Archive for the ‘Spiritual Warfare’ Category

30 May

The Presence of Evil

Posted by sandhillspastor in Evil deeds, False teachers, Gospel, Judgment, Sin, Spiritual Warfare.

Dear readers,
It’s another of those early deadline weeks, so this is being written on Saturday. The lake community was busy this weekend. Fun and games were enjoyed by many, and there was a family friendly movie after sunset. Summer, I believe, is officially open for business.

Once again, evil has reared its ugly head in our country, there is nothing else to call it. If a person murders children, or any human being, that person can be called nothing but evil. It is satanic. People come up with all kinds of excuses for this behavior, but the main reason is the presence of evil in the world.

I believe the evil that is so often in the news is a direct result of the lack of knowledge of God and his will for mankind. We have taken God out of the schools, and out of much of the public square. Churches are teaching that if we love everyone, it will be a world of peace.

Scripture has a different view. In Genesis chapter six, there were only a handful of people who acknowledged God for who He was. Scripture records that “The Lord saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time (verse 5).

Paul said, “As it is written: There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one… There is no fear of God before their eyes” (Romans 3:10-12, 18).

John calls Satan the evil one. “We know that we are of God, and the whole world is under the sway of the evil one” (1 John 5:19). Paul reminds us that “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

What we must do is return to teaching biblical values and morality to our children, in order to turn them from disobeying God to trusting in His commands as set out in His Word.

The full solution to evil awaits the coming age. God will vindicate His children and wipe away their tears (Revelation 21:4).

For Him,
Pastor Jerry

26 Apr

Preparing for Battle

Posted by sandhillspastor in Assurance, Christian Living, Faith, God's Word, Righteousness, Salvation, Spiritual Warfare, Trust.

Dear friends,
It continues to be an unpredictable kind of spring. We go from nice warm days to frosty mornings. There have been periods of rain, snow and sunshine—all within a few minutes. The big project of the week was installing a new washing machine in the house. These things take longer than when we were younger, but still, it is satisfying to know it can be done. While we were in Grand Island picking up the washer we made a garden center stop, now there are things to plant in the yard. I attended our church association meeting Sunday. It was good to connect with other church leaders and encourage one another in our ministries.

Every day I am reminded that we are in a spiritual battle. It is a battle between good and evil; the people of God versus the forces loyal to Satan. The Bible tells us we have been provided with a full suit of armor with which to defend ourselves from Satan’s attacks. We read of this in Ephesians 6:10-20. Verse 11 says, “Put on the full armor of God so you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.”

These are the items of armor as listed in this passage: The belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

They are described this way; Truth counters the devils lies. We need to know the truth of the Bible. Righteousness is like armor on our chests, not self-righteousness but Christ’s righteousness given to us when we are saved. It will keep the devil’s forces from defeating us spiritually.
Peace is the peace of God that comes from trusting Him.
Faith allows us to deflect the temptations that come at us.
Salvation, described as a helmet gives us power to live as those who are delivered from the power and penalty of sin.
The word of God is the Bible, seen as a weapon designed for hand-to-hand combat. It is the word of God spoken, made effective by the Holy Spirit, to cut through the devil’s lies.

Clothing ourselves each day with this armor and connecting it all together with prayer gives the Christian the means by which we defeat our enemy. Pray also for other believers.

In Christ,
Pastor Jerry

29 Jun

United, We Stand

Posted by sandhillspastor in Christian Living, Culture, Freedom, Obedience, Prayer, Repentance, Spiritual Warfare, Wisdom, Witness.

Hello friends,
As promised, half of 2020 is almost behind us, and Independence Day is upon us. If you live in the area, don’t forget to attend the big annual fireworks display July 3rd, at The Lake Ericson!

We took the camper on a short trial run last week. Everything worked as expected, and the exciting parts were a result of my memory lapse, or my poor preparations. First, as we were smack dab in the literal middle of nowhere, the low fuel light came on in the pickup. Oops! Forgot to look at the fuel gauge before leaving civilization. With an estimated 24 miles of fuel, and the nearest c-store 12 miles away, we made it with 13 miles to spare. The second crisis came because I assumed there was enough water in the fresh water tank, and didn’t top it off at home. The tank ran dry at a most inconvenient time; I won’t elaborate here, but lesson learned.

I was able to be back in the pulpit this weekend, spending time with the nice folks at Grace Bible Church in Loup City. Perhaps the topic of the sermon will give us food for thought in the days to come. It was called Seven Reasons Satan Seeks to Create Division. The original article dealt with division in the church, but I believe it applies to our current national crisis.

Those seven points are:
Division turns citizens against citizens.
Division causes us to lose sight of our purpose.
Division harms our testimony to the rest of the world, as a people who should be united.
Division is often tied to people being concerned with self, rather than the well-being of others.
Division demoralizes our leaders, and those concerned with keeping the peace.
Division affects the way the young see our country.
Division gives our enemies a victory. When we turn against each other, no one wins. It is supposed to be the United States of America.

Jesus prayed that His followers would be united in their faith, their mission and their message (John 17:20-23). In the church, supernatural unity is a witness of the work of the Holy Spirit, division is an evidence of the work of the enemy, that is, the devil.

A divided nation is also evidence of an enemy. We need to pray the Lord will intervene and bring us back together.

In Him,
Pastor Jerry

1 Oct

Truth

Posted by sandhillspastor in Christian Living, God's Word, Obedience, Spiritual Warfare, Truth, Uncategorized, Witness.

With the passage of the recent cold front, the humming birds have flown south and I suspect some humans might also be considering migrating south. Personally, I enjoy the different seasons, so I will be here when the snow flies and later, when the grass grows in the spring.

There is one thing seems to be at the top of the news these days. That one thing is “Truth!” Who is telling the truth? Where do you find what is true? Can the truth even be known?

What is truth? It is the question asked by Pilate, as he was interrogating Jesus. One commentary says this: “Ironically, the man charged with determining the truth in the matter glibly dismissed the relevance of truth in the presence of the One who is truth incarnate.” Another says, it is significant that Pilate suddenly turned away from the One who is the Truth, without waiting for answer.

This is exactly the way it is today. Those who claim to know what is true will not consider the source of Truth. They turn away when faced with the truths revealed in the Bible. So close, and yet they deny there is truth that can be trusted.

Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life…” (John 14:6).
Jesus, praying for His disciples, asked the Father to “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.” (John 17:17).

Jesus uttered the phrase: “I tell you the truth”, 30 times in Matthew’s gospel, 13 in Mark, 9 in Luke, and 25 times in John.

Paul speaks of “the faith of God’s elect and the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness – a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time, and at his appointed season he brought his word to light through the preaching entrusted to me…” (Titus 1:1-3).

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like the shifting shadows (James 1:17). These gifts include the truth, which does not change.

Truth can be known. Truth exists in the written word of God. The Bible is the standard by which all truth claims are to be measured. Truth is not different for one individual over another.

In Truth,
Pastor Jerry

27 Aug

Culture War?

Posted by sandhillspastor in Assurance, Bible, Blessings, Body of Believers, Christian Living, Culture, Faith, God's Word, Spiritual Warfare, Uncategorized.

We were in Hershey, Nebraska this weekend for a Cowboy Church service. I had the pleasure of being asked to share some musical numbers and to preach. It was something I hadn’t planned, but it was definitely in God’s plan. It was a great time, and we met some really neat Christians that we can now call our friends. Our God is so good! And, a BIG thank you to Pastor Kevin and the people of Hershey Baptist Church!

The secular culture is on the attack, as they try to eliminate any reference or reminder that there is a God. It is interesting to note they are bent on attacking something, or someone they don’t believe exists!

Spiritual warfare is a fact. The divisiveness and battles we see in our culture are nothing more than war between the forces of good and evil. One only has to spend a short time watching television, listening to the news, or checking social media, (Facebook, Twitter, and others) to see this happening.

Some will say this is nothing new, and they would be right. The truth is, the intensity of the battle appears to be on the increase.

“First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, ‘Where is this coming he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.’ … But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness” (2 Peter 3:3-9).

What are we to do as Christians? “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms… And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.” (Ephesians 6:10-18).

Trusting in Him,
Pastor Jerry