just lost your job… or just lost your marriage? Surely you cannot be expected to give thanks… can you?

Sometimes thanksgiving is a sacrifice.  Sometimes we must thank God through clenched teeth and chocked back tears. Thanksgiving in the midst of a terrible storm brings tremendous joy to His heart. It shows the Lord that we really trust Him… regardless of the adverse circumstances we are facing.

THE THANKSGIVING CONSTANT

Perhaps you are one this year who is having trouble finding good in your life. Look no further than Jesus. He never changes. Despite everything you might be facing, you can rejoice in Him. You can give thanks for Him and His love and care for you. You can give thanks that He promised to work all things together for good.

Train yourself to give thanks in everything. Remember… a sacrifice of thanksgiving brings honor to the Lord. Thank Him for that trial you are facing. Thank Him for that sorrow. He will use your thanks for His glory and your ultimate good!

Love,

Pastor Jeff Schreve,