Because He lives, I can face tomorrow

Posted on May 16, 2011 by Chaplain Dan

What if He is…Who He says He is?

Then: Anything is possible.

But Jesus looked at them and said, “With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.” (Mark 10:27)

Then: You don’t have to stumble around in the darkness anymore.

Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” (John 8:12)

Then: You will never be alone.

18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. (Matthew 28:18-20)

Then: You have everything you need.

And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19)

Then: There will always be someone who understands you.

13 The LORD looks from heaven;
He sees all the sons of men.
14 From the place of His dwelling He looks
On all the inhabitants of the earth;
15 He fashions their hearts individually;
He considers all their works.  (Psalm 33:13-15)

Then: You can have abundant life.

The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. (John 10:10)

Then: You are adopted into God’s family and receive an inheritance.

Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. (Galatians 4:7)

Then: He can teach you everything you need to do.

Now you shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth. And I will be with your mouth and with his mouth, and I will teach you what you shall do. (Exodus 4:15)

Then: Even if you cry in the night, you can laugh in the morning.

For God’s anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life;
Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning.(Psalm 30:5)

Then: Peace can guard your heart and mind.

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.(Philippians 4:6-7)

Then: You can live forever.

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but[2] have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. (John 3:14-17)

Then: You can be free.

Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. 35 And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. 36 Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. (John 8:34-36)”

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60 Easy Payments

Posted on May 16, 2011 by Chaplain Dan

What God says about Borrowing

Don’t borrow, you become a servant to the lender

4 except when there may be no poor among you; for the LORD will greatly bless you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance– 5 only if you carefully obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe with care all these commandments which I command you today. 6 For the LORD your God will bless you just as He promised you; you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow; you shall reign over many nations, but they shall not reign over you. (Deut 15:4-6)

7 The rich rules over the poor, And the borrower is servant to the lender. (Proverbs 22:7)

God blesses those who refuse to borrow

1 “Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the LORD your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. 2 And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the LORD your God:
12 The LORD will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. (Deut 28:1,2,12)

The lender will take your wealth

15 “But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:

43 “The alien who is among you shall rise higher and higher above you, and you shall come down lower and lower. 44 He shall lend to you, but you shall not lend to him; he shall be the head, and you shall be the tail.
45 “Moreover all these curses shall come upon you and pursue and overtake you, until you are destroyed, because you did not obey the voice of the LORD your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which He commanded you. (Deut 28:15,43-45)

Owe love, not cash

8 Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. (Romans 13:8)

Christ does not gives us permission to pursue bondage

23 You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men.   (I Corinthians 7:23)

If you have debt, pay it

21 The wicked borrows and does not repay, But the righteous shows mercy and gives. (Psalm 37:21)

27 Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, When it is in the power of your hand to do so. 28 Do not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come back, And tomorrow I will give it,” When you have it with you. (Proverbs 3:27-28)

26 Do not be one of those who shakes hands in a pledge, One of those who is surety for debts; 27 If you have nothing with which to pay, Why should he take away your bed from under you? (Proverbs 22:26-27)

God helps a woman work to get out of debt

1 A certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the LORD. And the creditor is coming to take my two sons to be his slaves.”
2 So Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?” And she said, “Your maidservant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil.”
3 Then he said, “Go, borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbors–empty vessels; do not gather just a few. 4 And when you have come in, you shall shut the door behind you and your sons; then pour it into all those vessels, and set aside the full ones.”
5 So she went from him and shut the door behind her and her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured it out. 6 Now it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.”
And he said to her, “There is not another vessel.” So the oil ceased. 7 Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debt; and you and your sons live on the rest.”  (2 Kings 4:1-7)

Do not co-sign for someone’s loan

18 A man devoid of understanding shakes hands in a pledge, And becomes surety for his friend. (Proverbs 17:18)

Get out of debt as fast as possible

1 My son, if you become surety for your friend, If you have shaken hands in pledge for a stranger, 2 You are snared by the words of your mouth; You are taken by the words of your mouth. 3 So do this, my son, and deliver yourself;        For you have come into the hand of your friend: Go and humble yourself; Plead with your friend. 4 Give no sleep to your eyes, Nor slumber to your eyelids. 5 Deliver yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, And like a bird from the hand of the fowler. (Proverbs 6:1-5)

 

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Demon, the Lord rebuke you

Posted on May 16, 2011 by Chaplain Dan

Observations from various scriptures about Exorcism

Consider flies – they exist, and we must resist their diseases, but we don’t live for them or seek them (Don’t chase them, just get rid of them if they come around.  Seek to know God and glorify His Son.)

Warning – The seven sons of Sceva Acts 19:13-17  Be careful, and be sure you are a child of God.  The demons attacked the seven men who were casting out demons, because they weren’t real believers in Christ.  The men left the house naked and bleeding.

Confidence – James 4:7-8   7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.  (A double minded person is someone who won’t decide if evil is wrong.)

Preparation

Pray and fast to increase faith.

Some demons only come out by prayer and fasting.

Matthew 17:14-21 14 And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, 15 “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. 16 So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him.” 17 Then Jesus answered and said, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me.” 18 And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour.
19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?”
20 So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. 21 However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”

Get prayer support.  Have a prayer team of believers praying.

Pray and confess any known sin.

Psalm 66:18  18 If I regard iniquity in my heart, The Lord will not hear.

Examine your motives and pursue God’s goals

Jude 5-22  9 Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”

Thank God for what He has done in the past.

Pray for wisdom in how and when to approach the person and how God wants to be glorified.

Do not have scoffing Christians observing during the exorcism

Psalm 1:1-2 1 Blessed is the man, Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night.

Reflect on how Jesus cast out demons

Luke 8:26-37   26 Then they sailed to the country of the Gadarenes, which is opposite Galilee. 27 And when He stepped out on the land, there met Him a certain man from the city who had demons for a long time. And he wore no clothes, nor did he live in a house but in the tombs. 28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down before Him, and with a loud voice said, “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me!” 29 For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had often seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles; and he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the wilderness.
30 Jesus asked him, saying, “What is your name?”
And he said, “Legion,” because many demons had entered him. 31 And they begged Him that He would not command them to go out into the abyss.
32 Now a herd of many swine was feeding there on the mountain. So they begged Him that He would permit them to enter them. And He permitted them. 33 Then the demons went out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the lake and drowned.
34 When those who fed them saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country. 35 Then they went out to see what had happened, and came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. 36 They also who had seen it told them by what means he who had been demon-possessed was healed. 37 Then the whole multitude of the surrounding region of the Gadarenes asked Him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. And Jesus got into the boat and returned to Galilee.

Observations:

  1. Demons cause destruction in their host.  Be merciful on the person.
  2. Glorifying God torments demons.
  3. Demons know they are going to their eternal doom at the appointed time.
  4. Sometimes the demons do not come out, when first told.
  5. Get the leader’s name.
  6. Don’t negotiate.  Demons may try to negotiate that they are really doing something good or are willing to do something “good.”  (Jews weren’t supposed to be eating pigs.)
  7. People who don’t want to believe in Christ will try to push you away.

Reflect on how Paul cast out demons

Acts 16:16-24

16 Now it happened, as we went to prayer, that a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling. 17 This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, “These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation.” 18 And this she did for many days.
But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And he came out that very hour. 19 But when her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities.

Observations:

  1. Paul did not cast the demon out, when he first met the girl.
  2. The demon was interfering with the ministry.
  3. Paul commanded the demon to leave in the name of Christ.  He did not use his own authority.
  4. Those who profit from the work of the demon tried to drive Paul out.
  5. God has bigger plans for His glory than our comfort.  Paul is beaten and thrown in prison.  Later God sends an earthquake to set Paul free and causes the town to fear God.
  6. Some people will be afraid to fight Satan for fear of retaliation. But do not fear, because of God’s promise in 1 John 4:4    4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
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What does it mean to repent?

Posted on April 22, 2011 by Chaplain Dan

REPENT

30 Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, 31 because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.  (Acts 17:30-31)

 

R – Realize it is sin against God.  Remove the lies and replace with God’s truth.

E – Express apology and desire to change.

P – Plan ahead to avoid that temptation.

E – Enthrone God as LORD of my life.

N – Never give up on God’s grace and plans for me.

T – Trust in the Holy Spirit for strength to stay faithful.

 

Jesus Christ, the Promised Messiah, has been raised from the dead to show the power of God over death.  Jesus is LORD and expects us to repent and obey His teaching.  Jesus sent the Holy Spirit as a gift to those who follow Him.

 

22 “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know– 23 Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; 24 whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it.

32 This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. 33 Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear.

36 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.“
37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?“
38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”      (Acts 2: 22 … Acts 2:39)

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