🍁 2000 years ago, Ancient Celts and Druid priests celebrated Samhain, dressing as animals and monsters thinking it would keep evil spirits from kidnapping them while they prayed for the dead.
Halloween: Pagan Celebration or Childlike Fun?
🍁 2000 years ago, Ancient Celts and Druid priests celebrated Samhain, dressing as animals and monsters thinking it would keep evil spirits from kidnapping them while they prayed for the dead.
Don't Let Circumstances "Eat" You
Sometimes "detours" in our lives are part of God's divine plan. Read about one of mine: When God Changes Our Plans.
These detours happen when we misunderstand God's purpose or get ahead of His plans. That's when God uses a "detour" to prepare us for a future blessing.
But there's another type of detour that isn't natural or good. It's a "Jonah detour," and it follows what I call "the Jonah principle":
"If you run from God, expect to be eaten by circumstances."
God called Jonah, Jonah ran, and God detoured him into the belly of a big fish (Jonah 1). We look at Jonah and think, "How ridiculous! You can't run from God!"
But I imagine Jonah's thought processes were similar to ours when we "run" from Scripture passages that tell us to:
✔ Deny ourselves (See We Need It: Self-Denial)
✔ Be holy (See What does it mean to be holy?)
✔ Earnestly seek God (See Seek God Wholeheartedly)
✔ Seek His Kingdom first (See Great Wisdom in the Small Book of Haggai)
Guilt or Sin - Which Is Our Real Enemy?
I recently read an article that claimed the church is responsible for some abortions because we make women feel guilty when they are unmarried and pregnant.
It's popular to claim that our problem is guilt, not sin. And this argument normally comes up with culturally acceptable sins like premarital sex, abortion, or LGBTQ lifestyles. But this is simply a sophisticated way to blame God for His loving, protective, purposeful commands.
Our sins should cause us guilt:
“Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” James 4:8-10
The church is commanded to call people to repentance and restore them to fellowship (1 Corinthians 5:12; Galatians 6:1; James 5:19-20). Helping someone avoid authentic guilt is ungodly and damaging.
If we feel sorry for ourselves instead of sorry for our sins, we're taking “the way of Cain” who was the Ultimate Pouter. If a woman kills her unborn child and blames the church for making her feel guilty, she's calling God a liar (1 John 1:8-10).
The church should lovingly care for unmarried women so they can give life to their unborn children, but that process must begin with the woman's confession and repentance.
This is true for all sins. We must honestly face our sins without self-pity or blame-shifting.
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For more on the true meaning of guilt, see Shame, Guilt, Conviction.
To see how this false teaching is used by Boundaries, see No One Should Make You Feel Guilty...Really?
To identify elements of an insincere apology, see 5 Signs of a Fake Apology.
For some insights into the beauty of repentance, see God is Faithful and Just to Forgive.
Sometimes I Trust in Chariots
“Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. They are brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm.” Psalm 20:7-8
Sometimes I trust in “chariots”:
- My instincts, abilities, insight
- My perspective and strength
- Human authorities or human wisdom
- Friends or relatives
Then I wonder why I fail and why certain problems continue to plague me.
When David faced the taunting giant, Goliath, he had the right perspective—he knew whom he could trust.
He said:
“You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty…” 1 Samuel 17:45
Do you have “Goliaths” in your life—financial, relational, career, emotional, or physical difficulties taunting you?
God is able to do more than we ask or imagine according to His power that is at work within us (Ephesians 3:20).
Only in the name of the Lord can we conquer the giants in our lives or gain the strength to persevere in the midst of them!
Some other verses to encourage you:
James 4:7: “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
1 Corinthians 10:13: “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”
2 Samuel 22:33: “It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure.”
Philippians 4:13: “I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.”
Also: Ephesians 6:10-18
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To read about a bad choice David made, see: What a Tangled Web We Weave.
Do You Have the Same Fire in Your Heart that Jeremiah Had?
When You Blow It, Don't Hit the "Backspace"
Recently I spoke without thinking, and my words were sanctimonious.
I apologized to the person and asked God's forgiveness, but I was disappointed in myself. I should have known better since I occasionally get self-righteous comments on my blog posts and know they aren't helpful.
Sometimes when I blow it like this, I feel I've hit the backspace button on my spiritual growth. But God is helping me understand that we only hit the backspace if we fail to honestly repent and learn from our failures.
Would you like to "watch" the first devotion in my book Wisdom for Life? Just click the image below to do that!
Was Jesus Likable?
Years ago I read the book "They Like Jesus but Not the Church." It had some valid points about the way we Christians can make the gospel unattractive by clumsy remarks and rude attitudes.
But the book's basic premise was flawed. It suggested that people would like us if we acted more like Jesus.
That's not scriptural.
Even when we speak the truth in love, our message will offend those involved in culturally acceptable sins. In fact, if all of our unsaved friends and relatives approve of our values, we aren't living faithfully for the Lord.
Jesus made people angry—so angry they killed him.
And it wasn't just the self-righteous religious people who hated Jesus. Anyone who refused to accept God's definition of sin hated Jesus (John 7:7). If we want to be like the true Jesus in Scripture, people will hate us too (1 John 3:13).
"You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved." Matthew 10:22
See also The Fake Jesus vs. the Real Jesus Collection of five one-minute devotions. And please do the Bite Size Bible Study based on this devotion: HERE.
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Confused Definitions of Love
Don't Be Stupid!
In our build-your-self-esteem world, it's becoming increasingly rare for people to give or receive honest, constructive criticism.
Even worse, many Christians are convinced God never rebukes or disciplines His followers.
I've often heard someone say that when God looks at them, He doesn't see their sins; He only sees Jesus.
This belief isn't found in the Bible.
Scripture tells us we're counted righteous in Christ, but that doesn't mean God is ignorant of our sins or content with our character.
God "disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.” Hebrews 12:6
His Word "is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
God doesn't sugar-coat it:
"Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but whoever hates correction is stupid." Proverbs 12:1
God forgives our sins, but He loves us too much to overlook them.
Let's not be stupid.
Do You Know Why Christians Have "Unveiled Faces"?
In 2 Corinthians 3 Paul explains that the old covenant law had a temporary purpose. When Moses met with God to receive the law, his face glowed, but he veiled his face for two reasons:
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