Spiritual Warfare
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The Cycle of Unbelief
Romans 1:18-32 This passage in Romans gives the cycle of unbelief. Unbelief is the root of all sin, and we see the progressive degradation of sin that befalls a person who does not believe in Jesus. The first step in unbelief is the denial that God exists. People often ask me if God is merciful,…
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Snake Bit
Acts 28:1-31 We saw yesterday how 276 souls aboard Paul's ship were spared. In today's reading we see how Paul's life was spared. All those on board the ship swam to the island of Malta, where they were well received by the natives there. There was a chill in the air, and when Paul gathered…
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The Message of Angels
Acts 27:21-44 Something I've noticed in reading through the Bible every year are the things angels say when they visit us on earth. Over and over again they greet those on earth with the words, "Fear not." We remember the words of the heavenly hosts as they announced the birth of Jesus: "Fear not; for…
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The Glory and the Lifter of My Head
Psalm 3:1-8 But thou, O Lord, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of my head" (v. 3, KJV). We sing a chorus taken from this psalm often in our church, and every time I sing it I feel strength rise up within me. The proverb reading today asks who can…
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Warfare Through the Dance
Psalm 149:1-9 Most of us are familiar with the Indian war dances, which always occurred before they entered warfare with their enemies. Dancing and rejoicing before the Lord is also an effective weapon before we go to war against Satan. We have the scriptural example of this when Jehoshaphat sent the singers ahead of his…
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Are You Confused?
Acts 19:13-14 God is not the author of confusion. Satan is. We learn this in this chapter in Acts. Wherever idols are worshiped or participation in the occult is present, there is confusion because the author of confusion is on the scene.
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The Power of Praise
Acts 16:16-40 Picture Paul and Silas in stocks in prison. They should have been so discouraged and depressed, but this was not their state at all. They had been beaten, and I am sure the stocks were irritating their fresh wounds, yet they made a quality decision. They decided to praise the Lord anyhow. They…
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A Merry Heart
Proverbs 17:22 In recent years some medical doctors have used "laugh therapy" with their patients. I heard a story about a lady who was healed through laughter. Her doctor prescribed a steady diet of "The Three Stooges." She was instructed to watch the videos of their old films as much as possible. It worked. She…
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Water Works
Proverbs 17:14-15 We talked yesterday about the holy rain that descends when we praise the Lord. Today's proverb talks about strife and compares it to the letting out of water. We have a dam close by us, and on certain days the dam is opened to let out the water into the river. Before this…
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The Devil Can’t Swim
Psalm 135:1-21 When I read this passage about the vapors ascending from the ends of the earth, I recall one of the funniest yet most penetrating sermons I ever heard. The psalmist writes, "He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; He makes lightnings for the rain; He brings the wind…
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The Lord Is Round About You
Psalm 125:1-5 As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His people" (v. 2). This psalm has great meaning to me since I have had the opportunity to see the mountains surrounding Jerusalem. Jerusalem is a city set on a hill, but there are mountains round about it. The way Jerusalem is positioned gives…
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The Keeper
Psalm 121:1-8 What a comfort to know I have a keeper. We all need a keeper—a protector, provider and problem solver. Those who are blessed with good parents had the experience of the safety of a peaceful, loving home. I can remember the secure feeling I had when my dad came home from work and…
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Idol Worship
Psalm 115:1-18 When we spent three weeks in India in 1980, we agreed with our pastor and his wife that we would not visit any of the Hindu temples. We did not want to expose ourselves to the spirits that dwelled in these temples. We knew that even though man had made the idols in…
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Leanness When We Lust
Psalm 106:13-31 All mankind has three things in common. We all have three major lusts in our souls: the lust of the flesh (seeking to fulfill our five senses in an overindulgent way); the lust of the eye (greedy longings in the mind that can cause greed and covetousness; pornography is caused by this lust);…
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Envy
Proverbs 14:30-31 This proverb says that envy is rottenness to the bones. Envy is a sin that brings only evil consequences. Some sins are a pleasure for a season, but of course, sin always births death in our lives in some way. The Bible tells us that the person who commits adultery kills his own…
