Have you ever uttered something and then wished you hadn’t? Solomon recognized the potential danger in our speech: “Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk far from your lips” (Proverbs 4:24). John said that one of the three pathways temptation flows is from our hearts to our mouths. Each of us can fall […]
Satan Preys on the Mouth (Proverbs 4:24)
Satan Preys on the Heart (Proverbs 4:23)
Priority number one is that we should guard our heart with wisdom because all of life flows from it: “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life” (Proverbs 4:23). God gave us at least four primary desires (see Genesis 1:27-29). They include (1) the desire for significance from being created […]
The Work of a Defeated Being (Hebrews 2:14-15; 1 John 3:8)
Have you ever watched a football game where one team is way ahead of the other as the final seconds tick down on the clock? With no hope of victory, the squad being trounced on the scoreboard results to cheap shots, baiting the winning players into a brawl in an attempt to somehow take them […]
Why does God ask you to walk through a door that He decides to shut?
Recently, a friend asked me this question, after sensing God’s clear prompting to become a candidate in his company’s search process for their new CEO, only to make it to the final four and not be selected. The search committee even communicated that he was a leading candidate for the next time the CEO position […]
Satan is a Destroyer (1 Peter 5:8; John 10:10)
Are you experiencing destruction from falling prey to Satan’s temptation? Did you succumb to his enticement, only to discover his bait concealed the hook of dissatisfied desires that trapped you in sin, and now you stand accused before God and others? Satan is a destroyer: “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around […]
Satan is an Accuser (Revelation 12:10)
Have you ever noticed how an accuser typically practices the act which he accuses another of doing? Satan is the origin of the evil that he accuses humanity of committing. Satan is an accuser: “Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say, ‘Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of […]
Satan is a Deceiver (2 Corinthians 11:14)
Have you ever been deceived by Satan? Did you take his bait, only to discover you had been duped? Perhaps it was a lustful act, an angry tirade, a substance abuse, or a foolish risk that left you feeling dissatisfied. Satan is a deceiver: “And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of […]
Satan is a Tempter (Matthew 4:3-11)
Have you been tempted this week? Satan is a tempter. Too often, we see temptation as a sin. Temptation is not from God, and being tempted is not a sin (see James 1:13-14). Jesus was tempted in every way that we are, and yet He did not sin (see Hebrews 4:15). King David warned his […]
Guard Your Heart from Satan’s Schemes (Proverbs 4:23-27)
Are you being tempted to commit an act apart from God’s design for your life? When we read David’s instructions to his son Solomon in Proverbs 4:1-9, we recognize that the King of Israel was warning his eventual successor that he would be tempted toward foolish behavior. Wisdom would be his weapon to apply his […]
How Do We Let Go of Resisting Blessing Horizontally in Relationships? (Matthew 7:12)
Can you honestly say that you love your offender? How do we truly let go of resisting blessing our enemy horizontally in relationships? We wish our enemy well before others. First, we love our enemy by serving them in order to meet a legitimate need in their life. This love fulfills the Law: “In everything, […]
Praying for Your Offender (Matthew 5:43-48)
Have you tried praying for the person who wronged you? If so, what did your prayer sound like? Too often we hold on to resisting blessing our offender, the fourth prison wall of withholding forgiveness. Resisting blessing does not wish our offender well before God or others; it treats others as they have treated us, […]
How Does Resisting Blessing Affect Our Vertical Relationship with God? (1 John 4:20)
Are you involved in a conflict where you simply cannot bless the offender? Resisting blessing does not wish our offender well before God. It treats others as they treat us. Jesus said, that His followers had been taught a legalistic interpretation of the greatest horizontal commandment to love one’s neighbor (Matthew 5:43). They had learned […]
The Prison Wall of Resisting Blessing (Matthew 5:43-48)
Are you withholding something positive from a person who has sinned against you? Resisting blessing is not wishing one well before God and others. Whereas the other three prison walls of withholding forgiveness hold on to negatives, resisting blessing holds on to a positive. We withhold wishing the offender well before God and others — […]
How do we experience freedom from regret? (2 Corinthians 10:5)
Are you holding on to regret, imprisoned by the thought you could have changed the past? In order to be free from regret, we must continue to practice the instant forgiveness experiment. When someone sins against us, we can instantly let go of the prison walls of revenge, resentment, and regret. We let go of […]
How Do We Let Go of Regret Horizontally in Relationships? (Philippians 2:3)
How do we let go of regret horizontally in relationships? We repent, trusting in God for the freedom of forgiveness. Rather than harboring the thought that we could change the past: the offense, the offender, or our past behavior, we change our thoughts about the past. We let go of the past and hold on […]
How Do We Let Go of Regret Vertically with God? (Psalm 139:23-24)
Oftentimes, we utter the words, “I’m struggling to forgive God for allowing this tragedy to happen to me,” when in fact we cannot forgive God because He has not sinned against us. However, we can let go of regret, the thought we could have changed the past, which tends to be the core issue. In […]
How Does Regret Affect Your Relationships? (Psalm 139:23-24)
Is regret of someone’s past sin against you stifling your relationships? In the heat of conflict, did you raise your voice to abnormal decibels or say something you wish you didn’t that led to the offense against you? Are you constantly rethinking your actions, surmising you could have changed something to have totally avoided the […]
The Prison Wall of Regret (Psalm 10:4)
What is regret? Regret is the thought that we could change the past. When we withhold forgiveness from holding on to regret, we think about how we could have changed the past in a way that would have eliminated or minimized the offense. In order to be free, we must let go of the third […]
How Do We Experience Freedom? (Ephesians 4:31-32)
How do we experience freedom from resentment? We must keep practicing the instant forgiveness experiment in Christ. The Apostle Paul wrote: “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” […]
How To Let Go of Resentment Horizontally in Relationships (Ephesians 4:31-32)
How do we let go of resentment horizontally in relationships? The Apostle Paul wrote: “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (Ephesians 4:31-32). First, we must pour out […]