The Devil

Years ago, late comedian Flip Wilson received a lot of notoriety with his catch phrase, “The devil made me do it.”  Audiences reeled with laughter at Wilson’s “Geraldine Jones” sketches, but perhaps few understood there’s nothing funny about the devil, for the devil is very real.  He hates God and God's people, and his intent on this earth is "to steal, kill and destroy" (John 10:10).

He is the "prince of the power of the air" (Ephesians 2:2).  He is a "liar and the father of lies" (John 8:44).  He is an "angel of light" (2 Corinthians 11:14).  He is "the god of this world" (1 John 5:19).  In short, he is real. He was defeated by Jesus Christ on the Cross of Calvary.  His final consummation or end will not occur until after the thousand-year reign of Christ, when he is released from his prison to once again deceive the nations.  Then, he will be "thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where (he) the beast and the false prophet had been thrown.  They (he) will be tormented day and night forever and ever" (Revelation 20:10).

Where did he originate?  The best answer and perhaps the passage that gives us the greatest insight as to the devil's origin is found in Isaiah 14:12-15:

"How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn!  You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations!  You said in your heart, I will ascend to heaven:  I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain.  I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High, but you are brought down to the grave, to the depths of the pit..."

Many Bible scholars believe that these verses not only refer to the king of Babylon, but also contain a veiled reference to Satan.  In Luke 10:18, Jesus is talking to His disciples and makes this very poignant, interesting statement:  "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven."  His statement strongly implies that Satan was decisively and suddenly hurled out of heaven, and we believe he made his after-abode on the earth.

Another passage that we dare not overlook in the answering of this question is found in Ezekiel 28:11-19.  Neither time nor space will allow me to comment on the entire passage, so let me just pull from the following verses:

"You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you.  Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence and you sinned.  So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, O guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones.  Your heart became proud on account of your beauty and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor.  So I threw you to the earth; I made you a spectacle of you before kings..." (verses 15-17).

In its context, Ezekiel's prophecy against Tyre's rule appears to contain a veiled description of Satan as the true ruler of Tyre.

Let me summarize.  The Scriptures metaphorically use the king of Babylon and the king of Tyre as types of what happened to Satan, also known as Lucifer, or the devil.  In other words, these historical accounts line up with Satan's demise and subsequent expulsion from heaven.  Both accounts name pride as the catalyst by which the devil fell.  Because of his sinful pride, he was driven from out of the mount of God, or heaven.

What a sad, most unfortunate reality this is!  The earth became his domain at that time, and humankind has shared his domain -the earth--ever since.  Adam's fall into transgression was, of course, a result of the devil's deceitfulness and cunning.  The human race was plummeted into sin because of the enemy's hatred for God.

Let me encourage you today to hug up to the cross, to accept the cleansing power of the blood and to walk in the power of the Holy Spirit every day of your life.  God's arch enemy, our arch enemy, has no authority in our lives because of the blood of Jesus.  He is a defeated foe!  How sad, how unbelievable that this created being had his origins in heaven and chose to defect.

I have left a lot out of this article, because of the depth of its embrace.  I hope my comments somewhat help you.

The Little Things

Rosie reminded me the other day that little things pack a powerful punch in regards to the Christian life.  Those things seldom talked about that make someone’s day. 

Rosie is blind and spends most of her day either lying in bed or sitting in her wheelchair, taking in the sounds of familiar voices.  She is sweetness personified!  Jesus is her best friend and she is quick to talk about him to anyone who visits her.  Her infamous saying is, “God loves you and I love you, and there’s nothing you can do about it!”

This 86 year-old victim of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a widow who was never blessed with children, so she poured her life into her husband and church work.  Boy, does she have stories to tell!

Because of swallowing problems, Rosie has been forced to eat her food pureed.  I refer to it as “grown up baby food.”  Each time I visit her, she mentions – several times – what she wouldn’t do for a piece of barbecued chicken.  Note to self:  “One day make her day!”

Recently, Rosie woke up experiencing severe melancholy.  Sadness captured her heart and she asked the Lord, “Do you really love me and are you really with me?  Lord, I need to know you haven’t left me.” 

Rosie then petitioned the Lord:  “If you really love me, then have someone bring me barbecued chicken today.” Tears flowed as the little woman prayed in earnest. 

While traveling mid-morning to visit Rosie, I had a lot on my mind, and barbecued chicken was not one of them.  However, as I turned west toward Rosie’s skilled living facility, the thought entered my mind:  “Buy Rosie some barbecued chicken.” The Lord made it easy for me too. Immediately to my right was a Kentucky Fried Chicken! 

Minutes later I found Rosie in the dining room preparing to eat her pureed food.  I said, “Rosie, it’s Chaplain Roger and guess what?  I brought you that barbecued chicken meal I promised you.”

Rosie began to cry and then her crying turned to joy.  She shouted for all in the room to hear:  “You DO LOVE ME,” she yelled.  That little lady cried, shouted and praised the Lord for five minutes before she settled down to eat her ”finger licking good” chicken tenders, smothered in barbecue sauce.   After telling me her story, I too rejoiced.  That day a mighty woman of God, who suffered a temporary lapse in faith, found renewed assurance of God’s love and concern for her through a barbecued chicken meal.

You see, sometimes God uses little things to speak to us and to impact us in huge ways.

Rainy Seasons

I can’t remember a spring when it has rained so much. 

Farmers have been unable to plow their fields, as tractors sink up to their axles.  Lawns are high.  Water overflows creeks, rivers and ditches.  Cars hydroplane because of deep water on the roads.  Wipers often fail to remove torrential rains from windshields and cars are forced to pull over to wait out heavy down pours.  The ground is saturated causing sports events to be cancelled.  Parts of Texas are under deep water!

And it appears that no let-up is in sight. 

Sometimes life is like that, too.  We become saturated and overwhelmed by difficult days.  Tension-filled situations threaten to destroy the very fiber of our existence, often with no let up in sight.  But summer and sunshine are on the way!

Over 35 years ago my late father-in-law experienced a long bout of depression.  Severe life-altering situations threatened his physical, mental and emotional health.  It seemed that nothing worked out for him.  Financial setbacks and family struggles took him to the brink of disaster.  Dad was a strong man, but everyone has a breaking point.  It seemed the more he prayed, the worse things got.  Ultimately, over a five-year period, he also lost his health.  Instead of family members and friends saying, “Poor Job,” they were saying, “Poor Dale!”

When life’s struggles escalated to a severe breakdown, my in-laws drove to Indiana from Alabama to be with their parents.  Subsequently, our family history records and remembers a miracle. 

Dad’s health had declined to the point where his nerves were shot and Parkinson-like symptoms caused his hands to shake.  He was at his wits end.  Dad sat mostly in silence, refusing to talk to anyone, including his worried wife and parents.

My wife and I remained in Alabama to take care of the church he pastored.  During those years Sunday night church was a regular part of our week.  Lori was at the piano when she heard the Lord say, “Pray for your father.”  Suddenly an intense burden came over her and she knelt down behind the piano and began praying earnestly for her dad, who was in desperate straits some 500 miles away. 

Dad was sitting in his parent’s living room in Jamestown, Indiana when he began experiencing more severe tremors.  He later said, “I felt like I was dying.”  The prayer burden in Lori’s heart became crushing to the point that she could only weep and moan.  Intercessory prayer reached the throne of grace from Gadsden, Alabama and exactly at 7:03 p.m., Dale Owens was healed!  Lori felt the burden lift that very moment.

Like rain that seems not to let up, we sometimes go through long periods when our faith is severely tested and answers escape us.  For me personally, my mind races back to October 1982 when an intercessory prayer meeting (of one!) connected with the Healer and across the miles a man who was desperately ill experienced an instantaneous healing. 

Inordinate amounts of rain may continue to fall but God alone is able to bring us through the harsh seasons of our life into the sunshine of His grace, healing and provision!

Judging Others

The Bible tells us not to judge others in Matthew 7:1, so how can Christians serve on juries? Wow!  This is a thought-provoking question!

Let's dissect Matthew 7:1-2 to first discover what the gospel writer is really talking about.

"Do not judge, or you too will be judged.  For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."

In this passage Jesus condemns the habit of criticizing others while ignoring one's own faults and shortcomings.  Believers must first submit themselves to God's righteous standard before attempting to examine and influence the conduct of other Christians.  In addition, judging others in an unjust manner also includes condemning a wrongdoer without desiring to see the offender return to God and His ways.

Jesus uses the word “judge” to refer to undo criticism of another individual when we ourselves have similar or even greater issues at hand. "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye” (verse 4)?

On the other hand, this passage must not be used as an excuse for laxity in exercising church discipline.  Jesus is not taking away from the necessity of exercising certain degrees of discernment or of making value judgments with respect to sin in others.  Elsewhere in the New Testament (Matthew 7:15, John 7:24, 1 Corinthians 5:12, Galatians 1:9, 1 Timothy 4:1, etc.) we are commanded to identify false ministers within the church and to evaluate the character of individuals.

  

How can Christians then serve on juries?  Human government is an institution set up by God for many reasons, including the function of properly judging and protecting the masses and individuals from those who practice wrongdoing.

Let's go to Exodus 18 and learn the principle that God taught Moses through his father-in-law, Jethro.  Because of man's inherent sinful condition, there always have been wrongdoers and law-breakers.  God knew that, and instituted a way to properly judge these individuals, thus giving them due recompense.

In Exodus 18:13-22 we read:

"The next day Moses took his seat to serve as judge for the people, and they stood around him from morning till evening.  When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he said, 'What is this you are doing for the people?  Why do you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand around you from morning till evening?'  Moses answered him, 'Because the people come to me to seek God's will.  Whenever they have a dispute, it is brought to me, and I decide between the parties and inform them of God's decrees and laws.'  Moses' father-in-law replied, 'What you are doing is not good.  You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out.  The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone.  Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you.  You must be the peoples' representative before God and bring their disputes to Him.  Teach them the decrees and laws, and show them the way to live and the duties they are to perform.  But select capable men from all the people--men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain--and appoint them as officials...Have them serve as judges for the people at all times..."

God in His wisdom established government as a means of properly controlling, organizing, unifying, and implementing sound judgment.  Of course, anything man touches, he usually corrupts, abuses or misuses.  This is certainly true with governments at large.  However, wrongdoing in this life must be judged in a calculated fashion.  Therefore, God has made a way through judges to carry out this necessity.  In our democratic system, juries are selected to carry out sound judgment, although in some cases we rightfully wonder about our system's loopholes!