Posts Tagged ‘evil’
Friday, April 26th, 2013
Temptation, April 26
Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”
And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden;
”but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’”
Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.
”For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.
Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.
Genesis 3:1-7, www.solascriptura.com
Father, thank You for sharing this account of “original sin”. Some blame Eve for enticing her husband Adam to eat and some say Adam was responsible for being obedient, enticement or not.
You have taught us that it is from this point forward that all men are guilty of sin, born of the flesh; none, no not one, is perfect. You have taught us that it is only in Jesus’ perfect atonement that our sins are forgiven and our spirit is witnessed to by Your Spirit. Yes Father, we are no longer in the Garden of Eden, but You have told us of Your plan to restore the Garden of Eden, in heaven.
We now realize our sinful state and our need for redemption from our sin. If we have confessed our sin with a humble and contrite heart, and have asked You for forgiveness and cleansing, by the grace of God, salvation is promised. It is by Your grace, through faith in Jesus Christ, that we are saved.
Because of the presence of the Holy Spirit, we need never lose the battle to sin again although perfection remains ahead of us. We seek to apprehend perfection but we find it is a race, all the way to the end. You remind us that is critical that we “finish well”. We pray for Your strength in us, constantly. In Jesus Holy name, we pray, amen.
Bruce Caldwell
The Sola Scriptura Project, P.O.Box 302 Franklin, TN 37064
Email This Post
Tags: beast, die, evil, fig leaves, food, garden, God, Lord, naked, serpent, temptation, tree, woman
Posted in Christianity, Law of God, Perseverance, Satan | 8 Comments »
Monday, April 22nd, 2013
Fidelity, April 22
…no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.
With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God.
Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so.
Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening?
Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring can yield both salt water and fresh.
Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom.
James 3:8-13, www.solascriptura.com
Father, we know that to be faithful to You, we should not be inconsistent in our approach to others. You have taught us that all people are created in Your image. Help us look upon people as Your potential servants, some of whom are called early in life and some later.
We see, Father, that a fig tree does not bear olives. Are there times, Father, that we claim to be Your children and then openly sin against You and others? Father, we pray for fidelity, for consistency in our daily walk. Help us never be hypocritical, bringing shame to ourselves, when we deeply want to be as You, Jesus.
Help us be an encourager, not saying in one breath that we love You and in the next breath, speak despairingly of men. Give us the gift of fidelity, one in which our love for You isn’t mixed with unloving actions towards others. We pray in Jesus’ name, amen.
Bruce Caldwell
The Sola Scriptura Project, P.O. Box 302, Franklin TN 37064
Email This Post
Tags: bitter, bless, curse, deadly, evil, Father, fidelity, fig, God, meekness, olive, poison, salt water, spring, tame, tongue, unruly, water, wisdom
Posted in Christianity, Fidelity, Law of God, Perseverance, wisdom | 10 Comments »
Saturday, April 20th, 2013
Conscience, April 20
“This is the covenant that I will make with them…says the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,”
… brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus,
by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh,
and having a High Priest over the house of God,
let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.
Hebrews 10:16; 19-23, www.solascriptura.com
Father, we are so grateful that we are no longer judged by the Law. If we were to choose to remain under the Law, our sins would still be with us. For the New Covenant, we are grateful. You not only cleansed us of our sins but You then inscribed the truth on our hearts and minds, forever, and the miracle of being born again with a new purpose in life is ours if we would but love and obey.
We no longer stand outside the Holy of Holies, but we are invited behind the veil, right into Your presence and there You call us friends. Picturing that moment is both difficult and sublime. Such truth is too great for us to fully comprehend.
Let us draw near to You Jesus, our High Priest and more, for cleansing, strengthening, counseling, and comfort. No one on this earth can do for us what You have already done and what You are yet able to do if we but trust and obey.
The refreshment of Your cleansing water in our lives daily is like none other. You are the Living Water. Fill us afresh. In Your Holy name, we pray, amen.
Bruce Caldwell
The Sola Scriptura Project, P.O. Box 302, Franklin TN 37064
Email This Post
Tags: blood, boldness, brethern, confession, Conscience, consecrated, covenant, evil, faith, flesh, hearts, Holiest, Jesus, laws, Lord, minds, Priest, veil, washed, write
Posted in Christianity, Conscience, Courage, Fidelity, faith | 13 Comments »
Friday, April 19th, 2013
Joy, April 19
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
Do not quench the Spirit.
Do not despise prophecies.
Test all things; hold fast what is good.
Abstain from every form of evil.
1Thessalonians 5:16-22, www.solascriptura.com
Father, in 5 sentences, Paul teaches us the basics in the exercise of our faith. We are equipped by You to rejoice always, in good times and in bad times. It is Your Holy presence with us and in us that enables us to raise our eyes and hearts to you when everything around us seems to be a severe weight upon our shoulders.
We often fail to pray unceasingly but here we see it is Your will that we never stop acknowledging Your presence in every small and every large event of our lives. Not a hair falls from our head that You do not notice. Help us observe You with equal attention and ask You into every circumstance of our lives.
We do not always give thanks when we are being challenged but again, it is Your will we do so because You are allowing us to be tested. We do not enjoy the test but we do look forward to an eternal victory as You lead us through what sometimes feels like an unsolvable problem.
We know that to quench the Spirit is to remove You from the situations we encounter. Father, we acknowledge that absent the presence of the Spirit, we are depending upon ourselves. In such cases we are going it alone. We pray that is never the case.
Father, despising teaching is the path of a self centered, self directed person. Help us learn from the prophets and from You Jesus. Your word is truth and it abides forever.
Help us this day to abstain from evil, to flee from it, never to gaze upon that which is sinful. It feels so good to do the right thing and we feel so weak, so impotent when we allow sin to fill our mind and our eyes. We feel tricked by Satan, the great deceiver, when we entertain sin. We simply want to be as You Jesus. In Your Holy name, we pray, amen.
Bruce Caldwell
The Sola Scriptura Project, P.O. Box 302, Franklin TN 37064
Email This Post
Tags: abstain, Christ, despise, evil, God, Jesus, pray, prophecies, quench, rejoice, Spirit, test, thanks
Posted in Christianity, Courage, Hope, Prayer, faith, joy, peace | 11 Comments »
Wednesday, April 17th, 2013
Revenge, April 17
“ the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.”…
See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all.
Luke 9:-56, 1Thessalonians 5:15, www.solascriptura.com
Jesus, Your purpose is to unite our spirit with Your Spirit enabling us to exist in eternity with You. It is Satan that is set on bringing us down and accusing us of sin. Satan wins unless we realize that we need a new heart and a new start. You “save” us when we accept, by God’s grace, Your sacrifice on the cross as one which cleanses each of us personally.
Equip us this day to not render evil for evil. Revenge is the province of the unforgiving where they presume to judge others instead of accepting and redistributing Your forgiveness and love.
Strengthen our resolve, this day, to be Your good and faithful servants. In Jesus Holy name, we pray, amen.
Bruce Caldwell
The Sola Scriptura Project, P.O. Box 302, Franklin TN 37064
Email This Post
Tags: evil, Luke 9:-56, pursue, renders, Revenge, save, Son of Man
Posted in Christianity, Courage, Fidelity, Perseverance, Revenge, faith | 8 Comments »
Thursday, April 4th, 2013
Hope, April 4
Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God;
but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end,
while it is said: “Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”
Hebrews 3:12-15, www.solascriptura.com
Father, at times we behave as though we have the heart of an unbeliever. Is Satan allowed to test our resolve, our level of committment? Since every true believer is saved forever, we need Your help in seeking Your perfect will in every situation. You see the end of every circumstance in our lives and we are standing in the fog of the present, unsure of what may happen the next moment. Father, increase our faith in You and decrease our dependence on our will. Father, help us deal with uncertainty where we wish we could be more certain.
Father, keep us from the blame game wherein we fail to act when we could and fail to be obedient when we should. Help us, today, not to blame You for the sins of mankind and for our personal failures. Give us hope when there appears to be none and courage where we feel weak and impotent. Our hope and our strength to endure lies in You. To whom else can we turn?
Give us the steadfast faith that comes from a closer walk with You. Help us hear Your voice more clearly. How Father, can we improve our hearing? We know the answer. How can we learn but to turn to Your Holy word? This day, teach us Your ways, we pray. In Jesus’ Holy name, Amen.
Bruce Caldwell
The Sola Scriptura Project P.O.Box 302 Franklin TN 37064
Email This Post
Tags: brethren, Christ, deceitfulness, evil, exhort, God, hardened, heart, Hope, rebellion, sin, unbelief
Posted in Christianity, Fidelity, Hope, Perseverance, faith | 14 Comments »
Thursday, March 21st, 2013
Peace, March 21
…where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.
But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.
Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
James 3:16-18, www.solascriptura.com
Father, James, the half brother of Jesus, taught us some wonderful things and we are so grateful for his words. Here he reminds us that envy and self-seeking lead us into evil and confusion. We know, Father, that all people naturally seek to have more and better stuff. That instinct leads us into very immature behavior, at times.
We do seek Your blessing but help us know why You have blessed us and why You will yet bless us. You have taught us that to whom much is given, much is required. Your blessings to us should cause us to want to be a blessing to others. That seems so right and so natural compared to being envious or self-seeking.
It is Your wisdom we seek, Your gentle and peaceful nature rendered to us without partiality. Help us be helpful to others today, to deliver peace where there is strife and to trust You in all things. We pray in Jesus’ Holy name, amen.
Bruce Caldwell
The Sola Scriptura Project, P.O. Box 302, Franklin TN 37064
Email This Post
Tags: envy, evil, fruits, gentle, mercy, partiality, peace, peaceable, pure, self-seeking, wisdom, yield
Posted in Christianity, God's Gift, Inspirtation, faith, joy, peace | 28 Comments »
Thursday, February 28th, 2013
Conscience, February 28
…sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;
having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed.
For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit,
There is also an antitype which now saves us—baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him.
1 Peter 3:15-18;21-22, www.solascriptura.com
Father, You have called us saints and yet our hearts convict us. Here You tell us to sanctify our hearts, an active process of cleansing and renewal by You, that in good conscience we might provide others with a good defense of our love for You in meekness and fear, avoiding arrogance or the suggestion of appearing judgmental.
If we suffer due to our witness Father, we read here that Christ also suffered, dying for the sins of each of us, that we might enter Your presence, not as sinful flesh, but made alive in the Spirit just as Jesus.
You then teach us water baptism cleanses and that it is good but it is standing before Jesus with a clear conscience, renewed by the indwelling Holy Spirit, which saves us when Jesus, who has all authority, will judge all things.
Again God, we feel so unworthy when the flesh rules our lives. Please help us to be as Jesus this day. In Jesus Holy name, we pray, amen.
Bruce Caldwell
The Sola Scriptura Project, P.O. Box 302, Franklin TN 37064
Email This Post
Tags: alive, ashamed, baptism, Christ, Conscience, death, evil, fear, flesh, God, hearts, Heaven, Hope, Lord, meekness, revile, sanctify, Spirit, suffer
Posted in Christianity, Conscience, Courage, Hope, Perseverance, Worship, faith, peace | 19 Comments »
Monday, February 25th, 2013
Revenge, February 25
Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.
There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?
James 4:11-12, www.solascriptura.com
Dear Jesus, Your half-brother James, received a great deal of specific instruction from You. James understood the Law. You taught him and us that to love your neighbor as yourself was a commandment that summarized the last 6 of the 10 commandments. We can not love a person, unsaved or not, and be their judge. We would ourselves be breaking the Law.
Father, some of us are very good at following the first 4 commandments wherein we are to love You with all our heart, mind, soul and strength. Some of us are very weak in following the next 6 commandments. We are sometimes insensitive and angry toward those who we feel have wronged us, toward the mean spirited, the unlovely, the down trodden, the disobedient and those who do not appear to love You. We know that Satan’s agenda is to kill, steal and destroy and that he is the chief of all liars. Our agenda is to be like You Jesus.
If we could but see every person as someone created in Your image, it surely would effect our attitude toward them. We need much help in this situation Father. The more we love You the more we hate sin. Help us not hate the sinner but to pray for them.
Help us know, today, that You Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to be our Counselor, our internal Guide and Strength. Help us show others we love You by loving them as well. They, of all people, need to seek a personal relationship with you. In Jesus Holy name, we pray, amen.
Bruce Caldwell
The Sola Scriptura Project, P.O. Box 302 Franklin TN 37094
Email This Post
Tags: brethren, evil, judges, law, lawgiver, Revenge, save
Posted in Christianity, Law of God, Providence of God, Revenge | 22 Comments »
Saturday, February 23rd, 2013
Law of God, February 23
“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’
”But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.
”If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also.
”And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.
Matthew 5:38-41, www.solascriptura.com
Jesus, this teaching goes against our nature. We seek revenge when we are wronged, as a natural instinct of the flesh. Why, Jesus, would You have us act in this way? The answer is clear enough in all of Your teaching; one can not say they love You and continue hating their brethren.
Jesus, only by Your strength in us can we behave as You have instructed. We must set aside our fleshly instinct and rely upon Your Spirit for guidance. Your word tells us that when we befriend someone that does not deserve it, that person feels a weight upon them. Our supportive actions confuse them and they feel as though our kindness is as “coals of fire heaped upon their head”.
Jesus, we do not intend for our kindness to those who do not deserve it, to be an act that brings glory to us. Help us to say “I live, yet not I, but You live in us” so we can endure praise without falling victim to pride.
We know this is a “love your neighbor as yourself” circumstance. We will need Your Spirit in us to do so. In Your Holy name we pray, amen.
Bruce Caldwell
The Sola Scriptura Project, P.O. Box 302, Franklin TN 37064
Email This Post
Tags: cheek, cloak, compels, evil, God, law, resist, slaps, tooth, tunic
Posted in Christianity, Flattery, Forgiven, Humility, faith, joy | 32 Comments »