Joking with the Devil

I referenced in last Sunday's sermon a quote I thought was from C.S. Lewis.  It is located in his Screwtape Letters, but it is an epilogue attributed to Martin Luther.  Here's the larger quote...

The best way of getting rid of the devil, if you cannot do it with the words of the Holy Scripture, is to rail at and mock him.  For he is a proud spirit, and cannot bear scorn.

There's even more, wherein Luther gets all German and crass.  But suffice it to say that the pride in the Devil will not allow him to receive jesting and jocularity at his expense.  I wouldn't advise using it in every scenario.  I think saying "no" is the best first option.  And quoting the truth is next.  And then changing the environment or context of the temptation.


But if he won't yield, making fun of him might be the strategy.


But that's just me (and a German monk quoted by a British professor) thinking thoughts...

The inevitability of sin

I have been thinking a lot about sin and temptation this past week because I preached about it on Sunday. One of the things that's been stirring in my mind is how the Enemy will do his best to make you (and me!) feel that sin is inevitable.

The temptation may be strong and you may be rejecting it.  Thoughts keep popping into your head.  Emotions are running amok and all over you like a steamroller.  Visions of you doing what you don't want to do play in 1080p Hi-Def on a 55" LCD screen in your mind.  The object of your obsession appears everywhere you look.  On and on.

And you may be winning that battle on all fronts.

So what does Satan do?  Give up?  Hardly.  He'll switch tactics and start whispering not a lie about the temptation itself but about your inability to resist it.  He'll start saying that's inevitable and you might as well give up.  It's going to happen, you and he both know it.  You've never held out before (even though you may have) and you won't now.  It's in your genes and you know how addictive your father or mother or sister or brother was or is.  And besides, you know you like it.

That's the lie he'll speak.

And we have to combat it with the Truth.  There is no temptation that has overtaken you but such as is common to man, and God faithfully provides a way out during the temptation every time (1 Cor. 10.13).  Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world (1 John 4.4).  Sin is pleasing for a moment, but only for a moment (Heb. 11.24-26).

Sin is NOT inevitable.  And every time Satan speaks, he lies.

But that's just me thinking thoughts...

Sermon Notes from Sunday 6.10.12

Here are the sermon notes from Sunday, 6.10.12, in the series from Genesis called Fascinating Families.  You can find these notes in PDF and the sermon audio at sermons.heritagepark.org.  You can also get the audio on iTunes via our podcast.  The audio will probably be a little later than usual since our webmaster extraordinaire is on a mission trip.

Fascinating Families

Part 2 – Family Temptation

Genesis 3.1-4.10

Temptation:  Disobey

Lie:  God is not good or, at least, good to me (v.3, 5).

• Part of this can be measure:  is God good enough?
• Part of this can be personal:  is God good to me?
•  Part of this can be timing:  is God good now?
• What we call into question is His character and His commands.

Lie:  There are not consequences for my choices (v.4).

•  In our culture, no on is responsible for anything and therefore should not have consequences.
• Shame (v.7)
• Conflict with God (v.8-11) 
• Conflict with others (v.12-13)
• Frustration in other areas (v.16-19)
• Anger (4.5)
• Generational patterns (4.6-7) 
• Death (5.5)

Lie:  God will not meet my deepest needs or desires (v.6).

•  Nothing wrong with having needs and desires – God put them there.
• Some do family as if they meet deepest needs or are looking to family to meet our deepest needs.

Temptation:  Passivity

• When it comes to temptation, passivity is no strategy.
•  Look to Joseph

o   Say NO

o   Tell the Truth

o   Change the environment

o   Last resort:  scorn

o   When you fail, go to God, not away from Him.

Snakes are Scary: Oh My Word...

Someone sent me a link to a funny site of Christian pick up lines.  Oh my word...

Recalibrating my frustration

I sat with the lady that I mentioned yesterday at her current address.  It was inspiring.

Inspiring.

She talked about her sickness and impending death as an object in the road.  She said, "I could scream at God for creating an object, I could yell at Him for placing it in the road.  But instead, I just try to talk to Him about how I'm going to get by it."

Are you kidding me?

She went on to say in her strongest moments she has the faith to say that.  In her weaker moments she struggles with the pain.  But she said through it all she's never alone.

I have some struggles and frustrations in my life right now.  But, man, what a gift was that conversation yesterday.  I walked away with the kind of perspective that minimizes my piddly and pathetic "struggles and frustrations" (which I feel silly even typing) and exalts what's really important:  faith, perseverance, family, church, character, etc.

Sometimes a recalibration comes from talking about final things.  And it's a gift when it does.

But that's just me thinking thoughts...

Funeral Planning via Telephone

I had 15 minutes on the phone last night with a sweet lady who was attempting to plan her funeral with me.  On the phone.  It's not my normal M.O. to plan funerals on the phone, especially to the person whose funeral it will be.  So we made plans to visit later (in person) and work on things then.

But it got me thinking about planning a funeral.  Unless Jesus tarries, I will have a funeral one day too.  I may or may not get to plan it.  But whether I do or not, there will be some things said about me.  What will those be?  They will be reflective of the kind of person I was and the kind of life I lived.  And that brought me back to a few lines from C.T. Studd, a missionary...

We've only one life
It soon will be past
Only what's done
For Christ will last

Will there be much that lasts?  Will there be much to say?  I have one life to live, one that preaches my funeral before I get there.  You too.

But that's just me thinking thoughts...

Clearing to see

The Queen had me out cleaning up the hedges that she had trimmed.  She did all the trimming so that our house wouldn't look like Boo Radley's house.  It needed to be done.

But you know what?  You can see now.  You can see the street from our window.  You can see the front porch from our front yard.  You can see the fence.  You can just see.

So much of that is true of our lives.  The Spirit searches us and reveals what needs to be revealed.  The Word convicts by the Spirit, piercing even the division between soul and spirit.  God grants us a beautiful grace by letting us see.  Yes we see sin.  But we see grace too.  The sin is clear.  But what stands clearer is is the cross.

It often takes some clearing though.  Time in the Word.  Time with God's people.  Conversations that sometimes hurt.  Confession of guilt.

But the gift is this:  you can see.

But that's just me thinking thoughts...

Book Recommendation: Sacred Marriage

Well, folks, if you haven't picked up Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas you absolutely should do so and do so right now.  In fact, here's a link to it.  Order it immediately.  Then read it.  And encourage your spouse to read it.  Then read it again.

I've read it before and have recently reread it.  It's so rich and wise and full of perspective when it comes to marriage.  His point is in the subtitle:  what if God intended marriage to make you holy rather than to make you happy?

I won't spoil the book, but let me just say that he interacts well with current culture as well as historical thought and does both in a way that's accessible.  And it's really well written.

But the big thing is it is challenging.  It will push you.  And that's a good thing.  Because marriage matters.  And Jesus matters even more.

But that's just me thinking thoughts...

Sermon Notes from Sunday, June 3, 2012

Here are today's sermon notes from the series Fascinating Families in the book of Genesis.  To get these notes in PDF and the sermon audio, visit sermons.heritagepark.org.  You can also get the sermon audio on iTunes via our podcast.

Fascinating Families

Part 1 – A Man, A Woman, A Marriage 

Genesis 2.15-­‐25

Marriage: God's

• Marriage was God’s idea from the beginning and remains His idea today.
• Marriage is defined by God as one man and one woman for one lifetime.

Marriage: Design

• God gives the man responsibilities: providing, protecting, pastoring (v.15-­‐ 17).
• God creates the woman with a role: complement (v.18-­‐23).
• Roles as designed by God and functions as life happens are not the same.

Marriage: Math

• God’s plan for marriage: 1+1=1.
• Healthy, strong marriages aren’t the result of drift but intentional practices and habits.
• God gives us two we must continually practice: leaving and cleaving.

Marriage: Covenant

• Freedom is experienced in the covenant context.
• God uses this context to make us holy.
• God has nothing against your happiness, but He’s after your holiness. 

Snakes are Scary: Completely Abridged