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Question: Is God in control or does He have dominion over evil spirits? 

This can be a hotly debated topic. I have heard both sides of the coin. On one hand, there are people who blanket say to everything that happens, “God’s in control!” Then I have also heard it said, “If God’s in control, He’s doing a terrible job!” I think both statements are misleading and wrong.

Let’s start with the first one. Often people who say this justify everything that happens in life by believing and declaring that God did it. A baby dies, God took it. A horrible tragedy happens, God called for it. These are often the people who always say, “I believe everything happens for a reason.” The funny thing about this statement is, it doesn’t really say anything at all does it! Of course, if something happens, something else (aka a reason) caused it. It’s a good way to sound spiritual to people who don’t know any better.

You may think I’m harsh but I want you to think of something. This may not change the salvation of someone who already believes but have we considered how the rest of the world hears it? All they see is a God that they don’t understand, doing horrible things they would never approve of, to people they can’t justify deserve it. These kinds of thoughts misrepresent God and make the world, understandably (if this was truly who God is), hate Him. 

The other ditch are those who think that God couldn’t possible have his hand in anything that, appears to us presently, as being bad. This is another ditch which also makes God foolish. How? Because those Christians speak of a God of love who sits idly by, watching ignorant people that He made, spiral out of control and not get it right until they figure it out. This god is super passive (although he’s always passing judgement) allowing the world to self-destruct. In this view point, man sort of becomes his own savior. If he doesn’t do right, then God won’t do anything about it.

As I said, I believe both sides of this are in error. I believe the Bible teaches us, that we are ONLY able to do anything as a result of His grace. I can’t even love God without Him empowering me to. What God does desire though is that we choose to give Him our lives. We choose to live for Him out of a desire to be obedient. However the truth remains, we have to even ask Him to help our desire. I believe this is what we see in Mark 9:24 (NASB), “Immediately the boy’s father cried out and said, ‘I do believe; help my unbelief.’”

I see this as beautifully said also in Colossians 1:17 (NASB), “He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” I love some versions that say, “In Him all things consist.” So is God in control? Yes, though He gives some autonomy to some things. I do not mean to say that all things are caused by God. That also doesn’t mean that those things are caused by the devil. As an example, God created this earth to operate under certain principles. God created the oceans, the atmospheres, and their cycles. Hurricanes are a natural phenomenon designed by God, to regulate the ocean temperatures of the earth as well as bringing rain to places so they can have growth. Without hurricanes, life on earth could not exist. That does not mean that every hurricane happens because God said, “wind blow” either! But there can be storms that are evil, and I believe the one Jesus rebuked was an example. Too often we can discount things that produce good as being bad because they seem bad. This is simply just ignorance.

When it comes to the idea of God controlling spirits, well, this is another point of contention. Let me point though, to a few scriptures. Luke 10:17 (NASB) says, “The seventy returned with joy, saying, ‘Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.’” Now the point here is that it’s by the authority of the name of God, not the disciples. Let’s look though at the word, subject. It means to submit self unto or to be in subjection. When we consider Jesus commanding the legion of demons into the pigs, He told them they could go. God controlled the demons. 

This does not mean that God makes someone possessed, for example, or puts a demon on someone. But we should consider maybe a few more scriptures. Exodus 9:12 tells us that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart, though what He was doing was giving him over to his own desire. However, God did use this for His purposes. Then there were times when God allowed one spirit to be a lying spirit in the mouth of a prophet. Or how about in Job when God put boundaries on satan but allowed him place to test Job?

God has ultimate control and authority, over everything, and can make it do what He desires. Although He does not always in every situation make something happen, He has the ability to rein it in when He needs to, in order to get done what He wants to get done. We don’t always understand why things happen, but we know for those who love Him, He is working His plan out. What seems bad today, will produce something wonderful later on, and in this we can have hope.

Be Blessed,

Pastor Jeff 

Question: At the end of Romans 14 it is talking about eating. The very last verse, 23 ends with, “for whatever does not originate and proceed from faith is sin.” Can this apply to other activities as well?  Does the word faith in this verse mean being confident that God approves of the action? 

This is a great question, one whose answer will help us better understand the scripture. We must remember, first and foremost, though scripture is written for us, it was not written to us. Romans for example was written to the Roman Christians. Not only that, it was written to them addressing certain issues of their time. Misunderstanding this can at times lead to misunderstanding certain things like tithing, women preachers, and various customs and ordinances. As we learn, we need to be able to sort out which things are specific direction for us and which things are principle. 

This is one of those cases. Paul is in fact talking about food. But here he adds something to the verse helpful to us, and the word is translated “whatever”. Yes the truth here is that eating without faith is wrong, which we can clearly see is the point. But by adding “whatever” to it he is expanding it to apply to more. Whatever we cannot do in faith, is indeed sin. 

There is another scripture that similarly can confuse people. Mark 16:16 (NASB) says, “He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.” Some have used this to try and prove a point that one needs to be baptized in order to be saved. However, if you look at it carefully, it says the one condemned is the one who has not believed. Condemnation does not come from not being baptized, it comes from not believing. In fact, without believing, baptism means nothing. I would say here also that baptism can be a proof of belief, not the proof of salvation. I’m sure there are people who have been baptized and yet remain unsaved.

The word faith used here is the same one we commonly use and is best translated trust in God. Romans 14 brings out an interesting concept I think we can often over look. That is, how something that is not necessarily spelled out as sinful can become sin if it cannot be done while trusting God. The reason for this is because God desires us to be sensitive to our consciences. This is the first place as we grow that we learn the guiding of the Holy Spirit. If we don’t stay sensitive to our conscience when we are young, it will be harder for God to get through to us when we are older.

An example of this is the times and societies we live in. If you travel to a violent war torn area of the world, you will discover people, even children, who are much more calloused to danger. They grow so accustomed to it that it is just normal to them. That is because they are desensitized to it. It doesn’t mean they enjoy it, it just doesn’t have the same effect on them as it does someone who has never experienced it. The first time I saw an animal butchered was when I was an adult. As a result, it has never been easy for me to just think about doing that. 

This faith sensitivity is what helps us to stay right in our Heavenly Father’s eyes. We do not ever want to grow desensitized in our spirits or our consciences. When we know God approves of an action then we can do it freely as long as we maintain that peace. This is how the Truth sets us free. It takes away the bondages of what we do by revealing to us what God approves. Christians who don’t spend time in the Word or with God often get in trouble at this point. 

It’s in this place of learning what God approves that we learn the voice of our God! Keep your conscience clear and look for His direction when you are deciding to do something. God will lead you into His truth and blessing, when you know what it is He approves.

Be Blessed,

Pastor Jeff 

This week a question came in that really goes along with last week’s Faith Fix, so if you haven’t read it I encourage you to do so. Here is a snippet of it for our connection to this week: “I will tell you as a fact, it is dangerous as a “believer” to justify our sin, when we sin and we constantly try to point to scripture as to why it’s ok. The scripture never teaches us that it’s ok to embrace sin. In fact, it’s exactly the opposite.“ 

This week a question of whether or not Judas was saved came up because there are some arguments on both sides of the coin. However, there is plenty in scripture to point to the idea that he was not saved. We know that Judas walked with Jesus in the flesh. He was one of the original Apostles and witnessed first hand the many miracles in His lifetime. There is a point I believe at which we are responsible for what we know. It’s so important that we never underestimate the effects of sin. We know God is a loving God, but He never gives us liberty to live in darkness and still walk with Him. 

Let’s look at John 6:64 (NIV), “Yet there are some of you who do not believe. For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him.” This scripture points to the idea that Judas actually did not believe. Though he appeared to walk with the Lord, his heart was never with Him. Think about that in light of your own walk. We can look the part but never make Jesus the Lord of our lives. That should be a sobering thought. 

Now, some might say we don’t know what was in Judas’ heart but we can know a lot according to scripture. Did Judas reach the point of no return?  Did he never believe in the first place? Let’s look at what Jesus had to say in John 17:12 (NIV), “While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.” 

Usually this phrase is translated “son of perdition” which is referenced also in 2 Thessalonians 2:3 referring specifically of the Antichrist, lumping Judas in the same category. Besides this, there is a direct connection here to John 6:39–40 (NASB), which says,  “This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day.  40 “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.” Jesus was aware that He was able to save all the apostles into eternal life, except for one, Judas, the son of perdition. 

Now look at how the ESV translates Matthew 27:3 (ESV), “Then when Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he changed his mind and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders.” In my study a certain note says the word used for “remorse” or “changed his mind” is not the same as the one for repentance. Changing his mind because he screwed up is not the same as repenting. I’ve personally witnessed many people who were sorry they sinned but they weren’t repentant. There is a huge difference. It seems to me that the Bible makes a pretty clear case for Judas not being repentant, using rather strong language like “the son of perdition”.  

Hebrews 10:26-27 gives us a really important truth to remember, “For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment…”What we must take away from the account of Judas is the importance of a true change of heart. Without repentance (change) we will not fulfill His call. Judas never went on to serve the Lord. We know that Judas was impacted by the consequences of his actions but we also know that the Lord knows the inner intents and motives of our hearts. This is to say something we have always tried to preach, that it’s important to always check our motivation behind what we do or do not do. Serving the Lord isn’t about works. It’s not about being perfect. But it is about a heart that strives to be right before the Lord because we love Him. 

Be Blessed,

Pastor Jeff and Pastor Renée 

Many people they say they believe in the Bible and what Jesus did on the cross. I know people who say this and yet they are (knowingly) outwardly living in sin and ignoring it. But yet they believe in the Bible and that Jesus died on the cross to cover our sins. So then I wonder what does it REALLY mean to believe? How do you know you really believe? 

There are several things here that need to be addressed. First of all, and I’ll come back to this, it’s easy for us to know individually. The hard part of this of course, is if someone is deceived. The Bible does speak about people who thought they were fine, but in fact were not. The famous Matthew 7:23 (NASB) tells us about this when Jesus said, “I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.” 

Really, this scripture is key to understanding what’s going on here. We must remember, everything comes down to the heart of a person. Ask ten different people what that means and you’ll probably get ten different answers. The only way we can sort this out is not just reading a scripture or two, but through study of the scripture, to understand the heart of God in it. People often deceive themselves by reading scripture to figure out what they can get away with and not to get understanding. There are people that only seek God for what He might do for them, never to know Him. There is a key phrase there in that scripture of Matthew and it is, “I never knew you.” What did Jesus mean by this?

This reference isn’t as much about actually knowing (God knows all things), but about us knowing. The idea is that there was not an intimate relationship. The word is sometimes used to also talk about sexual intercourse. Now I’m not trying to be unholy, the idea is being very intimate with a person, one that just anyone wouldn’t know. There are plenty of people that know about Jesus, and think because of this they are good. This is where the hang up comes in.

People talk about having faith but then act opposite of what scripture tells us to do. I am not saying we won’t make mistakes. However, we all know the difference between someone making an honest mistake and someone who just purposes to live wrong. Ultimately, God is judge, but when it comes to hell, I want to be as far from that line as I can. Why? Because I know Jesus. 

To intimately know someone is to know their heart. I fell in love with my wife pretty much instantly. I can tell you however, though losing her would have been hard then, it is nothing compared to what it would be today. A person who understands what it means to be born again isn’t just trying to stay out of hell, the real fear is being separate from God. A real believer can’t imagine a worse fate. 

I don’t try not to sin just because it’s wrong. I try not to because my sin separates me from God and I can’t barely stand that. See, when you truly know someone you desire to please them. I still have my own desires, but if it comes down to mine or my wife’s, because I know her, I will choose her. God desires that intimacy with each of us. 

The problem exists in the gray area. What can you get away with and still be saved? The truth is, I don’t know. I can say according to the Word that person who constantly lives in the gray probably has a good chance of not being with God eternally. How can I say? What would make us think that God wants to have us in a place that we’re trying to skirt around all the time? In other words, if we are always trying to find a way out of holiness why would we think that we would live eternally in the presence of holiness? It’s foolishness.

But this does bring a dilemma, doesn’t it? And that’s because we are asking the wrong questions. We can KNOW salvation as it pertains to us individually by our desire to know and please God. We cannot, however, always know other people’s salvation. I will say this though, that a person who constantly runs towards sin, not fearing His holiness, that persons salvation is questionable. We all struggle, but again, there’s a difference in one who struggles and fails, yet remains repentant, and one who seems not to care at all. Ultimately, the Lord will judge this. 

I will tell you as a fact, it is dangerous as a “believer” to justify our sin, when we sin and we constantly try to point to scripture as to why it’s ok. The scripture never teaches us that it’s ok to embrace sin. In fact, exactly the opposite. How can we know sin for sure when there is gray areas? Look at what kind of fruit it produces. Are people in clouding the one partaking bettered by these actions? Do they or others grow closer to God as a result? Or does it do the opposite. Do these actions lead to strife, anger, jealousy, suffering or other works of the flesh or to the fruits of the spirit in Galatians 5:22-23?

All in all, we cannot know the heart of a man, only the Lord can. We can recognize people that aren’t safe and we should pay attention. We keep a heart tender before Him, and do our best to walk humbly. We allow God to lead us and trust Him to correct us if we are wrong. We can’t always know everyone’s salvation, but we can know ours.

Be Blessed,

Pastor Jeff 

This week I’ve decided to write a Faith Fix based on my own questions and things that have been answered to me by God.

Planned or unplanned, I think in terms of building often. Actually, there is a lot of building metaphors in Scripture as well. Building new, to a builder, is almost always easier. When you have a clean slate so to speak, it’s much easier to make a plan and then build it. Preservation on the other hand is much more difficult as well as expensive. In fact, the reason that many structures over the years get ripped down instead of remodeled is because of the labor and financial costs.

When I build something, I rarely pound a nail without considering the future of the project. Because I have had to remodel so many structures, knowing that all things eventually require remodeling if they are to remain, I think of the people who will have to work on something I build years later. This does not mean I always build with consideration (sometimes I just want to get it done), I at least think about it.

When I’ve been remodeling something I’ve also learned some valuable lessons. If your goal is preservation, you cannot just rip into the structure. You have to deconstruct meticulously and thoughtfully if your goal is preservation. Also, you sometimes have to remove quite a lot (including what you thought you could keep) before you’re at a good place to build back. People paying for a renovation are often surprised at added and unexpected costs.

I don’t say all this stuff because I assume any of the readers here will be building. I say it because the Lord has taught me about life through this building process. Whatever we are building in life, we get to places where the structure needs revamped. Some people, when they get to this place in life, do what a lot of real estate developers do. They simply bring in the heavy equipment and tear down without any thought of preservation. They think, it’s simply too expensive to save. 

In life, when we do this, there is something greater this can cost us. God is a restorative kind of God. In fact, the word salvation can be at times translated as preservation. If there’s anything that God knows, it’s the cost of preservation! We know John 3:16, but have we really considered it? John 3:16-17 (NASB) says, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.” The word saved here is the word in the New Testament used for salvation which is the Greek word sozo. In part it means, to preserve one who is in danger of destruction.

As with any structure built, don’t be surprised when at times your life needs to be remodeled. It’s inevitable in things that decay. I encourage you however, not to just tear down everything when there are things that are good. Maybe even just the foundation as 1 Corinthians 3:11 (NASB) says, “For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” Be meticulous and thoughtful when your life needs remodeled. Fools rip it all apart and they lose the beautiful things which were formerly built.

If you have walked with God, truly, He has built beautiful things in your life. Carefully look for and preserve those things that are so valuable. Slowly deconstruct that which caused issues, and then allow God to rebuild what He intends. What He truly intended, He still intends for the future. It’s ok to need remodeled from time to time. Sometimes the future depends on it, don’t be discouraged by this. However, don’t lose what God wants to do in your life by throwing away the whole structure.

Life will have obstacles, being the life whose Builder and Maker is God will always remain a worthy structure. Yes it may cost you, but I encourage you that whatever God has begun is worth preservation. He thought so, we should too. Maybe you have additions to your life that over years have compromised the structure. Don’t be sad at their removal, but rejoice that the structure, the heart, is being preserved. God will always be the perfect Maker. Trust Him and His process, He will always make something worth preserving!

1 Peter 2:5 (NASB)

You also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Be Blessed,

Pastor Jeff 

I’m struggling with forgiveness as I have for the last several years and I know that is my next step to truly healing and moving forward towards God. I’ve read all the scriptures on forgiveness and I get it but I guess I just haven’t found the “thing” that is like my “ah ha” moment. Can you give me some guidance or your experience or ideas on how to move into forgiveness. I do not want to carry this with me into the new year as it has already poisoned so much of my life. 

Mark 11:25 (NIV)

And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.

Forgiveness is an interesting animal, one I think many don’t understand. It’s our understanding or rather lack there of that causes us so much trouble. Forgiveness is very important to God, as we see in the above scripture. Most Christians know we are suppose to forgive, but they don’t know why. To further complicate this, our emotions are involved. If you get your emotions out of the way, this actually can be easier.

How the lack of forgiveness usually manifests in a person is in retaliatory actions. You hurt me, so now I will hurt you. Unfortunately, many marriages are ruined at this very point. The fact that emotions run amok is the reason for a lot of issues in general. Just look at how news agencies and politicians work at stirring people emotionally to get them to think or act a certain way. 

Let’s start with hurt. Feeling hurt is not the same as refusing to forgive. Think of hurt in terms of physical pain because really, it’s quite the same. If you broke your leg, whatever caused the break was the offense. Now, if the offending thing (that which caused your leg or heart to break) is removed, no one would say that’s a bad thing. However, even once it’s removed, the healing process takes time and everyone knows that. If someone has hurt you, you will need time to heal. How long? It may be different for every person and every issue. It’s what you do in that healing time that determines whether or not you are walking in forgiveness. 

If someone has caused you deep pain, you must forgive. Forgiveness however does not equate to license for an offender to continue. They should not be given free course to hurt you as they want to. If you get consumed with revenge, now this is a different story. Forgiveness is releasing, in our hearts,  a person who has wronged us. If you have forgiven a wrong, they owe you nothing. No apology, no pay back. Why would you do that, you may wonder? 

Romans 12:19 (NIV) tells us, “Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord.” The truth of the matter is, humans are not often emotionally able to judge something correctly. I cannot tell you how many times as a pastor I have had people come to me with something someone has done to them. They want retribution, they want to be vindicated, they want their due. In many of these times, I could name specific examples where they have done almost equally as bad to someone else, they just don’t see it. The truth is, humans have a tendency to see things very one-sided. I am not making the claim that they were not wronged, I am simply making the claim that for as much as anyone has been wronged, we have also wronged others. This is why it is so utterly important to leave it before the Lord to repay. It doesn’t always happen when and how we want it, but be assured of this, that when He repays, it is right and good and perfect.

Another reason we are told to forgive is because of what the inability to forgive does to our own heart. Think of a time when somebody did something bad to you. They may have completely moved on, but here you are still affected by it. Not forgiving somebody is like a cancer in our heart. It keeps us from healing, many times reopening the very wounds that we wish would close. It would be like if you broke your leg and every time it starts to heal you hit it with a hammer. That is exactly what unforgiveness does to your heart.

When you understand that your heart is the dwelling place of God, then you can understand why He is so adamant about not having the poison of unforgiveness there. A person who will not forgive, is a person who will have a very difficult time hearing from the Lord. It’s returning to our old nature, and refusing the transforming power of His.

Lastly, unforgiveness consumes our minds. We are told to continually keep our minds on God, this belongs to Him too. Romans 8:6 (NASB) tells us, “For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace.” The devil loves it when we embrace unforgiveness because it clouds our ability to think right, sometimes completely overruling it. Because of the nature of unforgiveness, and how it drives us to do things that we shouldn’t do, the unforgiving sinner’s mind is a playground for the devil. Forgiveness is an act of trust in God. It is us saying, “I know I’ve been hurt, but the Lord will take care of me, regardless.”

Forgiveness is a process that takes some time but when we think about it right, it moves along more quickly. If after all this, you still are struggling, I encourage you to take it before the Lord every time you struggle and say, “Father, my heart is to forgive, please help me do it.” If you will embrace these truths, you will find yourself in the right place of forgiveness in no time. Once you have it, future wrongs will be more easily forgiven too. 

Be Blessed,

Pastor Jeff