http://www.mybasicisp.net/blogs/RBKay/ How do we Love? http://www.mybasicisp.net/blogs/RBKay/2010/10/13/Christians-Demons Wed, 13 Oct 2010 16:03:00 GMT
Christians and demons

From time to time teachings circulate through the body of Christ that are neither Scripturally nor historically held.  The Apostle Paul calls such unsound teaching "wind of doctrine (Ephesians 4:14)." Tragically, as these winds blow through the church some people find themselves caught up and blown out!

Recently, there has been interest in the so-called "deliverance ministries" which claim to have cast demons out of Christians. They often report of demons being coughed up and vomited out of believers.

What about these experiences? Let us always be careful never to let experience supersede the Word of God. The Word is the only authority upon which we can build doctrine. Paul said, "but though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed (Galatians 1:8)."

So what does the Bible say about demon possession in Christians? First of all, we are told, "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places (Ephesians 6:12)."

These demonic forces seek to hassle our walk with Jesus and hinder our work for Jesus. Sometimes, for no apparent reason, you may find yourself bummed out and feeling down and discouraged. This can be the work of a demonic attack, but a demon cannot enter into or exercise control over the life of any true believer. Let's see why.

First, you are in Christ Jesus

When you accepted Jesus as your Lord, you were placed into Christ Jesus. Jesus said, "... ye shall know that I am in My Father, and ye in Me, and I in you (John 14:20)."

In that same teaching Jesus went on to say, "... for the prince of this world (Satan) cometh, and hath nothing on Me (John 14:30)."

Satan and demons have nothing in Jesus for Jesus is, "Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named ... (Ephesians 1:21)."

Where are we? "And (He) hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:6)."

We see that Satan or any of his powers have nothing in Jesus Christ and, therefore, have nothing in us either! Praise the Lord!

Secondly, Christ Jesus is in you.

When you accepted Jesus as Lord, Jesus came into your heart to live in you (see Revelation 3:20).

He is, "... the light of the world . . . (John 8:12)" and Scripture declares that, "... God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5)." Darkness and light cannot dwell in the same place at the same time.

Now, those who teach demons can possess Christians often hide behind a semantical smoke screen and say, "Demons possess or invade the body and the mind but not the spirit." But the Lord dwells in the body as well, as the word clearly states, "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you ... (1 Corinthians 6:19)." The Lord also dwells in our mind for we are told, "... we have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16)." There just is no room for darkness when the Lord of light lives in us!

Thirdly, the Bible gives absolutely no example or teaching on demons in Christians

If such a major problem as demon possession in Christians was possible, without a doubt we would see several examples of this in the Gospels and the Book of Acts. We would also have clear teaching on this in the epistles, but it is just not there. The one example some do use as a "proof text" is that of Ananias and Sapphira. A careful study of that text, however, seems to indicate that they were not true believers at all. Even if they were, there was not an "exorcism or deliverance" that took place but rather instant judgment (see Acts 5)!

Also, is it not arresting that nowhere in the epistles is a teaching on demon possession or demon invasion of believers? Would God ignore such an important issue if it were such an important issue?

Then, why do people have such experiences of demons being regurgitated, cast out, or coughed up? These un-scriptural practices come from sincere people who have a tendency to pass the blame for their carnal acts onto the devil. remember Flip Wilson's famous comedy sketch in which he said, "The devil made me do it?"

It is interesting that often the supposed demons identify themselves as the demon of lust, envy, impurity, witchcraft, anger, etc. But Galatians 5:19 specifically lists these activities as being "works of the flesh!" We are told to "... put off the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts (Ephesians 4:22)," and recognize these things to be dead (Romans 6:11). We are never told to, "cast them out."

We, as Christians, should avoid pitfalls of looking for demons and focusing on Satan; rather, we should keep our focus, teachings, and attention on our Lord Jesus Christ. The way to overcome darkness is to turn on the light. The way to overcome the devil is to resist him, and he will flee from us (James 4:7). We resist him by keeping close to our Lord (James 4:7), for "greater is He (Jesus) that is in you than he (Satan) that is in the world (1 John 4:4)."

RBKay
]]> http://www.mybasicisp.net/blogs/RBKay/2010/09/21/Sprinkling-Cans Tue, 21 Sep 2010 16:35:00 GMT
It was getting dry. The lettuce, celery, and cabbage seedlings we had transplanted needed to be watered in order to survive. Each morning I took the sprinkling can, filled it with water, and carried it to the garden. Each day I wished for rain, not only to be relieved of carrying water, but because the rest of the garden was suffering, too.

Then one morning the sky was overcast. We waited hopefully. Then the rain fell. Not only was the whole garden being watered, but the yard, the pasture fields, the corn fields, the trees. Acres and acres of crops for miles around would revive and yield better because of this rain.

"Just think how small and meager my little sprinkling can is compared to a shower like this."

My friend thought a moment, then said, "But your sprinkling can kept the plants alive until this shower came. They would have died if you hadn't watered them."

Her statement, so simply stated, became a message that stuck in my mind long after we had both returned to our work. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that there were other "sprinkling cans" in our life.

The help we give our fellow men and neighbors is small when we compare it with what God does for us. And yet the smallness of things we can do for each other does not give us the right to sit back and do nothing. Even though our "sprinkling cans" seem hopelessly small, our concerns and prayers and admonishments and good example must not cease as long as there is still hope. Oh, for more sprinkling cans --- small vessels of love and peace, of goodwill and patience and hope!

RBKay

The problem with to many so called Christians, they think that after they been saved they don't have to do anything.

The one thing they should do; is check and see if the have been saved.
]]> http://www.mybasicisp.net/blogs/RBKay/2010/09/04/Explain-God Sat, 04 Sep 2010 11:14:00 GMT
This was written by an 8-year-old, Danny Dutton of Chula Vista, CA, for his third-grade homework assignment. The assignment was to explain God. Wonder if any of us could do as well?"

One of God's main jobs is making people. He makes them to replace the ones that die, so there will be enough people to take care of things on earth.

He doesn't make grown-ups, just babies. I think because they are smaller and easier to make. That way He doesn't have to take up His valuable time teaching them to talk and walk. He can just leaves that to mothers and fathers.

God's second most important job is listening to prayers. An awful lot of this goes on, since some people, like preachers and things, pray at times beside bedtime. God doesn't have time to listen to the radio or TV because of this.

God sees everything and hears everything and is everywhere which keeps Him pretty busy. So you shouldn't go wasting His time by going over your Mom and Dad's head asking for something they said you couldn't have.

Atheists are people who don't believe in God. I don't think there are any in Chula Vista . At least there aren't any who come to our church. Jesus is God's Son. He used to do all the hard work like walking on water and performing miracles and people finally got tired of Him preaching to them and they crucified Him. But He was good and kind, like His Father and He told His Father that they didn't know what they were doing and to forgive them and God said "O. K."

His Dad (God) appreciated everything that He had done and all His hard work on earth so He told Him He didn't have to go out on the road anymore. He could stay in heaven. So He did. And now He helps His Dad out by listening to prayers and seeing things which are important for God to take care of and which ones He can take care of Himself without having to bother God.
Like a secretary, only more important. You can pray anytime you want and they are sure to help you because they got it worked out so one of them is on duty all the time.

You should always go to church on Sunday because it makes God happy, and if there's anybody you want to make happy, it's God. Don't skip church to do something you think will be more fun like going to the beach. This is wrong. And besides the sun doesn't come out at the beach until noon anyway.

If you don't believe in God, besides being an atheist, you will be very lonely, because your parents can't go everywhere with you, like to camp, but God can. It is good to know He's around you when you're scared in the dark or when you can't swim and you get thrown into real deep water by big kids.

But... you shouldn't just always think of what God can do for you. I figure God put me here and He can take me back anytime He pleases. And...that's why I believe in God.

from  Christian Stories

RBKay

This little boy seems to have a better understanding of God than a lot of adults' that I know and heard speaking.
]]> http://www.mybasicisp.net/blogs/RBKay/2010/08/25/No-One-is-Righteous Wed, 25 Aug 2010 16:35:00 GMT As it is written:  “There is no one righteous, not even one;

1465   [1342]   di÷kaioß, dikaios, a.  [1472]. right, righteous, upright; in the NT this refers to God’s proper standards and actions, it refers to a person in accord with God’s standards, in proper relationship with God.

There is no one in the right relationship with God, not one.

Romans 3:11
there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God.

There is no one who seeks God on their own.

Romans 3:12
All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.”

All enjoy the world to much to seek God on their own. No one does good for the sake of another on their own, they are looking for recognition, glory, something that feeds their ego.

Romans 3:13
 “Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.”  “The poison of vipers is on their lips.”

For what they do they say one thing but are really looking for something else.

Romans 3:14
 “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”

No; you don’t have to swear to curse someone, just by wishing them bad things is cursing and bitterness is “ why did they get that and I have to work for everything. “

Romans 3:15
 “Their feet are swift to shed blood;

You don’t have to cut someones throat to shed blood, you can do more by your gossip and backbiting.

Romans 3:16
ruin and misery mark their ways,

If you are not happy you don’t want anyone else to be happy.

Romans 3:17
and the way of peace they do not know.”

Peace, what peace, just look at the world around you, there is no peace.

Romans 3:18
 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

Fear God? They don’t give God the Glory He deserves because most feel they are the god of their own lives.

Romans 3:19
Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.

God gave the Jews the law so they could see what sinners they were and the Gentiles can also see the same thing.

Romans 3:20
Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.

So, in the condition the world is in; how could anyone be called righteous in the sight of a Holy God. No not one.

1John 1:8
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

1John 1:10
If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.

Romans 3:21
But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.

God did not use the law to make righteous, He used it to show you are not righteous.

Romans 3:22
This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference,

God sent His Son into the world to show the way to righteousness and by the law you know you are a sinner.

Romans 3:23
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

We are all sinners no matter how good we think we are, we are sinners and in that condition we can not come into the presence of God. We need cleansing.

Romans 3:24
and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

By belief and faith in Christ Jesus, God the Father sees us as justified and cleansed in Christ Jesus blood.

1John 3:5
But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin.

There is nothing we can say or do to attain salvation and be with God through eternity. When the Holy Spirit calls you accept the call and tell God that you are a sinner and are in need of cleansing. Accept Christ Jesus as the only way to
Salvation.

1John 2:20
But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth.

Matthew 7:13-14
“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

John 14:6
Jesus answered,  “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Satan accuses us, our sin condemns us, the law convicts us, until we enter the court room with Jesus as our advocate. Because we are justified, all charges are dropped due to lack of evidence.

1John 2:23
No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.

1John 4:13
We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.

1Peter 5:4
And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.

Jude 1:24-25
To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy — to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.

There is no middle ground, you either belong to Jesus Christ or you belong to Satan, You are either right or wrong, it is either black or white. You can’t sit on the fence and say you need not make a choice.

What ever you do, in the end you will face God and you either have Satan as an accuser or Jesus Christ will be standing along side of you as your advocate and say you have been justified by His blood and are one of His. It is your choice and the choice you make God will say; so be it; it was your choice.

Please make a choice and make it for Jesus Christ there will never be a better choice you make in your entire life and speaking of life, how long do you think you have to live? You or anyone else has no idea as to their life span so if you wait to long; it could be to late.

Don’t wait; make the choice for Jesus Christ and live for Him the rest of the life you have on earth. I am glad I did.

RBKay

]]> http://www.mybasicisp.net/blogs/RBKay/2010/08/12/The-Greedy-Heifer Thu, 12 Aug 2010 12:42:00 GMT "The Greedy Heifer"

One evening when I was helping my husband do the chores, I decided to feed the heifers so that he would be done with his work sooner. After I had fed them all and they were eating contentedly, I walked past them with another shovel full to feed the dry cows. As I walked past, a young heifer tried to snatch a mouthful off the shovel, ignoring all the feed she had before herself.

"You silly, greedy heifer," I couldn't help but think. It was disgusting, really. She had all the feed in front of her that she could possibly eat, and yet she was trying to snatch away some of the other cows'.

But later on, after thinking it over, I had to wonder how often we are in the eyes of God like that greedy heifer. Blessed with plenty to eat, warm houses, good homes, family and friends, and all the material things we will ever be able to use and more, and yet we look about and lament when we see others who appear to have more than we do.

Are we in the habit of counting our many blessings and appreciating all we have, or are we often wishing for and wanting what others have?
(Unsigned)

RBKay

We generaly don't act any better than that " greedy heifer "
]]> http://www.mybasicisp.net/blogs/RBKay/2010/08/06/How-do-we-listen Fri, 06 Aug 2010 14:46:00 GMT
Dad called me to come in for supper. I heard him, but I was playing outside. Then he appeared at the door and asked, “Son, didn’t you hear me calling you for supper?” I said, “Yeah, I heard you Dad, but I wasn’t listening.” It was only a matter of seconds till I learned there is a difference between hearing and listening.

Jesus understood that and carefully chose his speech for those who would listen. Jesus did not invent parables, he magnified and transformed them by the way he used them. His word pictures were understandable, if you were listening.

The unassuming,  story about dirt and seed would reveal powerful spiritual meaning for those who would listen.

The listeners got it. The stubborn missed it and would reject both the message and messenger.

The image Jesus depicted in this story was not complicated. It was about God’s Word (seed) and people who needed that Word (soil).

The seed was good. The topsoil ( mankind was made from dust of the ground.)

The application is this: People reproduce the Word of God in direct relation to the kind of soil they are.

 “Along the path” (vv. 4 and 19)

Jesus described this soil as unable and unready to receive the seed because it was so hard. Good seed simply lay there, until birds came and ate them. Jesus explained that this personal soil did not understand his words and so the devil took the words away.

This uncultivated soil was not capable of growing the seed, and it was snatched away. The devil doesn’t care what he uses as long as he can prevent an understanding of truth.

Sometimes this enemy uses what others are doing in the group you join . . . talking, playing, making noise, etc., so that you will neither hear nor understand Jesus’ words.

“On rocky places” (vv. 5 and 20)

This soil is shallow, but like grass growing in cracks of a sidewalk, the seed grows quickly. Unlike grass, it withers because it has not developed a root.

When life is like this, the seed is received with joy and enthusiasm but without more than shallow emotion. The expectation is that once the word enters, problems should be eliminated. Confusion results when the first problem or trouble comes, because the emotion is also changed.

How many young Christians have dropped away from fellowship when the first trouble came? They falsely conclude: “If that is how God treats us, we don’t want to have anything to do with him.”

“Fell among the thorns” (vv. 7 and 22)

The good earth is contaminated with weed seeds. Jesus identified the weeds that choke out the effective growth of his Word. The weeds are: “worries of this life . . . deceitfulness of wealth.” Luke’s Gospel adds “pleasures” (Luke 8:14).

The very things that will contaminate the production of a bountiful crop are the cares we have about things. The deceit of wealth, which chokes out the good seed, includes personal vanity, pride, ambition, power, and quest for status. Even friends say we ought to have “fun.”

On good soil (v. 8 and 23)

Fertile,  soil produces more than what was planted. For the listener. God’s Word has the powerful potential to produce a harvest if that word is allowed to take root and grow.

Now comes the difficult application. Lack of faith, unbelief, or spiritual growth cannot be blamed on the speaker unless he or she fails to deliver God’s good seed (his Word).

The responsibility for hearing and listening rests on the listener not the speaker.

How can this listening be improved? Begin by praying for the speaker and for your own listening.

Prepare yourself to listen by expecting to be inspired and challenged.

Then, review your notes and read Scriptures, allow God’s good “seed” to grow.

The result could be a bountiful harvest of God’s Word multiplying in your life so that you never say...

“I heard you Father, but I wasn’t listening.”

RBKay]]> http://www.mybasicisp.net/blogs/RBKay/2010/02/04/A-Brothers-Love Thu, 04 Feb 2010 10:57:00 GMT
“ Where is Abel your brother? ” ( Gen. 4: 9 ).

As the question implied ignorance on God’s part, Cain may have wondered to what extent the Almighty is omniscient, and his answer was in line with this — “ I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper? ”

This question continually recurs, not only among the members of the world, but also among the brethren of God’s family, those consecrated or dedicated to Him, as disciples of Jesus.

To what extent is one his brother’s keeper? How far does our responsibility go?

Let us look first at God’s family, our Lord Jesus’ family. Its members are declared to be bound or held one to another by the cords of love ( 2 Cor. 5: 14 ), so that, if one member suffers, all the members suffer
with him, and, if one member be honored, all the members are honored. ( 1 Cor. 12: 12-27 ), declares that even the humblest ones were necessary. As for our natural bodies we bestow the greater honor upon some, and seek to hide the appearance of members which are least attractive and pleasing, so we need to cover them with the garment of love more than others.

The new commandment which our Lord gave to His disciples was, “That you love one another, as I have loved you ” ( John 15: 12 ). The Lord indicates that we are to have a like obligation toward all of the household of faith, as He did, and to rejoice in the privilege to lay down our lives for the brethren, serving them with our intellect, time, and energy at the cost of our own ease and comfort ( 1 John 3: 16 )

In the time of distress how far do we take “ our brothers “ do we help by going, do we give of our resources, do we pray for their salvation?

We come up with many reasons not to help, but are they legitimate? Are they the Lord would approve of? Are the reasons just excuses?

Yesterday; I seen a bumper sticker “ It’s all about me “ no; I don’t know the reason the person had it on their car but the statement speaks volumes in itself.

I pray the Christian family does not take that attitude, it should be “ it’s all about you “ That is what Jesus said when He went to the Cross; ( “ it is all about you “ ).

RBKay

John 13:34  
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.]]>