How to Counterattack the Devil - Pt. 2 ('Away From Me Satan' edition)

When Jesus became aware his mission would soon come to fruition, he spoke to the disciples about the Advocate. The Advocate, also known as the Holy Spirit, would act on behalf of Jesus and reside in our hearts, directing us into all Truth, and speaking holiness into our thoughts and actions. Though Jesus would not be walking the Earth much longer in this scene with the disciples, he reassured them that he would be with them until the end of time, providing them with peace along the way. Among stepping in as a representative of Jesus, the Holy Spirit would “teach you everything” (John 14:26) and also remind the disciples what Jesus taught them. During this time, right before Jesus would be arrested and sentenced to death, Jesus made it clear that the disciples would do the things Jesus did during his time on Earth."Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father" (John 14:12).

That sounds surreal, doesn’t it? The same Jesus who multiplied food, raised people from the dead, and healed too many people to count in the Bible is the same Jesus who resides in me?  This is the same Jesus who cast out demons and sent them into a herd of pigs, where they then drowned (Luke 8:30-33), so the fact that Jesus tells us that we have the power of himself within us is unbelievable.

Ok, we could probably all admit Jesus directing demons into pigs is a bit strange; it’s not the type of bedtime story you’d read to your 5-year-old kid. Additionally, most of what Jesus did was considered supernatural and beyond comprehension. Still, when Jesus said we would do what he did, it’s clear he meant it, which means we should live like the power of God that was given to Jesus is in us as well. Most of the time, we think of Jesus’ miracles like when he cast out demons as examples of doing things Jesus’ way. It even frightens some of us into thinking we might have to live dangerously the way Jesus did. But we need to remember Jesus’ miracles and supernatural lifestyle do not always need to be the baseline for how we should live like him; we should also consider how he loved others, looked out for the orphans and least lovable. And, in this case…

Doing Jesus things does not always mean doing miracles, raising dead to life, and possibly displacing demons into a sounder of swine. Even when we encounter attacks from the Devil, we should respond the way Jesus did. If we to do the [things] Jesus did, as John says, we can also counterattack the way Jesus responded to Satan. The Holy Spirit in us, acting as a divine guide in our hearts, will lead us into all Truth, even in the midst of Satan's attacks.

John 14:26-27, part of which was mentioned earlier: “But when the Father sends the Advocate as [Jesus’] representative – that is, the Holy Spirit – he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything [Jesus has] told you.”

John 14:13-14: “You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.”

So, we not only are called to do the works of Jesus, but we are left with the Holy Spirit to lead us and continue to instruct us into all Truth, and we can ask for anything in Jesus' name, and it will be done. This means we can respond to Satan with authority the way Jesus did, walk in step with the Holy Spirit as if we are walking in step with Jesus, and receive divine assistance when we ask for help when we're under attack? According to John 14, yes we can. Talk about a deal! If this is true, we should never forget these verses when going into battle. Victory is imminent!

However, when it comes to spiritual opposition, we seem to forget the words Jesus left the disciples (and us) with. We often cower in fear like we never had armor to begin with, so it is of utmost importance that we heed the following words of wisdom and take them with us wherever we go. They promise power and authority from Heaven to our hearts. If Jesus could confront the twisted words of the Devil with Truth, so can we

When we think about what we can do with Jesus in our hearts, we cannot limit the power he contains. A good place to start when preparing our heart and mind to respond to the Enemy’s attacks is to study how Jesus behaved towards Satan when he tempted him.

I think it’s time we take the power we have to fend off Satan’s attacks seriously if we have not already done so. When Jesus says “…whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these…”, he was comforting his disciples by reminding them that they have power and authority from Heaven. If we are to prepare for Satan’s attacks and schemes, shouldn’t we first study Jesus’ every demeanor, behavior, attitude, and response to these types of situations if we are to overcome the Enemy?

One place to look is in Matthew 4:1-11, where Jesus is confronted by Satan. Here, Satan tempts Jesus three times by commanding him to turn stones into bread, throwing himself off a temple, and bowing down to worship him. Despite these three temptations, Jesus eventually convinces the Devil to leave without a single second of success to boast about. How does Jesus walk away unscathed.

1. Jesus follows Scriptures commands

Satan comes on the scene while Jesus is led by the Spirit to the wilderness. He tells Jesus to turn the stones into loaves of bread. We all know Jesus could do it, but it was not in alignment with God’s plan. God’s reply? A reference to the Old Testament: “‘People do not live by bread alone,’ Jesus replies, unfazed by the Devil’s tactics, “‘But by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (Matthew 4:4). There is evidence Jesus uses the Old Testament to help him because Deuteronomy 8:3 says the same thing: “Yes, he humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with Manna…He did it to teach you that people do not live by bread alone; rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.”

While we could go on and on about God’s challenge to live in humility and why God would allow the Israelites to go hungry just to teach a lesson, the point is that Jesus utilizes the words of his Father and how powerful they can be when applied to difficult situations. And Jesus did not hesitate! He brought the power of Scripture to life by using it within the context of temptation.

What did Satan do? He moved on from the first temptation, unsuccessful, and took Jesus to the holy city in Jerusalem. The Devil even twists Scripture to fit his agenda. Once again, Jesus, fully human, combats the fiery arrows with Scripture. But this particular reference contains more:

2. Jesus pledges his allegiance to his Master

“…You must not test the Lord your God” (Matthew 4:7), Jesus replies to Satan’s twisting of Scripture. In this part of the passage, Jesus does an exceptional job modeling his dedication to the Father. His response to jumping off the temple and saving himself is a testimony to what can be overcome when we pledge our allegiance to God. Consider this: the way we remove ourselves from temptation can be just as honoring to God as doing something good for him. God wants us to be of sound mind, which includes being transformed into his likeness. Turning our allegiance to God rather than listening to the whispers of Satan is paying our respects to the position God has in our lives. I am a child of God, so I don’t walk the wide road; I walk the straight and narrow.

As if the first two rejections were not enough, Satan tries to successfully remove Jesus from connection to the Father by commanding Jesus to “kneel down and worship me” (Matthew 4:9) and he will give Jesus all of the kingdoms and their glory. Funny, because Jesus’ mission was not to take all of the kingdoms and claim glory to be his; he came to bring glory to God and expose God for who he really is: the Savior of the world. While Satan’s ploy was to get Jesus to stop focusing on the eternal goodness of God, Jesus used this strategy to conquer Satan’s attacks.

3. Jesus doesn’t beat around the bush

For the third time, Jesus combats Satan by referencing Scripture: “You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him” (Matthew 4:10). However, while these words are powerful and important to focus on (especially when the enemy attacks), let’s look at what Jesus says before this in verse 10: “Get out of here, Satan.” Jesus doesn’t have time to negotiate with Satan, and neither should we. The longer we let him linger, the more power we give him. Satan wants to destroy you, even if he disguises it by wrapping destruction in a neat bow (twisting Scripture, ‘promising’ kingdoms and glory, etc.). Jesus, in essence, says, “You don’t belong here, so you may leave.” It is not a recommendation, but a command.

Satan might have power, but his power amounts to dust compared to what God has. Because the power of God resides in us (as a gift), we too can command Satan to leave our presence. How do we know this? Check out what happens next in verse 11: “Then the Devil went away, and angels came and took care of Jesus.”

Notice the two things that happened in verse 11. 1) The Devil obeyed Jesus; his power to continue fighting back was removed from him. He had no choice because Jesus left him no choice. “Not on my watch!” 2) Angels came to Jesus’ aid. How often do we cave in right before God sends reinforcements? Whether it is through church community, a direct word from the Lord, a family member coming to assist you, or some other miracle in your life, how often do we throw in the towel before the great thing happens?

We don’t have to let Satan get away with trickery when we have the gift of spiritual leaders and mentors in our lives. When we choose to put ourselves out there and keep in touch with a body of believers, we are putting on that metaphorical armor that can defend us from Satan’s evil plot to destroy.

From this passage, two lessons can be learned: 1) We have more power to resist Satan than we know because the supernatural resides in us and 2) Sometimes we have to go through a few attacks to demonstrate faith in the God despite the difficulties. Just because Jesus was tempted and attacked by Satan, it doesn’t mean he lost; Jesus only stood his ground on the solid rock even more and Satan walked away with nothing. 

Sure, we can argue that works means his ministry, like when he cast out demons and raised people from the dead or cured them from disease. So, when John 14:12 says "...whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing," we could strictly talk about miracles, loving others, and promoting the Gospel in supernatural ways. But, everything Jesus did on Earth was part of his ministry, even when Satan tempted him. In addition to Jesus erasing our debt to sin, his life was a model for how we as believers should live to glorify God in every situation before us. Living to glorify God includes saying no to Satan with power and authority. When Jesus was tested by the Devil in Matthew 4, Jesus established Father God as the great Authority and glorified God each of the three times Satan tempted him in this passage. Therefore, the testing of Jesus in the wilderness was part of his ministry. In the end, the Devil could not succeed against the power of Jesus! Amen!

So, where is your allegiance when things don’t go your way? How do you demonstrate unequivocal faith to God when the tables turn against you like Jesus did in the wilderness? How is your attitude when you’re dealt a bad hand in your wilderness? Does Satan merely push you around into doing what he wishes, enslaving you and shackling you into the ball and chain of his lies and empty promises? Or do you “Submit, yourselves, then, to God. Resist the Devil…” (James 4:7) and he flees from you the way he did with Jesus in Matthew 4? Will you say no, "away from me Satan," just as Jesus did? Will you allow the power of the Holy Spirit, the sovereignty of the Almighty, and the authority of God's Holy Word command the Enemy to back down and have no place in your life?

When you look at Matthew 4, be inspired by the little power Satan does have when confronted with the magnificence of God’s Truth. It’s not that Satan is not powerful, but that God’s sovereignty and supremacy is infinitely more powerful. So, the next time you feel the wrath of Satan nipping at your heels, remind yourself how you can overcome the Enemy with these strategies:

1. reference the power of the Word

2. declare your allegiance to the One True God

3. be strong, bold, and forceful towards Satan (if he speaks lies over you, spit the Truth back to him!)

4. surround yourself with a courageous, fierce, wise body of believers who are committed to putting God first.

Do these things, and the ground you build your house upon no Enemy can destroy. You can silence the Devil and sever ties with his tricks through partnership with God's will for you today, in this very moment! It's time to start are divine revolution in your life NOW!

Seeing Through the Struggle: The Gift of Promises

You see it on graduation caps, church slogans, websites, social media profiles, favorite verses on Christian Mingle. Surely, you know exactly what verse I'm referring to without me telling you. According to Biblegateway.com, this verse is ranked second most popular in the Bible. John 3:16 is number one. It's no surprise John 3:16 is number one, since it is full of good feelings and an incredible reminder of how much God sacrificed to be in relationship with us. Number two on the list is similar to number one: a feel-good promise that demonstrates how deeply God values us. Unfortunately, the same verse that delivers good feelings to all is also misunderstood by many.

Jeremiah 29:11 says, "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'" 

When you type in Jeremiah 29:11 into Google, the eighth website to pop up is titled, "Stop Taking this Verse Out of Context!" My guess is that this verse is taken out of context quite often. Similar to those signs in the park that say, "Do not feed geese pizza." Most likely, someone fed the geese Pizza Hut and killed a couple of them. Don't get me wrong, I do believe God has plans to prosper us. God literally is love (1 John 4:16), and God being love is directly associated with his desire to prosper us like we use our legs to walk. So, when someone uses Jeremiah 29:11 to comfort a friend who is struggling, it does make sense.

The dialogue we might have with someone else about Jeremiah 29:11 is not off the mark, but it is often the default response, and sometimes, hearing a response like that doesn't automatically turn things around for that person struggling. It doesn't make the struggle magically disappear if we memorize that verse. However, if we look at Jeremiah 29:11 from a different angle, we might quickly discover a different perspective on the struggle. Whether we are the one struggling or we are helping someone through a struggle, what if Jeremiah 29:11 was presented in the context in which it was actually given and declared?

Now, let's take it a step further: what if we saw Jeremiah 29:11 was more about God's promise to community, not to the individual? Further, God's promise to prosper us and not harm us does not mean we will be without pain, suffering, and tribulation. In fact, James 1:5 instructs us to take joy in the trials! God's declaration that his plan does not include harm does not mean we will live pain-free lives because God will magically take them away. No, God is declaring that his promise to bring about hope from a hopeless situation and good from a season of sorrow still stands. Despite their horrible situation, and "though the deliverance of the church do not come in our time, it is sufficient that it will come in God’s time, and we are sure that that is the best time" (Biblestudytools.com). Why? Because his promise is to prosper us, even if it means wading through the pain first.

The Lord is never at an uncertainty (Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary), so his promises remain, even if our sin nature brings about temporary destruction. See, God does not promise we will be exempt from temporal pain (John 16:33), but he does promise his protection and guidance through a world filled with sin. Though pain may come in the night, joy and prosperity is promised for tomorrow (Psalm 30:5). Tomorrow might be 5 years from now. Breakthrough might not come until 10 years from now. Victory might not be evident until we are standing before God in the Heavenly realms, but it doesn't take anything away from God's sovereignty and ability to do exactly as he promised: configuring a plan to prosper us, to give us hope an a future.

How can we apply this to our prayer life and life in general? How can we live out Jeremiah 29:11 in the context it was written? First, don't waste time questioning why God is allowing the pain and suffering. Instead, turn mourning into praise and adoration - looking forward to his promises despite what a sinful world might do to derail you from resting on those promises.

Stop begging God to do away with the pain so you can feel better, but instead declare those promises over you and watch God transform you through the holiness he freely gives - "Be holy, because I am holy" (1 Peter 1:15-16). You are set a part, so no amount of pain and suffering you go through in this life will diminish or destroy God's promise to you and for you. You will still have a future despite your setbacks.You will have setbacks despite God's plan for you, but those setbacks will never come close to disqualifying God from acting on those promises.You still have a reason to hope for a brighter future, despite present circumstances screaming otherwise. If we tune our ears toward eternity, not just in the present downfall we're experiencing, we will quickly turn our sorrow into dancing because God does not just have eternity in store for us, his promises are eternal as well. They do not fade.

God's promise in Jeremiah 29:11 is to the Jews, who were taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon during the king's reign. Talk about an unfortunate time for the Jews! They were considered exiles, yet God's plan was to not harm them but to give them prosperity and hope for a brighter future? Doesn't look like it! It looks like they're prisoners!

Maybe you are experiencing life as if you're a prisoner - no hope, just pain and suffering. During this time, it is so difficult to rely on the promises of God. Jeremiah 29:11 does not promise the problems will go away quicker than OxiClean gets the stain out, but God does promise prosperity despite the current struggle, even if prosperity doesn't reveal itself until later. And, maybe the pain you're experiencing might be one of the very aspects of your life that launches you into something greater.

So, during the struggle, wait on God. Use the struggling time in the desert to speak with him and listen to his voice. Before you know it, you will find yourself in the En Gedi of your life, sipping from the stream and thanking God for what it took to get there. Be patient, rest in his promises, and when the desert shows up, his promises will guide you to the stream of Living Water.

Personal Testimony: My Healing vs. God's Healing

I don't often find myself in an emotional battle with God. Whenever I belligerently point my finger at God, outraged by his lack of intervention in my life when I need it most, I quickly discover I am the one who loses out every time I go down that ill-advised road. I am most certainly always the one who returns the Father with an apologetic attitude. This reason alone compels me to choose who to side with and who to oppose carefully, because let's be honest, any time we transform into attack mode against God, we are opposing him and what we originally believe about him before our outburst.

For most, if not all of the population, the aspect of God that becomes the most puzzling, frustrating, and surprising is his presence, intervention, and timing when we need him most. It feels as though we have a longer list of times where God did not fix things than when he did sort things out in our favor.

"God wasn't there when I needed him most," is a phrase heard often in our world, and can be so detrimental, it can lead some to completely walking out on their belief. After all, who wants to serve, love, and believe in a God who not only abandons us when we need him most, but is nearly impossible to find in the physical realm to begin with? In the end, with this mindset, many would conclude that being a follower of Jesus is a dangerous game because most who commit to believing in God most likely will feel abandonment when they need him, even if they never were abandoned to begin with (we can be confident in God never abandoning us when we look at Hebrews 13:5).

Personally, I have felt most abandoned by God when I am physically sick. For over 14 years, I have battled migraines. In many ways, I struggled believing it was "just a migraine" because it involved so many other side effects; vertigo, numbness (typically on the left side, waist up), severe headaches. I tried everything from praising God through my pain to rebuking the pain in Jesus' name. I even took pills at the right time to get rid of the pain, drank plenty of water, etc. and it still didn't get rid of the occasional migraine. In most cases, I would pray for healing and have others pray as well, and I was never healed. Then, in July 2017, I had a mini-stroke due to a tiny blood clot finding its way through a small hole in my heart. A massive hospital bill and one year later, and I am still taking pills to take the pressure off of getting another stroke. Since July 2017, I have gotten five migraines, so I am still not completely healed.

From 2003 to 2017, the battle between God was intense. I would often ask God, "Why aren't you here for me when I need you most?" I was raised in a Christian home and never had a memorable season in my life where I was on the fence about believing in God. I always believed in God and considered him Lord of my life, but that didn't mean I never had my doubts about his ability to intervene and be the God he says he is. When your sick over and over again, viewing God is like seeing Spiderman when he first discovers he had the ability to shoot a web out of his wrist. Sometimes he used it correctly, and other times he would try to shoot it, but nothing would come out as he would plummet to the ground below, looking like a fool who promises success but fails at every jump. The problem with viewing God from this perspective is that you believe in everything else about him, but you hesitate to believe he'll follow through when he shoots his version of a web. Therefore, you don't actually believe in God entirely.

When the mini-stroke happened, my attitude was the opposite of what most would expect. I could have walked out on God, and from a worldly view, I would have been completely justified. God didn't intervene when I had migraines, and now I have a stroke and a massive hospital bill because of it. Some God you are, I could have thought. Instead, I felt a wave of blessing, because God protected me from far more than just a migraine. His saving grace protected me from long term disability, flipping my life upside down because the stroke could've flipped my health on its side. Everything I aspired to be would be incinerated by this unmerciful stroke. Yet, God protected me from a life I couldn't even imagine.

The stroke, though, wasn't the only event in my life where I had a perspective change. January 6th, 2016, I had a difficult beginning to the new year. Outside of my physical health, I was dealing with additional issues that made me question my purpose. So, I went to the show by myself to see the movie A Monster Calls. Little did I know it would be about inner healing, as the main character would learn some valuable lessons from a made-up monster about letting go during his mother's battle with cancer. The main theme in the movie was that healing often comes to the rescue in ways we least expect. The boy is belligerent when he finds out the monster is not going to save his mother, so he spends most of the film viewing the monster like a Spiderman who can't shoot his web properly.

How often do we immediately assume God bailed on us when our physical pain does not go away. Or, better yet, when our situation doesn't improve when we ask God to make it improve? How many times do we only see the circumstances around us as a litmus test for God's goodness, but fail to look internally to see what God is doing within?

One day, during Jesus' ministry in Capernaum, a paralyzed man was lowered into the house from the ceiling where Jesus was visiting. The paralyzed man was hoping to walk again, and the men lowering him on the mat were hoping for the same. Spoiler alert, Jesus did heal the man, but that's not what I want to focus on. Verses before the man is healed of his paralysis, Jesus sees their faith and says to the paralyzed man,

"My child, your sins are forgiven."

(Mark 2:5)

"Your sins are forgiven"? Not, "Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home"? If I were the paralyzed man, I would have been hysterical! What about my pain? I would question. I don't care about my sin, I want my pain to be gone! I would demand. 

Some Pharisees were in the area and witnessed what Jesus said, so they told Jesus only God can forgive sins. Jesus' response? "Why do you question this in your hearts?" (v. 8).

Jesus understood there was need of physical healing, but he is also aware of our need for heart healing as well. What Jesus saw when he was approached by the paralyzed man was a heart change. Jesus recognized what was in the man's heart and healed him from his sins. In addition, he healed the man's physical ailment as well.

Unfortunately, most people are so wrapped up in the physical circumstances that they fail to see what other forms of healing God desires to accomplish within us. In these cases, our hearts become so hardened by what appears to be God's lack of protection that we miss out on partnering with what God is doing inside of us. 

Bear in mind, I am not suggesting we just accept that God will not or cannot heal us physically because he does not want to or cannot do it. His desire is to not only heal us physically, but to do a soul work that involves a change of heart. Paul writes about physical training compared to godliness in 1 Timothy 4:8: "For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come." In other words, while the physical body has importance, godliness, which comes from the heart and soul, is of greater importance for now and to come. 2 Corinthians 4:16 says, "...though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day." In 1 Timothy, Paul mentions that strict physical training does "little to promote holiness...there must be a deeper work on the soul than any which can be accomplished by the mere mortification of the body" (Barnes Notes on the Bible - Commentary). In 2 Corinthians, we are encouraged that our renewal comes from inward transformation, not by the body. Therefore, what we desire in the flesh and physical is understandable, but our main focus should be on heart and soul healing, because that's what will go with us in thew present and future, afterlife.

Friends, what if we focused on trusting God through the entire process, knowing that he is in the business of healing in more ways than just physically? Jesus healed the paralyzed man of his sins first because of his faith that comes from the heart, then he healed him physically. Though inward faith and trust doesn't promise immediate outward healing of our situation on our watch, it does provide transformation in the Spirit, and God is at work in more ways than we know. If we limit God to what we expect him to heal and do with our circumstances, we will miss out on what he is actually doing through us. Let go of your expectations, let God intervene in his own way, and declare that his plan is perfect. 

He is doing far more healing in you than you will ever know in the moment. Watch and be amazed.

Your Herod vs. His Provision - Who Wins?

Let's set the scene. Just like a play, there are characters, a most notably, an antagonist  and protagonist. We begin with a prophet who makes a bold statement:

Matthew 1:23: "Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means 'God with us.'"

The setting is Bethlehem, which is Jesus' birthplace, which falls around the time of our antagonist, King Herod. While the protagonist (Jesus) and the antagonist have not met yet, King Herod is fuming with jealousy. Instead of initially making his hatred of the 'newborn king of the Jews' known, he disguises his desire to kill with these words:

Matthew 2:8: (to the wise men) "...when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him, too!"

This statement coming from King Herod is the equivalent to an Apple employee heading over to Samsung only to "check out how amazing the iPhone X is." Sure, that's probably the only reason. Imagine how bad of a liar King Herod is. Here is a newborn baby, already considered a king of the Jews, and King Herod is disturbed (Matt. 2:3).

Within the first 12 verses of Matthew 2, we can infer Herod's intentions are not healthy. Verse three notes that Herod was "deeply disturbed" when he heard of Jesus' birth. He later tries to cover his hatred by commanding the wise men to find Jesus' whereabouts (v. 8), and we once again get the sense that Herod's intentions are not good when God warns the wise men to not return to Herod

Note: When God says not to return to someone, that person is probably unhealthy for you.

While Herod's track record only gets worse (see Matthew 2:16 and his annihilation of babies), the focus is not on who Herod is, but who God is in the midst of Herod. Pointing out Herod's absolute disgust with Jesus is important to note because his actions during this time would lead anyone to believe Jesus was good as dead. In addition, reading the story without God's intervention in mind would lead us to believe Jesus and his caretakers would never make it out alive with Herod hot on their tale.

Yet, God had other plans, and he would intervene at all costs. Check out all of the recorded times in Matthew 2 alone:
1. "When it came time to leave, [the Wise Men] returned to their own country by another route, for God had warned them in a dream not to return to Herod." (v. 12)
2. "After the wise men were gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. 'Get up! Flee to Egypt with the child and his mother,' the angel said. 'Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.'" (v. 13)
3. "When Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt. 'Get up!' the angel said. 'Take the child and his mother back to the land of Israel, because those who were trying to kill the child are dead.'" (v. 19-20)
4. "But when [Joseph] learned that the new ruler of Judea was Herod’s son Archelaus, he was afraid to go there. Then, after being warned in a dream, he left for the region of Galilee." (v. 22)

On four occasions, God prevents mighty King Herod's hand from impacting the life of Jesus. Remember, this is the same Herod who ordered all boys between newborn and two years old in and  around Bethlehem to be slaughtered, and it was done at his command. This is a powerful king, yet God demonstrates more power in the form of his provision.

Don't we all have our own "Herods" in life? It might be a big, ugly Herod that shows up in the most obvious ways. It might be an inability to pay off bills, a broken relationship, loneliness, depression, suicidal thoughts, abusive relationships, cancer, a struggling loved one, anxiety and doubt, or pornography; it could be a combination of those things. Our Herods come in many forms, some not even listed. These problems and burdens will do anything to destroy you. You sit, helplessly, watching the world around you crumble because of this Herod or these Herods in your life.

Ok, so we have Herods, and they're painful to think about. But we also have God, and his provision and guidance will defeat any and every foe, no matter how colossal, intrusive, and obtrusive they can be. God had a plan to send himself down to Earth as a man to save a dying world, but God also has a plan for you to be victorious, walk in freedom, and live out the glory of our Father.

We have our battles, but God has his provision, and he is scared to provide against our Herods. There is one thing we can do to secure daily victory in the midst of our Herods bearing down hard on us:

Jeremiah 29:13

"You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all of your heart."

Matthew 6:33

"Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need."

These verses do not promise storms will not happen, and Herods will cease to exist. But it promises two things: you will find God when you look for him and he will provide you with enough, every time. There are dark days when it doesn't feel like God is in your midst. You might wonder if you do have enough. Remember: these verses are promises, and God promises to you and I that he is in our midst and will give us all we need.

Don't fret, his provision is always stronger than our Herods. Nothing surprises him.

Credit Where it is Due

          If David, the author of most of the Psalms, has recognized anything at this point in his life, it is that there is greater promise in the Lord and His sovereign protection. Even if emotional turmoil had to come David’s way to help him understand who is ultimately in charge, David eventually stands confidently by his conclusion about God. As Psalm 3 vividly points out, David is at a point of desperation, and in that desperation, he finds that God is the key to the perfect resting place. Still, one Psalm later, David cries out to God, demanding, “Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have given me relief when I was in distress…” (Psalm 4:1).

            For several verses after crying out to God, it is almost as if David is speaking for God: “…how long shall my honor be turned into shame?” (Psalm 4:2) Translation: How long shall God be put to shame by vain words and lies? Then, David reminds those who suffer for the sake of Christ Jesus: “…know that the Lord has set apart the godly for himself” (v. 2).  God is everything we need (Psalm 1), and yet He still chooses to set us apart for himself!

            How can we allow our lips to speak lies? How can we utter such obscene insults and lies? The Lord is our righteousness, our source of joy, our lover, and our sunshine that lights our way. He is our shelter, our refuge from war, and our healer – yet he chooses us!

            No wonder David commands us to “ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent (Read Psalm 46: 10)” (Psalm 4:4) We are “set apart” (Psalm 4:3) for Him; sinners, offenders, and scoffers, undeserving of His presence. David understood this more than anyone, after what he had done to sleep with another man’s wife. David realizes God is offering him another chance, and because of this, he wants to make known God’s gift of second chances.

            Despite all David has gone through (committing adultery with his best soldier’s wife, being responsible for killing his best soldier, the death of Amnon (son #2) – Absalom (son #1) murdering him, Absalom’s desire to take over with selfish pride and power, and fleeing from his own son’s worldly desires), he has come to genuinely believe that God is more than words will ever express. He begins this deep, intimate, love relationship with God and therefore cannot stop expressing his devotion to God.

            Most importantly, through fleeing, David submits to his true Authority. He sees the second chance he is given and cannot stop rejoicing. Downcast and covered in his own sin, David sees that there is hope, and he takes every opportunity to glorify God through it.

            And boy, does it change his life.

            Do we allow God’s second chances in our lives effect the way we live again? Do we allow ourselves to “ponder in [our] own hearts on [our] beds, and be silent”? When we commit our lives to Christ, do we sing the way David does? Have we praised the way David has? After all, he is our safety, our refuge, our everything.

           David made certain God received credit for all that was going on in His life. He had developed a habit: praising God continually. Nothing could stop him from singing and reflecting on the goodness of God. In fact, nothing can match the joy he has felt when basking in the presence of the Lord: “You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound” (Psalm 4:7).

            God was everything to David. And, if we are to “ponder…and be silent,” we will find ourselves climbing back into the Father’s arms, taking in with awe the indescribable and inspiring power that the Highest of Highs holds in so many forms; reliever of stress, gracious King, personable and loving, listener, giver of joy, peace bringer, and refuge - a list of only a couple of his many attributes. 

Do we give Him the credit He deserves, like David did?

Resting in Peace

Little kids often complain about the small things. When they do, a well-known phrase often concludes the moment: "Life is not fair." Befuddled, the complaining child stops and mumbles something the parent usually cannot hear. For young children, the big issues in life are small compared to the big issues an adult has to face daily. When the adult complains and someone replies, "Life is not fair," the adult is usually smart enough to respond with something like, "How does that help my situation?" or "Yes, and it does not make any sense." Whatever the situation is for the adult, the truth is, "Life is not fair," is never the cure to a hopeless life. "Life is not fair" only appears to only say, "I told you so."

So, what is the cure? How can we stay afloat during the major storms in life, when everything around you seems to make you want to give up and no longer try? 

It appears there is a reason to take delight in the situation around you.

Read Psalm 3. Do not just read it, but visualize it. Visualize God standing in front of your situation. He is there, not carrying a shield; he is the shield. He takes on the fiercest storm and the biggest problem in life.

To understand the situation, let's think about why this was written. David wrote this little piece when he was king. However, a dilemma had come up while David was in command; it was his son Absalom. Absalom, having a strong desire to be king, wanted to dethrone his father. So, he attacked David, and naturally, David fled.

Without a doubt, David was in trouble. He needed help. His own son attacked him and claimed to be king, and David was in hiding. Out of desperation, he cried out to the One who knew his situation more than anyone else:

"O Lord, I have so many enemies; so many are against me."

-Psalm 3:1 (NLT)

David is desperate. His enemies are great, and he needs someone who is stronger than his situation. As he cries out to God, he realizes who it is that can save him:

"But you, O Lord, are a shield around me; you are my glory, the one who holds my head high."

-Psalm 3:3 (NLT)

The Lord, defender of the weak, and he is here to hold your head high. David, attacked by his own son, discovered who could keep his head up even in the worst situations. 

It is important to know how David fought through the situation; he reminded himself of where his victory lies. "Victory comes from you, O Lord," David writes in verse 8. David's recognition of who is in control is what gives him a boost.

Whatever situation you are in, remember who is bigger and is more capable of defending you. In Confessions, St. Augustine writes about his current situation and points out that it is "our blessing to know that God is in control." We need to be aware of who is our defender. When David realized that his safety net was the Lord, he responded, "I am not afraid of ten thousand enemies who surround me on every side" (v. 6). 

Bill Hybels, senior pastor of Willow Creek Community Church and author of Just Walk Across the Room and others, reassures, "Does your problem seem bigger than life, bigger than God himself? It isn't. God is infinitely bigger than any problem you had or will have..."

Talk about relieving the pain of feeling like you're on your own! God is so much bigger than anything you have ever faced or will face. Whether your son is attacking you like Absalom attacked his father, or you are just graduating from college and staring reality in the face, God is so much bigger and will defend you. Furthermore, Hybels even reminds you of the sin you are committing when you decide to not trust in him as our "shield": "...and every time you call a problem unsolvable, you mock God."

Next time you think your problem is too big, think about who your shield and defender is. Picture God fighting off everything you are too weak to fight off yourself. God has your back, and he will continue keeping you safe. 

What you can do is trust in your defender. You can rely on God through every situation that is too big for you. The more you accept God's sovereign power to save you, the more you will find yourself living in safety.

"I lay down and slept, yet I woke up in safety, for the Lord was watching over me."

-Psalm 3:5 (NLT)

Your burden can be His. Give it to him and live in safety.

Back to Basic

James 4:13-14 says, "Now listen, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.' Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes."

It is a lovely command, but how many of us live this way?

At one point, we didn't. We played because that was our only task for the day. We would wake up, locate our mental goal-setting list, and on it would be one goal: play.

No strings attached, no extra form to sign. In fact, you don't even need to know your past play periods to achieve the only goal on the mental card. The one issue: you would have to play all day. In your pea-sized mind, summer days did not allow any other activities to intrude your eternal time to play. Your time to shine was the summers of elementary school and even some of secondary school as well. Constructing family room fortresses out of furniture, eating grilled cheese while watching cartoons, Capture the Flag on the outskirts of the house, and rolling Hot Wheels cars down the driveway to see which car "out-drove" the other ones.

Life as a kid was fun and literally full of two responsibilities: to play and be happy.

Now, life is a tangled web of strings, never to be fully untwisted and perfectly positioned until the seconds before you whisper your last breaths. Sometimes, the metaphors of life ("you are a warrior fighting in the battlefield of life," etc.) don't do much of anything in comparison to the truth of reality. As you start making your job your life, along with a million other responsibilities, being "the warrior" does not seem as pleasant as it used to be.

Soon, the idea of a heavenly ham dinner sounds tremendously delicious...almost eternally delicious if I dare cross the line and say so.

Then, it occurs to you. The smallest detail motivates you. Whether it is the struggling student suddenly bursts with joy, "I get it," or solving the puzzle of how to become positive in a negative world. Suddenly, the most minuscule crumb becomes a harvest. You look at the crumb and are so hungry for change, for motivation, that you are more content than ever just to taste 1/3 of the crumb.

Yet, the quantity is not what matters, but how much farther you can go with the piece.

Ever hear of the phrase, "you have to take a step backward in order to take two forward"?
Well, this is the perfect analogy. Life sometimes gets too complicated to fit any passion in. Sometimes, we have to take some time to go back to the start and re-run the race. As the gun goes off prematurely, the blast telling us to go even when we are not ready, we need to turn around and regroup so we can restart the race properly. We need to focus on the simple things in order to accomplish the tough things.

Sometimes, to finish the race strong, we need to start over and over until we know full well how to finish. It is through our weakness we are made strong, and our mistakes when we learn along. But sometimes, it is our weakness and our mistakes that take us all the way back to the start so we can realize what is truly important.

"It's not where you start," said Zig Ziglar, "it's where you finish that counts." Ah, thank you for the wonderful clairification Z. It helps to know someone has an idea.

So, if you have no place to run and the fear of growing out of the family room fortresses and homemade lemonade from mom, just smile and think, "it's where you finish that counts."

Or as Paul says, "I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace. (Acts 20:24)." Sure, this guy is thinking ahead, but he is going back to the simplicity of living: the fact that it means nothing. Just finishing the race. Sounds a lot less stressful and painful as life really is. But, how much motivation are we going to have if we always look at life the complicated way - the way where we think about what we have to do rather than what we've already done?

Yes, don't give up and keeping working toward the future. Still, we need to stop and reflect every so often and go back to why we are doing what we do - and what makes us do what we do.

As complicated as life is, we have the gift of choosing to simplify by going back and continually learning the simple lessons to help us through the toughest.

Don't ever think going back to the basics is ever not worth it.
It is.
Trust me.
It keeps things basic.

Rubber Duck (Float 'n' Sink)

As a kid who took many baths, I often wondered why the rubber ducks gathered together in the corner. They would bob in one place, but that place always seemed to be the corner. And to top it all off, they would do it with the water moving up and down repetitively. They would even remain in the corner while the water tried pushing them away. Up and down, up and down, up and down they would go. Then, worse yet, as the toddler I was, I would push the decorated ducks toward the middle of the tub, only to see them float back to the corner of the raging tank. It was actually quite vexing.

But, After a good talk on this night with a dear friend of mine, I made an analogy between the ducks and life that is fitting in the circumstances of being a senior in college.

It simply goes like this:
While we have an entire "bathtub" before us, we choose often the corner of the tub. We float in synch with the other "ducks" around us for fear that if we were to part ways, we would sink in the nefarious waves. We propound that life is better lived in safety; while the rest of the world is out there waiting to see your face in it. That is all they know; the corner of the bathtub is all they know.

And while the corner might be much more safe than the rushing waves in the middle, we only go as far as the chatter we experience with the other ducks. We only talk; we don't experience.

My advice is that you look at the waves and quack, "Bring it on." Don't let the nasty bite of the waves swallow you whole, but accept your place and let them teach you. Go for it. Don't be the duck in the corner, but go out and face the waves. Your best lessons learned are when you take risks, even if you fall flat on your face. Don't miss out. For the joy is in discovering what could not be found if you never went out and tried to find it.

So go, young duck, and explore the waves before you.