In our continued look at the December 3 Discipleship lesson, the writer, Jeff Iorg, emphasizes a crucial truth.
We sometimes are so familiar with the resurrection that we neglect to reflect on the drama and uniqueness of the event. Jesus came back from the dead! This was only possible through His power. The resurrection was God’s ultimate victory over Satan’s power. Jesus was raised from the dead. Case closed! Satan was defeated in every way.
Amen! I especially like the part about “God’s ultimate victory over Satan’s power.” !!!
The lesson transitions to a statement on today’s world, ad how “God is at work to overcome evil,” and “we are an important part of His plan.” How? This is a tremendously personal aspect of the Gospel! When we are delivered from sin we stop storing up wrath, and we make clear the way for God to us TODAY!
To be clear, that’s NOT meant as a prosperity gospel thing. I’m referring to a filling of the Holy Spirit and the Blessed Hope of eternal life! Remember, even if you have health and wealth on this earth, it’s temporary!
Mark 8:36 NKJV - For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?
God has set us free from the power of sin. Evil is no longer our master. Temptation is real, and the opportunity to sin remains. But the power of sin is broken, replaced by the freedom to choose a better life.
Let's remember: overcoming bad habits isn't about human effort—it's surrendering to Jesus. Our bad habits come from our inability to rise above sin. How can we fix things on our own when we are the one that caused it?
Does that make sense? If we ‘try our best’ and we are unable to do the right thing, how is trying harder going to make any lasting difference? It’s like the cure is the disease. Or you have the wrong color paint on your wall so you try to ‘fix’ it by just putting on more and more paint. There is no solution in that!
Would you like to know the REAL cure? Jesus! Sure we can FIGHT temptation, but we can’t change our hearts and desires. Only God can do that!
So right now, as you are reading this, take a step back… What’s that thing - that thorn in your side - that you are struggling with. An addiction to drugs? Alcohol? Pornography? Try as you might you can’t seem to smile and be happy for others? Stop right now and turn to Jesus. Just ask God to take that away from you! Remember, though, that you are not just making a wish to a fairy godparent - it comes with a price! Your heart, soul and life! You want things to be ‘better?’ Then get your heart in line with Him and let Him make a difference!!!
God wants to use us to make the world a better place. He wants us to express our opinions on community issues, to contribute to organizations that improve quality of life, to stand against moral issues that harm communities, and to vote our conscience on value-based issues.
This is not a new thing to me. Even if secular culture doesn’t believe in God, that same culture would be better for everyone if just the 10 Commandments were followed. If no one lied, stole, cheated or coveted, we could leave our doors unlocked; we wouldn’t need courts or judges. It would be paradise!
But the world is fallen, and thus the salt of the earth prevents total decay and collapse.
Matthew 5:13-15 NKJV - “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.
The Bible clearly indicates that as the world system ages, it will become more corrupt. The Bible also makes clear that we have the power to slow the pace of evil's progress and occasionally to stop it in its tracks.
The 70th week of Daniel will indeed come. All Bible prophecy comes true. So why not give up and just let it happen? Not because it will be hard times, but because we should hope for ‘one more chance’ for the sinner to accept Jesus! One more chance for the backslidden Christian to get serious about working for the Kingdom! One more chance for church members to stop forsaking the times we are to assemble!
As a young pastor, I was appalled when the first "adult entertainment" store opened in our town. Several pastors banded together with local law enforcement to devise a strategy for closing the store. We picketed the store day after day until finally the owners decided to close.
Later I moved to another city with numerous such businesses. I wondered if anyone had protested the first one. Left unchecked, evil often becomes so entrenched that it is increasingly difficult to remove.
A great example! All it takes is one. Skip church once and it gets easier to do it again. Skip your tithe and it’s easier to keep skipping. Try skipping a mean! I bet you won’t turn that into a permanent habit!
Recently it was brought to my attention that a satanic club was holding an after school event at a school outside Memphis. The church of satan doesn’t actually say that they believe in satan or God, but that they believe in ‘self.’ We as Christians know that’s the lie of the devil from the Garden until now.
My point is that people are up in arms about it, and they should be. This is yet another attempt of satan moving into our children’s lives. But how do we fight it? We could picket, as the writer mentions that he did, or we could -
Proverbs 22:6 NKJV - Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.
Remember, if children are not hearing the truth at home, we shouldn’t be surprised when they hear a lie and don’t recognize it as such. How does a teacher grade a paper? By knowing what the correct answers are. You don’t have to know EVERY lie that’s out there, you only need to know the TRUTH. Anything that is not the truth is a lie.
Just a reminder, we live in America where we have religious freedom. We no longer live in a Christian country. We were BASED on Judeo-Christian values, but the public at large has moved from this. If we want Christian values in our schools, we should hire people with Christian values. Since there is a school board that oversees this, put Christian people on the school board. Don’t trust them to do the right thing? Then plan to pull your kid out and teach them at home.
Or, let the government teach them the ABC’s and math, etc. and make sure YOU are teaching them the TRUTH. That God created the earth; it didn’t just happen. That God created mankind; they didn’t evolve. That God created male and female for a reason; we can pretend we are something else, but it doesn’t change the TRUTH.
Instill these things! Learn the truth and teach it to your children! Make it easy for them to spoke the lies that the devil will throw at them!
I know this is a long post, but please let me share one last thing…
God has called us to use our influence to oppose evil and to be His partner in overcoming it in our world. The battle will not end soon. Many times it will prove to be discouraging and may result in casualties on our side.
Despite these discouraging realities, we must continue to oppose evil until finally God annihilates it completely.
Use this as a call to action! How do we battle evil? Let God take control! That’s it! David picked up the stones but I am convinced that God caused the rock to strike JUST RIGHT to take down Goliath. The sooner we realize that we have NO power apart from God the sooner we can turn it over to Him!
The Battle is real—today! Don your armor and let God take control.