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  So as I made the case for in yesterday’s message…we come to discover that we all have our own unique ‘story’ when it comes to how we met or encountered God for the first time; that is…assuming you have already. For others…that story remains to be written. But we can classify those stories as a ‘personal experience’; and while personal experiences can be wonderful and life changing…that is all they are- a personal experience. It is a waste of time to try and compare your story with someone else’s because God has His own unique way in meeting us where we are at, and we are told that He first has to ‘draw us’ (John 6:44); but that is no guarantee that we will respond to His drawing favorably. I do believe we have a ‘choice’ in the matter (Joshua 24:15) and we can opt to remain in darkness (John 3:19-20) if that is indeed what we ‘love more’. But ‘coming to Jesus’ is a ‘starting place’, not a final destination where we have ‘arrived’. I think the church world at large would do a gr...
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  Lots of sincere people will tell you quite candidly about ‘personal experiences’ that have had when it comes to spiritual matters in God’s kingdom. I’ve had a few myself. Personal experiences are wonderful and can offer great encouragement, confirmation, and inspiration to our faith in so many ways; but it’s important to be reminded that personal experiences are just that: ‘personal’. Where we get into trouble is when we start wanting to build or establish ‘doctrine’ around those ‘experiences’…and then that experience you had begins to supersede what God’s word has already made clear. In other words, it becomes a problem when the experience conflicts with the word…and then we choose that experience over what God’s word says. This is usually when the ‘train comes off the tracks’ and all bets are off as new ‘denominations’ and doctrines begin to take root, and we start building structures around those new doctrines or experiences. God has a way of ‘revealing’ truths to us in order...
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  ‘Heartbreaking’ is the only word that comes to mind to describe the devastating wildfires that have swept through eastern Washington, near the city of Spokane. We actually know a family there who had to evacuate as the fires were approaching their home. The most recent numbers I saw at this writing was over 700 structures have been consumed by flames and 65,000 people have been forced to flee the destructive inferno that was apparently set by some deranged person. It’s hard to imagine what many of those residents are going through right now. I mean, think about it…one morning you are out working in your garden, maybe painting the nursery for an expectant child, or finally putting together that long awaited swing set you promised the kids…and in the next moment you are scrambling to gather up what few possessions you can think of as you load up the car and leave your home, with minutes to spare….uncertain if you will have a home to return to in the next day or two. I don’t know ...
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  Jesus called him the ‘father of all lies’ (John 8:44). He was around back in the early days of creation and first lied to Adam and Eve… contradicting what God had made clear to them about what would happen if they ate fruit from that one tree. God told them they would ‘surely die'; and cloaked as a serpent…he told them: “You shall surely not die.” (Gen. 2:17; 3:4). ‘He’…being Satan, or the ‘Devil’, of course. Paul also refers to him as a master deceiver, using the incident in the garden with Eve as an example of what can happen to us today (2 Cor. 11:3-4), indicating that he (Satan) can even appear as an ‘angel of light’ (14). John writes in Revelation of how war broke out in heaven long ago when Michael the archangel and his forces battled against the ‘dragon and his angels’…casting them to the earth’ (Rev. 12:7-9). John even identifies who this ‘dragon’ was/is- the ‘serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan…who deceives the whole world.” In fact, Jesus even shares the memo...
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  Yes, Jesus is still in the business today of ‘healing all who are oppressed by the devil’ (Acts 10:38; Heb. 13:8). Yes, we can indeed ‘give place to the devil’…who comes to ‘steal, kill, and destroy’. (Eph. 4:27; John 10:10; 1 Pet. 5:8) And yes, thanks to all the ‘knowledge’ God provides from His word…we can truly avoid being ‘destroyed’ (Hosea 4:6). After all, it's not His will for any to perish (2 Peter 3:9). It is from the Bible where we learn of the ‘schemes of the devil’ and how we can ‘resist him’ so that he will ‘flee from us’. (2 Cor. 2:11; James 4:7) I know this can be hard to wrap our heads around given how much diluted teaching exists today in many churches…but Satan is actually ‘used by God’…to carry out ‘discipline and judgement’ against sin…for the ‘destruction of the flesh so that our spirits might be saved’ (1 Cor. 5:5). What do you think the writer of Hebrews was alluding to when they mention how God ‘disciplines those whom He loves’…and how this ‘chastening is ...
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  The apostle Paul was giving some wise and insightful advise to Timothy, a young pastor whom he was mentoring…writing these words in his second letter to him:  "Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. Instead, pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love, and peace. Enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts. Again I say, don’t get involved in foolish, ignorant arguments that only start fights. A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone, be able to teach, and be patient with difficult people.” He continues on… “Gently instruct those who oppose the truth. Perhaps God will change those people’s hearts, and they will learn the truth. Then they will come to their senses and escape from the devil’s trap. For they have been…‘held captive’ by him (the devil) to do whatever he wants.” (2 Tim. 2:22-26 NLT) I’d be curious to know how any modern-day ‘theologians’ who might scoff at the idea of ‘literal demon spirits’ existin...
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  Shortly after completing His ‘time of testing’ in the wilderness where He confronted Satan, we are told Jesus returned ‘in the power of the Spirit’ (Luke 4:14) and began teaching in various synagogues. He then returned to Nazareth where He had grown up, and as was His custom, He went to the synagogue there on the Sabbath day and used a reading from the scrolls of Isaiah to make a rather bold announcement. This is when Jesus announced to the world (for the most part) that God’s Spirit was upon Him and that He had been 'anointed to proclaim liberty to the captives…and to set at liberty those who were oppressed’, among other things (Luke 4:18). Stop. Right. There. We might want to address a glaring question or two here before continuing on…like ‘who are the captives', who is the 'captor'…and who are they being ‘oppressed’ by? Can I just tell you up front that despite the popular opinion of the day and the deeply seeded and resentful feelings that many Jews felt at the t...
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