Tag Archives: kurtbennettbooks

Churches unite to help thousands of stranded passengers in Moscow’s airports

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Stranded at Moscow airport

Apparently the U.S. isn’t the only country dealing with flight delays. Due to a recent ice storm that hit a large area of Central Russia hundreds of flights have been delayed. The airport in Moscow is designed to hold around 3,000 people but the crowds have swollen to 10,000 due to the flight delays. Interestingly, in this nation that not so long ago claimed atheism as their national religion, Churches and Synagogues have stepped up to assist with food, bottles of water, and perhaps most appreciated of all, bunches of those moist towlette thingies. If you’re interested you can read more at Churches unite to help thousands of stranded passengers in Moscow’s airports | Russia | RIA Novosti.

How great is it to see God’s people in action.

This is how it should be because the Bible tells us that…

…the fruit of the Spirit is love…

Galatians 5:22

Genesis 3 — The tree of the knowledge of good and evil and the tree at Calvary

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Photo from thecrossweb.com

In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. (Genesis 2:9)

and…

Carrying his own cross, Jesus went out to the place of the Skull. The place that today we call Calvary. Here they crucified him. (John 19:17,18)

There’s an interesting contrast between the two trees. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden, and the tree of Calvary on which Jesus died for your sins, and my sins.

  • The first tree was planted by God — the tree of Calvary was planted by man.
  • The first tree, man was commanded not to eat thereof — the tree of Calvary, Jesus commanded us to eat thereof when He said, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” (Luke 22:19)
  • The first tree, Satan enticed them to eat — the tree of Calvary, Satan will do everything he can to keep you from.
  • The first tree brought sin and death — the tree of Calvary brought life and salvation.
  • The first tree turned man out of eternity with God — the other tree is the path to eternity with God.


Choose the tree of Calvary. Join Christ’s Family.



References:

Blue Letter Bible

Bible Gateway

Chuck Missler

Photo from thecrossweb.com

Matthew 6:20 — But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.

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But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.

Matthew 6:20


Self discipline with your time: (continued from October 6, 2010 post)

“In most cases, time is the only finite resource,” my son Nate informed me the other day. He was sharing something he learned while working on his degree in economics. He went on to explain that you can lose all your money, but if you work hard and invest wisely, you may be able to recover it, you might even gain far beyond what you lost. But once you’ve spent time, you can never get it back.

How we spend our time is one of the most important areas of discipline there is. Of course showing up on time, spending our time preparing properly, and scheduling are all important areas of self discipline that are keys to success in life.

But right now I’d like you to think about time as a resource. Think of it as something you spend. Think of time as something you invest. I believe that when we enter into heaven, the answer to the question, how did you invest your time, will be of tremendous importance.

Imagine with me if you will, that you’ve just died in a car accident and you find yourself at the great white throne, where …each person is judged according to what he has done. (Revelation 20:13)


“You are welcome at my house,” the angel said. (Judges 19:20) Was he an angel? What is it about him? Or is it Him? He threw His arms around me and kissed me. (Luke 15:20) I all but disappeared in his (His?) giant embrace.

“Tell me about yourself,” he said warmly. Why this tremendous being is interested in me, I can’t fathom.

“Well,” I started tentatively. “I feel like I’m kind of young to be here.”

“I get that a lot,” is all he said. “Where have you come from? (Job 1:7) Tell me about your life on earth.”

“I, um, I grew up in…” I spent an hour or so sharing with him all of my life story. The longer I spoke, the more I became aware of a loving quality about him. By the end of my story it seemed that his love was palpable, I could feel it exuding from him. Just then the thought entered my mind, “And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love.” (1 John 4:16)

It was Him. I was sure of that now.

After I thought I had told Him all of my life story, at the end, after the description of how I died in the car accident, that’s when he asked the big question.

“So how did you spend your time on earth?” He asked.

“What do you mean?” I asked right back. “I just told you my life story.”

“Yes, of course you did,” He didn’t react at all to my defensive tone. “You grew up, you had to work to support yourself, you had certain obligations to family and friends, you needed time for rest, you died. Your time on earth is a finite resource, I understand. Since the fall, that’s how it’s supposed to be. It’s the rest of your time that I’m interested in.”

“The rest of my time?” I asked. Just then the thought “As for man, his days are like grass…” passed through my mind. (Psalm 103:15)

“Yes, the rest of your time. How did you spend it?”

“Hmmm, let’s see, on Sunday mornings I went to Your house, to church.”

“Thou hast well said.” (John 4:17 KJV) You did go to my house, to a church that teaches My word, My whole word from cover to cover. Good choice. And you were there on many Sunday mornings. What you have just said is quite true.” (John 4:18)

I swallowed hard. Many Sunday mornings, He had said. That was a generous way to put it, I knew. In reality I was there mostly when a close friend, who was much more devoted than I, talked me into going. I had attended church on Sunday less than half of the time.

“How else?” He asked. “How else did you spend your time?”

“Well, socializing, I said. Visiting with friends and family.”

“Ah,” He smiled widely, a great and wonderful smile. “Socializing, with a generous dose of loving people. Truly a great and wonderful use of your time – loving people.” His smile made my heart soar. I was filled with joy to the point where I thought my chest would burst. The look of pleasure on His face was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen by far. I heard the words in my mind, “God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.” (Genesis 21:6)

“And how else?”

I thought for a moment but couldn’t come up with anything else I’d done that was of, well, of any value to anyone in this place. I heard in my mind, “What is highly valued among men is detestable in God’s sight.” (Luke 16:15)

Suddenly without warning I heard myself saying out loud, “Watch TV.” I didn’t want to say it, I didn’t mean to say it – it just seemed to come out. And it was true. Most days I spent at least a couple of hours watching TV.

“You’ve answered well again. And what did you watch?”

I didn’t answer. I didn’t have to. The expression on my face must have said it all, for nearly everything I watched had no redeeming value.

I wasn’t ready for what happened next. A look of sadness washed over His face. His face, looking like that, looking so very sad. I suddenly felt altogether unhinged – I felt sick. I averted my eyes. “Anything but,” I thought. “please, anything but that look. I don’t ever want to see that look again.” I was reminded of how I felt when I saw the look of disappointment on my best friend’s face, that day I let him down. Only this was infinitely more painful. My sorrow was so great that it hurt. The pain was so intense that I thought I would perish, but somehow I knew that that couldn’t happen here, not in this place. I was struck by how One so magnificent could look so hurt. He looked wounded. The words entered my mind, “these are the wounds I was given at the house of my friends.” (Zechariah 13:6)

Very softly, very gently, He asked, “What else, my child?”

“The computer,” I said, barely audible.

Without warning the images and sounds of every television program I had ever watched, every website I had ever visited, every song I had ever listened to, every thought I had ever had was before me. And before Him. He was showing me how I spent my time. I said, “O LORD, you have searched me and you know me.” (Psalm 139:1)

I don’t know how I got there but I suddenly found myself in His arms. I was sobbing with my face buried in His chest. “Mercy, mercy,” I was repeating over and over and over. “Mercy,” I thought. I was completely and utterly at His mercy. “Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him.” I thought. (Job 13:15)

Then God’s hand touched me and instantly the words came into my mind, “A hand touched me and set me trembling…” (Daniel 10:10) He wiped every tear from my eyes and gently turned my head to see Another coming. (Revelation 21:4) And when I turned I saw …someone “like a son of man,” dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. (Revelation 1:12, 13, 16)

“My child behold, your Champion,” God said of the Other. “My Son and My lamb.”

When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades. (Revelation 1:17-18)

Then my eyes were opened and I recognized him who came. (Luke 24:31) It was Jesus. I felt my heart swell because I was very afraid yet filled with joy that was almost unbearable. (Matthew 28:8)

In an instant, and without knowing how, I was walking next to my Lord. He was telling me, graciously and gently telling me, how the time God gave me on earth was one of His most precious gifts, and how I chose to use it was of the greatest importance.

“Time,” He said. “Use it well. Store up for yourself treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.” (Matthew 6:20)

Invest your time in eternity.


References:

Bible Gateway

Photo from Inside Out

Jon Courson

2 Timothy 1:7 — Discipline — For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline

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For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.

2 Timothy 1:7

David Smith, a friend of mine, asked me today, ”What’s the value of discipline as it relates to success in life?”

Thank you for the question David, I hope you don’t mind receiving your answer in a blog post.

I would start by saying that the Bible in Proverbs 6:23 says that “…the corrections of discipline are the way to life…” I don’t think it’s a stretch to extrapolate from there, that self discipline is one of the keys to a successful life.

An old New York City Deputy Fire Chief once told me that he noticed a pattern in the successful leaders at FDNY. They either rose earlier than most and spent time working in the early morning, or they spent time working into the evening. We see this pattern in our Lord, in the book of Mark it says Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. (Mark 1:35) And we see in Proverbs 31:18 that the virtuous woman’s lamp does not go out at night. Thomas Edison said that “Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.” Hard work and persistence born of self discipline are certainly keys to success in life.

For the Christian, self discipline is a gift from God. Self discipline is born of the Holy Spirit as we see from 2 Timothy 1:7 where God’s word says, For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. Of course the Holy Spirit is holy, so for the Christian man or woman, self discipline also means holiness. With that in mind we should maintain self discipline in the following areas.



Self discipline with your mind:

In Matthew chapter 5, speaking on murder, Jesus admonishes us not to be angry with our brother. (Matthew 5:21-26) In the same chapter, speaking on adultery, Jesus instructs us not to look at a woman lustfully. Mark Twain once wrote, “What a wee little part of a person’s life are his acts and his words! His real life is led in his head, and is known to none but himself. All day long, the mill of his brain is grinding, and his thoughts, not those other things, are his history.” (Reader’s Digest [1/93], p. 155 as cited in The Christian’s Thought Life by Cole). I wouldn’t go as far as Mark Twain and say that our actions and words play such small role, but the point is, based on Jesus’ teachings from Matthew 5:21-30, the Lord cares very much what our thoughts are.

All of our actions and words begin with our thoughts. Self discipline with your mind is essential.



Self discipline with your money:

Proverbs 22:7 says, The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender. CH Spurgeon said it another way, “Money is the servant of the wise, and the master of fools.” Have integrity with your money. It’s a very novel way to look at finances in our culture today, but God would have us live within our means and avoid credit. By the way Tom Rath and Jim Harter cite a study in their book Well Being that found, when it comes to finances, a sense of well being was not associated with how rich you are, rather a sense of well being is found in those who don’t carry much debt. Not surprising at all in the light of scripture.



Self discipline with your eyes:

Job said, I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a girl. (Job 31:1) and David said in Psalm 101:3, I will set before my eyes no vile thing.

Make a covenant with your eyes. Avoid that TV program that you know is wrong for your you. Avoid that website that you know is damaging to your mind. Ladies, avoid spending time on Amazon, eBay, or craigslist. Improve your self discipline with your eyes and your thought life will improve, your self discipline with money will improve, your walk will improve.

It’s amazing how much easier self discipline is with your mind, your money, and your Christian walk, when you have self discipline with your eyes.



Self discipline with your word:

Jesus said, “…let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.” (Matthew 5:37) Say what you mean, and do what you say. Maintain the integrity of your word.



In closing, I’d just like to comment on how all of this relates to your work life. As someone who’s involved in the hiring process in my own organization, I can tell you with certainty that, every employer is looking for the person with the qualities described above. Think about it: what employer wouldn’t want someone who works hard, is not distracted by financial problems, won’t cause trouble by entering into inappropriate relationships at work, and keeps his or her word. I think it’s obvious that discipline in all of these areas will result in success at work and in success in your life in general.

As usual, God’s way is the best way.

(You may have noticed that one of the most important areas of self discipline was not discussed in today’s post. I’ll address self discipline with your time in the next post)



References:

Bible Gateway

Steven J. Cole

Spurgeon

Rick Warren

Photo by tpuyol

Genesis 3:14-19 — Because you have done this…

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So the LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, ”Cursed are you above all the livestock and all the wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”

To the woman he said, ”I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”

To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat of it,’ ”Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”

Genesis 14-19

In the last post we learned about three of the consequences of sin: self centeredness, separation from God, and the blaming of others. Adam and Eve attempted to hide from God after their sin. Of course that didn’t change anything. You can’t hide from God. (Jeremiah 23:24, Psalm 139:7-12, Isaiah 29:15-16, Amos 9:2) Unfortunately, those three consequences were just the beginning of the repercussions that resulted from the sin in the garden. In fact the very next verse after where we left off ends with God saying, “Because you have done this…” (v. 14) Additional consequences include…


Affliction

“Because you have done this, Cursed are you above all the livestock and all the wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life.” (v. 14) In the beginning, the serpent wasn’t limited to slithering. In the beginning, the serpent didn’t have to eat dust every day. In the beginning, the serpent didn’t look like a snake. In Matthew 18:6 Jesus said that, “…if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.” The serpent caused God’s original children to sin, and he paid dearly. Even in the millennium described in Isaiah chapter 65, after the world is restored to a Garden of Eden like condition, the serpent will continue to eat dust. (Isaiah 65) Sin is debilitating. Sin changes the way we walk. When we sin, rather than walking uprightly, we crawl around. Afflicted by sin we slither, snake, sneak, and squirm. We worm, wriggle, and writhe our way. Sin changes the way you move through life.


Enmity

“Because you have done this,” (v. 14) “…I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” (v. 15) Sin causes enmity. The most common casualty of sin is a relationship, between a husband and wife, between friends, between family. This verse also speaks of the struggle that would ensue from this point forward between good and evil. Most importantly this verse refers to Eve’s seed. This is a rather curious reference because women of course don’t have any seed, women receive seed from men. Normally when God refers to seed in the Bible He’s talking about the seed of a man. Of course every woman needs the seed of a man to conceive a child. Every woman except one, Mary, the one, the only one, who miraculously conceived without the seed of a man. This verse is a prophetic verse that speaks of Jesus’ glory and victory. Mary’s seed would ultimately have victory over that evil one. Mary’s seed did ultimately crush the head of Satan when Jesus defeated Satan on the cross.


Pain

“Because you have done this,” (v. 14) “…I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.” (v. 16) As a result of Eve’s sin, birth, the very act that brings joy into our lives, and the very act that continues the human family can now only come with pain. It wasn’t supposed to be that way. Sin causes pain — the pain of regret, the pain of guilt, the pain of shame. Things God never intended to cause pain, things God intended to be nothing but a blessing are broken by sin.


Toil

“Because you have done this,” (v. 14) “Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat of it,’ Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. (v. 17) First of all this is a great reminder that as men, it can be so easy sometimes to listen to our wives, other family, or friends, to go along to get along, even when we should really be listening to God. Before we listen to our wives, before we listen to anyone, we need to listen to God and put His word first. Also notice that Adam’s work changed at this point. In the Garden of Eden he was blessed with the work of tending a garden that responded to his touch in ways that we can only imagine. But as a result of his sin Adam had to, and you and I have to, earn our way through painful toil. Because of the fallen state of the world, everyone now must deal with thorns and thistles in their work life. (v. 18)


Death

“Because you have done this,” (v. 14) “…dust you are and to dust you will return.” (v. 19) And there it is, Satan was wrong after all, Adam and Eve and the rest of the human race would from that point forward return to dust. As God said in Genesis 2:17, “…you will surely die.” (see previous post You will surely die) But even before their physical death, Adam and Eve experienced spiritual death the moment they sinned against God. In the parable of the Prodigal Son, when the son repents and returns to the Father, the Father says in Luke 15:24, For this son of mine was dead and is alive again. When we sin, from God’s perspective, we experience a spiritual death. And no one’s perspective is more important than God’s. Of course sin also causes the death of relationships — the death of a marriage, the death of a family relationship, or the death of a friendship.

For the wages of sin is death… (Romans 6:23)


What a terrible, terrible mess sin makes in the end. Self centeredness, separation form God Himself, blaming behavior, affliction, enmity, pain, toil, and ultimately, death result every time — spiritual death and the death of relationships. Dear reader, please understand what’s happening here in our story. Sin isn’t bad because it’s forbidden. Sin is forbidden because it’s bad. It’s bad for you and it’s bad for me. Because God loves us He has identified for us what sin is and He forbids us to engage in it. God forbids it because sin destroys you.

And He doesn’t stop there. Even beyond His efforts to keep us from sin, God loves you so much that He’s provided a way for you to reconcile yourself to Him in spite of your sin. Did you know that the only place in the entire Bible where God is seen running is in the parable of the Prodigal Son? In Luke 15:20 Jesus said, “…while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.” Perhaps you’ve recently decided to change your life but you’re still “a long way off.” God earnestly desires reconciliation with you. He’s given His only Son as a sacrifice for every sin you and I have ever committed, are committing, or will ever commit.

Accept Jesus and His sacrifice on the cross for your sins. Go to this link: Join Christ’s Family

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 6:23



References:

Blue Letter Bible

Bible Gateway

Dr. J. Vernon McGee

Jon Courson

Genesis 3:7-13 — Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked. …the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?”

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Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden.

But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?”

He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”

And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”

The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”

Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”

The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

Genesis 3:7-13


At first it would seem that Satan was right, that the fruit was good to eat, that the fruit brought knowledge of good and evil. Indeed after eating the fruit Adam and Eve did gain the knowledge of good and evil. And there was no immediate evidence that death was upon either of them. This is how it was with the first sin, and this is how it is with all sin. The Bible says that sin brings pleasure for a season (Hebrews 11:25) But then ”…the wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23)

Sin is a package deal and the second part of the package is inescapable. Lets have a look at the second part of Adam and Eve’s sin.


Self Centeredness:

“Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked;” v. 7 After eating the forbidden fruit Adam and Eve became self conscious. Before their sin their focus was on the animals of the earth, on tending the garden, on each other, and on their relationship with God. After their sin their focus shifted to themselves. They became aware of and embarrassed about their nakedness. God didn’t design us to be focused on ourselves. People who sin become self absorbed — people who are self absorbed are unhappy. God’s design for us is to put Him and other people before ourselves in life. Talk to someone who’s entangled in sin and you’ll find that their conversation is all about themselves. Like the self centered man who after talking at length about himself to a friend said, “Enough about me, let’s talk about you. Tell me, what do you think about me?”


Separation from God:

…and they hid from God among the trees of the garden. v. 8 Sin separates us from God. Adam and Eve had a wonderful relationship with God in His spectacular garden. Intimacy with Him, closeness with Him, regular communication with Him was a regular part of their lives. After their sin that changed. When they heard the sound of His coming they were filled with guilt and shame so they hid themselves from Him. Their sin effected their relationship with Him. The most important relationship there is. Your sin and my sin will effect our relationship with Him as well.


The blame game:

The woman You put here with me… v. 12 Adam says. The serpent You put here with us… v. 13 Eve says. God first of all, You were the one who put this woman here with me, Adam was saying, and she did it, it was Eve’s fault. (Stedman says, “He took it like a man, he blamed his wife!”) God You were the one who put the serpent here, and it’s his fault, Eve was saying. The blame game, finger pointing. This is the first account of that game and its been played by every member of the human race ever since. Notice that God is implicated here, the woman You put in my life, the serpent You put here. Whenever you or I blame someone for something we’re ultimately blaming the Lord for putting that person in our life.


It’s all about your relationship with Him:

Your communication with God is of paramount importance. You may have read about the fire that destroyed 11 homes in Ashland, Oregon last month. I happened to be running a division at that fire. One of our tactics was to have helicopters drop water on the burning homes. When the helicopters began operating it was important to keep them from dropping water on one particular house where firefighters were working inside. A helicopter water drop pushes fire in all directions in a very dramatic fashion. This could cause serious injury or death to those fighting fire inside.

“Command from Oak Knoll Division,” I said on the radio, “direct the helicopters NOT to drop on the house directly across from 8106.”

Command responded, “Copy, have the helicopter drop water directly on the house across from 8106.”

Of course this was exactly what I didn’t want. “Negative, negative,” I said, “DO NOT drop water on the house across from 8106.”

No response.

“Command from Oak Knoll Division, DO NOT drop water on the house across from 8106.” I repeated my request.

* Still no response.

Just then a helicopter approaches the area and appears to be lining up for a drop on the house next door to the one we want it to avoid. Hoping that the pilot can see me I encourage him to drop on the house next door by pointing and nodding (yes, kind of ridiculous I know, but I didn’t have my radio on the helicopter pilot’s frequency). He’s low over the house next door and things are looking good, but then he’s past it, and then it becomes obvious that he’s getting ready to drop on the house with the firefighters inside. In desperation I’m jumping up and down, waving my arms frantically, trying to communicate to the helicopter pilot not to drop on top of the firefighters. In the midst of all the chaos, a friend of mine, Tyler McCarty, who works for Oregon Department of Forestry, walks up to me just as calm as can be and says,

“Kurt, would you like me to tell that helicopter not to drop on that house?”

“YES!!!” I shout, “yes I would!”

Tyler, who’s already on the helicopter’s frequency, radios the request directly to the pilot. The helicopter flys off, and all is well.

The point is I rarely speak to helicopter pilots because my Fire Department is primarily a structural fire department. My friend Tyler works for a Wildland Fire agency, he talks to helicopter pilots all the time, his radio is on their frequency, communication is easy.

It’s the same with God. When we’re in constant communication with Him our relationship is easy. When our prayers are rare, when our scripture reading is only occasional, when our church attendance is sporadic, our relationship with Him suffers. We find ourselves on a different frequency.

Focus on God, your family, and the work that God has set before you. Don’t blame people — blaming is completely pointless as we’ll see later in this chapter. Finally…

Don’t hide from God.

Talk with Him in prayer.

Listen to Him by reading His word.

Fellowship with Him by attending a church that teaches through the entire Bible.

Seek Him.

* Please understand that an Incident Commander at a fire like this is completely swamped with communication that is face to face, by cell phone, and by radio over multiple frequencies. Not receiving a response for awhile or misunderstanding a radio transmission is not at all uncommon for any fire department at large scale incidents. In fact God’s hand was with the fire departments fighting fire that day. They made an amazing stop. Within a few minutes of when the first engine arrived 11 homes in a row were burning. Across the street another 30 homes were threatened. A man who lived across the street from the fire was quoted in the newspaper as saying, “I’m not a religious man, but I know a miracle when I see it.” I agree, that fire should have jumped the street. 30 or so more homes should have burned that day. It was God’s hand that stopped that fire.


References:

Blue Letter Bible

Bible Gateway

Ray Stedman

Medford Mail Tribune

Genesis 3:1-6 — “You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman.

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Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’ “

“You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. ”For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it.

Genesis 3:1-6


This is like breaking down the game plan of an opposing team. There are some very basic plays in Satan’s play book and once these are understood… don’t kid yourself, you’re still susceptable to them, but, it can be helpful to see the simplicity of his tactics.


The Tactics of the Enemy:

1) Calling God’s word into question:

“Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1) The enemy said, “Did God really say that?” Did God really mean this? Is all scripture really inspired by God? Come on now, all of it? You don’t think that God really created the world and all that’s in it in just six days do you? You don’t really believe that the Red Sea was parted do you? Is all scripture really without error? What about that part of the Bible that just doesn’t seem quite right to you — I don’t think that part is inspired. Calling God’s word into question is one of the basic tactics of the enemy. Notice also that the enemy twisted God’s words for God of course never said that Adam and Eve must not eat from any tree in the garden.


2) Denying the existence of judgment or consequences:

…the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.” (Genesis 3:4) “There are no consequences,” the enemy says to you and says to me. You won’t die a spiritual death — because there is no hell. Your marriage relationship won’t die — if you have sex outside of marriage. You will not surely die — if you don’t accept Jesus as your savior. Denying the consequences of not abiding by God’s word and will — a second tactic of Satan.


3)  Misrepresenting God’s nature:

“For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:5) God doesn’t want you to eat from this fruit because he wants to hold you back. He doesn’t want you to advance to the point where you have knowledge of good and evil because he’s jealous, in the worst sense of the word — He wants to keep you down. Of course God knew the consequences of eating the fruit and forbid Adam and Eve from doing so for their own benefit. God always wants what’s best for you and for me. Satan always portrays God in the opposite light. How could a loving God allow people to suffer? People suffer because the world is in a fallen state as the result of what happens in the next few verses. How could a loving God allow people to go to hell? God says that if you’re bound and determined to go to hell, you can, but, you’ll have to do it over My dead body, over the body of My Son, Jesus Christ. (see previous post on Eternity)


Only 3 plays left in his playbook — the final three tactics of the enemy:

1 John 2:16 says: For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

4) The lust of the flesh:

The enemy’s 4th tactic is to try to appeal to the lust of your flesh. Genesis 3:6 says that, When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food… When the woman saw that this fruit would feed her flesh, that it would taste good, that it would please her flesh… When the alcoholic sees that a drink will please his flesh, when a man or woman sees that an extramarital relationship will please his or her flesh, when the businessman decides to cut a corner so he can make money that will purchase things that gratify, sin is at hand, life altering consequences are at hand.


5) The lust of the eyes:

The 5th tactic is to try to appeal to the lust of the eyes. Verse 6 also says that when the woman saw that the fruit was pleasing to the eye… When the woman was visually attracted to the fruit, when the woman was drawn to the fruit because of its visual appeal… When the man is visually attracted to pornographic images on the internet, when the woman is visually attracted to clothes that will break the budget, when the man is visually attracted to that thing that he covets that he can’t afford, sin is at hand, lives will be damaged.


6) The pride of life:

The 6th tactic is to try to appeal to the pride of life. Verse 6 also says that when the woman saw that the fruit was desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. When the woman thought, I can advance, I can be wise like God, I can have some of the same knowledge that God has… When the New Ager says that you too can be a God. Or when the cult says that, like God, you too can rule your own planet. Or when the intellectual says that scripture is for those who need a crutch, anyone with intelligence is above all of this Bible nonsense, sin is at hand again, eternal consequences are in play.


We see the enemy attempt to use the same final 3 tactics again in Matthew 4. But, this time Satan is playing his game against Jesus.

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” (Matthew 4:1-3) Jesus was hungry, Satan attempted to use his old standby, number 4, the lust of the flesh. But Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ (Matthew 4:4)


Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:
” ‘He will command his angels concerning you,
and they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”

Matthew 4:5-6

Prove you are who you say you are, prove you are God’s Son! Come on, prove it! Old standby number 6 was used here, the pride of life. But Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” (Matthew 4:7)


Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. ”All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” (Matthew 4:8-9) Look at all the splendor before you, just look at it, look! Old standby number 5, the lust of the eyes. But Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’” (Matthew 4:10)


Jesus said that Satan was a liar and a murderer from the beginning. (John 8:44) As I said earlier, understanding the enemy’s tactics can be helpful in avoiding his pitfalls. However the real power for protection from Satan’s devices comes from a relationship with Jesus Christ.


Why not ask Him into your life now? What do you have to lose? Click on this link and do what it says to be saved: Save me.



References:

Blue Letter Bible

Bible Gateway

Bob Davis

Jon Courson

Don’t Go Rafting Without a Baptist in the Boat

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This is just too funny not to share. In case you’ve never heard her before, when she says “Left Brain” she’s referring to her husband. Check it out.

Genesis 2:24-25 — …a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.

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For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.

The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.

Genesis 2:24-25

Many young people today are attempting the first part of Genesis 2:24, becoming one flesh, but leaving out the second part of the verse, leaving their father and mother. I believe that many marriages suffer unnecessarily or even fail because without the second part, leaving father and mother, the first part, becoming one flesh, doesn’t work very well. Independence from mom and dad is key to a healthy marriage. A husband and wife must form a team of two. When a dad and/or mom is involved it becomes a team of 3 or 4. Or if both sets of parents are involved, a team of six! God’s way is the best way and it’s up to us as parents to allow our kids to separate, to leave, because if they don’t leave, emotionally as well as physically, then they won’t cleave. Well intentioned parents of adult children often make this mistake of over involvement. Follow God’s plan, too much involvement in our adult kids marriages will make things worse instead of better. Young married people, especially you husbands, insist on independence. Guard your marriage from your parent’s over involvement, in a loving and gracious manner, but with tenacity. For you to be successful in your marriage your spouse must come before your parents, and your God must come before your spouse.

And in case you’ve already successfully left your parents, be sure to leave others as well. Friendship with those of the opposite sex, the kind of friendship that involves time alone together, even small amounts of time alone together, is nearly always found at the beginning of an adulterous relationship. Don’t do it, don’t invest in that relationship at work or at the gym, even if you don’t feel an attraction. As you invest your heart will inevitably follow as Jesus said in Luke 12:34. And as God says to us in Proverbs 6:27-28, Can a man scoop fire into his lap without his clothes being burned? Can a man walk on hot coals without his feet being scorched?

Jesus quotes from Genesis 2:24 when the Pharisees came to trap Him with a question. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?” (Matthew 19:3) They probably thought, “If we can get Jesus to say that divorce is not permitted, not God’s will, then we can quote the law of Moses and, BOOM, the trap is shut, we’ve got him.” But Jesus goes back to the beginning, to God’s original plan for marriage, before the law was given to Moses. Jesus from Genesis 2:24…

“Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female, and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh? So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.” (Matthew 19:4-6)

Perhaps at this point the Pharisees, realizing that they’d been out maneuvered, asked the following question, as a last ditch effort to salvage their trap…

“Why then,” they asked, “did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?” (Matthew 19:7)

But Jesus replied,

“Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery.” (Matthew 19:8-9)

Today we’ve seen a rather large cultural shift from divorce being such a negative thing to divorce being a liberating, freeing, positive experience. A single parent household, a man and woman living together unmarried perhaps with children, these are seen as acceptable alternative lifestyles. What’s being completely ignored is the wellbeing of the children of divorce. The vast majority of children from divorced families surveyed say they’d like to see their original family back together. Have you heard that statistic before? Probably not. Five years after divorce more than a third of children experienced depression. Even at 10 years and 15 years after divorce, many of the children involved had significant problems. Children from divorced families were found to be less successful in life than children from intact families, particularly in the areas of relationships and careers.

Most of the time the custody of the children goes to the mother. What’s not a part of the public discussion is that about half of all single mothers live below the poverty line. And this desperate economic circumstance is not for the short haul — on average it lasts six years. For African American single mothers it’s much worse, 10 years after divorce only 33% of African American mothers were remarried and continued in financial distress. (McLanahan-Garfinkel)

Dear reader, don’t close your eyes to the devastation caused by divorce, build your marriage on the foundation of Jesus Christ and His word. Invest in your wife, invest in your husband and your heart will follow. Follow His ways, in life, and in your marriage.

Finally, notice in Genesis 2:25 that God provided that The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame. God very specifically tells us in Hebrews 13:4 that His plan for the marriage bed is for it to be undefiled. Sex inside of marriage is a gift from Him, and shame has no part in it. When you invest in your wife, when you invest in your husband, do so in all areas including your physical relationship. For God tells us in 1 Corinthians 7:4-5

The wife’s body does not belong to her alone but also to her husband. In the same way, the husband’s body does not belong to him alone but also to his wife. Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.



References:

Blue Letter Bible

Bible Gateway

Jon Courson

Chuck Smith

The Atlantic

Single Mothers and Their Children, Sarah McLanahan and Irwin Garfinkel, 1986