Overcoming

Where have all the demons gone?

4 Comments / Holy Spirit Aha's, Overcoming /

“Go tell that fox, I will drive out demons and heal people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.” Luke 13:32 NIV

This week as I have been reading through the gospel of Luke I have been struck by how much of the focus of Jesus’ ministry was in casting out demons. His message for Herod quoted above, who was seeking to kill him, put driving out demons right at the top of His priority list. Depending on how you read the Gospels, Jesus spent up to 30% of his time in deliverance ministry dealing with demons. In fact Jesus touted it as the imprimatur of the authenticity of His ministry. “But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” (Matthew 12:28 NIV)

It has caused me to wonder why there is such a stark contrast between the ministry of the church today, particularly in the west, and the ministry of Jesus and His followers two thousand years ago. Where have all the demons gone? Why aren’t we casting out demons with the frequency and ferocity of the early church?

Dealing with the devil and his minions was at the heart of what Christ came to do. The Apostle John who accompanied Jesus throughout his earthly ministry writes “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.” (1 John 3:8 ESV)
Now the “works of the devil” include first and foremost sin and death which Jesus overcame at the cross. But in the Gospels and Acts of the Apostles we also find the devil and his demons causing diseases and infirmities, deafness and dumbness, depression and oppression and all manner of obsessive-compulsive behavior.

Jesus not only dealt with these works of the devil but also commissioned His followers to do the same. When He sent out the twelve on their short term training missions He specifically directed them and gave them authority to drive out demons in addition to curing diseases. It was an integral part of preaching the gospel of the Kingdom to set the captives free. (Luke 9:1-2) Jesus basically did the same thing when He sent out the seventy-two and they came back rejoicing saying “Lord even the demons submit to us in your name!” (Luke 10:17)

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Living a holy life begins in your closet

Overcoming, Relationship with God /

The secret to living a holy life is in your closet. That’s right, if you want to know how to live a life that demonstrates the holiness of God you need to look in your closet.

In an earlier blog post I established the fact that from a Christian perspective, holiness is a gift from God and not a product of self effort. Holiness like salvation, comes through faith in Jesus Christ. When we open the door of our heart to Christ, the Holy Spirit comes in to take up residence in our lives and declares us holy by virtue of His holy presence within us.

He does not stop in the entry way or just in the living room, but makes His way into every room of our spiritual house. And surprisingly, the first place He makes a bee line for is our closet. Why? Because He has a whole new wardrobe He wants to hang there to insure that we begin to look like the child of royalty that we have now become. And as He begins this thorough house cleaning of our lives He has a Salvation Army truck waiting at the curb to dispose of all our old, tattered and filthy garments of sin and self-righteousness. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist.) At any rate good riddance to the old, bring on the new!

And what an amazing ensemble of clothes He provides. First there is “the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” which we are encouraged to put on when we put off the old self. (Ephesians 4:22-24) There are also the “garments of salvation” and “robes of righteousness” (Isaiah 61:10) And as holy people whom God loves He provides us with the clothes of “tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.” (Colossians 3:12) But that’s not all. For our spiritual battles He also stocks our closet with the six piece full armor of God. (Ephesians 6:11-17)

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A Tribute to Jim Maher

15 Comments / News & Reflections, Overcoming /

“Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.” (Psalm 116:15 NIV)

Late last Friday, March 11, 2011, we got word that Jim Maher, an amazing man of God and friend of our Bridgewood church family was killed in a motorcycle accident. As a leader from the International House of Prayer in Kansas City, Jim was a member of our church advisory board and frequent minister in our midst. The news of Jim’s death hit those of us who knew him very hard. We grieve and pray for his wife Elizabeth, their children, grandchildren and extended family.

The verse above from Psalm 116 offers us a viewpoint of death that is both unusual and insightful. We are told by the psalmist that the death of a godly man or woman is something God regards as precious. In fact, the Hebrew word from which precious comes is also translated splendid or weighty. However, an untimely death like Jim’s is not something we would consider precious. To the contrary, at least from our vantage point, such a death seems to be the very opposite, a senseless waste. And it can engender an almost endless string of unanswered questions spinning uncontrollably from the central question “Why?”

So there you have it – two perspectives, one from heaven’s eyes and one from human eyes. Seeking to see things from God’s perspective lifts us into to realm of eternity and frees us from the limitations of human perception and rationale.

So how could Jim’s home going be precious to God and thereby also precious to us?

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The biggest misunderstanding about holiness

5 Comments / Overcoming, Relationship with God /

The word holy and its derivative holiness are two of the most misunderstood words in the Bible. It is surprising because they are used over 460 times in the Old Testament and 230 times in the New Testament. The problem however is not in understanding the meaning of this important concept. Everyone would agree, including Merriam Webster, that to be holy means to be set apart and devoted to God and His purposes. Both the original Hebrew and Greek words for holy clearly convey this.

Where there is confusion is in understanding how someone or something becomes holy. Most people think that holiness is a result of something we do. It is a common belief that holiness is what happens to us when we conform our attitude and actions to God’s holy will. Nothing could be further from the truth.

To begin to comprehend any Biblical truth or concept it is always insightful to go back and look at the passage of scripture where it is first introduced. This is called the principle of first mention. When we go to a concordance we discover that the word holy was first used in the book of Exodus. It is a very familiar passage of scripture where God appeared to Moses in the burning bush and called him to be the deliverer of the Israelites. “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” (Exodus 3:5 NIV)

Now we need to ask the question. What made the ground holy? Was it Moses’ response? Was it his final acquiescence and conformity to God’s will? No, the ground was holy before Moses arrived. In this instance, it is obvious that it was holy because a) God said so and b) He, the Great I Am Who Am, was there.

It could go without saying, but it is important to note that wherever God chooses to be is holy, simply because He is holy.

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Crouching Desire, Hidden Deathtrap

Growth & Development, Overcoming /

As sons and daughters of Adam, all of us like Cain, are subject to the temptations of sin. But unlike Cain we must learn to master it. God never commands us to do something without also giving us the wherewithal and strength to do it. The victory Jesus Christ won for us through His death, burial and resurrection defeated death, sin and their agent the devil. The devil may come to steal, kill and destroy but Jesus came that we might have a victorious and abundant life. (John 10:10)

Temptation often happens as it did with Cain when we make ourselves vulnerable to it through wrong or selfish choices. As a result we put ourselves in a precarious situation where sin literally crouches at our door waiting to pounce. Cain cut corners with his offering by trying to pass off seconds to God while keeping the first fruits of his crops for himself. His half-hearted and hypocritical worship of God opened the door for jealousy and anger toward his brother, Abel. Abel had offered the best of the fruit of his labors to God, the firstborn from his flock. (Genesis 4:3-5)

In a loving intervention, God warns Cain that he must deal with the sin issues in his heart lest they open the door to its ravages. This warning is echoed in the New Testament writings of Peter. “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8 NIV)

One of the greatest deterrents to sin is stopping to consider the death and destruction it wrecks upon both the sinner and others whom his/her sin affects. That is the essence of the appeal that God was making to Cain. He was saying to Cain, and also by the Holy Spirit is saying to all of us, “Stop a minute and get a grip on your self. Think about the unfolding consequences of this sinful attitude and action if it is allowed to play itself out! You are opening the door to death!”

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