Satan = Weak

Satan had it going pretty good up until about the time Jesus was baptized and received the Holy Spirit. Satan had plenty of Demons and they could live in anybody they wanted to with few restrictions. Satan had turned one of the 12 disciples (Judas) who would do whatever Satan wanted and Satan had received permission to test Peter who failed the test and denied Jesus three times.

Satan did have a setback in his failure to induce Jesus to sin and his demons were starting to be exorcised. But he did have Judas in his pocket and was about to chop Peter’s legs out from under him hoping to destroy him with depression and inaction after his failure.

Satan also was in control of the Chief Priest and the Jewish rulers and even though he hadn’t been able to tempt Jesus he was going to have the son of God… killed. So, all-in-all, Satan must have been pretty happy with himself. Little did he know that he was playing right into God’s hands and in killing Jesus allowed God to restore life to Jesus and hope to humanity and to limit Satan’s powers and effectiveness by the giving of His Holy Spirit to those who believed.

Don’t be afraid of Satan we have God. Thank you God for what you did.

Satan = Weak

Satan had it going pretty good up until about the time Jesus was baptized and received the Holy Spirit. Satan had plenty of Demons and they could live in anybody they wanted to with few restrictions. Satan had turned one of the 12 disciples (Judas) who would do whatever Satan wanted and Satan had received permission to test Peter who failed the test and denied Jesus three times. Satan did have a setback in his failure to induce Jesus to sin and his demons were starting to be exorcised. But he did have Judas in his pocket and was about to chop Peter’s legs out from under him hoping to destroy him with depression and inaction after his failure. Satan also was in control of the Chief Priest and the Jewish rulers and even though he hadn’t been able to tempt Jesus he was going to have the son of God… killed. So, all-in-all, Satan must have been pretty happy with himself. Little did he know that he was playing right into God’s hands and in killing Jesus allowed God to restore life to Jesus and hope to humanity and to limit Satan’s powers and effectiveness by the giving of His Holy Spirit to those who believed. Don’t be afraid of Satan we have God. Thank you God for what you did.

Homosexuality is a Sin

I see a lot of people on the media talking about different “brands” of Christianity… That there is a homosexual brand of Christianity that allows the active practice of homosexuality and the Bible is so vague about homosexuality that it could easily be interpreted one way or the other. The reality is that God’s position about Homosexuality is as clear as God’s position on murder. Romans 1:26-27… “… In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion” Could God have made his position on Homosexuality any more clear? This position about a homosexual “brand” of Christianity does not come from God but comes from the enemy of God. 2 Corinthians 11:14 “… for Satan masquerades as an Angel…” Don’t be fooled.

The Elephant in the Room

One of the last verbal exchanges Jesus had with Peter was when he told Peter he would deny him three times.

The last non-verbal communication Jesus had with Peter was when the rooster crowed and Jesus made eye contact with Peter. Message sent and received.

After Jesus’ death and resurrection Jesus meets with Peter again… nothing is ever said about Peter’s rejection of Jesus… directly. However, some of the last words Jesus directs toward Peter are found in John 21 where Jesus asks Peter three times “Peter do you truly love me”. Peter answers in the affirmative each time but is “hurt” that Jesus keeps asking the same question.

Jesus never said anything directly about Peter’s three fold denial of Jesus but I believe Jesus got the message across when he induced Peter to affirm three fold his love for Jesus.

Jesus is in Control

Jesus and the Jewish leadership had the same idea… the Jewish leadership planned to arrest Jesus and kill him at the Passover feast and Jesus planned to give himself up and die at the Passover feast.

Jesus was in complete control over the events that surrounded his arrest, interrogation and death. Jesus planned the exact day he was going to die… Thursday, the 14th day of Nisan (Jewish calendar), the day when the Passover lamb was to be killed for the sins of Israel would be the same day Jesus would be killed for the sins of the world.

Jesus knew the exact hour that he would die and instead of his life ebbing from his body and slipping into unconsciousness, Jesus with a strong voice announced his death, stating, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit”. Then he bowed his head and died well before he was expected to die.

The Jewish murderers of Jesus thought they were in control of everything but instead were in control of nothing. Their efforts to preserve their political standing with the Roman government by eliminating Jesus would have the opposite effect. Forty years later in AD 70, God would send the Roman armies to annihilate the Jews in retribution for their rejection of Jesus. Remember… God is in control of everything.

Emilio Sanchez Funeral

We were able to go to the viewing for Emilio and his funeral. The viewing was more emotional… Tabby and Trey both got up and said some things about their Dad. Of course, we dismissed services at the building on Wednesday evening and had our service at the funeral home. Walker led singing and David had some very fine scripturally based things to say about Emilio. If we had kept the service at the building that would have been like studying the theory of Christianity… By having it at the funeral home it was more like practicing Christianity, i.e. comforting some of our grieving members.

Most of you know that the Sanchez family had been through some trying times. Emilio and Liz divorced and both remarried. Emilio divorced his second wife about the time he was diagnosed with cancer. From that moment in time Liz took over primary care of Emilio. After all she said Emilio was the father of her children. She either took him to the doctors, to MD Anderson or to San Antonio for treatment or she recruited people to do it for her. She made sure he was eating right and made sure he was taking his medications. She even moved him into the apartment complex she managed so he could be closer to receive better care. All of this with the consent of her second husband… Such incredible people.

I got to visit Emilio some but David Smitherman did more. During the last six months of his life Emilio was penitent and worked to repair the damage to God and to his family. I’m convinced that he’s with God even now.

I was impressed with all the cops at the funeral. I’ll bet there were about 150-200. Many of them filed down the aisle and one after another paid their respects at the coffin and then to the family. All dressed in their dress uniforms with their side arms on their belts… Somber faced working men… a brother-hood of cops. Our Christian-hood was there as well, soldiers of Christ paying our last respects to our fellow soldier in Christ and to his family… our family.

Remember Emilio and don’t forget to care and comfort for his children… Trey and Tabby.

I’ll never forget Emilio because we share a day… Nov 17 the day he was reborn is also my birthday. God bless you Emilio.

The Parable of the The Athletic Club

There were three men who were plagued with being over-weight and its attended side effects; Type II Diabetes, Cardiovascular problems and just not being able to live the kind of lives physically that they wanted to.

They all three joined a gym. The first one started controlling his diet and seven days a week was on the Elliptical machine. By the end of the year he had lost all his weight, his Diabetes went away and his Cardiovascular symptoms were greatly improved. He had a problem though… he had not done anything to improve the quality of his muscles and looked like a walking stick. He was still physically weak.

The second guy changed his diet and was drinking and eating a lot of protein and limiting his carbs and fats. He spent all his time lifting weight and building muscle mass. At the end of the year he had transformed himself… his diabetes went away and his Cardiovascular symptoms were improved. His problem though was he was almost grotesque in the muscle mass he had accumulated and with the smallest amount of exertion got “winded”. He had neglected doing “cardio.”

The third guy listened to his trainer and on even days lifted weights and on odd days did his cardio. At the end of the year he was the perfect combination of form and function. His Diabetes and cardiovascular symptoms went away and physically he could do what he wanted.

The parable is this. All three guys had lived their lives without God. Their spiritual health was near zero. They determined to change that and went looking for God visited three different churches.

The first church emphasized Bible study but gave no encouragement or example in interacting with sinners and performing works of service. Its members by and large were giants in Bible knowledge but midgets in works of service, i.e. the skinny guy.

The second church emphasized works and were socially active but had minimal Bible study and doctrinally accepted anything. They were by and large giants in works of service but midgets in the knowledge of God, i.e. the muscle bound guy.

The third church took a balanced approach. They emphasized Bible study but also encouraged, by word and by example, works of service. It had an incredibly symbiotic effect. Works of service helped in the understanding of God’s word and created an individual that mimicked Jesus Christ himself… perfect in form and in function. Who do you want to be?