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2 Corinthians 4:4, Matthew 16:23, 2 Corinthians 10:4-5, James 1:25

Ignorance is not Bliss!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
July 31, 2025

In our spiritual warfare, we do not struggle with flesh and blood. Paul explains to the Ephesians in Chapter Six, beginning in verse 12. He says that our battle is with “…the cosmic powers of this present darkness…against the spiritual forces of evil.” Although Satan has an arsenal of weapons, the primary target of his attacks is the mind! When Peter spoke to Jesus about not going to Jerusalem to accomplish His purpose, Jesus replied, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man,” (Matthew 16:23). 2 Corinthians 4:4 clearly says that Satan, “…the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers…” Satan distracts believers from God’s purposes, and his wiles deceive unbelievers with lies.

He knows that to control our thoughts is to control us! We are all in a battle for the mind, a battle that is not to be taken lightly. Paul explains this battle in 2 Corinthians chapter 10. He writes in verses 4 and 5, “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” Strongholds refers to positions held that are contrary to God’s Word. Arguments are mental exchanges. Pretensions are false views that contradict our need-to-Know God’s Word. Taking captive our thoughts is only managed through the study of God’s Word. Paul often refers to what he calls “sound doctrine.” See 1 Timothy 1:10, 2 Timothy 4:3, Titus 1:9 and 2:1. The Greek word which is translated as “sound” is “hugiaino,” which literally in this context means to be “healthy” in mind. Robert Morey says, “When the great truths of the Bible are taught to the people in any church, they will generally become spiritually, mentally, and physically healthy. Their families will be healthy. The church will be healthy.”

In my years as a pastor, I always made sure that we offered many Bible study opportunities.  We did that, not just because that’s what Churches do but because we understand that life issues are truly related to thinking correctly about God, ourselves, the world around us, others, and the spiritual forces that have arrayed themselves against us. It truly is not enough to attend a worship service for one hour a week! Since that’s what most Christians settle for, the knowledge of Biblical truth is declining. An article in the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society said this, “Gallup polls have tracked this descent to a current ‘record low.’ Not even able to get started with the canon in either Testament, most Americans now cannot name the first book of the Bible and half cannot name even one of the four Gospels. Stephen Prothero, professor of religion, Boston University, highlighted this in a 2007 article in the Los Angeles Times, which was bluntly entitled ‘We live in the land of biblical idiots.’ Please, “think” carefully about” what James says; “But the truly happy people are those who carefully study God’s perfect law that makes people free, and they continue to study it” (James 1:25 NCV). Get in a Bible Study today, for it is the key to your spiritual and mental health!

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John 8:41-45

My Name Is Gossip

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
July 30, 2025

Jesus was the subject of slander very often during his years of ministry. He was, Himself, accused of being insane, possessed by a demon, and of having committed violations of God’s law. He did violate their laws, but never God’s laws. He did not stone the adulterous. He picked corn and ate it on the Sabbath. He healed on the Sabbath and other infractions that the religious leaders had included as part of God’s laws. It is true that Jesus did these things, but it’s not true that they were violations of God’s laws. Truths can be misunderstood or even twisted intentionally, and the result might be defamation of character. The religious leaders of Jesus day sought to discredit Jesus and His teaching in any way they could. Once, according to John Chapter 8, they were striving against Jesus and blurted out, “We were not born of sexual immorality.” They were, of course, referring to Jesus’ birth to Mary. Jesus’ claim that His father was God was categorically rejected. But responding to the subject of the paternity of the accusations made against him, he replied, “You are of your father the devil…”(John 8:41f).

Philip Ryken quotes Jochem Douma’s work on the 10 commandments. Douma attaches gossip to the 9th commandment, “Thou shalt not lie.” Yet he expands the understanding to include “truth” telling twisted to mean something more than it should. He writes, “Perhaps the one spreading gossip is not lying, but he or she is being untruthful: saying things that are true, but in the context of slander, is deceitful. The neighbor’s mistakes, faults, and shortcomings are discussed in minute detail. People realize this kind of chatter gets them an attentive audience. For it is a universal phenomenon that we would rather hear something bad about our neighbor than something good. And something dirty always sticks long after the conversation has died. As Martin Luther put it in his Large Catechism, “Reputation is something quickly stolen, but not quickly returned.”

“I have no respect for justice and no mercy for defenseless humanity. I ruin without killing; I tear down homes; I break hearts and wreck lives. You will find me in the pews of the pious as well as in the haunts of the unholy. I am wily, cunning, and malicious and gather strength with age. I have made my way where greed, mistrust, and dishonor are unknown, yet my victims are as numerous as the sands of the sea and often as innocent! I feed on good and bad alike. I never forgive and seldom forget. What’s my name? My name is gossip!” Gossip is one of the “methods” of Satan to divide and conquer believers. We must be alert to His schemes. Gossip needn’t be false to be evil—a lot of truth shouldn’t be passed around.

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Proverbs 18:8, Matthew 16:23

Gossip!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
July 29, 2025

Some years ago, Kathy and I went to Michigan to perform the wedding for the daughter of the very first couple I married 25 years earlier. It was a Saturday night wedding and reception. We got up very early Sunday morning to drive back to Nebraska. On our way, we listened to several preachers on local radio stations that we passed. Outside of Chicago, we picked up the Moody Channel and heard Paul Nyquist’s message. Paul, the President of Moody, used to be the pastor of Evangelical Bible Church in Omaha. He said something that I just had to remember. I don’t believe it was originally with him, but it struck me. I’ll paraphrase it here: “Great people talk about ideas. Good people talk about things. The vast majority of others talk about people.” This is a stark reminder of the dangers of gossip, a tool of Satan that we must be vigilant against.

Previously, in my devotions, I discussed the “schemes” of the Devil, particularly his scheme dealing with unforgiveness, as clearly identified in 2 Corinthians. Another “method” of Satan in his arsenal of weapons of Spiritual warfare is gossip. When Peter spoke to Jesus about not going to Jerusalem to accomplish His purpose, Jesus rebuked, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man,” (Matthew 16:23). It is of utmost value to set our minds on “ideas” or principles of God and right living rather than on the lives of others: celebrities, politicians, or even our neighbors. It’s a much greater endeavor to think about and wrestle with and discuss the things of God.

According to Proverbs, “The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to a man’s inmost parts” (Prov. 18:8). But no matter how tasty it is, gossip is still a concoction of Satan and poison to our souls. Philip Ryken writes, “As wrong as it is to gossip, it is just as wrong to listen to gossip.” He proceeds to quote an “old rabbinic saying, “slander kills three: the one who speaks it, the one who listens to it, and the one about whom it is spoken.” He continues his discussion by quoting the Puritan Thomas Watson. He said, “He that raises a slander carries the devil in his tongue, and he that receives it carries the devil in his ear.” Ryken then concludes his views by saying, “Watson was right: Whenever we listen to gossip, we become implicated in its sin. We get drawn into making judgments about others when it is not our place to judge. The problem is that most of us like to hear a little gossip. We have an appetite for it, especially if it’s juicy.” But we are not unaware of his schemes!

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Ephesians 6:11, 2 Corinthians 2:11

Bitter Believers

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
July 28, 2025

I would agree with Robert Morey, who describes the objectives of satanic warfare as twofold. He writes, “First, Satan wants to keep sinners from hearing the gospel. Or, if they hear it, to keep them from responding to it in faith. Second, once someone has become a child of God, Satan will try to make that Christian discouraged, bitter, sad, defeated, and depressed. He knows he cannot snatch that person’s soul back, so he will do his best to make a believer’s life ineffective.” I would add that he not only makes the believer ineffective, but he also makes him miserable! I’ve known way too many “sourpuss” believers, who live bitter lives and spread their bitterness around to others.

The second objective of making the believer ineffective and miserable in their Christian life is a major step in advancing his first objective of preventing others from coming to faith. When non-believers see the unhappy, bitter, angry, forlorn Christian, they see only reasons for not wanting any part of that kind of faith. I’ve shared the Gospel with people who have refused the offer of God’s free gift of life because, as they put it, “I’ve known too many Christians.” All some Christians focus on is “don’t do this, don’t do that.” They are miserable and want everyone else to be miserable, too. When Satan accomplishes his objective of reducing believers to a depressed, discouraged, and despairing state, he has caught us in his web of lies and deceit. When we fall prey to the deceitful ways of Satan, we lose the joy of our Christian experience. We are susceptible to all kinds of miserable attitudes and impulses. But if we understand these for what they are: attacks in the Spiritual battle against forces of evil in dark places, we are aided in turning the tide in the battles of life.

Unforgiveness is one of the most effective weapons of Satan. We are instructed to forgive others as God has forgiven us. Jack Hayford writes, “The human capacity to forget God’s gracious gift of forgiveness and allow smallness of soul to breed unforgiveness is soberingly warned against.” He goes on to discuss how unforgiveness restricts what God can do through believers in the lives of others. He also discusses how the spirit of unforgiveness exacts “its toll on our bodies, minds, and emotions.” You might remember that when Paul wrote to the Corinthians, he instructed them to forgive a sinning brother. He had repented of his sin and had mended his ways, yet there was this wall that still existed between the members of the little fellowship and this sinner. Paul instructs them to forgive him and bring him back into the fellowship. They were to drop their bitterness and anger toward him and open their arms again. The reason that forgiveness is such an important aspect in a believer’s life, Paul explains in 2 Corinthians 2:11, is “so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.”

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Ephesians 6:11

Just Stand Firm!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
July 27, 2025

Ephesians 6 gives us the tactical advantage in our struggle with evil. We are under attack from three primary sources in our spiritual lives: the world, the flesh, and the Devil. The world is the system around us. The flesh represents the ungodly impulses within us. The Devil is the spiritual force that is always allied against us. Verse 11 tells us to “put on the whole armor of God that we may be able to stand against the schemes of the Devil. We do not wrestle or struggle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in heavenly places.” Did you notice how many times the word “against” appeared? Five times there are forces that are mentioned that come against us. But the introductory verse tells us that our charge in this battle is to “stand up against” the schemes of the devil. What are the schemes of the Devil?

The word scheme in Greek is “methodia,” from which we get the English word method. It has the idea of craftiness, cunning, and deception. He is even called the father of lies. Everything he says is designed to discourage, intimidate, and bring us to despair. His only weapons are lies. I remember back in 2003 (I think it was) when “Operation Iraqi Freedom” was initiated. Our goal was to unseat Saddam Hussein. I remember the propaganda coming out of Iraq following the first thrust of American forces into the Iraqi heartland. The Iraqi representative reported on television that the American forces had been repelled and were forced back on every front. The next image was of U. S. Marines relaxing inside of President Hussein’s palaces in Baghdad. What’s wrong with this picture? I don’t think there has ever been a briefer war in U. S. History. Even the more elite forces of Saddam’s Royal Guard cut and ran from the advancing superiority of the U.S. Forces.

In his study on this passage, Rasnake compares “Operation Iraqi Freedom” with our battle against the spiritual forces of evil. He writes, “When one is doing battle with a superior adversary, the underdog may resort to lies and deceit to try and appear more formidable than he really is, as the Iraqi Information Minister displayed. In an even greater sense, the army of God is so far superior to Satan and his minions that Satan must lie and deceive to try to intimidate and incite fear in the children of God. But we have the promise of the apostle John in 1 John 4:4 that says, “Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.” While it is true that a sissy demon could whip any of us on any day, Satan himself is no match for the One who lives in us. All we need to do for victory in spiritual war is to ‘stand firm’ in Christ.

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Romans 11:15-18

Eating from the Tree

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
July 26, 2025

One of the most profound warnings in the Bible is found in Romans, chapter 11. The Gentiles have been grafted into the Olive tree through faith. The unbelieving Jews are cut out of the Olive tree for refusing to believe. The basis for abiding in the tree is always faith in God’s provision for us. It’s all about believing and trusting God. But the way to eternal life, the way to the tree of life, is open to all on a different basis. It’s the basis of God’s grace, a gift that is available to everyone, received through the channel of faith. Even though the Jewish nation as a whole rejected the Messiah, Paul says that still, “…at the present time, there is a remnant, chosen by grace. But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise, grace would no longer be grace.” Everyone, and anyone, can find eternal life hanging from the tree of life! It’s appropriated through faith.

But Paul warns his readers that, “Then you will say, Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in. That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So, do not become proud. Instead, you should be afraid.  For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you, too, will be cut off.” I hope you don’t miss the fact that the whole passage rests on faith. Israel was cut off because they refused to believe. They preferred to eat from the Tree of Law. Their unbelief results in a works-based righteousness. Remember how Paul begins the book of Romans. Verses 16 and 17 say, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written: The righteous shall live by faith.”

On the other hand, the reason that the Gentiles were grafted was because they believed. Paul warns the Gentiles not to “boast” about their position as a branch now. The New Living Translation puts 11:18 this way, “But you must not brag about being grafted in to replace the branches that were broken off. You are just a branch, not the root.” Only those who live according to the knowledge of good and evil (law!) would boast. Ryan Rufus writes, “If you are boasting in the branches, it shows you don’t have faith in Christ but in yourself. That means you’re not a true branch! You’re a false branch. The graft hasn’t taken. You can go to church and sing the songs and talk the talk and look like a branch that’s in the olive tree, but if your faith is in yourself and not in Christ, you’re in danger!” Whose righteousness do you trust in? If it’s your own, you are eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and attempting to cover your sin with fig leaves. But to eat from the olive tree is to rest in God’s grace and in His righteousness. We have Christ’s righteousness, and Jesus gives us His rest.

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Genesis 3, Matthew 21:19

Fig Leaves

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
July 25, 2025

I’ve been thinking a lot about the tree of the knowledge of good and evil lately. I remember 9th-grade religion class and the teacher telling us that the original sin had something to do with sex. For 14 and 15-year-old kids, she got our attention, and there was a lot of discussion. Basically, we all simply accepted it as true. Since I’ve been studying the Bible for myself, I’ve been ever more convinced that that’s simply not true at all. Another myth is that the fruit was an apple. I think everyone assumes that it was. But the Bible does not identify it as such. It’s interesting that in Latin, the words apple and evil are the same. “Malum means both, except that they have different accent marks on the first syllable. Wikipedia reports “the larynx in the human throat has been called Adam’s apple because of a notion that it was caused by the forbidden fruit sticking in the throat of Adam.” It goes on to include one more comment that contains a link to what I was taught. It says, “The apple as a symbol of sexual seduction has been used to imply sexuality between men, possibly in an ironic vein.”

I don’t think it was an apple! I think it was a fig! No, really! Think about this! What kind of a leaf did Adam and Eve attempt to cover themselves with? It was clearly identified as a fig leaf. I’ve always pictured the couple looking around to find the largest leaf available to cover themselves. But the size wasn’t the most important thing because the Bible says, “they sewed them together…” (See Genesis 3:7). They must have chosen it for another reason. It could very well have been because it was handy. I’ve argued that these fig leaves with which the couple attempted to cover their shame are symbolic of man’s attempt to make himself presentable to God in spite of our sin. But God would not accept man’s way. Instead, He slaughtered a lamb in order to “cover” (make atonement) for their sins.

It struck me as I was pondering this that in Genesis 3, after Adam and Eve ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, God found them in their faulty fig leaves and explained the consequences of their choice. First, he cursed the snake, he cursed the woman, and then he cursed Adam. I realize that in this curse, he also cursed the ground, but he did not focus any specific attention on the tree itself. If he had, we might have known what kind of a tree it was. But he didn’t! But guess what! Some of you might have already brought it to mind. He left the cursing of the fig tree up to Jesus. Matthew 21:19 says, “And seeing a fig tree by the wayside, he went to it and found nothing on it but only leaves.” Just as God found Adam, Jesus found His people, Israel, covering themselves with fig leaves. The verse tells us that Jesus then addressed the tree: “And he said to it, “May no fruit ever come from you again!” That fig tree, symbolic of man’s efforts to make himself right with God, is forever and always a fruitless tree. Symbolic also of the religious system of the day, it would reject the grace mission of Jesus in favor of a set of human standards. I still struggle with covering myself with fig leaves!

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Ephesians 6:13, 2 Corinthians 9:5, 2 Timothy 4:2, Titus 3:1, 1 Peter 3:15

Love, Learn, Live!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
July 24, 2025

When we delve into the concept of spiritual warfare, we must turn to Paul’s teachings in Ephesians 6:10-17. It provides a detailed account of Spiritual warfare and the armor of God. In verse 13, we’re urged to “take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist (stand firm) in the evil day, having prepared everything…” The phrase that resonated with me was ‘having prepared ‘. So, I searched for ‘be prepared’ in the Bible and discovered that it specifically instructs us to be prepared for five things in our spiritual lives. Surprisingly, the first thing is to “give generously.” That’s what 2 Corinthians 9:5 teaches about our giving. Paul instructs the Corinthians to be “prepared” to give when he arrives “a generous gift and not as grudgingly granted.” Beville wrote a commentary on Ezra titled “The Secret of Spiritual Success.” He writes, “The apostle Paul stated clearly how God looks on giving: ‘Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver (2 Cor. 9:6–7). We are exhorted to open-handed giving. It is one thing to desire God’s work to be done and even to pray fervently to that end, but it is another thing to contribute financially to see that vision become a reality.” When we receive God’s love as He expressed it on Calvary’s cross, we are moved to return that love in worship. Part of worship is giving to God out of our love for Him, a joyous act that inspires and motivates us in our spiritual journey.

We are also to be prepared to learn. Actually, Paul tells Timothy (2 Timothy 4:2) to be prepared to preach and teach God’s Word. Many mainline denominations argue that this exhortation is only for pastors and teachers. I’d argue it’s for every believer. Before we can teach others about Christ and His good news, we must learn all about it ourselves. Thus, when we come to worship, we should be prepared to love (give) and learn (study) in order that we will know what God wants us to know, preparing us to pass on God’s truth to others in whatever environment He places us. Paul knows that lives are truly enriched when they learn and grasp the “breadth, width, depth, and height” of God’s love. We must love! We must learn!

We also must be prepared to live. Paul tells Titus to “…be prepared for every good work” (3:1). God wants us and calls us to use the gifts He has blessed us with to serve others. It is a crucial part of His plan and purpose for our lives. Nothing is more fulfilling than using the gifts God blessed us with to serve others. It’s one of the most rewarding things in life. These rewards will span time and eternity. Jesus’ last quote recorded in the Bible is in the book of Acts. He said, “it’s more blessed to give, than to receive.” Happiness is the result of generosity. Fulfillment, purpose, and meaning is the result of service. But there is one more thing that God tells us to be prepared for. It’s sharing our faith with others. 1 Peter 3:15 says “always be prepared to give an answer explaining the reason for the hope you have.” Love, Learn, Live!! That’s what being a disciple is all about. This sense of purpose and fulfillment that comes from living and serving motivates us and gives us a clear direction in our spiritual journey.

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