Living in God's way

2012-09-21T06:17:00.002-07:00

Our Secret Weapons

2 Corinthians 10:1-6

For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds (2 Corinthians 10:3-4).

Paul says we do not employ the weapons of the flesh. What are those weapons? What does the world use to try to solve the problems it recognizes in society? You know what it uses: coercion, manipulation, pressure groups, compromises, or demonstrations that ultimately result in raised voices, clenched fists, and outbreaks of conflict. These are the weapons of the world. So it is understandable why those who are governed by the flesh would seek to employ fleshly weapons to get things done. But the universal testimony of history is these do not work.

We have other weapons. They are mighty, they are powerful, and they accomplish something. They will "demolish strongholds" of evil, Paul says. But there are no answers in this passage to the question, "What are these weapons?" The apostle has referred to them in various places in his letters.

The first weapon available to us is truth. The Christian is given an insight into life and reality that others do not have. We know what is behind the forces at work in our society today, and we ought to know how to go about overcoming them. That is what truth is all about. Truth is realism. The wonderful thing about the Word of God is that when you understand the world as the Bible sees it, you are looking at life the way it really is. That is why it is so important that we understand the Scriptures, that we refresh our minds with them all the time, for we are constantly bombarded with illusion and error every day, and it is easy to drift back into thinking the way everybody around us thinks.

Love is also a powerful weapon, and in Scripture, the Word of God links truth with love. When you begin to treat people with courtesy instead of anger, when you accept them as people with feelings like yours and understand that they too are struggling with difficulties and see things out of focus as you often do, when you begin to treat them as people in trouble who need help--that is what love is--then you change the whole picture.

Along with truth and love in Scripture is faith. Faith is the recognition that God is present in history. He has not left us alone to stumble on our own way. The Lord Jesus sits in control of all the nations of earth. Faith believes that and expects Him to do something. In Hebrews 11 we have the great record of the plain, ordinary men and women like you and me who found, by faith, that they could stop the mouths of lions, open the doors of prisons, and change the course of history.

Another powerful weapon for the Christian, proceeding from faith, is prayer. The power of prayer is held before us throughout Scripture. We are constantly exhorted to expose the situations in which we find ourselves to the prayers of believing people, both individually and corporately, praying that God would move in and change things. Again and again the record testifies that Christians who pray have drastically altered events.

Lord, help me from here on to begin to use the weapons of truth, love, faith, and prayer.

2012-06-24T10:48:00.000-07:00

Generational Curses

by Bob DeWaay

“You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.” (Exodus 20:5,6)

“Know therefore that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and His lovingkindness to a thousandth generation with those who love Him and keep His commandments; but repays those who hate Him to their faces, to destroy them; He will not delay with him who hates Him, He will repay him to his face.” (Deuteronomy 7:9,10)

Oftentimes when a passage is unclear it is used to support false teachings. Because when many Christians are unsure of the meaning of a passage, they are less able to discern erroneous teaching based on the verses in question. This is surely the case for the popular teaching on generational curses that is based on the Biblical passages cited above. Many popular books published in the last thirty years claim that Christians are subjected to unknown generational curses that have detrimental effects on their lives. The writers of the books offer their special knowledge that can break the curses.

In this article we will examine the Old Testament passages about generational curses. By careful exegesis centering around the whole counsel of God, we shall show that these passages do not support the idea that Christians are cursed because of the sins of their parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents. We shall also make it clear that these verses do not teach that demons have the right or ability to inhabit Christians because of generational curses nor that Satan has the right to inflict curses upon Christians because of ancestral sins. On the contrary, Christians have the “blessing of Abraham” because of their relationship to Christ.

The Sins of the Fathers

The first passage in the Bible that mentions God's warning about the consequences of idolatry affecting the third and fourth generation is found in the Decalogue (the Ten Commandments). It says “I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me” (Exodus 20:5b). This is a warning about the grave consequences of worshiping other gods. The Old Testament record is replete with such warnings as well as narrative passages that describe the horrible consequences of idolatry in the life of Israel. Even this warning is tempered with a greater promise of God's mercy: “But showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments” (verse 6). This will be important to our understanding of the second commandment and similar passages.

At Sinai, God entered into a covenant relationship with Israel and took her to be His own people. They were to honor that covenant from their hearts, by loving God and obeying Him. Worshiping other gods was covenant-breaking in its worst form, analogous to spiritual adultery. They were persistently warned of the consequences of such behavior, yet it was all too common. The consequences would even mean that God would “visit the iniquities to the third and fourth generation.” What does this mean? On the surface it appears that God would punish the children and grandchildren for sins that they did not personally commit. But Deuteronomy 24:16 provides good reason to reject this interpretation: “Fathers shall not be put to death for their sons, nor shall sons be put to death for their fathers; everyone shall be put to death for his own sin.” Later we shall examine Ezekiel 18 which deals with this issue in more detail.

Biblical scholars have pointed out that if the children turn to God they shall avert this punishment. For example, John Calvin commented about Exodus 20:5 that, “[W]hen God declares that He will cast back the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of the children, He does not mean that He will take vengeance on poor wretches who have never deserved anything of the sort; but that He is at liberty to punish the crimes of the fathers upon their children and descendants, with the proviso that they too may be justly punished, as being imitators of their fathers.¹ Contemporary Old Testament scholar Walter Kaiser writes, “Children who repeat the sins of their fathers evidence it in personally hating God.”² Kaiser takes “those who hate Me” to apply to the children as well as the fathers. The children themselves carry on with hating God as shown by their continued idolatry and covenant breaking. God is just and merciful and nothing in this passage suggests otherwise.

Jewish scholars make several interesting points concerning the sins of the fathers being visited to the third and fourth generations. One is based on this passage in Jeremiah:

'Ah Lord God! Behold, Thou hast made the heavens and the earth by Thy great power and by Thine outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for Thee, who showest lovingkindness to thousands, but repayest the iniquity of fathers into the bosom of their children after them, O great and mighty God. The Lord of hosts is His name; great in counsel and mighty in deed, whose eyes are open to all the ways of the sons of men, giving to everyone according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds; (Jeremiah 32:17-10)

Here is a Jewish interpretation of this passage: “Perhaps the strongest Scriptural support for the interpretation that ‘poqed 'avon abot 'al banim’ [visits the iniquities of fathers on sons] applies only to children who continue the sinful ways of their father has been brought from Jeremiah 32:18-19. There, in two consecutive verses, the prophet cites God's attribute of cross-generational reward and punishment immediately followed by the principle of individual accountability.”³

There is another mention of this principle in a passage that suggests that the key point is God's mercy, not His wrath. In this following section of Torah, God shows His great power through His mercy and pardon, with reference to the idea of the third and fourth generation:

“But now, I pray, let the power of the Lord be great, just as Thou hast declared, 'The Lord is slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generations.' Pardon, I pray, the iniquity of this people according to the greatness of Thy lovingkindness, just as Thou also hast forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now." So the Lord said, "I have pardoned them according to your word.” (Numbers 14:17-20)

What is so interesting here is that Moses cited the passage from the second commandment that warned about the consequences on the third and fourth generation when pleading for mercy and pardon from the Lord. This is strong evidence that Moses himself considered the passage to show a limitation on God's wrath and evidence of His mercy. Some Jewish scholars have seen it this way: Some have interpreted the concept of cross-generational retribution as associated with God's mercy. In Numbers 14:18 Moshe cites this characteristic of God in his prayer for forgiveness. This may be understood as asking God in His mercy to postpone punishment to later generations, to allow the present generation the opportunity to mend their ways or at least to keep the Covenant alive.⁴

As a matter of fact, in the case of those who came out of Egypt, God judged the parents for idolatry and unbelief, but it was the children who actually entered the promised land.⁵ God showed great patience with His chosen people. Rather than wipe out the unbelieving and idolatrous generation that grumbled in the wilderness, God allowed them to live and raise their children, so that the promise would be kept alive through a future generation that would be faithful to the covenant. As we shall see, God’s mercy goes much farther than his wrath.

Showing Lovingkindness to Thousands

Another passage that mentions this warning is Exodus 34:6,7: “Then the Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed, ‘The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.’” We often miss the contrast in both the Exodus 20 passage and the one here between God's greater love and mercy that tempers His just punishment of sin. These verses in Exodus 34:6,7 emphasize this. The “third and fourth generation” is a limitation on God's punishment in the context of His greater mercy.

The context of this section of Exodus 34 is God revealing Himself to Moses on mount Sinai. What God said about Himself here was so important in His self-revelation to His covenant people that is was often restated, like a creed. What was oft repeated was this: “The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth.”⁶ This became so much impressed on the minds of the Jews that even Jonah, when he wished to see the Ninevites destroyed because of his hatred for them, repeated this concept. Here is how Jonah responded after the blood-thirsty, pagan Assyrians (Israel's enemies) repented after hearing Jonah's preaching and were saved from God's wrath:

“But it greatly displeased Jonah, and he became angry. And he prayed to the Lord and said, "Please Lord, was not this what I said while I was still in my own country? Therefore, in order to forestall this I fled to Tarshish, for I knew that Thou art a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who relents concerning calamity.” (Jonah 4:1,2)

This came right from God's revelation of Himself to Moses in Exodus 34. Even the reluctant preacher Jonah knew that what was promised was not that the children would be destroyed without recourse unto the third and fourth generations, but that God was more willing to show mercy because of His gracious and compassionate nature. Jonah was right to expect that God would show mercy, and the events proved this correct.

Consider the fact that the Assyrians, whose capital city was Nineveh, were well known in the ancient world for their viciousness and brutality. They were Israel's greatest enemies for a good part of her history from the divided kingdom to just before the Babylonian captivity. They were polytheistic idolaters. Yet Jonah, when called by God to preach the imminence of Gods wrath, ran from his call. The reason, as shown in Jonah 4:1,2, was that Jonah knew that the only reason God was sending him to preach to the pagan enemies was because God was intending to show them mercy. Jonah did not want that. These Ninevites who repented clearly had evil ancestors. Their parents and grandparents had hated the God of Israel and made the Jews their enemies. Yet God forgave them when they repented. His wrath was forestalled. That this special theology lesson from the mouth of Jonah came from Exodus 34:6 should tell us a lot about the meaning of the passage. God could have justly destroyed Nineveh. He chose to show His mercy.

The contrast between “thousands” and “third and fourth” shows the greatness of God's mercy and grace. His lovingkindness extends far beyond His just punishment of sin. The text says, “He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished.” In the context this shows that no one should presume upon Gods lovingkindness (hesed in Hebrew, one of the most important words in the Old Testament about God's nature). If someone was to think that because God is long suffering, slow to anger, and merciful, then there is no reason to concern one’s self with loving God and keeping covenant, that person would find out that God will visit the iniquity to the third and fourth generation. No child can assume covenant benefits solely on the ground of his father's faith.

Calvin also comments on this in his commentary on the second commandment: “We must, however, observe, that in these words grace is not promised severally to all the posterity of the saints, as if God were bound to each individual who may derive their race and origin from them. There were many degenerate children of Abraham, to whom it profited nothing that they were called offspring of the holy patriarch.”⁷ Calvin, commenting on the contrast between the thousands and the third and fourth generations, states that, “He extends His mercy further than the severity of His judgment.”⁸ The warning in these passages, however, is to not presume on covenant blessings based on ancestry or ancestral promises. God punishes covenant breakers who thereby show that they hate Him.

God Repays Those who Hate Him

There is a passage in Deuteronomy that sheds light on these passages in Exodus because it also mentions God’s mercy to thousands, as well as His justice: “Know therefore that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and His lovingkindness to a thousandth generation with those who love Him and keep His commandments; but repays those who hate Him to their faces, to destroy them; He will not delay with him who hates Him, He will repay him to his face” (Deuteronomy 7:9,10). Deuteronomy is Moses’ “sermon” to Israel before his death. In this book he brings the people face to face with all the implications of their covenant relationship with God. In this passage we see Moses applying terminology from the second commandment which had been reiterated in Deuteronomy 5:9,10.

To love God is the primary requirement of the Law, as was emphasized in Deuteronomy 6:5. To “hate” God in the context of covenant terminology was to reject the covenant and God as a covenant partner.⁹ Concerning the phrase “to the face” in this passage, Eugene Merrill states that, “This expression occurs only here and probably means that the judgement would not be reserved for unborn generations but would fall immediately upon those who had sinned in this manner, right there and then.”¹⁰ Otherwise, the Israelites would misunderstand the 2nd commandment to mean that the children would be punished for the father's sins and the ones who sinned would escape. This verse says that those who reject the covenant (hating God) and refuse to love Him would bear their own immediate punishment. Although the third and fourth generations are not mentioned in Deuteronomy 7:9,10, the wording of “a thousandth generation” brings to mind the previous passages. This interpretation gives weight to what Calvin and Kaiser said, that it is the haters of God themselves who are punished, not children who refuse to participate in their parent's sins.

The Parent’s Sour Grapes

This brings to mind the teaching of Ezekiel 18. Evidently the second commandment was misused later in Israel’s history to claim that God was unjustly punishing righteous children for the sins of unrighteous parents. The complaint took this form: “What do you mean by using this proverb concerning the land of Israel saying, ‘The fathers eat the sour grapes, But the children's teeth are set on edge’”? (Ezekiel 18:2). The people in Ezekiel's day had reason to so misinterpret this commandment because they were the generation that was living during the Babylonian captivity. This captivity happened after many generations of idolatry and the warnings of many prophets. Ralph Alexander comments that, “They reasoned that the present generation was being judged because of the past wickedness of their forefathers.”¹¹

It is likely that the sour grapes proverb expressed a misuse of the warning attached to the second commandment of the Decalogue. Alexander argues that this was the case and explains what he believes to be the proper understanding of it:

This principle of the Decalogue teaches that children would be affected by their father's sin. . . . Parents model for their children. The sinful behavior of parents is readily followed by their children. Regrettably, therefore, children frequently found themselves practicing the same sinful acts as their father. Likewise they must accept the same just punishment for such actions. However, each child is still individually responsible. He can abort the “sin-punishment-inheritance” progression at any time. But he must repent and do what is right.¹²

The point of the captivity was to purge Israel of pagan idolatry that was covenant breaking in its worse form. The second commandment forbade this pagan practice. The Israelites of the captivity, rather than complaining of being unjustly punished because it was their parents who were the idolaters, are urged to return to the Lord in covenant faithfulness, and thus “live.” There is to be no fatalistic interpretation of the principle of the third and fourth generation.

Ezekiel made this very explicit: “Yet you say, ‘Why should the son not bear the punishment for the father's iniquity?’ When the son has practiced justice and righteousness, and has observed all My statutes and done them, he shall surely live. The person who sins will die. The son will not bear the punishment for the father's iniquity, nor will the father bear the punishment for the son's iniquity; the righteousness of the righteous will be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked will be upon himself” (Ezekiel 18:19,20). This chapter of Ezekiel concludes with a call to repent and live. The point was that those who were in captivity because of the nation's rebellious ways, could still be blessed if they turned to the Lord in faith. Some, like Daniel, did and the Lord brought a remnant out of captivity.

One of the most beautiful prayers in the Bible is that of Daniel in Daniel 9. Daniel exhibited the complete opposite attitude to those who were complaining by use of the sour grapes proverb. Though Daniel himself refused to succumb to the pagan idolatry that was all around him in Babylon, he realized that God's purposes were at work in the captivity. He read in the prophet Jeremiah that the captivity was to last 70 years (Daniel 9:2), so he began to pray as the time for release approached. He confessed both God's justice and mercy:

And I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed and said, "Alas, O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments, we have sinned, committed iniquity, acted wickedly, and rebelled, even turning aside from Thy commandments and ordinances. . . . Righteousness belongs to Thee, O Lord, but to us open shame, as it is this day__ to the men of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and all Israel, those who are nearby and those who are far away in all the countries to which Thou hast driven them, because of their unfaithful deeds which they have committed against Thee. Open shame belongs to us, O Lord, to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, because we have sinned against Thee. To the Lord our God belong compassion and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against Him.” (Daniel 9:4,5,7-9)

Daniel had the correct understanding of their covenant relationship to the Lord and His self-revealed nature. Though captive in Babylon because of Israel's long history of idolatry and rebellion, Daniel saw God as righteous, compassionate and forgiving. Yes God had visited the sins of the fathers, just as He said would, but Daniel found great mercy and blessing because of his own faith in God. Nothing any of his ancestors did, as sinful as it was, kept Daniel from having a humble attitude of faith and trust. Daniel was blessed in spite of external suffering because of the sins of previous generations.

Ezekiel 18 lays to rest any notion that the “visiting of the iniquities to the third and fourth generation” removed responsibility from anyone. Those who rebelled against God come under the curses of the covenant. Those who humbly trust God, by faith, shall be blessed no matter what their ancestors did. Also, God's continued faithfulness to His covenant promises is never ultimately thwarted by man. God had promised Abraham that through his seed, all the families of the earth would be blessed (Genesis 12:3). That many of Abraham's children ended up putting themselves under a curse because of their own idolatry does not thwart God's plan to bring forth blessed children of Abraham.

This principle of covenant blessing and individual responsibility is also shown in God's covenant promises to David. The term “visit” in regard to sins is used in Psalm 89:

My lovingkindness I will keep for him forever, And My covenant shall be confirmed to him. So I will establish his descendants forever, And his throne as the days of heaven. If his sons forsake My law, And do not walk in My judgments, If they violate My statutes, And do not keep My commandments, Then I will visit their transgression with the rod, And their iniquity with stripes. But I will not break off My lovingkindness from him, Nor deal falsely in My faithfulness. My covenant I will not violate, Nor will I alter the utterance of My lips. Once I have sworn by My holiness; I will not lie to David. (Psalm 89:29-35)

As we see in Ezekiel 18, this Psalm confirms God's justice in His dealings. God made an unconditional promise to David that he would have a son whose throne and kingship would last forever (see 2Samuel 7:13,14; Isaiah 9:7; Jeremiah 33:15-21). Between the time of David and the fulfillment of this promise through Messiah, David would have many unfaithful sons (meaning descendants). The passage in Psalm 89 says they will be punished, but God's covenant with David would continue. Covenant blessing does not offer comfort to rebels and idolaters. But God will be faithful and raise up a person (Messiah) and a people (those who put their trust in God through Messiah) who will be truly blessed.

The Key to Blessing

To summarize the Old Testament material, we can say that the passages about the “third and fourth generation” show a limitation on Gods judgement, since they are mentioned in the context of His lovingkindness shown to thousands. The key to blessing was to be in right covenant relationship with God. This meant putting ones faith and trust in God alone, and loving Him alone as the One who had chosen them. Whenever this was the case, even in a situation such as Daniel's where the external affects of the rebellion of previous generations was all around him, God's blessing is still there. However, for those rebellious sons who may want to claim covenant blessing based on their genetic relationship to the patriarchs, they can expect to be repaid “to their faces.” They shall bear the punishment and curse for their own idolatrous ways.

Now we can look at what the New Testament says about the matter of blessing and cursing and put to rest the false teachings that are being perpetrated on many Christians who are being told they are suffering from “generational curses” even though they know Jesus Christ as Lord and trust His finished work for their salvation. In Galatians 3:8 Paul quoted Genesis 12:3 to prove that God justifies Gentiles by faith. He then says, “So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer. For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, to perform them’” (Galatians 3:9,10). Paul was warning the Galatians that to try to find blessing by going back to the stipulations of the old covenant (circumcision in particular) was to put one's self under a curse. The true blessing is obtained by faith, which was true in the Old Testament also as shown in the faith of Abraham.

Again the issue comes down to covenant faithfulness. For Christians, under the New Covenant, our blessing is because of the love and trust relationship we have with God through Jesus Christ. Paul goes on to say this, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us__ for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree’ -- in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith” (Galatians 3:13,14). If you have been regenerated as are all who have true faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, then you are inheriting the blessings of God and are delivered from the curse of the Law. The cause of the curse is sin. God Himself pronounced the curse. God's wrath must be appeased. Christs substitutionary death on the cross has appeased God's wrath against sin for all believers and has removed the curse. We are blessed “sons of Abraham.”

Just as in the Old Testament, our physical ancestry is not the issue. John the Baptist told the religious leaders of his day that since God can raise up “sons of Abraham” from stones if necessary, their claim to blessing through genetic descent was not going to avail (Matthew 3:9). Likewise, people who have nothing going for them through their ancestors (pagan Gentiles) can receive covenant blessings if they put their hope and trust in God through Messiah, the true “seed” of Abraham. Even if our parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents were atheists, occultists and blasphemers, God will pour out the full blessings of the New Covenant upon us if we truly come to Him through the cross.

On the other hand, those who put their trust in man (Jeremiah 17:5) are cursed. That is the essence of the Galatian heresy. By putting people back under a system of works, the false teachers would surely put them under the curse of the law. The Biblical teaching on this is very clear and it holds from Genesis through Revelation. Those who trust God (Jeremiah 17:7) are blessed.

False Teachings on Curses

With what we have learned from this study of the Scriptures, it will not be difficult to see the error of contemporary teachings on generational curses. They uniformly claim that putting one's faith in Christ alone does not break these curses. Something more is necessary. It is this “something more” that refutes everything that Bible says about the matter and makes these teachings insidious. Both the Galatian and Colossian heresies were similar in that they claimed “something more” (in the one case works, and in the other special knowledge and religious experiences) had to be added to the finished work of Christ for Christians to have fulness or to be pleasing to God. Modern false teachers promote the same errors.

For example, Neil Anderson teaches, based on the Exodus 20:4-5, that demons are passed from generation to generation and that these demons have ground in the lives of Christians because of generational sins.¹³ To get the curse of these demonic strongholds out of their lives, Christians supposedly need to find out what they are, use utterances (called “prayers” in the book) to break them, and need counselors with special knowledge of these things if they are severe cases.¹⁴ The words that are to be repeated are provided, including, “I cancel out all demonic working that has been passed on to me from my ancestors. . .”¹⁵

These utterances (I would call them “incantations”) sound very pious and references to Christ and the cross are even given. However, there are obvious problems. One is that Exodus 20:4,5 said nothing about Satan or demons. It was God who promised to punish covenant breakers. Another problem is that according to Colossians 2 we are already complete in Christ (verse 10) and that the principalities and powers that dominated us before we met Christ were disarmed through the cross. The reason was that the true power they had over us, our sinfulness in respect to God's law, was taken away. Neil Anderson teaches that the demons have strongholds in our lives as Christians until we gain knowledge and command the evil spirits to go. These spirits supposedly have their places in us because of ancestral sins. Let me point out a problem with this: if the cross is the basis of victory, which Anderson admits, then why would God leave us in demonic bondage after we come to know Jesus through the cross? That is, unless we gain revelation knowledge and say the right prayers and utterances. This is the Colossian heresy all over again. We supposedly need Christ plus knowledge and some religious process to gain victory over the forces that are deemed to stand between us and “completeness” in Christ.¹⁶

Another teacher who has written a popular book on spiritual curses is Derek Prince. He also quotes Exodus 20 to show that generational curses are operating in the lives of Christians.¹⁷ He writes:

A person who comes from such a background is heir to a curse that may be compared to a weed planted in his life, linking him to satanic forces outside himself. This weed has two kinds of roots: one long tap root going straight downward, and other less powerful lateral roots. The tap root represents the influence of ancestors who worshiped false gods.¹⁸

It is true that the Bible calls occult activity a serious sin and that God does judge idolaters and occult practitioners. The problem arises when we are told that coming to Christ under the terms of the new covenant still leaves these curses operating in our lives unless something more is done.

This is the trap Prince falls into. He writes, “Before he can enjoy true liberty and the fullness of the new creation in Christ, this weed must be completely pulled out, with all its roots.”¹⁹ He then quotes Matthew 15:13 about the pulling out of weeds that the Father has not planted. This passage is in the context of the disciple's discussion of the Pharisee's being offended by Jesus’ teaching. The disciples were told “let them alone.” God would root those plants (the Pharisees) out Himself. This has nothing to do with the removing of curses that are supposedly still operating in Christian's lives. At issue is whether coming to Christ in faith and fully trusting His finished work removes us from being under the curse of sin or whether it does not. If it does, then God is not going to allow demons to work in our lives because of unknown sins of ancestors. We were all cursed by ancestral sin, that of Adam! (1Corinthians 15:22). If we are in Christ the curse of sin is removed.

Current popular teachings on generational curses leave little hope for anyone. If Christ has broken all curses once for all for all those who know Him, then there would be no reason to write books to Christians telling them what processes and knowledge they need to break the curses. If Christ has not removed the curses, then by definition all people are likely to be under one. For example consider Derek Prince's conclusion about generational curses:

Conversely, any one of the four generations preceding us, by having committed these sins, could be the cause of a curse over us in our generation. Each of us has two parents, four grandparents, eight great-grandparents, and sixteen great-great-grandparents. This makes a total of thirty persons, any one of whom might be the cause of a curse over our lives. How many of us would be in a position to guarantee that none of our thirty ancestors was ever involved in any form of idolatry or the occult?²⁰

Obviously, we can never be sure of freedom from curses if we accept Prince's premises.

These teachers also give lists of common human maladies that are possibly caused by curses. They also provide anecdotal evidence of Christians who were struggling with problems that turned out to be caused by spiritual curses that needed to be broken through the therapies they propose. They define the problem so that everyone is included, deny that coming to Christ through the gospel effectively removes the curse (by using born again Christians as examples of people with generational curses needing breaking), and then propose their knowledge and their therapeutic processes as the answer.

I wrote earlier about Marilyn Hickey's book that claims Christians are cursed for not keeping certain Levitical laws from the Old Testament.²¹ Others follow the same error in their teachings on tithing, invoking the curse of God on people who do not tithe as prescribed in the Old Testament law. For example consider this citation from a recent book: “If you aren't tithing, you are taking that which rightfully belongs to God and using it for yourself. Not tithing is a clear violation of God's commandments. . . . Not only are you robbing God but you are bringing a curse upon yourself.”²² This author then cites Malachi 3:9 as a proof text. As I argued in the earlier article on this matter, if we are cursed for not keeping one aspect of the Mosaic Covenant, then we are also cursed for not keeping any of the other 613 laws prescribed therein.

One more example of this insidious teaching should show how wide spread it is. Rebecca Brown and Daniel Yoder write, “Sadly, we have found that very few Christians have any knowledge of those things that the Lord proclaims to be unclean. Thus their lives and homes are cluttered with unclean things which enable curses and cursing into their lives.”²³ They claim we need revelations and special knowledge to get free from these curses and that Satan has legal rights to curse Christians and send demons our way if we do certain things wrong. Among them are such things as “living on cursed ground, living in cursed housing, having cursed objects,” and many others.²⁴ Even “circumstances beyond our control” may leave Christians cursed.²⁵ The subtitle for this book is “hidden source of trouble in the Christian’s life.” Any problems we may have could be caused by unknown curses, and its our lack of revelation knowledge that is supposedly destroying us. As with all of these types of false teachings, the Christian is left with no hope or assurance. We may be victim of unseen forces and curses no matter what our relationship with Christ is.

Conclusion

We need to reject as unbiblical any teaching that says that those who put their hope and trust in Christ are likely cursed. God has pronounced us blessed. Balaam could not curse God’s blessed people, neither can anyone else. The Bible says, “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord And whose trust is the Lord” (Jeremiah 17:7). That is the simple version. The false teachers are hopelessly confused and give no hope or assurance. They put us back in bondage, and thus the teachings themselves and their perpetrators are accursed (Galatians 1:8) according to God’s Word.

Generational Curses

2011-04-15T23:12:00.003-07:00

Generational Curses

by Bob DeWaay

The Sins of the Fathers

Jewish scholars make several interesting points concerning the sins of the fathers being visited to the third and fourth generations. One is based on this passage in Jeremiah:

Showing Lovingkindness to Thousands

God Repays Those who Hate Him

The Parent’s Sour Grapes

This principle of covenant blessing and individual responsibility is also shown in God's covenant promises to David. The term “visit” in regard to sins is used in Psalm 89:

The Key to Blessing

False Teachings on Curses

Obviously, we can never be sure of freedom from curses if we accept Prince's premises.

Conclusion

"The Jezebel Spirit and How It Operates."

2011-04-14T00:57:00.000-07:00

What is a Jezebel Spirit?
What is the Jezebel spirit? The Jezebel spirit is not just one spirit like Satan is. This is a “type” of evil spirit in Satan’s kingdom. There is only one devil, one Satan, but there are many spirits that would be considered a Jezebel type spirit, as they all have a particular type of personality and a specific way in which they like to operate.

The reason many deliverance ministers have used the term, “Jezebel spirit,” is because of the nature of its personality and the way it operates once it sets up shop within someone. The word “Jezebel” is coming from the OT story of Queen Jezebel back in the days of Elijah. She was a ruling queen back at that time and she had cold-bloodedly killed many of God’s prophets back at the time she was ruling.

As we explained to you in our “The Different Kinds of Demonic Spirits,” demons have two different names. They have their created name given to them by God when they were created, and they also have a function name, which will tell you what kind of spirit you are dealing with.

For example, some of the function names of demons would be spirits of lust, spirits of anger, spirits of murder, etc. The function name of the demon will tell you the nature of their personality and what they like to specialize in once they move in and attach to a person. A spirit of anger will try to get a person to act out in fits of rage and anger. A spirit of murder will try and get someone to commit cold-blooded murder. A spirit of lust will try to get a person to commit fornication and/or adultery.

However, when you come across a Jezebel spirit, it is something quite different. Some people have called this a “master” type spirit. Not that it is a master spirit in the sense of being like God, but that it is much more intelligent and cunning than a lot of the other demons are. Many believe that this type of spirit may be Satan’s smartest and most cunning and evil spirit he has, and he thus dispatches this kind of spirit on specific targets so he can get the most bang for his buck.

Simply put, a Jezebel spirit is one of Satan’s higher-ranking, more intelligent demons if not the smartest kind of demon he has in his kingdom. And with it being much more intelligent than many of the other lower-ranking demons will be, this makes this type of spirit much more evil, cunning and harder to deal with once it moves in and attaches to a person.

And with this kind of evil spirit being much more cunning, intelligent, and evil than some of the other lower-ranking demons will be, it will cause a lot more trouble and destruction if it is not quickly dealt with and cast out.

Looking back over my 5 encounters I have had with this spirit, the one thing I have noticed are two specific things:

One, this spirit operates in basically the same way every time it moves in on someone. As a result, it is actually easy to spot after a certain length of time. In other words, it keeps playing the same type of games every time it moves in on a person or a situation.

The second thing I noticed is that this spirit is much more intelligent, cunning, and seductive than many of the other types of demons will be. It will thus be capable of playing more than one type of game with you.

For example, a spirit of anger will only try to make you mad and angry, but a Jezebel spirt will play a number of different games with you as I will show you below when I start to describe the way it will operate and the different kinds of games it will use to try and bring you down.

As a result of this type of spirit being capable of playing more than one kind of game with you, this makes this kind of spirit much more deadly and destructive. If this spirit is not properly exposed and dealt with within a reasonable length of time, it can totally destroy and completely bring down a marriage, church, ministry, company, or an individual’s life.

The Bible tells us in Matthew 12:43 that there are levels of wickedness in Satan’s kingdom. And if there are levels of wickedness in his kingdom where some demons are actually more evil than some of the other ones will be, then I believe there may different levels of intelligence among the demons as well.

The Jezebel spirit, since it is much more intelligent than some of the lower ranking demons will be, is very good at playing head games with people. It is a total control freak, and it is also very good at manipulation and getting people to do its evil bidding.

Over the years, I have developed quite a bit of information on this type of evil spirit and how it operates, and I now want to share it with all of you so you will be able to spot one if it ever moves into your circle of influence – whether it be in your marriage, in your church, at your place of employment, or in between any of your personal friendships, as this evil spirit loves to break up good and godly relationships.

The Ways in Which the Jezebel Spirit Will Operate
Here are 11 specific things I have isolated on this spirit once it moves in on someone to set up shop. Again, this type of spirit likes to play the same kind of games every time it moves in and attaches to someone.

1.The Evil Personality Traits of the Jezebel Spirit
2.The Spider Web Analogy
3.There Will Be a Charismatic Type Energy on the Host
4.Likes To Attach to Sharp, Intelligent, and Attractive People When It Can
5.Will Always Seek to be the Center of Attention
6.Will Seek to Infiltrate, Attack, and Undermine Everything
7.Will Go After Anyone in a Leadership Position
8.Runs in Tandem With a Mocking Spirit
9.Especially Hates Prophets, Prayer, and Spiritual Warfare
10.Will Occasionally Expose Itself on a Photo
11.The Host Usually Will Not Know They Have This Kind of Spirit in Them
Now I will briefly discuss each one of these so you can see how this type of spirit will attempt to move against you and bring you and everything you are connected to completely down.

1. The Evil Personality Traits of the Jezebel Spirit
I want to start this off with the actual traits of this evil spirit, so you can have all of this information right at the top of this section. Below is a list of the personality traits of this kind of evil spirit.

The Jezebel spirit will try to infect and contaminate the person it is in so they too will operate with these same kinds of evil traits. It has always amazed me over the years that this kind of spirit can get very smart and intelligent people to do its evil bidding so easily.

Some of these people will say and do some of the most horrible things, but yet find some way to rationalize it and think they are perfectly justified in doing what they are doing. This spirit will play some of these people like fiddles, like a puppet on a string, with the puppet master being the Jezebel spirit itself.

Here are some of the evil personality traits to look for with a person who has been operating under this spirit’s evil influence for quite some time.

1.Pure Evil and Hate
2.Vile
3.Maximum Pride
4.Highly Lustful and Seductive
5.Highly Self-Centered and Narcissistic
6.Will Always Seek To Be the Center of Attention
7.Very Judgmental, Critical, Condescending, and Demeaning
8.Overly Demanding and Manipulating
9.Cold, Ruthless, Cunning and Calculating
10.Very Combative and Confrontational
11.Very Good at Lying and Cheating
12.Cannot Stand Any Type of Constructive Criticism
13.Hates All Prophets, Prayer and Anything to Do With Spiritual Warfare
14.Will Be Capable of Giving False Prophecies, Visions and Dreams
This spirit operates with maximum pride in it. As a result, it will try to infect the host with that same kind of pride. And once it does, the host will no longer be able to accept any type of constructive criticism from anyone. The host will seek its own throne and they will now have to be the total center of attention. Everything will now be about them and them alone.

They also will no longer be able to bond with anyone because they are now totally self-sufficient in their own blown-up egos. The only true friends they will have are the people who will get duped into falling into their web of deceit and lies, where they will now become their mindless followers. These people will have all of their true friends leave them because no one wants to be around this kind of evil spirit and around these kinds of negative, evil, and destructive personality traits.

And then sooner or later it happens, this person completely fails and falls, as well as losing anything that is close to them. And this was all due to them allowing this kind of evil spirit to get on the inside of them in the first place, and from there, blindly follow this evil spirit’s leadings to do what it wanted them to do.

I have seen this spirit literally play some people right over the edge of a cliff where they ended up losing everything. And this was all because they were too blind and too ignorant to see what was really going on behind the scenes in the spiritual realm.

This kind of spirit is a master at setting up train wrecks and then orchestrating for them to actually occur with individual people, ministries, churches, and companies. This is why every single Christian church should be teaching their people the basics of true spiritual warfare in the Lord so they will have the knowledge on how to combat these kinds of evil spirits.

Again, the Lord has already given us fair warning when He tells us in His Word that without His knowledge, that His people will go into captivity and perish.

2. The Spider Web Analogy
When someone is walking with this kind of evil spirit deeply entrenched in them, they will initially move and operate on what I call the spider web analogy. Just like a spider creates a web so it can trap its prey so it can then devour them, the Jezebel spirit will start out in the exact same way once it moves into a certain environment to try and work.

These people are very good at playing the good cop-bad cop game. They will always start out playing the good cop. These people will initially seem to have their act all together. They will know how to talk the talk. They will know Scripture well enough so they can impress every one with their high level of spiritual development.

They will know how to smooth talk people and use false flattery to gain favor so they can then start to work to get their claws worked into them. And before you know it, you will be caught in their web. And then once they have you comfortably caught in their web through false flattery and deceit, they will then start to attack you and try to tear you to pieces.

3. There Will Be a Charismatic Type Energy on the Host
Another thing that helps these people lure unsuspecting people into their webs is the amount of charismatic energy they are carrying on them. When you initially meet these kind of people, you will feel a certain type of energy coming off of them and you will initially feel very drawn to them. You will feel like a moth being drawn towards an open flame. This charismatic type energy on them will have a drawing power to it.

You initially may think it is the presence of the Holy Spirit on them because they will be so good at sounding like they are very spiritual and that they are walking very close to God.

I remember when I first started to see this type of drawing power on these people, I found myself being amazed that an evil spirit could emit this kind of energy off of a person. You would think if an evil spirit was attached to someone, that you would be initially totally repulsed and repelled by it. You would not think demons could have this kind of seductive, drawing power within their evil natures and then be able to project it through their host. But some of these evil spirits do, and the Jezebel spirit has this kind of seductive, drawing power within itself, and from there, it will project this drawing power through the person it is living in.

This is why this spirit has been so successful over the years in bringing down individuals, churches, marriages and good friendships – all because it has the ability to draw people into their well spun webs, and then before the person knows it or realizes what they have been caught up in, it then moves in for the attack to either kill that person, or try and completely take the person out of commission on whatever their calling is in the Lord.

And this will now take us right into the next caption.

4. Likes To Attach to Sharp, Intelligent, and Attractive People When It Can
As a result of having a very seductive and high energy in its evil nature, the Jezebel spirit likes to attach to sharp, intelligent, and attractive people when it can. Not that it won’t attempt to attach to a less attractive person, but it will make much more headway with want it wants to accomplish if it can find a physically attractive person as will be explained below. On the 5 cases I have seen, 4 of them were women, and the other was a man. And in each case, each of these people were sharp, intelligent and very attractive.

I believe the reason this spirit likes to target these kinds of people is because it wants total control of everything. It wants to be just like Queen Jezebel. It wants the throne for herself and it does not want to share it with anyone else. As a result, they look for personalities that can help them climb to the top of the heap in whatever environment they are trying to work in.

In a marriage, if the woman is the one with this spirit, she will try and usurp her husband’s authority as the head of the household and will try to totally replace him as the spiritual head of the household.

If this spirit is working in the middle of a prayer group, it will try and work its way to the top so it can be the new leader of the prayer group. If this spirit is working within the church itself, it will try and work its way to the top to be the right hand man of the pastor, and from there, start to directly attack him so she can completely take him out and knock him right out of his call for the Lord.

You saw what Delilah did with Samson. I believe there was a good possibility that Delilah may have had this kind of spirit operating on her. And through her very seductive charms and allure, she completely brought down the man with probably the greatest physical strength anointing anyone has ever had with the Lord. And she did it with pure, evil seduction.

This is why this kind of spirit is so deadly, because it knows how to use seduction, especially a sexual kind of seduction, to gets its way and then to eventually bring down the person or ministry they have targeted.

As we all know, many men are easily lured into illicit affairs by pretty women. Many have used the expression that some women know how to get a man wrapped around their little fingers. I am sure most you have seen this phenomena occur over and over again. Sex is a very powerful weapon, and this kind of demon always will try and use whenever it can. This is why it likes to attach to attractive people whenever it can, because it knows it can use that person’s physical attractiveness to draw people into its web.

You think we would all learn our lessons from the past with so many people being brought down by this kind of seductive game, as this same game has been played over and over throughout the centuries by these types of demons. But many people never learn from the past, and just as many people now fall for this same kind of game as they did years ago.

When you combine the power that this spirit has to emit a seductive, charismatic type energy off of a person, and then they attach to a person who is naturally attractive, sharp and intelligent, you then have a very deadly combination that this spirit can work with to achieve its ultimate goal – and that goal is to get total control so it can then work to take down and completely destroy either a person, marriage, church, ministry, friendship, company, or a government.

5. Will Always Seek to be the Center of Attention
Once this spirit has gotten a foothold into the environment it now wants to work in, the next thing it will do after it has lured you into its web by playing the good cop, is to then start to always be the center of attention. And this is where you can really start to pick up and spot this spirit in actual operation.

We all have a natural need and desire for a certain amount of love and attention. We all need proper encouragement and attention, not only from our parents as we are being raised up, but also from all of our friends and loved ones as we become adults, as we all help each other in keeping up our levels of self-confidence and self-esteem.

However, when a person has this type of spirit operating through them, their need for attention and glory will be way off what would be considered normal. And this is when this spirit starts to get itself exposed to those around it. But it does not really care at this point. It will do everything it can to get the host to always seek to be the center of attention, with the ultimate goal in mind being to get to the top of the heap in whatever environment it is working in.

Since these type of people usually have that charismatic type energy flowing and operating through them from this kind of evil spirit, they initially will be very good at working themselves up the ladder in the environment they are working in. With this kind of demonic energy operating through them, combined with their natural good looks and high degree of intelligence, these people will sometimes be able to easily talk and play their way right up up the ladder.

And then once they have worked themselves up to where they need to be, this spirit will then start to viciously attack and operate with both barrels blazing. And this will now take us right into the next caption, which will take us right into the real heart of how this spirit will attack and completely undermine everything in its path.

6. Will Seek to Infiltrate, Attack, and Undermine Everything
This evil spirit simply has a two fold mission:

1.Seek to infiltrate and once in
2.Seek to attack, undermine and destroy everything in its path, taking absolutely no prisoners. It’s goal is total death and destruction. Plain and simple.
If you are dating a person with this kind of evil spirit on them, they will try and get you to marry them. And until you do, it will be playing good cop with you the whole time so it can continue to lure and draw you into its web. But once you end up marrying this person, that is when the bad cop will emerge, and that is when all hell will literally break out in your life.

If you are a woman dating a man who is a physical abuser, many times he will not show his true colors until after you marry him. But once you marry him, that is when the actual abuse will start – after he has gotten you totally caught in his web, with the web being the actual marriage itself.

If you are a man dating a woman who has this kind of spirit on her, she will say and do all of the right things as you are dating her. But once you marry her, that is when the tables will be turned and she will start coming directly after you, trying to tear both you and the marriage completely apart.

This spirit first seeks to infiltrate the environment it wants to try and work in. And once it is in, it will then set up shop and start attacking and undermining literally every single thing it can. This spirit is an attack dog and it will literally attack anything and everything it can, depending on how far the host will cooperate with its evil promptings.

Here is a breakdown of some of the kinds of attacks you can expect once this spirit has gained a good foothold into a certain environment.

A) Will Start Playing Major Mind Games

The one thing I have noticed about this spirit is that it is very good at playing mind games and head games with people. It will know where your weak spots and jugular veins will be at, and the attacks will always be targeted at your weak spots so it can start to weaken and demoralize you and bring you down.

It will come after your levels of self-confidence and self-esteem. It will come after your calling for the Lord. It will come after your specific personality traits, both good and bad, to see if they can convince you that you are a nobody and that you will never amount to anything good and worthwhile in this life.

It will try and make you think you are the crazy one and that they are the ones who have all of the knowledge and wisdom. They will try and make you feel inferior so they can gain the upper hand in the relationship and that you then need to be totally guided by them and dependent upon them.

Before you know it, this kind of spirit can throw you into a depression, along with causing major confusion and indecisiveness. You will feel disoriented and feel like you are caught up in a fog.

In other words, this evil spirit will try to suck the life out of you and tear you down every which way it can so you can no longer function in your calling for the Lord.

The prophet Elijah himself was so distraught and depressed after coming into direct contact with Queen Jezebel and the spirit operating on her, that he almost wanted to throw in the towel and quit until God strengthened him through an angel and then gave him a direct word.

This spirit is very good at being very critical and judgmental and before you know it, it will have you believing in all of the lies it has been throwing your way. This is where you really have to know who you are in Christ, and that you never allow a person with this kind of spirit on them to be able to bring you down like they almost did with Elijah.

Let this part of Elijah’s story be a major lesson to all of us on how far this spirit will try and go – to literally try and get you to quit and walk out on God’s calling for your life. I believe a lot of the suicides we see may be as a result of this spirit’s evil influence over a person and the mind games it knows how to play with them. If they can do this with a great man of God like Elijah, they then will be able to do it with some of us.

I have personally seen several men over the years be turned into a heap of mush by women who were operating with this kind of spirit on them. And the way it was done was by the mind games they were playing with the men over a certain period of time. They just kept beating them down with verbal assaults, tearing at their self-confidence, their self-worth in God, and what they were doing in their callings.

By the time they got done with some of these men, many of them lost their callings in the Lord due to the fear and paranoia that was now oppressing them as a result of allowing this kind of spirit to get too strong of a foothold into their lives and callings for the Lord.

B) Will Cause Major Dissension, Strife and Chaos

Another thing this spirit is very good at doing is causing a lot of in-fighting, back-biting, and malicious type gossiping among the people that are caught in its web. This kind of spirit knows exactly how to cause major dissension and strife even among the best of friends.

If this spirit infiltrates into a marriage, it will have everyone at each other’s throats. The children will be fighting abnormally among one another. Each spouse will be fighting with the other, as well as with the children. This spirit is a major peace disturber and it will cause all kinds of havoc and trouble in the family unless it is quickly dealt with and exposed.

If this spirit gets into the middle of a ministry or church, it will again try to get people to start fighting with one another so it can ruin the harmony and unity of a group or church.

Same thing goes if this spirit gets into the middle of an actual company or corporation. It will try and cause as much strife and dissension as it possibly can so it can try and bring down the entire division or company it has targeted. I wonder how many companies have gone out of business over the years as a result of the destructive influence of this kind of spirit operating on the inside of their company?

You walk into these environments where this kind of spirit is running rampant and unchecked, and you can literally feel the negative and oppressive energy in the air itself.

7. Will Go After Anyone in a Leadership Position
Another major strategy of this spirit is that it will always go after those who are in any type of leadership position. This would include pastors of churches, youth ministers, worship leaders, leaders of prayer groups and Bible studies, husbands as the head of households, supervisors, and upper level management of different companies and corporations.

If a man marries a woman who has this spirit on her, she will attack the man’s authority as the head of the household and try to get that position for herself.

If this person is working for a church, it will try and work its way as far up the ladder as it can so it can get very close to the pastor himself, and from there, start to work to bring him down just like Delilah did with Samson. Pastors especially have to always be on the alert for this kind of spirit, as this spirit is always looking for a way to get a direct shot at them so they can bring them completely down and destroy their entire church.

I do not have to tell you how many pastors have lost their ministry over the years because they got seduced into having an affair with a woman who had this kind of spirit on her. Lust and adultery have brought down too many good men of God over the years, and it was all because they fell under the seductive spell of this evil spirit.

If this spirit infiltrates a prayer group or a Bible study class, it will try and work its way to the top so it can be the leader of the group. Once it is the new leader, it will then start its attacks so as to completely destroy the group with false teaching, false prophecy, spreading false rumors about other people in the group, causing dissension among the people in the group, along with trying to poison the people of the group against whoever the leaders of the church are.

The reason this spirit wants to take out those in any type of leadership position is because it wants that leadership position for itself. And if it cannot get that leadership position for itself, it will then try and completely destroy it so there is nothing left of it. This is how some marriages end up in divorce, and this is how some churches end up closing their doors and going out of business – all due to allowing this kind of spirit to run rampant and unchecked in their environment for too long of a period of time.

8. Will Be Capable of Giving False Prophecies, Visions and Dreams
With this kind of spirit really hating all of God’s prophets, it can only be expected that this spirit will falsely prophesy whenever it can. This kind of spirit is thus able to give its host false prophecies, false words, false dreams, and false visions – all in an attempt to make its host look more spiritual than they really are, and to also lure as many other people into its web that it can so it can build up its own base and following.

Since this spirit is operating at a higher level of intelligence than most of the other demons are, you really have to closely examine any words or prophecies that the host will be getting. If the host is falsely prophesying under this spirit’s guidance, the Holy Spirit will show you where the errors are at so you can separate a true prophecy from the Lord from one that is coming from this kind of evil spirit.

This is why all prophecy has to be judged and properly discerned, so you can determine where it is really coming from, as the Bible warns us about false prophets being among us like wolves in sheep’s clothing.

9. Runs in Tandem With a Mocking Spirit
Another very interesting thing that I have seen occur on several of the cases I was allowed to watch and observe, is that this spirit runs in tandem with what is called a mocking spirit.

As we have explained before, when a head, chief demon such as a Jezebel spirit moves in on the inside of a person’s body, they will usually travel in groups and they will thus have numerous other demons under their control and authority.

One of the underlings to the Jezebel spirit will be what is called a mocking spirit, otherwise known as a blocking type spirit. It’s job will be to cover for the Jezebel spirit and try and distract people from figuring out that this person really has a Jezebel spirit on the inside of them.

Many deliverance ministers have first come across this mocking spirit when trying to deliver someone from the Jezebel spirit. This spirit can actually be quite funny and comical at times, and has literally made some deliverance ministers laugh right in the middle of an actual deliverance. This spirit will try and distract you and get you off center so you do not stay too focused on trying to get to the Jezebel spirit.

This mocking spirit will make fun of, make light of, and make jokes about anything and everything, and it is quite funny and comical when it does. When it moves in operation ahead of the Jezebel, it will try and take the sting out of some of the evil things that will come out of a person’s mouth and actions, as so many people get very quickly appalled when some of these evil traits start manifesting through a person’s personality.

However, do not let this mocking spirit fool you with its dark humor and jokes. Operating behind it is probably the most evil of all of Satan’s demons.

10. Especially Hates Prophets, Prayer, and Spiritual Warfare
Another very obvious thing with this kind of spirit is its absolute hatred and disdain for anything to do with spiritual warfare, prayer, and anything to do with God’s true prophets. This spirit hates all of God’s prophets just like Queen Jezebel did back in the OT. And it also hates anyone who is actively involved with spiritual warfare in the Lord.

The reason it hates these two types of people is because prophets and those well trained in the area of spiritual warfare are its greatest threat. Prophets and those who are trained in the area of spiritual warfare can easily spot and pick up when they come across this kind of spirit, and they will then know how to get rid of it if the person is open to receiving an actual deliverance.

If you want to test a person to see if they have a Jezebel spirit on them, just bring up the subject of prophets and spiritual warfare and watch how this spirit will well up with anger and disgust, and from there, will try and change the conversation to something else. You will hit a nerve every time you do this with this kind of spirit.

This spirit also hates any form of prayer to the Lord, as it knows our prayer life with the Lord is what keeps us in the center of His perfect will for our lives. That is why it loves to infiltrate and attack prayer groups of any kind, so it can attempt to prevent people from staying close to the Lord in their own personal relationships with Him.

11. Will Occasionally Expose Itself on a Photo
Another amazing thing I have seen occur with this kind of spirit is when it seemingly wants to let its guard down when the host is having their picture taken. Every once in while what will happen is that this spirit will literally manifest right through the person’s face and eyes and it then gets captured by the camera. You will thus see a real, live Jezebel spirit captured on the actual photo itself.

I do not know if this spirit is doing this just to flaunt itself, or if it wants to see what it looks like through a person’s face, but it is quite amazing how often this actually happens. I remember the first time I had one captured on a photo, you were able to see partly into its personality through the person’s eyes.

What I saw was not only pure evil and pure hate, but I saw an old, ancient spirit with a high degree of intelligence and cunning in it. You could also see that it had a very seductive quality in its personality, and that it would use that seductive quality to lure people into its web so it could eventually eat them up alive and devour them. You could also see that this thing has absolutely no mercy in its personality and it would kill you in a second if it could do so. This thing is as creepy as it gets.

12. The Host Usually Will Not Know They Have This Kind of Spirit in Them
The saddest thing about these types of cases is that most of the time, the host will not know they even have this kind of spirit operating on the inside of them. These people never feel it moving on the inside of them, nor do they ever hear it trying to talk to them. This spirit is very good at hiding behind the scenes, but yet at the same time getting the host to do exactly what it wants them to do.

The reason these people are usually clueless that this spirit is operating on the inside of them is because this spirit is so smooth and so cunning in the way in which it operates. This is why this spirit will try and fill the person up with as much pride as they can, so these people will be totally incapable of admitting that they could even have this kind of spirit in them in the first place. This is how well deceived these people are, and how well this spirit has played and manipulated them during the entire time it has been on the inside of them.

As a result, many of these types of people will never receive a true deliverance from the Lord. And this is all because they have too much pride operating in their personalities, which will prevent them from admitting that they could ever have this kind of spirit operating in them in the first place.

How to Handle a Jezebel Spirit
1. If you ever come across a person who has this kind of evil spirit on them, and this person is working close with you to some degree, whether it be at the church you attend, the church you work for, your place of employment, or if by chance it be with your very own spouse, the very first thing you must do is go direct to God the Father in prayer and get His direct advice and strategy on how to deal with this thing.

As we said above, in many of these types of cases, the person who is carrying this kind of evil spirit will have no idea they are actually carrying it. By the time you meet them, they may be so full of pride, they will never admit that they could have this kind of evil spirit operating in them in the first place. If that is the case, then you will have to have God deal directly with that person and pray that He supernaturally show them that they really do have this kind of evil spirit operating on the inside of them.

Until this spirit is fully exposed to the person who has it, and this person is then ready to receive a full deliverance from the Lord, there will be nothing you can really do about it but continue to pray to the Lord that He show this person what the real truth is.

But if God does fully expose this kind of evil spirit to the person who has it, and the person is then ready to be delivered from it, you can then do the deliverance like we have shown you in the other articles in the Spiritual Warfare Section of our site.

You first will need to get good, detailed information on their past, and then find out what the legal rights are that allowed this spirit to enter into them in the first place. And then once you find out what those legal rights are, then get them properly taken care of and fully broken with God the Father.

Then once all of the legal rights have been fully taken care of and broken with God the Father, then move to bind all of the underling demons to the chief Jezebel demon, and then from there, proceed to cast all of them out of the person as one spirit.

For a full, detailed explanation on how to deliver someone from demons, please refer to our three main articles titled:

1.Dealing With the Legal Rights of Demons
2.Deliverance System For Casting Out Demons on the Inside of a Person
3.How to do a Self-Deliverance
Each of these articles will show you how to set someone up for a true deliverance from the Lord.

2. If by chance this person is not open to receiving any type of deliverance and they are causing major trouble, strife and dissension in a church, prayer group, or Bible study class, you may have to ask this person to leave so this evil spirit does not continue to attack the other people who are in the same environment with this person.

If you do not ask this person to leave, this spirit will set up shop right the middle of your church or prayer group, and from there, it will start attacking everyone, trying to cause as much strife, dissension and chaos as it possibly can. You cannot give any ground to this kind of evil spirit. If you do, it could end up eventually taking down your entire church, prayer group, or Bible study class.

3. If this kind of spirit has infiltrated your work place, the supervisors will need to take charge and let this person go. Again, if they do not, this spirit could end up causing mass mutiny and disloyalty, along with seriously effecting the productivity of your entire work force. This spirit, and the person who is carrying it, are toxic, and they will infect and contaminate every person they come into major contact with, as this kind of spirit is an attack dog and will viciously attack anyone who will get too close to it.

4. If your spouse is carrying this kind of evil spirit on them, again, you will need to go direct to God the Father and get His specific instructions on how to deal with this if your spouse is not open to admitting they have this kind of evil spirit on them. God hates divorce, but at the same time He is not going to allow this kind of evil spirit to run rampant and unchecked in a family environment.

As we have showed you in our article titled, “Battle Verses of the Bible,” our God is a powerful Man of War and He will go to war for you and fight this kind of evil spirit if you will just pray for Him to do it for you.

Conclusion
As we said at the top of this article, the Jezebel spirit is without question, one of the most evil and vile spirits you will ever come across in this life. This thing is nothing but pure evil and hate, and all it wants to do is attack and kill everything in its sight.

This spirit has been attacking mankind ever since Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden of Eden. And until Jesus comes back to set up His Millennium Kingdom and throws Satan and all of his demons into the bottomless pit, we are all going to be stuck with this kind of evil spirit being allowed to roam in the air seeking who it is going to try and attack and devour next.

And if by chance this kind of spirit ever comes into your neck of the woods, go directly to God the Father and get His immediate advice on what you should do and exactly how you should handle this kind of extreme situation. Again, you cannot give any ground to this kind of evil spirit. If you do, it will establish a stronghold base within your environment and from there, it will launch major attacks on both you and anyone else that is in this environment.

This evil spirit must be resisted right at the outset if at all possible. If it is not, it can eventually end up destroying the entire environment it is working in, whether it be a family, church, prayer group, Bible study class, or an actual company or corporation.

Darlene Zschech - Here I Am to Worship

2011-02-15T03:14:00.000-08:00

You Are Worthy of My Praise (Vineyard)

2011-02-15T03:09:00.000-08:00

What does the Bible say about waiting upon God?

2011-01-21T03:24:00.000-08:00

Is waiting upon God biblical?

There are some teachings which we will at once say, "This is what we are suppose to do." But the fact is, we have never even looked over the biblical support for what we are doing or even asking others to do! Let us now do that with the phase 'waiting for God." We have two questions.
•What does the Bible say about waiting on God?

•What does it practically mean? What does the Bible say about waiting on God?

First of all we should recognize that there are many things people wait for in the scriptures. We see them waiting for some person or for the salvation of God. We will use some of these other usages to help define what it means to actually wait upon God.
In this section, however, we are focusing only on those verses that instruct us by example or precept that we ought to wait upon the Lord. Let's look at forty plus times the words 'waiting' upon God is used. The total list is at the bottom.
Firstly, we see that the phrase or notion of waiting upon God was new from David's time onward. The Psalms use it about 25 times while Isaiah 11 times. The other prophets scarcely used it. The NT follows that trend by rarely using the phrase 'wait upon.'
The phrase seems to have originated with David. He not only experienced great difficulty in his life but discovered that he could wait upon God for help. This is not to say Abraham didn't wait for a son or Moses for help for his people, but the thought wasn't so fully developed. Besides this, a depth of spiritual life could be expressed in the Psalms.
They enable us to look at a person's inner life. The historical biblical books just didn't describe this inner life experience. They looked at outward events rather than inward thoughts. The prophets at times did focus on the turmoil of the person, especially Isaiah and so we see this phrase scattered through these books.
The NT only uses the phrase referring to the second coming of Jesus. However, the phrase 'believe in' is very common, such as 'believe in the Lord.' But the meaning and emphasis of 'believe in' is quite different than 'waiting upon.' Believe and trust emphasize the confidence and faith in an object.
'Waiting for' definitely exudes this sense of confidence, but it is more than this. 'Waiting for' focuses on the sense of expectation one has on the object. When one 'waits on the Lord,' a person is dependent upon that person or something that the person will do. Below are the four major Hebrew words for 'waiting for.' Let's look at the ways the scriptures describe how God's people waited upon their Creator.
Wait for Thee (Thee refers to God, Lord).

Ps 25:3 Indeed, none of those who wait for Thee will be ashamed; Ps 25:5 Lead me in Thy truth and teach me, For Thou art the God of my salvation; For Thee I wait all the day.

Ps 25:21 Let integrity and uprightness preserve me, For I wait for Thee.
Wait for the LORD ( refers to Yahweh).Ps 27:14 Wait for the LORD; Be strong, and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the LORD.

Ps 33:20 Our soul waits for the LORD; He is our help and our shield.

Ps 37:7 Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes.

Ps 37:9 For evildoers will be cut off, But those who wait for the LORD, they will inherit the land.

Ps 37:34 Wait for the LORD, and keep His way, And He will exalt you to inherit the land; When the wicked are cut off, you will see it.

Pr 20:22 Do not say, "I will repay evil"; Wait for the LORD, and He will save you.

Isa 8:17 And I will wait for the LORD who is hiding His face from the house of Jacob; I will even look eagerly for Him.

Isa 40:31 Yet those who wait for the LORD will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.

Wait ... (for Thy Name, God, Him, etc.)Ps 52:9 I will give Thee thanks forever, because Thou hast done it, And I will wait on Thy name, for it is good, in the presence of Thy godly ones.

Isa 49:23 And you will know that I am the LORD; Those who hopefully wait for Me will not be put to shame.

Isa 64:4 For from of old they have not heard nor perceived by ear, Neither has the eye seen a God besides Thee, Who acts in behalf of the one who waits for Him.

La 3:25 The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, To the person who seeks Him.

Ho 12:6 Therefore, return to your God, Observe kindness and justice, And wait for your God continually.

Mic 7:7 But as for me, I will watch expectantly for the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me.

Zep 3:8 "Therefore, wait for Me," declares the LORD, "For the day when I rise up to the prey...
New Testament and Waiting upon the Lord

Php 3:20* For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ;

1Th 1:10* and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come.

What does wait upon God practically mean?

We have focused on waiting on God or the Lord above. But we must realize as these following verses indicate that they are waiting upon the Lord for something. Belief speaks about trust in. Waiting, however, usually focuses on some one to do something. In this case, they are waiting upon God to do some special thing. Let's take a look at a few verses below.

The Text The Phrase the Purpose

Isaiah 25:9 we have waited that He might save us

Psalm 104:27 They all wait for Thee To give them their food in due season

Psalm 106:13 They did not wait for His counsel

Psalm 119:43 For I wait for Thine ordinances

Psalm 119:81 I wait for Thy word

Isaiah 42:4 the coastlands will wait expectantly for His law

Lamentation 3:26 he waits silently For the salvation of the LORD

Genesis 49:18 I wait ... O LORD For Thy salvation

Jude 1:21 waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ
When we wait upon the Lord, we find ourselves looking to Him to help for some specific need. There is a conscious expectation that He will help us out in that special need. We do not have control over the circumstances and therefore are looking to His provisions, His protection, etc. In each case, though, it is good to notice our special need, recognize that He can help us in that area and then cast our hope in Him.
Waiting upon God is not only biblical but a necessary part of the Christian life for the growing Christian. "Wait for" is an active display of faith in God during impossible situations.

Overcoming Guilt, Key to Powerful Living:

2011-01-01T22:55:00.001-08:00

Overcoming Guilt, Key to Powerful Living:
(Rom 8:31 KJV) What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
(Rom 8:37 KJV) Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

This sounds great but what can keep us from Powerful Living?

The answer is GUILT!
But is Guilt all bad? It can be positive.

Guilt can be a merciless taskmaster that drives us far from God. Or, guilt can gently lead us back to a right relationship with Him, more fully convinced than ever of the Father's love. How we respond to guilt today can determine our success in life for years to come. It can even determine where we will spend eternity.

I. Listening To Our Guilt
    A. The Bible says we are created in God's image and His glory.
        1. This wonderful privilege of bearing His image also requires that we live righteous lives.
            a. When we do something wrong, an alarm goes off: we feel guilty.
            b. Sin separates us from God.
    B. It is important to listen carefully to your guilt.
        1.Listen to your heart. (This is the spirit man.)
            a. Determine to find out what's causing your guilty conscience.

II. Guilty As Charged(Rom 3:23 KJV) For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; All of us have sinned and has only been one and that person is Jesus.
    A. Guilt can arise from things we say and do that directly violate God's law. Even if we are not familiar with a specific Bible passage, God has given us a law that is written on our hearts and helps us know when we have sinned (Rom 2:15 KJV) Which show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)
    B. True guilt is God's way of warning us to repent and turn away from our sins so He can forgive us, cleanse us and make us entirely guilt-free. Another passage says, "the Scripture has shut up all men under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe" (Gal. 3:22).
    C. Guilt is a fact of life because sin is a fact of life. And our sin has the consequences of death (Rom 3:23 KJV) For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (Rom 6:23 KJV) For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
    D. God has made a way to break free from our sin and guilt. . (John 8:36 KJV) If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

III. God's Answer For Guilt is coming to Jesus. (John 6:44 KJV) No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
(John 6:45 KJV) It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.
(John 14:6 KJV) Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
(Rom 8:28 KJV) And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
(Rom 8:29 KJV) For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
    A. God works through everything that happens in our lives, including guilt, to draw us to Jesus No matter what you have done, God has made a way home - through His Son, Jesus Christ.
    B. All you have to do is repent an turn your life over to Jesus (Acts 3:19 KJV) Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;
        1. This is what the Bible calls being "born again" of the Spirit of God (John 3:3,5).

IV. Guilt-Free Living This is God’s Will for all of us.
This cleansing is not just a one-time event. Every time the Holy Spirit prompts our spirit that we have sinned, we can return to His throne of grace to receive mercy (Heb 4:16 KJV) Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
(1 John 1:7 KJV) But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
(1 John 1:8 KJV) If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
(1 John 1:9 KJV) If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

V. Taking On The Accuser
At times, the enemy of our soul, Satan, uses guilt to keep us from the Lord.
A. The Bible describes Satan as the "accuser of the brethren" who appears before God day and night with accusations against believers (Rev 12:10 KJV) And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. Thus, "there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1).
B. Confront the accusations with God's Word. As Jesus said, "If therefore the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed" (John 8:36). Walk in that freedom.

VI. As You Pray Fully accept God's forgiveness and cleansing:
(Remember the Lord’s Prayer, “forgive us as we forgive others”.

VII. God's Word On Guilt says:
"Since therefore, brethren, we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is His flesh, ... let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water." (Heb. 10:19,20,22)
    A. God's faithfulness to forgive 1 John 1:9 KJV) If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
    B. No remembrance of sin (Jer 31:34 KJV) And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.
        1. When God forgives He forgets!
    C. Belief in Christ delivers from sin (John 1:12 KJV) But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: (John 5:24 KJV) Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life
    D. Freedom from sin and guilt
(Rom 6:18 KJV) Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.
(Rom 6:22 KJV) But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.
(Rom 8:1 KJV) There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

The Names of the Antichrist!

2011-01-01T15:57:00.000-08:00

The Names of the Antichrist!
Here is a list of some of the names of the Antichrist in the Bible. He is called by many names but no matter what he is called, he has been defeated by the blood, life, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ! We must be weary because of that day no one on earth knows the day and hour of our Lord Jesus Christ. The antichrist will be reveled before that great and knowable day of our Lord.

- 2 Th 2:1 (KJV) Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,
- 2 Th 2:2 (KJV) That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
- 2 Th 2:3 (KJV) Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
- 2 Th 2:4 (KJV) Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
- 2 Th 2:5 (KJV) Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
- 2 Th 2:6 (KJV) And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.
- 2 Th 2:7 (KJV) For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
- 2 Th 2:8 (KJV) And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

1. The Bloody and Deceitful man.
- Psalms 5:6 (KJV) Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing: the LORD will abhor the bloody and deceitful man.

2. The Wicked One.
- Psalms 10:3-4 (KJV) 3 For the wicked boasteth of his heart's desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom the LORD abhorreth. 4 The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.

3. The Man of the Earth.
- Psalms 10:18 (KJV) To judge the fatherless and the oppressed, that the man of the earth may no more oppress.

4. The Mighty Man.
- Psalms 52:1 (KJV) Why boastest thou thyself in mischief, O mighty man? the goodness of God endureth continually.

5. The Enemy.
- Psalms 55:3 (KJV) Because of the voice of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked: for they cast iniquity upon me, and in wrath they hate me.

6. The Adversary.
- Psalms 74:10 (KJV) O God, how long shall the adversary reproach? shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever?

7. The Violent Man.
- Psalms 140:1 (KJV) Deliver me, O LORD, from the evil man: preserve me from the violent man;

8. The Spoiler.
- Isaiah 16:4 Let mine outcasts dwell with thee, Moab; be thou a covert to them from the face of the spoiler: for the extortioner is at an end, the spoiler ceaseth, the oppressors are consumed out of the land.

9. The Profane and Wicked Prince.
- Ezekiel 21:25 And thou, profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come, when iniquity shall have an end,

10. The Little Horn.
- Daniel 7:8 (KJV) I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.

11. The Prince that Shall come.
- Daniel 9:26 (KJV) And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.

12. The Vile Person.
- Daniel 11:21 (KJV) And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.

13. The Willful King.
- Daniel 11:36 (KJV) And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.

14. The Man of Sin.
- 2 Thessalonians 2:3 (KJV) Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

15. The Son of Perdition.
- 2 Thessalonians 2:3 (KJV) Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

16. The Lawless One.
- 2 Thessalonians 2:9 (KJV) Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,

17. The Antichrist.
- 1 John 2:22 (KJV) Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.

18. The Beast.
- Revelation 11:7 (KJV) And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.
- Revelation 13:1 (KJV) And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.

Some other names:
- “The dragon" or "the old serpent" in Revelation 12:9, and 20:2
-"the prince of this world" in John 12:31, 14:30;
- "the prince of the power of the air" and "the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience" in Ephesians 2:2;
-"the god of this world" in 2 Corinthians 4:4..
- the dragon in Revelation Rev. 12:9 and the tempter in Mat. 4:1

Beelzebub is originally the name of a Philistine god (more specifically a certain type of Baal, from Ba‘al Zebûb, lit. "Lord of Flies") but is also used in the New Testament as a synonym for Satan.

The Devil's most beautiful ruse is to convince us that he does not exist. Pierre Baudelaire.

So the antichrist will deceive the nations and if possible would like to deceive even the elect.
- Mark 13:19 (KJV) For in those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation, which God created unto this time, neither shall be.
- Mark 13:20 (KJV) And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect's sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days.
- Mark 13:21 (KJV) And then if any man shall say to you, Lo, here is Christ; or, lo, he is there; believe him not:
- Mark 13:22 (KJV) For false Christ's and false prophets shall rise, and shall show signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect.
- Mark 13:23 (KJV) But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things.

We do not have to worry because we are Children of God if we have opened our heart and life to the person of Jesus Christ.
- 1 Thes 5:5 (KJV) Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.

We must continue to serve the Lord and be people of prayer and of the Word. I like what S. D. Gordon wrote. "It is startling to think that Satan can actually come into the heart of a man in such close touch with Jesus as Judas was. And more--he is cunningly trying to do it today. Yet he can get in only through a door opened from the inside. "Every man controls the door of his own life." Satan can't get in without our help."

SEVEN DANGERS TO MINISTRY

2011-01-01T15:45:00.000-08:00

SEVEN DANGERS TO MINISTRYLuke 9:1-12
1. Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases.
2. And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick.
3. And he said unto them, Take nothing for your journey, neither staves, nor scrip, neither bread, neither money; neither have two coats apiece.
4. And whatsoever house ye enter into, there abide, and thence depart.
5. And whosoever will not receive you, when ye go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet for a testimony against them.
6. And they departed, and went through the towns, preaching the gospel, and healing every where.
All believer are called to some type of ministry. However, no matter if we are a ministry or a layman there are dangers that we face. If we will guard against these dangers we can overcome. I am listing seven of the most common dangers we face, yet, they can slip into the most spiritual ministry if we are not on guard. This outline lists what I have myself tried to guard against in almost 50 years of ministry to the world. The dangers are not confined to just North America, I have seen them all over the world.

I. THE FIRST DANGER IS THAT VISION IS LOST OR IT FADES.Proverbs 29:18 Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.
A. We must always keep a vision for the lost.
    1 With out it the Word says we will perish.
B. For people in need.
    1. The Church is not a new building. The Church is the people. The Spirit of God lives with in His people.
    2. If we do the Will of God, we must keep His Word.

II. DANGER NUMBER TWO IS THAT WE SLUMBER AND SLEEP,Luke 9:32 But Peter and they that were with him were heavy with sleep: and when they were awake, they saw his glory, and the two men that stood with him.
A. We can slumber spiritually when God's Work become routine.
1. We have everything planned in our services and leave no place for the leading of the Holy Spirit.
B. We start taking God and His blessings for granted.
C. We overcome by watching and praying.
(Mat 26:41 KJV) Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
(Mark 13:33 KJV) Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.

III. THERE IS THE DANGER OF MAKING THE MINISTRY PROFESSIONAL.
  A. We must guard against making our ministry a form. (2 Tim 3:5 KJV) Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
B. The ministry is not a job.
    1. The ministry is a calling.
      a. It is a high calling. (Rom 11:29 KJV) For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.
      b. It is a life long calling.

IV. DANGER NUMBER FOUR IS PRIDE. I John 2:15-17
15. Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
16. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
17. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
A. We must guard against this. I remember what I learned from an early mentor of mine that always give the Glory to God, as God will not share His Glory with anyone.
B. Also one of my first pastors counseling me said without thinking, Tony, one thing I am proud of is that I have remained humble all through my ministry. I know what he meant as he was really a very humble brother.
C. Jesus humbled Himself like not man has ever done. (Phil 2:8 KJV) And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
1. He is our perfect example.

V. WE MUST GUARD AGAINST JEALOUSY AND ENVY.
  A. We must not envy other ministries. We must be only faithful in what God has called us to do.
    1. God's measure for greatest is not how much or how many. It is how faithful we are with what He gives us to do.
    2. Remember what happen with Aaron and Miriam.

VI. THERE IS ALWAYS THE DANGER OF REBELLION.
A. We must always keep a good spirit.
B. We must guard against a wrong spirit.
(Eph 4:32 KJV) And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.
C. God hates rebellion. (1 Sam 15:23 KJV) For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry...

VII. DANGER NUMBER SEVEN IS THAT WE MUST GUARD AGAINIST EXALTING OURSELVES.
  A. We must always strive in our ministries to life up Jesus.
    1. We need people to see Jesus and not us. Gal 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
    (Mat 23:12 KJV) And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.
    (1 Pet 5:6 KJV) Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
    We want on that last day, when all the books are opened, to hear Him say "Well done good and faithful servant."

1 John 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.

2010-12-22T06:43:00.001-08:00

1 John 2:16 Commentary

1 John 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride oflife, is not from the Father, but is from the world.  (NASB: Lockman)

Greek: hoti pan to en to kosmo, e epithumia tes sarkos kai e epithumia ton ophthalmon kai e alazoneia tou biou, ouk estin (3SPAI) ek tou patros all' ek tou kosmou estin. (3SPAI)
Amplified: For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh [craving for sensual gratification] and the lust of the eyes [greedy longings of the mind] and the pride of life [assurance in one’s own resources or in the stability of earthly things]—these do not come from the Father but are from the world [itself]. (Amplified Bible - Lockman)
ASV: For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the vain glory of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
Barclay: For everything that is in the world—the flesh’s desire, the eye’s desire, life’s empty pride—does not come from the Father but comes from the world.
BBE: Because everything in the world, the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father but of the world.
GWT: Not everything that the world offers—physical gratification, greed, and extravagant lifestyles—comes from the Father. It comes from the world, and  (GWT)
ICB: These are the evil things in the world: wanting things to please our sinful selves, wanting the sinful things we see, being too proud of the things we have. But none of those things comes from the Father. All of them come from the world. (ICB: Nelson)
ISV: For everything that is in the world—the desire for fleshly gratification, the desire for possessions, and worldly arrogance—is not from the Father but is from the world.
KJV: For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
Macent: for what the world is so full of, sensuality, avarice, and pride, is not deriv'd from the creator, but is the offspring of a vicious world.
MLB (Berkley): because everything in the world, the passions of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the proud display of life have their origin not from the Father but from the world.
NAB: For all that is in the world, sensual lust, enticement for the eyes, and a pretentious life, is not from the Father but is from the world.
NCV: These are the ways of the world: wanting to please our sinful selves, wanting the sinful things we see, and being too proud of what we have. None of these come from the Father, but all of them come from the world.  (NCV)
NIV: For everything in the world--the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does--comes not from the Father but from the world.   (NIV - IBS)
NJB: because everything there is in the world— disordered bodily desires, disordered desires of the eyes, pride in possession— is not from the Father but is from the world.
NLT: For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. (NLT - Tyndale House)
Phillips: For the whole world-system, based as it is on men's primitive desires, their greedy ambitions and the glamour of all that they think splendid, is not derived from the Father at all, but from the world itself. (Phillips: Touchstone)
TEV: Everything that belongs to the world—what the sinful self desires, what people see and want, and everything in this world that people are so proud of—none of this comes from the Father; it all comes from the world.
Wuest: Because everything which is in the world, the passionate desire of the flesh, and the passionate desire of the eyes, and the insolent and empty assurance which trusts in the things that serve the creature life, is not from the Father as a source but is from the world as a source. (Erdmans)
Young's Literal: For the things in the world—the cravings of the earthly nature, the cravings of the eyes, the show and pride of life—they all come, not from the Father, but from the world.

REFERENCES

William Alexander
Paul Apple
Wayne Barber
Albert Barnes
Brian Bell
Johann Bengel
Jim Bomkamp
John Calvin
Rich Cathers
Adam Clarke
Steven Cole
Thomas Constable
Ron Daniel
J N Darby
Gary Derickson
Theodore Epp
John Gill
Bruce Goettsche
Joe Guglielmo
David Guzik
W. Hall Harris III
Matthew Henry
D Edmond Hiebert
F B Hole
IVP Commentary
Jamieson, F B
S Lewis Johnson
J Hampton Keathley
William Kelly
Guy King
Life Action Ministry
John MacArthur
John MacArthur
John MacArthur
John MacArthur
John MacArthur
John MacArthur
John MacArthur
Ian Mackervoy
Alexander Maclaren
J Vernon McGee
F B Meyer
Robert Morgan
Net Bible Notes
Phil Newton
J C Philpot
John Piper
Wil Pounds
Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit Commentary
Grant Richison
Grant Richison
Grant Richison
A T Robertson
Don Robinson
Rob Salvato
Charles Simeon
Hamilton Smith
Chuck Smith
Chuck Smith
David Smith
C H Spurgeon
Ray Stedman
Ray Stedman
Marvin Vincent
Steve Zeisler
Precept Ministries

1 John 1:5-2:17 Commentary (Expositor's Bible Commentary)
1 John - Tests of Eternal Life - A Devotional Commentary
1 John 2:12-17 The Believer and the World
1 John 2 Commentary
1 John 2:15-29
1 John 2 Commentary (Gnomon of the NT)
1 John -- Marks of a True Christian
1 John 2 Commentary
1 John 2:12-17
1 John 2 Commentary
1 John 2:15-17 Choose Your Love: the World or the Father?
1 John Expository Notes
1 John 1:5-2:17
1 John Brief Exposition
What is the Message of 1 John (Bibliotheca Sacra)
1 John 2:12-17 Theodore Epp
1 John 2 Commentary
1 John 2:15-17 Not Loving the World We Love
1 John 2:12-29
1 John 2 Commentary
1 John 2:12-17 Exegetical Commentary
1 John 2 Commentary
1 John 2:7-17 Expositional Commentary - Excellent
1 John Commentary (Plymouth Brethren)
1 John 2 Commentary
1 John 2 Commentary
1 John 2:15-17 Squandering Love and the Abiding Life
The Non-Pauline Epistles
1 John Expositional Commentary
1 John 2:15-29 The Perils of the Fellowship
What You Really Love
1 John 2:15-17 The Love God Hates
1 John 2:15-17 Why Christians Don't Love the World
1 John 2:15: The Love God Hates 1 Study Guide
1 John 2:15: The Love God Hates 1
1 John 2:12-14: The Love God Hates 2 Study Guide
1 John 2:16 The Cardiology of Worldliness
1 John 2:15-17: The Love God Hates 3 Study Guide
1 John: How can I be Sure?
1 John 2:17 River And Rock
1 John - 75 messages -Thru the Bible  Mp3's
1 John 2:17 Devotional
1 John 2:15-17 Legacy of Flowers, Legacy of Faith
1 John 2 Commentary Notes
1 John 2:15-17 A Warning - Mp3 Audio only
1 John 2:15  1 John 2:15 1 John 2:17
1 John 2:15-17: Do Not Love the World
1 John -- Introduction
1 John 2 Expositional Commentary
1 John 2 Homiletics
1 John 2 Homilies by Various Authors
1 John 2:15  1 John 2:15b 1 John 2:15c 2:15d 2:16
1 John 2:16b 1 John 2:16c 1 John 2:16d 2:16e 2:16f
1 John 2:17 1 John 2:17b 1 John 2:17c 1 John 2:17d
1 John 2: Word Pictures in the New Testament
1 John 2:3-27 Conduct in Fellowship
1 John 2:12-17 Do Not Love The World
1 John 2:15-17 Love of the World Forbidden
1 John Commentary - Hamilton Smith
1 John 2:15a
1 John 2:15-17 Love Not the World
1 John 2 Commentary (Expositor's Greek Testament)
1 John Exposition
1 John 2:15-17: The Enemy Around - Sermon
1 John 2:15-17: The Enemy Around - Devotional
1 John 4 Word Studies in the New Testament
1 John 2:15-17: World Wary
1 John: Download Lesson 1

For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh: hoti pan to en to kosmo, e epithumia tes sarkos: (Numbers 11:4,34; Psalms 78:18,30; Proverbs 6:25; Matthew 5:28; Romans 13:14; 1Corinthians 10:6; Galatians 5:17,24;Ephesians 2:3; Titus 2:12; 3:3; 1Peter 1:14; 2:11; 4:2,3; 4:2,3; 2Peter 2:10,18; Jude 1:16, 17, 18)
Related Resource: Take this self assessment What You Really Love
For -  For explains 1John 2:15 explaining why the love of the world will displace the love of God. The following explains why worldliness excludes God’s love or is incompatible with the love for God.
Lange explains that for is causal and means...
because there is nothing in the world, the kosmos, which is of the Father, the love of the world is utterly incompatible with the love of the Father. (Lange, J. P., Schaff, P., Brain, K., & Mombert, J. I. A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures: 1, 2, 3 John.
Harris writes that the introductory for...
gives the reason why the love of the Father is not in the person who loves the world: it is because everything in the world does not come from the Father but from the world. The construction used in both these phrases is the preposition ek (from, out of) followed by the finite verb estin (is - present tense = continually), which in Johannine usage indicates ‘origin from’ and/or ‘adherence to.’ (Exegetical Commentary on 1 John 2:12-17)
All (pas) means all without exception. Marvin Vincent explains the "all" this way...
Not all things severally, but all that is in the world collectively, regarded as a unit. (Word Studies in the New Testament)
Adam Clarke writes that...
All that it can boast of, all that it can promise, is only sensual, transient gratification, and even this promise it cannot fulfill; so that its warmest votaries (devoted admirers) can complain loudest of their disappointment.

In the world - Everything that belongs to the sphere ("in the") of the world that is alienated from God, as qualified or explained by the three succeeding phrases. Obviously John is not speaking about all the inanimate or material objects of the world, but about the anti-god attitudes of the world composed of people.
Hiebert writes...
As Jackman notes, "The `worldly' characteristics of which the verse speaks are in fact reactions going on inside us, as we contemplate the environment outside. John's three articular designations seem best understood as denoting the three basic spheres of worldliness. Although they do not offer exact parallels, these three realities are seen in the accounts of the temptation of Eve in the Garden (Ge 3:6) and of Jesus in the wilderness (Luke 4:1-12). (The Epistles of John An Expositional Commentary D. Edmond Hiebert)
Steven Cole adds that...
Many have pointed out how the three aspects of temptation listed here parallel the way that Satan tempted Eve. She saw that the forbidden fruit was good for food (Ge. 3:6), which was an appeal to the lust of the flesh. She saw “that it was a delight to the eyes.” This appealed to the lust of the eyes. She also saw “that the tree was desirable to make one wise.” This appealed to the boastful pride of life.
The same pattern occurs in Satan’s temptation of Jesus (Luke 4:1-12). Satan urged Jesus to turn the stones into bread (the lust of the flesh). He showed Him all the kingdoms of the earth, offering to give them to Him (the lust of the eyes). He encouraged Him to jump off the pinnacle of the temple, which could have been a source of pridein this miraculous accomplishment.
Boice observes that in this verse John...
is not thinking then so much of materialism (“things”) as he is of the attitudes that lie behind materialism. For he knows, as we should all know, that a person without worldly goods can be just as materialistic as a person who has many of them; and, conversely, a rich person can be quite free from this and any other form of worldliness. John is actually thinking of selfish ambition, pride, the love of success or flattery, and other such characteristics. Law recognizes this in his excellent rephrasing of the apostle’s appeal. He writes,
“Do not court the intimacy and the favour of the unchristian world around you; do not take its customs for your laws, nor adopt its ideals, nor covet its prizes, nor seek fellowship with its life.”
The NEB says, “Do not set your hearts on the godless world or anything in it.” (Boice, J. M. The Epistles of John: An Expositional Commentary. Baker Books)
Constable adds that...
John summarized the appeal of the world system as three-fold. Here is a picture of the infernal trinity, the three faces of the world, three sources of worldly temptation (cf. Gen. 3; Matt. 4). (1John Expository Notes)
World (2889) (kosmos related to the verb kosmeo = to order or adorn, to put in order [Mt 25:7 = "trimmed"], to adorn literally [1Ti 2:9], to adorn figuratively [Titus 2:9-note]) means essentially something that is well-arranged, that which has order or something arranged harmoniously. Kosmos refers to an ordered system or a system where order prevails. As explained below however, kosmos as used here in James 4:4 and many places in the NT, takes on a considerably more negative shade of meaning. In this sense kosmos is much like the Greek word for flesh (sarx), which can be a neutral word, but which many times in the NT takes on an evil connotation.
Related Resource: An Out-of-this-World Experience A Look at Kosmos in the Johannine Literature
The basic meaning of order leads to the two main uses...
(1) Adornment, decoration, eternal adorning (used this way in NT only in 1Pe 3:3-note, where kosmos speaks of the woman wearing that which is fitting with her character as a believer and not incongruous or "out of order". In the context of Jas 4:4 she should not be a believer who seeks external adornment that mimics that of the world [cp "friendship with the world"]! Beloved, a believing woman's attire should always be so "ordered" as to draw attention to her face, not her form! Compare God's desired "adornment" in 1Pe 3:4-note)
(2) The world, which has in turn a variety of nuances which must be determined by examining the context in which it is used.
Kosmos/kosmeo give us our English words cosmos (the ordered universe), cosmopolitan (literally a citizen of the world!) and cosmetics (those things we put on in order to bring order out of "chaos"!) English terms. A matter of "cosmic" significance, is something which is important for the whole world. When one speaks of a "cosmopolitan" city, it means a city which has citizens from many parts of the world.
Kosmos is the absolute antithesis of chaos (a Greek word meaning a rude, unformed mass), chaos being the fantasized condition with which the theory of evolution begins! The Bible on the other hand uses kosmos to describe the original condition of the universe (cp kosmos in 2Pe 3:6-note) as one of perfection ("it was very good" Ge 1:31, not very chaotic! Kosmos is used the first time in LXX of Ge 2:1 all their hosts = "and the whole world". The sons of God (the angels) did not shout for joy over chaos, but kosmos when they saw this universe come into existence by the creative fiat of God (Job 38:4, 5, 6, 7)!
A W Pink writes that worldly lusts...
are those affections and appetites which dominate and regulate the man of the world. It is the heart craving worldly objects, pleasures, honors, riches. It is an undue absorption with those things which serve only a temporary purpose and use. "Worldly lusts" cause the things of Heaven to be crowded out by the interests and concerns of earth. This may be done by things which are quite lawful in themselves—but through an immoderate use they gain possession of the heart. "Worldly lusts" are "the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life" (1 John 2:16). (Grace Preparing for Glory)
THE STRONG DESIRES
FOR EVIL WITHIN US
Marvin Vincent explains that the lust of the flesh as used by John in this verse refers in essence to our...
Sensual appetite. The desire which resides in the flesh, not the desire for the flesh. For this subjective usage of the genitive with lust, see John 8:44; Ro 1:24-note; Re 18:14-note. Compare 1Pe 2:11-note; Titus 2:12-note. The lust of the flesh involves the appropriation of the desired object. (Word Studies in the New Testament)
Jamieson explains that the lusts of the flesh...
is the lust which has its seat and source in our lower animal nature. Satan tried this temptation the first on Christ:Lk 4:3, “Command this stone that it be made bread.” Youth is especially liable to fleshly lusts. (1John 2 Commentary)
John MacArthur writes that...
The expression lust of the flesh brings to mind primarily sexual sins, but, while they are included in its definition, the phrase is certainly not limited to that meaning. The base desire of the human heart perverts and distorts all normal desires (Jer 17:9), sending them into a relentless, slavish pursuit of evil that exceeds the proper limits of what is good, reasonable, and righteous—any attitude, speech, or action that opposes God's law (cf. Ro 7:5-note; Ro 8:7-note). Those lusts include all the immoral excesses about which Paul warned the Galatians: (Gal. 5:19,20-note, Gal 5:21-note; cf. Ro 1:24-32; 1Cor. 6:9-10) Those sinful attitudes and actions are primary characteristics of the world system and are irresistibly appealing to the corruption of the unconverted soul. (1-3 John. MacArthur New Testament Commentary)
Constable writes that...
The lust of the flesh is the desire to do something apart from the will of God. The lust of the eyes is the desire to have something apart from the will of God. The pride of life is the desire to be something apart from the will of God. The first desire appeals mainly to the body, the second to the soul, and the third to the spirit. Perhaps the most common manifestation of the lust of the flesh in modern western civilization is illicit sex (hedonism, idolizing pleasure). Perhaps the most common manifestation of the lust of the eyes is excessive buying (materialism, idolizing possessions). Perhaps the most common manifestation of the pride of life is trying to control (egoism, idolizing power). (1John Expository Notes) (Bolding, color and italics added for emphasis)
Lust (1939) (epithumia from epi = at, toward {the preposition "epi-" in the compound is directive conveying the picture of "having one’s passion toward"} + thumos = passion. The root verb epithumeo = set heart upon) is a neutral term denoting the presence of strong desires or impulses, longings or passionate craving (whether it is good or evil is determined by the context) directed toward an object. (Click article in ISBE)
Hiebert sums up the meaning of epithumia in the 3 uses in 1Jn 2:16, 17...
"Lust" is here collective, denoting the varied cravings of fallen human nature pursued in the interest of self in self-sufficient independence from God. . The genitive "of the flesh" is not objective, "lust for the flesh," but subjective, the lust which has its seat in "the flesh," man's fallen nature with its disposition of hostility toward God. Plummer calls attention to the fact that John did not say "the lust of the body." The cravings which God has placed in the human body in themselves are not sinful; they are God-given and essential for continuance of life here on earth. But they readily be-come sinful when used for illegitimate ends. The reference is to those temptations that arise from within. (The Epistles of John An Expositional Commentary D. Edmond Hiebert)
Epithumia is used 38 times in the NAS (Mk. 4:19; Lk. 22:15; Jn. 8:44; Rom. 1:24; 6:12; 7:7, 8; 13:14; Gal. 5:16, 24;Eph. 2:3; 4:22; Phil. 1:23; Col. 3:5; 1 Thess. 2:17; 4:5; 1 Tim. 6:9; 2 Tim. 2:22; 3:6; 4:3; Titus 2:12; 3:3; James. 1:14,15; 1 Pet. 1:14; 2:11; 4:2, 3; 2 Pet. 1:4; 2:10, 18; 3:3; 1 Jn. 2:16, 17; Jude 1:16, 18; Rev. 18:14) and is translated as: coveting, 2; desire, 4; desires, 8; earnestly, 1; impulses, 1; long, 1; lust, 5; lustful, 1; lusts, 15 (NASB). Other versions translate epithumia as strong impulses or desires, yearnings, longings after.
W. E. Vine summarizes epithumia as follows:
epithumia denotes "strong desire" of any kind, the various kinds being frequently specified by some adjective (see below). The word is used of a good desire only in Lk 22:15; Phil 1:23  [note]; 1Thes 2:17  [note]. Everywhere else it has a bad sense. In Ro 6:12 [note] the injunction against letting sin reign in our mortal body to obey the "lust" thereof, refers to those evil desires which are ready to express themselves in bodily activity. They are equally the "lusts" of the flesh, Ro 13:14 [note]; Gal 5:16 [note], Gal 5:24  [note ]; Eph 2:3 [note]; 2Pe 2:18 [note]; 1Jn 2:16, a phrase which describes the emotions of the soul, the natural tendency towards things evil. Such "lusts" are not necessarily base and immoral, they may be refined in character, but are evil if inconsistent with the will of God.
Other descriptions besides those already mentioned are: "of the mind," Ephesians 2:3  [note]; "evil (desire),"Colossians 3:5 [note]; "the passion of," 1Thessalonians 4:5 [note], RV; "foolish and hurtful," 1Ti 6:9; "youthful," 2Ti 2:22 [note]; "divers," 2Ti 3:6 [note]; Titus 3:3 [note]; "their own," 2Ti 4:3 [note]; 2Pe 3:3 [note]; Jude 1:16; "worldly,"Titus 2:12 [note]; "his own," Jas 1:14 [note]; "your former," 1P 1:14  [note], RV; "fleshly," 1Pe 2:11  [note]; "of men,"1Pe 4:2  [note]; "of defilement," 2Pe 2:10 [note]; "of the eyes," 1Jn 2:16; of the world ("thereof"), 1Jn 2:17; "their own ungodly," Jude 1:18. In Re 18:14 [note] "(the fruits) which thy soul lusted after" is, lit., "of thy soul's lust." (Vine, W E: Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words. 1996. Nelson)
Vine adds that lust

describes the inner motions of the soul, the natural tendency of men in their fallen estate toward things evil and toward things forbidden."

Vine adds that the phrase the lust of the flesh...

stands for the temptation which proceeds from our corrupt nature, a nature which, owing to sin, stands opposed to the will and commandments of God. (Vine, W. Collected writings of W. E. Vine. Nashville: Thomas Nelson)

Sin within fallen man is often personified in Paul's writings and is portrayed as an organized power [think of SIN as an evil "king" for example] which ever seeks to rule our will and act out through the members of the body. Thus we see Paul explain that

Sin (the source of the desires)...produced in (him) coveting (epithumia) of every kind. (Ro 7:8-note)

Lusts occur in our mind and are not physical actions per se although they may (and frequently do) lead to physical actions. Thus James warns us of the evil character of "lusts" writing that

each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. (Jas 1:14,15-note)

We can't afford to play with fire
Nor tempt a serpent's bite;
We can't afford to think that sin
Brings any true delight.
-- Anon.

Lusts denote the varied cravings of fallen human nature pursued in the interest of self in self-sufficient independence of God. Oswald Chambers wrote that "Love can wait and worship endlessly; lust says, "I must have it at once.""

Warren Wiersbe writes that

these fundamental desires of life are the steam in the boiler that makes the machinery go. Turn off the steam and you have no power. Let the steam go its own way and you have destruction. The secret is in constant control. These desires must be our servants and not our masters; and this we can do through Jesus Christ. (Wiersbe, W: Bible Exposition Commentary. 1989. Victor)

Paul instructs the Ephesians that

in reference to (their) former manner of life (as unbelievers), (they were to) lay aside the old self, which (was) being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit. (Eph 4:22-note)

In other words, lusts deceive us and lead us astray, promising more than they deliver and producing (spiritual, soul) rottenness when "conceived".

Peter reiterates the detrimental effect of lust, writing about

"the corruption (moral decay - corruption is much deeper than defilement on the outside - it is decay on the inside) that is in the world by lust." (2Pe 1:4-note)
Believers unfortunately are still continually assailed by lusts.
Paul exhorts believers not to
let Sin (continually) reign in your mortal body that you should obey its lusts (Ro 6:12-note)
In this passage Paul is implying that Sin will try to usurp the "throne" of our heart by lobbing fiery missiles laden with lustful thoughts (not restricted to sexual lusts but are quite variegated or multi-colored!)
In a similar warning, Peter urges us
as aliens and strangers to abstain from (continually hold yourself away from) fleshly lusts, which (continually) wage war (describing not just a battle but a veritable military campaign) against the soul. (1Pe 2:11-note)
Believers are called to
flee from youthful lusts (a warning against contamination from one’s own evil propensities -- It is not sufficient to guard against evil in others, we must be watchful against evil within) and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. (2Pe 2:22-note)
In this letter Paul writes the wonderful truth that the
grace of God has appeared (one important effect of this grace is that believers need not try to "fight" lusts in their own strength but in dependence of God's grace or enabling power)" and is continually "instructing us to deny (once and for all refuse to follow or agree with evil strong desires coming from the evil world system ruled by Satan and opposed to God) ungodliness and worldly desires (lusts) and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age. (Titus 2:12-note)
In Romans Paul commands believers to
Put on (urgent command to do this now and first) the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision (act of making prior preparation) for the flesh (here it means the seat of SIN in man) in regard to its lusts. (Ro 13:14-note)
The Jewish historian Josephus, speaking of Cleopatra, says
She was an expensive woman, enslaved to lusts.
Lusts acted upon are indeed costly! (cp David's agony of defeat by lust indulged - 1Sa 11:1, 2, 3, 4, 5 with 2Sa 12:1-19)
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A Christian, writing anonymously in Leadership magazine, told of his ten-year bondage to lust, which included a regular diet of pornography. During this time, he conducted Christian conferences and seminars across the country. The agony of his inner conflict finally became unbearable. To his horror, he realized that such pleasures as a breathtaking sunset or the soft spray of an ocean breeze no longer excited him. His obsession with lust had dulled his appreciation of life's finest enjoyments and prevented the joy of fellowshipping with Jesus. Although he had been outwardly faithful to his wife, not having engaged in adultery, he had sinned against her, and their relationship had suffered. When he turned anew to God, he realized that a neces sary step in breaking his lustful pattern was a long talk with his mate. The whole experience was painful and awkward, but the repentance was genuine. She forgave him, and love returned to their marriage. Repentance, though painful, results in life's true pleasure—com munion with God and spiritual oneness with fellow believers. Repentance means not only a heart broken for sin but from sin. —D. J. De Haan (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)
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In summary, the lusts John refers to are the sensual bodily appetites that proceed from within our evil nature (fallen flesh). (cp Jas 1:14-note)
THE BEAST
WITHIN
Lust of the flesh - This describes the passionate desire or the craving that comes from the evil nature, the flesh. In other words the evil craving has its origin in the fallen flesh.
Various renderings of lust of the flesh: ISV = the desire for fleshly gratification. Phillips paraphrase = men's primitive desires. NCV = wanting to please our sinful selves. NIV = the cravings of sinful man. NJB = disordered bodily desires. NLT = a craving for physical pleasure. Young's Literal = the cravings of the earthly nature.
Of the flesh (4561) (sarx) is used 147 times in the NT and a simple definition is difficult because sarx has many nuances (e.g., some Greek lexicons list up to 11 definitions for sarx!). The diligent disciple must carefully observe thecontext of each use of sarx in order to accurately discern which nuance is intended. The range of meaning extends from the physical flesh (both human and animal), to the human body, to the entire person, and even to all humankind!
In the context of 1Jn 2:15-17, John uses flesh with it's moral/ethical sense. Flesh here refers to the totally depraved nature as governing the individual’s reason, will, and emotions. It describes that outlook which is totally orientated toward self, which is prone to commit sins, which is opposed to God and which pursues its own ends in self-sufficient, independence from God. Flesh is that ugly complex of human sinful desires that includes the ungodly motives, affections, principles, purposes, words, and actions that sin generates through our bodies. Sarx as used in this manner denotes the entire fallen human being—not just the sinful body but the entire being, including the soul and mind, as affected by sin. To live according to the flesh is to be ruled and controlled by that evil complex. Because of Christ’s saving work on the believer's behalf, the sinful flesh no longer reigns over us, to debilitate us and drag us back into the pit of depravity into which we were all born.
Flesh is that urge within us toward total autonomy and rebellion, toward being our own "little gods" accountable to no one, responsible to no one, obeying no one, respecting no one, and running our own little worlds to suit ourselves. It is that continual tug of self-centeredness and selfishness within each of us that fights to keep us from being wholly devoted to God.
Born again believers need to understand that there is still this remnant of the flesh within our physical bodies of flesh. In contrast to the unregenerate man, believers now have the power led by the Holy Spirit to say "yes" to God and "no" to the flesh, whereas before the co-crucifixion explained by Paul in Romans 6 (Ro 6:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11-seenotes on Ro 6:1-3; 6:4-5; 6:6-7; 6:8-10; 6:11) took place we had no choice but to obey Sin, which ruled unopposed in our bodies. The apostle Paul teaches that in believers, the flesh is opposed to Spirit (Gal 5:17-note). While the unbeliever can live only in the flesh, the believer can now live in the Spirit although he can fall back into livingaccording to the Spirit. And so the apostle Paul repeatedly encourages believers to overcome the deeds of the flesh in the only way possible - by living in the Spirit (see Gal 5:16-note, Gal 5:18-note, Gal 5:25-note)
To live according to the flesh is to be ruled and controlled by the flesh. Because of Christ’s saving work on our behalf, the sinful flesh no longer reigns over us, to debilitate us and drag us back into the pit of depravity into which we were all born.
J Vernon McGee has a simple classification for sarx writing that...
it can be used in three different ways. It can speak of the body, the physical body that we have, the meat that is on the bones. It can speak of weakness, meaning that which is psychological. It can also mean that corrupt nature which you and I have, that fallen nature. That is the spiritual meaning. So this word can be used in a physical sense, in a psychological sense, and in a spiritual sense. Paul uses the word flesh in all three senses but more frequently in the sense of the old Adamic, fallen nature. (McGee, J V: Thru the Bible Commentary: Nashville: Thomas Nelson)
John Piper defines flesh (in its moral/ethical sense) as
the old ego that is self-reliant and does not delight to yield to any authority or depend on any mercy. Flesh craves the sensation of self-generated power and loves the praise of men....in its conservative form it produces legalism -- keeping rules by its own power for its own glory.... (in its more liberal form) produces grossly immoral attitudes and acts (Gal 5:19, 20, 21-see notes Gal 5:19; 20; 21) The flesh is the proud and unsubmissive root of depravity in every human heart which exalts itself subtly through proud, self-reliant morality, or flaunts itself blatantly through self-assertive, authority-despising immorality. (Read John Piper's full sermon Walk By the Spirit!)
Harry Ironside writes that...
It is not that the flesh (referring to the moral/ethical meaning) is, or ever will be, in any sense improved. The flesh in the oldest and godliest Christian is as incorrigibly evil as the flesh in the vilest sinner...All efforts to reform or purify it are in vain. The law only demonstrates its incurable wickedness. And this explains why the natural man is so completely unprofitable... To say so would be to declare that man is not a responsible creature but is simply the victim of a hard, cruel fatalism. But although he knows the evil and approves the good, the natural man inclines toward the wrong and fails to do the right. Because he is dominated by the flesh, to which he yields his members as instruments of unrighteousness (Ro 6:13-note), he is powerless to change his nature. The natural man therefore cannot really please God." (Ironside, Harry. Romans and Galatians. Kregel. 2006) (Bolding added)
Larry Richards summarizes flesh (specifically the moral/ethical aspect) writing that...
"flesh" is a complex word with many meanings....The NT emphasizes humanity's moral inadequacy. When they are isolated from God, human beings are energized by evil desires and guided by perceptions that distort God's will and His nature. The word "flesh" reminds us that we are caught in the grip of sin. Even a desire for righteousness cannot enable us to actually become righteous. God deals with our flesh in a surprising way. He does not free us now from the fleshly nature. Instead, he provides a source of power that will release us from the domination of the flesh. Jesus has paid for sins generated by our flesh, whether sins of our past or those yet in our future. But Jesus has also provided us with his Holy Spirit. The Spirit lives within us, and He is the source of new desires and a new perspective. Even more, the spiritual power unleashed in the resurrection is made available to us in the Spirit...If we choose to rely on the Spirit and if we commit ourselves to His control, we will experience a resurrection kind of life--now. The limits imposed by our fleshly human nature will no longer contain us, and we will be freed from the mastery of the flesh." (Richards, L O: Expository Dictionary of Bible Words: Regency) (Bolding added)
Lewis Sperry Chafer wrote that flesh (the moral/ethical definition) is...
Any aspect of life or conduct which is undertaken in dependence upon the energy and ability of the flesh is, to that extent, purely legal in character, whether it be the whole revealed will of God, the actual written commandments contained in the Law, the exhortations of grace, or any activity whatsoever in which the believer may engage.
Middletown Bible Church has an instructive note on explaining that...
There are five things that will never happen to the flesh (referring to the moral/ethical aspect):
1) The flesh cannot be changed. The rebellious, non-submissive flesh will never be transformed into submissive, obedient flesh. God’s method of dealing with the flesh is not to change it but to CONDEMN IT (Ro 8:3-note) and crucify it (Gal 5:24-note; Gal 2:20-note and compare Ro 6:6-note).
2) The flesh cannot be reformed. It cannot be corrected or restored to purity. That which is corrupt remains corrupt. That which is desperately wicked remains desperately wicked (Jer 17:9). The Church was reformed (we speak of the Protestant "Reformation") and restored to some degree of purity but the flesh will never have a reformation. Two thousand years ago it did not have a reformation but it had a crucifixion!
3) The flesh can never be trained. The flesh is stubborn. It refuses to change its ways. It’s immutable. You can never teach the flesh how to please God. The flesh is incorrigible--incapable of being corrected or amended. The flesh refuses to change its ways. The works of the flesh always remain the same (Gal 5:19, 20, 21-see notes  Gal 5:19; 20; 21).
4) The flesh cannot be improved. It always remains as it is: depraved, corrupt, wicked, sinful, evil, anti-God, rebellious, stubborn, proud, etc.
5) The flesh cannot be reconciled to God. It is always and ever opposed to God (Gal 5:17-note). It will never be at peace with God; instead there is constant war. God can never be brought into harmony with that which is out of harmony with His holy and righteous character.
Finally Wuest emphasizes that in using the word flesh, the apostle John...
has no reference to the physical body except as that body is controlled or energized by the evil nature. The physical body and its members in themselves have no evil desires except as controlled by the totally depraved nature. To say that the physical body of itself has evil desires is Gnosticism, the heresy that matter is inherently evil. (Wuest, K. S. Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Eerdmans or Logos)
And the lust of the eyes: kai e epithumia ton ophthalmon: (Genesis 3:6; 6:2; Joshua 7:21; Job 31:1; Psalms 119:36,37; Ecclesiastes 5:10,11; Matthew 4:8; Luke 4:5)
Lust of the eyes - "I see it. I want it. I take it!" Have you ever done that? I call this the "Achan syndrome" (read the instructive, frightening account in Joshua 7:1-26, esp Josh 7:1, 11, 12, 18, 19, 20, 21, 25, 26).
(Achan answering Joshua) when I saw among the spoil a beautiful mantle from Shinar and two hundred shekels of silver and a bar of gold fifty shekels in weight, then I coveted (Lxx = enthumeomai = Achan thought carefully about, pondered on, reflected inwardly regarding) them and took them; and behold, they are concealed (Heb = taman = they were hidden by covering over so that they could not be found; Lxx = egkrupto = to put something into something so as to hide out of sight) in the earth inside my tent with the silver underneath it. (Joshua 7:21)
Comment: Note the principle of progression of the passion to possess - "I saw...I coveted...took." Note also what we do with our sin! We hide our sin from others [cp Ge 3:10] and we think (foolishly) even from God Himself (cp Achan "concealed", see Nu 32:23,  Ps 90:8-note, Isa 3:11-note)
Thomas Fuller - Our eyes, when gazing on sinful objects, are out of their calling and God's keeping.
Wuest writes that the lust of the eyes refers to...
the passionate cravings of the eyes for satisfaction, these cravings finding their source in the evil nature.
Hiebert explains that lust of the eyes refers to...
the cravings and lusts stimulated by what is seen. Now the reference is to those lusts which are aroused by what enters through the eye-gate. The reference is not merely to physical sight but includes intellectual visualization. One may understand the expression "the lust of the eyes," appearing only here in the New Testament, in two different ways. The reference may be to the craving to acquire the things seen. So understood, the expression "points to man's covetous and acquisitive nature." Or, as Plummer notes, the lust may be "the desire of seeing unlawful sights for the sake of the sinful pleasure to be derived from the sight; idle and prurient curiosity. The expression may well include both aspects. Some things an individual observes readily stimulate the craving to possess; other things he may desire to feast his eyes on without personally possessing. Under either view, "In a day of billboard advertising, movie and television screens, and eye-catching magazine spreads, this aspect of the world is predominant." (Ed: And this comment antedates the Internet, a vehicle for heretofore unspeakable visual evils! Maranatha!) (The Epistles of John An Expositional Commentary D. Edmond Hiebert)
In this section John emphasizes our intractably covetous nature even from the time of infancy (Ps 51:5-note). The eyes serve as the window (Mt 6:22-note) by which the fallen flesh is "energized" to covet that which is seen with the purpose that it take it and might be gratify the flesh (albeit only temporarily and incompletely! Contrast Ps 16:11-note) as portrayed in Jas 1:14-note.
Eve fell prey to her eyes, Moses recording that...
When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight (Heb = desirable) to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. (Ge 3:6)
Solomon whose eyes saw all that the world had to offer and who partook of most of this world's offering had this warning...
Do not desire (cp use of this Hebrew verb in Dt 5:21 = It is the first verb - covet. NB: Strong desires usually lead to taking!) her beauty in your heart, nor let her capture you with her eyelids. (Pr 6:25-note)
Comment: Note that this evil desire is rooted in our heart (Jer 17:9) which is tantamount to our fallen flesh and that it seeks to take us prisoner The Greek rendering of the Hebrew is intriguing for it is translated "Let not the desire of beauty overcome (LXX = Greek nikao [word study] = defeat, conquer, prevail, be victor over) thee"! If God inspired this instruction, He obviously must and does enable the believer to fight against the "lust of the eyes" in the form of the fem fatale (cp His instruction to Cain "You must master it". - Ge 4:6,7). Men, notice carefully - Don't set your "eye" on her "eyelids" or you run the risk of being captured!
The Christian life is not a collection of do's and don'ts, but instead is a faith-filled daily walk surrendered to and guided by the Holy Spirit Who indwells us (Eph 5:18-note, Gal 5:16-note, Ro 8:13-note). He alone can enable us to bear the fruit of self-control (Gal 5:23-note) and give us direction through the principles in Scripture (cp Ps 119:9, 11). With His help, we can set good standards for our behavior and walk forth into the enemy territory of the "world" as more than conquerors through Christ! (Ro 8:37KJV-note) Fellow believer, isn't it our natural tendency to look at all the things we "can't" do so that we might thereby be holy as He is holy (and even make a mental "list" of these do's and don'ts)? We need to ask God to open the eyes of our heart to know...the surpassing greatest of His power in us who believe (Ep 1:18, 19-note) so that we are empowered to fight the good fight of faith and will not have to suffer the certain consequences of bad choices.
Matthew Henry wisely wrote - "Natural desires are at rest when that which is desired is obtained (cp the wisdom of Solomon - Pr 5:18, 19-notes), but corrupt desires are insatiable. Nature is content with little, grace with less, but lust with nothing."
In the oldest book in the Bible, Job (see the character of Job in Job 1:1. Why did he continually turn away from evil?) understood that a man's eyes needed to be continually protected so that they might not see, covet and take one who was not one's own...
I have made a covenant with my eyes. How then could I gaze (Hebrew = not just a casual or accidental, unavoidable glance, but careful consideration) at a virgin? (Job 31:1) (Amplified = I dictated a covenant (an agreement) to my eyes; how then could I look [lustfully] upon a girl?) (See a similar principle of the vital importance of guarding one's heart in Pr 4:23-note, cp Pr 4:25, 26, 27)
The psalmist also understood the wickedness of his own heart (Jer 17:9, Ge 8:21) and wisely pleaded with Jehovah to...
Turn away (A command in Hebrew) my eyes from looking at vanity, and revive me in Thy ways. (Ps 119:37-note) (NET Bible note "Make my eyes pass by from looking at what is worthless.")
David, who in his late 40's or early 50's had a serious spiritual "eye problem" (2Sa 11:1, 2 "saw a woman"..."so David..." 2Sa 11:3,4, cp 2Sa 12:9, 10 - note what David despised!!) declared...
I will set no worthless (Heb = Belial = evil, naughty, ungodly, wicked, and fittingly used for Satan = 2Co 6:15) thing before my eyes; I hate the work of those who fall away ("the doing of swerving [deeds] I hate"); It shall not fasten (Heb = dabaq = to stick like glue! Used in Ge 2:24 of husband to cling to his wife) its grip on me. (Ps 101:3-note)
Jesus warned of the path down which our eyes will lead us if they are not continually guarded...
but I say to you, that everyone who looks (present tense = emphasizes not just a glance but a continual gaze!) on a woman to lust (epithumeo) for her has committed adultery with her already in his heart. (Mt 5:28-note) (William Gurnall rightly asked "What lust is so sweet or profitable that is worth burning in hell for?" cp Mt 5:29-note)
Jamieson comments that the lusts of the eyes serve as
the avenue through which outward things of the world, riches, pomp, and beauty, inflame us. Satan tried this temptation on Christ when he showed Him the kingdoms of the world in a moment. By the lust of the eyes David (2Sa 11:2) and Achan fell (Joshua 7:21). Compare David’s prayer, Ps 119:37; Job’s resolve, Ps 31:1; Mt 5:28-note. The only good of worldly riches to the possessor is the beholding them with the eyes. Compare Lk 14:18, “I must go and see it.” (1John 2 Commentary)
Thomas Brooks rightly warned that...
A little will satisfy nature; less will satisfy grace; nothing will satisfy men's lusts.
Adam Clarke writes that lust of the eyes speaks of...
Inordinate desires after finery of every kind, gaudy dress, splendid houses, superb furniture, expensive equipage, trappings, and decorations of all sorts.
Wuest writes that here...
John speaks of one of the manifestations of the evil nature, the lust of the eyes, namely the passionate cravings of the eyes for satisfaction, these cravings finding their source in the evil nature. (Wuest, K. S. Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Eerdmans or Logos)
H A Ironside has an interesting interpretation of this section writing that...
I remember when I was a young Christian, my world against which I had to guard most was the world of polite literature. I used to love it, its poetry, its essays, its wonderful books, and I appreciate them yet in a certain sense, but I had to remember this, that if ever these things came in between my soul and my love for this blessed Book, I had to turn away from them and give my time and attention to this Book, and so it is with many things. There was a young lady with great musical ability preparing to go on the concert stage when the Lord saved her. She said one day, "You know I have made a wonderful discovery; my very love for music is coming in between my soul and Christ," and that young woman for eight years would not touch a musical instrument, for she was afraid she would become so absorbed that she would not enjoy the things of God. The time came when she said, "I cannot enjoy music for its own sake, but I, can use it as a vehicle to bless the souls of men," and she gave her talent to Christ, and He used it in attracting people to hear the gospel. No matter what it is, if you lay it down at Jesus' feet and use it for Him, you do not need to be afraid of it. But do not put your work before Jesus Christ.
Sometimes a fine house is "the world." Here is a Christian, and while he is little in his own eyes and has not much means, he lives in a quiet little home, but the Lord trusts him with a good deal of money, and he immediately says, "I must have a better house now; I must have some style about me; I must have magnificent furniture and draperies." What for? Is he any more comfortable? He can eat just three meals a day, he can sleep in just one bed at a time, and sit in just one chair at a time, but he feels he must impress people. Beauty, too, can get in between you and Christ, and it will prove to be "the world" if one is not careful. (Addresses on the Epistles of John & an Exposition of the Epistle of Jude H. A. Ironside)
And the boastful pride of life: kai e alazoneia tou biou: (Esther 1:3-7; Psalms 73:6; Daniel 4:30; Revelation 18:11-17)
Boastful pride of life - The Greek could be read literally as “the pretension of human life” (Bible Knowledge Commentary) Wuest paraphrases this as "the insolent and empty assurance which trusts in the things that serve the creature life".
Hiebert observes that...
While the two preceding aspects are inward, relating to what one wants, this is outward, relating to what one has or professes to have.
Barker writes that the boastful pride of life...
will be reflected in whatever status symbol is important to me or seems to define my identity. When I define myself to others in terms of my honorary [or earned] degrees, the reputation of the church I serve, my annual income, the size of my library, my expensive car or house, and if in doing this I misrepresent the truth and in my boasting show myself to be only a pompous fool who has deceived no one, then I have succumbed to what John calls the pride of life. (Gaebelein, F, Editor: Expositor's Bible Commentary 6-Volume New Testament. Zondervan Publishing orPradis = computer version)
Jamieson comments on the boastful pride of life as
literally, “arrogant assumption”: vainglorious display. Pride was Satan’s sin whereby he fell and forms the link between the two foes of man, the world (answering to “the lust of the eyes”) and the devil (as “the lust of the flesh” is the third foe). Satan tried this temptation on Christ in setting Him on the temple pinnacle that, in spiritual pride and presumption, on the ground of His Father’s care, He should cast Himself down. The same three foes appear in the three classes of soil on which the divine seed falls: the wayside hearers, the devil; the thorns, the world; the rocky undersoil, the flesh (Mt 13:18–23; Mk 4:3–8). The world’s awful anti-trinity, the “lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life,” similarly is presented in Satan’s temptation of Eve: “When she saw that the tree was good for food, pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise,” Ge 3:6 (one manifestation of “the pride of life,” the desire to know above what God has revealed, Col 2:8, the pride of unsanctified knowledge). (1John 2 Commentary)
Adam Clarke writes boastful pride of life speaks of...
Hunting after honors, titles, and pedigrees; boasting of ancestry, family connections, great offices, honorable acquaintance, and the like.
H A Ironside says that the boastful pride of life is the
The ostentation of living, trying to make an appearance before others, the vainglory (excessive or ostentatious pride especially in one’s achievements) of the world. I think sometimes if some Christians took two-thirds of the money that they put into a mansion down here, and invested it in sending the gospel to a lost world, they would have a much finer mansion up there.
"Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world... The world passeth away, and the lust thereof."
I was passing along the street the other day with a friend, and he said, as he pointed out one house after another, "There is an awful lot of tragedy connected with that house. A man built this great home for his beautiful wife, and suddenly she died. Here is a house that had much money put into it, but there was a suicide in the family, and now no one cares to live in it."
There is no real joy in these things. As Christians, ours are the only joys that last forever; ours are the things that will never pass away, and yet to think that we can be so foolish and invest so much in that which is simply fleeting and will leave us dissatisfied and unhappy at last. (Addresses on the Epistles of John & an Exposition of the Epistle of Jude H. A. Ironside)
Steven Cole notes that...
While the lust of the flesh and lust of the eyes refer to the desire to have what you do not have, the boastful pride of life refers to sinful pride over what you do have. It is the desire to be better than others so that you can glory in yourself and your accomplishments.
There is a proper sense, of course, of doing your best in school, athletics, or at work in order to be a good steward of God’s gifts and to bring glory to Him. But it’s easy to forget that He gave you everything that you have (1Cor. 4:7) and to start boasting in your achievements and possessions as if you attained these things by your own intelligence or hard work. It’s easy to think like Nebuchadnezzar, who said (Da 4:30),
“Is this not Babylon the great, which I myself have built as a royal residence by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?”
God immediately drove him out into the fields to live as a wild beast until his heart was humbled!
We all battle these temptations daily, and we often fail. But John’s point is, if you go on yielding to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life as your way of life, you are not maintaining love for the Father. Rather, you are maintaining love for the world. Worldly people wallow in these things; God’s children fight them continually. How do we maintain our love for the Father? (click here for Pastor Cole's answer to "how we maintain our love for the Father") (Choose Your Love: the World or the Father?)
The NET Bible note comments that in this context, alazoneia refers to...
The arrogance produced by material possessions. The person who thinks he has enough wealth and property to protect himself and insure his security has no need for God (or anything outside himself). (NET Bible) (See related comment below on "bios")
Boastful (212) (alazoneia - related word alazon) according to Thayer refers (a) in secular writings (from Aristophanes down) generally to empty, braggart talk sometimes also empty display in act, swagger, (b) an insolent and empty assurance, which trusts in its own power and resources and shamefully despises and violates divine laws and human rights and (c) an impious and empty presumption which trusts in the stability of earthly things (Jas 4:16). It speaks of pretension, arrogance in word and deed. (see Barclay's note below for more detail).
The only other NT use of alazoneia is by James...
James 4:16 But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil.
Vincent writes that alazoneia means...
It means, originally, empty, braggart talk or display; swagger; and thence an insolent and vain assurance in one’s own resources, or in the stability of earthly things, which issues in a contempt of divine laws. The vainglory of life is the vainglory which belongs to the present life.
(In his note on Jas 4:16 Vincent writes) The kindred word alazon, a boaster, is derived from ale, a wandering or roaming; hence, primarily, a vagabond, a quack, a mountebank. From the empty boasts of such concerning the cures and wonders they could perform, the word passed into the sense of boaster. One may boast truthfully; butalazoneia is false and swaggering boasting. Revised (of Jas 4:16KJV) renders vauntings, and rightly, since vaunt is from the Latin vanus, empty, and therefore expresses idle or vain boasting.
Barclay notes that alazon and the related word alazoneia have...
behind them a most interesting picture, which makes them all the more vivid and meaningful. The Greeks derived them from ale, which means a wandering about; and an alazon was one of these wandering quacks who could be found shouting their wares in every market-place and in every fair-ground, and offering to sell men their patent cure-alls.

Plutarch, for instance, uses it to describe a quack doctor (Plutarch, Moralia 523). It was the word for these quacks and cheapjacks who travelled the country and set up their stalls wherever crowds gathered, to sell their patent pills and potions, and to boast that they could cure anything.

So in Greek the word came to mean a pretentious braggart. The Platonic Definitions define alazoneia as `the claim to good things which a man does not really possess'.

Aristotle defines the alazon as the man `who pretends to praiseworthy qualities which he does not possess, or possesses in a lesser degree than he makes out' (Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics 1127a 21). Again in the Rhetoric (1384a 6) he says that 'it is the sign of alazoneia to claim that things it does not possess belong to it'.

Plato uses the word alazon to describe the 'false and boastful words' which can get into a young man's mind and drive out `the pursuits and true words which are the best guardians and sentinels in the minds of men who are dear to the gods' (Plato, Republic 560c).

In the Gorgias Plato draws a picture of the souls of men before the judge in the afterworld, souls 'where every act has left its smirch, where all is awry through falsehood and imposture, alazoneia, and nothing straight because of a nurture that knew not the truth' (Plato, Gorgias 525a).

Xenophon tells how Cyrus the Persian king, who knew men, defined the alazon: 'The name alazon seems to apply to those who pretend that they are richer than they are, or braver than they are, and to those who promise to do what they cannot do, and that, too, when it is evident that they do this only for the sake of getting something or making some gain' (Xenophon, Cyropaedia 2.2.12).

In the Memorabilia he tells how Socrates utterly condemned such imposters. Socrates said they are found in every walk of life, but they were worst of all in politics. 'Much the greatest rogue of all, is the man who has gulled his city into the belief that he is fit to direct it' (Xenophon, Memorabilia 1.7.5).

Theophrastus has a famous character sketch of the alazOn. 'Alazoneia', he begins, 'would seem to be, in fact, pretension to advantages which one does not possess'. The alatan is the man who will stand in the market-place and talk to strangers about the argosies he has at sea and his vast trading enterprises when his bank balance is precisely tenpence l He will tell of the campaigns he served with Alexander the Great, and how he was on terms of personal intimacy with him.

He will talk about the letters which the chiefs of the state write to him for help and advice. When he is living in lodgings he will pretend that the house in which his room is situated is the family mansion, and that he is thinking of selling it because it is not commodious enough for the entertaining which he has to do (Theophrastus, Characters 23).

The alazan was the braggart and the boaster out to impress men; the man with all his goods in the shop window; the man given to making extravagant claims which he can never fulfil. But we have still to see the alazon in his most damaging and dangerous form.

It was not so very dangerous for a man to lay claim to a business or a fortune which he did not possess; but in the days of the NT there were men who made claims which were exceedingly dangerous.

These men were the Sophists. The Sophists were Greek wandering teachers who claimed to sell knowledge; and, in effect, the knowledge they claimed to sell was the know-ledge of how to be a success in life. The Greeks loved words; and the Sophists claimed to give men subtle skill in words, so that, in the famous phrase `they could make the worse appear the better reason'. They claimed to give men that magic of words which would make the orator the master of men.

Aristophanes pillories them in The Clouds. He says the whole object of their teaching was to teach men to fascinate the jury, to win impunity to cheat, and to find an argument to justify anything. Isocrates, the great Greek teacher, hated them. `They merely try,' he said, 'to attract pupils by low fees and big promises' (Isocrates, Sophist 10. 193a).

He said : `They make impossible offers, promising to impart to their pupils an exact science of conduct by means of which they will always know what to do. Yet for this science they charge only £15 or £20... . They try to attract pupils by the specious titles of the subjects which they claim to teach, such as Justice and Prudence.

`But the Justice and Prudence which they teach are of a very peculiar sort, and they give a meaning to the words quite different from that which ordinary people give; in fact they cannot be sure about the meaning themselves, but can only dispute about it. Although they profess to teach justice, they refuse to trust their pupils, and make them deposit the fees with a third party before the course begins' (Isocrates, Sophist 4. 291d).

Plato savagely attacks them in his book called The Sophist : 'Hunters after young men of wealth and position, with sham education as their bait, and a fee for their object, making money by a scientific use of quibbles in private conversation, while quite aware that what they are teaching is wrong.'

It is these men, and the like of them, of whom the NT is thinking, and against whom it warns the Christian. The warning is against the false teacher who claims to teach men the truth, and who does not know it himself. The world is still full of these people who offer men a so-called wisdom, who shout their wares wherever men meet, who claim to have the cure and the solution to everything. How can we distinguish these men?
(i) Their characteristic is pride. In the Testament of Joseph, Joseph tells how he treated his brethren : 'My land was their land, and their counsel my counsel. And I exalted myself not among them in arrogance (alazoneia) because of my worldly glory, but I was among them as one of the least' (Testament of Joseph 17. 8). The alazon is the teacher who struts as he teaches, and who is fascinated by his own cleverness.

(ii) Their stock in trade is words. The Sophist defended himself to Epictetus that the young men came to him looking for someone to teach them. 'To teach them to live?' demands Epictetus. And then he answers his own question : 'No, fool; not how to live, but how to talk; which is also the reason why he admires you' (Epictetus, Discourses 3.23). The alazon seeks to substitute clever words for fine deeds.

(iii) Their motive is profit. The alazon is out for what he can get. Prestige for his reputation and money for his pocket is his aim. The programme he preaches is designed to return his party to power and himself to office.
The alazon is not dead. There are still the teachers who offer worldly cleverness instead of heavenly wisdom; who spin fine words which never end in any lovely action; whose teaching is aimed at self-advancement and whose desire is profit and power. (Barclay, William: New Testament Words:. Westminster John Know Press, 1964)
Help me, Lord, to live my life
Free from selfishness and strife
So that others clearly see
Changes You have made in me.
-- Sper
Of life (979) (bios; English biology) refers to everyday life including the daily functions of one's life on earth, such as our natural preoccupation with food, clothing and shelter (Lk 8:14, 1Ti 2:2, 2Ti 2:4-note, 1Pe 4:3-note). In this sense bios refers to the necessities of life and includes those pursuits and occupations pertaining to civil life. That which sustains life.
Bios can also refer to one's livelihood or means of subsistence including property, worldly goods, how one makes a living (1Jn 3:17)
Wuest contrasts bios with zoe, the latter term referring to...
life in the sense of one who is possessed of vitality and animation. It is used of the absolute fulness of life, both essential and ethical, which belongs to God. It is used to designate the life which God gives to the believing sinner, a vital, animating, spiritual, ethical dynamic which transforms his inner being and as a result, his behavior. (Wuest, K. S. Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Eerdmans or Logos)
BDAG states that bios refers to...
life in its appearance and manifestations freq. distinguished from zoe, the condition of being alive...Although there is freq. overlapping in usage, bios may be said to denote the manner in which one’s zoe, finds expression and the latter term may be used to connote quality of existence as such (cp. IPriene 105, 10 the birth of Augustus marked the ‘beginning of life (bios) and living (zoe)... Cass. Dio 69, 19 ‘Here lies Similis, alive [bios] for a number of years, but really living [zoe] for seven’.). Hence, as the semantic history shows, the loss of bios need not terminate zoe (q.v.). (Eg, compare the zoe of a believer in 1Jn 2:17b = "abides forever"!)
(1) Life and activity associated with it...2 Cl 1:6.(chronos tou biou) = time of life; (eiserchesmai eis ton biou) = come to life Dg 1 (which speaks) of a new way of living. The present life and its pleasures (hedone). Contrasted with bios is life beyond the grave (coming lifebut different (heteros biou) = which involves punishment. The affairs of everyday life (2Ti 2:4).
(2) Resources needed to maintain life, means of subsistence, specifically property, worldly goods (1Jn 3:17)
Hiebert explains that of life is...
The genitive "of life" (tou biou) and is the same word rendered "this world's goods" in Jas 3:17. The term occurs ten times in the New Testament (Mk 12:44; Lk 8:14, 43; 15:12, 30; 21:4; 1Ti 2:2; 2Ti 2:4-note; 1Jn 2:16;3:17) and basically denotes "the means of life, livelihood." John's expression, "the boastful pride of life," appearing only here in the New Testament, portrays an attitude of boastfulness and a hollow self-exaltation based on material possessions or social prominence. It is the disposition to "show off" before others on the basis of worldly possessions or personal abilities and achievements. Thus as Plummer notes, "The first two may be the vices of a solitary; the third requires society. We can have sinful desires when we are alone, but we cannot be ostentatious without company. (The Epistles of John An Expositional Commentary D. Edmond Hiebert)
The NET Bible note comments that in 1John 2:16...
The genitive biou (bios) is difficult to translate:
(1) Many understand it as objective, so that bios, "material life", becomes the object of one's alazoneia ("pride" or "boastfulness"). Various interpretations along these lines refer to boasting about one's wealth, showing off one's possessions, boasting of one's social status or lifestyle.
(2) It is also possible to understand the genitive as subjective, however, in which case the biou itself produces thealazoneia. In this case, the material security of one's life and possessions produces a boastful overconfidence. This understanding better fits the context here: The focus is on people who operate purely on a human level and have no spiritual dimension to their existence. This is the person who loves the world, whose affections are all centered on the world, who has no love for God or spiritual things ("the love of the Father is not in him," 1Jn 2:15).(NET Bible)
Bios - 11 uses in the NT...
Mark 12:44 for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on."

NET Note: The contrast between this passage Mk 12:41-44 and what has come before in Mk 11:27-12:40 is remarkable. The woman is set in stark contrast to the religious leaders. She was a poor widow, they were rich. She was uneducated in the law, they were well educated in the law. She was a woman, they were men. But whereas they evidenced no faith and actually stole money from God and men (cp Mk 11:17) she evidenced great faith and gave out of her extreme poverty everything she had. (NET Bible)

Luke 8:14 "And the seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity.

NET Note: On warnings about the dangers of excessive material attachments, described here as the worries and riches and pleasures of life, see Lk 12:12-21; 16:19-31. The verb (telesphoreo = fruit to maturity) means "to produce mature or ripe fruit" (L&N 23.203). Once again the seed does not reach its goal.  (NET Bible)

Luke 8:43 And a woman who had a hemorrhage for twelve years, and could not be healed by anyone, (bios not in this version but is in the ESV - see explanation below)

Note the difference in the ESV Luke 8:43 And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and though she had spent all her living (bios) on physicians, she could not be healed by anyone.

NET Bible note explains: Most MSS, including the majority of later MSS (a[* C] A L W Q X [Y] ¦(1, 13 )33 [1424] Û [lat sy(c,p,h)]) read here, "having spent all her money on doctors." Uncertainty over its authenticity is due primarily to the fact that certain important witnesses do not have the phrase (e.g., î(75 )B [D] 0279 sy(s )sa Or). This evidence alone renders its authenticity unlikely. It may have been intentionally added by later scribes in order to harmonize Luke's account with similar material in Mark 5:26 (see TCGNT 121). NA(27) includes the words in brackets, indicating doubt as to their authenticity.  (NET Bible)

Luke 15:12 and the younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me.' And he divided his wealth between them.

Luke 15:30 but when this son of yours came, who has devoured your wealth with harlots, you killed the fattened calf for him.'

NET Note: Note the younger son is not "my brother" but this son of yours (an expression with a distinctly pejorative nuance). This is another graphic description. The younger son's consumption had been like a glutton. He had both figuratively and literally devoured the assets which were given to him. The charge concerning the prostitutes is unproven, but essentially the older brother accuses the father of committing an injustice by rewarding his younger son's unrighteous behavior. (NET Bible)

Luke 21:4 for they all out of their surplus ("out of what abounded to them") put into the offering; but she out of her poverty put in all that she had to live on (bios)." ("put in her entire livelihood.")

1Timothy 2:2 for kings and all who are in authority, in order that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.

2Timothy 2:4-note No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.

1 John 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.

1 John 3:17 But whoever has the world's goods, and beholds his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?

NET Note: Here bios refers to one's means of subsistence - material goods or property  (NET Bible)

1Pe 4:3-note For the time already past (referring to the readers' behavior in time past) is sufficient for you to have carried out the desire of the Gentiles (used here of those who are not God's people), having pursued a course of sensuality (literally sensualities = plural), lusts, drunkenness, carousals, drinking parties and abominable idolatries (The Greek words here all occur in the plural and describe their common practice in the past)
Bios - 24 times in the non-apocryphal Septuagint (LXX) - Ezra 7:26; Esther 3:13; Job 7:1, 6, 16; 8:9; 9:25; 10:5, 20;12:12; 14:5f, 14; 15:20; 21:13; Pr 3:2, 16; 4:10; 5:9; 16:17; 31:3, 12, 14; Song 8:7
Bishop Trench has the following notes on bios as compared to zoe...
The Latin language and the English not less are poorer than the Greek, in having but one word, the Latin ‘vita,’ the English ‘life,’ where the Greek has two. There would, indeed, be no comparative poverty here, if zoe and bios were merely duplicates. But, contemplating life as these do from very different points of view, it is inevitable that we, with our one word for both, must use this one in very diverse senses; and may possibly, through this equivocation, conceal real and important differences from ourselves or from others; as nothing is so effectual for this as the employment of equivocal words. (Trench, R. C. Synonyms of the New Testament. Hendrickson Publishers. 2000)
Marvin Vincent commenting on John 1:4 "in Him (the Word = Jesus, Jn 1:14) writes that...
He was the fountain of life — physical, moral, and eternal — its principle and source. Two words for life are employed in the New Testament: bios and zoe. The primary distinction is that zoe means existence as contrasted with death, and bios, the period, means, or manner of existence. Hence bios is originally the higher word, being used of men, while zoe is used of animals. We speak therefore of the discussion of the life and habits of animals as zoology; and of accounts of men’s lives as biography. Animals have the vital principle in common with men, but men lead lives controlled by intellect and will, and directed to moral and intellectual ends. In the New Testament, bios means either living, i.e., means of subsistence (Mark 12:44;Luke 8:43), or course of life, life regarded as an economy (Luke 8:14; 1Ti 2:2; 2Ti 2:4). zoe occurs in the lower sense of life, considered principally or wholly as existence (1Pe 3:10; Acts 8:33; 17:25; Heb 7:3). There seems to be a significance in the use of the word in Luke 16:25: “Thou in thy lifetime (zoe) receivedst thy good things;” the intimation being that the rich man’s life had been little better than mere existence, and notlife at all in the true sense. But throughout the New Testament zoe is the nobler word, seeming to have changed places with bios. It expresses the sum of mortal and eternal blessedness (Mt 25:46; Lk 18:30; Jn 11:25; Acts 2:28; Ro 5:17; 4:4), and that not only in respect of men, but also of God and Christ. So here. Compare Jn 5:26; 14:6; 1Jn 1:2. This change is due to the gospel revelation of the essential connection of sin with death, and consequently, of life with holiness. “Whatever truly lives, does so because sin has never found place in it, or, having found place for a time, has since been overcome and expelled” (Trench).
Is not from the Father but is from the world: ouk estin (3SPAI) ek tou patros all' ek tou kosmou estin. (3SPAI): (James 3:15)
Adam Clarke writes not from the Father indicates that...
Nothing of these inordinate attachments either comes from or leads to God. They are of this world; here they begin, flourish, and end. They deprave the mind, divert it from Divine pursuits, and render it utterly incapable of spiritual enjoyments.
Sinclair Ferguson once said that...
A man can be outwardly conformed to the Christian way of life while he is inwardly conformed to the spirit of this world.
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THE ANTIDOTE FOR LOVE OF THE WORLD - "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart" (Deuteronomy 6:5).

Many people come to a sad end because they worship wrong gods. Some are wicked, having made a god out of sensual pleasure. Others are decent people, yet they too have worshiped the wrong god.

After a young farmer committed suicide, his wife said,
Farming wasn't just a job with Floyd. It was his identity, his nationality, his religion. Working with the ground gave us both a sense of connection with the Almighty. But it had gone sour by the time Floyd killed himself.
My heart goes out to people like Floyd. They have a deep apprecia tion of God's natural world and are willing to work hard. But when-ever an occupation or anything temporal takes priority in life, it be-comes our god. The apostle John admonished us,
Do not love the world or the things in the world...For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world (1John 2:15, 16).
This can apply to any earthly pursuit that becomes central in our lives. When we love anything more than the true and living God revealed in the Bible, we are worshiping it. Whatever it is, it won't last. (1Jn 2:17-note )
And it won't be able to help us when our plans shatter, our health fails, or death beckons. Only the true God can help us then. —Herbert V. Lugt (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)
The "world" is whatever cools our affection for Christ.
There's no room for double occupancy in the Christian's heart.
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A man visiting a distant city made no comment when his friends showed him one of the city's most impressive buildings. Disappointed at his silence, one of the friends finally asked, "Don't you think it's beautiful?" "No, not really," he responded. "I've been to Rome, you see."

Because he had seen the magnificent structures of Rome's glorious past, the building his friends showed him did not impress him. It suffered tragically by comparison.

C. H. Spurgeon, commenting on that story, said
O believer, if the world tempts you with its rare sights and curious prospects, you may well scorn them, having been by contemplation in heaven, and being able by faith to see infinitely better delights every hour of the day.
Believers who through faith in God's Word have had a foretaste of heaven and have considered their glorious spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus are not attracted by the enchantments of this world. They're not impressed by its empty baubles. They're not enamored with its allure ments. Recognizing that which has genuine worth and lasting value, they respond to the earthly and temporal by saying,

"Take the world, but give me Jesus." —R. W. De Haan (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)
The world cannot distract us
when Christ attracts us.
Give Me Jesus
In the morning when I rise
Give me Jesus
Give me Jesus
Give me Jesus
You can have all this world
But give me Jesus.
(Sung by Jeremy Camp)
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WHAT SCENT ARE YOU TRACKING - THE WORLD'S OR HEAVEN'S?- A MAN bought a new hunting dog. Eager to see how the dog would perform, the man took him out to track a bear. No sooner had they gotten into the woods than the dog picked up the trail. Suddenly he stopped, sniffed the ground, and headed in a new direction. He had caught the scent of a deer that had crossed the bear's path. A few moments later he halted again, this time smelling a rabbit that had crossed the path of the deer. On and on it went until finally the breathless hunter caught up with his dog, only to find him barking triumphantly down the hole of a field mouse.

Sometimes Christians are like that hunting dog. We start out on the right trail, following Christ. But soon our attention is diverted to things of lesser importance. One pursuit leads to another until we've strayed far from our original purpose. Apparently this is what happened to one of the apostle Paul's companions, for Paul wrote to Timothy, "Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world." (2Ti 4:10-note)

Every day we must renew our dedication to Christ or we will be drawn away by the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, or the pride of life (1Jn 2:15-17). These worldly influences can divert even the most devout Christian. We easily pick up another scent and follow another trail, perhaps the pursuit of wealth, power, prestige, or pleasure. When we realize that has happened, we must admit our waywardness and ask God to get us back on the right trail. —D J De Haan (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)(Bolding added)
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LAST week I got a letter from my credit card company tell ing me that I was one of their most valued customers. "We would like to raise your buying power by $3,000," the letter said. The next day, because I was late in sending a payment of $36.96, I received another letter from the same company. This one said if I didn't pay up immediately, they would take action against me.

So which am I? A valued customer or a loser? With one voice they urged me to go out and spend more of their money. With another they implied that I couldn't be trusted with what they had already loaned to me.

Commercials and advertisements send the same kind of conflicting messages. Some urge us to spend our lives in indulgent behavior. Others warn us of the dangers of doing so—addiction, debt, disease, death, and poverty.

The Bible, however, is consistent in its message. It urges us to spend our lives in controlled, unselfish behavior, for which there are no harmful consequences. If we follow God's plan and listen to His Word rather than to our own lusts, we'll not have to live with the anxiety that results from following mixed signals. —D C Egner
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Illustration of 1Jn 2:15-17 - Today in the Word - When rescuers were finally able to pull a middle-aged man from the wreckage of a horrible car accident, he was taken to a nearby hospital. But it soon became apparent that he would die. As the chaplain comforted him, the man, who was a Christian, exclaimed, “As I look squarely at eternity, I realize now just how much I wasted my life on things that don’t matter.”
What a sad revelation! Today’s passage offers a strong challenge to those who “waste their lives on things that don’t matter.” John opens this passage with uncompromising words: “Do not love the world or anything in the world.” At first glance, verse 15 may seem at odds with John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son.” Most likely, John is using the word world differently in these two texts. In John 3:16, world refers to the lost people of the world, whereas in 1 John 2:15, world refers to an entire system of beliefs and values–what we might call a “worldview.” This worldview is completely opposed to God and His ways.

To clarify what he means, John lists three elements of this worldview in verse 16. First, he warns against “cravings.” These are misplaced appetites for some of our most powerful drives such as for food, for intimacy, and for recognition.

Next, John talks about the “lust of the eyes.” This includes both what we can see and what we can imagine. This can best be summarized as our tendency to look at the external qualities without really inquiring about what’s inside. For example, many people are tempted by the pursuit of wealth because of all they imagine it will enable them to possess.

Finally, John addresses pride, or that self-sufficiency that attempts to manufacture what God has promised–or what He has forbidden–rather than humbly allowing Him to give what we need.

TODAY ALONG THE WAY- Today’s passage doesn’t condemn everything material as evil. Instead, it focuses on the affection that we have for the “stuff” around us. In others words, it’s not so much about what kind of car we drive, but rather the reasons we might have for wanting it or the intensity of our desire for it. What John is saying, however, is that we can’t ever let these things distract us from the eternal: God Himself. All these things will eventually be gone, but God is everlasting. That’s a reminder we all need to hear again. (MBI - Today in the Word)
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STAY ON THE TRAIL! - A MAN bought a new hunting dog. Eager to see how the dog would perform, the man took him out to track a bear. No sooner had they gotten into the woods than the dog picked up the trail. Suddenly he stopped, sniffed the ground, and headed in a new direction. He had caught the scent of a deer that had crossed the bear's path. A few moments later he halted again, this time smelling a rabbit that had crossed the path of the deer. On and on it went until finally the breathless hunter caught up with his dog, only to find him barking triumphantly down the hole of a field mouse.

Sometimes Christians are like that hunting dog. We start out on the right trail, following Christ. But soon our attention is diverted to things of lesser importance (cp loving the world, 1Jn 2:15). One pursuit leads to another until we've strayed far from our original purpose. Apparently this is what happened to one of the apostle Paul's compan ions, for Paul wrote to Timothy, "Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world." (2Ti 4:10)

Every day we must renew our dedication to Christ (Ed: Present yourselves to God Ro 12:1) or we will be drawn away by the lust of the flesh (Jas 1:15), the lust of the eyes, or the pride of life. These worldly influences can divert even the most devout Christian (cp 1Co 10:12). We easily pick up another scent and follow another trail, perhaps the pursuit of wealth, power, prestige, or pleasure. When we realize that has happened, we must admit our waywardness and ask God to get us back on the right trail. —D J De Haan (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)
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LAST week I got a letter from my credit card company tell ing me that I was one of their most valued customers. "We would like to raise your buying power by $3,000," the letter said. The next day, because I was late in sending a payment of $36.96, I received another letter from the same company. This one said if I didn't pay up immediately, they would take action against me.

So which am I? A valued customer or a loser? With one voice they urged me to go out and spend more of their money. With another they implied that I couldn't be trusted with what they had already loaned to me.

Commercials and advertisements send the same kind of con flicting messages. Some urge us to spend our lives in indulgent behavior. Others warn us of the dangers of doing so—addiction, debt, disease, death, and poverty.

The Bible, however, is consistent in its message. It urges us to spend our lives in controlled, unselfish behavior, for which there are no harmful consequences. If we follow God's plan and listen to His Word rather than to our own lusts, we'll not have to live with the anxiety that results from following mixed signals. —D C Egner (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)
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LEAVE THE DOG HOME: The story is told of a man who liked to hunt pheasants. He thought he could do better if he had a dog to help him, so he bought one. However, he was disappointed when he discovered that the dog was interested only in chasing rabbits. The man had acquired a hound dog when what he needed was a bird dog. So instead of hunting pheasants, as he really wanted to, the-man spent his time doing what his dog preferred. Finally the hunter decided he had better leave the dog at home.

The hunter solved his problem by taking decisive action. He equipped himself for pheasant hunting and went out without the distracting dog. That's what we must do in the spiritual realm. As we prepare for each day, let's choose to obey the injunction, "Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts." (Ro 13:14-note) When we yield to Christ, rely on His strength, and put Him first, we will reject the evil impulses that arise from the law of sin in our members. That's how we "leave the dog at home." —R. W De Haan (Ibid)
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A GRIEVING HEART IS THANKFUL

2010-11-17T21:02:00.000-08:00

A GRIEVING HEART IS THANKFUL Thursday – November 18, 2010

“and said: ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.’” –Job 1:21

On October 25, 2010, Luke Bucklin took off in his private plane from Jackson Hole, Wyoming. He was returning home to Minnesota with his three sons after a family vacation. Not long after take off, Luke radioed that he could not maintain altitude because of mountain wind currents. Then there was silence.
During the search, Luke’s family issued the statement: "our heroes ... the incredibly courageous search team, men and women who have worked tirelessly over the past week to find our boys. Our gratitude for their efforts is infinite, and we ask that everyone pray for their continued safety as the mission draws to a close."
Then on November 1, a highly skilled mountain rescue team reached the wreckage of the lost plane. No one survived.
The following week, 1,000 people packed the small church in Edina, Minnesota where Luke and his family worshiped.
Luke’s grieving widow Ginger said: “While I still can't really fathom living life without the Bucklin boys at my side, I feel incredibly blessed and I thank God for bringing them into my life."

We sometimes go through times of incredible grief. But the Lord is faithful and we need to praise Him for all that life brings us. Today in prayer, thank the Lord for the wonderful things in your life. Ask Him to give you the faith and strength to praise Him during times of sorrow.

"If any one would tell you the shortest, surest way to all happiness, and all perfection, he must tell you to make a rule to yourself, to thank and praise God for everything that happens to you." - William Law

God’s Word: “always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” – Ephesians 5:20

Use Your Gift (1)

2010-11-16T22:24:00.000-08:00

Use Your Gift (1) 17 Nov 2010

'Having...gifts...let us use them...' Romans 12:6

The Bible says, 'Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them...' (Romans 12:6 NKJV) God has 'graced' you to do certain things well. Now, that doesn't mean doors will automatically open, and, like cream, you'll just rise to the top. Indeed, what you get overnight you can lose overnight. You must first discern your gifts, use every opportunity to sharpen them, learn from your mistakes, and be tenacious about what God's called you to do. In high school 'Sparky' flunked Latin, algebra, English and physics. He made the golf team but promptly lost the only match of the season, then he lost the consolation match. He was awkward socially-more shy than disliked. He never once asked a girl out on a date in high school. One thing, however, was important to Sparky-drawing. He was proud of his artwork even though nobody else appreciated it. He submitted cartoons to the editors of his high school yearbook but they were rejected. Even so, he aspired to be an artist. After high school he sent samples of his work to The Walt Disney Studios. Again he was rejected. But Sparky didn't quit. He decided to write his autobiography in cartoons. The popularity of his cartoon strip eventually led to countless books and television shows. You see, Sparky was Charles Schulz, creator of the Peanuts comic strip, the most famous cartoonist of all time. Like his main character, Charlie Brown, Schulz seemed unable to succeed at many things. But he made the most of his God-given talent, refused to quit, and ended up winning. So, use your gift.

Never Betray a Confidence

2010-11-16T04:46:00.001-08:00

Anxious for Nothing

2010-11-11T06:27:00.000-08:00

Anxious for Nothing

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God”
(Philippians 4:6, NASB)

So many people today are living uptight, worried and anxious about the future, filled with frustration and concern. In the natural there may be good reason, but understand, living that way is not God’s best. God doesn’t want us to be filled with anxiety and frustration; He wants us to live in peace. You can find rest in Him knowing that no matter what is happening around you, God Almighty has His hand on you.

The next time you’re tempted to worry or be anxious about something, remember this verse. God invites us to come to Him. In fact, the Bible says He rewards those who diligently seek Him. But notice, we can’t just come to Him any old way. He wants us to come to Him with a heart of gratitude and thanksgiving. Begin by simply saying, “Father in heaven, thank You for the privilege to come before You. Thank You for hearing my prayers.” As you come to Him with an open and humble heart, He will hear you and fill you with His peace and joy to live free from anxiety all the days of your life!

A PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, today I choose to be anxious for nothing. I choose to set aside my worries and concerns. I thank You for Your faithfulness to meet every need in my life. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Legalism or Grace? (2)

2010-11-10T22:24:00.000-08:00

Legalism or Grace? (2)

We are made fit...by the once-for-all sacrifice of Jesus. Hebrews 10:10

Rigid adherence to a list of do's and don'ts appeals to our pride and self-sufficiency by fostering the myth that if we work hard enough we can earn God's favour. That's fear-based thinking, and '...God has not given us a spirit of fear...' (2 Timothy1:7 NLT). 'There is no fear in love...fear has to do with punishment...' (1 John 4:18 NIV). Legalism is fear that God isn't big enough to forgive your sins, that unless you do the right thing in the right way at the right time-and do it perfectly-you're in trouble. Jon Walker writes: 'That's a lie with the smell of hell all over it! When we fear making mistakes we become timid, and limit ourselves from living abundantly. We let...analysis permeate our decisions as we lead quiet, desperate, anti-faith lives, afraid to move with the bold confidence that grace gives us to walk in uncertainty...unafraid of rejection.' Speaking against works-based religion, Martin Luther said, 'Be a sinner and let your sins be strong, but let your trust in Christ be stronger...rejoice in Christ...the victor over sin.' No, Luther wasn't excusing sin! He was restoring grace to its rightful place, affirming that nothing can separate us from God's love (Romans 8:38-39). He wasn't downgrading the law, He was upgrading grace. Grace means talking to God and listening for His voice when it would be easier to just consult the rule book. The truth is, when '...[Jesus] entered...heaven...to appear...before God on our behalf' (Hebrews 9:24 NLT), He freed us to have a relationship with Him without fear of sin separating us.

Take Off the Limits

2010-11-10T02:54:00.000-08:00

Take Off the Limits

“I have seen that everything [human] has its limits and end [no matter how extensive, noble, and excellent]; but Your commandment is exceedingly broad and extends without limits [into eternity]”

(Psalm 119:96, AMP)

Did you know you can actually limit your life by dwelling on the wrong things? So often, wrong thinking keeps people stuck right where they are. If you think you’ll never accomplish your dreams, then your life will follow your thoughts. If you think you don’t have the talent, the connections or the funds, then you are limiting yourself. We have to remember that God’s promises are forever settled in heaven. His Word stands true throughout all eternity!

Don’t limit what God can do in your life by focusing only on what you see in the natural realm. You have to realize that you serve a supernatural God, and just because you don’t see a way doesn’t mean that God doesn’t have a way. God can bring one opportunity across your path that will thrust you to a whole new level. He has explosive blessings in store that can blast you out of where you are and into a place of abundance. If you’ll shift your focus from this earthly realm and start looking at God’s supernatural realm, you’ll see His unlimited possibilities for your future. Take the limits off by setting your thoughts on what He can do in your life today!

A PRAYER FOR TODAY

Father in heaven, today I lift my eyes to You. You alone are the source of my strength, peace and provision. I choose to delight myself in You knowing that You will give me the desires of my heart. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

I EXALT THEE!

2010-11-09T23:21:00.000-08:00

I EXALT THEE! Wednesday – November 10, 2010

“For you, LORD, are the Most High over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods.” – Psalm 97:9

In 1975, Pastor Pete Sanchez, Jr. ministered at Christ Covenant Church in Houston, Texas. One of the goals of his life was to write a praise song for each of the 150 Psalms. He would often have his devotional time at the piano, and he then began singing what is now the first part of the praise song “I Exalt Thee.”
Each time he worshipped in this manner, a little bit more of the song was revealed. The following spring, as he was waiting for his wife prior to going to church, Pete sat down and began to worship. This time the entire song came out. “When I finished it I thought, ‘Well, something just happened, but I don’t know just what,’” said Pete.
That morning he was visiting another church and the pastor asked him to present special music. He sang “I Exalt Thee” and it had a profound effect on the congregation. The song has become a favorite of the church worldwide. One of Pete’s greatest joys was hearing people sing “I Exalt Thee” in ten different languages all at the same time at an international conference.

Nothing lifts our own spirits and pleases the Lord than praise. Today in prayer, exalt the Lord that He is Lord of all.

“For Thou, O Lord, art high above all the earth, Thou art exalted far above all gods, For Thou, O Lord, art high above all the earth, Thou art exalted far above all gods, I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, O Lord, I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee, O Lord.” – Pete Sanchez, Jr.

God’s Word: “The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God my Savior! – Psalm 18:46

Legalism or Grace? (1)

2010-11-09T23:18:00.000-08:00

Legalism or Grace? (1)

..do not set aside...grace... Galatians 2:21

Imagine going to the emergency room and being asked to leave because you're bleeding all over the floor! Jesus encountered that legalistic mindset when he healed a crippled woman on the Sabbath. 'Indignant...the synagogue ruler said..."There are six days for work...come and be healed on those days...' ' (Luke13:14 NIV). Observing the law was more important to him than the people he was supposed to care for. Max Lucado says: 'All religion falls into...two camps: legalism or grace. A legalist believes if you look right, speak right and belong to the right group, you'll be saved...The outside sparkles...but something's missing...Joy. What's there instead? Fear-that you won't do enough. Arrogance-that you've done enough. Failure-that you've made a mistake. Legalism is...slow suffocation of the spirit, amputation of one's dreams...enough religion to keep but not nourish you...Your diet is rules and standards. Legalism...doesn't need God...It's the search for innocence-not forgiveness...a systematic process of defending...explaining...exalting...justifying...It turns my opinion into your burden. There's only room for one opinion...and guess who's wrong? It turns my opinion into your boundary. Your opposing opinion makes me question not only your right to fellowship with me, but your salvation. It turns my opinion into your obligation. Christians must toe the company line. Your job isn't to think, it's to march...Salvation is God's business. Grace is his idea, his work, and his expense. He offers it to whomever he desires, when he desires. Our job is to inform people, not screen them.' Paul writes, 'Do not set aside...grace...for if righteousness comes through the law...Christ died in vain.' Thank God 'he saved us because of his mercy...not...good deeds we did...' (Titus 3:5 NCV).

Don't Judge!

2010-11-08T22:29:00.000-08:00

Don't Judge!			09 Nov 2010
'Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen?...' Romans 8:33
When you tear someone down, you're on thin ice with God. The Bible says: '...who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God's chosen? Who would dare...point a finger? The One who died for us...is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us. Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ's love for us...no way!...' (Romans 8:33-35 TM). Your fellow-believers are not perfect, but God says they '...belong to his dear Son' (Ephesians1:6 NLT). There's nothing you can bring against them that God doesn't already know. Stop and think; by discrediting them you're questioning the One who redeemed them, implying He made a mistake and doesn't know what He's doing. You say, 'But shouldn't I speak up when something is wrong?' Yes, but be careful about overstepping your bounds and condemning the person. Your attitude should be one of helpfulness, forgiveness and reconciliation. Anytime you try to judge what you've no authority over, you're out of your jurisdiction! Paul writes, 'Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand' (Romans 14:4 NIV). It's God's job to judge others-and He doesn't need your help to do it!

Show Kindness

2010-11-08T14:17:00.000-08:00

Show Kindness

Be kindly affectionate to one another... Romans 12:10

Sometimes we defend our lack of love, kindness, gentleness, patience, and all those other 'fruits of the spirit,' in the name of productivity and hard work. But we can't square it with Christ's teachings. He said, '...whatever you want [others] to do to you, do also to them...' (Matthew 7:12 NKJV). When was the last time you went out of your way to help somebody, expecting nothing in return? Mother Teresa said, 'A day lived without showing love for others, is a day not worth living.' Loving people must be a way of life, a fixed attitude, a commitment we make every day. William Barclay said: 'More people have been brought into the church by the kindness of real Christian love than by all the theological arguments in the world. And more people have been driven from the church by the hardness and ugliness of so-called Christians than by all the doubts in the world.' Have you ever stopped to think that all those little irritations which come your way each day, are just God giving you an opportunity to become more Christ-like? Years ago Chuck Swindoll wrote: 'What does the Lord do to help broaden my horizons and assist me in seeing how selfish I am? Very simple: He gives me four busy kids who step on toes, wrinkle clothes, spill milk, lick car windows, and drop sticky candy on the carpet...being unselfish in attitude strikes at the very core of our being. It means we are willing to forego our own comfort, our own preferences, our own schedule, our own desires for another's benefit. And that brings us back to Christ.'

Your Prayers Carry Weight with God

2010-11-07T12:49:00.000-08:00

Your Prayers Carry Weight with God

...earnest prayer...produces wonderful results. James 5:16

In the Old Testament Abraham journeyed south. When he reached Gerar we read that he '...said of his wife Sarah, "She is my sister." Then Abimelech king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her' (Genesis 20:2 NIV). Can you imagine how Sarah felt, trapped and alone in the palace, contemplating what lay ahead at the hands of her captor? And what's worse, her husband, the man she trusted with her life, let it happen! We're not privy to how Sarah prayed that night. But she must have touched the heart of God because He '...came to Abimelech in a dream...and said..."the woman you have taken...is...married...return the man's wife...and you will live...if...not...you...will die' (Genesis 20:3-7 NIV). God's directives are always clear; there's never any ambivalence about what He says. 'The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord; he directs it...wherever he pleases' (Proverbs 21:1 NIV). That means authority figures who don't even know you exist, have to stop and listen when God speaks, because to Him '...one man is not different from another' (Romans 2:11 AMP). So what can you do when you're helpless to change a situation you didn't create? Or when someone you loved and trusted lets you down? Pray! Instead of giving in to bitterness or fear, cry out to God. He will hear you like He heard Sarah. How can you be sure? Because His Word says, 'The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.' No matter how bad things may look right now, and they looked pretty bad for Sarah that night, your prayers carry weight with God.

Bible in a Year: Exodus 20:1-17; M

SING PRAISES TO YOUR NAME

2010-11-05T00:16:00.001-07:00

SING PRAISES TO YOUR NAME Friday – November 5, 2010

“You exalted me above my foes; from violent men you rescued me. Therefore I will praise you among the nations, O LORD; I will sing praises to your name.” – Psalm 18:48b-49

In 1977, Dave Moody was a piano teacher in Toronto, Canada. He had some time before his first piano lesson, so he sat down at the piano to worship the Lord. “The furthest thing on my mind was the writing of a song,” said Dave. “My only purpose was to spend time with the Lord. Quite suddenly, I began to develop a melody that was coming to me – something I never had played before. And just as quickly came some words that I began to sing, using the melody the Lord was giving. When I finished, I realized the Lord had given me a song.
I played it over several times and put it on paper so I would not forget it.”
Dave played the song the following Sunday at his church. "I opened my eyes to see a congregation of about 800 people all on their knees, worshiping the Lord as they sang, "All Hail King Jesus," he recalls. "It was an experience I shall never forget!"
Within 10 years, people were singing the praise song as far away as India and Japan.

The Lord delights in our praise. Today in prayer, praise the Lord for He is good and He loves you immeasurably.

“All hail king Jesus! All hail Emmanuel!
King of kings, Lord of lords
Bright Morning Star
And throughout eternity I'll sing Your praises
And I'll reign with You throughout eternity” – Dave Moody

God’s Word: “I will sing a new song to you, O God; on the ten-stringed lyre I will make music to you, to the One who gives victory to kings, who delivers his servant David from the deadly sword. – Psalm 144:9-10

Live Caleb's Way (1)

2010-11-05T00:12:00.000-07:00

Live Caleb's Way (1)			05 Nov 2010
'...the Lord has kept me alive...' Joshua 14:10
At the ripe old age of eighty-five, Caleb said to Joshua, '...the Lord has kept me alive...just as my strength was then, so now is my strength for war...give me this mountain of which the Lord spoke in that day...And Joshua blessed him, and gave Hebron to Caleb...because he wholly followed the Lord...' (Joshua 14:10-14 NKJV). There was nothing half-baked or half-hearted about Caleb. His dream kept him alive; he got out of bed every morning intent on pursuing it. When God gives you a dream as big as a mountain, it will keep you going while others around you are giving up. But be careful who you listen to. Don't let the critics discourage you by saying, 'You're too old.' The Bible says that like a palm tree, you can produce your greatest harvest of fruit in your final years (Psalm 92:12-14). When the sun goes down the stars come out-so you can shine brightest in the closing chapters of your life. Barbara Klassen says: 'My great-great uncle lived to one hundred and six. He was healthy and spry and took joy in chauffeuring his less able-bodied senior friends around town. On his hundredth birthday his driver's licence came up for renewal. When he went to the licensing bureau a sceptical clerk said, 'You're a hundred years old! What do you need a driver's licence for?' My uncle, completely nonplussed, replied, 'Somebody has to drive the old folks around!' He continued to have a legal driver's licence for the next five years.' Do it Caleb's way: live to the moment you die!

Persevere Until You See the Promise

2010-11-05T00:07:00.000-07:00

Persevere Until You See the Promise

“You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised”
(Hebrews 10:36, NIV)

What are you believing God for today? Promotion? Healing? Stronger relationships? Deliverance? God has promised all these things to you in His Word because it’s His heart for you to live in blessing and wholeness.

When you follow the will of God by obeying His Word and precepts, it opens the door for His promises to be fulfilled in your life. You may be doing all the right things today — don’t give up! Perseverance will carry you to the promise.

Perseverance means that you are focused, that you are believing what God says about your situation. It’s looking away from distractions and any negative, defeating thoughts. Perseverance looks away from discouragement and looks to the Word of God. Perseverance has a voice, and it says things like, “No weapon formed against me shall prosper! If God is for me, who can be against me! I am more than a conqueror through Jesus!”

Whatever you are believing for today, keep believing! Stand strong and fight the good fight of faith. Ask God to give you endurance, perseverance and patience so that you can see His promises fulfilled in every area of your life!

A PRAYER FOR TODAY

Father in heaven, thank You for Your good promises to me. I ask that You give me a heart that is steadfast and fixed on You. Fill me with Your peace and perseverance so I can live in victory all the days of my life. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.