The Battle for Lust is On-Going

The Battle for Lust is On-Going

“Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.” Colossians 3:5

It’s always there – nipping at our heels. Lust in some form or shape is trying to seduce us, to grab hold of our hearts. I think we will battle it until we close our eyes on this side of heaven – which is why we need to vigilant and militant about putting it to death.

Puritan preacher, John Owen wrote this powerful reminder as written in Voices from the Past – Puritan Devotional Readings (Banner of Truth):

To fight against sin is a big part of mortification. We need to recognize the enemy we are dealing with and that it is to be destroyed by all means possible. The battle is a hazardous one that deals with issues of eternity.

When a man sees his lust as a trivial thing, it is an indication that he is not mortified. We cannot go forward unless we recognize the danger of our own hearts. We need to be intimately acquainted with the ways, wiles, methods, advantages, and occasions in which lust has its victory. This is the way that men deal with their enemies: they search out their plans, ponder their goals, and consider how and by what means they have prevailed in the past. This is a most important strategy. If you do not utilize this great strategy, your warfare is very primitive.

We need to KNOW how sin uses occasions, opportunities, and temptations to gain advantage. Search its pleas, pretences, reasonings, strategies, colors and excuses. We need to trace this serpent in all its windings, and to recognize its most secret tricks: “This is your usual way and course; I know what you aim at! Even when one thinks that a lust is dead because it is quiet, we must labor to give it new wounds and blows every day. The soul in this condition has the upper hand. Sin is under the sword and is dying.

Frequent successes against any lust strengthens us. When the heart recognizes at any time sin and temptation at work, seducing and forming sinful imaginations to get you to fulfill its lusts, the heart must IMMEDIATELY see if for what it is, bring it to the law of God and love of Christ, condemn it, and follow it to execute it to the uttermost. These weapons will lead to a great degree of success.

The good news is that we are not fighting all – that battle belongs to the Lord. As men, we can live in the victory over sin that has been made possible through Jesus Christ. The question is – will we make the right choice? Think about it.  – Bill Welte is President and CEO of America’s Keswick 

GPS – God’s Positioning System: Numbers 11-13; Psalm 55; Proverbs 28

Compass Pointers: "Tarry in the city of Jerusalem, until you are endued with power from on high." Luke 24:49 "He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father." Acts 1:4 These waiting days were necessary to enable the disciples to realize their need, their nothingness, their failure and their dependence upon the Master. They had to get emptied first, before they could get filled. Oh, how often they must have thought, as those days went by, of the positions they were now to occupy, the responsibility that was resting upon them, the charge that the Master had committed to them, and their utter inability for it all! How they must have recalled their folly, their unbelief, their strife, their selfishness, their fears, their defeats, and shrunk back into nothingness, and even stood aghast at the prospect before them, until in the very dust they cried to Him for help and strength needed. And so God wants us to go apart and quietly wait upon Him, until He searches into the depths of our being, and shows us our folly, our failures, our need. There is no wiser nor better thing to do on the eve of a season of blessing than to make an inventory, not of our riches, but of our poverty; to count up all the voids and vacuums and places of insufficiency; to make the valley full of ditches, and then to bring to God the depths of our need for Him to fill. And it takes time to make this work thorough. It takes time to burn it into our consciousness. It takes time to make us feel it. It is one thing to know in a general way our need and failure; it is quite another thing to realize it, to mourn over it, to be distressed about it, and to be filled with sorrow and shame and that holy zeal and revenge upon ourselves which the apostle tells us is part of true repentance. A.B. Simpson

Navigation Rules to Memorize: Level 1: Proverbs 9:10-11; Level 2: Proverbs 9:7-12

Anchored to the Rock: Satan is far more anxious to keep us our knees than he is to keep us off our feet! Ivor Powell

Come, Thou Fount

Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing

“A fountain opened … to cleanse them from sin and iniquity.” Zechariah 13:1

Today is the Lord’s day, and I love this hymn. Take some time to think through the words:

Come, Thou fount of every blessing,
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace.
Streams of mercy NEVER ceasing,
Call for sounds of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount – I’m fixed upon it --
Mount of Thy redeeming love.

Hither to Thy love has blest me,
Thou hast brought me to this place,
and I know Thy hand will bring me,
Safely home by Thy good grace.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wandering from the fold of God.
HE, to rescue ME from danger,
Bought ME with HIS precious blood.

O, to grace how great a debtor,
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, as a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love.
Here’s MY heart, O take and seal it --
Seal it for Thy courts above!

Wow! What a glorious hymn. Sing it! Pray it! Worship Him as you reflect on the Words. Today is all about HIM! – Bill Welte is President and CEO of America’s Keswick

GPS – God’s Positioning System: Numbers 8-10; Psalm 54; Proverbs 27

Compass Pointers: The gospel is not a doctrine of the tongue, but of life. John Calvin

Navigation Rules to Memorize: Level 1: Proverbs 9:10-11; Level 2: Proverbs 9:7-12

Anchored to the Rock: We may as well not pray at all as offer our prayers in a lifeless manner. William S. Plummer

How Majestic Is Your Name

How Majestic is Your Name

Years ago I found a delightful book of paraphrases of the Psalms called Psalms Now, written by Leslie Brandt.  I was surprised and pleased to see that it is still in print and can be ordered from Amazon.com.

As you prepare your heart for worship tomorrow, here is a fresh look at Psalm 8

O God, how full of wonder and splendor You are!

I see the reflections of Your beauty and hear the sounds of Your majesty wherever I turn. Even the babbling of babes and the laughter of children spell out Your name in indefinable syllables.

When I gave into star-studded skies and attempt to comprehend the vast differences, I contemplate in utter amazement my Creator’s concern for me. I am dumbfounded that You should care personally about me.

And yet You have made me in Your image. You have called me Your son. You have ordained me as Your priest and chosen me as Your servant. You have assigned me the fantastic responsibility of carrying on Your creative activity.

O God, how full of wonder You are!

Take some time to think this morning about the wonderful, majestic God that loves YOU! – Bill Welte is President and CEO of America’s Keswick

GPS – God’s Positioning System: Numbers 7; Psalm 53; Proverbs 26

Compass Pointers: All our activity is sowing and so is our inactivity. John Blanchard

Navigation Rules to Memorize: Level 1: Proverbs 9:10-11; Level 2: Proverbs 9:7-12

Anchored to the Rock: Saying prayers without praying is blasphemy. Brownlow North

Take Up and Put On

Take UP and Put On

Luke 9:23
And Jesus said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

Ephesians 6:13
Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

Have you ever noticed that the Bible gives us a daily Spiritual exercise to do? We are to take up and put on as one might dress for battle.

If we are to take up in the morning then we are to lay down the night before. Too many of us try to sleep on our cross. It is the last thing we think about before falling to sleep. While we should not sleep on the cross we are to take it up in the morning.

Never run from any cross God gives you to carry. A cross is not an illness or pain but something that is heavy on our hearts. The song writer originally wrote “Must Simon bare the cross alone and all the world go free?” We cannot bare Christ’s cross but we can bare one another’s burdens. So close your eyes and rest tonight you can take it up in the morning.

Put on the armor must mean that we need not walk around all of the time in the armor but we are not to go into battle without it. We could each morning (to face the day) put on each piece of equipment to protect us in battle. Oh, yes, don’t forget the sword in order to do battle.

Isn’t that a good thing to do each morning?

Isn’t that a good thing to do each night? Don’t wait to die before you learn to “Rest In Peace”.

            Now I lay me down to sleep

                        I pray thee, Lord, my soul to keep

            When I awake and open my eyes

                        Help me to Take up Put on and win the prize

The Armor of God

 ¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ¹³ Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. ¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.  Ephesians 6:10-17 – Dr. Van is a friend of the ministry of America’s Keswick and is available for pulpit supply

GPS – God’s Positioning System: Numbers 5-6; Psalm 52; Proverbs 25

Compass Pointers: Think like a man of action and act like a man of thought. Henri Bergson

Navigation Rules to Memorize: Level 1: Proverbs 8:13; Level 2: Proverbs 8:32-36

Anchored to the Rock: Most Christians expect little from God, ask little and therefore receive little and are content with little. A. W. Pink

Confidence in the Promises of God

CONFIDENCE IN THE PROMISES OF GOD

“Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” Mark 11:24

I shared this devotional back in 2006 and came across it again in my reading through Streams in the Desert (Zondervan). I need to be reminded of this truth this morning.

"When my little son was about ten years old, his grandmother promised him a stamp collecting album for Christmas. Christmas came and went with no stamp album and no word from Grandma. The matter, however, was not mentioned, until his friends came to see his Christmas presents. I was astonished, after he had listed all the gifts he had received, to hear him add, 'And a stamp album from my grandmother.'

After hearing this several times, I called my son to m and said, 'But George, you didn't get a stamp album from Grandma. Why did you say that?' With a puzzled look on his face, as if I had asked a very strange question, he replied, 'Well, Mom, Grandma SAID, and that is the same AS.' Not a word would sway his faith.

A month passed and nothing else was said about the album. Finally one day, to test his faith and because I wondered in my own heart why the album had not been sent, I said, 'George, I think Grandma has forgotten her promise.' 'Oh no, Mom,' he quickly and firmly responded. 'She hasn't.'

I watched his sweet, trusting, face, which for a while looked very serious, as if he were debating the possibility I had suggested. Soon his face brightened as he said, 'Do you think it would do any good for me to write Grandma, thanking her for the album?' 'I don't know,' I said, 'but you might try it.' A rich spiritual truth then began to dawn on me.

In a few minutes a letter was written and mailed, as George went off whistling his confidence in his grandma. Soon a letter from Grandma arrived with this message:

My dear George,

I have not forgotten my promise to you for a stamp album. I could not find the one you wanted here, so I ordered one from New York. It did not arrive until after Christmas, and it was not the right one. I then ordered another, but it still has not arrived. I have decided to send you thirty dollars instead so that you may buy the one you want in Chicago.

Your loving Grandma.

As he read the letter, his face was the face of a victor. From the depths of a heart that NEVER doubted came the words, 'Now Mom, didn't I tell you?' George, 'against all hope . . .  in hope believed.' (Romans

8:14) that the stamp album would come. And while he was trusting, Grandma was working, and in due time faith became sight.

It is only human to want to SEE before we step out on the promises of God. Yet our Savior said to doubting Thomas and to a long list of doubters who have followed, 'BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO HAVE NOT SEEN AND YET BELIEVED." (John 20:29)

Is there something that you need to trust God for this week? Turn to Him and believe. – Bill Welte is President and CEO of America’s Keswick

God’s Positioning System: Numbers 3-4; Psalm 51; Proverbs 24

Compass Pointers: Our circumstances are not an accurate reflection of God's goodness. Whether life is good or bad, God's goodness, rooted in His character, is the same. Helen Grace Lescheid

Navigation Rules to Memorize:  Level 1: Proverbs 8:13; Level 2: Proverbs 8:32-36

Anchored to the Rock: Beware in your prayer above everything of limiting God, not only by unbelief but by fancying that you know what he can do. Andrew Murray

How To Perform

HOW TO PERFORM

“For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find.” (Romans 7:18)

            In Romans 7 the apostle Paul confesses a frustration.  He wrote that the things which he ought not to do, he found himself doing.  Furthermore, the things which he ought to do, he found himself neglecting to do.  So Paul experienced a frustration.  He knew what was right and he didn’t do it.  Also he knew what was wrong and he found himself doing it.

            Dr. William Barclay suggests that Paul “knew himself to be a walking civil war.”  It was in the context of that experience that Paul raised the question of “how to perform.”  That is, how to do what was right and not do what was wrong.  At that point, Paul confesses that he did not know.  In so saying, he acknowledged the weakness of the law and the inability of the flesh.  The law tells us what we ought to do, and what we ought not to do.  But the law cannot enable us to do either.  Furthermore Paul confesses “in my flesh dwells no good thing.”  In other words, there is no enablement there.

            It was in consequence of the above that prompted Paul to exclaim “who shall deliver me from this body of death?”  But the Lord gave an answer to that dilemma as Paul wrote “I thank God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

            In Romans 8 Paul continues to explain that there is triumph through the indwelling power of the Spirit.  “The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.”

            No doubt multitudes have experienced the frustration of which Paul has written.  We, too, struggle with what we ought not to do and with what we ought to do and yet leave undone.  But thank God there is an answer for us in Jesus Christ and through the indwelling power of His Holy Spirit.  Galatians 5:16-17, “walk in the Spirit and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh.  For the flesh lusts against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.”  Paul continues by writing Galatians 5:25, “if we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”  This is the answer to Paul’s perplexity of “how to perform.”

Dr. Eric Crichton is the Pastor Emeritus of Calvary Church, Lancaster, PA, and Board Member Emeritus of America’s Keswick

GPS – God’s Positioning System: Numbers 1-2; Psalm 50; Proverbs 23

Compass Pointers: Do every act as if it were your last. Marcus Antoninus

Navigation Rules to Memorize: Level 1: Proverbs 8:13; Level 2: Proverbs 8:32-36

Anchored to the Rock: As long as we just pour out our hearts in a multitude of petitions without taking time to see whether every petition is sent with the purpose and expectation of getting and answer, not many will reach the mark. Andrew Murray

Reflections on Obedience

REFLECTIONS ON OBEDIENCE

"On that very day, Abraham [did] ... as God told him." (Genesis 17:23)

            If you haven't already figured it out, obedience is an issue that all of us will continue to deal with until we get to heaven. As children, it was an issue with our parents. We had to deal with obedience issues in school with our teachers. Many of us are in the work force and have to deal with obedience issues with our employers. I am the President and CEO of America's KESWICK, but I report directly to the Board of Trustees, so that I am responsible to be obedient to the Board. As citizens of this great nation, we are responsible to obey the laws that have been established by our government. And as men and women of God, we have a responsibility and the privilege of being obedient to God and His Word.

            Here’s a definition of obedience for you to ponder on this beautiful Friday – “Obedience is doing everything you are told to do IN THE RIGHT WAY (with the right heart attitude inwardly), RIGHT AWAY (immediately) and ALL THE WAY (do a complete job.)” -- Pastor Tim Shorey -- Senior Pastor, Trinity Fellowship Church, Toms River, NJ.

            I read these timely words from STREAMS IN THE DESERT …

            “Instant obedience is the only kind of obedience there is, for DELAYED obedience is disobedience. Each time God calls upon us to do something, He is offering to make a covenant with us. Our part is to obey, and then He will do His part to send a special blessing.

            “The only way to obey is INSTANTLY – “On that very day ...” as Abraham did. I know we often postpone doing what we know to do, and then later do it as well as we can. Certainly this is better than doing nothing at all. By then, however, it is at best only a crippled, disfigured, and partial attempt toward obedience. POSTPONED obedience can never bring us the full blessing God intended or what it would have brought had we obeyed at the earliest possible moment.”

Martin Luther once said, “A true believer will crucify, or put to death, the question, ‘Why?’ He will simply obey without questioning.”

The hymn-writer said it this way:  TRUST AND OBEY, FOR THERE’S NO OTHER WAY,
                                                   TO BE HAPPY IN JESUS, BUT TO TRUST AND OBEY!
Bill Welte is President and CEO of America’s Keswick

GPS – God’s Positioning System: Leviticus 26-27; Psalm 49; Proverbs 22

Compass Pointers: Words are leaves – deeds are fruit!

Navigation Rules to Memorize: Level 1: Proverbs 8:23; Proverbs 8:32-36

Anchored to the Rock: Means without prayer is presumption. Prayer without means is tempting God. Al Martin

How to Sleep At Night

How-to Sleep at Night

Psalm 4:8 In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, LORD, make me dwell in safety.

I hope that you will get help and comfort from the next three Freedom Fighters. They will be about your cross and armor. Both are the instruments that God has given us to use but they are not to use us.

In Luke 9:23  Jesus said to them all, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” We are not to take the cross to bed with us. We must lay it down.

 

Perhaps the child’s prayer should be, “Now I lay my cross down and close my eyes to sleep; I pray the LORD my soul to keep If I should die before I wake, I pray the LORD my soul to take.”

We cannot take up our cross daily if we do not lay it down daily.

We only need to wear our Armor when fighting the enemy. The Knights of old did not sleep in their armor. You need to relax and curl up with Jesus nightly. He will protect you for His name’s sake. He is the shepherd who will not lose one of His sheep.

At a New York fair, I met a young woman shearing her sheep. As we talked she told me that she had 25 sheep but she worked in town. When she came home at the end of the day her sheep would be down at the water hole with the neighbor’s sheep.

She would stand on her back porch and call her sheep. Only her sheep would raise their heads and come. It was as if the others did not even hear her voice. Is that not what our Shepherd said, “My sheep hear my voice.”

Never be discouraged if those around you do not respond to your massage for only His sheep hear His voice.  Rest in your shepherd’s arms each night.

May you daily read God’s word

            To listen for His voice.

May you find that you are His—

            A sheep of His own choice.  – Pastor Van is a friend of the ministry of America’s Keswick

GPS – God’s Positioning System: Leviticus 24-25; Psalm 48; Proverbs 21

Compass Pointers: "Character may be manifested in the great moments, but it is made in the small ones." ~Phillips Brooks

Navigation Rules to Memorize: Level 1: Proverbs 8:13; Level 2: Proverbs 8:32-36

Anchored to the Rock: When we make self the end of prayer, it is not worship but self-seeking. Thomas Manton

How Firm a Foundation

How Firm A Foundation

“The word of the Lord stands forever.” 1 Peter 1:25

Here is another one of my favorite hymns. It is a great one to help prepare your heart for worship of Him – your Audience of One:

How firm a foundation, you saints of the Lord,

Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word!

What more can He say than to you He has said,

To you, who for refuge to Jesus have fled?

“Fear not, I am with You. O be not dismayed,

For I am Your God, I will still give you aid.

I’ll strengthen you, help you, and cause you to stand,

Upheld by My gracious, omnipotent hand.

“When through the deep waters I call you to go,

The rivers of sorrow shall not overflow,

For I will be with you, your trials to bless,

And sanctify to you your deepest distress.

“When through fiery trials your pathways shall lie,

My grace all sufficient shall be your supply.

The flame shall not hurt you, I only design,

Your dross to consume and your gold to refine.

“The soul that on Jesus has leaned for repose,

I will not, I will not desert to his foes.

That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,

I’ll never, no never, no never forsake!”

What a powerful hymn for us as we gather today on HIS day for worship! – Bill Welte is President and CEO of America’s KESWICK

GPS – God’s Positioning System: Leviticus 22-23; Psalm 47; Proverbs 20

Compass Pointers: Worship renews the spirit as sleep renews the body. Richard C. Cabot

Navigation Rules to Memorize: Level 1: Proverbs 8:13; Level 2: Proverbs 8:32-36

Anchored to the Rock: If we be empty and poor, it is not because  God’s hand is straitened, but our is not opened. Thomas Manton

A Prayer for Pastors and Missionaries

A Prayer for Pastors and Missionaries

For we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many. 2 Cor. 1:8-11

I am really burdened for Pastors and Missionaries. They are my heroes. At our recent Pastors and Wives Conference, I was amazed again at how many of these precious folks came so discouraged, beat up, worn down and discouraged. This ought not to be. As people of God, we should be ashamed of ourselves and running to the cross to beg for mercy and forgiveness for the way we treat and disrespect those that shepherd our flocks.

I knew of a church who had a shepherd who gave his all for his people. He hardly ever took a vacation from the pulpit. He is one of the finest Bible expositors that I have heard. Men on his Board condemned him for spending too much time studying the Word of God in preparation for his messages on Sunday. That is just one illustration of the craziness out there today.

We need to be PRAYING for our Pastors and Missionaries. We need to be bathing them in prayer and then affirming and supporting them. I recently read this prayer written by Pastor Scotty Smith who serves in a large church in Tennessee. This is a prayer for Pastors and Missionaries:
    

      Dear Jesus, to pray for missionaries and pastors isn’t just a great privilege, but also a major responsibility and vital ministry. Paul’s words to his friends in Corinth powerfully demonstrate the importance of bringing all vocational Christian workers before the throne of grace on a regular basis.

     For your servants experiencing, like Paul, “great affliction” and burdens leading to despair, we pray for nothing short of a visitation of the Holy Spirit and profound encouragement in the gospel. Whether the afflictions are demonic in origin, expressions of intense persecution, or the sabotaging of the work of the gospel by their own team members, it makes no difference, bring deliverance from all “deadly peril.” Show yourself, Jesus, to be the God who raises the dead.

     For your servants who are becoming “weary in well doing” (Gal. 6:9)—faithful women and men whose challenge isn’t overt opposition, but covert dwindling of resources, we pray for wisdom and replenishment. Jesus, we know that, in time, all forms of ministry tax the heart, vex the mind and sap the energy. Help your servants know what good stewardship of their spiritual, physical, mental and emotional health looks like. Show us our part in these matters as well. How can we wash the feet of your servants, and be a source of refreshment and replenishment?

     For your servants currently going through intense personal struggles—disconnect in their marriages, doubts about the faith, strong temptation to sexual or money sins, or simply the hard providence of you bringing them to the end of themselves, demonstrate the power and sufficiency of the gospel. If this is a season in which you’re calling some of your servants to finally deal with issues of the past, wounds, abuse, addictions—whatever the case may be, make it clear, Jesus, and bring the right resources into play.

     For ALL your servants, we pray for fresh gospel-astonishment and grace-renewal. There’s nothing more than the gospel, just more of the gospel. Bring the resources of the gospel to bear in unmistakable and irresistible ways. So very Amen, we pray, in your faithful and loving name.

I would encourage you to pray this prayer, or pray in your own words as you think about your pastor or missionaries. Tomorrow when you greet your preacher at the door, let him know, “I love you and I am praying for you.” Encourage these heroes. – Bill Welte is President and CEO of America’s Keswick

GPS – God’s Positioning System: Leviticus 19-21; Psalm 46; Proverbs 19

Compass Pointers: There is nourishment from being encouraged and held up by others when we are weak. We are nourished from feedback from friends whom we trust and who will be honest with us. Rich Buhler

Navigation Rules to Memorize: Level 1: Proverbs 7:1-2; Level 2: Proverbs 7:1-6

Anchored to the Rock: God is not mocked. He does not answer prayers if he has already given us the answer and we are not willing to use it. Will MacDonald

Systematic Navigation: Authority

Systematic Navigation: Authority 

“Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread." But He answered and said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.' "
Matt 4:1-4 (NKJV) 

When my friend, Alan Levine, shares the impact of Scripture in his life and reads it out loud during our men’s Bible study he will start with, “Thus saith the Lord…” It does not matter the book or the verse, “Thus saith the Lord…” It is his way of getting across to us the authority of God’s Word. Alan is a unique man as he was a Hebrew’s Hebrew (and my accountability person post Colony). Now he has Jesus Christ as Lord over everything in his life and his reverence for the Old Testament shines through when he shares the New Testament with everyone he encounters. Alan has been a great source of application knowledge when he speaks to young Christians. Needless to say, Alan can be quite an evangelist.  

So it is of no coincidence that Jesus would use Old Testament or “Deuteronomical” citations against Satan during His time of temptation in the wilderness. The words in the Book of Deuteronomy are “from the mouth of God” and are intended to give answer to every temptation. They do not just show how to have reverence for God but they are the true expression of the authority of God. When we hear, “Thus saith the Lord” we are to understand that the words that come next are not to challenged; they are simply to be obeyed. It was quite often that God spoke through a prophet and that what a prophet said in God’s name, God said. So when a prophet spoke in God’s name he had better start off with, “Thus saith the Lord” or be prepared to play a serious game of “Dodge Stone” with the nation of Israel thus as it was in ‘dem ole’ Testament days. 

I wonder how awesome it must have been to hear not just a prophet but The Prophet. In Deuteronomy 18:18 God promised to raise up a Prophet from the tribe of Levi and He would have His words in His mouth. The Sermon that Jesus preached on the shores of the Sea of Galilee may just have been the kind of authoritative interpretation the Law needed. Like a breath of fresh sea air, the Deuteronomical thread is woven into the very fabric of everyday life with all the grace and mercy of a loving Savior. “You have heard it said but I say to you…” We hear the authority of the Father’s word spoken with meekness. Put your stones away you who are double-minded these are the new covenant days.  

As Paul is raising up Timothy he stress’s to his young cohort that those sacred writings we have been going over are theopneustos or breathed out by God.  “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.” (2 Tim 3:16-17; ESV) But it isn’t just the Old Testament getting the respect it so rightly deserves. Peter acknowledged Paul’s writing’s as theopneustos as Paul acknowledged Luke’s writing. In 1 Corinthians, Paul tells the church in Corinth that if there is a prophet among you he should know that what he was writing to them was a command of the Lord. And when he was just giving his opinion on other matters he simply stated out rightly, “To the rest I say, not the Lord…” 

So as you read your Bible are you convinced of its claim to God’s Words? We can in one sense affirm that this is claims to be the words of God but it is another to be convinced that the claim is true. If the Holy Spirit indwells within you will have that inner assurance that these are the very words breathed out of the mouth of the Creator Himself. “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one.

“For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.” (1 Cor. 2:14-16 ESV) So if you are His sheep, you hear His voice and trust the authority of His word. – Chris Hughes contributes regularly to Freedom Fighter and is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy

GPS – God’s Positioning System: Leviticus 16-18; Psalm 45; Proverbs 18

Compass Pointers: “Everybody is writing and everybody is talking, but for dying men there is not one word of authority anywhere, except as you hear the sure, true, terrifying words of Jesus Christ. Literally millions of words are printed every day, but the only authoritative word ever published is that which comes from the Holy Scriptures.” The Quotable Tozer II A.W. Tozer

Navigation Rules to Memorize: Level 1: Proverbs 7:1-2; Level 2: Proverbs 7:1-6

Anchored to the Rock: What a fearful canopy the prayers that do not get beyond the atmosphere would make it they turned brown with age. George MacDonald

Systematic Navigation Inerrancy

Systematic Navigation: Inerrancy 

“So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”            John 8:31-32 (ESV) 

So you’re in your favorite armchair, reading your Bible, sitting back comfortably, when an unlikely question just happens to cross your mind, “Are there any errors in my Bible?” Now don’t feel bad if it has, its ok, I’m sure we’ve all had our Thomas moments whether they have been early in our walk or they have come later on. And just like isn’t usual for the subject of inerrancy to be covered during the authoritative part of the systematic theological discussion. But as you flip through your evangelical television watching you may just have had that, “Huh, wha-di-he say?” moment. It is in that moment, Brother that you need to be flipping through God’s Word to see “What He said!” Yeah, that’s right.  

Anyway…I went looking into your basic dictionary to see what inerrancy means in our everyday use of the word and could not find it in the two dictionaries that I had looked in. I am going to guess that this word “inerrancy” can only be found and used in certain circles. It is used in the realm of God’s authoritative Word and even though error may characterize man’s speech, it is the characteristic of God’s speech that doesn’t contain or affirm any errors. Now there may be some unusual or uncommon sentence structures but let’s keep in mind that the Hebrew and the Greek are cultures apart. That may mean there will be a use of free/loose quotations in the verbatim of the speaker being mentioned but it doesn’t compromise the substance of the statements being made. In any case, God’s Word remains inerrant and can still be spoken in our ordinary everyday language.  

Now back in 1611 the following passage from Romans 1:16 sounded like this, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” Now here is how it sound’s today, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” Does the meaning of what Paul says change? Well without his exact “autograph” the point here is mute isn’t it? So if someone approaches this and says that there are clear error’s here, that someone should be the apostle, Paul, himself.  

It is also important to mention that God’s word speaks to the history of His people as it does to their faith and practice of His instruction. Peter and Paul had no problem using the historical details of the Old Testament in order to emphasize the need for faith in the Good News of Jesus and the daily practice of His message to us all. Taking a look at the Book of Hebrews is like taking a look through the Cliff Notes of both the Old and New Testament’s. So if one were to think that the term “Inerrancy” is a bad term because it can’t be found in the Bible may want to read the “Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy”. Sometimes we have to be content in not knowing the absolute, scientific, literal meaning of the letter A.  

As I keep paging through Wayne Grudem’s “Systematic Theology” book, I can’t help to sense a need for a Holy Spirit guided digging through of God’s Word as well. It is good at times to understand why the author used the letter A instead of the letter…Q, but it is more important to draw on the Spirit of the word whether spoken or written. I hope that as some of you who are navigating your life Biblically you are allowing the Holy Spirit to take the wheel. Sometimes it is good to be a passenger, in the back seat, perhaps with a good book…THE Book!! – Chris Hughes is a regular contributor to Freedom Fighter and a graduate of the Colony of Mercy 

GPS – God’s Positioning System: Leviticus 14-15; Psalm 44; Proverbs 17

Compass Pointers: “The man of God must live by the Word of God, and the Holy Spirit never will pass by or lightly esteem the Word that He has given. There are two extremes. The Word without the Spirit is dry and dead, but the Spirit without the Word is incomplete. Let us honor the Holy Scriptures; let us study them; let us habitually use them, search them, feed upon them as the weapon of our warfare against Satan, and for the souls of men.” The Holy Spirit  A.B. Simpson

Navigation Rules to Memorize: Level 1: Proverbs 7:1-2; Level 2: Proverbs 7:1-6

Anchored to the Rock: If I fail to spend two hours in prayer each morning, the devil gets the victory through the day. Martin Luther

Isaiah in 1984

Isaiah: In 1984

 “And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.” And he said, “Go, and say to this people: “‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’ Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.” Isaiah 6:8-10 (ESV) 

I have recently been blessed with getting re-acquainted with a Brother who some 28 years ago tried to evangelize to me and gave me my very first Bible. I wasn’t very much for receiving the Truth of God back in those days as I was running with the devil or at best one of his minions. Jorge and I were in various garage bands, “Very Metal” and both played the bass guitar. But God grabbed a hold of Jorge and shook him to the core. So much so that by the time God was finished in Jorge’s heart he was hard to recognize. He walked away from a promising career in music for his Savior. 

I invited Jorge to come out for our church men’s fellowship breakfast and was blessed to introduce him to the second Brother, Mark, who tried to evangelize to me some 10 years ago. I was also very privileged to be the guy who gave the breakfast devotional while these two men sat, listened and gave their Amen when the Truth of His Word was uttered. When this was over Jorge came to our family home where for the next three hours the family living room became a consuming fire. When Jorge left I felt as if my time in the wilderness with him was not the waste that, at times, I thought it was.  

As Jorge told us how God brought him unto Himself I thought of the prophet Isaiah. When we first hear of Isaiah he is serving in the court of King Uzziah. Uzziah’s reign over the two tribes in Jerusalem starts off well and he is even credited with being someone who successfully sows the ground. But the pride of life leads to being stricken with leprosy and Uzziah dies leaving Isaiah at the ready for an Old Testament version of the Great Commission. Isaiah then has a vision of the Almighty sitting on His glorious throne being worshipped by seraphim who some regard as the guardians of the holiness of the Lord and ministers of His holy purposes. “And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”(Isaiah 6:3 ESV) 

What do you think went through the mind of Isaiah after his response to God’s call as God pretty much tells him that you are going to be a flop in your outward appearance? All this prophet asked was, “How long, O Lord?” God’s answer to this isn’t as encouraging as some of us may want it for ourselves. “Until cities lie waste without inhabitant, and houses without people, and the land is a desolate waste, and the Lord removes people far away, and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land.” Hmm…But the striking truth to note here is that after Isaiah repents of his sin, his view of God gave him a proper view of himself. Thus helping Isaiah understand the higher calling on his life, no matter what God had planned for the nation of Israel.  

Looking back on the night Jorge sat me down with the Truth of God on his lips must have been frustrating for him. He received a clear message from God, repented and went out into the world to share the Good News. I didn’t listen to him then but a 20/20 perspective on the whole matter is clear to me now. God is in the reconstruction business and sometimes that means leveling strong holds to the ground. We are called into this salvation to minster to others, even if that means telling others that an impending doom is on the horizon. It is good to note here that Jesus Christ was a carpenter and that He is always about His Father’s business. That is a good thing to hear. -- Chris Hughes is a regular Freedom Fighter contributer and a graduate of the Colony of Mercy

GPS – God’s Positioning System: Leviticus 11-13; Psalm 43; Proverbs 16

Compass Pointers: “Is it easy to make room in our heart? Not always. Our flesh gets in the way and urges us to choose what’s comfortable, what’s familiar, what’s easy, what’s quick. Yet if we are to delight God’s heart by coming together as His sons, we have no choice but to make room in our hearts for one another. And it will take time—probably much longer than any of us knows. There are no instant answers, no single solutions. It will take time. And yet I remember that Jesus walked slowly to the Cross. That’s the only way this thing will ever work.” Bill McCartney

Navigation Rules to Memorize: Level 1: Proverbs 7:1-2; Level 2: Proverbs 7: 1-6

Anchored to the Rock: I fancy we may sometimes be deterred from small prayers by a sense of our own dignity rather than of God’s. C. S. Lewis

Rejoice in the Lord

Rejoice in the Lord

“Rejoice in the Lord always; I will say it again: Rejoice! Philippians 4:4

One of the characteristics that SHOULD set us apart from the world is the word: REJOICE! I have often said if Christians really practiced this one action, we could turn the world upside because people would want to know what we are so happy about, even in the midst of difficult circumstances.

I read this yesterday in STREAMS IN THE DESERT  (Zondervan):

It’s a good thing to “rejoice in the Lord.” Perhaps you have tried it but seem to fail at first. Don’t give it a second thought, and forge ahead. Even when you cannot FEEL any joy, there is no spring in your step, nor any comfort or encouragement in your life, continue to rejoice and “consider it pure joy” (James 1:2).

“Whenever you face trials of many kinds” (James 1:2), regard it as joy, delight in it, and God will reward your faith.  Do you believe that your heavenly Father will let you carry the banner of His victory and joy to the very front of the battle, only to calmly withdraw to see you captured or beaten back by the enemy? NEVER! His Holy Spirit will sustain you in your bold advance and fill your heart with gladness and praise. You will find that your heart is exhilarated and refreshed by the fullness within …

Lord, teach me to rejoice in You – to be “joyful always” (1 Thessalonians 5:16). Let us sing when we do not feel like it, for in this way we give wings to heavy feet and turn weariness into strength.

Oh, let us rejoice in the Lord, evermore,

When darts of the Tempter are flying,

For Satan still dreads, as he did before,

Our singing much more than our crying!

Dear brother – what are you facing today in your life? Take God at His Word and REJOICE!  -- Bill Welte is President and CEO of America’s Keswick

GPS – God’s Positioning System: Leviticus 5-7; Psalm 42; Proverbs 15

Compass Pointers: He [Christ] tells us plainly, and without any qualifications, that we are involved in a war in which there is no room for neutrals. Yet people attempt to evade His statement. Generally speaking, these are the very people who are the quickest in laying the blame upon God for all the sorrow and sin in the world. They argue that He could prevent it. They excuse their own do nothing attitude by making of evil's apparent predominance a ground for doubt of His loving kindness. It never seems to occur to them to look for the cause in mankind. Hugh Redwood

Navigation Rules to Memorize: Level 1: Proverbs 7:1-2; Level 2: Proverbs 7:1-6

Anchored to the Rock: Neglect prayer. Neglect God. O. Hallesby

Valentine's Day -- Love Demonstrated

Valentine’s Day

Love Demonstrated

            Hallmark Card Company has caused us to celebrate Valentine’s Day by asking others to love us. I have never seen a card declaring our love freely towards another.

In school, the teacher often allowed us, in the lower grades, to pass out paper cards that asked another to become our valentine. I always waited with great dread for someone to ask me or give me one of those little heart candies. How happy I would become with even one card.

            Love is an interesting thing. Someone must start the cycle. One must take the risk of loving another. Only then can another love the one who starts the circle.

Romans 5:8 But God demonstrate his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Too many people are looking for someone to love them (even to love unconditionally) but they do not seem to be looking for someone for them to love.

If we respond to His Great Love by first receiving it and then returning it from our own hearts we will find our love for Him growing. First from our hearts then our souls with our mind and strength following.

Mark 12:30  Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. If you have a time of loneliness, try giving, since love always expresses itself in giving.

            Thank you. Lord, for loving us

                        And giving us your greatest gift

            Just the very thought of it

                        Gives our hearts a lift

            May I risk loving others

                        As you risked loving me

Until they can find, as I found

            A love that sets one free. – Pastor Van is a friend of the ministry of America’s Keswick and still actively doing pulpit supply in his “retirement” years

           

GPS – God’s Positioning System: Leviticus 5-7; Psalm 41; Proverbs 14

Compass Pointers: God isn't angry at His people and won't be angry at anyone who comes to Him. Our sin is big...and God's grace is bigger. It's okay to trust God because He never makes mistakes. You can laugh and sing and be free, because the Son makes you free. You don't become faithful in order to get loved and get free...you are already free and loved and that is why it's possible to be faithful. Steve Brown

Navigation Rules to Memorize: Level 1: Proverbs 7:1-2; Level 2: Proverbs 7:1-6

Anchored to the Rock: The sin of failing to come to God in prayer is one of the most common offences a Christian commits. Simon J. Kistermaker