When Satan entices us...

         Why does sin look so appealing? If doing the “right thing” is so right, then why do we struggle with it so much? In my humble opinion, we are far too easily satisfied. As human beings we have basic needs and we’ll do whatever it takes to meet those needs, whether it’s right or not. We are always seeking pleasure and although God promises eternal satisfaction through Him, we constantly return to the world to meet that need, which time and time again leaves us feeling empty and unfulfilled.

Whenever the first solution comes along, whether it is good for us or not, we jump at the chance to be filled by the satisfaction that it claims to give us.  I often feel like a victim to these empty promises that the world offers. I’m waiting and searching for something to satisfy and as soon as something presents itself, I take it. But I’m selling myself short and so are you. You deserve everything. All of these things that we are so desperately using to fill these voids that we have are just temporary fixes. I think we get so exhausted waiting for answers that we take the first solution that comes our way, but there’s no need to settle for less for fear of not being able to make the whole journey. God promises endurance to face every trial and tribulation that we’ll ever face. Nothing can faze us.

“But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." -Isaiah 40:31

Let’s go back to my original question, why does sin look so appealing? A great analogy that Francis Chan uses is to think of ourselves as fish and Satan waiting to snatch us up with a hook. It seems silly but when you think of it, it makes so much sense. Think back to any fishing trip that you’ve been on, have you ever tried to catch a fish with just a hook. No, a fish won’t just bite on the hook by itself. It needs to be enticed, so you disguise the hook and cover it up with bait so that it will be more appealing to the fish and lure them in. The same is true with sin and Satan’s lies. He knows that we won’t go for the lie itself, so he makes them look more appealing to us. He disguises them with promises of wealth and pleasure and instant gratification, but underneath it all is misery and displeasure and hopelessness. 

The beauty of Francis Chan’s analogy is that it helped me see how damaging giving in to sin really is. Once we get hooked, we’re trapped and it’s hard to break free of Satan’s lies. But if we avoid temptation and don’t even nibble at the bait Satan throws at us, if we recognize the lures and false promises that Satan so commonly offers, we will begin to seek satisfaction in the only one who can give it.

 “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” -1 Corinthians 10:13

 “ For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.” -Hebrews 2:18

God's Divine Sovereignty

        We often hear the phrase used "God is sovereign" and I find myself constantly saying it but having such a hard time believing it. God I know you're sovereign over my life, but I still want to do things my way. Truly believing God is sovereign is believing in His plans for you and forfeiting all of the plans you have for yourself. Its knowing that He will work all things out for your good although you might be having a hard time seeing it at the time. As I listened to David Platt's sermon tonight about the Divine Sovereignty of God, my beliefs about it were really challenged. I was forced to ask myself, do I really believe God's plans for my life are better than my own? And I find myself saying well of course they are! He's God and He knows everything... but then why do I continue to do things my way? Do you see what I mean.. if God is truly sovereign over your life He is in control of it ALL, not just what you pick and choose. But as much as we want to believe we might have just a little bit of control, the truth is, we don't. When we say God is sovereign over everything, it means EVERYTHING.

Revelation 4:11, “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”

       The key words there are "by your will": everything exists because God lets it! Satan is powerful because God allows it! People have free will because God lets us! Nothing is done outside of God's power because there is no power other than God's.

As David puts it:

    "Our sovereign God holds the destiny of the world in the palm of his hand. The palm of his hand contains God’s sovereign decrees for the final glorification of all believers and damnation of all unbelievers. It is all in the palm of his hand. Nature, the sun, the stars—he is sovereign over all. There is NOT a speck of dust that exists apart from the sovereignty of God. Our God charts the course of countries. He holds rulers in the palm of his hand. Our God is sovereign over every single world leader—over you, me, the president, everyone.
He creates all things, knows all things, has authority over all things. He has all the rights! Christian, you have no rights. God alone has all rights. He has the right to save sinners and he has the right to damn sinners.
What about human responsibility? Man makes decisions, but God is sovereign over them."

        God knows every decision before you make it, He knows every sin you will commit before you commit it, and He knows every thought you will ever think before you've even thought it. There is none more powerful than our God. But with all of this power is a God more merciful than you could ever imagine. A God waiting to forgive you for those sins you commit and a loving father waiting to embrace his child -you! There is no one like our God! He is sovereign and He is worthy of all praise.
    Lord I pray that these words would glorify your name and for those who are led here to know your life changing love. I ask this humbly in your name Amen.

The Wisdom of God -The Foolishness of Man

Our society is one of constant change. We are always seeking new innovations and new ideas of thinking. We are surrounded by electronic books, iPod models that change so fast we can't keep up with them, and computers that are smarter than we are. We attribute these advances to the intelligence and skill of man and thinking about all of this blows my mind, but today God enabled me to think of it in a new light. A person who is intelligent enough to invent something revolutionary, publish the newest research on gene therapy, who can know everything there is to know about physics and quantum mechanics, could in fact, know nothing. This person could die without ever knowing the power of God, who is everything.

 I'm not in any way saying that all scientists don’t know God, those aren’t my intentions and I’m not trying to speak for all scientists or inventors, because I don’t have the authority to do so. But today when I read in 1 Corinthians 1, the people I just mentioned were comparable to the groups of people Paul was talking about. In verse 19 he says, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and discard the intelligence of the intelligent.” He directed this towards all of the philosophers, scholars, and brilliant debaters of the day. Paul tells them in verses 20 and 21, “God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish. Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom.” The point that Paul was really trying to get across here is how seeking worldly knowledge could never lead someone to God. You can never know God through the world, because God is not of the world. God’s way of thinking is not the world’s way of thinking. We can spend a lifetime accumulating wisdom and yet never learn how to have a personal relationship with God.

A man who is brilliant by the world’s standards, could be completely poor by heaven’s standards. “For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.” (1 Cor 1:25) We can never even begin to compare to God. Our efforts are useless! I find myself frustrated, how can all of these brilliant people just not get it! Verse 27 says, “Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful.” God wants us to submit to Him and His power. Not our own. That means admitting that we know nothing and that we are absolutely weak without Him. It is through this humbling obedience that we begin a relationship with our Creator. The message of Christ’s death seems foolish to those who don’t believe. The idea of receiving everlasting life by trusting Him as Savior sounds too simple for many, and it goes against their rational thinking. But Paul makes it clear that skill and wisdom do not get a person into God’s Kingdom, simple faith alone does. Let us rejoice that we don’t need to earn salvation, we only need to accept what Jesus has already done!

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith

—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God

— not by works, so that no one can boast.”

Ephesians 2:8-9

Finding Time for God

When you read that title, doesn’t it strike you as a little bit odd? But the reality of it is that we all do this. We all have God on a schedule, whether we realize it or not. When I think of myself trying to “make time” for the creator of time, it just seems so wrong. When did we get the authority to tell our Creator when we would worship him? In Colossians 1:16 it says “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.”

In Revelation  4:11 it says “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.” God is definitely worthy and in control for he created all things, including time!

Something that I’ve been convicted of a lot this summer is how poorly I spend my time. I can go through 3 episodes of Grey’s Anatomy with no problem but finding the motivation to pick up my bible is so difficult for me. When I think of the root of the problem, it comes down to what do I really put my faith in? Is this tv series, relationship, phone conversation, whatever it may be, more glorifying to God than spending time with God Himself?

“ Blessed is the man who listens to me,

Watching daily at my gates,

Waiting at my doorposts.”

Proverbs 8:34

Although we think our plans are more important, we have to remind ourselves who we’re up against. Nothing we do will ever matter apart from Him.