Friday, April 25, 2014

Demons in our Lives


 


A friend is the pastoral assistant at our church. From time to time, she preaches in place of our senior pastor. She had to preach at our Son rise Service on Easter Sunday. In her planning she got to thinking about Mary Magdalene.

When we think about this Mary, we hone in on the fact that Jesus healed her from seven demons. We don’t know what those were. We do know she appreciated the healing she received to the point she followed the Master as he taught and healed others.

My friend wondered if we who live in the 21st Century have demons controlling our lives. She came up with three, distractions, doubt, and despair. When she shared this thought with me, I thought she was onto something.

Later, I reached into our mailbox and, among the ad mail, I found an envelope addressed to us. The return address was that of a daughter of a recently deceased friend. I immediately had a bad thought. I opened it and read the sweetest note I ever received. I realized I judged the daughter for taking a month to get the thank you card to me. Then I thought of the conversation about demons. I had the demon of Judgmentalism.

Later, I posted a message on Facebook of our conversation and added some traits that fall under category of “demons.” Two of my Facebook “friends” indicated they liked the thoughts. I also received two comments that gave me two more traits believed to be demons.

The list presently includes:

Distraction,
“You will keep in perfect peace whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.” Isaiah 26:3 NIV
Doubt,
“. . . he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed away by the wind. James 1:6b NIV

Despair,
Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my savior and my lord. Psalm 42:5

Judgmentalism,
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Matthew 7:1-2 NIV

Impatience,
“. . . everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry. . . “James 1:19 NIV

Self-entitlement, Selfishness,
“If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.” Phil. 2:1-2 NIV

Conceit,
“. . . do not think better of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.” Rom. 12:3-NIV

The aftermath of anger,
“A fool gives full vent to his anger but a wise man keeps himself under control.” Prov. 29:11 NIV
“But I tell you, anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment.” Matthew 5:22 NIV
“ . . everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.” James 1:19-20 NIV
“In your anger do not sin” Psalm 4:4; Ephesians 4:26 NIV
Pride,
“Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” Proverbs 16:18 NIV.

Pettiness,
“. . . be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Romans 12:2 NIV

Criticalness,
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Matthew 7:1-2 NIV


Several of us have been trying to grow spiritually. We were on a journey throughout the Lenten season. This time of personal introspection has shown us so very much about how we should live our lives for Jesus.

A word about the graphic:

  This is how we feel when we break through  a demon that controls our lives.

graphic: www.reposty.com via God Tube.

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Book Review:Doing the Right Thing



          Making Moral Choices in a World Full of Options
By Scott B Rae

Doing the Right Thing is a companion book to a film series by the same name produced by Chuck Colson.”(Page 11) Scott Rae felt the need to bring the information in the film series to the print medium.

This book looks at the moral decline and the ethical mess we as a nation have gotten into. The text of the book puts our ethical morass under a microscope to highlight the state our world has created.

This book helped me understand some of the issues we face in the medical field, the marketplace and in public life. It gave me a better vision of our world by making the distinction between an objective outlook, the way things are and a subjective outlook, the way we want them to be.

This book is a hard read. It will make the reader stretch to understand what points the author is making. This is a book I would recommend for pastors and seminary students and professors who want to see a positive change in the state of our world.

I received this book from Harper Collins Publishers through its BooklookBloggers program.

In return, I was asked to give an unbiased review of it. 

Sunday, April 20, 2014

Songs of Resurrection











I received this in an e-mail several years ago.


"On My Father's Side"


I heard this song sung at our Community Good Friday service this past Friday.


"Who Am I"


Give thanks to God for sending His Son to earth and allowing Jesus to take care of the sin-debt we had. 















God Alone

  Jesus and the children at our church's prayer walk.          I will both lie down in peace and sleep;  For You alone, O LORD make ...