10 Mistakes People Make with the Devil (plus 1 bonus):

1. Don’t believe he exists. (Matthew 4:1-10)
2. Give him too much credit (the “demon under every rock” mentality).
3. Think he can be everywhere at all times (only God is omnipresent). (Psalm 139:7)
4. Think he knows everything (only God is omniscient). (Psalm 139:4; 147:5)
5. Forget he’s much more powerful than humans (but only God is omnipotent). (1 John 4:4b)
6. Think that the devil himself is personally harassing them (you’re not that important for one thing; it is demon underlings that are assigned to you).
7. Blame him for their own personal sins (“the devil made me do it”). (Genesis 3:13)
8. Blame God for things the devil has done (“an act of God”). (John 10:10)
9. Think he can read minds (he can only plant thoughts and read/recognize responses). (Genesis 3:1-5; Luke 4:1-13)
10. Don’t realize the one and only way to be free from the devil’s grip is to surrender to Jesus Christ. (Hebrews 2:14-15; Colossians 1:13)

BONUS Forget that people are not the enemy and that they are under the spell of the real enemy (the devil) and can only be freed through prayer and a demonstration of the love of God via a Christian’s life of sacrifice and service. (2 Corinthians 4:3-4; Ephesians 6:12)

(The Devil in F.W. Murnau’s 1926 film Faust picture above in the public domain: click here. PD-US)

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7 Last Sayings of Jesus from the Cross Bible Study Guide by Mike Campagna

Pastor Mike here.

I want to talk to you about being a father your kids can count on.

And the way I want to do it is by offering you four characteristics of a godly dad.

Jesus’s earthly father, Joseph, displays each of the characteristics in Matthew 1:18-25.

JOSEPH CONTROLS HIMSELF SEXUALLY

The first characteristic Joseph displays is: He controls himself sexually. How do we know it? Well, we know it from v. 18 and 25…

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows. When His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together (that’s the part of the verse I wanted you to see) – before they (Joseph and Mary) came together. (Matthew 1:18)

And then now in the last part of v. 24 and then in 25, it goes on…

And [Joseph] took her (Mary) as his wife and kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son – and kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son. (Matthew 1:24-25)

And so according to these two verses, Joseph controls himself sexually both before and during marriage.

Do you see that in Matthew 1:18 and 25?

It’s the first characteristic of a godly dad that Joseph displays and that our kids need: Fathers who are not controlled by the flesh, but by the Spirit.

JOSEPH TREATS HIS WIFE LIKE A GENTLEMAN

And then now the second characteristic of a godly dad that Joseph displays is: He treats his wife (to be!) like a gentleman even when she “fails” him.

In the last part of v. 18 and then v. 19 we discover that…

[S]he (Mary) was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man, and not wanting to disgrace her, desired to put her away secretly. (Matthew 1:18-19)

And most men discovering their fiance sleeping around (though Mary really isn’t) would have blown their tops. And then to be pregnant, too?! But Joseph isn’t like this. And even though he has a lump in his throat, a hole in his heart and his dreams are shattered, Joseph treats Mary like a gentleman even when she “fails” him.

And when he could have had her publicly humiliated and made her life miserable, Joseph doesn’t do it.

It’s the second characteristic of a godly dad that Joseph displays and that our kids need: Fathers who forgive and trust God even in the midst of the most heart-wrenching and painful circumstances.

JOSEPH IS SPIRITUALLY SENSITIVE

And then now the third characteristic of a godly dad that Joseph displays is: He is spiritually sensitive to the things of God.

In v. 20 and 21, it reads…

But when he (Joseph) had considered this (had considered the surprise pregnancy of Mary and divorcing her secretly), behold an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for that which has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:20-21)

And you gotta believe Joseph is seeking the Lord for his part (being the righteous man that he is) over what’s happened to him and his wife-to-be and crying out to God in his spirit. (Ya think?)

And then God speaks to Joseph. And the bottom line of it: Joseph knows it’s God speaking to him. How does Joseph know? Because he’s spiritually sensitive to the things of God.

It’s the third characteristic of a godly dad that Joseph displays and that our kids need: Fathers who can tell when it’s the Lord’s voice versus when it’s the pizza they had for dinner the night before.

JOSEPH DOES WHAT THE LORD TELLS HIM TO DO

And then now the fourth characteristic of a godly dad that Joseph displays is: Joseph does what the Lord tells him to do.

Matthew 1:24 reads:

And Joseph arose from his sleep, and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him [in the dream].

And it’ll be just so important for Jesus to have a dad that’s an example of obedience.

And as this crazy story of a woman getting pregnant by the Holy Spirit and then Christ’s father’s challenged to accept or not accept marrying her still – and he accepts it – and despite it’s craziness it ends up being God’s plan!

Jesus needs to have a dad that’s an example of obedience as He Himself is going to face the very same thing in His own life.

“What do you mean, die on a cross to save the world? That’s crazy! Isn’t there an alternative?”

Jesus is gonna face a similar scenario like Joseph did where He’s going to have to come to grips with God’s plan for His life that seems crazy.

Joseph’s a pioneer for his Son (Christ) in this way. I don’t know if you’ve ever thought about it. Joseph’s walked the path and shown that sometimes God’s plan is crazy. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t God’s plan.

It’s the fourth characteristic of a godly dad that Joseph displays and that our kids need: Fathers who do what the Lord tells them to do. Fathers who obey God.

(If you can’t see this video, click here.)

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10 Mistakes People Make with Sodom and Gomorrah (plus 1 bonus):

1. Dismiss the story as just a myth, fairy tale or allegory.
2. Overlook that Jesus Christ Himself confirmed the cities’ existence (“It was the same as happened in the days of Lot”). (Luke 17:28-29)
3. Are blind to how the people there similarly used a common phrase/approach of our day to stave/put off detractors, “Stop judging me.” (Genesis 19:9)
4. Miss that prayer was being offered for their rescue. (Genesis 18:23-33)
5. Rationalize the grievous sin that was ongoing and expanding in Sodom and Gomorrah and accept it as okay today. (Genesis 18:20-21)
6. Overlook that the righteous (via faith in Jesus Christ) escaped the wrath of God (Lot and his two daughters). (Genesis 19:12-22; 1 John 1:9)
7. Don’t realize that the condemnation came not so much for homosexuality, etc, but for unbelief (a refusal to believe in God is the root out of which all sin springs forth).
8. Forget that Lot’s wife lost her life, too (though she had fled Sodom and Gomorrah, “worldly passions” still found a place inside of her). (Genesis 19:26; Luke 17:32-33)
9. Think that God “had it out to get them” (He can only give people what they choose for themselves, nothing more, nothing less). (2 Peter 3:9)
10. Don’t realize the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah is meant to be an example of what will happen to the ungodly. (2 Peter 2:6)

BONUS Overlook that the sin there was being promoted among and had infected the children. (Genesis 19:4-5)

(The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah picture above in the public domain: click here.)

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I prayed to begin with today. It really didn’t have anything to do with social media except in that I put social media on hold. I don’t always do that. I typically wake up and go right for the iPad or laptop and start tweeting away. (It was a good time with the Lord.)

When I did get to what is my wife’s computer, and as is typical, I had just a whole lot of stuff I wanted to get done ~ which usually amounts to too much stuff in the time I have allotted. (Can you relate?)

The first thing I did was I went to Tweepi. I have been trying to unfollow in recent days what amounts to be approximately 7,000 followers who have not followed me back. This is on my secondary Twitter account that I’m talking about: @aheart4god. (Did you know it’s a good thing to have a back up account just in case you get thrown in to Twitter jail with your first account? Then you can keep on tweeting! I think 120 tweets in one hour is the threshold for Twitter jail. I’ve been thrown in twice.)

I also had Google Chrome open this morning so I can unfollow on my primary Twitter account. I use ManageFlitter for @aheartforgod. The free level takes a while to load on accounts with large followings, but it can do that in the background.

While all that was going on I was listening to Klove.com and deciding what songs would be on #Tworship tonight. I am also looking ahead as I will be leading what I like to refer to as “the premier worship experience on Twitter” for the better part of the next three weeks while Marie @spreadingJOY is on vacation with her family.

While all that was going on, I had in the back of my mind what might be my next blog post on aheartforgod.org. I usually have something churning inside. In particular, I’m thinking my next addition to the “10 Mistakes People Make” series that I have going will be in particular, “10 Mistakes People Make with Sodom and Gomorrah.” I was talking about it with my wife last night. I know it sounds scary. But I want to put something up as the Supreme Court is about to rule on California’s Proposition 8 and homosexual marriage. I try to ride the wave of contemporary issues at the forefront if I can and speak for God.

I also added another question to prepare for the first chat in the to the Heart Chat Last Sayings of Jesus Bible Study group that will begin later this month. (You can sign up for that here if you like. It’s free.)

And then now I’m over here putting the finishing touch on this blog post. I will finish my unfollowing on Twitter after I’m done here.

I will also add some Bible verses to my Hootsuite dashboard to auto post throughout the day to Twitter and Facebook to go along with the blog posts I already have ready to go that I scheduled yesterday evening.

And so there you have it. A quick look at my social media morning (again) and a lot of great links, too. Of course, this is only the tip of the iceberg as only you fellow social media fanatics know.

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7 Last Saying of Jesus Bible Study Instructions and Schedule by Mike Campagna

(The crucifixion seen from the cross thumbnail in the public domain: click here.)

There’s a lot of talk about social justice in our day.

The best way to describe social justice is it recognizes an injustice in the social fabric and seeks to make it right.

Now it’s not that I’m against dealing with injustice or righting wrongs. The problem arises when men and women with a fallen nature (we are all sinners according to the Scriptures) begin to make determinations as to what is just and unjust. (Jeremiah 17:9) We don’t often get it right.

Allow me to just cut to the chase. God’s way is NOT social justice. It’s forgiveness.

Social justice requires everyone of us to go to hell. Forgiveness says, “Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe.” (John 19:30)

Social justice requires another to pay for his or her sins against me. (See verse at the beginning of this article.) Forgiveness says, “I forgive you as Christ has forgiven me.” (Matthew 18:21-22)

In our Lord’s story (parable) of the unmerciful slave (Matthew 18:23-35), a king wishes to settle accounts with his slaves. One slave owes the king ten thousand talents.

To understand the depth of payment required to settle accounts, you need to know the worth of a “talent.” A single “talent” was equal to 20 years worth of wages. Do the math. 10,000 talents times 20 years equals 200,000 years worth of wages.

Let’s say you make $20,000 a year. That means one talent equals ($20,000 times 20 years) $400,000. Then ten thousand talents equals 4 billion dollars! Bottom line: The slave can’t repay such an enormous debt. But the king forgives the debt of the slave any way. (It’s a picture of God’s forgiveness of us.)

The problem is the slave goes out afterwards and demands payment of a (in comparison) $7,000 debt he’s owed from a fellow slave. When the fellow slave begs for mercy, he has him arrested and thrown into prison until he pays back what he owes.

This reaches the king’s ears who calls the unmerciful slave before him and says, “‘”You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?”‘” (Matthew 18:32-33)

Such is the heart of social justice. It forgets the debt it owes God (or doesn’t even know it?!). It’s a selfish, bitter and wicked heart. (John 10:10)

“‘He who is forgiven little, loves little.’” (Luke 7:47c)

(The unmerciful slave choking his fellow slave picture above in the public domain: click here.)

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10 Mistakes People Make with America (plus 1 bonus):

1. See her as NOT being founded on Christian principles and the Bible.
2. Overlook that there is no other nation like her in the history of the world (aside from Israel), whereby God Himself established her (there was simply no way a rag tag group of ill-armed in comparison patriots could withstand and defeat the might of the British army).
3. Dishonor those who gave their last breath defending freedom (How? By promoting depraved lifestyles and ungodliness).
4. Put up with and promote leaders who care only for themselves and nothing for the Constitution (except as it suits them).
5. Overlook that she has been an agent of much good in the world (the Nazis in World War II would not have been stopped and we would all be speaking German right now except for America!).
6. Miss that God uses her as a protection for His people, Israel (all hell would break loose in the Middle East without America).
7. See the Constitution as an ever-evolving document subject to the whims of present-day politics and political leaders (this is the height of pride).
8. Forget that there are still many God-fearing people in her midst that love her and her founding and will do everything to sustain America’s great traditions so that children, grandchildren and great grandchildren will enjoy life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for themselves.
9. Overlook the fact that it is not with people per se that the battle for the soul of America is over, but with Satan’s evil principalities and powers. (2 Corinthians 4:4; Ephesians 6:10-18)
10. Think there is another way to rescue her from degeneracy aside from seeking God in prayer. (2 Chronicles 7:14)

BONUS Are unwilling to sacrifice their own lives for her and the cause of freedom, but would rather live sensuously and selfishly which add to a decaying culture and America’s downfall.

(Picture above in the public domain: click here.)

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I want to talk to you about “divine appointments.” It’s really what we have going on in the first three verses of Ruth chapter 2. Did you notice?

Ruth goes off randomly to glean in a random field which happens to not be such a random thing at all for her to go off and choose that field (of all the fields she could have chosen!) since it just so happens to be the very field of Ruth’s mother-in-law, Naomi’s, husband’s relative. And if you know the rest of the story, Ruth will go on to marry this relative, Boaz, and through them a son will be born, Perez, who just so happens (randomly!) to go on to be the ancestor of King David and then the very Son of God Himself, Jesus Christ. (Ruth 4:18-22) Can you say, “Wow”?

And it all started with a “divine appointment.” It’s a “divine appointment” we have taking place here.

It’s a term (phrase) we use – isn’t it? – when something takes place and we see it as God having His hand in it bringing it about. And especially when the odds were against it happening. I mean, there’s just no way that girl (Ruth) would ever meet that guy (Boaz) unless Somebody (capital “S”) orchestrated it. Have you ever had a “divine appointment”? I have. I happened to marry mine, also.

And there are all kinds of “divine appointments” that I want to mention to you and remind you about (6 to be exact).

And let me just say before I continue on – God has “divine appointments” of many different types planned for each of us, no matter who we are, in the days ahead. I submit it to you! It’s exciting when you consider. And as we keep our hearts toward Him, God has “divine appointments” of many different types planned for each of us!

I offer you 6 appointments of a divine kind here…

DIVINE APPOINTMENT #1: When you share your faith with someone.

I found myself wondering about this. I found myself wondering if we don’t relegate “divine appointments” to the place where we think that it’s only when we meet someone and witness to them and share our faith and that’s the only kind of “divine appointment.”

Don’t get me wrong. Those are “divine appointments” and it’s wonderful when we have a chance to tell somebody about Jesus and we see it as the Lord having divinely operated to bring it about.

But “divine appointments” are much, much more than that. “Divine appointments” include other instances. Let me just mention a few more.

DIVINE APPOINTMENT #2: When someone encourages you.

Like when you meet someone who encourages you in some way when you need encouragement. Have you ever had that happen?

DIVINE APPOINTMENT #3: When someone (or an angel?!) helps you.

Or maybe it’s someone who helps you when you need help (like that guy that fixed our broken axle on our car in Minnesota!). And even these could be angels who are “ministering spirits,” Hebrews says, “sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation” (Heb. 1:14) that we come across! Have you ever met an angel or think you did? I’m not surprised.

DIVINE APPOINTMENT #4: When you hear that song on the radio.

Or another type of “divine appointment” is when you hear that song on the radio at just the right time when you needed to hear it. Amen? That’s happened to me tons of times. How could that song possibly have come on at just that exact moment when I got in the car and I was driving down the road and then I just decided to turn on the radio? And it’s the one song that means something to me!

DIVINE APPOINTMENT #5: When the Pastor says something and you think, “How could he know?”

Or maybe it’s the Pastor who says something that – “How could he possibly know about me in that particular area that that’s what I needed to hear? Is he psychic or something?” No.

And how does it work with God? He’ll just put something in your mouth – because He knows! – and the Pastor will say it – and I may not even have it in my notes either, but I’ll say it and I won’t know why, but it happens to just be exactly what needs to be said for somebody.

DIVINE APPOINTMENT #6: When a person comes into your life over a span of time.

And there are other “divine appointments” that span over time, I believe, where a person – or persons – come into your life. And God’s purpose was that you come to know them and they come to know you. And just so you could keep each other pressing on in the Lord let alone develop a friendship.

“Divine appointments” are of all types and much more than just that chance you get to share your faith with somebody.

And again, as I’m convinced, God has “divine appointments” planned for each of us, no matter who we are, in the days ahead. It’s exciting when you consider it!

Anticipate them.

(Ruth gleaning in Boaz’s field picture above in the public domain: click here.)

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10 Mistakes People Make with Sin (plus 1 bonus):

1. Think it’s okay to continue sinning since God will forgive them any way.
2. Don’t believe there is such a thing as sin (aren’t we just products of evolution after all?). (1 John 1:8, 10)
3. Conveniently overlook their own sins while condemning others. (Matthew 7:1-5; John 8:2-11; Romans 2:3)
4. Believe that mind over matter or meditation or yoga or anything else can help to overcome degenerate (sinful) habits (only Jesus can free/release you). (John 8:36)
5. Think that only one sin can’t hurt (one always leads to another and another).
6. Don’t realize that the full payment for their sin debt has been paid by Jesus Christ on the cross. (John 3:16; 19:30)
7. Forget that acknowledgement and confession of sin and a commitment to repentance (never doing it again) is key to being forgiven. (1 John 1:9; Mark 1:4)
8. Believe that man is good at his ultimate inner core (he is not; sin deceives). (Jeremiah 17:9; Romans 3:10-12)
9. Overlook that sin is pleasing for a season, but ultimately brings about death. (Hebrews 11:25; Romans 6:23a)
10. Forget that we are to forgive others when they sin against us just once, twice or three times? No. Jesus said, “Seventy times seven times,” which means every time. (Matthew 18:21-22)

BONUS Will die in their sin and spend eternity separated from God in hell because they refuse to surrender to Christ. (John 8:24)

(Christ and the Woman Taken in Adultery by Rembrandt picture above in the public domain: click here.)

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