Yesterday we had a heady discussion of sin and holiness, and one of the marks of holiness being a swift dealing with sin. Today I want to emphasize the “swiftness”. We are not to dwell on our failures, instead we are to follow the instruction of Paul to the church in Philippi:

Read more: Think Rightly

Most Christians know they should set aside some time each day to read the Bible, few do. My grandmother’s second husband (she was widowed earlier in life) was one of the few. He brought this daily discipline into his marriage where, each morning before breakfast, he would read aloud a passage so they both could enjoy reading or listening to God’s heroics throughout history. They could talk about the passage over breakfast, and I know his discipline became an important part of her life. To my knowledge they never missed a day.

Read more: Bible Disciplines

If you’ve been a Christian very long you are familiar with a gospel tract called “The Four Spiritual Laws”. The material quickly and simply explains why we need a savior and how to be saved. The literature notwithstanding, there are in fact spiritual laws just as there are laws of physics which govern the physical world. There is, for example, the Law of Faith (Romans 3.27) which states that a person is declared righteous by faith and not works. There is also the Law of Lineage (Romans 8.2, Ephesians 2.11-.19) that states anyone who is of Adam is sinful and will suffer eternal separation from God, while those who are of Jesus will not suffer condemnation.

Read more: Demon Oppression

It was early May, 2001 and 19-year-old James Matherson waved to his neighbor as he strolled to his car, enjoying the feel of the Spring sun on his naked body. He slid behind the wheel and was thankful for the seats not being upholstered in leather or vinyl. He drove around the city of Aurora for a while, enjoying the breeze coming through the open windows when he suddenly stopped in front of Living Hope Baptist Church. He strolled into the building, a broad smile on his lips, and he walked into the empty sanctuary. He picked up a Bible from one of the pews and made his way to the front where he promptly began urinating on the podium.

Read more: The Strange Case of James Matherson

All exorcists have a common practice before beginning an exorcism; they every one confess their sins. Before going into battle they want to make sure that there is nothing between themselves and their God, no distraction, no thought or action an unclean spirit might use against them. They understand the importance of penitent prayer. Some Christians, however, wonder why we ask for forgiveness when God already forgave us our sins when we came to trust in Him in the first place.

Read more: Confession of Sins

Most all Christians have some form of prayer life, even if it is only at dinner or bedtime. Some have memorized prayers for certain occasions, especially those who belong to more liturgical denominations. While regularly practiced prayers have their place, the child of God is commanded to “Always rejoice, constantly pray, in everything give thanks. For this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5.16-.18). What does this mean, to constantly pray?

Read more: Frequent Prayer

It’s long been my belief that a follower of Jesus Christ cannot be possessed. The Bible does not mention any believer being possessed, but does give several warnings about “partaking” (1 Corinthians 10.20-.21) with demons, “giving them a foothold” (Ephesians 4.27) and even “consorting” (Deuteronomy 18.10-.13) with those who are involved with demons. I’ve always assumed that a demon would be unable to exist in a person who is indwelt by the Holy Spirit, although the Bible never addresses this specifically and warns believer’s not to “quench” the Spirit (1 Thessalonians 5.19). So the question remains, can a Christian be possessed?

Read more: Demon Possession

We’ve all heard it from someone or other, I’m sure, “Why is God such a kill-joy?” It’s usually a question asked by someone who wants to partake, or wants you to partake with them, in a sinful behavior. The common perception is that “sin” is fun and that doing right is at best, well, boring. But that is the World’s culture speaking, and as usual it’s wrong. Dead wrong.

Read more: World Culture

Fasting is a practice that the western evangelical church has fallen away from, and it is a perilous fall. Our understanding of fasting is very Old Testament, which is that it is a legal practice rather than an act of faith. This belief is far from the truth. Was it legalism that caused Moses to eat nothing and drink nothing for 40 days while on Mount Sinai (Exodus 34.28)? Was it legalism that caused Jesus to do the same (Luke 4.1-.4)? In both instances the answer is “no”; the truth is that fasting creates a powerful connection with God, if we let it.

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Last week we talked a lot about the activities of demons in our world, their habits, practices and tactics. Today we want to look at how a follower of Jesus can overcome spirits of darkness. You may be surprised at what makes the list, and what doesn’t. Our Lord doesn’t desire us to become demonologists (Ephesians 5.11-.12), or to rejoice in our authority over them (Luke 10.20); instead God’s desire for us is to be holy and unblemished (Ephesians 1.4). Is it any wonder that those things which increase our holiness also help protect us from evil spirits?

Read more: Meditation

Ghost stories are big right now, with reality shows aplenty trying to meet the public interest in supernatural narratives. “Hunted America”, “Most Haunted”, “TAPS”, are only a few examples. Most of these stories share the same general outline: young woman is victimized by a jealous husband, or children are done in by overly religious parents, and so on. They die horribly in or around the home and those who move in later are visited by their left-behind spirits. Except these spirits are not who they claim to be, not at all.

Read more: Familiar Spirits

Today we’re going a little off the beaten path to a social studies lesson related to thinking Biblically.

The Wall Street Journal reported (Friday, April 14th 215, “Mideast’s Christians Trapped by Extremists”) that the Christian population of Lebanon has been decreasing since 1900. Where at that time Christians made up 80 percent of the population that number has steadily dropped and as of 2010 that number is only a tick above 34 percent. My conjecture is that this drop in the Christian population has directly led to the destabilization of the country.

Read more: Christianity & the Mideast Crisis