Revelation 12:9-11 – The Accuser

Revelation 12:9-11
9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.
11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

The Bible teaches that Satan is the great accuser.  He stands in the presence of God day and night trying to convince God that we are all worthless and rotten.  What do we have to argue against him?  If we show our good deeds, Satan could pull out a dozen bad for every good.  If we bring up our cheerful demeanor, he could answer by showing every time we’ve lost our temper.  The devil has an answer for anything we can say because he’s right about us, we are worthless and rotten.  But notice verse 11.  When we start bringing up the Blood of Jesus, the Devil doesn’t have an answer.  When we offer our testimony, Satan loses his ground.  What is the testimony of everyone who has ever overcome Satan?  That Jesus Christ is faithful and that His blood can lift us up higher than we could ever fall down. 

2 Timothy 2:20-21 – True Sanctification

2 Timothy 2:20-21
20 But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour.
21 If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.
 
-The idea of sanctification is one that often trips up a Christian.  The confusion comes not from what sanctification is, but rather, from what we make it out to be.  The word “sanctify” literally means “to separate” or “to set apart” and has the idea of being put aside for special use.  The more we are set apart from the world, the less we identify with the world and the more easily we can be led by the Spirit.  If we get so focused on the idea of simply living perfect, we will inevitably get frustrated when we fall short of that standard.  A sanctified Christian is not one who is faultless, it is simply one who desires the things of God more than the things of the world and continuously offers themselves up for the Master’s use.  “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13-14)

Deuteronomy 32:39 – The God of Life and Death

Deuteronomy 32:39
39 See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.

-Death is a hard subject to deal with and one that many tend to avoid.  Whether it’s coping with the loss of a close loved one or facing the prospect of our own death, most of us would just as soon steer clear of the subject.  I have found comfort in this verse of scripture when it comes to facing death.  This verse reminds me that death is not an evil thing that stalks us throughout our life, nor is it some random event that pops up once someone’s “luck runs out.”  Death is simply one more manifestation of the Lord’s omnipotent power.  Just as certainly as the Lord gave us life in the first place (Isaiah 42:5), if someone dies, it is because the Lord made that choice.  Why is this comforting? Because the Lord always does whatever will bring glory and honor to His name (John 12:28) and nothing can bring more peace than realizing that the Lord’s will is being done.

Romans 1:21-25 – The Creator and the Creatures

Romans 1:21-25
21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

-“God” has come in many forms over the years.  You could serve a golden calf or a tree stump.  Maybe you would rather follow a sacred animal or a wise sage.  There are those who believe that the only real power in the universe is money or the power of your own mind.  What do all of these” gods” have in common?  They are all parts of creation.  They are things that can be moved, things that can be destroyed.  How can we ever expect to be lifted up by something that is down in the dirt with us?  What’s more, by focusing on these things, we miss the all-powerful God of the Bible;  the very one who is able to do all of the things we expect of our idols and so much more.  It may be easy to worship an idol because an idol can’t hold us to any standards; but the problem with worshipping an empty idol is that, ultimately, it will leave us empty as well.

Ephesians 5:25-32 – Christ and the Church

Ephesians 5:25-32
25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
28 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.
29 For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:
30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.
31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.
32 This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.
 
-Paul gives us a very important piece of information here in Ephesians 5; namely that the marital relationship between husband and wife is symbolic of the joining between the Lord and His people.  Just as the Lord designed marriage to be a sacred commitment between a man and woman, He also designed our relationship with Him to be taken just as seriously.  The problem is we live in a culture that takes all of the wrong things lightly.  We live in a time where marriages are undertaken without the least bit of serious consideration for what marriage actually means and, as a result, divorces are taken even more lightly.  This is reflected in our relationships with God.  We live in a time where people hop in and out of their “Christian status” without any real consideration for what it truly means to follow the Lord.  A generation that chooses to follow their own way ends up raising a generation that doesn’t know the right way and that’s the danger we all face.  It falls to us to strengthen the things that remain before it’s too late.

1 Corinthians 1:28 – The Power of God, the Power to Change

1 Corinthians 1:28
28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:

-Crucifixion was a particularly cruel method of execution used by the Roman Empire.  It was so barbarous in fact, that the Romans wouldn’t permit their citizens to endure such a penalty.  As a result of this, the cross became a horrific symbol of bloody, inhuman torture.  How do we see the cross now?  If you have any feelings toward it at all, they are no doubt fond ones.  This is the power of God.  He took an instrument of death and made it a symbol of true life.  He took a tool of painful bondage and made it a means of eternal freedom.  He took an aspect of one of the most powerful world systems in history and made it integral to His own plan of Salvation.  God’s power is the only thing that can bring real change.  It can change people, it can change hearts, and it can even change eternal destinations.  

Deuteronomy 30:15-19 – Paths of Good and Evil

Deuteronomy 30:15-19
15 See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil;
16 In that I command thee this day to love the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the Lord thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it.
17 But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them;
18 I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it.
19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:
 
-The Bible teaches that when we are tempted, we should never accuse God of tempting us, for God can neither be tempted with sin nor tempt others with sin (James 1:13).  But, we also know that God is in control of everything so He is ultimately responsible for everything that happens in our lives (Isaiah 45:7).  How do we reconcile these two facts?  How can He be responsible for things that tempt us, yet not be responsible for tempting us?  The key is in the word “tempt” which means “to entice or allure to do something often regarded as unwise, wrong, or immoral.”  As we see in today’s scripture, God does set before us the path of good and the path of evil, but the key is that the Lord explains the consequences of both and encourages us to choose good and life.  The option to sin is always available; but the Lord doesn’t want us to sin, He wants us to succeed.  “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

1 Timothy 2:1-4 – Pray For Our Leaders

1 Timothy 2:1-4
1 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;
2 For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.
3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;
4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
 
-It is easy to cast judgment on our leaders for their lack of wisdom, their lack of foresight, and even their lack of spirituality; but let those among us without sin be the first to cast stones (John 8:7).  We are so quick to be critical, but we didn’t learn that from Jesus.  There is no Bible verse teaching us to criticize.  We are called pray for and give thanks for our Governors, our Senators, and so on all the way up to our President.  We should intercede as one who understands that if we had such authority, we would be making our own mistakes.  We would go too far on some issues and not far enough on others.  We ourselves would be the object of someone’s criticism.  If offering such respect to our leaders “is good and acceptable in the sight of God” (verse 3), it can only mean that failing to offer such courtesy is bad and unacceptable in the sight of God.

Job 13:15 – I Will Still Trust Him

Job 13:15
15 Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him.
 
-As far as milestones of the faith are concerned, this is incredible by any measure.  Notice that Job doesn’t say that if the Lord slays him, he will obey; that’s a given because if the Lord decides that it’s time to end your life, you don’t really have a choice.  But Job was so confident in the Lord, that even if the Lord took away everything, he would still believe Him, still have confidence in Him- still trust in Him.  Jesus demonstrated this faith when He chose to drink the bitter cup of mankind’s sin. (Matthew 26) Until you and I can confidently make this same claim, there will always be something lacking in our spiritual life.  It may seem outrageous, but it is nothing more than our reasonable service. (Romans 12:1)

Psalms 56:3-4 – In God We Trust

Psalms 56:3-4
3 What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.
4 In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.

-Are you familiar with the expression “E pluribus unum”?  It means “one from many”, and was one of several phrases adopted by an Act of Congress in 1782 and was accepted as the unofficial motto of the United States.  Why didn’t it ever become our official motto?  With the growing fear of Communism in the 1950’s, the idea of “one from many” was seen as uncomfortably reminiscent of Communist ideals.  In 1956, Congress adopted a new official motto that stood in direct opposition to the Soviet Union’s policy of state Atheism- “In God We Trust.”  Now this phrase is officially placed on everything from license plates to money.  Why am I telling you all this?  People may proclaim that we are no longer a Christian nation, but that choice is not ours to make; “the earth is the LORD’S, and the fulness thereof” (Psalm 24:1) and “all the nations are [His] inheritance” (Psalm 82:8).  We may forget the Lord, but He has shown time and again that He is very able to make us remember.