I’m writing this morning for those who may be feeling that their God is far away even though they have faithfully loved and served Him. If you are part of that group you may be struggling with thoughts that you have served him and even sacrificed for him but there seems to be no reward for your faithfulness.  The desires of your heart have gone unanswered.  Your prayers seem to hit the ceiling and drop lifelessly to the floor.  Perhaps, tragedy has struck your life in such a profound way that you feel as if God has never taken notice of your love and service to him.  Otherwise, why would this terrible thing have happened?  As the holidays approach, some of these feelings risk being magnified and amplified, as others you know seem to walk in the joy and satisfaction that you long for.  Just this morning, I attended the funeral of a young man who took his own life, leaving a daughter and a beautiful wife. I’m not sure how they will feel as the holidays drift in and their holiday dreams and traditions highlight his terrible absence.

There is a recurring theme throughout scripture.  It is the cry of God’s faithful wondering why life seems to hard and empty for them when those who could care less about God seem to have everything that life offers.  The psalmist put it this way.

But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold. For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong. They are free from the burdens common to man; they are not plagued by human ills…This is what the wicked are like — always carefree, they increase in wealth. Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure; in vain have I washed my hands in innocence. All day long I have been plagued; I have been punished every morning. (Ps.73:2-5, 12-14)

To serve God and not have the desires of our heart granted while others who don’t care for God flourish, offends our sense of justice and fairness.  I am certain that Satan loves to fuel those feelings and roll out his Eden strategy once again where he hinted that God was stingy and withholding good things from Adam and Eve – good things that would be released to them when they ate from the tree. So now he highlights the girl at the office who sleeps around and makes it to happy hour every day. She seems full of life. She has flirted her way into the good graces of the boss, her future seems bright and secure, and you seem hardly noticed.

Satan shines a bright light on that disparity.  And what about the celebrities on television who are celebrating their third child out of wedlock?  They make millions, get arrested every week and excused every week.  These are the beautiful people who attend galas and sip Champaign on their yachts while never giving God a second thought.  At the same time, you cry out every night for your rent money, a companion, or healing in your life or the life of a loved one.  The book of Job summarizes it with the theme, “Why do the wicked prosper?”

I can’t answer every question about the “good fortunes” of the unsaved.  I know that the prince of this world can bless people too. I can also say that the kindness of God calls men to repentance. I can talk about free will and God’s timing, but in the middle of the night when you are feeling alone and unnoticed those things give little comfort.  The bible, however, speaks to what we can know and that is what we must hold on to.

First of all, an easy life is no definite indicator of God’s approval nor is a hard life a definite indicator of his disapproval.  Otherwise, he disapproved of his own Son who was acquainted with sorrow and had no place to lay his head.  Remember, Jesus told us that in this world we would have trouble.

Secondly, you can know that God loves you desperately and died for you.  Graham Cooke put is this way.  “ When we could have cared less about God, He could not have cared more about us.”  We have to stand on that truth even when it doesn’t “feel” that way. He has given you himself as a sacrifice.  He is preparing a place for you now and in due time will surely come and take you to be with him. He has camped in your heart and made you his temple and the apple of his eye. His Spirit sets you apart from billions on this planet and declares that your are his and that he knows what is going on in every part of your life and cares deeply about it.  He is not indifferent to your pain or your prayers – regardless of how it feels.

Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord gave attention and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the Lord and who esteem His name. “They will be Mine,” says the Lord of hosts, “on the day that I prepare My own possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him.”  So you will again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him.  (Mal.3:16).

The passage above from Malachi says that God sees you, hears your conversations and writes your name in a book of remembrance so that you and your needs will never be forgotten.  The psalmist went on to say that as he worshipped in the temple, God revealed to him the final end of the wicked who will not repent and the final reward of those who serve him in this life without such luxuries. Justice will be served in the courts of heaven f not in the courts of men.

The truth is that the unmet longings that plague us in this world are the very things that drive us to God and that make us look beyond this natural realm to a heavenly home. It is our longing for a home we have never seen but a home for which we were created. Every longing that cries out in us now will be met there in abundance. But these unmet longings also drive us to the Father now and it is in Him that those longings can be met while on this side of eternity.

These longings will not be met in what he can do for us, but will be found in who he is. He is joy.  He is abundance.  He is peace. He is love.  He is friendship.  He is…. Our solution is not found in asking for more answered prayers but in asking for more of Him.  When life seems unfair and God seems far away remember that he promised that he will never leave you nor forsake you. Feelings can be deceptive. Satan can use them against us but God’s truth stands forever. His love in an unfailing love for you.

As Jesus walked on this earth, he was never rich in earthly terms but he never lacked for anything. He was a man acquainted with sorrow but his constant companion was joy. He was a man who was finally forsaken on a wooden cross so that we would never have to be.  In spite of your struggles and your longings and the good fortune of the wicked in this world, remember that God is always close to the brokenhearted and has written your name and your longings in his book of remembrance. You are not and will never be forgotten.

Remember to always focus on what he has done for you rather than on what he has not yet done.  The Lord says, “But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me.” Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;” (Isa.49:14-16).  God feels that way about every child in his family and you are one of his sons or daughters. You name is always before Him and he will never forget.

When the world and life seem unfair, only the love of a Father can turn that pain to joy. When the world and life seem unfair, remember God for he will never forget you. Be Blessed.

In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.     He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. (Jn.1:3-13)

I wanted to spend a little more time on John’s theology of Jesus in chapter one of his gospel.  I love the phrase, “In him was life and that life was the light of men.”  In the writings of John, the term “life” or “eternal life” speaks more about quality than duration.  For him, eternal life is the quality of life a man has in connection with the Father rather than eternal existence.  Those who find themselves in torment will have a never-ending existence but John would not call that “life.”

When he looked at Jesus, he saw something that he had never seen before.  He saw a quality of life that he had never imagined. It was a life in close and intimate fellowship with the Father.  There were qualities evident in the life of Jesus that had not been seen since Adam walked in the Garden.  Think of the things people saw in Jesus that arrested their attention.

The most obvious was the power available to him because of his relationship with Jehovah. As Jesus touched the lame, the blind, the lepers, and even the dead they were instantly returned to health and life. Demons were driven from their victims with a single command. Jesus tore at a few fish and a handful of bread and fed thousands. He commanded storms, walked on water, and changed water into the best wine at the wedding.

He also taught as no one had ever taught before.  He taught with the authority of one who knows, rather than one who speculates. Instead of quoting great Rabbi’s he spoke what the Father was giving him at the moment.

He exuded a security and a peace that is available only to those who know the heart of the Father and know the love the Father has for them. Jesus himself said that he gave peace, but it was not like the peace the world gives. Jesus had three years to save the world but never seems in a hurry, never worried about his next meal, and never spent a moment concerned about the approval of men.

He prayed in such a way that his disciples, who had heard thousands of Jewish prayers while growing up, felt like they had never heard anyone pray before.  They asked, “Lord, teach us to pray.”

Jesus also dispensed love and grace in ways that no one had seen before either. Moved with compassion, he touched broken lives with his love and grace in a way that invited people to trade in their old way of life, full of sin and brokenness, for a new life where grace and forgiveness ran deeper than the river of sin that had been gushing through their lives.

Those who saw Jesus saw that life and that life was the light of men.  If you’ve ever been lost in the dark you know how welcome a light is.  Suddenly, that light gives direction and hope. Suddenly you know in which direction you should be walking or driving and the feeling of helplessness and hopelessness are chased away.

The life Jesus modeled shows us that there is something else, something more, something worth pursuing with all of our hearts. It also gives us hope that there is a heart in heaven from which all of that flows.  The life we see in Jesus echoes the atmosphere of heaven.  In that life we sense that there truly is a place filled with love, peace, and security.  A city where sickness, death, and the demonic have no power and no place.

The life people saw in Jesus was a light directing them, calling them, and filling them with hope.  The amazing thing is that his life is available to us. As the Holy Spirit conforms us to the image of Jesus Christ, our lives should begin to emit that same life and hope to those still walking in darkness.  Paul said that, as believers, we should shine like stars in a dark sky.  I marvel at the men and women who centuries ago ventured out on seemingly endless seas in tiny boats with only a hand-held sextant and a basic compass to tell them where they were and where they were going. Sometimes they were driven by storms for days never seeing land or a single star to give them a heading.  When the clouds broke and the night sky was clear, they found hope and direction from those lights shining in the darkness.

My hope is that we (myself included) will pray harder and press-in harder to know the life that John saw in Christ so that others may see Jesus in us and that life, then, can be a light for them giving direction and hope. Remember, you are the light of the world.

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. (Mt. 28:18-20).

Anyone who has spent any time at all in evangelical churches should be familiar with “The Great Commission.”  This was Christ’s final command to the church before his ascension and has been the fuel behind world missions for centuries. It is called a co-mission because Jesus works with us to fulfill the mission. It is something we do together.

However, it seems to me that in most of the last hundred years we have missed the mark on this to a great degree in the U.S.   Jesus said to make disciples of nations.  To disciple an entire nation is a daunting thought but God said, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession” (Ps.2:7-8).  In giving the “Great Commission” to his church wasn’t Jesus asking his Father for the nations?

In 2010, churches in the Untied States sent out 120,000 missionaries to countries around the globe. At the same time, 1500 pastors are leaving their ministries each month in American churches. In addition, although there are 4000 church plants in this country each year, 7000 churches close their doors. As a nation we are heading in the wrong direction.  It is clear that the American church is failing to make a disciple of this nation.

In order to disciple a nation two things must happen.  First of all, the kingdom of God must be planted in the hearts of the nation’s people.  Jesus said that the kingdom is within.  Faith and righteousness cannot be legislated in the hearts of a nation’s people. If it could, America would be drug free and the Prohibition era of the 1920’s would have wiped out alcoholism.  The kingdom must first bear fruit in the hearts of people.  But as the Holy Spirit does his work of transformation, the kingdom of God begins to manifest in the exterior life of the disciple.  The salt and light principle then begins to touch culture and when enough culture has been touched, a nation is discipled.

The founding fathers were very clear in their writings that this American experiment could only stand if the people persisted in faith and the morality that comes from faith. A great start does not guarantee a great finish.  Although we began as “one nation under God,” we may have forgotten that every new generation must be evangelized and discipled as well.  There have been seasons in the past fifty years where there have been upticks in evangelism.  The Billy Graham crusades, Campus Crusade, the third wave of the Holy Spirit, Promise Keepers, etc. and we celebrate every person who received Jesus Christ as Lord.  But there is a huge difference between being saved and being discipled, between salvation and sanctification.

Salvation separates us from darkness and brings us under the umbrella of God’s grace but sanctification shapes our entire life so that the kingdom of heaven is reflected in all that we do.  When that happens Jesus touches other people and culture through us.  The culture of heaven then begins to flow through us to our family, to our friends, to business, education, media, recreation and politics. What we see in America today is that the devil has been much more effective at making disciples and touching culture than the church has been.

Part of that is because the church has led significant numbers to Christ but has stopped short of discipling those who have come. Discipleship takes time, energy and an extended commitment to a new Christian. As Americans, we are far too busy to make those kinds of commitments and so we outsource our discipleship to the 700 Club, Sunday School, and community Bible studies.  We even do that with our children rather than taking personal responsibility to disciple them through both teaching and modeling. The model Jesus used was the Rabbinical model of choosing a few promising students and then doing life together – teaching, modeling, handing off responsibilities, etc. It still takes that.

There really is a war raging in the heavenlies over the soul of America. The disciples of the enemy have chipped away at the culture of heaven in our country until we are truly at a tipping point. Millions of unborn children have died at the hands of those who swore first “to do no harm.”  Prayer and God’s word have been ejected from schools where this generation of children is being discipled by a secular culture.  The media has effectively normalized sin and made it “cute” or acceptable so that evil is called good and good is called evil.  From the enemy’s perspective, America is strategic.  If America falls into darkness who stands with Israel?  Who exports the gospel through missions all over the world?  Who feeds the hungry in starving nations? Who stands against Sharia Law that will make faith in Jesus a capital crime?

Jesus has asked his Father for the nations and God has commissioned his church to bring those to the Son. America is sliding away and Satan has ramped up the attack. Will the church respond or continue to compromise and secularize itself for the sake of being “accepted and relevant.” When we are accepted by a secular culture we are no longer reflecting Christ because the world has always hated Christ. Can the nation be turned around? If not the entire world loses.

It can be turned around just as every nation can be brought to Jesus. We are to make disciples of all nations but that means not just saving but also discipling the citizens of that nation so that God’s love, values, and righteousness begin to permeate the cultural landscape once again. Every mature believer has that mandate. Go and make a disciple. I know many mature believer but very few are intentionally mentoring or discipling those who are young in the faith. Very few are intentionally taking a believer from the waters of baptism to a submitted like in Christ that is impacting everything it touches with the life of Jesus. Let me encourage you today to ask God to give you one or two believers to do life with and to disciple so that they can disciple others and take back a nation for whom Jesus died. It takes time, energy, commitment and a lot if inconvenience.  But the Great Commission was not just a great suggestion.

Jeremiah is sometimes known as the weeping prophet for the tears he shed over Israel,  but iI believe t was God weeping through him.  In Jeremiah 3, we are given a profound insight into the heart of God.

          During the reign of King Josiah, the Lord said to me, “Have you seen what faithless Israel has done? She has gone up on every high hill and under every spreading tree and has committed adultery there. I thought that after she had done all this she would return to me but she did not, and her unfaithful sister Judah saw it. I gave faithless Israel her certificate of divorce and sent her away because of all her adulteries. Yet I saw that her unfaithful sister Judah had no fear; she also went out and committed adultery. Because Israel’s immorality mattered so little to her, she defiled the land and committed adultery with stone and wood. In spite of all this, her unfaithful sister Judah did not return to me with all her heart, but only in pretense,” declares the Lord. The Lord said to me, “Faithless Israel is more righteous than unfaithful Judah.

           Go, proclaim this message toward the north: “ ‘Return, faithless Israel,’ declares the Lord, ‘I will frown on you no longer, for I am merciful,’ declares the Lord, ‘I will not be angry forever. Only acknowledge your guilt— you have rebelled against the Lord your God, you have scattered your favors to foreign gods under every spreading tree, and have not obeyed me,’ ” declares the Lord. “Return, faithless people,” declares the Lord, “for I am your husband. I will choose you—one from a town and two from a clan—and bring you to Zion.  Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding.  (Jer.3:6-15)

In this passage you hear the cry of God’s heart toward Israel, his unfaithful love.  This is an amazing passage because in it we discover that God divorced Israel because she had committed adultery with a stable of foreign gods through her idolatry. And yet, God’s heart still yearns for her like a jilted lover.  More than that, he is willing to take her back and bless her again if she will just return and acknowledge her wrongs.

More than once I have sat in my office and listened to a heartbroken spouse whose husband or wife had committed multiple affairs and showed no repentance or remorse for what they had done. When these men or women have asked me how to get their spouse back, my first thought has always been. “What is wrong with you that you would want them back?”  My next thought is usually that the person sitting in the chair across from me must have no sense of self-worth or self-respect to take someone back who has repeatedly given themselves to others in tawdry one-night stands in cheap motels and office couches,

But when I look at God, his cry for Israel to return is not a symptom of low self-esteem or some expression of co-dependence, but rather an expression of a God with an undying love for his people. I am amazed at how unrelenting God’s love is and when the apostle John tells us that, “God is love,” this is what that looks like.

How often did Israel rebel?  How often did they kill the prophets and finally the Son?  How often did they thumb their nose at their creator and run after foreign Gods? God’s love truly is unfailing – not just for Israel but for each of us.  He is the Father in the story of the prodigal son. If his relationship with Israel is any indicator, the prodigal could have drifted away again and again and the Father would have still longed for his return and celebrated the sound of his voice at the door once again.

It’s not that God is indifferent to our unfaithfulness. Discipline was still the order of the day for Israel and for us if we wander.  But the heart behind the discipline is the miracle.  It is a discipline tempered by a relentless love that calls us back from the edge of disaster – always.

We all wander from the Father at times, if only in our hearts or our priorities. Some of us walk away for years and violate his values over and over.  But there comes a time when we think about returning and the enemy always whispers, “He won’t have you. You’ve gone too far. He despises you for what you’ve done and you don’t want to hear what he’s got to say to you!” That is a lie.

The Father’s heart always cries, “return.” Acknowledge your guilt and it is forgiven. After adultery and murder, at the moment King David declared, “ I have sinned against God,” his sin was taken away. At the moment the prodigal began to confess his failings, the Father stopped him and restored him to the family with a celebration.  We never have to be afraid to return to the Father whether we have been away for a day or for years.  He is waiting.  His love has not failed. There is no need to hide or excuse or justify what we have done. Just say it and ask for forgiveness.  God is always ready to give that and more – because he has always loved us and always will. He has always loved you, and always will. If you have been away, go home.  He is waiting with the embrace of a father longing to hear your voice.

Well, it’s about that time again.  Halloween is about eight days away and cable channels are gearing up for Friday the Thirteenth specials, zombies, vampires, and witches.  I just checked Amazon to see how many books on witchcraft and casting spells they were posting and found quite a few – especially casting spells for beginners.  The Walking Dead series seems to be a huge favorite in America and, of course, Ghost Hunters, is always good for a few goose bumps.

For a culture that celebrates men who argue against the existence of God, question the historical reality of Jesus, and write the Bible off as fiction, we have a strange obsession with the spiritual.  We are especially obsessed with the dark side of the spiritual realm and the resurrection of grotesque entities along with those who look good but have no body temperature and suck blood.  Maybe these are all metaphors for politicians but I really think it goes deeper than that.

In some way I think our culture is locked into a paradox, a fleshly spirituality.  Paul reminds us in Romans 7 that our flesh (the natural man) wars against our spirit (the redeemed or spiritual man). This flesh is focused on self, earthly things, power, immediate gratification, possessions, etc. and is fueled or amplified by demonic spirits.  On one hand you would think the flesh would deny the spirit and the spiritual realm because it represents competition. But in the last few decades it and the demonic realm seem to have changed strategies.

Now the flesh pushes everyone toward the spiritual or the supernatural realm but in ways that continue to draw us away from Christ.  The emphasis isn’t new.  Sorcerers have practiced their craft for millennia. But, the volume and cultural acceptance is what has changed. If you think about it, witchcraft and notions of the undead are simply cries for power and immortality.  Actually, both are offered by Christ to those who follow him but there is a difference.

The flesh wants the perks of power and immortality but doesn’t want to answer to anyone or submit to any God.  Christians are promised power, authority and eternal life but only as those things are directed and submitted to Jesus and his righteousness.  Dante suggested that Satan would rather rule in hell than serve in heaven because he did not want to submit to anyone. Willing submission is a quality of heaven but won’t be found in hell.

I think the spirit of anti-Christ is really at work here because there are no debates about the existence of Satan, just about the existence of God and the reality of Christ. In a twisted way, Satan is offering eternal life without the Lordship of Jesus. Vampire romances abound in movies and books. Witches cavort with demons and, of course, there are now good witches and good demons to be had. Zombies are ugly and dumb but they still live forever and answer to no one.

In part, my simple theory comes from counseling sessions with people who had recently been involved in witches covens and satanic groups.  Each one confessed that they had gotten involved in these covens because their lives felt powerless and out of control. Each one had met a person who suggested that they might be able to find that power and control by being part of a group that could get what they wanted out of life through spells and “prayers”. At first, curiosity drove them to the meetings. Later they began to believe in the power of spells and incantations to control demonic forces to do their bidding. But later, the power they had been promised to them was being exercised over them by the very demons they thought they could control.

The occult is like drugs. It promises much, gives pleasure in the beginning and can even be governed at first. Eventually, however, it begins to rule everything in the cult member’s life. Power and control is an illusion. Satan takes orders from no man and he will rule over the life of anyone who walks onto his playground.

The other demonic aspect of our culture is this fascination and romance with death that is displayed in books and movies. Even Christians are participating in zombie walks and heading for the theaters to see Twilight sequels. But our God is a God of life not death.  He is the God of the living not the dead and death is portrayed in the book of Revelation as the last enemy. Of course, if we die in Christ we are immediately in the presence of Jesus which is a wonderful thing. But death, by God’s standards, is not the way we were supposed to come into his presence. Death is a result of a curse and us not something God celebrates. In fact, death is one of the things that Christ died to destroy.

In all of this cultural shift, Christ and the truth about spiritual realities is being marginalized.  People begin to identify with these characters of darkness rather than identifying with the Son of God.  These vampires and witches are painted as having greater power than the King of Kings. In the old movies, when the vampire hunters produced a cross, the vampire cowered and ran.  Now the vampire just laughs as if the cross has no more power against evil.

I’m not a person who thinks every Harry Potter book should be stacked and burned or that watching old episodes of Bewitched will send you to hell.  But I do believe that our culture is under a great assault by demonic forces and that Satan is orchestrating something very sinister with this onslaught of fleshly spirituality and the romance of death. I know that Satan is real and demons afflict more people than you think. But I also know that Jesus has defeated Satan and his troops and that we as believers operate in that victory with his authority.  But I also know that Satan is the consummate liar who draws people away from God and into destruction with half-truths and fictions. We are surrounded by those now.

So this Halloween, I want to invite you not to participate in the Zombie Run or watch Romance of the Vampires or whatever and especially with your children. I believe we can tell stories about witches and magic and trolls and dwarves and keep those stories in the realm of fiction while we teach our children about the reality of Christ, his angels and demons in this real world. But there is something more going on here and I encourage you to be wise and not lose perspective on good and evil because Satan loves to blur the lines. They will be blurred a lot in the next two weeks.

If I had written the script, I probably would have painted Christ’s greatest opposition as unreligious pagans who would have accused him of being narrow, bigoted, and judgmental as he preached God’s truth in an uncompromising way.  And yet, his greatest opposition and the primary force pushing for his execution were the religious leaders of his day. Was it just ignorance or a misunderstanding of scripture that created the opposition or was there something else behind the hatred they felt for this young Rabbi?

In John 8, Jesus had presented a stinging indictment of many of the religious leaders of the Jews.  He said to them, “I know you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are ready to kill me because you have no room for my word…If God were your Father you would love me…You belong to your father the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire.”

The healing of the man who was born blind (John 9) may give us some additional insight into this violent opposition.  In this section, Jesus comes upon a man who was blind from birth.  Jesus spit on the ground, made an ointment of mud, rubbed it on the man’s eyes, and told him to go wash in the pool of Siloam. When the man obeyed, his sight was restored.

Apparently, everyone in the neighborhood new this man and so the news of such a miracle traveled at the speed of gossip (a little faster than the speed of light). Soon the Pharisees were investigating the matter. Their first response to the miracle was that Jesus could not be from God because he had healed on the Sabbath.

The first indicator of “religion” (and I think a spirit of religion) rather than relationship is that events are judged first by their form rather than by their fruit. Jesus had not acted in accordance with their rules and their expectations of how God works so that the fruit became irrelevant.  Never mind that their forms had never healed a rash much less the eyes of the blind.

Secondly, they denied the miracle. They assumed it was a scam and that this man had never actually been blind. Religion always establishes parameters within which God is permitted to function.  Anything that occurs outside of those parameters cannot be authentic or from God.

The next indicator was pressure for everyone to conform to the rules.  Even though an undeniable miracle had occurred, the Pharisees continued in their attempts to discredit the claims. When undeniable evidence was produced that this man, who now had sight, was born blind, they focused their attention on discrediting Jesus – the one who had performed the miracle in the name of the God of Israel.  I love their logic.  If a man does not conform to our rules then he can’t be of God. If he performs an undeniable miracle that could only come from God then it didn’t come from God because he didn’t conform to our rules and our rules don’t produce miracles. Therefore, he must be a sinner. Not only that, but we’re not so sure about the one who received the healing either.

The fourth characteristic is control.  The parents of the man who was healed would not give a positive testimony for Jesus for fear of being put out of the synagogue.  Clearly, they understood that disagreement with the leaders about how God operates would mean excommunication.

A last ditch effort by the Pharisees in response to other undeniable miracles that operated outside their rules or parameters was to simply claim that a miracle had occurred but that Satan had suddenly gone into the healing business. Many religious folk will paly the “deception card” when confronted with something outside their theological comfort zone.

The response of religion, which is defined here as an organization that operates on the basis of form and ritual rather than relationship with God, was to immediately deny the work of God because it didn’t fit their well crafted definitions nor was it subject to their control.  It is not that we should accept a claim that anything and everything done in the name of Jesus is approved by God but neither should we reject out of hand an event or an interpretation of scripture that we have not seen before or heard taught before.  It’s great to refer to precedents established by scripture but every precedent began with a “first time.”

With that reasoning we could dismiss out of hand Moses’ experience with a burning bush.  God never did it that way before.  Ten plagues on Egypt must have been from the devil or meteorological anomalies because God never did it that way before. Don’t pass through that opening in the Red Sea – it can’t be of God. Whoops! No precedent for true prophets walking on water or feeding thousands with a few loaves and fish.

Rather than asking if there is a strict biblical precedent for every way in which God is moving today, we need to look at the fruit of certain ministries.  Do they produce righteousness?  Are they consistent with the Spirit of Christ and the redemptive heart of God? Do they draw people to Jesus? I think biblical precedent is important and should be looked at but should it be the final word?  If it is, then God will do no new things in the earth today even though Jesus said we would do even greater things than he had done. Certainly we are to test the spirits and prophecies, but the question becomes the criteria for testing.

We should be careful of using the same criteria as the Pharisees who had no room for the words of Jesus and whose father was the devil.  Paul warned of those who had a form of godliness but who denied the power of godliness.  Too many believers today fear and distrust any display of power in the kingdom…healing, deliverance, or miracles of any kind. John warned us that the spirit of anti-Christ had gone out into the word – not the spirit of anti-Jesus but anti-Christ.  Christ refers to the anointed one of God.  It makes you wonder if that spirit works against God’s anointing for his people because without it there is no power in the church.

It’s easy to think of “all those churches” out there that are just religious but the bigger issue is to look at our own hearts to make sure that a spirit of religion doesn’t settle there.  Even those of us who believe in the power of God and the move of the Holy Spirit quickly judge others who do it differently or have experiences beyond our own.  Let’s judge righteously but not rush to judgment.  What is the fruit? Is it bringing people to Christ?  Is it done with love? Does it promote righteousness? Are we wanting to control what God does at some level?  These are questions I must ask myself from time to time.  Maybe they would be helpful for you as well.

Blessings.

To believe God’s promises we must believe that he is good and good all the time. We must believe that he is merciful and grace-filled as well as faithful.  Anything less puts us on doubtful ground.  If God is not good then we cannot expect him to fulfill his promises or at best to be arbitrary in doing so. If he does not operate out of grace and mercy then we are left to earn his favor or obligate him to give us what we are asking for.  As soon as we step on that ground we are back to earning our own salvation by meritorious works which we know flies in the face of the gospel.

To have faith in God’s response to our needs and our prayers we must have confidence that he loves us, that he is always faithful to his promises, that he is consistent in answering our prayers, and that he is willing and ready to bless, heal, save, provide for and protect his children every day as any good father is ready to do.

So why is it hard to believe? Often, it is simply that His kind of heart and trustworthiness is simply outside the realm of our personal experience with relationships in this world.  It takes a while to begin to understand that our heavenly Father is not like our earthly father and friends

I think part of our struggle to believe is found in a misunderstanding of God as he is portrayed in the Old Testament.  Let’s face it, in the O.T. God often seems rigid, harsh, and punishing. We see entire tribes being destroyed at his command and seemingly well-meaning folks touching the Ark of the Covenant or making a mistake in rituals and dying for their trouble.  We often feel like the Hebrews who cried out to Moses that they didn’t want any part of the presence of God … he was too terrifying for them.

And yet, scripture tells us that both the Father and the Son and, by implication, the Holy Spirit are unchanging – the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.  So how do we understand this God of the O.T. in light of the words of Jesus who clearly said, “If you have seen me you have seen the Father.”  If you want to know what God is like, look at Jesus.

We can’t look at every event in the Old Testament to see if we can view Jehovah through different eyes but maybe looking at some broad strokes of the brush can help us develop a different perspective on the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

First of all, lets hear God speak about some of those things.

Say to them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, O house of Israel?’(Ezek.33:11)

You have been concerned about this vine though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight.  But Nineveh has more that a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left and many cattle as well.  Should I not be concerned about that great city? (Jonah 4:10-11)

Even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.” Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity. (Joel 2:12-13)

These verses reveal that the Lord’s heart was never glad to send destruction or judgment on a nation, even the enemies of Israel. The grace of God established restraints against sin from the very beginning, because without restraints sin itself would destroy the world. The restraints were judgments that would come in the face of persistent, rebellious, unrepented sin. God spelled out to Israel the consequences of rebellion and the blessings of obedience before Israel entered into a covenant with him. They were very clear about what their decisions would produce.

Without restraints (judgment, disasters, etc.) the fallen nature of man would destroy everything so we must see the judgments of God as not only a response of holiness but also of love and mercy.  How often did God send prophets to warn these nations and call them to repentance before judgment was released? At some point, even though is was not his desire, God was forced by the rebellious spirit of man to release the consequences and the judgments that he had held back until he was forced to honor the choices of men and nations.

Secondly, God had to protect the bloodline of the Messiah for the sake of the entire world. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son…” But to give his Son, the nation of Israel and the bloodline of Judah had to survive in the face of nations who were committed to wiping out all of Israel. Those nations are still bent on doing so.   The voice of Islam and especially nations such as Iran (ancient Persia) and organizations such as the PLO are still sworn to carry out the absolute destruction of Israel.

Before the cross, there was no remedy for the depraved heart set on destroying the bloodline that would deliver the “Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” Those nations were under the dominion of Satan and there was as yet no payment for sin and no Holy Spirit to grant men a new heart.   For the sake of the world, then, some nations or cities had to be totally destroyed so that they could not be Satan’s weapons to extinguish the salvation of all men.

I believe the Flood that destroyed all but eight souls on Noah’s ark was the same expression of mercy for the thousands of generations to come. Genesis tells us that before the flood, every imagination of men had become wicked all the time. Noah preached repentance for 120 years without one response and, before wicked men either corrupted Noah and his family or murdered him and with him the bloodline of Messiah, judgment had to finally be released.

The coming of Messiah, the sacrifice for the sins of the world, and the coming of the Holy Spirit has given the Father more options for restraining sin in the world.  The bloodline no longer has to be protected at all costs; the gospel of God’s love and the Holy Spirit can enable men and nations to be born again; and the church has been given a clear mandate and power to make disciples of all nations.

This God is the same God yesterday, today and forever and he is good – all the time.  His heart is always to bless, to heal, to protect, and to provide.  He is long suffering and full of grace.  He is still holy and there are still limits that must trigger the restraints to sin God established long ago. But know that if you have seen Jesus you have seen the Father.  Pray with confidence. Pray with expectation. Destroy the works of the devil in the name of Jesus.  Don’t doubt it.  Your God is ready and willing to deliver, heal and set free.  He has always been willing.

I live in conservative West Texas.  We don’t have three hundred year old homes here or ghost walks for folks visiting our part of the world. We don’t have famous haunted hotels or paranormal researchers down the street.  But interestingly, our church does get calls requesting house cleansings from demonic spirits on a fairly regular basis.  Since we get these calls I thought I would do one very practical blog on the topic of demons manifesting in homes and the practice “charismatic” Christians refer to as “cleansings.”

I guess the first questions would be whether demons are assigned to locations since we typically see them trying to establish a place within a person or at least attach themselves to a person.  However, we also know that demons spend a great deal of their time simply tempting believers to serve sin in some part of their lives so that they can establish a legal right to “take up residence” with that individual.

In the book of Revelation, Jesus addresses the church of Pergamum and says, “I know where you dwell; where Satan’s throne is.”   There was a huge altar in that city dedicated to Zeus and many commentators assume Jesus is referring to that pagan temple and it’s altar. He may have been referencing that temple but remember demonic spirits are behind idols and false worship.  Where there is great demonic influence there is great demonic presence and in this case it was a city.  Undoubtedly Sodom and Gomorrah had a vast demonic presence.  The area of Rome around the Coliseum where Christians were tortured and killed must have had that feel.  Most of us have been in cities or parts of cities where the atmosphere feels dark and oppressive and where sunlight doesn’t seem as bright even though there are no clouds. Those are the parts of those cities sold out to sin and those physical locations have a strong demonic presence.

If demons are active in cities and have strongholds that could be referred to as thrones, then they can certainly be attached to other physical locations. It’s not uncommon then for people to begin to notice unexplained manifestations around their homes. Many people think of these manifestations as evidence of haunting by ghosts but these are demonic spirits.  These demonic manifestations can be experienced as demons appearing in the house, voices in the night when no one is speaking, doors being slammed or opened, objects levitating off of tables or fireplace mantles, unexplained footsteps in the house, shadows darting across a room, putrid smells, feelings of fear or terror, a sinister presence, unexplained anger and violence, or any number of other manifestations that harass and torment.

Sometimes these demonic spirits were given access to the location through people practicing occult arts in the home, committing suicide there, through violence, abuse, through acts of sexual immorality or the practice of false religions, etc.  When the inhabitants move on, the spirit stays to afflict whoever comes into the home next.  There are other individuals who seem to carry demonic spirits with them or bring them into the home while visiting.  When these individuals leave, demons may stay. We have had that experience in our own home when people from other parts of the world had stayed with us and worshipped their gods in private in the room where they stayed. When they left, we had to deal with manifestations in our own home that ceased after cleansing it. Members of our church have done many cleansings and without exception the manifestations have ceased and the atmosphere of the home has changed drastically.

Let me list a few simple steps in the process. It’s very much like deliverance for an individual.

1. Determine if the people in the house are under the Lordship of Jesus. If not, the demons will return when you leave.
2. Determine if there is any persistent, unrepented sin being practiced by family members – especially in the home and ask them to confess and repent. Otherwise their sins, including unforgiveness, gives the enemy legal access to them and all those in the house.  Children are especially vulnerable.
3. Ask those who have authority over the house and family to verbally declare their allegiance to Jesus Christ and renounce Satan and the works of Satan.
4. Ask those who have authority over the house to dedicate and consecrate the home and everything it to Jesus and place it all under his lordship.
5. Then, in the name and authority of Jesus command any and every unclean spirit to leave the house immediately and never return. We command them to go to the feet of Jesus and receive orders from him.
6. We then simply go through the house anointing doors and windows with oil and quietly but firmly commanding any spirits in that part of the house to leave and never return.
7. As we go, we ask the Holy Spirit to show us anything in the house that might give the enemy a right to be there.  Sometimes he highlights souvenirs from overseas that are actually idols or representations of foreign gods.  Books related to false religions or cults, artifacts from ancient tribes that were prayed over in the name of their gods,  etc. Sometimes they are part of the decor – statues of  budah, etc. ) that look sophisticated but  honor false gods.   These types of objects may give demons access to the house. They can be “dumpsterized” or prayed over.  The dumpster is preferable.
8. We pray for God’s peace to be upon the house and for his angels to keep the enemy away and anything else the Spirit puts on our hearts and we leave.

In essence, we bring everything in the home into alignment with God’s will and declare his Lordship over the house and the property the house rests on. Ultimately, what protects us from Satan is the blood of Christ and the power of his Name that covers us when we are submitted to him.  It is always sufficient for homes or hearts.

The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him. (Psm.34:7)

Once demonic oppression is indicated in the life of a believer, dealing with the demonic is fairly straightforward.

Deliverance is based on a few essential beliefs and principles.

1.  The kingdom of heaven has power and authority much greater than anything in the kingdom of darkness.  Satan was cast down.
2. Jesus demonstrated that authority over demons again and again while on the earth as the Son of Man.
3. Satan, death, and the grave could not hold the resurrected Savior who died for our sins to take away Satan’s legal claims against us.
4. Positionally, we are sons and daughters in the house of God, kings and priests on the earth, and the representatives of Jesus Christ who carry his delegated power and authority over the enemy.
5.  The only power Satan has over believers is the power we give him when we choose to live unaligned with God in all or part of our life. Others to whom we are connected may also have given him that right (sins of the fathers, curses, etc.).
6.  Our misalignment gives Satan a legal right to “rent a room,” i.e. afflict or oppress us.
7. Re-aligning ourselves with the Father removes the enemy’s legal right to afflict us.
9.  Having removed that right, we can command demons to leave us by the authority of Jesus Christ who has all authority in heaven and on earth.

Basic Process for Finding Freedom from the Demonic

Make all declarations or statements verbally because you are declaring these things to the spiritual realm.

1.  Begin your re-alignment by declaring your faith in and allegiance to Jesus Christ.
2.  Renounce sin and all the works of Satan.
3.  Acknowledge the areas in your life that are unaligned with the Father. These may be areas of persistent unrepented sin, unbelief, or unforgiveness. As King David prayed, “Search my heart O God and show me if there is any offensive way in me,” you should also pray and ask God to show you any hidden sins or rebellion in your life. Do not rationalize, minimize or blame others for your sin and do not accuse God of having unjust standards.
4.  Confess and repent of your sins by declaring God’s standards to be righteous and agreeing with him about his standards and your failure to keep them. Ask for forgiveness in the name of Jesus based on his sacrifice for you and nothing else.  Be as specific as possible. Thank God for forgiving you. (See 1 Jn. 1:9).
5.  Confess the sins of your Fathers if you know them specifically.  If not, confess the wickedness, known and unknown, of your ancestors and renounce their sins and wickedness. Ask God to break the affects of their sins in your life and thank him for doing so.
6.  Forgive all those whom you have not forgiven.  This is an act of the will not your emotions. Biblical forgiveness is choosing to no longer require payment for a wrong done to you.  It is turning judgment of the matter over to God.  It is a decision to no longer act in any way designed to make someone pay for the wrong he/she did to you.  Jesus then instructs us to bless them and pray for them.  We must forgive those who sin against us because Jesus forgives our sins. It is not because they deserve it, but because Jesus deserves it.

Having re-aligned yourself with the Father, you may….

• Declare that Jesus became a curse for you so that you might blessed (Gal. 3:13-14).  Because of that you may ask Jesus to sever, make null and void, and cancel any curses that have ever been established against you by words or sins. Thank him for doing so.
• Declare that you are a son/daughter of the king. God’s representative on the earth, and that you serve in the power and authority of Jesus Christ.
• Renounce any sin, emotions or thoughts contrary to God’s truth that you believe demonic spirits have prompted or produced in you.  It may be something like … In the Name of Jesus I renounce fear, adultery, fornication, homosexuality, bitterness, pornography, unbelief, gossip, apathy, etc.
• Then in the name and the authority of Jesus Christ and by his blood that was shed for you, you can command those spirits to leave you immediately and never return.

That is the basic process and scriptural principles for breaking the power of the enemy in your life or someone else’s life based on whom Jesus is, what he has done and who you are in him.

For more details about this process and for suggested commands and declarations over the enemy I would recommend reading my book Born to Be Free. It is also important that you learn how to walk out your freedom so that the enemy cannot return. The book will give you a more thorough theological base, a more thorough understanding of who you are in Christ, and lead you through a thorough assessment of your life to discover entry points for the enemy.  It will also walk you through a systematic process for deliverance and maintaining your freedom.

All I have trued to do in this blog is to give you a sense of how the demonic operates and a basic framework for understanding deliverance.  Faith in Jesus is still the key in all of this.  I hope this eight part series has been helpful.

How to Rid Your “House” of Unwanted Guests:  Identifying the Problem

Not everything is demonic. We have to deal with the appetites of the flesh and learn to say “No” to our fallen nature. You can’t cast out the flesh. You must crucify it.  Sometimes, in a fallen world, illness is simply illness; depression is caused by chemical imbalances, and broken relationships are created by our own negative choices.  However, many things do have demonic dimensions that must be dealt with before freedom and healing can occur.

Demons attach themselves to believers because someone has given them a legal right to do so.  We may have opened that door through persistent, unrepented sin in our lives, refusal to forgive those who have wounded us, or long-standing unbelief related to God’s truth.  It is possible that demons have come down through family lines as a consequence of “the sins of our fathers” or that someone with authority over us spoke curses that created “legal” assignments for the enemy.  Perhaps, we ourselves spoke those words. It is also possible that demons entered in through wounds inflicted by trauma, abuse, or rejection.

There are several common experiences or doorways that make individuals vulnerable to demonic affliction or that indicate or suggest demonic activity within a person.  If you recognize these “doorways” or manifestations in your life, it raises the probability that you may be struggling with demonic oppression.

Sins of the Fathers – This demonic door is opened when ancestors (especially males) rebelled against God and lived in unrepented sin.  This is especially true in the areas of sexual immorality, occult activity, violence, or addictions.

Child Abuse – Child abuse opens the door for the enemy in many ways.  Often the abuser has some authority over the child or the enemy can enter later through the child’s residual anger, resentment, unforgiveness and shame.

Sexual Sins – For some reason, our sexuality is a place the enemy has targeted in man to produce all kinds of destructive behaviors that alienate us from God, others, and ourselves. Sexual sin of all kinds is a place where Satan gains tremendous access to individuals and families.

Gender Confusion  – Scripture says that God “made them male and female.”   Although our fallen nature contributes to damaged genes and chemical imbalances in our bodies, it is not God’s will that His children be confused about their sexual identity.  If gender confusion is an issue, it may have demonic components.

Anger – Emotions of rage, anger, bitterness, etc. are usually established in childhood after a wounding experience, a painful wrong, or a perceived betrayal.  These thoughts and emotions are natural reactions to those “wrongs,” but if nurtured or kept alive by subsequent wounding, they can open the door for demonic spirits to come in and fuel these destructive emotions and mindsets.  They then become strongholds and may be experienced as rage, hatred, thoughts of revenge, or bitterness.

Abandonment through death, divorce, sickness, or neglect may open the door to spirits of sorrow, fear, and distrust.

Occult Involvement – Christian and non-Christian occult groups throw the door wide open to demons as they invite their presence, pray to them, or serve them.

Curses – Demonic spirits may be commissioned to enforce curses in the lives of individuals or families that are attached to sins or word curses. If you feel trapped in patterns of abuse, destructive relationships, poverty, crisis, etc. a curse may be operating.

You Conspire Against You by persistently engaging in sinful or destructive behaviors and thought patterns, even though you want to be free from those things.  You may say and do things frequently that “aren’t you.”   You may have tried prayer, the Word, accountability, counseling, etc., without victory over the issue. The demonic is indicated when the more you resist a sinful or destructive thought or feeling, the more it presses in on you.  It feels obsessive, compulsive and addictive.

If you struggle with any of the above issues, you may have unwanted guests that have harassed and tormented you for a short time or as long as you can remember. Many demon-afflicted individuals have struggled with sinful or destructive thought patterns so long that they believe it is normal and that everyone must fight those thoughts every day.  That isn’t the case. When the demonic is involved, deliverance makes an unbelievable difference in managing temptation and condemnation. Sometimes you may not be certain whether demonic activity is involved.  I recommend treating it like a spirit and if it isn’t you haven’t lost anything. If it is, you have gained your freedom.

The first step after identifying demonic activity in your “house” is taking away the issue that has given Satan a legal right to camp in your life.  Having done that, you can command those spirits to leave by the power and authority of Jesus Christ who has delegated that power and authority to every believer. If there is sin, you need to repent.  If there is unforgiveness, you must forgive. If there are generational sins you must acknowledge those and renounce them.  If there are curses you must nullify those in the name of Jesus.

In Part 8 of Dealing with the Demonic, we will explore those steps in more detail.