When they’ve really pushed you to the edge & you find yourself hoping they’ll just say something, so you can put them on blast. That isn’t a demon’s voice trying to provoke you into some unwanted confrontation. It’s your voice inviting the demon into the situation / relationship.
Posted in Thought for the Day / Quotes | Tagged confrontation, demon, relationship | Leave a Comment »
The “Good News” of the gospel is not about the coming storm, it’s about the hope that we have in the midst of rough weather. If no one is asking about this hope we ought to have (1Pet.3:15), maybe it’s because they don’t see any evidence of it.
Posted in Thought for the Day / Quotes | Tagged coming storm, good news, gospel, hope, rough weather | Leave a Comment »
The understanding that apart from Him we can do “nothing” (John 15:5) is meant to drive us toward surrender. While the revelation that through Him “all things” are possible (Matt.19:26) is meant to facilitate our transformation.
Posted in Thought for the Day / Quotes | Tagged all things, apart from Him, revelation, surrender, through Him, transformation | Leave a Comment »
We tend to view 2Chronicles 7:14 (If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear…) as a call to prayer, when it’s actually a call to repentance.
Posted in Thought for the Day / Quotes | Tagged 2 Chron. 7:14, prayer, repentance | 1 Comment »
I was not conceived in the dark
I was brought forth from the light
*
I was not born an orphan
I came with a name to carry forward
*
I was not raised in a slum
That’s just a place I chose to dwell
*
I never thought I was lost
until the day I was found
*
I never thought I was blind
until the day You opened my eyes
*
I never felt like I belonged
until I came into Your presence
*
I never understood destiny
until I looked into Your face
*
Take me to that place I’ve never been before
and
Introduce me to the person I’ve yet to become
Posted in Free Verse / Poetry | Tagged blind, destiny, lost, orphan | 1 Comment »
“Beware of Crusades”
(i.e. Battles fought in Jesus’ name that He did not call us to)!
It is a trap for zealous believers
(e.g. James & John-Luke 9:54, Peter-Matt. 26:51, Saul-Acts 8:3).
Posted in Thought for the Day / Quotes | Tagged battle, crusade, crusades, trap, zealous | Leave a Comment »
At this point in the journey, I’m less likely to ask God to change my circumstances, and more apt to pray that He sustain me in the midst of them, ultimately working them to my good.
Posted in Thought for the Day / Quotes | Tagged circumstance, circumstantial, sustain | Leave a Comment »
It is important to distinguish between intuition and discernment. One is rooted in experience (1Cor.3:19), and the way that seems right (Prov.14:12), while the other comes from the Spirit (Luke10:23) and allows the unseen to be seen (2Cor.4:18).
Posted in Thought for the Day / Quotes | Tagged discernment, experience, intuition, unseen | Leave a Comment »
During times of prayer I’ve often been reminded of the scripture, “watch and pray, lest you fall into temptation”. As I re-read that passage, I got a renewed sense of what Jesus was saying. It seems that He was trying to warn the Apostles that something was about to come against them, but they couldn’t seem to grasp the magnitude of it. Despite all that Jesus had told them about what must happen to Him, they remained remarkably unaware.
He didn’t just ask them to pray with Him, He asked them to watch as well. What was it that He was encouraging them to see? One might guess that it was to look for those who Jesus understood would be coming for Him, but in judging Jesus’ reaction to Peter’s response, it seems unlikely that He was asking them to stand guard.
This wasn’t the first time Jesus had spoken of watching and praying. In the parable of the fig tree He had told them of a snare that had been set for all who dwell on the earth, and exhorted them to always watch and pray, so that they may be counted worthy to escape the things to come. He later singled out Peter and let him know that Satan had asked for him, that he might be sifted as wheat.
I sense that Jesus picked those Apostles who were closest to Him, and the leaders amongst the twelve, because they were the ones most likely to understand. He had previously expressed His exasperation at the lack of understanding amongst His disciples, but in preparation for this time He had painstakingly explained that He must be given over to death. He wanted them to pray, so that their eyes would be opened to the significance of the events that were about to unfold. But as the scripture says, they fell asleep.
I believe that this is not only their story, but a representation of the church as a whole. The Lord has been trying to warn us of things to come, but we’ve largely been asleep. Like the Apostles on that night, our stomachs are full, it seems pretty quiet, and we’re largely unaware of the spiritual implications of what is going on around us. Just as Jesus told them, the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.
So what is the temptation that Jesus was speaking of? Was it a specific issue, or was it just temptation in general? As we look at the scripture, we can get some sense of what was behind the spectrum of actions, and reactions that were occurring around Jesus in this time.
It seems that Judas had fallen into the temptation to manipulate the circumstances for gain, while by drawing the sword, Peter took it upon himself to try to power his way through the situation in his own strength. The other disciples fell to their fear, as they scattered, and abandoned this man that they had claimed to love. Ultimately, Judas succumbed to despair and shame.
The Temple Guard fell to the temptation to use the enemies’ tactics, as they came in the dark of night, and without just cause. The High Priest, and the Sanhedrin were taken by their religious pride, their confidence in their own understanding, and their lust for power.
Pilate succumbed to his fear of men, while the Israelites who gathered outside were caught up in the arrogance of the mob, as they shouted, “let His blood be on us and on our children”. Finally, the Roman guards gave themselves over to the brutality that comes with unchecked power.
As this scene unfolded, there was all variety of temptation to fall to, and we see just about everyone, other than Jesus, succumbing to it. It is the same today as it was then. We are falling into the same kinds of temptations. Our tendencies to react, and respond are the same as theirs, and Jesus’ words still echo loudly.
Of course Jesus didn’t give in to temptation, as He walked through the horrible reality of the cross. The scripture says that Jesus despised the shame of the cross, that He agonized to the point that His sweat became like droplets of blood, and that He was sorrowful unto the point of death. Yet while praying in the garden, He resolved not my will, but thine be done.
We rationalize that He was the Son of God, and that this means it was somehow different for Him, but the scripture says that He was a man, who was tempted in all the same ways we are. I would submit that through His times of prayer, He was fortified for the things to come.
Throughout His ministry, we repeatedly see Jesus separating Himself from the crowd, and finding that quiet place to be with His Father. He said He didn’t do anything that He didn’t see the Father do first, and I believe that it was in these times of prayer that He received the insight, and direction necessary for Him to fulfill His purpose.
It was these private moments that allowed Jesus to maintain an eternal perspective on what was happening around Him, and so it is with us. If we are to be fortified for the things to come, and not fall to the buffet of temptations that await us; if we hope to maintain an eternal perspective, and fulfill our purpose, we too must find the quiet place, where we can receive direction from God.
It seems that the Western church has fallen into the cultural trend of having a very short attention span, and that the concept of prayer has largely given way to engaging speakers, drama teams, dancers, and power point presentations. While none of those things is wrong necessarily, it seems like we’ve tried to make ourselves relevant to the world by imitating them. We can pack the house for conferences, or plays, or concerts, but struggle to get anyone to get excited about a prayer meeting. If there is too much of a lull in the action, we’re afraid that we will lose the crowd.
As I consider the state of prayer within the church, I am reminded of the story of Jesus coming into the temple area, and overturning the tables of the money changers, and merchants. I’ve heard it said that it was the corrupt practices of the merchants in the temple that angered Jesus, but Mark’s gospel account seems to indicate that it was the mere presence of commerce within the temple. He not only confronted the money-changers, and vendors, but began to drive out those who were buying and selling, and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts.
I sense that Jesus saw this as a defilement of a sacred place, and that he abhorred that the focus had been taken off the Father. This makes me wonder how Jesus views the blatant merchandizing, and enterprise that takes place within the church today. His objection to those extra-curricular activities was that His Father’s house was to be a “house of prayer”.
The question that looms is whether we are any closer to this today. How many local churches can accurately claim to be a house of prayer? If a church isn’t a house of prayer, what is it a house of? If we are not a praying church, then what are we placing our hope in? Unless the Lord builds the house, we labor in vain.
Watch and pray, lest you fall to the temptation to focus on the seen realm (2 Cor. 4:18)
Watch and pray, lest you fall to hollow and deceptive philosophies which depend on human tradition (Col. 2:8)
Watch and pray, lest you fall to the temptation to do what is right in our own eyes (Matt 16:22-23)
Watch and pray, lest you give in to the impulse to take matters into your own hands (Luke 22:50-51)
Posted in Commentaries | Tagged asleep, fear, fortified, Judas, prayer, religious pride, temptation, tempted, watch and pray | Leave a Comment »
Bjcorbin's Blog 
Taking the Bait
October 5, 2022 by bjcorbin
I’m not much of a fisherman, but I’ve recently been thinking about fishing lures. While many fishermen prefer live bait, certain situations call for the use of lures, which can consist of any number of different elements (e.g. rubber, plastic, feathers…) used to attract the fish. For those who know what they’re doing, there is a whole science to deciding what elements to use for a particular application.
The specific lure that I remember using as a kid was called a “spinner”. It had shiny metallic pieces on it, and as it moved through the water it created a spinning motion, which resulted in little flashes of light meant to attract the fish.
In a time of prayer, I saw a picture of a spinner, moving just below the surface of the water, with little flashes of light coming from it, and pronged hooks protruding from the end. I felt like this picture was symbolic of the spiritual battle that we face each day. Though we know that the enemy often comes disguised as an angel of light, we often don’t recognize the deception until after his hooks are into us.
An enemy that doesn’t have the power to overwhelm you with a direct assault must resort to special tactics to achieve the desired result. Normally, deception and distraction are an integral part of such a strategy.
Our enemy is a master of deception, and in Western culture we have made distraction almost an art form. Of course, we don’t refer to it as distraction, we call it entertainment, amusement, recreation, chilling out, a sport, a pastime, a hobby, a special interest…, but regardless of what we call it, our attention is easily snatched away from the more substantial issues of life.
I would submit that our enemy loves these pre-occupations, and that they’ve been amongst his most effective tools in facilitating moral decay within our culture. He doesn’t have to convince someone to embrace evil, he simply needs to keep them too pre-occupied with the temporal to even ponder the eternal.
The truth is that most people within our culture still believe in the idea of God (or a “higher power”), and of being a “good” person. But most are too busy pursuing their own interests to commit to any sort of relationship with God, or a church community, or anyone else for that matter. In theory, those of us who count ourselves as followers of Christ ought to be a little harder to deceive, but our predisposition towards being distracted is much the same as the cultures.
We can spend our whole Christian walk pursuing knowledge, titles, positions, spiritual gifts, experiences, credentials, recognition… We can champion causes we’re passionate about, and fill our calendar with church activities. Yet we may never really come to know the person of Christ, or be used by Him in a substantial way to touch the lives of others.
While all of these pursuits may seem virtuous and worthwhile, unless God is calling us to them, they are simply a distraction from what He is calling us to. Given the ineffectiveness of the church in touching the world, it is likely that this is more prevalent than any of us would like to admit.
In Stephen Covey’s book, “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”, he suggests that a person (or organization…) create what he calls a “Mission Statement”. This statement should encompass what that person’s (or organization’s…) ultimate goal (i.e. mission) is.
As conflicts arise, Covey suggests that they must be evaluated as to their bearing on achieving this ultimate goal. His premise is that we spend a lot of time and energy on things that really don’t make any significant difference in achieving our over-arching mission.
He suggests that if it isn’t going to move us toward our ultimate destination, that we shouldn’t spend a significant amount of resources on it. For the church, it would seem as though the “Great Commission” might be a good mission statement, or maybe Jesus’ statements as to the “greatest commandment”. Considering those examples, it is difficult to reconcile many of the things “the church” involves itself with.
From global warming, to student loan forgiveness, to who resides in the White House, the church seems to immerse itself in conflicts, that at the very least seem useless, and in many cases are counterproductive, in achieving our eternal purposes. If we are investing the resources of the church in areas that it’s not been commissioned for, we are depleting those resources for doing the work it has been commissioned for.
On an individual level, the distractions are even more abundant. We can easily get caught up in the day to day struggle to raise our families, and lose sight of our higher calling. Like Covey, the Apostle Paul encourages us to keep pressing toward the goal; he also reminds us that a good soldier doesn’t involve themselves in “civilian” affairs. These words speak of avoiding things that will distract us from our greater purpose.
If we don’t keep focused, something as little as the way someone looks at us, or their tone of voice, can pull us off track. One unkind word, or interpersonal struggle is often all that it takes to make us forfeit the joy of our salvation. A situation on the job, or an unpaid bill may be all that it takes for us to forget the hope we have in Christ. We must understand that within these situations there is a hook that our enemy means to get into us, and we must learn not to grab hold of it.
We’re often so quick to respond to these issues without guidance from the Lord, and then get overwhelmed by the consequences of acting under our own power. A fish is simply driven by their instinct, and if it survives, it can be hooked over and over again with the same bait. As believers, filled with God’s Spirit, we need to be wiser than that, and learn to take every thought captive.
We need to recognize that our enemy is always using people, and situations in an effort to snag us, and choose not to take that bait. We need to understand that apart from God we can do nothing, and that if He isn’t calling us to the battle, He isn’t under any obligation to equip us for it.
As Paul said, we must press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of us. Adding that, “One thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus”. We too must push every hindrance aside, and throw off the things which mean to entangle us, so that we might run the race that’s been marked out for us.
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Posted in Commentaries | Tagged bait, barb, deception, hook, lure, taking the bait | Leave a Comment »