A friend recently gave me the following suggestion: “When Satan comes to remind me about my past, I remind him about his future.”

One thing Satan does is continually accuse us before God (See Revelation 12:10). He will accuse us, too, of our past in our mind if we allow him to. When he does, however, we can remind him not only about his future in hell, but also that Christ shed his blood on the cross and gave his life to pay for our sins and has washed them all away. So what’s there to accuse us of if we have confessed our sins to Christ and asked for and accepted his forgiveness? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Because Christ died for us and cleansed us from our sins, we can, in his name, resist the devil and, as James said, he will flee from us. Satan hates the name of Jesus. Be sure to mention it when Satan comes to tempt you. Instead of trying to reason with Satan, just remind him of his future and mention the name of Jesus … and pray a simply prayer, “Help God! Help!”

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you that you have defeated Satan and all his evil emissaries, and that there is power in your name to defend against any and all of Satan’s devious ways and to defeat him. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. James 4:7.

How can we be sure when and if God is speaking to us?

When I was a young Christian I wanted to serve God and sometimes felt he was telling me to do something. However, this “still small voice” within sometimes had me very confused and in bondage. In time I came to see that this “voice in my head” was not from God at all because, “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom,”² and I had no freedom.

One’s inner “voice” may come from God’s Spirit, or it can come from ourselves (our own compulsions), or from the tempter. If the tempter knows he can’t pull us down into acting out in destructive sinful behaviors, he may try to “push us over the top” where we become “so heavenly minded we are no earthly use.”

To know where one’s “inner voice” is from, we need to learn how to discern between a conviction and a compulsion, or recognize if the “voice” is from the tempter. With a conviction from God I am drawn and always have the freedom to say no. With a compulsion I am driven and feel that “I have to” do what the “inner voice” is demanding of me. If from the tempter, we know that it is a voice wanting us to do what we know is wrong and sinful.

Some people try to justify what they want to do by claiming God told or led them to do it. Or they don’t do what they don’t want to do because God didn’t tell them to do it—even though it is a clear directive of God’s Word. No wonder that the Apostle John advised in the Bible, “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God.”

First and foremost, God speaks to us through his Word, the Bible, and never in any way contrary to it. He also speaks or leads through various circumstances, as well as through inner convictions. If it is from God, it will be in harmony with his Word and there will be a sense of freedom. If it is contrary to God’s Word or any type of compulsion we can know it isn’t God speaking to us and we need to reject it.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please give me a spirit of discernment so that I will always recognize when you are leading me, or if I am being driven by a compulsion from within myself or from without by the tempter. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. 1 John 4:1 (NIV).

2. 2 Corinthians 3:17 (NIV).

“In 1976, a daily flight which originated in Quito, Ecuador, and departed for the southern Ecuadorian city of Cuenca completely disappeared. Despite ongoing investigations, Saeta Flight 232, a 727 Boeing jet with 59 passengers, was never heard from again until recently. For over 25 years family members had no peace of mind regarding the plight of their loved ones. But that changed a few short years ago as Chimborazo Mountain climbers discovered the jet imbedded in the snow and ice of one of the highest volcanic mountains in the world. The plane was almost intact and the bodies of the passengers were well preserved by the year-round icecap on top of the great mountain.

“However, the story doesn’t end there. Upon finding the wrecked plane and its preserved bodies, it was evident that others had already been there. The passengers had been stripped of their jewelry, wallets and other possessions. When, nobody really knows.”²

It’s difficult to believe that those who found the wrecked airplane never bothered to inform any authorities so loved ones of those who perished on that fateful flight could be told of their whereabouts.

And how tragic that we know people who are lost without Christ and without hope, and we never bother to share with them the saving message of Jesus Christ. As Mark Creech said, “Perhaps the greatest of all sins is to know the truth, to possess the knowledge that can free others, and then to conceal it for reasons that are essentially selfish.”

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, how can I ever thank you enough for those who told me about your marvelous plan of salvation—which includes your gift of forgiveness of sins and eternal life? Please use me to be ‘as Christ’ to every life I touch and therein communicate your love and salvation—and grant that others, seeing Jesus in me, will want you for themselves. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

To be sure you have God’s gift of forgiveness and eternal life please read the article, “How to Be Sure You’re a Real Christian” at: http://tinyurl.com/real-christian

1. Mark 16:15 (NLT).

2. Rev. Mark H. Creech. Cited on Agape Press, July 15, 2003. http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/7/152003mc.asp

In concluding this series on the validity of God’s Word, the continuity of the Bible is further confirmation of its authenticity. Though it was written over a period of fifteen hundred years by thirty-five to forty different writers with sixty-six different books, it has only one major theme—the salvation of lost mankind. This supports the claim that there is only one author—God.

Evidence from science and archaeology. While the Bible isn’t a book of science, scientific facts that have been in its pages for at least thirty-five hundred years have come to light only in recent times. For example, many of the statutes and regulations in the Old Testament were given for health and hygienic purposes—knowledge that was unknown to the ancient world.

In his book, None of These Diseases, Dr. S.I. McMillen wrote, “When God led the Israelites out of afflicted Egypt, he promised them that if they would obey his statutes, he would put ‘none of these diseases’ upon them [diseases from which Egypt and other nations were suffering]. God guaranteed a freedom from disease that modern medicine cannot duplicate.”²⁰

Dr. McMillen continues, “I am confident that the reader will be intrigued to discover that the Bible’s directives can save him from certain infectious diseases, from many lethal cancers, and from a long gauntlet of psychosomatic diseases that are increasing in spite of modern medicine.”²¹

In the final analysis, however, it is up to each individual as to whether or not he or she chooses to accept the Bible as God’s Word. For those who want to believe it is, there is more than sufficient evidence to support this belief.

Furthermore, all who have accepted the Bible as God’s Word, and have responded to Jesus Christ’s invitation to receive him as Lord and Savior and live according to biblical principles, have a deep assurance that the Bible is God’s Word, that it is true, and that they have been given the gift of eternal life.²²

The greatest quest of man over the ages has always been to know: “Where did I come from? Why am I here? And, where am I going?” Only God’s Word, the Bible, can give the authentic answers to these questions.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you again for your Word, and that it is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. Help me to live according to its divine principles and thereby make my life a light unto those who don’t know you. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

Footnotes: 19. Psalm 119:105 (NKJV). 20. McMillen, S.I., None of These Diseases (Westwood, New Jersey; Fleming H. Revell Company, 1963), p. 17. 21. Ibid, p. 18. 22. See John 17:17 and 1 John 5:13.

Yesterday we mentioned a number of fulfilled biblical prophecies, all of which help verify the validity of God’s Word, the Bible. Today we want to mention several more relating to major events that were still to come at the time they were predicted.

Hundreds of years before Christ came to planet Earth, both David and Isaiah predicted in specific detail the sufferings of Christ and the manner of his death. David, referring to and “speaking for” Jesus Christ, wrote in the Psalms, “They pierced my hands and my feet.”¹² This is precisely what happened when Jesus was crucified on a Roman cross.

Isaiah also predicted the fall of the then mighty Babylonian Empire, saying it would be conquered by the nation of Media. He predicted permanent extinction for Babylon. The site has been deserted since the fourth century B.C.¹³ (However, Saddam Hussein began the rebuilding of the city of Babylon, which Revelation 18:21 said will once again be “thrown down, never to be found again.”)

Evidence from Israel. The nation of Israel is one of the clearest evidences for the validity of God’s Word, the Bible. Its history is a continual story of biblical prophecy being fulfilled.

Some fifteen hundred years B.C., God said through Moses that Israel would turn from him [God] and be driven by enemies from their homeland. God said, “I will bring the land into desolation … I will scatter you among the nations … your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste.”¹⁴

The result? In 721 B.C., the ten northern tribes of Israel were taken into captivity by Assyria, and in 586 B.C. the two southern tribes by Babylon. Seventy years later a small remnant of 40,000 Jews returned to Israel while the rest were scattered throughout the world. In A.D. 70 Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans, and the remnant of Israelites was dispersed among the nations. Israel then became desolate as predicted 1,600 years before.

God’s word also stated that the nation of Israel would be restored, saying, “Neither will I destroy them utterly.”¹⁵ “For I will take you from among the nations, and gather you out of all countries and will bring you into your own land.”¹⁶ “I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel, and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and live in them again,”¹⁷ and the nation “will blossom as the rose.”¹⁸

The people of Israel have survived heinous atrocities committed against them by the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Greeks, the Romans, Hitler and others. Their repeated survival against overwhelming odds and the rebuilding of their nation—which is still taking place at this time—twenty-five hundred years after God said that it would happen—is irrefutable evidence of the validity of the Bible.

To be continued ….

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you for the numerous prophecies in the Old Testament, all of which have been fulfilled, which in turn verify the validity of your Word, the Bible. Thank you, too, that this gives us the assurance that all future prophecies regarding the return of Jesus to earth and the promised home of heaven will also all be fulfilled. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

11. Micah 5:2 (NKJV). 12. Psalm 22:16 and Isaiah 53. 13. Isaiah 13:5-22. 14. Leviticus 26:32-33. 15. Leviticus 26:44. 16. Ezekiel 36:24. 17. Amos 9:14 (TLB)(NLT). 18. Isaiah 35:1.

Have you ever wondered why the Bible is one of the best-selling books of all time and why almost every home has a copy?

Some, I suppose, have a Bible as a sort of lucky charm. Others have a copy to maintain a form of religious acknowledgment. And many millions have a copy because they believe the Bible is God’s Word.

But is the Bible God’s Word and his special message to mankind, or is it simply a compilation of man-made messages? How can we know whether it is one or the other? What evidence is there to support the Bible’s own claim that it is “inspired by God?”² Let us examine the following evidence:

Support from Jesus Christ. The fact that Jesus accepted the Bible as God’s Word is important to note. In his day, only the Old Testament section of the Bible had been written. It was then known as the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms, or simply as the Law. Referring to these writings Jesus said, “All things which are written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”³

He also said, “Do not think I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law [the Bible] until everything is accomplished.”⁴

Peter’s confirmation. The New Testament section of the Bible was written immediately following Christ’s time on earth. A large part was written by the Apostle Paul. In speaking about Paul’s writings, Peter—one of the better-known disciples of Jesus—equates what Paul wrote with the rest of the Bible.⁵

Evidence from fulfilled prophecy. The Bible boldly foretold events of major historical significance hundreds of years in advance—many of which have already been fulfilled.

For instance, at least fifteen hundred years B.C., God gave the first hope of a Savior (the Christ) who would come from Israel through the tribe of Judah.⁶ A thousand years B.C., the Bible said that Christ would come through the family of David.⁷ Seven hundred years B.C., Bethlehem was named by the prophet Micah as the birthplace of Christ.⁸ About the same time the prophet Isaiah wrote that Christ would be born of a virgin,⁹ and six hundred years B.C., the prophet Daniel predicted the time of Christ’s coming.¹⁰ All of these predictions were fulfilled exactly as stated in the Bible.

To be continued ….

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you not only for your Word as found in the Holy Bible, but also for its invaluable instructions for life, and that there is so much evidence to prove its validity for all who want to see it. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. 2 Timothy 3:16 (NASB). 2. 2 Timothy 3:16 (NASB). 3. Luke 24:44. 4. Matthew 5:17-18 (NIV). 5. See 2 Peter 3:15-16. 6. Genesis 3:15 and 49:10. 7. 2 Samuel 7:12-16. 8. Micah 5:2. 9 Isaiah 7:14. 10. Daniel 9:25, 26.

“Tony Campolo tells of preaching a really good sermon in his preaching class in seminary. Campolo felt pretty proud of his outline, his arguments, and his delivery. He felt pretty proud of himself—until he read his professor’s comments at the bottom of the page: ‘You can’t convince people that Jesus is wonderful and you’re wonderful in the same sermon.’”²

I recall hearing a somewhat heated discussion between a church member and his minister. I couldn’t help but overhear the member all but shouting, “I tell you, I AM humble!” The trouble is if I have to tell you how humble I am, already I’ve lost it.

Humility, however, is not degrading or putting yourself down or hanging your head in a false kind of shame. That’s insecurity. True humility is having a realistic evaluation of yourself, recognizing your gifts, abilities, and strengths and being grateful to God for them—and putting all these gifts to good use in serving God and others. Humility also recognizes and accepts one’s weaknesses and, with God’s help, does something about overcoming them.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to grow in love and maturity and become more and more like Jesus in every way so that I will be genuinely humble … recognizing that ‘every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.’³ And help me to always give you the praise for all the gifts and good things you have given so freely to me. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Proverbs 29:23 (NASB).

2. Tony Campolo in Ten Great Preachers, edited by Bill Turpie (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Books, 2000), p. 38. Cited on www.sermons.com

3. James 1:17 (NIV).

I have read how “there was a 10-year-old boy, whose left arm was damaged and subsequently amputated. He decided to learn judo. His sensei (teacher) was an old Japanese judo expert.

“The boy learned quickly. After a short time, he had mastered one important move. He asked his teacher to teach him more moves. The sensei told him that this was all he would need.

“Soon after, the boy entered a tournament where his opponent was bigger and more experienced. The boy seemed outmatched. After a long match, the opponent seemed to lose concentration. Quickly, the boy took advantage and pinned what seemed to be his superior opponent.

“On the ride home, the boy asked his sensei, ‘How could I win with this one move?’ The sensei replied, ‘You have mastered one of the difficult moves in judo. And a good defense against that move is for your opponent to grab your left arm.’”²

Sometimes we don’t think we have much to offer in service to God. But we all have at least “one thing in our hand.” If we offer that willingly to God, he will use it for his glory. And as the writer of the above story said, “Sometimes your biggest weakness can become your greatest strength.”

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you for the gift you have given to me. Help me to know what it is and how I can best use it for serving you and helping others. I want to be a winner in your book. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Exodus 4:1-3 (NIV).

2. Author Unknown.

“Emerson produced English Traits when he was 53 and Conduct of Life at 59.

“Kent wrote his Anthropology, Metaphysics of Ethics, and Strife of the Faculties at age 74.

“Oliver Wendell Holmes at 79 wrote Over the Teacups.

“Victor Hugo wrote Les Miserables at 62.

“Booth Tarkington wrote sixteen novels after age 60, some of them when he was totally blind.

“George Bernard Shaw wrote some of his famous plays at 80.

“Scott the commentator began study of Hebrew at 87.

“Jules Verne was writing his stories at 63.

“Croce the Italian philosopher published two of his works on philosophy at age 85.

“Santayana, the great Harvard philosopher, continued to write books at 88 years of age.

“Tennyson at 83 wrote ‘Crossing the Bar.’

“Webster wrote his monumental dictionary at 70.

In God’s economy we are never too old to serve God and to be a part of God’s plans and what he is doing in the world today … even if we are sick and infirm, we can still be mighty prayer warriors. All we need to do is make ourselves available.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you that in the work of your Kingdom on earth I will never be too old to serve you. Please let me know what my ‘marching orders’ are for today—and for every day for the rest of my life. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer and for using me. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Joshua 14:10-12 (NIV).

2. Cited in Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations by Paul Lee Tan.

On one occasion when I was teaching a class I asked the question, “What would you say was the number one sin of people who claim to be Christians?”

One jokester from the back of the room shouted, “Apathy, but who cares?” He may very well have been correct because, as the old saying goes “many a true word is spoken in jest.”

Chuck Colson recently stated in Breakpoint, “Many Christians, once motivated by protecting the sanctity of life, religious freedom, and traditional marriage, seem inconsolable—as if the fight is over and there’s nothing we can do about it.”²

Embracing this attitude is a certain prescription for disaster.

Here in America, when the thirteen colonies were still a part of England, it is claimed that the Scottish writer, Professor Alexander Tyler,* wrote the following about the fall of the Athenian republic over two thousand years previous to that time:

“A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves money from the public treasure. From that moment on the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most money from the public treasury, with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world’s great civilizations has been two hundred years. These nations have progressed through the following sequence: from bondage to spiritual faith, from spiritual faith to great courage, from courage to liberty, from liberty to abundance, from abundance to selfishness, from selfishness to complacency from complacency to apathy, from apathy to dependency, from dependency back to bondage.”³

According to Chuck Colson, Don Reeverts of the Denver Leadership Foundation “thinks we [the U.S.A.] are entering the stage of apathy…. Apathy manifests itself in how people dress, how they talk, how they care for each other—and how concerned they are about the great issues of the day…. Apathy inevitably leads to dependency. And once we become dependent on Big Brother [the government], we are back in bondage. Can anybody really watch the dramatic growth of governmental power and not be alarmed? For the fact of the matter is that the more government acts as God, the less people depend on the one true God.”⁴

If ever there was a time when Christians need to stand up and be counted it is today. Like the frog in the kettle that, because of the deadening of its response, allows itself to slowly but surely be boiled to death, we too will allow our nation and ourselves to be overrun by those who are determined to destroy every vestige of Christianity in our nation. Little by little it is already happening.

However, at this time it has never been easier to stand up and be counted by actively communicating the message of God’s salvation and his Truth by a tactful use of the electronic media by forwarding suitable messages and websites to all of our contacts. For further helps please see the ACTS People Power for Jesus website at: www.actsweb.org/people_power.

Suggested prayer: Dear God, please open the eyes of my understanding so that I will clearly see what is happening in our ever increasing secularized and anti-God, anti-Christian world. Please give me the courage to be a living witness for you and do everything in my power to stand up and be counted and to communicate your saving gospel to as many people as I possibly can. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Revelation 3:3 (NIV).

2. Chuck Colson, Breakpoint, August 7, 2009. http://www.breakpoint.org/commentaries/12141-rejecting-apathy

3. Ibid.
*Note, there is doubt regarding the validity of the author of this quote. See http://www.lorencollins.net/tytler1.html

4. Ibid.