Contemplations

believe it is good to write down your thoughts. Elizabeth Elliot said "If we don't journal we don't really know what we are thinking." Here are some thoughts from my journal. Some of these are quotes from others that met a need in my life. Oswald Chambers said "Those who serve the Lord are not even aware of it. They are so occupied with Him that they don't see how He is using them in His work." We must reverse Adam's choice, we must choose God over Eve. We must take our ache to Him, for only in God will we find the healing of the wound. "The gospel can be canceled out by the way we live." Henry Blackaby A wise person will exchange things of lesser value for things of greater value. Discontentment makes rich men poor, while contentment makes poor men rich. Unless a man has to do more than he can do, he will not do all that he can do. Four d's of decision making. 1. Don't, if it's the responsibility of others let them do it. 2. Delay, if it can be done at a better time, wait. 3. Delegate, if other can it better, let them. 4. Do, it if none of the above apply. The Church has no authority to decide questions of personal liberty in things not expressly forbidden in Scripture. Early success in life does not determine long lasting significance. One who judges condemns publicly. As a seed must die before bearing fruit, so God brings "Death of a vision" to test our endurance and then rewards us with supernatural fulfillment. Giving forgiveness is a gift to yourself. Receiving forgiveness is a gift to the offender. There can be the right idea, but the wrong execution. The great leader is the servant of the dream, the bearer of the vision. "It is the idea (vision) that unites people in the common effort, not the charisma of the leader."Optimal performance rests on the existence of a powerful shared vision that evolves through wide participation to which the key leader contributes, but which the use of authority cannot shape. The test of greatness of a dream is that it has energy to lift people out of their moribund ways to a level of being and relation from which the future can be faced with more hope than most of us can summon today. To be halfhearted is to get the worst of both worlds. Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.

Spiritual warfare & CHOICES - Copley

In warfare teaching it's always necessary to explore the human will as it involves making choices. Our enemy would have us make choices based on sinful habits rather than thoughtful reflection on Biblical truth. He desires that we deny or ignore our ability to choose. Or if the above fails he would want us to choose some form of distortion of the truth. Our common enemy was a liar from the beginning and he will go to great lengths to keep us from the truth. Our mandate as believers is to choose to glorify God through commitment to His truth. This means we are to choose right "programming" based on the truth and exercise our choosing ability in the areas of: Loving God (repenting before Him, believing in Him, submitting to Him in obedience, enjoying Him, pursuing Him. communing with Him through prayer and worship, fearing Him and trusting and thanking Him in all of life's circumstances). It also means that we ought to be loving others as we love ourselves (being filled by the Spirit stripping off the old self and putting on the new, walking in the light, fellow-shipping, taming our tongues). This really means living in a Scriptural manner, taking God's Word seriously enough to practice it in our daily living. At the heart of spiritual warfare is understanding that we face choices and that, being made in God's image and empowered by the Spirit, we are able to make correct choices. This is a critical area, it is essentially the application of the basic truths that we learn through the study of God's word. It is important to distinguish between desiring (wanting) and choosing (commitment). An example of this would be I want to quit smoking, desire (or want). Or I choose to quit smoking (commit). Or I desire to lose weight (or want). Or I am going on a great eating place and going to work out three times a week (commit). God has set us free in Christ to choose what is right; but He leaves the actual choices up to us. Satan on the other hand, would have us make choices based on sinful habits rather than reflection or deny and ignore our ability to choose or choose some form of a distortion of the truth rather than God's truth. God has empowered us to make the right choices, and He desires that we use that power for righteous choosing. God does not dress us in the morning, and He generally does not tell us what we must wear when we get dressed in the morning-He wants us to choose and do because we are made in His image. The choice we must make is that of the person we will glorify. We must exercise our choice of who we will glorify by glorifying God. We glorify God by consciously acknowledging His sovereignty with our lips, in our hearts, and through our feet. The choice to glorify God, or not is made through out the day. We do this by choosing the right "programming" (through learning God's Word and its correct application). We must learn to walk in the Word. A believer who is saturated with the Scriptures will be better able to discern right and wrong. David said the Scriptures were his counselors. This begins by our believing in God. "Believing in" is more than believing in what He said; it involves assenting to the truth of it in your own life. However, we must be careful not to try to read too much into the word. The basic meaning of the Greek is similar to the English word "believe," and it can also be translated as obey, trust, or hope. We must also repent before God. What does repenting involve? Repenting involves the pain of knowing the beast in my basement and the wonder of knowing that I am still loved and accepted. The enemy would have us deny that we are sinners. Then after we sin he would tell us that we will never experience the favor of God again. Remember he is a accuser of the brethren, and he is most efficient in doing his job. Submitting to God in obedience; "Submit" was a military term used of soldiers under their officers. They were required to submit, and Paul gives us the same requirement for our own good. It involves the surrendering of our will under the will of others (Phil. 2:3-4). We are to submit to government officials, church elders, employers, and any other person God has placed us under. For example Jesus in this life on earth offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission (Hebrews 5:7). We as believers are to "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you, (James 4:7). Note submission operative in heaven "Who has gone into heaven and is at God's right hand-with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him, (I Peter 3:22). Popular author John Piper argues that the chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying Him forever. David in the Psalms shares with us a multitude of fountains of praise and enjoyment of God. God has graciously given us the ability to choose and it is for our good and His glory when we choose to come down on His side of every decision.

Demon control & Christian minds

There are many questions today about demonic control. One well known pastor when asked about demons and the Christ said "Don't worry about the little green men." In other words totally ignore the issue. On the other hand some believers have become fearful of the enemy. They believe everything that goes wrong in their lives must be the work of the enemy. Both extremes are unbiblical. Under the direction of Satan, demons seek to attack and harass Christan's. Satan is not bound today to use the same particular set of strategies that he used in the New Testament times, and his strategies can be expected to be tailored to his audience. How much influence can a demon have on a true believer? In seeking to answer this question, we must keep in mind several basic principles: 1. Satan's power was broken at the cross (Co. 2:15). 2. Scripture is not exhaustive on the subject of demons. God did not tell us everything about every subject. Deuteronomy 29:29 "The secret things belong to the Lord our God." 3. Satan is able to influence a believer, or else there would be no reason for the many New Testament warnings to resist him. The questions is not his ability to influence us, but the extent to which he is able to do so. 4. Do not confuse spatial relations (the physical location of a demon) with spiritual ones. A genuine believer can allow a non-Christan person to control him-why not a demon? The issue is one of control, not ownership. 5. Once we become believers, we still face the lingering consequences of sin from our past. 6. We must carefully define our terms. However we define the term in relation to demons and the Christian, in the final analysis all believers are Christ's possession, and nothing (angels, powers, and principalities) can change that. A person having a demon is not the same as the demon "having" him (i.e. controlling his eternal destiny). While the person may yield control to demonic forces through sin, he cannot yield his eternal status as a child of God, which Christ fully controls. 7. What, then is my conclusion? I feel that, though demons can display a remarkable amount of control over the body and actions of a genuine Christian, nonetheless they cannot "possess" him in the sense of controlling his eternal destiny (see I John 5:18). The extent of the control given to any demon(s), however, is determined by the believer, who has the authority to yield his own life to whomever he wishes (whether the Holy Spirit, evil spirits, or even human beings, including cult leaders.) Sin in a believers life open a door to enemy influence. Repentance and confession of sin closes the door. Sin is Satan's ground, repentance is ours.

Demon control & Christian minds

There are many questions today about demonic control. One well known pastor when asked about demons and the Christ said "Don't worry about the little green men." In other words totally ignore the issue. On the other hand some believers have become fearful of the enemy. They believe everything that goes wrong in their lives must be the work of the enemy. Both extremes are unbiblical. Under the direction of Satan, demons seek to attack and harass Christan's. Satan is not bound today to use the same particular set of strategies that he used in the New Testament times, and his strategies can be expected to be tailored to his audience. How much influence can a demon have on a true believer? In seeking to answer this question, we must keep in mind several basic principles: 1. Satan's power was broken at the cross (Co. 2:15). 2. Scripture is not exhaustive on the subject of demons. God did not tell us everything about every subject. Deuteronomy 29:29 "The secret things belong to the Lord our God." 3. Satan is able to influence a believer, or else there would be no reason for the many New Testament warnings to resist him. The questions is not his ability to influence us, but the extent to which he is able to do so. 4. Do not confuse spatial relations (the physical location of a demon) with spiritual ones. A genuine believer can allow a non-Christan person to control him-why not a demon? The issue is one of control, not ownership. 5. Once we become believers, we still face the lingering consequences of sin from our past. 6. We must carefully define our terms. However we define the term in relation to demons and the Christian, in the final analysis all believers are Christ's possession, and nothing (angels, powers, and principalities) can change that. A person having a demon is not the same as the demon "having" him (i.e. controlling his eternal destiny). While the person may yield control to demonic forces through sin, he cannot yield his eternal status as a child of God, which Christ fully controls. 7. What, then is my conclusion? I feel that, though demons can display a remarkable amount of control over the body and actions of a genuine Christian, nonetheless they cannot "possess" him in the sense of controlling his eternal destiny (see I John 5:18). The extent of the control given to any demon(s), however, is determined by the believer, who has the authority to yield his own life to whomever he wishes (whether the Holy Spirit, evil spirits, or even human beings, including cult leaders.) Sin in a believers life open a door to enemy influence. Repentance and confession of sin closes the door. Sin is Satan's ground, repentance is ours.