Tag: Living it out

Four Spiritual Lies that Make Trouble for the Church-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

Thou shalt not bear false witness- Exodus 20:16 KJV 

Spiritual Lies have always been a problem in our world. Most of the New Testament letters were written in response to some spiritual lie generating pandemonium in the 1st century church. Not much has changed in the last two thousand years. If anything, spiritual lies have become even more plentiful in the 21st century.  

There are all sorts of reasons for this.

The internet is undoubtedly a factor. Thanks to the worldwide web it is easier (and faster) to spread lies than it once was. Human nature doesn’t help.  We are a fallen people and fallen people love lies more than truth (Psalm 52:3, Daniel 8:12). It is also true the lines between truth and falsehood have become blurrier in recent years. Fewer people think in terms of black and white these days.  Grey is in. This has led society to embrace situational ethics and a conviction that we are all blessed with our own unique little truth. My truth doesn’t have align with your truth or even to recognized facts. It just has to be something I choose to believe is true.   I suspect demonic activity is at play here.  As we inch closer to the end of all things, Satan (the father of lies) has more power (for a season) and it would make sense that lies would become more prolific (Daniel 9:26, Daniel 11:35, Isaiah 46:9-11, Luke 21:9, Matthew 24:14). This means it’s essential Christians do their due diligence, learn the Bible and be on the alert for clever lies meant to deceive us into attitudes and behaviors displeasing to Jesus. The following list is far from exhaustive, but it does cover a couple of clear troublemakers, including:

Grace means God lowered His standards of behavior- 

For the last couple of decades or so, many churches have taught grace means God stopped judging people, especially Christians. As a result, many Christians feel little is really off-limits for them because well, God forgives sin, so sin must not be that big a deal. As a result, fewer and fewer Christians feel bad about sex outside of marriage, using salty or saucy language, gossiping, greed, selfishness or abortion. Many have embraced a very flexible morality when it comes to social/political issues.  This idea is dangerous because it’s cheap grace. It’s grace that has forgotten Jesus paid a heavy price so we could have the privilege of complete forgiveness (Romans 4:7). It also denies a lot of reality including a plethora of Scripture that teaches the way to heaven is narrow, hard and requires we embrace holiness and put Jesus commands into practice (Matthew 7:13-29, Matthew 25:1-46). This lie also flat-out disregards every warning given to Christians in the Testament that unrepentant sin will keep a person from “inheriting the kingdom of God” (1st Corinthians 6:9-10, Galatians 5:19-2, Hebrews 10:26-27, Revelation 21:8). This truth does not mean we should embrace legalism or a harsh view of God. Rather God’s grace and kindness should cause us to honor God’s mercy with a life of love lived out in obedience (Titus 2:11-13).  

Paul is not a legit apostle so we can ignore his writings- 

This is a relatively new lie. It may or may not gain any real traction in coming years but it’s worth noting.  There are some who are teaching that because Paul wasn’t one of the original twelve apostles he was not a legit authority in the early church. Consequently, his writings can and should be disregarded by modern readers (2nd Peter 3:15-17).  I suspect this view is attractive to some because Paul’s teachings tend to be hard. Nobody likes hard anymore. This view is a mess because it does not give God credit for being God. If God had wanted to keep Paul from writing most of the New Testament he could have. He didn’t so we best pay attention to what was written and handed down (2nd Timothy 3:16, 2nd Peter 1:19-21). 

No one has to forgive anyone unless the offender has repented- 

This lie is gaining a lot of traction. There are a couple of problems with it.  First, Jesus never attached the need for the offender to repent to His commands for us to forgive. Jesus did not say: forgive seventy times seven but only if the offender proves, beyond a shadow of a doubt they are dang sorry for what they did.  That’s absurd. I guarantee you that if someone has committed the same sin 490 times, they are NOT sorry for what they did and they will probably do it again. We are told to forgive anyway (Matthew 18:21-35). The second issue is bigger and thornier: who gets to decide if someone has truly repented? Me? You? Some committee of smart people somewhere? How will we know if someone is truly sorry? The truth is that we can’t know, only God can know, because He is the only one who can see the human heart (1st Samual 16:7). That’s why we are commanded to forgive and let God sort the details out in His own time and way (Matthew 6:15).

And finally, 

Circumstances excuse wrong behavior- 

In our squishy world where situational ethics reign supreme, we like to think this is true but it’s not. Adultery is wrong even if your spouse happens to be entirely unpleasant. Stealing is wrong even if a person is hungry and it doesn’t matter if someone is mentally ill or not. Killing innocent people, especially those who are unable to defend themselves is wrong. Thankfully, there is grace and mercy available to all who ask for it, but it doesn’t mean anyone gets to sin willy-nilly just because times are tough and life is hard. That’s just another lie we’ve bought into. 

What Does it Really Mean to “Abide”?

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

Walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, or the attaining of all perseverance and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light- Colossians 1:10-12 NASB

I have a weird confession that will undoubtedly trigger a little judgment:

For pretty much all of my Christian life the book of John has not been my favorite gospel. TOO MANY WORDS. I get that it is the fan favorite of nearly every Christian in the history of Christianity. However, I have always been more of a Matthew girl. It’s just better suited to my personality and preferences. I’ve read through John a couple of times. It just hasn’t been my jam. I always figured that’s why there’s four gospels, everyone gets to have a favorite. 

Well. 

I made a commitment this year to get to know Jesus better. Part of getting to know Him better has meant reading through ALL the gospels as many times as possible throughout the year. It occurred to me that if I really get to know every story about Jesus I will (hopefully) glean some fresh insights regarding Jesus in the process. So, I’ve been reading through the book of John (again) and truth-be-told, this time around I have kind of fallen in love.  I judged John harshly. He’s wordy (which bugs me) but I have noticed some things I have never really noticed before. He is more mystical and transcendent in describing Jesus. He is also much more straight forward in describing all the sin and ickiness lurking in the hearts of the Pharisees and Sadducees (John 10:25-39, John 11:45-51). Nor does he pull any punches concerning God’s expectations of His people (John 16). I really like all that.

Anyhoo. 

This past week I got to John 15 and the passage on the vine and as a result I have done a lot of thinking about the whole notion of abiding in Christ. What does it mean? How do we do it? Are there things we can do to do it better? I am convinced abiding is not something that just happens. The text seems to indicate it is possible to be a regular church attender and Bible reader and still not abide in Christ. Abiding is a choice we make (John 15:4-11, Romans 11:21-22) and if we choose not to make that choice there are some severe spiritual and practical consequences (John 16:1). In order to abide we must:

Practice spiritual self-awareness-

Spiritual self-awareness means we wake up every day and make an assessment of our behaviors, attitudes and overall spiritual state (2nd Corinthians 13:5). Then we ask the Holy Spirit to show us what needs to change and how to make those changes (John 16:7-8). Spiritual self-awareness is more than just outward goodness. Spiritual self-awareness means we look deep within ourselves and admit we need growth and transformation even if we look okay on the outside.  Spiritual self-awareness means we do level best to know our own hearts so that we can conform more to the image of Christ in our thinking as well as our outward behavior (Romans 8:29, Colossians 3:10). Spiritually self-aware people see the little signs that indicate all is not well in the spiritual health department. Little signs spiritual health is slipping can include (but are not limited to) salty language, telling lies, harshness, judgment, insensitivity, too much worldly entertainment, a lack of willingness to forgive others and an increase of sinful behavior (Galatians 5:18-21, Colossians 3:5-10). If these signs become noticeable the first step is to repent. Repentance begins with admitting to God as well as ourselves that we have done wrong. When we repent, we ask God to give us clean hearts and right thinking. If our hearts our right and our thinking is biblical any desire to sin and wander will be greatly diminished. 

Allow the tough stuff of life to change us for the better- 

The entire end-goal of the Christian life is transformation (Romans 12:2, 2nd Corinthians 3:18). In order to transform we must willingly let go of attitudes and behaviors that keep us from becoming Christ-like. Jesus tends to use the tough stuff of life to reveal what needs to go and what needs to grow (Hebrews 12:10). Every pain we experience, every relational difficulty we encounter, every time we give into anger or some other baser behavior is an opportunity to ask Jesus what we can learn from the situation. Jesus will prune what needs to be pruned whether we ask or not,  but we get more out of the process if we choose to lean into it. 

And finally: 

When we abide we are intentional about seeking deeper relationship with Jesus daily- 

Jesus loves each of us so much that He doesn’t want to be a part of our lives. He wants to be all of our lives. Jesus is always near us. He is always seeking us out in order to cultivate deeper closeness and intimacy with us. Whether or not we have a close relationship with Jesus is up to us. When we learn to hear His voice willingly let go of the junk that holds us back we slowly but surely become holy in all we do (Isaiah 35:8, 2nd Corinthians 7:1, Hebrews 12:14, 1st Peter 1:14-16) Holiness is the key not only to truly abiding in Christ but also to finding true delight in living the Christian life. 

Healing from the Hurt of Estrangement-

Lisa M. Price1 Comment


 From now on five members in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law- Luke 12:52-53 NASB

The estrangement phenomenon is more than just a blip on the cultural radar.  Estrangement now qualifies as a bona fide movement. Young adults from every walk of life are going “no-contact” with family members (mostly parents). Estrangement is touted by therapists and supporters as the pinnacle of self-care, self-love and protecting the peace.  There are books available on how to estrange. There are therapists who specialize in helping individuals walk through the no-contact process. There are even support groups that offer encouragement for those who have estranged from their families. 

This whole messy mess was prophesied in Scripture. 

Jesus promised that His teachings and godly values would divide families against one another (Matthew 10:35, Luke 12:53-54, Matthew 24:10). The apostle Paul predicted there would come a day when selfishness, pride, arrogance and unforgiveness would cause adult children to lose natural affection for their family members (2ndTimothy 3:1-5). It was also predicted there would come a day when folks would be unwilling to listen to any teaching that encouraged anything they were not interested in (2nd Timothy 4:3-4). Sadly, this includes forgiveness and sacrificial love for family members (Romans 12:10, 1st Corinthians 13:4-7, Romans 1:28-32).  

Children estrange for a variety of reasons, oftentimes without much advanced warning. Some estrange due to disagreements regarding gender, sexuality, religion, politics and social issue. Most young adults who estrange list abuse as at least one of their motivations for separation. To be fair, there is some generational dispute about what exactly constitutes an abusive childhood. Older adults tend to feel physical abuse, calling a child dehumanizing names and denying a child basic needs is abusive. Younger adults sincerely believe feeling “unseen”, getting in trouble for disobeying parents and not being affirmed for their choices all qualify as abuse.

I will let the Lord sort all that out. It’s above my meager pay grade.

For parents who have children who have estranged the why is often secondary to the hurt, confusion and pain they feel over the loss. Most report estrangement leaving a wound that feels as if it will never heal. Thankfully, God can heal any wound (Psalm 30:2, Psalm 41:4, Psalm 147:3, 1st Peter 2:24) even one as painful as estrangement. Healing doesn’t just happen, in order to receive healing parents must cooperate with God through the process. Healing begins when we choose to: 

Take our cues from the prodigal father- 

When a child goes no contact parents are left in shock. Few saw it coming, most feel an overwhelming desire to help the child see reason.  Helping the child “see reason” typically involves a lot of conversation and texting. Some parents send money or gifts.  Others solicit friends, family and clergy to act as intermediaries. Interestingly, this is the exact opposite of what the prodigal father chose to do (Luke 15:11-32). When his son chose to go no-contact the father did something counter-intuitive, he let his son go and he waited. He didn’t go after his son and beg him to see reason. He didn’t send servants to check and see if his kid was okay, nor did he send little gifts in an attempt to lure the child back into the fold. The father simply kept the door open as he waited for his son to learn whatever hard lessons needed to be learned. When the son came home the father rejoiced and greeted his wayward son in a spirit of compassion and tenderness (more on this later). 

Work on ourselves-

No one in the history of forever as ever done life or parenting perfectly (Romans 3:23, 1st John 1:10). Everyone messes up. This means there are always things that can be acknowledged as mistakes and character issues that can be worked on (2nd Peter 1:3-11, Colossians 3). Acknowledging flaws and choosing to work on ourselves isn’t weakness, nor is it conceding the estrangement was somehow deserved because we behaved like normal human beings who routinely make mistakes. Working on ourselves is simply a humble way to respond to a difficult set of circumstances. Sadly, choosing to act in humility rather than pride is not guaranteed to bring the child back. However, it will ensure Mom or Dad come out the situation a better person no matter what the young adult chooses to do. 

Prepare for the best trust God for the worst-  

Obviously, in no-contact situation the best conceivable outcome is restoration of the relationship (Luke 15:17-23). However, parents must understand that even if their child returns the relationship will not be the same, nor should it be. If there is a no-contact situation, it means, there was brokenness in the relationship that was never recognized.  This is where prayer comes in, it is critical parents pray for their child to come to a place of forgiveness and obedience to God.  They must also the relationship will someday be rebuilt on a better foundation. Parents need to be prepared for hard conversations and truth telling on both sides (Galatians 6:1, James 5:16). No one can prepare for that without God’s help. There is also the possibility the child will never return. In these cases, it is up to the parent to trust God with the soul of their child.  (Luke 15:7, Mark 10:27). 

And finally: 

Forgive- 

Only a few real sickos deliberately hurt their kids. Most parents worked really hard to do the best they could with what they knew at the time.  It is terribly wounding when the child a parent worked hard to love, teach and provide for rejects the efforts that were made and chooses to dwell only on the negative. Parents are NOT commanded to agree with every assessment a child has made concerning the parenting they received. However, every Christian is called to forgive those who wound us (Matthew 6:15, Matthew 18:20-22). Forgiveness means prayer, lots of prayer. Forgiveness, means giving our hurt, pain and disillusionment up to the Lord until the offendedness, hurt and disappointment is replaced with love and grace.  

Four Things we Need to Give God Permission to Change our Minds About-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

Lord, who may reside in Your tent? Who may settle on Your holy hill? One who walks with integrity, practices righteousness, And speaks truth in his heart- Psalm 15:1-2 NASB

This morning I had a long, passionate conversation with the God of the Universe concerning a subject that’s been vexing me in all sorts of different ways (Ephesians 6:18). This discussion was mostly just me railing against everything I don’t like about my current situation.  

For the record, I know that the emotional and spiritual place I found myself this morning is not a good place. I do not advise anyone to “go there” (more on this later). It is not a place I go very often anymore. When I was a younger woman, I could get to this place rather quickly and frequently.  Thankfully, it is no longer a short trip to that place. 

The place I am talking about is this weird mental space where I get so negative about a situation or a person all I can do is make a case against the person or situation in my own mind. Once I let myself “go there” I have a hard time seeing any good at all in the person or situation. This is not something that happens overnight. It takes time and there is almost always a great deal of context surrounding the situation.

As I wrestled through my less than Christ-like feelings I prayed something without really thinking it through. I said: “God, I give you permission to change my mind on this subject”. Then I immediately thought to myself; “self, this is the God of the Universe. He does not need your permission to do anything.” 

The case was closed in my mind.

Then (and this is the weird part) out of nowhere the Holy Spirit informed me (not in a gentle way) that God really does need my permission to change my mind because I have free will (Galatians 5:17, Galatians 6:8). This means I can do whatever I want (1st Corinthians 10:23). I can be wrong if I want to be wrong. I can wallow around in unrestrained negativity if I want to. I can think the worst of people. I can act like a jerk. In the process, I can mess up a lot of stuff for myself and others. I can hurt people. I can blowup relationships I care deeply about.  In the process of all that I can make it whole lot more difficult for the Holy Spirit to work in the lives of others. 

I don’t want to do that (Mark 14:38, Romans 8:5). No one who loves Jesus does. So, it occurred to me that there are at least four things we all need to give God permission to change our mind about. They are:

The people around us-

People are tough. They think weird things. More often than not, weird thinking leads to even weirder behavior.  It is not uncommon for people to hurt us or the people we love with their weird behavior (Psalm 41:9). It is all too easy to believe another person’s weird and/or hurtful behavior is somehow personally directed at us or those we care about. Truth-be-told sometimes it is, but most of the time it isn’t. Our calling is to be open to the reality that the people hurting us aren’t all bad. Most of the time they are just weird and struggling with their own junk (1stCorinthians 13:4, Colossians 3:12-14). 

Circumstances-  

It’s easy to go negative in a fallen world, mostly because circumstances in our world can be brutally hard. Friends betray us, people we love get sick or die and sometimes life is just heartlessly unfair (Genesis 37-40, Matthew 27:45-65). It is all too easy to forget that God sometimes does His very best work in the darkest of circumstances. Quite often the darkness we experience in a given situation is just the prelude to something better than we could have ever imagined (Genesis 45, Matthew 28:1-7).  This means we should stay open to changing our thinking about the situation we find ourselves in. Changing our thinking may or may not change circumstances but it will empower us to trust God in the midst of our confusion and pain. 

What we see- 

One of the hardest things about being human is that we CANNOT see the big picture. Our finiteness makes it impossible (1st Chronicles 16:7). We can only see what we see. Unfortunately, sometimes what we see does not accurately reflect the bigger picture of a given situation. I am convinced this is the primary reason Jesus cautioned against making harsh judgements (Matthew 7:1-2). It is on us to spend time in prayer before we judge what we see. We must also be willing to do a little investigative work before we believe the worst about something we witness. 

The hearts of other people- 

No one can see another person’s heart. This means we have no idea why other people do what they do. They might be doing what they’re doing because they’re evil and they want to hurt people (it happens). However, it’s far more likely that person is just a clueless bumbler completely unaware of how their actions are affecting the people in their orbit. 

Unfortunately, negativity sometimes feels good. This is because allowing ourselves to “go there” feeds the fleshly part of us we are called to crucify (Galatians 5:24). The answer is not to pretend everything is okay when it’s not. The answer is to seek God and ask Him to change our minds and help us to see the bigger picture and give us the power to praise Him through the pain. 

The Five Lies Satan Most Wants us to Believe-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

He (the devil) was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of lies- John 8:44b NASB 

Lies.

There are a million of them out there and for whatever reason human beings are more prone to believe lies than truth. Some lies are relatively innocuous in the grand scheme of life and eternity. All anyone is going to lose trusting an advertisement for a sketchy weight loss product is a little money and maybe some time that would have been better spent at the gym. 

Other lies are far more damaging. 

The lies Satan tells us are the worst (John 8:44). Satan’s lies are the deceptions that keep human beings (saved and unsaved) in bondage and far from God’s plan for their life. These lies cause people (saved and unsaved) to believe things that can derail their life and lead to misery and pain.  Anytime a Christian believes one of Satan’s lies they run the risk of derailing their relationship with God (1st Timothy 1:19-20, 1st Timothy 4:1, Hebrews 12:25). Following are four of the worst: 

God doesn’t care-

This is the lie Satan loves to whisper in our ear anytime life becomes weirdly challenging, or we find ourselves in the midst of some terrible trial that makes zero sense (James 1:1-3, 1st Peter 3:1-7). Even David, a man after God’s own heart wondered from time-to-time if God saw him or cared about his situation (Psalm 13:1-2, Psalm 22:1-2, Psalm 35:17). Anytime we are tempted to believe the lie God doesn’t care or He is uninterested in our pain it’s a good time to pray on the armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-17). The niggling sense God no longer cares about us is ALWAYS a clear indicator the enemy is at work (Ephesians 6:10:17, Daniel 10:12-14). Once you’re prayed up begin looking around for all the ways God is moving because He will be. Satan will try to convince you He isn’t but trust me He is and He is paying careful attention to you and your situation

You’re powerless to change- 

No one who is in Christ is powerless to repent or change. It doesn’t matter how bad the sin or how long it’s been going on (2nd Corinthians 5:17). Freedom is possible. That said, Satan wants to convince Christians they are doomed to live in sinful, self-defeating strongholds that keep them from transformation (Colossians 3:12, Galatians 5:12). It benefits Satan greatly if he can get Christians to believe this particular lie. No one will ever reach their full potential in Christ if they give up on (or never begin) the process of transformation. Change is never easy, even when we are born again.  That said, change is what we were redeemed for (2nd Corinthians 3:18, Ephesians 2:1-10). It helps to understand that change doesn’t start with our behavior. It starts with how and what we think. The first step in creating real and lasting change is to bring our thinking into alignment with God’s word (Romans 12:2). Changing our thinking is not easy because it is more than simple mental agreement to an idea. Changing our thinking is a process that requires time spent in prayer and Bible study with mature Christians with whom we have shared our struggles. As we pray, learn and honestly share, the Holy Spirit works to bring our thinking in alignment with His. As our thinking begins to change so will our behavior. 

What you do in private doesn’t matter- 

It does, because the things we choose to do in secret are almost always wrong.  We know they’re wrong and that’s why we do them in secret. Sin hardens our hearts. A hard heart makes us more willing to sin. Sinning in private gives the enemy an opportunity is door to step into our private world and create sinful strongholds that can become very difficult to break (Mark 9:29, Ephesians 4:27). Therefore, the best policy is to simply be the same person in private as we are in public. Choosing to live a life of transparency and openness blocks Satan from devouring us (1st Peter 5:8). 

God can’t forgive that (whatever that is)-

Satan does not want anyone to actually believe God will forgive their ugliest sins. Believing our sin is unforgivable effectively kills any desire we might have to repent and move towards God and freedom that comes with moving towards God.  God can forgive anything and He will (Isaiah 1:18). All He asks in return is that we have heart willing to leave our life of sin and live in the freedom Jesus promises anyone who repents (Acts: 3:191st John 1:5-10).  

And finally, 

You’re disqualified- 

Satan longs to convince Christians that they are somehow too sinful, too stupid, too old, too young or too whatever to do what they know in their heart God has called them to do. This strategy has kept more Christians off the ministry field than any other lie in the history of lies. It is imperative we remember that if God gives us a desire to see a ministry happen, He wants that desire to grow it into something beautiful and life giving for the body of Christ. Our job is to seek Him for the wisdom, ability and opportunity to make it happen. 

Changing Your World Through Biblical Resistance-

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Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings- 1st Peter 1:8-9

Resist. 

It’s a word that gets thrown around a lot these days by all sorts of folks who really only understand resistance from a worldly viewpoint (2nd Corinthians 10:4). However, Christians are also told to put up a resistance (2nd Timothy 4:7). If we want to understand what the Bible tells us to resist, it’s useful to begin by defining the word. According to the Cambridge Online Dictionary resist means one of two things:

Fight against something or someone who is attacking you. 

Or:

To refuse to accept or be changed by something.

The Bible calls Christians to resist Satan and the world in both ways. Christians are told to put on their armor and go to battle against the dark forces of this world (Revelation 12:11, Ephesians 6:10-18, 2nd Corinthians 10:3-5). We are also to resist sin and being conformed to the world (Romans 12:2, Hebrews 12:1. Hebrews 12:4). There are at least five ways Christians are called to resist Satan, the world, sin and demonic forces. We should:

Resist by verbally rebuking Satan and demonic forces- 

There are two kinds of people when it comes to the whole issue of verbally rebuking Satan (or demons). There are those don’t like the idea at all. These folks will do anything sort of sin to avoid it. Conversely, there are those who really like the idea, perhaps a little too much. For those who hate the idea of verbally rebuking the enemy, it is critical we remember Christians are commanded to do what Jesus did (John 14:12, Matthew 10:2) and Jesus rebuked demonic forces routinely (Mark 9:25, Matthew 8:16, Matthew 8:28-32). For those who love the idea of rebuking demonic forces it’s critical we remember Christians are cautioned to do spiritual warfare in God’s power and not our own (Ephesians 6:10-11, Jude 1:9). That said, there are times when we must verbally exercise the spiritual authority we have over Satanic forces in Jesus Christ. This is especially important during a long period of what we sense is spiritual warfare. Long periods of spiritual warfare often involve intense trials that do not have their roots in our own foolishness, relationship troubles that seem to come out of nowhere and sometimes financial issues (Job 1:1-22). For the record:  I never verbally rebuke the enemy without taking some time to pray first.  I ALWAYS ask the Holy Spirit to give me the power, authority and prudence necessary to deal with demonic forces well. Going into a verbal skirmish with a demonic force without being prayed up, is a little bit like going into a blizzard buck naked. It is not advised under any circumstances. 

Resist by living a life of holiness and righteousness-

How we choose to live our lives is either a formidable form of spiritual warfare that draws people to Jesus or it’s the way we give Satan and his minions opportunities to create chaos in our life. Living a life of holiness is one of the powerful offensive weapons we have in this world. Holiness allows us to walk closely with the Lord. Walking closely with God prevents us from going sideways spiritually. This keeps the enemy from devouring us (Colossians 3, Ephesians 5:1-21, Philippians 1:27, Galatians 5:16, 1st Peter 5:8). 

Resist by striving for love and grace in relationships-

 Satan loves to attack God’s people through their closest relationships. An unhealthy or contentious relationship with a spouse, child, in-law or friend makes space for Satan to create friction, dissension and brokenness (Ephesians 4:26-27). This does more than simply make us uncomfortable or unhappy. Broken relationships often keep us from passing on the gospel to others. This makes the devil very happy because he knows no heathen in serving a God who lacks the power to help His people love one another (John 13:24-35).  Conversely, healthy, grace-filled, God-honoring relationships leave little room for Satan to create chaos and are one of the best ways to resist his schemes and pass on our faith to those we love most (1st Peter 4:8). 

Resist by making prayer a regular thing- 

Prayer is the engine that fuels the Christian life (Mark 14:38, Ephesians 6:18, Colossians 4:2, 1st Thessalonians 5:17). Without a continuous connection to God through prayer, we will never effectively live a holy life, acquire wisdom, lead others to Jesus or resist temptation. Without prayer anything we do as Christians will be a shadow of what it could have been with prayer. Prayer is not difficult, but it does take a certain level of self-discipline. If prayer is a struggle, ask God for the discipline necessary to pray and then start praying. Doing so, will devastate the enemies plans for your life and the lives of those you love.  

 And finally, 

Resist by spreading the word about Jesus-

The most powerful way to resist Satan (and annoy him) is to tell others what Jesus has done for you and in you. When we tell our friends and family about Jesus, we partner with the Holy Spirit to actively push back the darkness of this world. In the process we get to work with God to change lives (Philomon 1:6, 2nd Timothy 4:6, Matthew 28:18-20).  Pushing back darkness and changing destinies is the ultimate in biblical resistance. 

How do we Know if our Faith is the Real Deal or a Fraud?

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 Therefore, as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude- Colossians 2:6-7 NASB 

Faith is the biggest of deals to God. 

Faith in Jesus and His resurrection saves sinful humans from the wages of their sin (John 3:16, John 11:25-26, Romans 6:23, Romans 10:10). Faith enables sinful humans to call a holy God their friend (James 2:23). Faith even impacts the power of prayer (Matthew 21:22, James 1:6, James 5:14-15). The faith of the people Jesus encountered even impacted Jesus’ ability/willingness to perform miracles during His time here on earth (Matthew 13:58, Mark 10:52).

The Bible defines faith as: 

Confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see- Hebrews 11:1

Faith is more than a pie-in-the-sky spiritual ideal we someday hope to attain. Faith is not simply a nice thing to have or something that earns believers spiritual bonus points. God sees faith as a nonnegotiable. 

The Bible also says this about faith: 

Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him- Hebrews 11:6 

A cursory reading of nearly any Bible discussing faith points the reader to the idea that the kind of faith that pleases God is more than an intellectual acquiescence to the notion that He exists (James 2:19, Hebrews 10:22-23).  The faith God wants His people to have is much more solid than just simply believing in something in a passive, reflexive or instinctive kind of a way. 

This truth begs a couple of really critical questions:

 What does real faith “look like”? 

How do we know if the faith we possess is the real deal? 

How do we know our faith is the saving faith the Bible talks about (Ephesians 2:8) or something altogether different and less powerful?

How do we get the right “kind” of faith? 

These questions matter to believers in Jesus because no one can please God without faith (1st Peter 1:8-9). Real faith has several distinct elements all woven together that make faith a saving faith. Following are four of them:

Faith does-

Hebrews eleven is sometimes called the “Heroes of the Faith chapter” or the “Hall of Faith”. The writer lists individuals throughout biblical history who had faith that pleased God. All sorts of people made the list: men, women, young people, old people, prophets, warriors, priests, and even a few gentiles. All those folks had one thing in common: their faith got them busy (1st Peter 4:10, Galatians 1:23, Colossians 2:5). They all acted on their faith and did something God-honoring with their lives. Some worshipped, some blessed, some resisted earthly authority, others built, some brought God a better sacrifice and some simply longed deeply for life in the heavenly city. The best of the lot, the individuals God said the world is not worthy of died for what they believed in. They believed in faith their death was not wasted. Each person named or unnamed in Hebrews eleven did something meaningful simply BECAUSE they believed. Real faith is a verb. A person demonstrates their faith in God by living their lives for Him rather than themselves (Hebrews 6:12, James 2:20). 

Faith obeys- 

God does not measure a person’s faith based on their feelings, how demonstrative their worship is or how eloquent their words are or are not. None of that matters to God. God measures faith by a person’s obedience to God and His commands (Psalm 18:25, Psalm 25:10, Galatians 5:6).  Abrham is called “father of the faithful” (Romans 4:11) because he obeyed God. Abrham obeyed when he understood God and he obeyed when he didn’t understand God and because of his belief God credited Abrham’s faith (obedience) as righteousness. God hasn’t changed (Hebrews 13:8). If we really believe Jesus is who He says He is (God) and that He sacrificed Himself for our sins. Then God expects us to do what He tells us to do in Scripture.  Obedience is the fruit of faith, without obedience faith is questionable at best. 

Faith transforms- 

God does not redeem people simply to make them into a heaven bound version their hellish pre-Jesus self (Ephesians 2:10). People are redeemed to be transformed into the image of Jesus (Romans 12:2, 2nd Corinthians 3:18 Colossians 3:1-17, Ephesians 4:22, 1st Corinthians 5:17). If a person identifies as a believer in Jesus here will be some real change including a desire to let go of sinful behaviors (1st Corinthians 6:9-11, Galatians 5:19-21) as well as a desire to please God with every part of their lives (2nd Peter 1:3-11, Galatians 5:22-23). If those desires don’t exist neither does the faith. 

Faith trusts- 

Faith that pleases God looks past circumstances and situations. This kind of faith brazenly ignores the obvious and looks at God. Faith chooses to believe God will do what He says He will do even when life is scary and difficult (Genesis 17:1). Because this kind of faith is God’s favorite, He will go to great lengths to grow this kind of faith in His people. Unfortunately, for His people this can mean some scary moments as we learn to trust Him with things that don’t always make sense to us.

Faith doesn’t just happen.

We acquire faith by believing in Jesus work on the cross, hearing the word of God and then doing what it tells us to do (Romans 10:17). Our faith becomes real and saving when we choose to let it change us into something infinitely better.  

How Churches can Overcome a Toxic Culture-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Your light must shine before people in such a way that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven- Matthew 5:14 and 16 NASB

 Secular culture has always had an element of toxicity to it. 

This is unavoidable because anything (or anyone) that isn’t actively for Christ will always be anti-Christ in some way (1st John 4:3). Nonetheless, until recently, much of secular culture was fairly neutral, some elements might have even been considered somewhat wholesome.

That ship has officially sailed. 

At this point in human history nearly every culture on earth has embraced every evil under the sun and started calling the evil “good” (Isaiah 5:20). Politics are corrupt, people are selfish, cruel and mean, many appear to be going feral, deviant sexual behaviors are embraced and celebrated. Parents are no longer honored, life is no longer held sacred, and marriage is no longer seen as a necessary steppingstone to parenthood (Romans 1:18-32, 2ndTimothy 3:1-5, 2nd Timothy 4:3). Sadly, that list is barely skimming the surface of our world-wide cultural brokenness.  

Sigh. 

Churches tend to take one of several unhealthy approaches in dealing with the ever-encroaching madness. Some mainline denominations gleefully embrace and celebrate the culture. In these churches abortion and euthanasia are viewed as gifts, they believe gender is a choice everyone gets to make and homosexuality, is just another sexual option on a long list of options. Politicians who battle for the “right” to live a life of what the Bible calls “sin” are applauded as heroes. 

 Other churches do their level best to simply ignore the culture. They focus on Jesus and how awesome He is and how awesome He is to those who love Him. These churches will do anything short of sin to keep negativity and ickiness from creeping into their churches.  If something problematic does find its way into the like the death of Charlie Kirk, a gay couple or outspoken political views the whole messy muddle is quickly swept under the rug, and leadership moves on to cheerier topics. 

Others attempt to fight the evil, not with good as the Bible instructs (Romans 12:18-21) but with mockery, condescension and mean-spiritedness. These folks poke fun at anyone who disagrees with the Bible, conservative political views or their expression of Christianity.

The drawback with the first approach is (hopefully) obvious. Embracing sin to win people to Jesus makes almost as much sense as believing someone could cast out a demon with the power of Satan (Matthew 9:33-34). It’s absurd. Celebrating sin just makes  something God expressly forbids feel safe (2nd Corinthians 6:9-10, Galatians 5:19). This tactic keeps individuals deceived, disobedient to God and trapped in the ugliness and hopelessness of sin (2nd Peter 3:11, 1st John 1:6). 

The problems with second approach are more complex. On the surface this approach feels wholesome and agreeable because it limits offense and controversy and makes Christianity an easy thing for people to accept. However, because churches have remained silent regarding cultural issues an entire generation is mostly ignorant concerning a whole host of biblical issues including (but not limited to) abortion, euthanasia, gender, homosexuality and what it means to honor one’s parents. Furthermore, what you win people with you win them to. Winning folks to a wishy-washy, inoffensive form of Christianity will not form strong disciples able to withstand persecution.  This approach also cruelly ignores the pain of those who have been damaged by the culture. The Church ceases to be a place of healing if no one is ever allowed to talk about anything icky, contentious or hard.  

The third approach sometimes feels the most holy and helpful because it actively calls out sin and heresy.  However, no one in the history of forever has ever been mocked, belittled or shamed into holiness or right thinking. It just doesn’t happen. 

So, what should the church do about the culture? Following are four things we can do: 

Be real without embracing despair or hopelessness-

The culture is terrible. More and more people are choosing to live a life of sin. This damages the sinners and generates untold pain for their families. Politics are divisive and gross. This makes communication and finding common ground challenging. The state of the culture makes life uglier and living out our faith harder. These are realities we have to deal with. However, none of these issues make Jesus any less powerful or God any less good.  We must recognize the realities of our age without losing sight of God’s goodness or power to transform people and situations (Joshua 1:9, Galatians 6:9).

Be a hospital for those hurting from the culture-

Churches cannot ignore the damaged, brokenhearted people in their midst. Churches must acknowledge, love and provide opportunities for healing for those leaving sinful lifestyles including homosexuality and transgenderism. Churches must also come alongside family members (parents, grandparents, siblings) and help them to love wayward family members with the love of Jesus. 

Be like Jesus and not just the Jesus who turned over the tables in the temple- 

There were a lot of sides to Jesus and being like Jesus doesn’t mean we are always milk-toasty, wishy-washy and endlessly tolerant of every stupid thing to come along. It does mean we lead with love even when we have to say hard things and draw rigid lines around what we will and will not do (Romans 6:12-14, Ephesians 4:25, Ephesians 5:11-12). 

And finally:

Choose biblical relevance over cultural relevance- 

Forget about cultural relevance. Our culture is rotting from within; it has nothing to offer but death and sorrow. There’s nothing to be gained from aligning Christianity with death, sorrow and rot. Instead, Christians must choose to align with the Bible and fearlessly declare truth. It’s where life is found (Psalm 16:11, Deuteronomy 30:19) and a culture of death is overcome (John 10:10). 

Five Crazy Pants Lies Christians Believe about Sin-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me,
    for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long- Psalm 25:4-5 NKJV

We live in an age of crazy pants lies.

There are so many lies told concerning so many issues, it can be tricky sorting out truth from fiction. This should come as no surprise to Christians.  Scripture predicts an age of widespread deception in the years prior to the return of Jesus (Matthew 24:4, Matthew 24:11-12, Matthew 24:24). Sadly, church world is not, nor has it ever been immune to lies (Romans 16:17, Timothy 4:3-4, 2nd Peter 2:1). Christians have an enemy that seeks to steal, kill and destroy every good thing in the life of believers (John 10:10, Mark 4:15, 1st Peter 5:8).  Therefore, the enemy benefits from Christians believing lies. There are more lies are told about sin in our age than almost any other issue. Some believe that because our sin is forgiven it is not something Christian’s ought to get worked up over. Others are so legalistic they make zero space for the foolishness and failings of humanity. This leaves those who have experienced moral failure feeling hopeless. Sin is an area that needs the light of truth shone on it. Following are five of the biggest lies we believe about sin.

All sin is the same-  

In one sense it’s true that all sin is the same. All sin is terrible and any sin (no matter how small or insignificant it seems to us) will keep a person separated from God forever (Romans 3:23). However, the whole notion that all sin is exactly the same once a person has been redeemed by Jesus (Mark 16:16, Romans 10:9-13, 1st Corinthains 15:1-5, Ephesians 2:1-10) does not hold up biblically. Some sins carry greater consequences than others. Telling someone their hair looks nice when it doesn’t (a lie) really only hurts the liar. Choosing to lie will make the liar comfortable with lying. Becoming comfortable with sin gives the devil a foothold in a person’s life. This will likely lead to a hardness of heart and even more lying but at the end of the day it is the teller of the small lie who is hurt the most (Revelation 2:8). Other sins like murder, abuse, idolatry and theft damage others, potentially creating life altering ripples in current and future generations (Proverbs 6:27-28). Moreover, the Bible makes it clear there are certain sins that if practiced routinely will keep a person out of heaven (1st Corinthians 6:9-10, Galatians 5:19-20, Ephesians 5:5). That is simply not true of every sin.  One can view this sticky wicket in one of two ways. Either genuinely saved people do not routinely commit those sins (Calvinist theology) or routinely committing those sins causes you to lose your salvation (Armenian theology). Either way it should make us think long and hard about what kind of sin we allow ourselves to get caught up in (Hebrews 12:1).

God doesn’t hear when a sinner prays-

Hogwash. God hears everything. He’s omniscient. God does not tune out prayer simply because it was uttered by a sinner (Romans 3:23). If He did no one in the history of humanity would ever have had a prayer answered. However, the only prayers God routinely ANSWERS from those living in stubborn, unrepentant sin are prayers of repentance asking for mercy, help and grace (Micah 3:4, Isaiah 59:2, 1st Peter 3:7). It’s just one more really good reason to choose to live a life as free from sin as possible (1st John 3:22. 

Sin is the fault of an outside source or influence- 

This lie is as old and persistent as the fall (Genesis 3:12). In John chapter nine Jesus heals a man who was born blind. Instead of marveling at the miracle they just witnessed, the pharisees just wanted to know who sinned causing this man to be born blind. Our generation is remarkably similar. Anytime someone sins (child molestation, abuse, murder, etc.) people look to outside sources to explain why that person became such a heinous sinner. Bystanders are quick to blame bad parenting, poverty and bullying for the sinful actions of the sinner. Ultimately, this tendency keeps people from taking responsibility for themselves and places guilt squarely on those (parents especially) who oftentimes did nothing wrong (Ezekial 18:1-31). The truth is that we all (no matter our experiences) have a choice about whether or not we sin (James 1:13-15)

Intentional sin is no different from unintentional sin- 

 It is true that any sin can be forgiven. It is also true that God understands and makes space for human weakness and stupidity (1st John 1:9-10). That’s what grace is for.  However, intentional sin (sinning on purpose, knowing it’s a sin) reveals a prideful heart that has either strayed far from God or a heart that never knew God at all (Numbers 15:30). Furthermore, those who sin intentionally and arrogantly often feel that God “owes” them forgiveness. These folks are (in my experience) more likely to deconstruct and walk away from the faith altogether (Hebrews 3:11-13). The bottom line in all this is that intentional sin is very bad and spiritually very dangerous.  Anytime we are tempted to sin intentionally we should do some heavy self-reflecting (2nd Corinthians 13:5) and make an effort to figure out what’s going on in our hearts. 

And finally: 

Our sin is what defines us- 

It can be, but only if we refuse to place our faith in Jesus. When we trust Jesus to forgive our sin and choose to repent (Matthew 4:17, Matthew 3:8). Jesus graciously forgives our sin, forgets all about it and makes us (spiritually speaking) white as snow. He then gives us the ability to transform into His image (Isaiah 1:18, Micah 7:19, Romans 12:2, 2nd Corinthians 5:17). This is a gamechanger for anyone who chooses it.  

How we Become Empty and Ready to be Filled with all the Wrong things-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment


See to it that there is no one who takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception in accordance with human tradition, in accordance with the elementary principles of the world, rather than in accordance with Christ- Colossians 2:8 NASB

I truly believe God still speaks to His people (Isaiah 55:11, John 16:13, Hebrews 3:7, Hebrews 12:15). 

By far, the most common way God speaks is through the Bible (Psalm 119:105, 2nd Timothy 3:16-17, Hebrews 4:12). Although, on occasion He does use other methods (Psalm 19:1, 1st Kings 19:12, Acts 2;17). Every once in a while God speaks VERY clearly to me in prayer (John 10:27). Typically, this is simply a strong feeling God wants me to do or stop doing something. Other times it’s a niggling awareness I should pay closer attention to something. Sometimes, God will literally download a Bible verse into my brain that speaks perfectly to the situation I am praying about. Sometimes, the verse is so obscure I have to look it up to confirm it really is a Bible verse I’m hearing and not the outcome of too many tacos the night before. Such was the case this last week, when the following came clearly to mind as I was praying: 

They have walked after emptiness and become empty- Jeremiah 2:5b

Contextually, Jeremiah 2:5 is God speaking to the Israelite people concerning their idolatry problem. The Israelite’s loved idols (the ultimate in emptiness) going after idols left the people empty.  Their emptiness created a spiritual and moral vacuum that caused them to lose interest in and desire for all things godly and good. Satan then stepped into the empty spaces in their souls with a deeper desire for more emptiness. Giving into temptation led to more deception (James 4:7). It all eventually ended with Babylonian captivity. 

Not good. 

This sort of thing was/is not unique to ancient Isreal. It happens all the time, it happens to non-Christians, and to Christians. People of every spiritual classification go after empty, vain, futile activities that leave them empty. The emptiness that results makes their life (and soul) a playground for the enemy (Matthew 12:43-45, 1st Peter 5:8).  It is not my place to judge the choices of non-believers (1st Corinthians 5:12-13. Therefore, I will refrain from yammering on about the choices of the unsaved. It’s pointless. 

However.

That verse gave me a lot to ponder. It occurred to me that a lot of the choices Christians make (me included sometimes) are likely contributing to spiritual emptiness with very real spiritual consequences that include (but are not limited to) a lack of desire for the things of God. It’s also true that spiritual emptiness leaves us just like the ancient Israelites: sitting ducks for even more spiritual deception. This leaves us open to more deception and more temptations, which inevitably leads to spiritual captivity of some sort.  This kind of living also leaves us unable do what God has called us to do (evangelize the lost, train the saved). It leaves us powerless to lead our culture towards health and wholeness (Matthew 5:13-16). It kind of goes without saying (but I’m saying it anyway) that this is the last thing we ought to do in this challenging and difficult period of human history. Following are a couple pursuits and activities that will unwittingly drain us and leave us open to deception and satanic influence, please pray before writing off the following as wild-eyed legalism or crazy talk. Trust me it’s neither…

Witchcraft and the glorification of witchcraft- 

In recent years there has been an explosion of movies, books and television shows with principal characters who are witches or sorcerers.  These all portray witchcraft and sorcery as something benign, helpful to mankind and even kind of beautiful. Many professing Christians love this entertainment and make impassioned arguments for why this stuff noble and even God honoring.  Here’s the thing: witchcraft is clearly forbidden in Scripture (Deuteronomy 18:14, Galatians 5:19-21, Revelation 9:19-20). Scripture does not make space for the notion of “good witches”, “white magic” or “benevolent witchcraft”. The ability to perform witchcraft is an ability given by demons who create spiritual strongholds in exchange for spiritual power. This is not a fun form of entertainment. It is a form of idolatry. God will not share space with demonic forces. Any witchcraft at all in our lives can  leave us spiritually impotent (Nahum 3:4).

Books, movies and television shows that laugh at things Jesus died for- 

Christians are called to be a set apart people (holy). It’s hard to make an argument that we are holy and set apart when we are allowing ourselves to be amused by the very things Jesus died on the cross to save us from (1st Peter 2:9-11). If we would not feel comfortable watching something with Jesus in the room, it should be avoided. 

Too much of anything that causes us to lose interest in God- 

Admittedly, this point is one-hundred-percent subjective and dependent on each individual person. One person might be able to do something that causes someone else to lose interest in God. However, this why the Bible calls us to self-examination and self-knowledge (Lamentations 3:40, Psalm 26:2, 2nd Corinthians 13:5). It is critical we keep close tabs on our spiritual state and do a little detective work any time we sense ourselves drifting away from the faith (Hebrews 2:1). Choosing not to leads to a dangerous form of living that leaves us empty and ready to be filled with all the wrong things.