Yesterday I got into a right stew about the Bible Cartoons website! I discovered that the reason I haven’t had any sales lately was because the shopping cart on the website was broken...
My frustration level went from DefCon 5 to 4.
I read some articles on the PayPal website, which just confused me...
My frustration level went from DefCon 4 to 3.
I purchased a piece of software that promised to resolve the issue; I altered it to make it specific for Bible Cartoons, uploaded it & it made no difference...
My frustration level went from DefCon 3 to 2.
I prayed; I read some more; I tried to be reasonable; I tried to remain calm & to be philosophical about the issues, but nothing worked...
My frustration level went from DefCon 2 to 1.
Then I ranted at God saying “If you loved me you’d fix this!”
Doubting God’s love & goodness - an annual event?!
I’ve just been looking through last years journal & I came across an entry from 17/November/2012 outlining a very similar event in the life of the Bible Cartoons website, & a VERY similar “If you loved me you’d fix this!” response in me - unfortunately! It is nearly one year ago, to the day, that I was frustrated & doubting the love of God for me & my life... I even wondered if this could be an annual event!!!
It was interesting reading because I recorded God’s intervention & assistance, some days later. There was even a daily devotional entry in Word for Today entitled “Imagine being adopted by God!” which was very helpful at the time. The sentence that REALLY grabbed my attention was this one: “You don’t earn the Spirit of adoption, you receive it by faith. That’s important, because if you can’t gain it by your stellar efforts, YOU CAN’T LOOSE IT THROUGH YOUR POOR PERFORMANCE. How reassuring!” [emboldened by MY for emphasis]
If you love me.
“IF you love me...” is an old question. It’s a VERY old question. In fact it’s probably the first question. In Genesis chapter 3 the serpent (aka Satan, the Devil) casts doubt about God’s love in Adam & Eve’s minds by asking the question “Did God really say...?” [1] Satan’s tactic then was to CAST DOUBT in the minds of Adam & Eve about God’s love & goodness towards them. He knew that if he could get them to doubt God, then they would eat fruit from the tree & suffer the consequences.
The serpent was planting the idea in Adam & Eve’s minds that God WAS HOLDING OUT ON THEM. And they believed that. That’s why they ate the fruit. That’s why sin entered the world.
It’s interesting to note that when I was at my lowest ebb yesterday, deeply frustrated by the Bible Cartoons website & unable to fix the problem, it was THEN that the thought occurred to me “If you loved me you’d fix this!” In other words, Satan (the accuser of the brethren) had dropped the thought into my mind that God WAS HOLDING OUT ON ME. And I believed it. Satan’s tactics are the SAME as they were thousands of years ago, in the garden of Eden.
Since this outburst against God I have calmed down (back to DefCon 5!) & realised what was going on yesterday. I have repented of my outburst & asked for God’s forgiveness about doubting Him & His purposes in my life. I have received God’s forgiveness.
I have also realised that God ALLOWS these frustrating events to happen in my life for a purpose. It is not that He is being mean to me! It is not that He wants to put hoops up for me to jump through! He is not being deliberately difficult, or withholding his love &/or power from me.
So, why does God allow me to experience frustrating events? I believe it is in order to show me that I have some old thought patterns (doubts & unbelief) deep down inside my mind, & which now need to surface, in order that they can be EXAMINED, EVALUATED & RESOLVED. If that happens then these doubts & unbeliefs will loose their power to frustrate me, & ultimately Satan will loose his ability to cast doubt into my mind about the goodness of God. Once these doubts & unbeliefs are resolved then no longer will Satan’s thought “Did God really say...?” have any power over me. I will simply be able to say “Get out of here, I KNOW God loves me & wants the best for me!” & that will be that! No more DefCon1 verbal explosions at God thank you very much!
”Dark Potatoes”.
The process of UNCOVERING, EXAMINING, EVALUATING & RESOLVING my doubts about God’s love for me may take some time... quite a bit of time I suspect! I can be quite a stubborn persona after all! But God is very patient. I’ve had these doubts about the love of God for me for a very long time; most of my life in fact; they are deep-rooted... & these roots need pulling up!
Last night I referred to my doubts about the love of God as “DARK POTATOES IN THE SOIL OF MY LIFE” which seems quite an apt description. I think God allows me to experience frustration in life in order to “dig up” these doubts. The frustration of life actually causes these doubts to resurface in my mind. Of course, digging them up EXPOSES them to the light, which is rather painful for me! Nevertheless, I can see that God needs to uncover these “dark potatoes of doubt”, or else they will simply remain “in the soil of my life”, deeply buried & unresolved. Then, the next time I am frustrated by life they will re-emerge & plague me again, & again, & again.
God loves me FAR TOO MUCH to allow me to have deeply poisonous doubts & unbeliefs buried deep in my mind. He knows that, sooner or later, these “dark potatoes” will emerge to hurt my relationship with Him once more. All it takes is sufficient stress & frustration, then the “dark potatoes” of doubt about God’s love for me emerge again. And at that point Satan is effective at pointing to these deeply held (wrong) beliefs & accuses God TO ME, saying “God’s holding out on you again” & “God obviously doesn’t love you, or else he would fix that problem”, etc.
But this time I think Satan has “tipped his hand” a bit too much, because I’ve noticed his tactics & realised what is going on in my mind. At the same time I believe God is allowing me to experience these doubts & unbeliefs about his goodness in order that I finally UNCOVER, EXAMINE, EVALUATE & RESOLVE them.
As I said, I think the process of recovery may be a long one, but at least I’m ON the road to recovery! God is very, VERY patient with me, & sooner or later these nagging doubts about God’s love WILL be resolved. I look forward to that day.
If you’ve got any similar stories, please do write & let me know.
[1]
Genesis 3:1-7 (NLT)
The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?”
“Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’”
“You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.”
The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.
Showing posts with label devil. Show all posts
Showing posts with label devil. Show all posts
Wednesday, 6 November 2013
Friday, 12 July 2013
Temptation in The Lord of the Rings
I’ve been listening to the audiobook of The Lord of the Rings, as I have been drawing & colouring Bible Cartoons (currently I am colouring Acts 08 - Philip & the Ethiopian eunuch - Scene 06 - In Azotus.)
Story Background
The story has got to Book 2: The Two Towers, & chapter 10, in which our heroes confront Saruman, the evil wizard. His lacky (Wormtongue) throws a Palantir (or seeing stone) which is picked up by one of the Hobbits (called Pippin) but quickly handed over to Gandalf (the good wizard.)
I have just been listening to the next chapter (11, The Palantir) which describes our heroes camping for the night & Pippins increasing curiosity about the seeing stone. The story describes how Pippin’s mind keeps returning to the mysterious stone & before long he has taken it from Gandalf in his sleep & steals it away. Pippin seems to know he is doing wrong, but something causes him to act against his own good sense & he looks at the stone. It turns out that the Palantir enables one person to communicate with another who has a similar stone, many miles away. Pippin sees the mind of Sauron (the Dark Lord), who holds another stone. It was Sauron’s mind that tempted Pippin, in his search for our heroes.
What struck me about this part of the story is how similar it is to our own deadly struggle, as Christians, with personal sin. There are several noteworthy points of similarity which I can see:
1) The danger of a little touch.
We only need to handle something (a dangerous, tempting thing) for a very short time, & yet even with that brief exposure, the seeds of longing for that sinful thing can be sown into our hearts.
In the story, Pippin only touched the Palantir for a few moments, yet it played on his mind & he was tempted (without even knowing it) to look at the seeing stone again, & that was the danger of the temptation to him.
We don’t have Palantirs, but there are equally dangerous things which we can see or experience in our 21st century world. Those evil or corrupting things which we allow ourselves to touch, can ensnare our minds & hearts just like poor Pippin with the Palantir. If we are not watchful, wary, careful, & keen to keep our faith-guard up, we can accidentally stumble upon something; we can “touch” something that is wrong & hurtful to us. Then that single touch can come back to tempt us time & again to return to that evil thing. Every return to that thing only weakens our resolve to resist it, & increases its hold over us.
Fortunately, in the case of Christians & temptation to do evil, our Lord & Saviour Jesus the Christ constantly offers us a way & means to reject evil, sin & temptation which we may find in our path. We don’t have to “touch” anything wrong or sinful that comes our way. And VERY wise is the person who listens to the Holy Spirit’s call to come away from the things which could ensnare us.
Even if we do not listen to the Holy Spirit’s wise council, & we do “touch” something inappropriate, it is still possible to repent (turn away from) of our folly, & return to the path of wisdom. We can turn away from the sin/wrong-doing, ask Jesus to sprinkle His cleansing blood upon us & our lives & be clean, spotless, sin-free once more.
Needless to say, it would NOT be wise to entertain that ensnaring, potent temptation again... “Once bitten, twice shy” as the saying goes! Better to put it behind us & shrink away from it, whatever it is.
2) The deadly dangerous thrill that precedes a terribly costly deed
The story’s description of how Pippin feels, once he has stolen the Palantir from Gandalf is very enlightening, it reads, “He bent low over it [the Palantir], looking like a greedy child stooped over a bowl of food, in a corner away from others.”
Isn’t that exactly what it feels like when we have the “thing” within our grasp, even though through ignorance or recklessness we may even know that it is wrong to do what we are about to do?! This thrill that precedes doing wrong may even be what we seek, in an otherwise hum-drum life, & that in itself is a dangerous & beguiling snare to our passions & senses. We may well know that the “thing” is wrong. We may well know that it will do us no good. But the desire for strong feelings, or strong stimulation can itself be a terribly strong inducement to “touch” the thing in question.
3) The mind behind the temptation.
“Driven by some impulse that he did not understand, Pippin walked softly to were Gandalf lay ... and drawn forward again, half against his will...”
Notice in this description from the story that there was a will other than Pippin’s that seemed to “force” him act. In the story it is the malevolent, powerful mind of Sauron (the evil Dark Lord of the story) who reached out to capture Pippin’s mind, for his own evil ends. That was the mind behind Pippin’s temptation to look into the Palantir.
In the same way, we have a deadly adversary (the Devil, or Satan & his host of evil fallen angels) who can place tempting things in our path, designed to unseat us from our faith & destroy our friendship with God. Such things are designed to ensnare our senses, emotions, thoughts & passions. Sauron in The Lord of the Rings is the equivalent of Satan in the real world, although J. R. R. Tolkien often said that he was not writing an allegory of our world. nevertheless, it is instructive to see the comparison in this case.
4) The lessons of sin.
Later on in the chapter of Lord of the Rings (chapter 11 The Palantir) Gandalf tells Pippin about the seven seeing stones & Pippin says, “I wish I had known all this before, I had no notion of what I was doing.”
“Oh yes you had, “ said Gandalf. “You knew you were behaving wrongly and foolishly; and you told yourself so, though you did not listen... But if I had spoken sooner, it would not have lessened your desire, or made it easier to resist. On the contrary! No, the burned hand teaches best. After that advice about fire goes to the heart.”
“ It does,” said Pippin. “If all the seven stones were laid out before me now, I should shut my eyes and put my hands in my pockets.”
“Good!” said Gandalf. “That is what I hoped.”
As Gandalf observed in the story, we too know in our hearts when we are doing right & when we are doing wrong. God has put morality into our hearts & we know when we err. We too can tell ourselves, but fail to listen, often to our own ruin.
But it’s not all bad. The Bible tells us that temptation & “the sin that so easily entangles” leads ultimately to death. But before that ultimate fate, we can (& should) learn from the mistakes of our sins, so as to turn aside from them & avoid that deadly end. As Gandalf pointed out, “... the burned hand teaches best. After that advice about fire goes to the heart.” Although God does not want us to dabble in sin, yet well He knows our temptations, & if a sin does not kill us instantly, then we can learn to avoid that particular sin, if we will listen. Just as a hand burnt by fire learns a stark lesson, so our own involvement in sin can teach us a life-saving lesson to avoid it at all costs.
God NEVER puts temptation in our path, even to teach us about sin. It is NEVER the purpose of God to put us in a situation where we are tempted to do wrong. However, since we do occasionally sin, there are positive lessons that God can teach us about it. In the end we will come to realise that “fire” is hot, & that if we stick our hand in it, we will be burnt! The ONLY way to avoid paying the cost of any sin (being burnt) is to avoid the sin altogether. Perhaps that is the best lesson to learn about sin.
Sin can & should be resisted & overcome.
It takes a strong mind & a resolute heart, coupled with Christ-focused spiritual “eyes” to avoid all the snares & schemes of Satan when we encounter them in our path. That is why we, as Christians, are encouraged to consider our Saviour; to “die to sin” & to put behind us those things which can cause us to stumble in our faith.
I’m sure we do indeed encounter sin-soaked snares of Satan now & again. We also have a “flesh” nature (also referred to in the New Testament as “the old man” or “old self”) which tends towards the wrong, rather than the right; towards sin & wrong-doing, rather than towards rightness. That nature & the internal struggle we Christians face is described by the apostle Paul in Romans chapter 7 [*1] “Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?” writes Paul... “Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord.”
As Paul goes on to describe, we have an “ace up the sleeve”, we have our Father God in heaven, who is constantly turning His love towards us; we have Jesus the Christ in heaven, who intercedes for us; & we have the Holy Spirit living within us, who is powerful & able to help us overcome ANY & ALL sinful behaviours. When we realise & recognise that the triune God is for us & not against us, then we can stand against the Devil’s schemes, & lead victorious, sinless lives.
The difference between Pippin & us.
Had Pippin (in the story of Lord of the Rings) been able to recognise the subtle, tempting mind (of Sauron) on his own will, he could have avoided the snare of the Palantir. But he couldn’t & didn’t. We Christians are very blessed indeed in that we have been born again, of the Holy Spirit. He is constantly guarding our hearts & minds & will help us to avoid sin, if we allow Him to direct us.
Romans 8:5 says, “Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit.”
So dwelling on sinful things will entice us to sinful behaviours. If, on the other hand, we want to avoid sinful behaviour then we must think about Godly, good things & avoid dwelling on sinful acts.
Paul explains the outcome of this mutually exclusive thinking in Romans 8:6, “So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.”
Which would you rather have: a mind dominated by the sinful nature, leading to death, or a mind focussed by the Holy Spirit, leading life and peace?
If you’re a Christian, then the choice is yours.
If you’re not a Christian, then maybe it’s time to think about becoming one, so that you to can have a mind focussed by God, which leads to life, rather than death. Again, the choice (& the responsibility for your life’s outcome) is yours. Please email me if you want to become a Christian. I’m here to help.
[*1]
Romans 7:14-8:8 (NLT)
14 So the trouble is not with the law, for it is spiritual and good. The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin. 15 I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate. 16 But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good. 17 So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.
18 And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. 19 I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. 20 But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.
21 I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. 22 I love God’s law with all my heart. 23 But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. 24 Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? 25 Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.
Romans 8:1-8 (NLT)
1 So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. 2 And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. 3 The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. 4 He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.
5 Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. 6 So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. 7 For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. 8 That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.
Story Background
The story has got to Book 2: The Two Towers, & chapter 10, in which our heroes confront Saruman, the evil wizard. His lacky (Wormtongue) throws a Palantir (or seeing stone) which is picked up by one of the Hobbits (called Pippin) but quickly handed over to Gandalf (the good wizard.)
I have just been listening to the next chapter (11, The Palantir) which describes our heroes camping for the night & Pippins increasing curiosity about the seeing stone. The story describes how Pippin’s mind keeps returning to the mysterious stone & before long he has taken it from Gandalf in his sleep & steals it away. Pippin seems to know he is doing wrong, but something causes him to act against his own good sense & he looks at the stone. It turns out that the Palantir enables one person to communicate with another who has a similar stone, many miles away. Pippin sees the mind of Sauron (the Dark Lord), who holds another stone. It was Sauron’s mind that tempted Pippin, in his search for our heroes.
What struck me about this part of the story is how similar it is to our own deadly struggle, as Christians, with personal sin. There are several noteworthy points of similarity which I can see:
1) The danger of a little touch.
We only need to handle something (a dangerous, tempting thing) for a very short time, & yet even with that brief exposure, the seeds of longing for that sinful thing can be sown into our hearts.
In the story, Pippin only touched the Palantir for a few moments, yet it played on his mind & he was tempted (without even knowing it) to look at the seeing stone again, & that was the danger of the temptation to him.
We don’t have Palantirs, but there are equally dangerous things which we can see or experience in our 21st century world. Those evil or corrupting things which we allow ourselves to touch, can ensnare our minds & hearts just like poor Pippin with the Palantir. If we are not watchful, wary, careful, & keen to keep our faith-guard up, we can accidentally stumble upon something; we can “touch” something that is wrong & hurtful to us. Then that single touch can come back to tempt us time & again to return to that evil thing. Every return to that thing only weakens our resolve to resist it, & increases its hold over us.
Fortunately, in the case of Christians & temptation to do evil, our Lord & Saviour Jesus the Christ constantly offers us a way & means to reject evil, sin & temptation which we may find in our path. We don’t have to “touch” anything wrong or sinful that comes our way. And VERY wise is the person who listens to the Holy Spirit’s call to come away from the things which could ensnare us.
Even if we do not listen to the Holy Spirit’s wise council, & we do “touch” something inappropriate, it is still possible to repent (turn away from) of our folly, & return to the path of wisdom. We can turn away from the sin/wrong-doing, ask Jesus to sprinkle His cleansing blood upon us & our lives & be clean, spotless, sin-free once more.
Needless to say, it would NOT be wise to entertain that ensnaring, potent temptation again... “Once bitten, twice shy” as the saying goes! Better to put it behind us & shrink away from it, whatever it is.
2) The deadly dangerous thrill that precedes a terribly costly deed
The story’s description of how Pippin feels, once he has stolen the Palantir from Gandalf is very enlightening, it reads, “He bent low over it [the Palantir], looking like a greedy child stooped over a bowl of food, in a corner away from others.”
Isn’t that exactly what it feels like when we have the “thing” within our grasp, even though through ignorance or recklessness we may even know that it is wrong to do what we are about to do?! This thrill that precedes doing wrong may even be what we seek, in an otherwise hum-drum life, & that in itself is a dangerous & beguiling snare to our passions & senses. We may well know that the “thing” is wrong. We may well know that it will do us no good. But the desire for strong feelings, or strong stimulation can itself be a terribly strong inducement to “touch” the thing in question.
3) The mind behind the temptation.
“Driven by some impulse that he did not understand, Pippin walked softly to were Gandalf lay ... and drawn forward again, half against his will...”
Notice in this description from the story that there was a will other than Pippin’s that seemed to “force” him act. In the story it is the malevolent, powerful mind of Sauron (the evil Dark Lord of the story) who reached out to capture Pippin’s mind, for his own evil ends. That was the mind behind Pippin’s temptation to look into the Palantir.
In the same way, we have a deadly adversary (the Devil, or Satan & his host of evil fallen angels) who can place tempting things in our path, designed to unseat us from our faith & destroy our friendship with God. Such things are designed to ensnare our senses, emotions, thoughts & passions. Sauron in The Lord of the Rings is the equivalent of Satan in the real world, although J. R. R. Tolkien often said that he was not writing an allegory of our world. nevertheless, it is instructive to see the comparison in this case.
4) The lessons of sin.
Later on in the chapter of Lord of the Rings (chapter 11 The Palantir) Gandalf tells Pippin about the seven seeing stones & Pippin says, “I wish I had known all this before, I had no notion of what I was doing.”
“Oh yes you had, “ said Gandalf. “You knew you were behaving wrongly and foolishly; and you told yourself so, though you did not listen... But if I had spoken sooner, it would not have lessened your desire, or made it easier to resist. On the contrary! No, the burned hand teaches best. After that advice about fire goes to the heart.”
“ It does,” said Pippin. “If all the seven stones were laid out before me now, I should shut my eyes and put my hands in my pockets.”
“Good!” said Gandalf. “That is what I hoped.”
As Gandalf observed in the story, we too know in our hearts when we are doing right & when we are doing wrong. God has put morality into our hearts & we know when we err. We too can tell ourselves, but fail to listen, often to our own ruin.
But it’s not all bad. The Bible tells us that temptation & “the sin that so easily entangles” leads ultimately to death. But before that ultimate fate, we can (& should) learn from the mistakes of our sins, so as to turn aside from them & avoid that deadly end. As Gandalf pointed out, “... the burned hand teaches best. After that advice about fire goes to the heart.” Although God does not want us to dabble in sin, yet well He knows our temptations, & if a sin does not kill us instantly, then we can learn to avoid that particular sin, if we will listen. Just as a hand burnt by fire learns a stark lesson, so our own involvement in sin can teach us a life-saving lesson to avoid it at all costs.
God NEVER puts temptation in our path, even to teach us about sin. It is NEVER the purpose of God to put us in a situation where we are tempted to do wrong. However, since we do occasionally sin, there are positive lessons that God can teach us about it. In the end we will come to realise that “fire” is hot, & that if we stick our hand in it, we will be burnt! The ONLY way to avoid paying the cost of any sin (being burnt) is to avoid the sin altogether. Perhaps that is the best lesson to learn about sin.
Sin can & should be resisted & overcome.
It takes a strong mind & a resolute heart, coupled with Christ-focused spiritual “eyes” to avoid all the snares & schemes of Satan when we encounter them in our path. That is why we, as Christians, are encouraged to consider our Saviour; to “die to sin” & to put behind us those things which can cause us to stumble in our faith.
I’m sure we do indeed encounter sin-soaked snares of Satan now & again. We also have a “flesh” nature (also referred to in the New Testament as “the old man” or “old self”) which tends towards the wrong, rather than the right; towards sin & wrong-doing, rather than towards rightness. That nature & the internal struggle we Christians face is described by the apostle Paul in Romans chapter 7 [*1] “Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?” writes Paul... “Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord.”
As Paul goes on to describe, we have an “ace up the sleeve”, we have our Father God in heaven, who is constantly turning His love towards us; we have Jesus the Christ in heaven, who intercedes for us; & we have the Holy Spirit living within us, who is powerful & able to help us overcome ANY & ALL sinful behaviours. When we realise & recognise that the triune God is for us & not against us, then we can stand against the Devil’s schemes, & lead victorious, sinless lives.
The difference between Pippin & us.
Had Pippin (in the story of Lord of the Rings) been able to recognise the subtle, tempting mind (of Sauron) on his own will, he could have avoided the snare of the Palantir. But he couldn’t & didn’t. We Christians are very blessed indeed in that we have been born again, of the Holy Spirit. He is constantly guarding our hearts & minds & will help us to avoid sin, if we allow Him to direct us.
Romans 8:5 says, “Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit.”
So dwelling on sinful things will entice us to sinful behaviours. If, on the other hand, we want to avoid sinful behaviour then we must think about Godly, good things & avoid dwelling on sinful acts.
Paul explains the outcome of this mutually exclusive thinking in Romans 8:6, “So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.”
Which would you rather have: a mind dominated by the sinful nature, leading to death, or a mind focussed by the Holy Spirit, leading life and peace?
If you’re a Christian, then the choice is yours.
If you’re not a Christian, then maybe it’s time to think about becoming one, so that you to can have a mind focussed by God, which leads to life, rather than death. Again, the choice (& the responsibility for your life’s outcome) is yours. Please email me if you want to become a Christian. I’m here to help.
[*1]
Romans 7:14-8:8 (NLT)
14 So the trouble is not with the law, for it is spiritual and good. The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin. 15 I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate. 16 But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good. 17 So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.
18 And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. 19 I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. 20 But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.
21 I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. 22 I love God’s law with all my heart. 23 But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. 24 Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? 25 Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.
Romans 8:1-8 (NLT)
1 So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. 2 And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. 3 The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. 4 He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.
5 Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. 6 So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. 7 For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. 8 That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.
Wednesday, 19 December 2012
The War & eternal decision-making
Listening to Lord of the Rings soundtracks. Found my mind thinking of the eternal struggle we are all in. These are my thoughts:
1) To Christians who know we are in a battle: a spiritual war, for the lives & eternal souls of all people: keep fighting on, don't loose heart. Our general, Jesus the Christ, is pleased with your efforts. Fight on, don’t give up, no matter what we are facing.
2) To Christians who have forgotten that we are in a war with a bitter, determined, foul-playing villainous, evil enemy of our souls: wake up. Hear the Lord's battle cry. Strengthen your weak knees. Put on the full armour of God. Call other Christians to attention. Don't lower your guard for a second. The days ahead may be the darkest we have ever lived through, but take heart, Jesus has overcome the devil & the world. Our nation’s economy, our weather, our society, the very fabric of our world may be collapsing around us. But in the end Jesus’ reign will come to earth in totality. Don’t loose your faith or your hope.
3) To people who do not believe: in Jesus, the devil, the unseen worlds, or who are blissfully unaware of the intense spiritual battles raging in the heavenly realms... may God help you to see with new spiritual eyes. Re-consider your position. Re-consider your assumptions about this world.
All that we think of as being here to stay & permanent (money, power, health, government, nations, science, the universe) isn't eternal. All that we see, hear & touch in the physical world is temporary, it will pass away.
Recognise that which is truly eternal: Jesus the Christ. Even the battle of good & evil will one day come to an end, on the Great Day of Judgement. When that day comes, no matter what you have believed was “true”, we will all be "called to account". We will find that even if we didn't believe in Jesus, the devil, eternal judgement, heaven or hell, or anything which we couldn’t see or touch, was actually true.
On the final day of history, we will all be split into 1 of only 2 groups: those who have believed in Jesus the Christ & asked him to become Lord of our lives, & those who have not believed. The former will go to be with Jesus their Lord for ever. The latter will go where they (not God) have decided to go: away from Jesus the Lord of heaven... separation from all that is good, light, right & holy... separation for ever; eternal darkness & hopelessness. Yes, it is not Jesus who will decide your eternal fate... it is YOU. What you decided was “true” whilst you lived physically on earth will become the reality you continue to live out for the rest of eternity. Heaven & Hell is as “real” as this physical world we live in. More so, in fact, because they are eternal places, whereas this world, & all physical things will actually disappear & be destroyed following the Day of Judgement.
4) Now is the time to decide where you want your eternal, ever-lasting soul to live after your physical death. The decision is yours & yours alone. I urge you to re-consider your fate. Whilst you have breath you have choice. As soon as the breath of life leaves you, your decision-making comes to an end. Why risk your eternal soul... why not decide for yourself, right now, to accept the free gift of eternal life & ask Jesus the Christ into your life? All it takes is that one little decision & your eternal future is entirely secure. The devil will no longer have any legal claim on you & your life (as he does now) much to his annoyance! New life awaits you... just a decision away. And the benefits of that eternal life begin as soon as you make that decision too! Why wait?
5) One final point: we are held to account for our own lives. We ALL make a decision about what we believe, even those people we say they are agnostic, or atheists. They too have a belief: it’s a decision not to believe... which is still a belief! There is no escaping the fact that God holds us to account about what we have CHOSEN to believe.
You may believe that not making a choice at all is the answer... that this way you don’t have to make a choice! But we are not given an absence of choice, as a choice! We have to choose one way or the other... there are no abstentions in our “voting” for where we spend eternity!
You may choose not to believe in religion, all that eternal stuff, you may choose to believe in evolution, science, post-modern thinking, self-help, philosophy, the goodness of man, etc. Even if you choose not to believe in Jesus, the devil, religion, eternity... that won’t make a blind bit of difference when the end of your life comes. You will still face the day of judgement, no matter what you currently believe to the contrary.
Therefore, the ONLY choice we actually all have is this: what do we decide is true about Jesus the Christ, the maker of heaven & earth? You can ONLY decide to be for, or against Jesus. Those are the ONLY 2 positions that we all can hold.
A Christian is someone who has decided to believe that what the Bible says is true; that they will believe in Jesus, even though they haven’t seen him. They have confessed their personal sin & confessed that Jesus is Lord. That’s what makes them into a Christian. It’s simple, really.
The ONLY other position is the decision NOT to believe in Jesus. ANY other world view, philosophy, religion, belief system, or thought process that does not hold Jesus the Christ at the centre is not Christianity. And remember, there is no middle ground, or abstention from this vote. To believe that you don’t have to “vote” is yet another lie of the Devil. You DO have to vote, we all do. The choice, & the consequence of that choice is all yours.
So the final, inescapable question is: Do you choose to believe in Jesus the Christ, or not?
Send me a message if decide to become a Christian. I’d love to hear from you, & to pray for you.
1) To Christians who know we are in a battle: a spiritual war, for the lives & eternal souls of all people: keep fighting on, don't loose heart. Our general, Jesus the Christ, is pleased with your efforts. Fight on, don’t give up, no matter what we are facing.
2) To Christians who have forgotten that we are in a war with a bitter, determined, foul-playing villainous, evil enemy of our souls: wake up. Hear the Lord's battle cry. Strengthen your weak knees. Put on the full armour of God. Call other Christians to attention. Don't lower your guard for a second. The days ahead may be the darkest we have ever lived through, but take heart, Jesus has overcome the devil & the world. Our nation’s economy, our weather, our society, the very fabric of our world may be collapsing around us. But in the end Jesus’ reign will come to earth in totality. Don’t loose your faith or your hope.
3) To people who do not believe: in Jesus, the devil, the unseen worlds, or who are blissfully unaware of the intense spiritual battles raging in the heavenly realms... may God help you to see with new spiritual eyes. Re-consider your position. Re-consider your assumptions about this world.
All that we think of as being here to stay & permanent (money, power, health, government, nations, science, the universe) isn't eternal. All that we see, hear & touch in the physical world is temporary, it will pass away.
Recognise that which is truly eternal: Jesus the Christ. Even the battle of good & evil will one day come to an end, on the Great Day of Judgement. When that day comes, no matter what you have believed was “true”, we will all be "called to account". We will find that even if we didn't believe in Jesus, the devil, eternal judgement, heaven or hell, or anything which we couldn’t see or touch, was actually true.
On the final day of history, we will all be split into 1 of only 2 groups: those who have believed in Jesus the Christ & asked him to become Lord of our lives, & those who have not believed. The former will go to be with Jesus their Lord for ever. The latter will go where they (not God) have decided to go: away from Jesus the Lord of heaven... separation from all that is good, light, right & holy... separation for ever; eternal darkness & hopelessness. Yes, it is not Jesus who will decide your eternal fate... it is YOU. What you decided was “true” whilst you lived physically on earth will become the reality you continue to live out for the rest of eternity. Heaven & Hell is as “real” as this physical world we live in. More so, in fact, because they are eternal places, whereas this world, & all physical things will actually disappear & be destroyed following the Day of Judgement.
4) Now is the time to decide where you want your eternal, ever-lasting soul to live after your physical death. The decision is yours & yours alone. I urge you to re-consider your fate. Whilst you have breath you have choice. As soon as the breath of life leaves you, your decision-making comes to an end. Why risk your eternal soul... why not decide for yourself, right now, to accept the free gift of eternal life & ask Jesus the Christ into your life? All it takes is that one little decision & your eternal future is entirely secure. The devil will no longer have any legal claim on you & your life (as he does now) much to his annoyance! New life awaits you... just a decision away. And the benefits of that eternal life begin as soon as you make that decision too! Why wait?
5) One final point: we are held to account for our own lives. We ALL make a decision about what we believe, even those people we say they are agnostic, or atheists. They too have a belief: it’s a decision not to believe... which is still a belief! There is no escaping the fact that God holds us to account about what we have CHOSEN to believe.
You may believe that not making a choice at all is the answer... that this way you don’t have to make a choice! But we are not given an absence of choice, as a choice! We have to choose one way or the other... there are no abstentions in our “voting” for where we spend eternity!
You may choose not to believe in religion, all that eternal stuff, you may choose to believe in evolution, science, post-modern thinking, self-help, philosophy, the goodness of man, etc. Even if you choose not to believe in Jesus, the devil, religion, eternity... that won’t make a blind bit of difference when the end of your life comes. You will still face the day of judgement, no matter what you currently believe to the contrary.
Therefore, the ONLY choice we actually all have is this: what do we decide is true about Jesus the Christ, the maker of heaven & earth? You can ONLY decide to be for, or against Jesus. Those are the ONLY 2 positions that we all can hold.
A Christian is someone who has decided to believe that what the Bible says is true; that they will believe in Jesus, even though they haven’t seen him. They have confessed their personal sin & confessed that Jesus is Lord. That’s what makes them into a Christian. It’s simple, really.
The ONLY other position is the decision NOT to believe in Jesus. ANY other world view, philosophy, religion, belief system, or thought process that does not hold Jesus the Christ at the centre is not Christianity. And remember, there is no middle ground, or abstention from this vote. To believe that you don’t have to “vote” is yet another lie of the Devil. You DO have to vote, we all do. The choice, & the consequence of that choice is all yours.
So the final, inescapable question is: Do you choose to believe in Jesus the Christ, or not?
Send me a message if decide to become a Christian. I’d love to hear from you, & to pray for you.
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