Wednesday's Word January 19, 2022 A House Divided Cannot Stand In modern, urban America we rarely talk about demons. Jesus and the Bible, however, don't hold back. Jesus ushered in the Kingdom of Heaven. As His Kingdom advanced, we see sickness, sin, death, and demonic forces flee. In today's church, we're good at talking about Jesus' victory over sin and death. Occasionally we pray for healing, though often we settle by asking God to help the doctors do their jobs well. Rarely, if ever, do we pray for God to help us in the spiritual battle that rages around us. Spiritual warfare is a big topic with little hints scattered throughout the sixty-six books of the Bible. Recently, we read about Jesus driving out demons and comparing this warfare to tying up a strong man so that you could plunder his house. It's very easy for my imagination to get running around these topics, but it's important to stick to what Jesus is saying. His message isn't that we should "bind satan" in prayer. His message is that Jesus is stronger than the "strong man". The enemy is essentially tied up because Jesus' Kingdom is advancing. Don't think of this as a cowboy with a spiritual lasso trying to rope a stray cow. Rather, picture a stampede bearing down on someone. That person has nowhere to go, nowhere to run. The Kingdom is advancing. Satan and his minions have nowhere to go. The Bible isn't a training manual teaching us how to effectively fight Satan. The Bible speaks "good news" that Jesus has already brought a stampede of grace into our reality, trampling sin, death, disease, and Satan himself.  We still have a few scraps ahead of us, but the victory is assured. And that’s good news. Pastor Tim Watch this week’s video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68KjMdMbU4Y Tying Up the Strong Man In Matthew 12 Jesus is accused of driving out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of demons. In response, He talks about what spiritual warfare looks like. This ties into a broader theme of the spiritual battle that rages around us. These two videos offer an introduction and a deeper reflection on these topics. Enjoy. Video resources: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CamYtVpoTNk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npk34pB5P4A Upcoming New Testament in a Year Readings 1/19/20 Matthew 13:34-58 1/20/20 Matthew 14:1-21 1/21/20 Matthew 14:22-36 1/22/20 Matthew 15:1-20 1/23/20 Matthew 15:21-39 1/24/20 Matthew 16 1/25/20 Matthew 17 1/26/20 Matthew 18:1-20 Upcoming Daily Audio Bible Readings January 19:  Genesis 39:1-41:16, Matthew 12:46-13:23, Psalm 17:1-15, Proverbs 3:33-35 January 20:  Genesis 41:17-42:17, Matthew 13:24-46, Psalm 18:1-15, Proverbs 4:1 January 21:    Genesis 42:18-43:34, Matthew 13:47-14:13, Psalm 18:16-34, Proverbs 4:7-10 January 22:    Genesis 44:1-45:28, Matthew 14:14-36, Psalm 18:35-50, Proverbs 4:11-13 January 23:   Genesis 46:1-47:31, Matthew 15:1-28, Psalm 19:1-14, Proverbs 4:14-19 January 24:    Genesis 48:1-49:33, Matthew 15:29-16:12, Psalm 20:1-9, Proverbs 4:20-27 January 25:    Genesis 50:1-Exodus 2:10, Matthew 16:13-17:9, Psalm 21:1-13, Proverbs 5:1-6 January 26:   Exodus 2:11-3:22, Matthew 17:10-27, Psalm 22:1-18, Proverbs 5:7-14 January 27:    Exodus 4:1-5:21, Matthew 18:1-22, Psalm 22:19-31, Proverbs 5:15:21

Wednesday's Word January 12, 2022 Bless Me One of the most heart-rending lines in the Old Testament is when Esau weeps at Isaac’s feet and cries out “Bless me-me too, my father!” This cry comes after his brother Jacob stole his blessing and conned him out of his birthright. Even though Esau was no paradigm of integrity, I can’t help but have my heart go out to him.   Behind the scenes God is sovereignly designing redemptive history, choosing the younger and establishing a Kingdom of priests. Malachi 1 and Romans 9 tell us that God wanted to show the world that we aren’t saved because of outward trappings, our good works, or our birth order. We aren’t saved by works; we are saved by a God who loves us and calls us to Himself. In this, we see that God freely loves whoever He wants to love and has compassion on who He wants to show compassion toward. (Read Romans 9:6-15 for more about this.)   Even as the workings of God’s sovereign choice play out, we see that people are groaning for some sort of blessing. Both Jacob and Esau seem to dedicate big chunks of their lives to try to secure a blessing by their own power. Esau used his skills as a hunter and leader of men. Jacob used his trickery. This section of Genesis shows us how both men fail spectacularly. The only way to be blessed is by God’s sovereign love. God calls, and we receive that blessing.   This is a little easier to see in the life of Jesus. People with leprosy, Roman invaders, people possessed by demons, the lame, sinners, and tax collectors are all called into a blessing by a loving Lord. As Jesus sits down to eat with “sinners and tax collectors” we see that God still has compassion on whoever He wants to show compassion and that His mercy is not hampered by our external issues. He is not compelled to love us because of our goodness. God simply loves us because He loves us.   And that’s good news. Pastor Tim Upcoming New Testament in a Year Readings 1/12/20 Matthew 9:18-38 1/13/20 Matthew 10:1-23 1/14/20 Matthew 10:24-42 1/15/20 Matthew 11 1/16/20 Matthew 12:1-21 1/17/20 Matthew 12:22-50 1/18/20 Matthew 13:1-33 1/19/20 Matthew 13:34-58 Upcoming Daily Audio Bible Readings   January 12: Genesis 26:17-27:46, Matthew 9:1-17, Psalm 10:6-18, Proverbs 3:9-10 January 13: Genesis 28:1-29:35, Matthew 9:18-38, Psalm 11:1-7, Proverbs 3:11-12 January 14: Genesis 30:1-31:16, Matthew 10:1-26, Psalm 12:1-8, Proverbs 3:13-15 January 15: Genesis 31:17-32:12, Matthew 10:27-11:6, Psalm 13:1-6, Proverbs 3:16-18 January 16: Genesis 32:13-34:31, Matthew 11:7-30, Psalm 14:1-7, Proverbs 3:19-20 January 17: Genesis 35:1-36:43, Matthew 12:1-21, Psalm 15:1-5, Proverbs 3:21-26 January 18: Genesis 37:1-38:30, Matthew 12:22-45, Psalm 16:1-11, Proverbs 3:27-32 January 19: Genesis 39:1-41:16, Matthew 12:46-13:23, Psalm 17:1-15, Proverbs 3:33-35 January 20: Genesis 41:17-42:17, Matthew 13:24-46, Psalm 18:1-15, Proverbs 4:1-6