The Trouble With Pride

People may ask ... "What's wrong with a little pride?"  I guess in general, nothing as long as you don't have any more than just enough to make sure that you bathe often.  But basically, the type of pride I'm talking about, is the kind of pride that God does not want you to have.

It's the type of pride that keeps you from saying, I'm wrong or I'm sorry.  Pride can cause a person to become a narcissist ... someone with self centeredness, with a grandiose view of self, and a craving for admiration or attention.

Basically, I'm writing today about the Scriptural reasons as to why God hates it.

Pride is really the opposite of what God wants in our lives.  I'm thinking of the question in Micah 6:8 ... "What does the Lord require of me?"

Well, Micah goes on and tells us God's requirement, what He really wants our lives to be about ... "To do justly ... To love mercy ... To walk humbly with thy God."

I want to look at the Hebrew meanings of these four high-lighted words.

Require ... in Hebrew it is "darash" (pronounced daw-rash') a primitive root word that means, "to tread or frequent ... to follow as if in pursuit ... to participate in (specifically to worship) ... to carry out ... by implication, to seek or ask."

When Micah says God requires this of us, he is saying that we should often pursue God so as to be partners with Him in carrying out the plan He has for our life.  In doing so, including in worship, God is asking three basic things of us.

The 1st requirement: To do or live justly ... the Hebrew is "mishpat" (pronounced mish-pawt') meaning, "the act due ... follow divine law in a lawful manner ... to live right."

This word alludes to something like a judicial verdict or a formal decree, including the act or privilege to be just, to live in a right manner.  Have you ever thought about this ... by doing so ... God is allowing you to act like He does.

Even though Micah was required to live under the Law, today as Christians we aren't.  But, we are still required to live right under divine principles, (not the Mosaic Law) which includes our lifestyle, the act due to God ... not for salvation ... but because of our salvation.

The 2nd requirement: To love mercy ... the Hebrew is "chesed" (pronounced kheh'-sed) and means, "to show loving kindness ... favor ... and good deeds."

It's out of God's grace, that mercy usually follows.  Everything we have comes from His grace and it's through mercy that He shows His loving kindness.  So for me, Micah is simply saying ... act like Jesus.  He was merciful and showed kindness through His good deeds.

 The 3rd requirement: Walk humbly ... in Hebrew, "tsana" (pronounced tsaw-nah') which means, "to humble thyself to walk with God ... to follow continually ... to go forward humbly."  This word is actually a primitive root word that means ... to be willing to humiliate ones self.

Of all of the sins of mankind, perhaps the most devastating is ... the sin of pride.  It's the complete opposite of humility, the self-exalting attitude of heart that assumes that we do not really need God, and that our own strength or virtue is entirely sufficient to succeed in life.

Charles Spurgeon says ... "Humility is to make a right estimate of one's self."  In other words, you know the reality of who you really are. I like to say it this way ... "You know there is a God, and you're not Him."
God wants you to depend upon Him, not yourself.  Humility allows God to do it for you and through you.  Pride says ... "I can do it myself."

God also wants you to know that pride will get you into trouble.  It did with Solomon.  That's why he wrote Proverbs 16:18 ... "Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall."

I have noticed that many times a prideful person will also have this haughty spirit Solomon spoke of.  It seems like they go together, although that's not a hard and fast rule.  Of course I may be confusing two personalities here.  Sometimes a shy person can be prideful without being haughty.  They may not be the same ... but trouble follows them either way.

Psalms 138:6 ... "For the LORD is high, he sees the lowly, but the haughty He knows from a distance."

God knows the haughty soul ... "from a distance" ... because the haughty, willfully separates himself from God by closing his eyes to the truth of his inward condition and his need for God's love and mercy.  This verse in Psalms is telling me that God cannot get as close as He wants to be, because those who have this haughty spirit or attitude won't allow Him to.  The consequence for their action is on them, not God.

Haughty usually means an arrogantly superior attitude which the dictionary defines as ... "the quality of having an excessively high opinion of one's self or one's importance."

When your opinion of yourself is exaggerated, you're showing conceit, a word that combines pride with self-obsession.  And while I'm here, I might as well look at conceit's companion ... arrogance.

Arrogance is an overbearing pride, usually combined with disdain for others.  We could also touch on egotism ... self-centeredness or an excessive preoccupation with yourself.  Would it be okay for me to say that, conceit, arrogance and egotism are the offspring that are born out of pride?

If there is one good thing that comes from the right amount of pride, it is ... self-esteem ... which may suggest undue pride, but is more often used to describe a healthy belief in oneself and respect for one's worth as a person.  We generally need that.

I am of the opinion that God looks at pride and all the side issues pride causes, the same way He looks at the sinner.  God loves the sinner, but hates the sin.  God also loves the proud and haughty, but that kind of spirit keeps God at a distance.  It's like a spiritual wall they have built around themselves that God won't step over or knock down.  He could ... but He won't.

So, dear ones ... "Walk humbly with thy God."



Comments welcome.

Shake Off the Dust

Matthew 10:1 & 5-6 ... "And when He had called unto him his twelve disciples, He gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.  These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."

Now why wouldn't Jesus want the Gentiles or the Samaritans ministered to?  Aren't they also God's children even if only by creation?  So why was it at first only to be preached to the Jews?

The Jews were the ancient covenant people of God, the people whom the Messiah was born into.  All others were considered heathen.  The time for preaching the gospel to the Gentiles had not yet come.  But their time would come.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 & 7 ... "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven ... a time to keep silence, and a time to speak ..."

Solomon's words are true ... there is a time for all things under the sun ... and this was not the time.  So Jesus sends them out along with this added command ...

Matthew 10:14 ... "And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet."

Who was this speaking what sounds like, if not hateful words, then at the very least judgmental words?  Does this sound like the Lamb of God, the Savior; the kind, merciful and caring Son of God who was preparing to give His life for others?  So what's the problem here?

It was simply ... Jewish tradition.  This act was part of their culture, an act of national pride.

John Wesley commented on this tradition ... "The Jews thought the land of Israel so peculiarly holy, that when they came home from any heathen country, they stopped at the borders and shook or wiped off the dust of it from their feet, that the holy land might not be polluted with it.  Therefore the action here enjoined was a lively intimation, that those Jews who had rejected the Gospel were holy no longer, but were on a level with heathens and idolaters."

The Jews believed that even the dust of the Gentiles was impure and believed they would be defiled by that dust, so it was to be shaken off one's clothing and feet.  But here, dealing with their own people, Jesus was instructing them to shake off the dust as a symbolic action against any house or city inside Israel who would not hear their words.  By doing so, those who rejected the Gospel would be regarded as impure pagans, and would not have any further connection with them, placing them on a level with the heathen cities outside of Israel.

The shaking off ... was a rather violent gesture of disfavor.  The Jews had violent prejudices against the smallest particles of Gentile dust because it was regarded the same as the rotting of death, or as becoming putrid.  If any heathen dust touched an offering, the offering must be burnt at once.

I'm not aware of when this tradition started but even Paul and Barnabas observed this same symbolic act at Antioch.  Acts 13:50-51 ... "But the Jews stirred up the devout and honorable women, and the chief men of the city, and raised persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them out of their coasts.  But they shook off the dust of their feet against them, and came unto Iconium."

Evidently this was something that was very common in the Jewish way of life.  God was a Holy God and to them Israel was a Holy Land and they intended to keep it that way.  The old Jewish traditions were hard for the new Christian Jews to put aside.  Even living by "faith alone" in Jesus ... a totally new concept to them ... instead of by the keeping of the Law must have been a scary proposition for them.

This is why at the first counsel of Jerusalem (Acts 15:1-24) there was a discussion concerning what some Jewish converts were teaching others, mainly ... "Except ye be circumcised, and keep the law, ye cannot be saved."  Paul and Barnabas argued they gave no such command.

So, is dust, dirt or any pollutants the real problem?  Remember the accusations brought to Jesus about the washing of hands?

In Matthew 15:1-11, some of the dialogue on this subject goes like this ... "Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders?  They wash not their hands when they eat bread.  But Jesus answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?  Thus ye have made the commandment of God of none effect ... by your tradition."

Then Jesus continued ... "Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man."

The conclusion then must be ... the smallest particles of dust, the material things of this world that may get on us are not the problem.  The main problems are the religious observances and traditions of men ... false teachings flowing out of the mouth ... that may make the Word of God of no effect unto you as it did them.

This is why you need to hide the Word of God away in your heart.  You will never know God any better than you know His Word.  So instead of shaking the dust off our feet, some of us may need to shake the dust off our Bibles and open them up.


Comments welcome.

The Prince and Power of the Air

The phrase, the prince and power of the air, as far as I know, was first spoken or placed on parchment by Paul the Apostle in Ephesians 2:2.  He was speaking of Satan.

I sometimes wonder if Satan doesn't camp outside of my house.  No really.  I can walk outside to check the elements to see if it's nice enough to do some yard work or other jobs that need my attention around home ... I take a deep breath of air ... "All right, sunny and a nice gentle breeze blowing to keep me cool.  Thank you Lord."

I don't have enough fingers and toes to count the number of times that after I get outside and start working ... things change.  The perfect breeze stops blowing, it gets humid and hot, or it turns overcast and begins to sprinkle rain drops.  Today was a good example ...

It was mid-morning, 10:30 or so and I wanted to do another small landscaping job involving three new plants, decorative stones and fabric under mulch to keep weeds from coming up.  The sun was shining, birds singing and just enough breeze to keep the air moving.  The project is going well ... life is good ... until I start to cut the fabric and place it on the ground.

There he was again ... the prince and power of the air.  All of a sudden, wham, no longer a gentle breeze.  More like a 40 mph straight line blast out of the west.  I held up my weed control fabric, and if it had been red, white and blue, it would have looked like the American Flag flapping in the wind.  But I'm stubborn; when I start, I stick with it to the end; so after about 30 minutes and a few rocks to hold it in place while I dumped the mulch on it ... the wind ceased to blow.  After it didn't matter any longer.  After the light weight fabric was secure.  "Thanks a lot devil ... why don't you go somewhere else to live?"

Am I unique?  No, I'm sure I'm not.  But it sure feels like the devil picks on me.  I know he doesn't like me ... I'm a child of God.  Satan hates all of mankind because we are created in God's image.  And those of us who believe in Jesus ... he hates even more.  We are the salt of the earth, the hands and feet of Jesus reaching out to a broken and hurting world ... and the devil doesn't like that.

I hope you don't mind me using both terms; Satan, that's his name, as well as his title ... the devil.  Do you know that the name, Satan means ... "The one who lies in wait."  Yep, that's him and he waits every morning for me to step out of my door so he can irritate my life with little pokes and prods.  My pastor and mentor back when I was still a young man, Dr. Harold Helms used to say, speaking of Satan ... that he was a good devil ... and he is.  He knows every trick.

Did you ever get what I call little ticks or irritants when you go to bed, an itch or something that makes you move or scratch that keeps you awake.  You guessed it ... that's him, poking you with the end of his finger; first your nose, then your neck or cheek.  Next he moves to your leg or feet and back to the end of your nose.  He will do anything to irritate you so you can't fall asleep.  He's not trying to hurt you, just irritate you.  I'm not teaching this as Bible doctrine ... I'm just sayin' ... 

I must admit, I know I don't have the full, complete understanding of why Satan is called ... "the prince and power of the air."  But even though I have tried to make light of one of his real powers ... some limited control over nature, (evidently with God's approval) the Apostle John in (chapters 12, 14 and 16 of his book) states that Jesus called Satan ... "the prince of this world."

There is also a third title applied to Satan when Paul describes him in 2nd Corinthians 4:4 as ..."the god of this world" ... who blinds the minds of men to keep them from believing.

Let me speak to these titles or phrases briefly. 

The word prince in Ephesians 2:2, is "archon" in the Greek, and means ... one first in authority and power ... and is applied to anyone who has pre-eminence or rule.  Since God has total control of the earth and all things dealing with it, why Satan is called the prince, having power over the air is debatable.  Some suppose it means that Satan can abuse the power of nature over the atmosphere and the elements, bringing the dark storm clouds in the air intended for destruction, like tornados and hurricanes.  Others contend it has to do with certain regions or some locality ... a dwelling place of demonic spirits within the atmosphere or air that he is prince over.  I suppose one idea is no more improbable than the other ... in fact, both may be accurate.

In the phrase ... "the god of this world" ... the word world is really "age" and it means ... the present social system of the world. 

This goes right along with Ephesians 6:12 ... "We  wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."

So Satan, described as the prince and power of the air, the prince and god of this world, has placed himself and his demonic spirits high in the atmosphere as well as giving himself power in governments and high places around the world.  All these titles are given to him because of the influence or power which he has over the men of this evil world who seemingly ... have willingly allowed themselves to be under his control and subject to his will.

Calling Satan the prince or god of this world is just descriptive language to show him as if he were in possession or control of this world, when in reality he only controls the evil of man in the world.  God has never lost ownership or control of what He created and never will.

So far in Ephesians 2, I have only addressed the part about the "prince."  But there is more in this verse.  Here is my edited version of Paul speaking about Christian believers in verses 2 and 3 ...

"In the past before you were saved, you lived just like the world, which means ... living according to the prince and power of the air, the spirit that still works disobedience in men as he did in us, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and mind which made us by nature the children of wrath like all others."    

In these two verses, Paul is speaking of the universal condition that the world finds itself in.  The whole course of the world, the entire system was according to the prince and power of the air; the world itself was under his control and domination working disobedience in the hearts and minds of the children of wrath.

But Paul doesn't stop there and leave us in that lost condition; he states in verses 4 and 5 ... "But God, who is rich in mercy ... when we were dead in sins, hath made us alive with Christ ... by grace ye are saved."

"But God ..." are two of the best words you will ever hear ... "But God ... who loved us."

So I say ... let the wind howl and blow ... let the prince and power of the air try to irritate me all he wants; whether it's wind and fire, bitter cold or scorching heat,  floods or drought that comes my way; I know the one who is really in control of the earth, and His name is ... Jesus.

I cannot end this article without reminding you about Habakkuk and how he expresses his faith and confidence that the people of God would be preserved and would not perish even in uncertain times just like we are in today. 

The following masterpiece may be the greatest display of confidence in the Lord found anywhere in Scripture.

Habakkuk 3:17-18 ... "Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation."



Comments welcome.

Help Me Change America

I thank God that I was born when I was, and where I was ... in America.  I really do.  Let's start with "when I was."  I was born years after the great depression which my parents went through.  Talk about people being poor, losing everything ... not that my parents did, but many did. 

They were young and lived on farms, so they had gardens and livestock, chickens and such to live on but it was only by the mercy and grace of God.  Others weren't so lucky, standing in soup lines ... something I have never had to do ... unless standing in the lunch line at school would count.

I was born during W.W.II, which was fought by those American men and women called ... America's greatest generation ... and rightly so.  What a sacrifice; what a price paid for other people's freedom.  I consider myself blessed to have been born in the forties, raised in the fifties and early sixties, and even blessed to be born ... "where I was."  The mid-west.  The fly-over country now forgotten by the affluent power brokers and the politicians.  Country folk ... you know, "the ones who cling to their Bibles and guns."  That's right ... the ones who built this country with their blood, sweat and tears.

I was blessed to grow up in middle America with old fashioned moral values.  We didn't even lock our doors at night.  You didn't hear of all the evil going on back then ... like there is today.  Most people went to church as a family on Sunday.  Today, young people are in the minority if they even have a complete family with two parents at home who love each other.

Where is the America I grew up in?  Now days kids might have two dads or two moms as parents.  I call it perversion.  Don't let these people adopt someone else's children.  Let them pro-create their own babies if they can.  How's same sex marriage working out for America?  Go back in your closet ... please.

Where has all the Christian voices gone?  Why aren't we crying out ... "stop with the madness" ... this is wrong.  America is being destroyed from within.  Most of America's churches are liberal now days.  I wonder if they would even notice if Jesus walked out of their church services and never came back.  Would they miss Him?  I doubt it because I think they are too busy trying to be politically correct or they are preaching a feel good doctrine forgetting there is something called sin we are supposed to shun.  America still needs Jesus. 

America needs to change back to her roots ... and believe as the founding fathers did in 1776 when God was welcome and they depended on Him.  They believed as I do that God, not man, created, ordained and built this country into the greatest nation in the history of the world.  But will we be much longer?

Christians in America will not conquer what is being shoved down our throats ... abortion, homosexuality, socialism, and the biggest lie of all ... "separation of church and state" ... unless we raise our collective voices first to our God, and then to our leaders in Washington D.C.   You can't tell God, as the liberals have, that He's not welcome here anymore and then pretend to ask for His blessing and wonder "why" He's not blessing.   

God needs to open the blinded eyes of all Christians and non-Christians alike ... who still love the real America.  I'm asking all who do, to partner with me and a few thousand other God fearing, Bible believing American patriots to start praying for God's "will" to be restored once again before we slide too far down into the pit of Hell and America loses her soul.

Right now it's still not to late for us to claim 2nd Chronicles 7:14 ...

"If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and heal their land."

But a few verses later, the Scripture says the people ask ... "Why did the judgment of God come upon us?"  And the answer is ... "Because they forsook the Lord God of their fathers; therefore God brought all this evil upon them."

Some Americans wanted "change."  Well they got change ... but not for the better.  And look at the price it has cost America, and I'm not speaking of money.

I want change ... Godly change.  I want America's people to repent and ask God to come back and be a part of our lives once again as He was back when America's two greatest generations fought for our freedom and won the victory with God's help and leadership.

God can't be pleased that America, the lighthouse to the world is now just a little candle with a tiny flickering flame.  Are we going to allow the darkness to snuff out what light is left?

It's up to you ...


I must say "thank you" to Maggie Thornton who inspired me to write this article challenging believers to change America back to being a Christian nation.

You can find her keen insight and Godly wisdom on what needs to be done to return America to greatness once again (and a great post entitled "This is how we Conquer") at her website ...

http://www.maggiesnotebook.com/2012/08/this-is-how-we-conquer/
 


Comments welcome.

Spooks

Do you believe in ghosts?  I prefer to call them, spooks.  Are ghosts or disembodied spirits real?  There is a spiritual realm just as there is a material realm.  This spiritual realm, which usually remains dark to us ... includes spooks ... demonic entities, spirit beings controlled by Satan.  This spiritual realm also includes God's angels, which in the Bible are called ministering spirits to God's people.

In the movies, demonic spirits and ghosts typically can make objects move, slam doors, open and close drawers or light candles, and etc.  Can they really do these things?  What about the devil ... can he do things like this?  Does the devil have any physical power over us?

In the temptation of Jesus, (Luke 4:1-13) Satan physically takes Jesus to a high mountain and then to the top of the temple in Jerusalem.  Was Jesus forced to go against His will?  I really don't believe He was; He just allowed it.

Another example of Satan displaying his power in men is found in Exodus 7:8-12.  In this setting, Moses and Aaron go to Pharaoh, and Aaron casts down his rod and it turns into a serpent.  Pharaoh's sorcerers then match Aaron by casting down their rods which also became serpents ... but Aaron's serpent swallowed up the sorcerers serpents.

The normal question that arises from this display of spiritual powers between natural men made of flesh and blood is ... "How were they able to do this?"  My answer to this question is ... "I have no idea."  What this contest really was about, was a battle for spiritual control with Pharaoh's sorcerers operating in Satan's power against Moses and Aaron with the anointing and power of God on their lives.

For a point of reference, I want to establish a fact of truth ... Satan had and still has a significant amount of spiritual power he uses to bring many types of evil against mankind as a whole.  He used this spiritual power as often as allowed by God, both before Jesus went to the cross, and afterward as well.  Note in 2nd Corinthians 4:4, Paul calls Satan ... "the god of this world" and in Ephesians 2:2 ... "the prince and power of the air."

I don't have the inclination, will, or time and space to get into all the types of evils that Satan attacks the human race of mortals with ... but know this ... God has allowed this snake in the grass to remain among us; and God alone knows why.

Hopefully we have established that Satan and the spirit world still have "limited power" to operate in this natural world.  One shouldn't have to look around very far to see that he is still the author of much evil in the earth.

What about witchcraft, black magic or spiritualists who talk to the dead?  Can they?

In 1st Samuel 28:3-19, Samuel the prophet dies and is buried.  King Saul is at war with the Philistines, so he asks God for help.  No answer.  Now what?  Saul goes to "the witch of Endor," who is a medium.  She asks Saul, "Whom shall I bring up to thee?"  Saul answers, "Bring up Samuel."  When the witch sees Samuel himself, not just a familiar spirit as she was used to talking with, she is afraid and says she saw a "divine being" ascending out of the earth.  Although he couldn't see him, Saul perceived, "that it was Samuel," and bows before him.  Samuel then asks Saul, "Why did you bring me up?"  Saul answered ... because God wouldn't answer his prayer.

If this was Samuel, and I believe it was ... he came up from Paradise, a part of the underworld called "Sheol" in Hebrew, or "Hades" in the Greek, where the souls of the dead waited for the resurrection.  The witch of Endor saw Samuel in his spiritual body only, not his physical body, because it was still in the grave.

Why do I believe this "familiar spirit" was Samuel himself?  First, the Word of God says, "It was Samuel."  Second, the devil, all of his demons and familiar spirits cannot prophesy, because they don't know the future ... only God knows that.  The prophet Samuel tells Saul, "Tomorrow you and your sons will be with me."  The next day Saul and his sons died just like Samuel said.  Samuel being brought up from Paradise is one of those unanswered questions ... left unanswered.

The familiar spirits that mediums used in the Old Testament, were (and most likely still are today) demonic spirits that, "know, have acquaintance with, perceive, discern, advise, and answer" as though they are "kin, kinsfolk, or friends."  All of these meanings are from the Hebrew word ... "yada" ... used in 1st Samuel 28:2 & 14.  This word is usually translated ... "know or perceive" with the same meaning ... "to know or ascertain by seeing."  In other words, they are evil spirits pretending to be loved ones, family or friends.

This is why the witch of Endor was so afraid.  She knew this was not a demonic spirit pretending to be Samuel.

Familiar spirits that spiritualists bring up in seances today, will be from Satan, not God, because the Bible states in 2nd Corinthians 5:8, if you are a Christian believer ... "to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord."  Likewise, those who die without Jesus are held in Hades (Hell) waiting for God's coming day of judgment.

Jesus told parables, (examples of truth, stories made up to help understand a teaching) and then at other times He used real things or people that were known to make His point.  In Luke 16:19-31, Jesus tells a story about two people who were probably known to those He was speaking to; Lazarus the beggar and an unnamed rich man, both of whom died.  Lazarus was with Abraham in Paradise, but the rich man while tormented in Hell asked if Lazarus could be sent back to warn his five brothers about this place.

I assume if God had allowed Lazarus to leave the underworld compartment called Paradise, opposite Hell, he would have gone back in spirit form only because his dead body was decaying in the grave.

Would that have made Lazarus a spook or a ghost?  Just as Lazarus and the rich man couldn't leave the underworld, the dead can't be called back today.

Now ... what about the devil, or if you prefer, Satan.  Should we be worried about him?  The answer is no according to Hebrews 2:14-15 ... "Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he (Jesus) also himself likewise took part of the same; that through (His) death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage."

Here we need to look at the meaning of some of these words to fully understand what the writer is saying.

The devil is said to have "had the power of death" ... not because he could kill at will, but because he was the first to introduce sin, which brought death into the world.  Notice this scripture states that through His death, Jesus destroyed him that had the power of death ... meaning Satan.  But we all know that the devil is still alive and doing just fine tempting man, right?  So what does the word destroy really mean?

The original Greek is "katargeo" (pronounced kat-arg-eh'-o) and means ... to be rendered entirely idle and useless ... literally, to make of no effect, bring to nought and make void.

So why did the fear of physical death bring bondage?  May I suggest two reasons.

1.)  Death is an enemy.  1st Corinthians 15:26 ... "The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death."  All we personally know or have experienced is life, the opposite of death.  There is a natural fear of death because it is an unknown process we haven't gone through before.  But to people of faith, death itself is not what we fear.  As Billy Graham once said ... "It's the dying part we don't know about."  So the fear of death itself is a bondage.

2.)  When death came to the Old Testament saints, they wanted to go be with God but couldn't.  It wasn't allowed by God.  Jesus hadn't died for their sins yet; the sin was still there, just covered by the blood of an animal sacrifice.  You must understand ... no sin could enter Heaven ... so after their death, they were "subject to bondage" like Abraham and Lazarus were, in Paradise (located in the bowels of the earth) waiting until the blood of Jesus, the Lamb of God, washed away the sin of the whole world and set the captives free.  The compartment of Paradise is now empty.  But Hell is not.

In 2nd Corinthians 5:8, the Apostle Paul states ... "We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord."

There should be no fear for believers in Jesus with Paul's statement concerning death.

So where does all this leave us?  If we say we believe in God, we must also believe that there is a real devil, evil sprits, demons and yes, false "familiar spirits."  Do they have power today?  Yes ... but let me clarify that answer. The only power that the devil has, is the power we allow him to have ... thru our choices.

1st John 4:4 states ... "Greater is He (Jesus) that is in you than he (Satan) who is in the world."  Why is this true?  Because Jesus has rendered him entirely idle and useless and has made him to be of no effect unto you.

James 4:7 ... "Submit yourselves to God. (not to the devil) Resist the devil and he will flee."

I found this comment by Albert Barnes to be of value to believers ...  

"While you yield to God in all things, you are to yield to the devil in none.  You are to resist and oppose Satan in whatever way he may approach you ... usually through cunning, allurement, deception or threatening ... rather than by true courage.  The way to oppose him is by direct resistance rather than by argument."

Don't argue with the devil ... you won't win.  That's what he wants.



Comments welcome.