Fighting Temptation
What temptation do you face on a daily basis? Laziness? Bitterness? Selfishness? Covetousness? Follishness? Faithlessness? Heartlessness? Deceitfulness? Greed? Gluttony? Gossip? Hatred? Rebellion? Sexual immorality? Judgmentalism? Lust?  Pride? Or all of the above?
James 1:13-15 affirms a reality that we are all too familiar with, which is that in this life, you will face temptation and there is no way of completely escaping it.  Even Jesus faced temptations from Satan when he was led out into the dessert by the Spirit (Mat 4:1-11).  James goes on to explain that being tempted is not a sin, but fulfilling temptation does give birth to sin and sin to death.  So the question I want to ask is this, “How can a weak and sinful man like me fight temptation?”
A great example of this occurs in Genesis 39, where Joseph is a servant to a high ranking political leader (Potiphar) in the most powerful country in the world, Egypt.  Blessed by the LORD, Joseph becomes extremely successful and his master puts him in charge of all he has.  Then, like a bad soap opera, the Potiphar’s wife gets a crush on Joseph and begins to seduce him.  On many occasions she tries to lure Joseph into bed with her, and even though he is far from family and friends, time and again he fights temptation and refuses her invitation.  You may wonder, “Where does a single, lonely, sinful man like Joseph get the strength to successfully fight temptation? I wish I had Joseph’s same strength.”
The source of Joseph’s strength is woven throughout Genesis 39 when it is mentioned not once, nor twice, nor thrice, but four times that Joseph’s success over temptation comes from God Himself.  In 39:2,3,21 and 23 the same phrase is repeated, “The LORD was with Joseph.”  Upon first discovering this, I wondered why God repeats Himself so many times, and then I realized, “God’s presence must be important, not just that, it must be life altering important as we fight temptation.”  Here is the good news, if you trust Jesus death on the cross as a payment for your sins, you don’t merely get forgiveness from God, you get God!  The all mighty, ever lasting and all powerful God is with you, whether you feel Him there or not!  So in the midst of temptation, like Joseph you must acknowledge God’s presence, depend on His strength and ask yourself, “How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?”  God is with you right now and forevermore, remember it, proclaim it and enjoy Him forever.

Blessed to be a Blessing

In the 1985 movie Brewster’s Millions, Richard Prior plays a poor, third-rate, minor league baseball player who has been willed millions by a distant relative.  The catch is, Prior has to get rid of $30 million in 30 days to receive the greater inheritance of $300 million.
We are called to a similar mission.  Looking globally, according to nationmaster.com, when ranking countries by their Gross National Product (GNP), the US dominates every other country.  In fact, our GNP is over twice the size of Japan (who’s GNP ranks 2nd), and over five times the size of Germany (who’s GNP ranks 3rd).   Looking inside our borders, according to US Census Bureau, if you earn more than $25,000/year, you’re income is in the top 58% of Americans, and if you earn more than $50,000/year you’re income is in the top 30% of Americans.
When looking at these numbers, it is hard to ignore the fact that you are extremely financially blessed.  You may complain about your car or about your house, but nonetheless, you are extremely rich compared to the rest of the World.  And do you know why God has blessed you so extravagantly?  To be a blessing to the nations.  In Genesis 12:2-3 the LORD says to Abram “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” This blessing which God is talking about is not only financial, but also, (and primarily), spiritual.  In Gen 26:4 the LORD says to Abram, “And in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed”  That offspring is not plural, but singular, and it is Jesus Christ who brings salvation to all who trust in Him, blessing them with the greatest gifts of God’s presence, God’s forgiveness, and God’s love, (among many other blessings).
So don’t merely dream of using your financial blessing from God to buy a better car or a bigger house, but dream of how you can use His financial blessing to be a spiritual blessing to all peoples on earth.  Like Brewster, you have a limited amount of time to spend a lot of money. But there is a greater inheritance waiting.   Don’t waste it only making yourself glad in trivial things, but use it to make the nations glad in God.

FREEDOM

On July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Second Continental Congress of the United States. It stated that the thirteen colonies of North America were now “Free and independent States” and “all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved.” After demanding freedom from the King’s “absolute Tyranny over these States,” the Declaration goes on to give over twenty-five indictments against the King, exposing his use of power to wickedly oppress and control the Americans for his own personal gain. In light of our history, it is right for us to take this 4th of July to give honor to our forefathers, who boldly took a stand, so that we might have freedom to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” in this life.

Similar to our nation’s history, we have each been held under the wicked oppression of an evil dictator; his name is Satan. He uses his power to extend his own kingdom at our expense. But the good news is that Jesus has given freedom to those who belong to Him, and allowed our connection with the evil one to be “totally dissolved.” In John 8:36, Jesus Himself says, “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” The scriptures elaborate on this point by explaining that we have freedom from the penalty of sin, which is eternal separation from God, and we have freedom from the control of sin, which is slavery. Secondly, we have freedom to an eternal form of “life, liberty and pursuit of happiness.” We have the freedom of a spiritual “life” instead of death, we have the freedom of “liberty” to pursue righteousness instead of sin, and we have freedom for “the pursuit of happiness” which is one in the same as the pursuit of God.

Interestingly enough, on July 4th, 1776, the Declaration was only signed by one man, the other 55 delegates didn’t start adding their signatures till almost a month later. This extremely brave man was John Hancock, who boldly declared with his famous signature, “No more tyranny! I demand Freedom!” At the cross, the one man, Jesus Christ, makes the same declaration for you and for me so that we might live a life of total freedom before a Holy God.

If you trust in Christ, did you know that you are free? Or have you mistaken Christianity for a burdensome treadmill of performance. You have been freed to worship, freed to serve, freed to obey and freed to fall more in love with the awesome and Holy God. If you do not know Christ, let today be your Independence Day: trust in the cross of Christ as your Declaration of Independence from Satan, and experience the freedom of knowing Christ.

Gal 5:1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.

3 Money Principles

What does the Gospel have to do with how we handle our money? Everything! Believers are told that because we have been bought with the precious blood of Jesus, we are not our own and therefore everything we are and everything we have (including our money) is not ours, but rather it belongs to our new master, Jesus. Do you believe this? If so, here are three money principles to help you steward Jesus’ money, which He has entrusted to you.

 Earn Money Honestly: (Eph. 4:28: Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands.) ~ Money can be earned dishonestly in a variety of ways, the most obvious being through corrupt activities such as stealing or profiting from immoral practices. More subtle and common ways include selling products with partial truths, rounding up time cards, using the company credit card for personal business, ducking out of work early, or surfing the internet and playing games while on the employer’s time.

 Give Money Generously: (2Cor. 9:6-7: Whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.) ~ Many times we mistakenly try to make financial generosity a dollar amount or a percentage. Contrarily, God demonstrates to us that generosity is an issue of the heart. In other words, it is not necessarily about how much money you give, but with what heart you give it. Sadly, many people in our community cannot give cheerfully because they are weighed down by the expenses of unwise living decisions. They have exhausted their funds by choosing to buy the nicest house(s), or the coolest car(s), or the biggest toy(s) that their finances can allow. Therefore, cheerful giving begins with a transformed heart that makes informed decisions.

 Enjoy Money Powerfully: (Ecc. 5:19: Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them…this is the gift of God.) ~ How would you respond to someone who said, “God has given us the power to enjoy money!” I must confess that even though I am convinced it is good to enjoy God’s creation, (which He has given to us to steward), I often struggle to believe that it is also good to enjoy God’s money, (which He has also given to us to steward). Ecc. 5:19 instructs us that the secret to enjoying God’s money is in relying on God’s power to know that ‘wealth and possessions’ are not a god, but a gift from God.

1Ti 6:17-19 As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.

-Dan Jackson

Pray for the Impossible

If we were honest, most of us would confess that our prayer life is not much more than updating God on the daily health and travel report. We tell Him who is sick, who is traveling and we pray for their physical safety. I believe that these should not be our greatest prayer concerns. In fact, I would argue that if these are your greatest requests before God, you have a misunderstood and shallow understanding of His miraculous Kingdom
There is a wonderful example of this in Mark 2 when some men bring their paralyzed friend to Jesus. Unable to get into the packed house, the desperate men climb on to the roof, open it up and then lower their buddy in front of Christ. I can imagine the electricity in the air as everyone silently waited to see if Jesus would miraculously heal this man’s physical body. What happens next may surprise you, it certainly surprised the crowed. Jesus didn’t give the man power to walk, but rather turns to him and said, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” Jesus gave this man what he most needed instead of what he most wanted. The crowed was disappointed, no one cheered, no one was amazed and no one praised God, rather they replied with skepticism and accusations. In order to silence the critics, Jesus confirmed God’s forgiveness by telling the man, “get up, take your mat and go home.” Mark then tells us that the paralyzed man, “got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God.” What is wrong with this picture? The crowed wanted, cheered for, was amazed at and praised God for the lesser miracle. They merely wanted the man to walk. In contrast, Jesus wanted the greater miracle, which was to forgive this man’s sins.
In my life I have experienced many of God’s extraordinary miracles and provisions, so many so that I couldn’t even start to list them. Yet as I reflect back on them, I truly believe that they all pale in comparison to the single greatest miracle I have experienced, which is the forgiveness of my sins through the blood of Jesus Christ. I am further amazed at the ongoing miraculous work of God as He continues to be faithful to forgive this stubborn, proud and arrogant saint, while all the while continuing His unceasing dedication to conform me into the image of Christ. What a patient, loving and miraculous God we have.
I want to encourage you to stop praying in the shallow end. Why would you merely ask God to give a person travel safety or good health if they are dead to God? By God’s grace, I pray that once again you will find urgency in praying for the impossible (Mk 10:27). Start praying for your neighbors, your family members, your co-workers, your friends and your enemies. Pray that they would receive the miraculous work of the cross and experience the forgiveness of sins from an almighty, loving and holy God. Finally, do not become complacent to the miraculous in your own life just because it is assured in your heart and commonplace among your friends. If God has given you the grace to place your trust in Jesus Christ, then He has pardoned your sin, freeing you from its bondage and penalty. Live afresh in the strength and joy of our Savior, who miraculously says to you, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
- Dan Jackson -