Monthly Archives: May 2013

May 6 2013

The Holy Spirit Can Break the Cycle of Addiction

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I caught up with an old friend of mine last night after about 18 years, and he told me his conversion story.

He was born and raised in church, but he did not receive the new birth until he was well into his 30’s.  He never prayed in his life.  He never read God’s Word except when his father forced him to do it.  He became a rebel from all points of view, and got to the point of hating the thought of God.

His conversion came after a series of miracles took place in his life through which the Holy Spirit pointed him to Christ.

One of these miracles was the fact that he stopped smoking cold-turkey.

After a series of devastating events in his life, he fell on his knees and said the first prayer ever.  He asked God for a sign. He even asked for it in a belligerent way.  He said Jesus, if you really exist, prove it and make me quit smoking.  He had been smoking for about 12 years, and he was up to 3 packs-a-day.  He had tried to quit on his own initiative many times but was unsuccessful.

The next morning he lit a cigarette but a physical miracle took place.

He was unable to inhale the smoke as his pharynx went into spasm, and he became nauseated.  The same episode repeated later.  And again for a third time.

That is when he remember he had asked for this sign.  He came to the realization that God just proved to him that He exists.  He never put a cigarette in his mouth again, and more importantly he never desired to smoke again.  It has been 6 years since that event.

For those who have never struggled with nicotine addiction this may not sound like a big deal.  Those who have been through it know that a three pack-a-day smoker who failed miserably multiple times when attempting to quit does not just quit all-of-a-sudden…

Unless the Holy Spirit makes that change in him.

This was the initial step in his coming to Christ, and it was a powerful one.  He is still amazed that God listened to a sarcastic and rude prayer.  God’s ways are not our ways, and sometimes He goes out of His way to listen to a belligerent prayer out of the mouth of a sinner.

He proved once again that His grace is beyond our understanding, and His goodness beyond compare.

If God listens to an unconverted sinner, how much more will He listen to His Children who have put their trust in Him?

Psalm 130:1-2 “Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD!  O Lord, hear my voice!…”

May 4 2013

Greg Laurie Standing up for Truth!

Greg Laurie the pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, CA spoke and prayed at the National Day of Prayer event in Washington, DC and followed through on his promise: “I won’t back down!”

He received tremendous criticism last week from LGBT and progressive outlets for being chosen to pray and speak at the event because he believes the Bible when it says that the LGBT lifestyle is a sin, and he will not endorse same-sex marriage.

His prayer:

“Lord, we need Your help in America.  In recent days, we have done our best to remove Your Word and Your counsel from our courtrooms, classrooms and culture. It seems, as President Lincoln once said, that we have ‘forgotten God.’ But Lord, You have not forgotten us! You can bless and help and revive our country again.”

“Lord, in Your mercy, we ask that You would exalt our country again. We have had a number of great awakenings in America. We have experienced times of refreshing, and revivals that changed not only the spiritual but also the moral landscape.”

“That is our prayer for America today, Lord. Send a mighty spiritual awakening that will turn the hearts of men and women, boys and girls back to you. You have told us if we will humble ourselves and pray, and seek Your face and turn from our wicked ways, that You will forgive our sins and heal our land.”

“Forgive us today, Lord, and heal this troubled land that we love so much…” 

There are hundreds of thousands and I am hoping millions of true Christians in this country who hold true to biblical teaching and who have the Holy Spirit in them.

May I be so bold to ask this question:  If God would have spared Sodom if it had 10 righteous people in it, would He perhaps spare America for the sake of its believers and its roots?  I believe He has thus far…

But I also believe the ultimate answer lies in the prayer above.  If all the Christians would unite in prayer perhaps we will see one last great revival in this country before the END.

Greg Laurie photo credit

May 3 2013

Theology 101: Jesus is Glorified by the Father and the Holy Spirit

I love the doctrines of the Trinity because, as CS Lewis said, the idea of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit existing as Three-in-One essentially proves that Christianity is the one true religion.

CS Lewis points out that the mind of man could not come up with such an idea about God.  All other gods are man-made, except the One Triune God revealed in the Bible.  Many authors of the different books of the Bible, spanning over a thousand years remain consistent in this revelation!

That is amazing!

The Three Persons of God are all over the Bible, and once the believer understands this through the illumination of the Holy Spirit, he will understand how God relates to humans in His redemptive plan.

The relationship within the Godhead is such that the Father shares His glory with the Son.

“And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.” John 17:5

Before the foundations of the world were laid down, the Son and the Father shared a perfect glory which we do not understand at this time.

But wait… How is that possible?

The famous verse from Isaiah 42:8 says:

“I am the LORD; that is my name; my glory I give to no other…”

The only explanation is that the Father and Son are One.  That is, They are One Being, yet distinct.  This glory between the Father and Son is reciprocal:

“glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You.” John 17:1

This is the only way possible that the entire host of Heaven is able to rightfully worship Jesus the Lamb in Revelation 5, as only God Himself is the One able to receive worship.

The Holy Spirit also attests to the divinity of Jesus because the Holy Spirit glorifies Jesus.

“He [the Holy Spirit] will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.” John 16:14

We see that the Holy Spirit shares in the Son’s divine attributes (“what is mine“) and at the same time He glorifies the Son.

Why is it important that 21st century Christians understand these crucial biblical teachings?

It comes down to the plan of redemption.  We must understand how we are being saved, how the Persons of the Trinity each has a specific role in our redemption.

The Father did not die for us, but the Son did (John 3:16).  The Father’s wrath and justice had to be satisfied (in the substitution made on the cross), not the Son’s.  The Holy Spirit is the One who convinces us of our need for Jesus (John 16:7-10), and the Spirit is the One at work in our regeneration and sanctification (John 3:5, 1 Peter 1:2).  The Father is the One who draws us to believe in the Son (John 6:44).

And the list of complementarian roles of the Godhead for redemption continues…

But it all comes down to the glory of God.  The Father glorifies the Son.  The Spirit glorifies the Son.

Should not we, the redeemed, glorify Jesus every second of our lives?!

CS Lewis photo

May 2 2013

Bad Medicine: Plan B for 15-Year-Olds

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The morning after pill “Plan B One Step” has been in the making for at least 13 years. I remember research about it being presented back in my medical school years.

It took this many years but the progressive agenda has succeeded in its goal. As of this month, girls as young as 15 can walk into a pharmacy and grab a Plan B off the aisle without a prescription.

A progressive judge has pushed the FDA into approving this non-solution to a moral problem, and parents don’t even have to know about it… until the side effects and potentially dangerous complications of Plan B will affect their daughters.

One can consult a site like drugs.com for non-medical professionals, and see some of the adverse effects of this pill that contains a hefty dose of a synthetic reproductive hormone which will prevent implantation of a fertilized egg. We are talking about an abortifacient pill, one that effectively gets rid of the product of conception.

The moral argument will not do for the progressives.

How about a medical argument?

There is a reason why hormonal contraceptive pills require a prescription normally. There is a reason why hormone replacement therapy after menopause is controversial. That reason has to do with increased mortality in certain situations and medical conditions.

Now levonorgestrel will be available to all comers after age 15 over-the-counter. My main concern is with young women at risk for thromboembolic events, like those who have clotting disorders and are not yet diagnosed, and who possibly engage in other behaviors like smoking. They may form a clot after taking Plan B and suffer a potentially deadly pulmonary embolus.

What happened to the Hippocratic Oath which says “do no harm” first when treating a patient?

Our society is so blinded by Satan that it will bypass even earthly reason in excusing sin.

Christians who hold to biblical truth are forbidden from engaging in sexual immorality af any kind. That includes premarital sex and sexual experimentation. God has ordained sex only for marriage, and any attempt to remove it from marriage is a SIN.

Plan B does not solve a problem. It creates and sustains a moral problem and it potentially may cause serious harm to young women’s health.

Progressives will disagree as usual.

May 1 2013

Shining Like the Sun in Front of Planned Parenthood

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Sunday morning 8:30 am. On the way to church.

We pass by Planned Parenthood on Beach Blvd. every Sunday…

It is a dark, unmarked building with large, dusty and tinted windows. I cannot but feel repulsed when I see their logo in the front parking lot.

But there was something different there this Sunday.

There were about 50 people gathered in front of the clinic with large signs reading “Choose Life.”

It reminded me of a song by a 90’s Christian band that said “choose life, that you may live…”

The most striking thing was these folks were all wearing white t-shirts. It was uplifting and amazing to see that sight! They were shining so bright in the morning sun!

What a contrast between that dark, dusty building and these people of light!

The spiritual reality was even more polarized. A group of righteous believers next to a place of darkness and death. It is hard to contemplate a more stark contrast between two entities.

Apostle John illustrates so beautifully the contrast between light and darkness, life and death:

“This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.” 1 John 1:5

And also Jesus said:

“…if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be just as full of light as when a lamp shines its light on you.” Luke 11:36

These protesters were shining the light of Jesus in a dark place, and they inspired me.