Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil.—Hebrews 2:14

Some people think it’s a joke to play with Ouija boards or read their horoscopes. They think it’s only fun and games to play around with demonic forces and ideas. But it’s no joke. Occultism and astrology are doorways to darkness, and people really push it when they start dabbling in the Devil’s world.

Nonbelievers have no defense against the Devil, who can pretty much do whatever he wants to do in their lives. However, he can do nothing in the life of a Christian without God’s permission. The only thing he fears is the power of Jesus Christ.

A classic example of this is the story of Job. Interestingly, the Lord allowed Satan a certain leeway, which resulted in many horrible afflictions on God’s servant, including the loss of his health, the loss of his property, and, worst of all, the loss of his children. There were limitations to what the Devil was allowed to do, but Job was tested severely. He came through it all, and God blessed him in the end.

You may think you can’t make it through a hardship of some kind, but if God is letting you go through it, He has a reason. God knows how much you can take. He will never give you more than you can handle.

The Devil was soundly defeated at the cross of Calvary. Prior to His crucifixion, Jesus said, “Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out” (John 12:31). As believers, we share in the victory of Jesus Christ. He dealt a decisive blow against the Devil and his minions at the cross. When Jesus cried out, “It is finished!” it reverberated through the corridors of Heaven and the hallways of hell. It was a victory shout.

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.—1 John 1:9

Sometimes we need to take drastic measures to be free from a sin. Jesus said, “If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell” (Matthew 5:29).

Jesus wasn’t speaking literally here. He was using an expression that was commonly understood in that culture. The right eye was thought to be the best eye. So when Jesus made that statement, He was saying, “Do whatever it takes to be free from that sin.”

We have to call sin what it is. Don’t call it a mistake or a weakness; that is the verbiage we use to soften what we do. Call it a sin. We are all human, and we all make mistakes. But there is a big difference between that and going out and overtly sinning.

After David committed adultery with Bathsheba and his sin was exposed, he admitted it and made this statement to God: “Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight—that You may be found just when You speak, and blameless when You judge” (Psalm 51:4).

David didn’t say, “Lord, I am weak and human, and I make mistakes.” Rather, he said he had sinned against God. That’s what it means to confess your sin. Start by calling it a sin.

The Bible says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). If you want to be forgiven of your sin, you must first confess it. The word confess means to agree with God. It means seeing sin the way God sees it.

Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.”—Luke 11:1

Prayer changes everything. In prayer I am reminded of the greatness of God and, thus, the comparable smallness of my problems. When I pray, my problems don’t go away. But I get perspective.

Jesus taught what we call the Lord’s Prayer (even though it isn’t called that anywhere in the Bible). It would be better described as the Disciple’s Prayer because Jesus never prayed it. But He taught that prayer in response to the disciples’ request, “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1).

There’s nothing wrong with praying the Lord’s Prayer verbatim. But the disciples said, “Lord teach us to pray” not “Teach us a prayer.”

Jesus said, “When you pray, say:

‘Our Father in heaven,

Hallowed be Your name.

Your kingdom come.

Your will be done

On earth as it is in heaven.

Give us day by day our daily bread.

And forgive us our sins,

For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.

And do not lead us into temptation,

But deliver us from the evil one.’ ” (Luke 11:2–4)

That is a template for prayer. The idea is to first contemplate the awesomeness of God. Get things in perspective. You are talking to the Creator of the universe, who is in Heaven. “Hallowed be Your name” means “Praise to Your name. Honor to Your name. Glory to Your name. Set apart is Your name. Hallowed be Your name.”

Effectively, we are saying, “Lord, before I offer a single request, I want to first say that I want Your will more than I want my own.” See how that can change your prayer? You don’t just start off with demands. You start off with worship and praise so that you see God in His glory. Thus, you see your problems for what they really are.

And when people escape from the wickedness of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and then get tangled up and enslaved by sin again, they are worse off than before.—2 Peter 2:20

After you’ve been a Christian for a number of years, the Devil will say, Remember the good ol’ days? . . . Remember those parties? . . . Remember that one girl (or that one guy)? . . . Remember that one night?

But what he won’t say is, Remember that time you were throwing up everywhere? . . . Remember that time you got that DUI? . . . Remember that time you actually contemplated suicide? He will take a few good times and bring them to your memory, and then he’ll say, Wouldn’t it be fun to do that one more time?

The first step toward going back is looking back. That is what the children of Israel were doing after God delivered them from their slavery in Egypt. They said, “Oh, for some meat!” . . . “We remember the fish we used to eat for free in Egypt. And we had all the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic we wanted. But now our appetites are gone. All we ever see is this manna!” (Numbers 11:4–6).

That is one reason we need to study the book of Numbers. Believers who are living in the last days will face many of the same temptations and challenges as the children of Israel did. The Scriptures warn us that if we go back to those things of the past as the Israelites did, it will be worse than it ever was (see 2 Peter 2:20). It will turn bitter in our mouths.

When you go back to your old life before Christ, it is like a dog that returns to its vomit (see Proverbs 26:11). It will be worse than it was before. Don’t go there—either in person or mentally. Don’t look back. Put it behind you.

And He gave them their request, but sent leanness into their soul.—Psalm 106:15

Sometimes we pray for something with such passion and fervency. But I’m so glad that God overrules our requests at times. Have you ever prayed for something and God said no, only to later say, “Lord, thank You for not answering my prayer in the affirmative”?

At times God will overrule our requests. That is why Jesus taught us to pray, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:9–10).

Really, what Jesus was saying is that when we bring our requests before God, we can effectively say, “Lord, if this thing I’ve just prayed for is outside of Your will, please overrule it, because You know better than me.”

You can ask God for something and plead with Him about something, and He just might give it to you—sometimes to teach you a lesson.

We don’t always know what’s best for us, just like my grandchildren don’t know what’s best for them at times. If they had their way, they would eat candy all day long. But they don’t realize what it would do to them. Adults have to provide some oversight and tell them what they can and can’t do for their own good. In the same way, God will put roadblocks in our paths to stop us from exercising our free will and going in the wrong direction.

Don’t take for granted what God has given you: your husband . . . your wife . . . your children . . . your career . . . your health . . . your church. Don’t say, “I’m tired of this. I want something else.” God just may give you what you want—and you may not like it one bit.

“Tell and bring forth your case; yes, let them take counsel together. Who has declared this from ancient time? Who has told it from that time? Have not I, the Lord? And there is no other God besides Me, a just God and a Savior; there is none besides Me.”—Isaiah 45:21

A while back I read an interesting article about a study conducted by Baylor University on peoples’ various perspectives of God. Drawing their conclusions from the survey participants’ responses to 77 questions, the researchers found that four distinct viewpoints of God had emerged: authoritarian, benevolent, critical, and distant.

I think there are certain aspects of truth in some of these descriptions. But personally, I don’t like any of them. So I am proposing a fifth category: the biblical God.

Yes, God is angry at the sins of humanity, as those who believe in a so-called authoritarian God would say. But He is not ready to throw thunderbolts. Otherwise, no one would be alive right now. Yes, God is kind and full of mercy, as those who believe in a so-called benevolent God would assert. He cares about the sick and the needy. He is interested in what is happening in the world. He is not merely a cosmic force who is disengaged.

The Bible tells us what God is like. And God tells us about Himself in a blessing He instructed the priests to pronounce over His people: “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace” (Numbers 6:24–26). God loves to bless us. He loves to smile on us. He loves to listen to us, protect us, and give us peace.

It’s important how we view God, because that will determine how we view life. Let me take it a step further: our view of God will dictate how we live. It will determine the decisions we make. In fact, there are no areas of our lives that are not impacted by how we view God.

“For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in His holiness.”—Hebrews 12:10

The success of superhero films is amazing: Spiderman, Batman, Ironman . . . the list goes on. Superman has always trumped the lot of them, as he, according to the old TV show was, “faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound,” (plus fire comes out of his eyes).

Remember the words, “Look! Up in the sky. It’s a bird. It’s a plane. It’s Superman!” The problem, of course, is Superman is fictional. But there is a “Superman” in real life. He’s called Dad. Not just any dad. I am talking about a dad who stays married to his wife and raises his children to follow God and be responsible—a dad who is a godly role model and leader in the home. That, to me, is a Superman.

In 1960, fewer than 6 million children lived in single-parent families. Today that number is much higher.

Consider these alarming stats:

• Fatherless children are 100–200% more likely to have emotional and behavioral problems.
• A child who comes from a fatherless home is 68% more likely to use drugs or alcohol, more likely to become sexually active at an early age, and three times more likely to commit a violent crime.
• 63% of teenagers who attempt suicide live in fatherless homes.
• 90% of all homeless and runaway children are from fatherless homes.
• 85% of all youths sitting in prisons grew up in a fatherless home.
• Fatherless daughters are 53% more likely to marry as teenagers, are 111% more likely to have children as teenagers, and are 164% more likely to have an out-of-wedlock birth.

James Merritt said, “The most endangered species in America is not the Spotted Owl or the Snail Darter, but the responsible Father.” So, you can understand why I say fathers who are present are like superheroes!

If you are a man standing by your wife and children today, may I say on behalf of a grateful country, thank you! It gives me hope for the future.

“Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give you into our hands.”—1 Samuel 17:47

The giants of life defeat us again and again because we face them in our own strength. The battle belongs to the Lord. That is why David said to Goliath, “Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give you into our hands” (1 Samuel 17:47).

Ephesians 6 tells about the various pieces of armor that believers are to wear. But before a single piece of armor is applied, Paul gives us these words: “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might” (Ephesians 6:10).

I recognize I am weak, but at the same time, I acknowledge that God is great and powerful. I need to know that I cannot win the spiritual battle in my own strength. Jesus said, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).

We need to know about the incredible resources God has made available to us as Christians. Paul prayed that the believers at Ephesus would discover what God had done for them. He said, “Therefore I . . . do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints” (Ephesians 1:15–18).

You don’t fight for victory. You fight from it. Start living in that power.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.—2 Corinthians 5:17

Have you ever looked at your life and felt that you always would be a victim of your circumstances? Maybe your parents neglected or abandoned you. Maybe there is a family history of alcohol and drug abuse.

You may feel as though your course is fixed, that you don’t have a say-so, and that it’s just the way it goes. But that isn’t true. God can intervene. I know from experience.

I didn’t have a father growing up. It wasn’t that he mistreated me; he just wasn’t there. I was left to myself a lot. My mother was an alcoholic, and I could have gone that direction. I could have followed that course. But God took hold of me, and the cycle was broken. He can do that for anyone. I am just an ordinary person who took God at His word.

Maybe you are trapped in some lifestyle, some pattern of sin, or some addiction. God can break that cycle. The question is whether you want Him to break it.

The Bible tells the story of a man who had been paralyzed for a long time. Jesus said to him, “Do you want to be made well?” (John 5:6). We may wonder what kind of question that is to ask someone who can’t even move. It’s a very good question, actually.

Not everyone who is addicted wants to be delivered. Not everyone who is living a certain lifestyle wants to get out of that lifestyle. The question is do you really want to change? Do you really want to be free? Jesus can do that for you.

We read in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” God can change you.

Then one of the servants answered and said, “Look, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, a mighty man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a handsome person; and the Lord is with him.” —1 Samuel 16:18

When we are younger, we think we know a lot more than we do. And a lot of times we just blurt things out. But as we get older, hopefully we learn to measure our words. We learn not to always say what we’re thinking. We learn there are inside thoughts and outside thoughts. (Some people don’t get this memo—ever.)

It is a good thing to be known as someone who is prudent in speech. That is how David was described, which is a little unusual for a younger man. In 1 Samuel 16:18 we read, “Then one of the servants answered and said, ‘Look, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, a mighty man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a handsome person; and the Lord is with him” (emphasis added).

Interestingly, “prudent in speech” means weighing things in the mind and forming a judgment. It is thinking about what you say before you say it.

When Jesus was transfigured, Moses and Elijah appeared, talking with Him. Peter, who was there with James and John, blurted out, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah” (Mark 9:5). The next verse gives us this insight: “He did not know what to say, for they were greatly afraid” (verse 6).

Have you ever said something when you didn’t know what to say, and you ended up saying the lamest thing ever?

An old proverb says that it is better to be silent and thought a fool than to open your mouth and dispel all doubt. Sometimes when you don’t say anything, people may think you are very wise. Let them think that.

“You should know this, that in the last days, there will be very difficult times. For people will love only themselves . . .” —2 Timothy 3:1–2

We are living in a culture that is completely self-absorbed. Consider these stats:

• The Incidence of Narcissistic Personality Disorder is nearly three times as high for people in their twenties as for the generation that’s now 65 or older.
• 58% more college students scored higher on a narcissism scale in 2009 than in 1982.
• 40% of Millennials believe they should be promoted every two years, regardless of performance.

In the 1970s, people wanted to improve their kids’ chances, so the “self-esteem” movement was born. We were told that all of the social ills of the day were due to low self-esteem, and that we all needed to learn to love ourselves more.

As one expert said, “The problem is that when people tried to boost self-esteem, they boosted narcissism instead. All that self-esteem leads them to be disappointed when the world refuses to affirm how great they know they are.”

So, we enter into our marriages saying things like: “What’s in it for me?” and “What about my needs?” This leads to such inane statements as “I’m no longer happy in this marriage,” and “I need to find myself!”

Where does this selfishness come from? “Where do you think all these appalling wars and quarrels come from? Do you think they just happen? Think again. They come about because you want your own way, and fight for it deep inside yourselves” (James 4:1–2 MSG).

This is something the Bible says would be a sign of the end times: “You should know this, that in the last days, there will be very difficult times. For people will love only themselves . . .” (2 Timothy 3:1–2 NLT).

So, what is the antidote to selfishness? It is selflessness!

Philippians 2:2–8 tells us, “Don’t be selfish; don’t live to make a good impression on others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourself. Don’t think only about your own affairs, but be interested in others, too, and what they are doing. Your attitude should be the same that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not demand and cling to his rights as God. He made himself nothing; he took the humble position of a slave and appeared in human form. And in human form he obediently humbled himself even further by dying a criminal’s death on a cross” (NLT).

“But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”

—Luke 10:42

Everyone has their one thing in life, whether they are believers or nonbelievers. It’s the one thing that makes their blood pump, the thing that gets them up in the morning, the thing they are passionate about.

David told us about his one thing in Psalm 27: “One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple” (verse 4).

When Jesus came to visit Mary and Martha, Martha was understandably whipping up a feast for Jesus while Mary sat at His feet, listening to what He had to say. But Martha got stressed out because Mary wasn’t helping her. Jesus looked at her and said, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:41–42).

A loose paraphrase might be, “Martha, I appreciate a homecooked meal, but there is a time and a place for everything. The time now is just right for Me to talk to you about what really matters in life—and Mary gets that.”

The apostle Paul said, “Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead” (Philippians 3:13).

Our greatest danger in life is permitting the urgent things to crowd out the important things. For David and for Mary, that one thing was being in God’s presence. For Paul, it was forgetting the past and pressing toward the future, toward the goal to win the race.

What is your one thing?

So as David stood there among his brothers, Samuel took the flask of olive oil he had brought and anointed David with the oil. And the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David from that day on. Then Samuel returned to Ramah. —1 Samuel 16:13

Imagine David for just a moment, out watching his family’s sheep just like any other day. Then he gets a message: “David, they want you back at the house.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know. There is some prophet in town, and you have to come right away.”

David wasn’t dressed for the occasion. His brothers probably had taken a shower and put on their finest robes and were looking good. But David came bounding in from the field with youthful energy, probably smelling like a pasture.

When Samuel looked at him, God said, “This is the one; anoint him” (1 Samuel 16:12).

The next thing David knew, the old prophet was pouring oil on his head and saying, “This is the next king of Israel.” People were probably standing around watching, thinking Samuel had finally gone senile. Are you kidding me? That is the next king of Israel?

But David was God’s choice, reminding us that God sees things differently than we do. God raises up His own men and women to blow the world’s mind and to confound everyone and say, “This is Me at work. This is Me changing lives.”

It gives hope to people who are ordinary and are often overlooked. God looks on the heart.

One of the greatest evangelists who ever lived was Dwight Lyman Moody. Moody was a shoe salesman when God called him. A man named Edward Kimball had a leading of the Holy Spirit to go and talk to Moody about the Lord. He came to faith and then became a powerful evangelist who impacted the world. Moody went from selling soles to saving souls. He was just an ordinary guy—they didn’t come any more ordinary than him. But he was used by God in a powerful way.

God uses ordinary people.