How Powerful is Satan?

At this time of celebrating Halloween I think it's a good idea to consider the being behind the holiday.

Yes, I know that kids don't know any better and are merely dressing up in scary costumes to get candy and have a good time. But let's at least admit that it isn't the Lord Jesus Christ we celebrate, but all things dead and scary.

In light of that I thought it would be instructive for us to consider Lucifer, Satan, the Accuser of the Brethren.

Satan does have some power, but it is only power that God allows, and it is evil restrained. God will only allow him to do so much, and no more. Check out the beginning of Job to see this in action. That little bit of power, though, Satan has used to great effect, mostly in getting people to fear him.

Don't get me wrong. You do not want to go up against Satan by yourself. Even his minions are a force to reckon with. Check out Acts 19:14 and beyond to see this in action. It is only by your place in Jesus that you can stand against him. See Ephesians 6 to see this in action.

But I thought it would also be good to look at his motivations and his destiny. We find that buried in a prophecy about Babylon in Isaiah. Here it is:

Isaiah 14:12-19

12 Shining morning star,
how you have fallen from the heavens!
You destroyer of nations,
you have been cut down to the ground.
13 You said to yourself:
"I will ascend to the heavens;
I will set up my throne
above the stars of God.
I will sit on the mount of the gods' assembly,
in the remotest parts of the North.
14 I will ascend above the highest clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High."
15 But you will be brought down to Sheol
into the deepest regions of the Pit.

16 Those who see you will stare at you;
they will look closely at you:
"Is this the man who caused the earth to tremble,
who shook the kingdoms,
17 who turned the world into a wilderness,
who trampled its cities
and would not release the prisoners to return home?"
18 All the kings of the nations
lie in splendor, each in his own tomb.
19 But you are thrown out without a grave,
like a worthless branch,
covered by those slain with the sword
and dumped into a rocky pit like a trampled corpse.




It was pride that made Satan into the evil we know, and the sworn enemy of God and anything that is His. But in the end, he will be unmasked for what he really is, a weakling that will end up like a dried up branch.

On Halloween, let's remember who really wins!

Pastor Tom

God is Hiding

Sometimes I wonder why the Jewish people never accepted Yeshua (Jesus) as their Messiah. I know all the arguments, they were prideful, they didn't want to give up power, they wanted a political Messiah, they misunderstood the Old Testament prophecies, etc.

In fact, though, God has hidden Himself from the Jews in a way.

Isaiah 8:16 "Bind up the testimony. Seal up the instruction among my disciples. I will wait for the Lord who is hiding His face from the house of Jacob. I will wait for Him."

Trying to understand Yeshua from a Jewish mindset is not easy. In fact, Paul (also a Jew) realized that the reading of the Torah did not actually help the Jews understand Jesus.

2 Corinthians 3:14-16 But their minds were closed. For to this day, at the reading of the old covenant, the same veil remains; it is not lifted, because it is set aside only in Christ. 15 However, to this day, whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their hearts, 16 but whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.

I like what Isaiah wrote. He said "I will wait for the Lord." Anyone, Jew or Gentile, who really wants to know God will see God reveal Himself to them.

Jeremiah 29:12-14 "You will call to Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you."




So even if you don't understand how Jesus could be Messiah, I would encourage you to seek God and ask Him to help you understand. Wait for Him, He is waiting for you.

Pastor Tom

Just How Sick Are You?

As humans we like to believe the best in people. "Man is basically good at the core" I've heard a lot. We look to people like Ghandi and Mother Teresa as examples of what we should aspire to. "If left to himself, humans would tend towards the good." That's another thing I've heard many times.

According to the Scriptures, that's faulty logic. Man left to himself would tend towards Adolf Hitler, not Mother Teresa.

One example of the real truth about the human condition is found right at the beginning of the writings by the prophet Isaiah.

Isaiah 1:5b "The whole head is hurt and the while heart is sick. From the sole of the foot even to the head, no spot is uninjured - wounds, welts, and festering sores not cleansed, bandaged, or soothed with oil."

Why is this so, and why the disconnect between reality and our version of it? Evil came into the human soul in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve decided to believe the serpent instead of God and disobey Him.

Jeremiah 17:9 tells us that the heart of man is "deceitfully wicked". So while we think we tend towards evil, our souls fool us into thinking we are good inside. And anything that is not good like God cannot exist in His presence.

So what's the answer? Read on in Isaiah 1:18 "Come, let us discuss this," says the Lord. "Though your sins be as scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they be as red as crimson, they will be like wool."

How does that happen? Only when our lives are "washed in the blood of the Lamb." (Revelation 7:14).

Jesus Christ is the Lamb - perfect, yet offered to take your death so He can give you His life. Read about Him in John 5 and 10.

There is sickness and there is cure. Will you realize just how sick you are and that there is a free cure that cost God everything?

Pastor Tom

Be Careful Little Ears

Ecclesiastes 7:21 "Don't pay attention to everything people say, or you  may  hear your servant cursing you; for you know that many times you yourself have cursed others."

As broken people it is inevitable that at some point we are going to say something that will hurt, or we will hear something that will hurt. While it is important to "be at peace with everyone" (Romans 12:18) we simply can't all be perfect this side of heaven.

So just realize that sometimes people will say stupid things that upon later reflection they wished they had not said. You do the same thing, right?

So give people the benefit of the doubt and some grace and patience. Perhaps there'll come a time when you can honestly share with them how their words hurt, rather than 1) lash out at the time or 2) pull away and not be friends with them anymore.

Pastor Tom

What Gain in Pleasure?

If there was every anyone who had it all together it was Solomon. He was the son of the greatest king Israel ever knew. He was a writer, a scientist, a king. He has more money than you could dream of. He was king of the most prestigious realm of his day. He had as many wives and lovers as he wanted. Oh, he was also smarter than anyone, anywhere.

Solomon, in all his wisdom, decided to try to figure out life.

"All that my eyes desired, I did not deny them. I did not refuse myself any pleasure." (Ecclesiastes 2:10)

What was the result? "I found everything to be futile" (vs 11).

Solomon tried this with pleasure and wisdom and justice and many things. In everything he found it to be a waste of time.

Solomon's conclusion: (5:18) "It is appropriate to eat, drink, and experience good in all the labor one does under the sun during the few days of his life God has given him, because that is his reward. God has also given riches and weatlth to every man, and he has allowed him to enjoy them, take his reward, and rejoice in his labor. This is a gift of God, for he does not often consider the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with the joy of his heart."

There is nothing to be gained by wealth, pleasure, power, or prestige. But we should enjoy life as a gift from God. There is nothing better than realizing we were made by God for God. Now that's pleasure!

Pastor Tom

Pressing The Point

Proverbs 30:33 For pressing milk produces curds, pressing the nose produces blood, and pressing anger produces strife. ESV


Have you ever found yourself in a place where you just don't feel heard? Have you experienced put-downs by others who disregard your opinion or say things that are actually hurtful to you. Do you find yourself reacting with a hot face and a hot attitude?

While it's okay to acknowledge that you are having feelings, it is what you do with those feelings that matters. Anger at sin is okay, but often our anger is really the product of hurt pride.

Psalm 4:4 says "Be angry and do not sin; on your bed reflect in your heart and be still."

Our tendency is to shoot off our mouths first and seek clarification second (if at all). Anger that is "pressed" produces strife and brokenness. Anger that is taken to the Lord in a time of quiet can result in proper self-reflection and a more positive response to those who have made you upset.

Proverbs 15:1-2 A gentle answer turns away anger,  but a harsh word stirs up wrath. 2 The tongue of the wise makes knowledge attractive, but the mouth of fools blurts out foolishness. HCSB

Pastor Tom

Who Teaches You?

Proverbs 22:24-25 Make no friendship with a man given to anger, nor go with a wrathful man, 25 lest you learn his ways and entangle yourself in a snare. ESV


I thought this was a particularly insightful proverb. It shows us that who we hang out with is who we will become. Do you find yourself spending time with people who are given to being quarrelsome? Do they get angry a lot and everything seems to bug them?

You should be careful because by the process of osmosis you will begin to pick up on their habits and outlook.

2 Timothy 2:24-26 And  the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but  kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, 25 correcting his opponents with gentleness. God  may perhaps grant them repentance  leading to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and they may escape from  the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will. ESV


Pastor Tom

Self-Justifying

Proverbs 16:2 "All a man's ways seem right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the motives."

A recent Time Magazine article showed that science has learned that our brains are the most self-justifying entities we know. It's how people can do crazy things and not go insane. Our brains basically tell us that what we want to do is "right" as this proverb says.

But notice the second part of verse 2. Though our brains will automatically tell us what we want to do is okay, there needs to be an objective outside judgment on whether our motives are actually good or not. That outside judgment can only come from someone who is not infected by sin, as all of humanity is. Sin clouds our judgment and "sears" our consciences.

How do we get that judgment - from God's Word, the Bible.

Hebrews 4:12-13 "For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating as far as to divide soul, spirit, joints, and marrow; it is a judge of the ideas and thoughts of the heart. 13 No creature is hidden from Him, but all things are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give an account."


The Bible gives us a character sketch of what a good God is like, and thus a comparison to our own character which reveals our deficits.

So what's the answer? I like what Proverbs 16:3 has to say: "Commit your activities to the Lord and your plans will be achieved."


No matter whether we really know if we are doing something out of pure motivation or just snowing ourselves, if we are sure to commit it to the Lord and be ready and waiting for His opinion, then our plans will be achieved according to God's good character!

Pastor Tom

Do You Have a Clean Manger?

Proverbs 14:4 Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox. ESV

I like this proverb. You might want a clean stable, but if you don't have oxen feeding and, um, doing the things oxen do after they eat, you won't have them around to do work for you in the fields.

Now I know most of us don't even live on farms anymore ("where does food come from, Mommy?" "Why, from the store shelves of course, dear!").  But I think there is good application to life as well. Because we as humans are basically only as active as we need to be, the tendency is to want to get things with as little effort as possible.

When it comes to growing in our relationship with Christ, the same thing applies. We'd rather God just download His character into our lives like a computer program. It doesn't work that way, though. God works His character in us through diligent study of His Word, active access to our lives by the Holy Spirit, difficult trials that seem to bend and break us, and constant choices as to whether we follow our conscience or ignore it.

We want the character (the crops produced by the oxen) but we don't want all the mess of the process (a very dirty stable). But just as crops don't come except by the strength of the oxen, so too the character of God does not come to us without effort.

Paul said: "...work out your own salvation with fear and trembling" (Phil 2:12). This could also be translated "put your back into it!" You don't earn it by works, but you work at it as God works through the messes in our lives to work in His life and your salvation.


Pastor Tom