Is the devil black or white?

This maybe sound like a strange question to you, since the devil is a spiritual being, therefore having no "skin color". Of course i'm not talking about the devil's "skin color" nor i'm saying that the black color means evil, i'm talking about satan's character, since he is described in the Bible as the "ruler of the darkness": Ephesians 6:12; a "murderer" and the "father of lies": John 8:44; the "adversary": 1 Peter 5:8; the "wicked one": Matthew 13:19. How many times you heard people (including christians) telling what's called "white lies" without any shame of doing it? Since the devil is the father of lies and he is evil, we must answer these questions: Is there a "good" or "white" lie? Is there a "good" sin? When satan transforms himself into an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14), does he become a "good" evil? Can light have communion with darkness (2 Corinthians 6:14)? Can we have sunshine and darkness simultaneously? Unfortunately, we have made so many concessions regarding to sin, that is very hard to fully speak the truth, "nothing but the truth". We've been living a double life, where we're trying to please God and satan at the same time, in the same sentence speaking truth and lying. If an episode like the lying of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5), happens in our churches and we "detect" (discern) it, it'll be considered "normal" or just another "white lie". In the early church, Ananias and Sapphira's "white lie" cost their lives. Today, it probably wouldn't cost anything, because of our lack of discernment, we wouldn't even know that they were lying, instead, we'd probably "praise" them for doing such a beautiful act of compassion. Our "modern" Christianity is way too casual, there's very little if any of what the Bible calls "Fear of God" in our midst. How much "blood" are we shedding in our fight against sin? Hebrews 12:4. Are we really striving against sin or just giving up easily? Does sinning makes us cry for forgiveness or have we numb our conscience by never confessing our sins? Are we in and of the world or are we in but not of the world? John 15:19.

Wormwood: From Living Water to Bitterness.

Deuteronomy 29:18; Proverbs 5:4; Jeremiah 23:15; Amos 5:7; Amos 6:12. As you can see, in the Old Testament, wormwood is associated with bitterness. About the Living Water, Jesus says: John 4:10; John 7:38-39. First, we need to answer these questions: What is living water? Is it possible to have a river of living water flowing from our hearts and our hearts become as bitter as the wormwood? The answer for the first question, according to Jesus is: The Holy Spirit, "out of his heart will flow rivers of living water". But this He spoke concerning the Spirit. To answer the second question, we need to read what the Bible says in Revelation 8:10-11. There are many people saying that the "great star" is the planet-x (named by Nasa) or another "star" that will hit the earth, but, if you just think twice you'll realize that nothing will be left here if the smallest star hits the earth. According to the website "universe today", "the smallest known star right now is OGLE-TR-122b, a red dwarf star that’s part of a binary stellar system. This red dwarf the smallest star to ever have its radius accurately measured; 0.12 solar radii. This works out to be 167,000 km. That’s only 20% larger than Jupiter. You might be surprised to know that OGLE-TR-122b has 100 times the mass of Jupiter, but it’s only a little larger". If you read the Bible carefully, you'll see that the "great star" that fell from heaven is satan, Isaiah 14:12; Luke 10:18. So, since the beginning (literally from Adam and eve), satan is deceiving mankind and in this last days, he is fiercely attacking christians with false doctrines and teachings of man, because he knows that if he manages to introduce just enough of his demonic doctrine, he will pervert the believer's heart, turning the pure Gospel of Jesus Christ into man made doctrines and because those christians never "test the spirits", as John commands in 1 John 4:1, they will drink a "contaminated" water, and this water will make them as bitter as the wormwood. In this last days, satan will afflict the whole world, but christians in particular, those who are not washed with water by the word, Ephesians 5:26, won't be able to stand and be faithful, therefore, will become bitter, because they had false expectations, they never allowed Jesus Christ to transform their lives. Will one third of the rivers and the springs of water be literally contaminated? Probably! We're now watching what is happening in Japan, because the radiation leakage, water is being contaminated, so it's possible for one reason or another that a third of the drinkable water on the planet will be contaminated, time will tell. Did you know that the nuclear plants are built on the shores of lakes, rivers, and oceans because these bodies provide the large quantities of cooling water needed to handle the heat discharge, as energy is created? Haggai 2:6. What will happen when (not if) the Lord shakes the "whole" earth? Will those nuclear plants be severed damaged to the point that they will have massive radiation leakage, therefore contaminating all the lakes and rivers nearby? If you don't think it's possible to have the Holy Spirit living in you and later become bitter as the wormwood, read the story of king Saul, he had the living water (Holy Spirit), after the Holy Spirit left him, he became tormented by an evil spirit (wormwood). So, there's the literal and the spiritual side of this present-future apocalyptic story, but the truth is that we must be prepared for what is coming, and we can see that Christ's return is near. I started writing this post after having a very real experience couple nights ago. I had a dream and a experience with it. In the morning i was totally sure about the dream, it was a dream, but the experience was something else, it was kinda real. This is the experience i had: I was talking with a person who sold a water purifier and was asking him if his purifier was able to eliminate all the contaminants of the water (chemical, biological, etc), since all the drinkable water around was contaminated. Maybe you won't believe the experience i had, but i hope at least you'll believe what you read in the Bible, the Word of God.

The Father, the Prodigal and the Hypocrite.

Luke 15:11-32. If you heard a preaching about the parable of the prodigal son like i did many times, you probably never heard anyone talking much about the "other brother". I'd like to talk about him, because he has a lot in common with most, if not all of us. I will call him the hypocrite son. Let's see what Jesus said: He was as son as the prodigal one; when the father divided his livelihood, he gave to each of his sons what they were entitled to receive (the older a double portion); the prodigal enjoyed his share (what he did is now irrelevant) but the hypocrite, consumed by his pride, didn't touch anything; the hypocrite, even being a son, lived as a hired servant, never enjoying his possessions; the hypocrite lived a miserable life trying to gain his father's approval by working hard; he became an angry, bitter, resentful and unforgiving person; he became blind, couldn't see his name in the "property title". Let's compare the hypocrite's life with our own: How many times we didn't "feel" like being God's children? How many times have we thought that God didn't give us anything but "work" to do? How many times have we seen our brothers and sisters living an abundantly life and we've been living a miserable one? How many times we worked so hard that we became angry, bitter, resentful and unforgiving not accepting the prodigals back? How many times have we lived as "hired servants", never enjoying God's blessings, like freedom, for example? Maybe you are different, but honestly, as Jesus only mentioned those two brothers, i don't think there's a way of escape, at one point in our lives, we were either the prodigal or the hypocrite one. Romans 8:29. So, the purpose of redemption is not to make us like the prodigal or the hypocrite son, but, to make us conformed to the image of Jesus Christ.

Judas and the Money Box: A Test of Character.

John 13:29. Have you ever asked yourself: Why did Jesus give Judas Iscariot the money box? Wasn't obvious enough that he (Judas) was going to steal? Well, i asked myself many times and this morning (about 4am) i had the answer: Jesus gave Judas the money box to test his character. Of course Jesus knew that Judas was a thief and thieves are known by stealing stuff. So what was the purpose in giving Judas, a thief, the money box? Why didn't Jesus give the money box to Nathanael, since Nathanael was honest? John 1:47. Well, the answer is obvious: Because you don't have to test an honest person if you know that he (she) will not steal; you don't have to test a truthful person if you know that he will not lie; you don't have to test a faithful person if you know that he will not cheat, etc. A test of character is only needed if the person's character is dubious! Of course, if you are thinking about Job, since Job was blameless and upright, and asking: "So, why Job had to be tested?" It's because satan (adversary) didn't know or think that Job was all of that, satan thought that Job's character was tied to his (Job) fortune (money and luck), besides through the "test" Job acquired a more "intimate" relationship with God. Job 1:1; Job 42:5. By giving Judas the money box, Jesus was giving him a chance (three years) to confess his sins and repent, to be changed by the Holy Spirit, to become an honest and righteous person. Of course we know the story: Judas not only kept stealing from the box, but at the end "sold" Jesus to the religious people. That's what the Bible calls iniquity, It's a sin that one keeps committing over and over again, without any effort or willingness to change, a sin without repentance! Remember, Biblical concept of repentance is: To turn around; to stop doing it; to abandon it; to change, etc. We can see in John 13:29 that even the apostles thought that Judas was an honest and merciful fella, since he was the "treasurer" among them, his "reputation" preceded him, or his hypocrisy, whatever the case might be. Just like Judas, we are being tested over and over again. Life is cyclical, just because we passed the test yesterday, doesn't mean that we will never be tested again and because we didn't sin yesterday, we are guaranteed that we will not sin today. My point is: Don't rely on past experiences! Yesterday is past, tomorrow is future and today is the day to resist temptation! Sounds dumb but it is the reality, Jesus told us not to worry about tomorrow, Matthew 6:34, besides, Paul told us to be watchful, 1 Corinthians 10:12. Remember the story of Balaam? His character was tested, but he showed to be less faithful than his donkey: Numbers 22:28-33. In which area of your life you are been tested right now? Faithfulness, truthfulness, righteousness, forgiveness, mercifulness? Are you sure you are not been tested? I tell you the truth: If you think you don't need to be tested, it's because you are not a disciple of Jesus Christ!
Conclusion: Character matters. Don't postpone repentance, because you don't know if you will be alive tomorrow. Matthew 25:13. Remember that both Judas Iscariot and Balaam ended up in hell, one committed suicide and the other was killed, both because their wickedness (iniquity). Matthew 7:21-23.

Are you listening? Yes dear, i'm hearing.

Here is the difference between hearing and listening: Hearing is simply the act of perceiving sound by the ear. If you are not hearing-impaired, hearing simply happens; Listening, however, is something you consciously choose to do. Listening requires concentration so that your brain processes meaning from words and sentences. Listening leads to learning. First of all, men are hearers and women are listeners, meaning, men simply hear because they are not hearing-impaired, but women, they listen to everything, every time, everywhere and are able to have thousands of conversations simultaneously. They say that men are task oriented individuals and inside their brains everything is compartmentalized, in other words, we cannot watch tv and talk at the same time. Of course there are few exceptions, but, that's the rule! Probably, that's why the wife cannot understand why her husband is sitting in front of the tv switching channels all the time, in reality, he's only resting, reposing, lazing, etc. The tv and remote control are only tools to help him to fully relax. His brain is in a compartment called "resting place", so when the wife talks to him (boy they talk), he will hear the wife as much as he will hear the tv, meaning, the words will enter in his left ear, pass through his head, and exit through his right ear, in other words, very little if any will stick to his brain. They say that men are single-taskers. Women, however, are very (extremely) multi-taskers, they can do everything at the same time. Other day, i listened to a pastor, he's a Boricua (Puerto Rican) dude, i'm not a "smile always, again i say smile" kinda person, but i laughed all the way through his message, his name is Mark Gungor and his book is called "Laugh your way to a better marriage: Unlocking the secrets to life, love..." (i just found in the net). When he was saying those things, i could picture myself and my wife in those situations and realizing how different we are. So, how is it possible for me to become one with my wife, since we are so different? The skeptical will say: "give up man, it's impossible!", but Jesus commanded me to become one with my wife, it means that it is possible! Again, oneness is not singleness, is likeness. As much as we pursue Christlikeness, we will reach the oneness target. So, do opposites really attract? If the answer is “yes” or “no”, to me it is irrelevant. What is relevant is the fact that there are a lot of benefits in opposite attraction, for example: I am calm, most the time slow and usually i think a thousand times before doing something. My wife, on the other hand, is easily irritated, most the time fast and don't think twice before doing something. Now imagine if she was like me? We would be called the "snail" family! But, if we were like her, we would be called the "cheetah" family! So, our differences make our marriage better, they improve our lives, they bring the "balance" needed for a successful (not perfect) marriage. So, problems and challenges are part of a "healthy" marriage, the issue is, solving the problems together. So, if you want a "problem free" marriage, don't get married! Of course, singleness is a gift from God. Paul wrote about marriage, 1 Corinthians 7, and gave the pros and cons about it, it is personal and its an everlasting commitment, till death do us part: 1 Corinthians 7:28.

Freedom vs Slavery: Jesus the Master vs satan the taskmaster.

For a long time in my life, i was satan's slave. Of course i didn't think i was or even accepted the idea that i could be, but the "naked" truth is: satan was my taskmaster. I say taskmaster in reference to those appointed by pharaoh to afflict the Israelites: Exodus 1:8-11. Unfortunately, many people in our churches are in bondage (slaves) to satan, like i used to, they don't admit they are, they just think that life has to be "miserable", that's because we live in a fallen world and we would never experience absolute freedom. By thinking like that, they are (like i used to) contradicting Jesus Christ, because He said in John 8:36. So, Jesus was either lying or telling the truth, again He said in John 14:6. In other words: If you think there's no such a thing as total freedom, than for you, there's no total Jesus! Of course, the devil is very crafty (cunning), he will many times, as the Bible says in 2 Corinthians 11:14, show himself as an angelical, marvelous, beautiful, kind and friendly "dude", but in fact he is only deceiving, "behind the curtains", he is orchestrating a cunning plan in order to steal, kill or destroy, as Jesus says in John 10:10. Unfortunately, is not only satan that is working in the slavery business, there are many wicked people acting as taskmasters, afflicting others for personal gain. I wish this was only happening outside the church, but unfortunately it is also happening inside the church. Of course this is nothing new, as Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 1:9. Jesus and His Apostles dealt with the taskmasters, pharisees and other hypocrites, who put burdens on people's shoulders, but they didn't even touched those burdens. Matthew 23:4. Some of my clients (i drive a cab) complaint that they are doing the work that two or three people used to do, yet making the same money but working very long hours, as they see their CEO's giving themselves huge bonuses, millions of dollars. If they say something, they are threatened. Isn't this a "modern" slavery? No wonder things are going from bad to worse. We live in a society where pets are more valuable than babies, kill a baby (abortion) and you will "be fine", kill a pet and you will "receive a fine" (if not jail time). are you free indeed? Only Jesus Christ can set you free! If you believe you are in bondage, commit yourself fully and unconditionally to Him, and He will set you free.

All for One and One for All: Why Unity Matters.

John 17:21. First of all, in this context, Oneness is not Singleness, is Likeness. Jesus and the Father are one, but at the same time they are two distinct Persons. In His prayer, Jesus asks the Father that He would bring unity among His children, that the Father would make us like-minded toward one another. Romans 15:5; Philippians 2:2. Here is where, as the motorcyclist use to say, "the meat rubs the road" (man it hurts). Why? Because it's not only agreeing on something, having the same desires, working toward the same goals, etc. Biblical Like-mindedness, according to Paul, is to have the mind of Christ: 1 Corinthians 2:16. Is it possible to have the mind of Christ? Well, if we all die to ourselves and allow Christ to live and reign in us, we will be successful, we will fulfill our calling, that is, to be the body of Christ. Think about this: What if the members of your body decide to be selfish and do their own thing? What a mess you will be! Unfortunately, that's the way we are doing most the time. When we are not divided, we are doing something to please God without even knowing or asking Him if what we're doing is what He wants us to do. We need to be transformed, not the external appearance, but the internal renewal. That's the only way we will prove (experience) the Will of God. Romans 12:2. So, why unity matters? Because that's the Will of God, that we would be a fully functional body.

True repentance: Removing the dirt swept under the carpet.

True repentance is many times, mistaken by sorrow or mourning alone, but in fact, it goes much further than just a feeling. John the Baptist defined as a change of heart, where the sorrowful feeling leads to behavioral changes and correction of the wrongs done in the past. Luke 3:7-14. Was John a revolutionary socialist? Was he playing a communist leader? Of course not! He was teaching the basic principles of God's Kingdom. How many people today in the church, that call themselves christians, are bearing fruits worthy of repentance? Not too many! That's probably why Jesus said that many are called and few are chosen. John is not talking about "equality", communism preaches that, that's why it's a failed system, John is talking about righteousness, where one cares for the others, where there's no "lacking" of basics, because the "have" help the "have-not". That's not the "utopia land", that's the Kingdom of God. Unfortunately, because there's no "perfect political system", along the way the church became complacent, acting just like the world: What is mine, is mine, what is yours is equally mine. Generosity is a condition of the heart, not a feeling. Because i am a righteous person and i have two tunics, i will give one to him who has none. So, even when i don't feel like giving, because i am righteous, i will meet someone else's needs according to my capacity. So, if we say that we repented and don't show fruits, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. it's time to allow the Holy Spirit to remove the dirt (sin) swept under the carpet (our hearts) and become the people God is calling us to be. God is not calling us to become socialists, egalitarians or even capitalists, He is calling us to be His righteousness. 2 Corinthians 5:21.

Truth Without Grace: The Logic of the Psycho-preacher.

I have to be honest with you. In the beginning, when God started teaching and revealing things to me, about His Word and about peoples lives, i took it to the extreme, like: "Repent or die you sinner!" Well, fortunately for me, God wasn't in a hurry to kill sinners, because the first one the be killed was myself, the biggest sinner. Of course, at that time i was a "little baby" acting as if i was a "giant" (spiritually speaking), it was too much for my small brain to understand. Today, i'm much more sympathetic to the sinners, realizing that i'm the biggest one, therefore, i abandoned the "truth only" approach. As i wrote in another Post, it's very hard to find the balance in the christian life, to demonstrate Grace and Truth without showing partiality. I'm still learning how to be a Truly Graceful person. So when i hear preachers condemning sinners, i understand their logic (been there, done that), the problem is that they don't see the Grace that is intrinsically attached to the Truth (Is Christ Divided?). Of course, if you keep walking the Truth-only path, you will reach the "point of no return", becoming what i call, a psycho-preacher. When i acted like that, i did because of ignorance, because i couldn't understand that God hates sin but He loves the sinner. That's the very reason Jesus died on the cross, to save sinners, like me. As Paul says in 1 Timothy 1:15. So, the reason preachers still preach the truth-only gospel, is because they don't know Jesus Christ intimately, they forget that once they were lost (are they found?), that they are still sinners and without Christ, they are just like the ones they are condemning. 1 John 1:8-10. Of course, once we're saved, we cannot live a life of sin, otherwise, we are denying God's grace. Romans 6:1-2. Even if it's is really hard achieve, we need to live a life of holiness. 1 Peter 1:15-16. So, what's the logic of the Psycho-preacher? This is it: Since sinners will go to hell if they don't receive Jesus, let me tell them and command fire to come down from heaven and consume them. Luke 9:51-56.

Is the Glass Half Full or Half Empty? The Danger of Partiality.

From the standpoint of an ex-lukewarm person (by the grace of God, now i'm hot, it's everything or nothing), i can say without any shadow of doubt, that commitment matters. In my BC (before Christ) life, i rarely commit myself to anything or anyone, because i knew that commitment always costs something and i was rarely willing to pay the price. Unfortunately, the very reason we, christians, don't see God's glory as the early church saw, it's because we are not willing to fully commit ourselves to what God is calling us to, we're most the time divided between pleasing God and someone else, between God's plan for our lives and our own. The Bible says in James 2:1. In the context, James is talking about personal favoritism, when believers were making distinction between rich and poor (sounds familiar?), and he is saying in James 2:9. So, every time you and i are showing partiality, we are sinning, that's how dangerous partiality is. Paul says in Romans 2:11. God does not see color skin, background, possessions, etc., when He looks at us, we are in the same level before Him. Answering the question: Is the glass half full or half empty? Does it matter if "lukewarm" is half cold or half hot? Well, according to Jesus it doesn't, in fact He says this: Revelation 3:15-16. So, for Jesus being lukewarm is even worse than being cold, Why? Because, just like the pharisees, the person "appears" to be good but in fact is just bad. I always thought i was a "good" person, until i met Jesus Christ and realized how "bad" i was. Jesus said this: Luke 18:19. Of course Jesus wasn't saying "He was not good", He Is God, He was saying that there's no human being who is good. So, by doing "church" things, we don't become any better than we used to be. It's the Holy Spirit in us, molding Jesus' character in us, helping us to bear His Fruit, which contains a "seed" called Goodness. Again, along the way we've being offered a "cheap" gospel where the "lukewarm" is good enough, where we are never confronted with the reality of God's Kingdom: Matthew 10:39. Remember the Parable of the 10 Virgins? Who entered in the wedding? I wrote a Post about it: Wisdom vs. Foolishness: What kind of Believer are You? So, it doesn't matter if you are "Half Committed", before God there's not partiality!

Is It ME or Is It I? The weakest link in God's chain.

If you, unlike ME (or I?), are a grammar expert, you know the answer. The correct answer in both cases is: I! Two days ago, i had a very hard time, after being called, a "liar" twice from two different people (God knows i was telling the truth), i hit rock bottom. Well, yesterday early morning, i realized that the bottom of the "pit" i felt in, wasn't a rock, but a sinking sand, the more i moved the more i sank. In the process i had a break down, cried my heart out to God asking why this was happening, why things have to be so hard. In the afternoon, i caught myself lying, literally. So, today, after the storm, i can see things clearly, like, apart from Jesus i cannot do anything, much less resist the devil. Given the right circumstances, if i'm not fully depending on God, i will sin. That was a hard lesson, so, dependency matters. I believe, whenever we think that we are strong enough to resist sin, God will allow temptations to come just to prove to us that we are sinners, and falling into temptation we will be put where we belong: dust. Many of God's servants had hardships and struggles, like Paul for example: 2 Corinthians 12:9. Or Elijah after having a tremendous victory, he felt so weak that he asked God to take his life: 1 Kings 19:2-4. Or Jesus Christ in the garden of Gethsemane: Luke 22:39-46. In no way, shape or form i'm comparing my hardship with those examples, there's no comparison, i'm just trying to show, to myself first, and hopefully to you, that there are good and bad days, there is victory and defeat, there are mountain top and rock bottom times in our lives, the only One who never lost was Jesus Christ. If we think about it, Jesus' greatest victory was His death, it sounds crazy, but it is true. Death was the last enemy He had to defeat, and He did it, and because He did it, we can have life. 1 Corinthians 15:25-26; 1 Corinthians 15:54-55. Here Paul is saying that one day death will cease to exist, once and for all, because Jesus already defeated it. Jesus also said that we will have tribulation, but, as He defeated the world, so can we. I believe that times like this come so i will not feel strong enough to do things my way, relying in my own strength, depending on myself. After the "storm", i'm again trusting in God's promises, realizing the truth in God's Word: Deuteronomy 31:6. If you are facing many battles and tribulations, don't give up, believe in Jesus, even if it looks like He is "sleeping" in your boat, He is aware of you trials, even if your boat sinks, He will take care of you. Acts 27:21-24. No matter how fierce the battle is, He will lead you to victory.
Conclusion: We are in the battle to fight, if we believe in God, He will help us to defeat the "giants" and enter in the "promise land". If we look the size and amount of "giants", we are already taking the first step to be defeated. 1 John 4:4.