Thanks
be to Jesus for this new day. It is going to be a brilliant and bountiful day.
Blessed be His Name. We will gather for our Mid-week service with a meal at 6 PM
and for Bible Study at 6:30 PM. We will be looking at Acts 3.
We
worship the Risen Savior. He is the author of life and liberty. He is the giver
of Joy. Our Lord declared in John 10, “The thief comes only to steal and kill
and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John
10:10). All those who would work to destroy life are the agents of the evil one.
They come to kill and destroy. Those who live for Jesus are for life. Even in
the Lord’s prayer Jesus teaches us to pray to be delivered from the power of
evil. Actually, Greek scholars point out that the phrase, “deliver us from
evil,” is more accurately translated, “deliver us from the evil one.” Yet, as
powerful as the devil is he is no match for Jesus. Jesus Christ speaks one word
and the demon flees. ( Luke 4) Luke, who was a physician was careful to tell us
that when the demon left this man it did not harm him. All the people were
amazed and they exclaimed to each other, “With authority and power he gives
orders to evil spirits and they come out!”
The
apostle John wrote, “He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the
devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared
was to destroy the devil’s work” (1 John 3:8). Indeed, the Son of God is well
able to destroy the devil’s work. The author of Hebrews tells us, “Since the
children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his
death he might destroy him who holds the power of death--that is, the devil--and
free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death”
(Hebrews 2:14-15).
We sometimes get the idea that the devil is another god on equal par with Jesus Christ. That is not the case at all. The devil is merely a fallen angel. Compared to us he is very powerful, but he is no match for Jesus Christ. The book of Revelation shows the devil and all his forces being defeated by a single blast of breath from Jesus Christ. In the end the devil is thrown into the lake of fire. His kingdom is completely decimated, and he and his followers are sealed in the pit forever (Revelation 20:10). Satan is a malignant reality, but he has already been defeated by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. That defeat will be all too apparent at the end of the age when the Bible says, “And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever” (Revelation 20:10).
Until that time the Bible gives us this important warning: “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:10-17).
We sometimes get the idea that the devil is another god on equal par with Jesus Christ. That is not the case at all. The devil is merely a fallen angel. Compared to us he is very powerful, but he is no match for Jesus Christ. The book of Revelation shows the devil and all his forces being defeated by a single blast of breath from Jesus Christ. In the end the devil is thrown into the lake of fire. His kingdom is completely decimated, and he and his followers are sealed in the pit forever (Revelation 20:10). Satan is a malignant reality, but he has already been defeated by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. That defeat will be all too apparent at the end of the age when the Bible says, “And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever” (Revelation 20:10).
Until that time the Bible gives us this important warning: “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:10-17).
In
Christ,
Brown
http://youtu.be/AhlnProP8o0
http://youtu.be/AhlnProP8o0
Super
Summer Music Festival
Saturday, June 30, 2012 at 6:30 PM
Location: First United Methodist
Church
53
McKinley Avenue, Endicott
Sponsored by: Union Center United Methodist
Church
Musicians include: Aric Phinney, Yancey
Moore,
David
Berry, Emma Brunson, Dianne Glann.
Weekly
Television outreach:
Friday
7: PM
Time
Warner Cable channel 4.
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