Category: satan

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Have always been poison in His blood?

QUESTION

Dear Pastor Chris, recently i have been going through a transformation
in my journey with God and and am confused by what God has said to me-
in a dream, God asked me a question which a recall as one about
faith, belief, in Him now that my blinders have been removed, and i
hesitated to answer Him for fear of my doubt i may have had before and
God said’ you have always been poison in my blood’. What does He mean
by saying that i have always been poison in His blood? Any help would
be great, thank-you.

~ Allan

ANSWER

Allan,

Be careful about believing any and everything you see, hear, or dream. The devil can masquerade as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14). “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:5, NIV). He is a deceiver, a liar (Revelation 12:9; John 8:44).

To keep from being deceived we must continually compare any message or dream to Scripture (the Bible). This is what the Bereans did (Acts 17:11).

God will never lie to you. “He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie” (1 Samuel 15:22, NIV).

The Bible tells us nothing about anyone being poison in Christ’s blood. The Bible does say that it is the blood of Christ that redeems us (1 Peter 1:18-19) and cleanses our consciences (Hebrews 9:14).

The enemy is lying to you. “Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings” (1 Peter 5:9, NIV).

~ Pastor Chris

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I have some tough questions about my faith that have brought me anxiety and sadness

Hi, My name is Eric, I am 19. I have been a Christian for 3 years now and just recently I have started asking my self some very tough questions which in turn has left me very doubtful of my faith and left me often times in despair. Such as couldn’t God have saved us another way, why is there evil, did God create evil. These question have left me paralyzed and in despair. I question my faith, and that leads to anxiety and deep sadness. I don’t want to fall into indifference and give up. I even wonder if I am even elect because I am even asking these questions. I fear that through these thoughts I may lose my faith completely but I keep asking for grace and understanding. I don’t expect these questions to be answered but it would be nice to know if anyone else has gone through this and what I should do to get through this. Is it wrong to ask these questions? It has produced tons of apathy in my spiritual life…

~ Eric

Answer

Eric,

Yes, others have asked similar questions, myself included. One of those questioners was John the Baptist. You will remember that John the Baptist had the assignment of preparing the way for the Messiah. He was busy doing that when he got thrown into prison because he spoke out against King Herod who had taken his brother’s wife and married her (Mark 6:17-18). You can readily see how difficult prison life would be for anyone, especially someone like John who was an outdoors-man. He preached in the open air and baptized people in the Jordan River. John ate locusts and wild honey (Mark 1:6).

Matthew records John sending his followers to Jesus to ask him, “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?” (Matthew 11:3, NIV). This question was put to Jesus while John was in Herod’s dungeon. It must have been a dismal time for John. He wasn’t where he wanted to be and he wasn’t doing what he felt he was called to do. Negative thoughts no doubt plagued him. John, like all of us, had to battle the flesh, the devil, and the world. His incarceration made those battles all the more difficult.

So, what did John do? He took his doubt to Jesus. He went ahead and asked the question burning in his mind. In the process John also asked the right person, Jesus Himself, and Jesus answered him (Matthew 11:2-5).

For you and me, Jesus is still the right person to ask for answers. He gives us answers to life’s questions in the text of the Bible. The Bible is “God-breathed” (2 Timothy 3:16). Therefore, we prepare our hearts and minds for Jesus’ answers by gaining a thorough understanding of the scriptures. So, prayerfully read the Bible. Ask the holy Spirit to illumine its words to your heart and mind (John 16:13-14).

As to your question concerning salvation, remember that God is holy (1 Peter 1:15-16). Since all of us are unholy (Romans 3:23) and cannot make ourselves holy, we need help because “without holiness no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14b). God solved this problem at the cross. “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21, NIV). “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8, NIV). When we place our trust in Christ alone for salvation, His righteousness is transferred to us and we become children of God (John 1:12). “…if Christ is in you…your spirit is alive because of righteousness” (Romans 8:10, NIV). We are justified (made right before God) by faith in Christ. This salvation is available to everyone (John 3:16).

As to your question about evil, God did not create it. Lucifer chose to rebel against God, which is sin. Lucifer then became Satan and tempted Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve listened to Satan who was disguised as a serpent. They chose to disobey God and sin entered this world.

God did not create evil, but He does permit it…for a time. It will not always be so. Evil will be put away forever in eternity (Revelation 20:10; 21:3-4; 22:14-15). The triumph of Jesus at the cross reveals God’s love and justice. God’s love for us was on full display as Jesus laid down His life for us and sin was judged.

What an amazing God! What an amazing plan! And now, “to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ!” (Romans 16:27, NIV).

~ Pastor Chris

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What Is The Best Way To Handle Fear?

Dear Pastor,

Hello, my name is Jon and I’m scared because strange things are happening. I’m really scared!

~Jon

 
Dear Jon,

There are strange things that happen sometimes. The important thing is to make sure that you belong to Christ. When you give your life to Jesus, He comes to live within you and you are born again (John 3:3, 7). The Bible teaches that “the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world” (1 John 4:4). Jesus is more powerful than the devil. Turn to Jesus and tap into His strength.

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Should I Tell A Potential Girlfriend About My Past?

Dear Pastor,

Im in need of some serious advise!! Can u please help?

I’m a single 28 year old man. I’m a recovering alcoholic. I’m a christian man who was brought up in a christian home.

I have committed a sin with guilt and shame that consumes me.

During my drinking days, on four separate occasions, I got very,very drunk, and called an escort service. I would never even think to do this, but for some reason it happened. The thought of it makes me sick to my stomach! I cant look at myself in the mirror. I know I am forgiven by Gods grace, which I am eternally grateful!

I would die if anyone found out my sin!! My question is, do I need to tell a potential girl friend or wife this part of my past? The thought of it kills me!

~Anonymous

 

Dear Anonymous,

From the tone of your email I can tell that you have genuine remorse. This is good. We can thank God for 1 John 1:9! You are right, God forgives when we come to Him in sincere repentance.

When you are first meeting other people you do not need to tell them everything about your past. This is true with first dates, too. It is not good to share everything about ourselves indiscriminately. It is a good “rule of thumb” to only share the intimate details of your life with a very few trusted friends. Most people cannot be trusted with intimacies.

It is a different situation when you find someone you want to marry. At some point as the relationship develops (before you get engaged) you should tell your fiancee the truth without going into all of the ugly details. You might say something like this: “You already know that I am not perfect. I have made some mistakes in my past. I took all of that to God, confessed it, and turned from it. The Lord has forgiven me and I have had to learn how to forgive myself. I want you to know that I love you and that I do not want to hurt you. I do not want you to discover something about my past from someone else. Therefore you need to know that I am a recovering alcoholic. When I was drunk I did some things that go against my Christian values. That is who I was. It is not who I am now. I am learning to walk in the Spirit of Christ. He gives me strength to follow Him and serve Him each day. I pray that you will forgive me for my past sins just as Jesus has forgiven me.”

If the lady cannot forgive you for your past then you do not have a relationship that will go the distance. If she can forgive you then she still needs to know so that she can be aware of those places where the devil will try to trip you up and lead you into sin. She can help be part of God’s defense for you against the enemy and the flesh.

~Pastor Chris

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Why do we pray outloud?

Pastor Chris,
Why as Christians do we pray out loud when we know that Satan can hear what our prayers are when we pray out loud and not silently?
– D.L.

D.L.,
Let me direct you to two places in the Bible where people prayed out loud. The first passage is Luke 11:1-2. One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” 2 He said to them, “When you pray, say: ‘Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come.’”

Here we see that Jesus Himself prayed out loud and encouraged His followers to do the same. Jesus tells them, “When you pray, say…” Since Jesus is our example in all things, we seek to do as He did.

Another passage that I want to call your attention to is Acts 4:23-24. On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. 24 When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them.” From these verses we see that the early disciples prayed out loud together.

My conclusion is this: since Jesus and the early disciples prayed out loud, they must not have cared whether Satan could hear their prayers or not. On a personal note, I have been encouraged again and again by the spoken prayers of others. To be with others when they are speaking to God is a marvelous thing, a strengthening thing. Silent prayer is good, but there is a place for spoken prayer, too.

— Pastor Chris