Category Archives: Evil

Abiding, Bible, Devil, Evil, Flesh, God's Will, Obedience, Satan, Scripture

UNDER EVIL INFLUENCE

EPHESIANS 2:2

“in which you previously walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.” 

There are so many verses in Scripture warning us about the evil influences of this world which are spurred on by the evil one, this “prince of the power of the air.” Unfortunately, too many Christians don’t believe in that. If you bring it up, they say you are talking about the boogie man or some guy dressed up in a red suit with a tail and a pitchfork. They have no idea the danger they are in.

If Satan wasn’t real and his influence was not a threat, do you think Paul would have wasted ink and parchment to warn the Ephesians and us? Paul knew this influence all too well. He himself had been under its power before his Damascus road experience. He was fooled into thinking he was doing God’s work by stomping out the Christians. Even Paul, a very smart man, was fooled by this spirit of disobedience.

APPLICATION

This is not rocket science, people. Stay away from evil influences. Follow God’s commands. James says it simply in James 4:7, “Submit yourselves, therefore, to God; resist the devil and he will flee from you.” Sound too simple? Try it. Give yourself completely over to God and watch what happens. I have found when I am diligently seeking the Father, I do not have my mind on things of this world.

Romans 6:12-14 give us the secret. “12 Therefore sin is not to reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, 13 and do not go on presenting the parts of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those who are alive from the dead, and your body’s parts as instruments of righteousness for God. 14 For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under the Law but under grace.” See? It’s not rocket science, but it does require dying to yourself.

There’s the problem! Most of us don’t want to give up those carnal desires. We say we do, but we won’t let them go. We keep them in that little, dark room we think God can’t see. He can, and He wants us to clean it out. Okay, get out your broom, dustpan and mop and go to work today. Clean it all out and submit to Him.

Thank You, Father, for cleaning me up.

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Battles, Bible, Choices, Evil, Flesh, Immorality, Impurity, Scripture

DEEDS OF THE FLESH, PART 1

GALATIANS 5:19

“Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: sexual immorality, impurity, indecent behavior,

I probably do not need to explain to any of you who are reading this devotional today what “deeds of the flesh” are. Over the next few days, we will look at Paul’s list of some of the deeds. This list is by no means a complete list. Even though we think today’s society is so wicked, we can see that the same things were going on back when Paul wrote this letter to the Galatians. As we go through this list, ask yourself if you are manifesting any of these.

Paul says in today’s verse that these deeds of the flesh “are evident.” The Greek word is phaneros, which means to be made public, to be disclosed or exposed. In other words, you can’t hide these deeds. Paul is going to list fifteen things that people were doing then, and we know are happening now. People think they can do many of these things in secret, but rest assured they will all be exposed one day.

APPLICATION

The first one Paul mentions is “sexual immorality.” We get our word “pornography” from this Greek word. It’s the selling off of sexual purity, promiscuity. Closely related to that word is the next word Paul uses, “impurity.” This word literally means “not clean.” This can be in a physical or moral sense. Ephesians 5:3 says this about these two, “But sexual immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be mentioned among you, as is proper among saints;”

Then Paul mentions “indecent behavior.” This word is translated as outrageous conduct, conduct shocking to public decency, a wanton violence, wantonness and lewdness. I think you get the picture with that one. Peter uses this word in 2 Peter 2:2, “Many will follow their indecent behavior, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned;” Our behaviors can mar the truth of God in our lives.

I think John says it well concerning these behaviors just mentioned. 1 John 3:10 says, “By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother and sister.”

Father, help to avoid these behaviors and to live for You each day.

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Bible, Devil, Division, Evil, God's Will, Harmony, Identity, Perfection, Relationships, Scripture

JUST WHO ARE YOU

GALATIANS 3:28

“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

There is a lot of confusion about people today. People are choosing to identify as all kinds of other people or things. I heard recently about an elementary age child who thinks they are a cat. So, the school has to supply him with a litter box. I am not kidding. Way too confusing for me.

In today’s verse, Paul simplifies things. He says, “you are all one in Christ Jesus.” No longer do they have to think like a Jew or Greek. Whether you are slave or master doesn’t matter. The societal restraints against the sexes also fade away. He was making sure they knew that we are all together now in Jesus.

APPLICATION

How do you identify? Well, I’m Baptist so I can’t associate with those Catholics. Or We Methodists cannot go to that service because it’s being led by that Lutheran guy. We still wear our labels. No one is greater than the other in Christ. We are equal. Give each other room to grow.

I believe Paul says it best in Ephesians 4:4-6. “4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you also were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.” We are one. We are united in Christ. We no longer need to be separated into classes or groups.

So, why do we have all these Christian denominations? I get asked that sometime by non-believers. They wonder why we can’t all get along. Good question. But as long as we are here on this earth, we are going to have divisions. Let’s strive to unite. Let’s strive to present a united front against the evil one. We are one!

Lord, thank You for showing me who I am. I know I am in You and You are in me.

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Bible, Evil, God's Will, Rescue, Safety, Salvation, Scripture

RESCUED

GALATIANS 1:4

“who gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,”

We’ve all heard stories of people who have been rescued from a life-threatening event. Some were rescued from a near drowning. Others may have been pulled from a wrecked vehicle. Each and every rescue had at least two things in common – the rescued and the rescuer. Today’s verse is the same. Let’s look.

Paul says in verse 4, speaking of Christ, “who gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us.” It is always good to look at the original language of a passage if you can. The Greek word for “rescue” means a complete and total rescue. Jesus completely rescues us, not just half-way. When God does something, He does it perfectly, wholly, completely. Our salvation is no different.

APPLICATION

What does this mean for us? The very fact that He rescued us means we have value to Him. He willingly died for us. We are important to Him. Psalm 139 tells us that. Verse 17-18 say, “17 How precious also are Your thoughts for me, God! How vast is the sum of them! 18 Were I to count them, they would outnumber the sand. When I awake, I am still with You.”

Did you know that? God is always thinking about you. If He never gave a thought about you, would He have sent His Son to die for you? I don’t think so. John 3:16 tells us what He did for us. You know that verse, right? And how about Luke 12:6-7? “‘Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.’”

So, my friend, believe God when He says He loves you. He completely rescued you from this “present evil age” through His Son. You and I may still have to live in this world right now, but we have been set free from its grips. Sin no longer has power over us. We have been rescued. We have been delivered. We are free. Praise the Lord!

You are my Rescuer, and I am eternally grateful.

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Accountability, Bible, Boasting, Evil, Guilt, Holiness, Judgment, Perversion, Scripture, Wickedness

WRONG IS RIGHT AND RIGHT IS WRONG

MALACHI 2:17

“You have wearied the LORD with your words. Yet you say, ‘How have we wearied Him?’ In that you say, ‘Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the LORD, and He delights in them,’ or, ‘Where is the God of justice?’”

Our world has so many things backwards. Men who were born male can now become women physically. Women who were born female can change their sex. We are arguing about what pronoun to call someone. None of this makes sense to me. I am sure many of you are confused. But just think what the Creator of the universe thinks about all of this.

Malachi told the people that they were wearying the Lord with their words. They were even claiming that the Lord approved of the evil being done (Sound familiar?). They were even mocking God by saying “Where is the God of justice?”. They were thinking, “If this evil they were doing was so bad, why wasn’t God punishing them?” Arrogance and lack of awe of God was prevalent.

APPLICATION

Man, this sounds just like today, doesn’t it? What is different? The New Living Translation writes Psalm 10:13 this way, “Why do the wicked get away with despising God? They think, ‘God will never call us to account.’” You see, this question has been asked for generations. We see a bad person prospering while we are serving the Lord and struggling to make ends meet. Why?

It isn’t ours to know why. God will judge everyone at some point. His timing is not our timing. We are called to be holy and devoted to Him. We are to focus on becoming as Christlike as possible and trust God with the rest. Do you trust Him? Do you believe He is just?

Take a few minutes and meditate on Psalm 73. Asaph struggled with this question of the wicked prospering as well. You have to read the whole psalm to see how he ends. But near the end is one of my favorite verses – verse 26. It says, “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” That is where we rest, beloved.

Father, I need to keep my eyes on You and not on the prospering wicked. You will take care of them in Your own time.

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Access, Battles, Bible, Deliverance, Evil, Fear, God's Will, Hate, Love, Scripture

JACKALS EVERYWHERE

MALACHI 1:3

“‘but I have hated Esau, and I have made his mountains a desolation and given his inheritance to the jackals of the wilderness.’”

I was leaving my home the other night, when out of nowhere this coyote ran across the street. Mind you, I don’t live out in the rural area of town. I live in a very urban area, surrounded by interstates and houses. Where did this little bugger come from? Better yet, where did he go?

In verse 3 of chapter 1 of Malachi, the Lord is pronouncing a judgment on Esau. Remember him, the twin brother of Jacob? The word “hate” is a strong word which we take in a very negative way. The fact is God had chosen Jacob in the womb to be the father of Israel. Esau could have done nothing to change that. His region and people would be destroyed five years after the Babylonians defeated Jerusalem.

APPLICATION

We make choices in life. Esau chose to go in another way. But after the story of him reconciling with Jacob, there isn’t much mentioned of him. It’s almost as if he just wandered into the wilderness where those jackals lived. The Hebrew word for “jackal” comes from the Hebrew tan, which means hideous monster or land creature. Are you living among the monsters? You don’t have to.

1 John 4:18 tells us, “There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.” The Lord wants to bring you in from the wilderness. There is no reason to fear. There is no reason to live among the jackals. He has made you a home, a safe home, a refuge.

I love Psalm 18. Verse 2 says, “The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my savior, My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” So, come in from the wilderness of sin and strife. Put your full trust in Jesus, Who came to give you peace.

Father, You are my rescuer. You have delivered me from the wilderness and the jackals.

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Appearance, Bible, Christ's Return, Deliverance, Devil, End Times, Eternity, Evil, Following, Glory, God's Will, Heaven, Hell, Judgment, Miracles, Return, Scripture

ESCAPE ROUTE

ZECHARIAH 14:5

“And you will flee by the valley of My mountains, for the valley of the mountains will reach to Azel; yes, you will flee just as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD, my God, will come, and all the holy ones with Him!”

I have had the opportunity to participate in a couple of Escape Room experiences. You know – those rooms set up to allow groups of people to problem solve a situation, gather clues and follow directions to get out of that room. There is always a way out if the team can just figure it out. Fortunately, I was able to escape each time, lol.

Look back at verse 4 of Zechariah 14 for a second. It says, “…the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west forming a very large valley…” That valley is the one referred to in today’s verse. Azel was obviously a village on the other side of that valley. The earthquake mentioned here is not in historical records but must have been massive for it to have been remembered two centuries later. But the best part of this verse is the last phrase – “Then the LORD, my God, will come, and all the holy ones with Him!”

APPLICATION

Wow, there’s a lot in that verse, huh? Where do we start? First of all, let’s address the escape route that God will make for the people of Jerusalem on that day. He does the miraculous to achieve His purpose. He is still doing that today. We can all probably recount a story that was nothing less than miraculous. Will you join me in looking around for those today? God is still providing a way out for us. We can share the story of Jesus with someone who is lost today and provide them with that miraculous way of escape from the punishment of hell.

How about the Lord returning with “all the holy ones”? Won’t that be a sight? I plan to be there. These “holy ones” will include His legions of angels and perhaps all the saints. That last part is us, the believers, who are with Him in glory. That is shouting ground. Look at Jude 1:14-15. “14 Behold, the Lord has come with many thousands of His holy ones, 15 to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.”

Whether I am with Him or not when He returns to earth to judge it, the fact of the matter is He is coming with authority. He is coming back as King and Judge, not a baby in a manger. He is not coming back to spend years teaching. No, He is coming back to issue forth judgment on the unbelieving masses and on the evil one himself. What a day that will be!

What a day that will be, when my Jesus I shall see. And I look upon His face, the One who saved me by His grace…What a day, glorious day that will be. 

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Affliction, Battles, Belief, Bible, Death, Enemies, Evil, Hell, Scripture, Uncategorized, War, Worthy

THE HORRORS OF WAR

ZECHARIAH 14:2

“‘For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be taken, the houses plundered, the women raped, and half of the city exiled, but the rest of the people will not be eliminated from the city.’” 

There is a saying, “War is hell.” I pray that did not offend anyone. But from all I have been told about it and what I have seen lately around the world, it is. We live in a fallen world where evil reigns. People do horrible things to each other. Often that is done in the name of religion. Don’t you know the devil loves that? Join me in praying for peace around the world. Pray for the nation of Israel right now.

The Lord continues His promise of judgment against Israel. Today’s verse reads like the current headlines. Could it be this prophetic statement is coming true in our day? I am not saying that is the case, but the situation the Lord describes in today’s verse is exactly what is happening today. Remember, the whole purpose of judgment on Israel was to draw them back to Himself.

APPLICATION

What will it take to draw you back? Well Carl, I don’t need to be drawn back. I’m okay. Are you sure about that? Are you walking with him as Paul describes it in Colossians 1:10? “so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;”

We need to be walking worthy of Him every day. As believers in Christ, we are free from the coming judgment that will face unbelievers. We will be yanked from this world at some point, sparing us from the evils that await the rest of the world. The horrors of war that we experience today will pale in comparison of what is to come.

Therefore, we need to bring as many as we can into the fold before that day of Jesus’ coming for the saints. I have friends and family who would be left behind if He came today. That breaks my heart. Will you join me in reaching out to all those you know who need Jesus? Together we can share with the masses of His great love for them.

Lord, would You tarry Your coming for a while so we can reach more for You?

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Abiding, Belief, Bible, Devil, Evil, Following, Identity, Obedience, Relationships, Rescue, Scripture, Witnessing

WHO IS THIS SHEPHERD?

ZECHARIAH 13:7

“‘Awake, sword, against My Shepherd, and against the Man, My Associate,’ declares the LORD of armies. ‘Strike the Shepherd and the sheep will be scattered; and I will turn My hand against the little ones.’”

When I was a boy, there was a television program called To Tell The Truth. On this program, three contestants were presented to a guest panel of four people. All three contestants said they were the same person. Only one was the real person. Questions were asked and finally one was asked to “tell the truth.”

Why am I describing this program? Because in today’s verse we have a “Shepherd” that is not identified. The Lord, through Zechariah, does not come right out and say the person’s name. However, because we have other evidence, we can point out this person’s identity. This Shepherd is none other than God’s only Son, Jesus. He was the one struck. It was His sheep that were scattered. Jesus fulfilled this prophecy through His death on that cruel cross.

APPLICATION

So, how do we apply this verse to our lives today? Can people identify you as a follower of Christ? How do people know what you believe. The Word, Jesus, tells us in John 13:34-35, “‘34 I am giving you a new commandment, that you love one another; just as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are My disciples: if you have love for one another.’” Don’t you want to be identified with the Shepherd?

Too many believers hold their faith so close to their chest that no one would know they are a child of the King. We need to be shouting it from the rooftops. What is stopping you from being more bold in your witness? Just think of what He did for us. He underwent all the suffering of the cross to rescue us. The least we can do is stand up for Him.

Now, I must warn you. When you do that, we run the risk of being persecuted, just as is described in today’s verse. It says His sheep were scattered. The world will not like the fact that we are identifying with Christ. We can identify with anyone else or with any other group and we will be just fine. But the moment we identify with Jesus, watch for the fiery darts of the evil one to come our way. That’s okay, though. Why? Because any suffering we may endure gives glory to Him. Amen? Amen!

I know I am a sheep of the Shepherd who was pierced for my transgressions. Thank You, Lord.

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Accountability, Accused, Battles, Bible, Enemies, Evil, Holy, Innocent, Reputation, Scripture, Testimony

REMOVE ALL DOUBT

ZECHARIAH 13:5

“‘but he will say, “I am not a prophet; I am a cultivator of the ground, because a man sold me as a slave in my youth.”’”

One thing I truly hate is to be falsely accused of something. If I am guilty, I will admit it. I will take the consequences. But to be accused of something I haven’t done and have my name be called into question, well, that really bothers me. Of course, we can expect nothing less from the evil one. He loves to set up falsehoods against us. That is why we must live above reproach.

Today’s verse reminded me immediately of the prophet Amos. In

Amos 7:14 we read, “Then Amos replied to Amaziah, ‘I am not a prophet, nor am I the son of a prophet; for I am a herdsman and a grower of sycamore figs.’” Amos wanted to distance himself from being seen as a prophet. But here is Zechariah, we see this declaration a little differently. These people wanted to make sure they were not seen as a false prophet. They wanted no part of that.

APPLICATION

We need to be diligent in keeping ourselves away from actions or deeds that could call our testimony into question. I have to admit that I haven’t always done that. But I have discovered a little secret (it’s not a secret really). When I slack off my Quiet Times, I am prone to fall. I have to spend time every day in the Word and in prayer. That keeps my defenses up.

My memory verse this week is Psalm 34:4. “I sought the Lord and He answered me and rescued me from all my fears.” I must (and you must) seek the Lord daily. That means spending time digging out His Word and discovering His truths. Then we must meditate and memorize that Word and find ways to apply it to our lives. Doing those simple things each day helps protect you from falling along your walk.

That does not mean the enemy won’t try to malign you and bring your testimony into question. But if you are living holy, your life will be like Teflon, nothing will stick. Put that armor on each day and watch the fiery darts bounce off. Don’t give the devil a foothold (Ephesians 4:27). Live above the lies.

Father, help me live in such a way that no attack of the enemy can find its target.

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