A Biblical View of the Thanksgiving Day Holiday

I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. –Galatians 1:6, 7.

It has now been 22 years since I first discovered the truth about Christmas. It was then another 10 years before I could, with the help of my Christian wife, lay down the holiday completely. We eventually laid down all holidays, even Thanksgiving Day, in obedience to the scriptures. Let me now briefly take you through how we were led to do this.

My conviction about Christmas came about when I discovered the true origin of that holiday, and the many lies that it incorporates. God hates lies! Stated briefly, December 25th has historically been celebrated as the birth of the pagan sun god Baal; this holiday was called Saturnalia in the Roman Empire. God never instructed us to observe Jesus’ earthly birth, and you can read about more problems in our blog, Christians and Christmastime: A Crisis of Faith.

This led me to consider other holidays, and what the Bible had to say about the subject. The Bible is of course referring specifically to religious holidays, not national holidays. Yet we have found great problems with these celebrations, as well. The national holidays tend toward a friendship with, and love for the world (James 4:4 and I John 2:15, 16). Our current religious holidays have descended from ancient pagan festivals-all except for Thanksgiving Day. More on that in a little bit, but for now we’ll look at some scriptural foundation for why we chose to give up holidays. Some underlining is done to distinguish God’s Word from my words.

But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. –John 3:21. When we claim Jesus Christ to be our LORD (Luke 6:46), we naturally should bring all of our lives before Him. This is the beginning for holiday examination.

Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. –Matthew 7:17-20. As Christians, we ought to be able to discern what is of God, and what isn’t; we’ve been given the Holy Ghost, and the mind of Christ (I John 2:27, I Corinthians 2:16). And we hold all things up to the light of God’s Word (II Timothy 3:16, 17).

This next scripture calls for some background information. A dispute arose in the early church when some of the born again Jews asserted that the born again Gentiles needed to also follow the law of Moses to be saved. The law of Moses included various holidays.

And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe. And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they…For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things; That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well. –Acts 15:7-11, 28 and 29. And so we see here, that the law of Moses no longer applies to the believer.

Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods. But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage? Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years. I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain. –Galatians 4:7-11. The book of Galatians was written to a church that was showing signs of falling back into a works-based salvation, instead of relying on the righteousness of Christ alone. The observance of annual holidays was an evidence of their stumbling. Our own self-determined religious works cannot please God; ours must be a faith of obedience to our Lord.

O Foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you? This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh? –Galatians 3:1-3.

If God wanted a special “holiday” observance of any kind, He would indicate this in the Bible. Such instruction would tell us the “how to” and when for each occasion. It is plain to see that God has not authorized any holidays for the New Testament church.

In certain ways, the establishment of a Thanksgiving holiday is a masterful piece of Satanic deception. It poses as a good Christian holiday, meant to thank and praise God, and yet it in no way came from ancient pagan traditions. But even though it may seem noble in purpose, it still stands in stark contradiction to the written instruction of God’s Word. God wants our praise, thanks, and worship all the time, everyday.

I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving. –Psalm 69:30

Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. –Psalm 100:4.

Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing. –Psalm 107:21, 22.

Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God. For the administration of this service not only supplieth the want of the saints, but is abundant also by many thanksgivings unto God; -II Corinthians 9:11, 12.

Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; -Ephesians 5:20.

Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. –Philippians 4:6.

Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. –Colossians 2:7.

Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving; -Colossians 4:2.

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.–I Thessalonians 5:18.

I EXHORT therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; -I Timothy 2:1.

By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. –Hebrews 13:15.

This was by no means an exhaustive list of scriptures pertaining to the “thanksgiving” theme, but it should be sufficient to make the point. When we especially denote certain religious holidays, we may feel good about ourselves, and the “show” we are making for God. What the Lord wants, however, is a consistent walk with Him EVERY DAY!

But the damage that the Thanksgiving holiday has done extends into other days, too. After all, if we’ve found a way to please God with an acceptable holiday in Thanksgiving, can’t we find a way to make other holidays acceptable?

Historically, pagan holiday traditions like Easter and Christmas came with the beginning of Roman Catholicism: then came the Reformation, which culminated with the King James Bible. The Puritan influence on the church confronted and overcame these ungodly traditions up until the late 1800’s, around the time of the Bible revision work (1871-1881). Thanksgiving Day, as a national holiday, was established through President Lincoln in 1863. By the establishment of an “acceptable” Christian holiday, and the gutting of God’s Word, holidays like Christmas soon made a roaring comeback on all fronts.

In honoring God, Christians really need to pull away from holiday observances. Even days such as Thanksgiving Day are fleshly, indulgent, and huge wastes of time and money. We must strive to honor God with our lives every day of the year, settling for nothing less than the spiritual perfection our Heavenly Father wants for us (Matthew 5:48).

He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do. And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition. –Mark 7:6-9. Bold type added.

God is still for us, Brethren

What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? –Romans 8:31, 32.

If any of you have been following this blog, you will know that it is often heavy with warnings because of these end times, and the great spiritual darkness that goes along with it. But there is good news, also; God is still the same! He is unchangeable, His promises are sure, and His presence is constant. My prayer for each of you is that you may know the nearness of God, regardless of circumstance.

Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee. –Psalm 139:7-12.

We need to remember that God loved us first, through His Son Jesus Christ, and that only by His own grace and choosing. And if God so reached out to us at the first, surely He will continue to be faithful after we have chosen Him.

In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. –I John 4:9, 10.

But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement. –Romans 5:8-11.

There are dark days ahead for our nation, and world. It is vital for our peace and well-being that we remember the nearness of our God, His greatness, and His constancy. Trouble for us means an opportunity for the Lord’s power to be seen.

And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me. –Psalm 50:15.

Through God’s incredible mercy, and the countless failings of my flesh, the Lord has been teaching me to walk closely with Him throughout each day, and to try to lean upon Him for everything. It is wonderful to know the nearness of God! I like to be sure I am walking by His leading, in His purpose, and with His blessing; whereby through this I can be certain of succeeding in God’s eyes, even if my own senses indicate something different. I stand upon Psalm 37:5;

Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.

The following incidents are shared so that you may find encouragement in the Lord at all times, and find strength in an intimacy with God.

1) Back in the spring, the Lord directed us to make a push for paying off our home. This could be a long story by itself! But in the end it looked as if we might achieve it by October 26th, as we had an early pay in November to lean on if we needed it. My prayers were two fold; first, that we might achieve the pay-off without needing November’s income: secondly, that we might get the payment done even earlier than the last pay in October.

Suffice it to say, God really blessed our income during October. There is for us a minimum pay that we count on for meeting our bills, which I call “the curve.” After my wife and I each had a pay day in October, I noticed that the dollar amount above “the curve” totaled $168. I reported this to my wife, saying, “168; that’s 24- 7s, the number of hours in a week. I don’t know what that means.” But the next day the Lord showed me the meaning; that through the extra $168 we would be able to meet the pay off one week earlier! And so God provided for the home pay off early, we didn’t need November money, and He showed his workings in a very unique way.

2) Due to our push to pay off the home, I had postponed purchasing new work boots, but the time finally came. Once again, I committed it to the Lord, because I find this to be an expensive purchase. For two weeks I prayed and watched for deals, but then finally went to a place that has a lot of good work boots, where I could feel pretty assured of finding the right pair. The cost was fixed at an $80 maximum; I had a $5 coupon, so the listed price could be $85. I did expect the cost to be in the $70 range. Yet even as I asked the Lord for His help, I told Him it would be nice if I didn’t have to pay the maximum!

And so I searched through many boots, but the one that fit best was at almost the end of my search: it was listed at $84.94, the maximum I would pay. As I began moving toward the checkout, I thanked the Lord for the boots, and asked His blessing. I knew that He had been directing me, and I had peace. Yet I told the Lord that I was disappointed to have to pay the maximum amount, and I had hoped for a little less. Guess what? When I got to the register, the boots rang up for $8 less! This meant a lot to me; more for sight of God’s touch, than for the money.

3) It is good to pray, trusting In God even when the outcome of our prayers may be unseen, or not obvious. What God does show us ought to encourage us that way. One day I was walking home from work at a nearby department store, having finished my shift at 1 p.m. Right from the start, I thought I was hearing thunder, but it was still very sunny. My wife and I love thunder storms, but are still aware of how dangerous they can be. There were thunderstorms predicted for the area that day, but these usually come later in the afternoon. Something inside me said that if I was hearing all this thunder, long in advance of seeing anything, that these storms might be powerful. With this in mind, I prayed for safety as soon as I got home…

When the storm reached us, it wasn’t violent at all, but simply brought us a very beneficial rain. At this point, many would be inclined to say that extra prayer wasn’t really needed, right? The Lord let us see otherwise! The next day, the storm had made the headlines in the paper, as over $2 million dollars in damage was estimated. At my wife’s work, one co-worker had a tree fall on their house, while another said that over 100 trees had been knocked down on his property! But still worse, we read of a death from the storm. A woman, hearing a crash in her back yard, went outside to investigate; she stepped on a downed power line, and was electrocuted. I’d say my prayers were needed, and answered.

4) One Saturday morning, upon opening the refrigerator, I noticed we were low on yogurt-something we like to have around. We still had 12, but it was time to start looking for a good deal on some type of yogurt we like. My reaction when seeing this was to say aloud, “Oh, Lord, we need more yogurt!” It was just a reaction, and I wasn’t worried-but God heard me!

About 90 minutes later I was taking a walk, and up ahead on the road I saw some type of mess with a white bag out toward the middle of the road. I decided that when I got there, I’d move the mess to the side, so it wouldn’t get worse. But what was it? When I got there, I found that it had been 4 yogurt containers! There is a nearby store; I guessed that someone had bought these, set them on their car while opening it, and forgot about them. They had fallen off when driving away. Three of the yogurts were smashed, but one was completely intact- and none of the smashed yogurt had gotten onto the one whole one! How good our God is!

5) During one 2 week period, I became concerned about our old coffee maker. It still worked, but I was “feeling” like we should look into replacing it, for fear that it could die at any time. I really couldn’t say at the time why I started thinking this way. The coffee maker we had was still performing, and we really didn’t have much money to get another one anyway. So why was I looking, or feeling this way? I surrendered it to God, thinking that my feelings were a bit foolish…

A few days after I gave this matter to God, I was spending time praying in an empty store parking lot. At the one end of the parking area there is a drop box where people donate old clothes they don’t want: and sometimes they drop off things that they really shouldn’t! I noticed a bag setting outside the drop box, and decided to go see what else had been left there. It was a coffee maker! And it was just like the kind we would have wanted. We checked it out and it still worked. We put it in storage, and it was ready for us when the other finally died, some 10 months or so later. What had God done? He had prepared my mind to receive this item in advance! He knew of our need in advance! We never had any worries or cost about replacing our coffee maker.

6) When we first moved into our home, I assembled a number of power tools to help repair and maintain it. Now those tools are wearing out, and replacement costs can be daunting. In addition, we expect to be moving in the future, and don’t expect to take them with us. So when I had a couple of saws go down, I wanted to spend as little as reasonably possible for replacements; I determined to replace the two I’d lost with just one. My choice was between a circular saw and a miter saw. In terms of price, the difference was huge; circular saw $40, miter saw $120! I took it to the Lord in prayer. My preference was the miter saw, with which I had much experience-but how could I ignore the price comparison? I thought I had prayed it through, and chose the circular saw, with which I didn’t have much experience.

So with the new saw in hand, I was set to tackle a home project that had been waiting. I struggled with the saw, and made some bad cuts which required me to buy additional wood. When the project was done, I went to the Lord in prayer to ask His forgiveness. It seemed clear that even though I meant to pray the matter through about the saw, my flesh had overcome the soundness of choice God would have me to make. I didn’t want to shame Him by inappropriately tying His name to something that wasn’t really of Him. Even so, I told the Lord that I wasn’t going to spend yet more of His money to then get a miter saw, but instead I simply asked Him to help me learn to handle what I had…

That was on a Tuesday, and two days later I was delivering papers along my route for work. I was in an area that gets trash collection that day, and along my drive, I… Well, I couldn’t believe it- there was a miter saw put out for the trash! I started trembling; I broke into tears, but yes! I quickly picked it up. Why had it been put out for the trash? Apparently, the handle with the on-off switch had broken. The owner had rigged it so that it did work, but only by plugging it in and unplugging it for power. So God also gave me a miter saw at no extra cost. And I hoped you noticed, that I had never asked Him for it. I remembered Psalm 34:15;

The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry.

7) My wife and I sometimes shop at “reuse it” stores, and one that we like is a bit of a drive from home, so excursions there are usually planned in advance. And so during one of these trips we found several useful items at good prices, but my wife voiced her disappointment at not finding a clothing item she was looking for; a long-sleeved T-shirt. The ones she has occasionally wear out, and need replacing. I told her that I was sorry she hadn’t found any, and I hadn’t even known that she was looking for this item. Then I said that we ought to keep it in prayer, seeking the Lord’s help. Between us, we offered a few prayers about this matter that same day, and the next morning…

The day after our shopping was a Saturday, and in the morning I walked out to a public school and park area that I often go to for more time in prayer. When I got there, what was that I saw lying in a grassy median area? It was a woman’s long-sleeved gray T-shirt, in my wife’s size! And this shirt wasn’t any “reuse” item, either; it was brand new, because the tags were still on it! It was wet from being out in the grass, and we did wash it, but it was indeed a brand new shirt.

8) This is the last account to be given here, but it’s tough to know where to stop. Just over a year ago, our “weather station” finally gave out. Jamie’s parents had shared this one with us when they were “upgrading” their own weather station. What we had was a simple model, with a transmitter, by which we could know the indoor and outdoor temperatures. We came to depend on it a lot! We have no television service, and no home internet access (at the time), so this simple device helped us immensely. It didn’t take long to see that we needed to replace it.

We certainly had the money to replace it, but still it grieved me, because I considered the cost of the item significant; in the range of about $15-$30. And so the time had come to take action, and make a purchase. I ran a couple other errands first, to devote full attention toward the purchase. The Lord led me to a $1 bill, which I took as His hand on my shoulder, and sure guidance…

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy path. –Proverbs 3:5, 6.

In God’s wisdom, I determined that all we really needed in a weather station was exactly what we’d had, just the indoor and outdoor temperature; that narrowed the field. After checking at one more store for their inventory and prices, I was on my way to the place of purchase, and it was soon done- but God wasn’t!

That Friday night was the homecoming football game for our school. And so it was on the morning after, that I determined to take my exercise walk around the school, and search for any dropped money. I committed my entire walking route to the Lord, and asked for His blessing. When I got there, however, I realized that I had forgotten that in some places I’d be dealing with fallen leaves because of the season! How do you find coins in a pile of leaves? But as I walked in this first area, my prayer went something like this; “Lord, logic would tell me that I can’t find money in this area because of the leaves. But you have shown me many times that this is no hindrance for you.” These words had just come from my lips, when looking down I saw a $20 bill lying on top of the leaves! I thanked the Lord with great joy, and then started searching in the parking lot. A few more coins were found, and I headed toward home. As I turned up the last street toward home, I prayed again, something like this; “Oh Lord, you have blessed me greatly today, but on this last street you know that I haven’t ever found much. Still, I know that you have proven yourself to me many times, and can do so now again.” Immediately I looked down and saw six pennies!

It wasn’t until the next day, or the day after that, when I realized what God had done; over Friday and Saturday He had blessed me to find $21.33-the weather station had cost $21.19! That is my God, leading my steps, and meeting the concern I had about an extra expense. God really cares.

To whosoever may be reading this, I want you to remember it. Through the troubled times in the world which are near at hand, or merely for the concerns of your own life, remember that God is still there. There are no limits with God. Learn now to trust in Him completely, and soon you will see His hand working in your personal life daily, and even moment by moment. God is faithful, and He is ever true to His Word;

For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath he hid his face from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard. –Psalm 22:24.

Scriptures That Today's Church Will Not Embrace

And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.-Matthew 26, 27.

There are some parts of the Bible that our present day “Church” really doesn’t handle well. Any part of the Bible which may be uncomfortable is likely to be avoided, or thought to be only applicable to some other time, place, or people. Pastors are taught how to skillfully handle such passages in a way that will keep their “flock” comfortable-and coming back for more.

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. -II Timothy 4:3, 4.

The following is a partial list of some rather uncomfortable truths from the Word of God, the King James Bible. This is in no way a complete list, and the points noted here are not in a particular order of priority.

1) False teachers. God has given us incredible warnings about false teachers, but the “anything goes” Church of today accepts almost everything without any deeper examination. This has likely arisen because the foundation of God’s Word has been destroyed (Psalm 11:3), and there is nothing left to stand on. We have become destructively addicted to getting along with everyone, at any price. We need the discernment of the Holy Spirit, and the boldness to take a stand.

Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears. –Acts 20:28-31. See also II Corinthians 11:13-15.

2) Worldly affection. Christians are supposed to be “new creatures” in Christ, and dead to the world and its appetites: instead, we remain just like the unsaved world, retaining most of their values (like sports, movies, video games, vacations). Preaching about such things could get VERY uncomfortable in many congregations! Preachers, will you dare to stand up for holiness?

Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. –James 4:4. See also I John 2:15, 16.

3) A rough path. The way of a Christian is not an easy one, yet that is not the common perception provided by the Church of today. It is generally regarded that “victorious” Christian living will show itself in the believer’s good standing with others, and in material prosperity. The Bible doesn’t show us this! Hasn’t the book of Job taught us anything?

Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God. –Acts 14:22. See also II Timothy 3:12.

4) The last days. Christians don’t like thinking about the end times mostly because they know that it will mean a lot of difficulty. This is why so many have bought into the unscriptural notion of a pre-tribulation rapture; they like the idea of this, because it would keep them from the worst of these times, under the reign of the Antichrist. They may also like to believe that no one can really know the time of the end. Such ideas may be comfortable, but they aren’t Biblical. God has given us a lot of help through His Word in order to prepare us- let’s embrace it!

And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? –Matthew 24:3. You will note that Jesus’ disciples asked the Lord in private specifically about the end of the world-and Jesus told them! See also all of Matthew 24, Luke 17: 26-37, and 21:7-36.

And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. –Revelation 13:6, 7. Bold type added.

Revelation 13 is devoted primarily to the Beast (the Antichrist), and also to the false prophet. This referral to him making war with the saints actually comes prior to the implementation of the 666 identity number, found in verses 16-18. There are multiple other scriptures that refer to the plight of believers under the Antichrist (mostly in the book of Daniel). God wants to prepare us, brethren; will we let Him?

5) Hating life in this the world. This is a tough one, but it falls right in line with where Christian affections should be. Jesus directly tells us that we should hate our lives in this world in John 12:25; but how can this be? Aren’t there many blessings to be thankful for? What we need here is a spiritual perception. Sin and Satan have ruined our world in countless ways, and we need to be aware of this as children of God. Wars, famine, disease, wild beasts, social injustice, and untimely deaths are all a part of this world’s sinful ruin; we have fallen very far from the way God created things to be. And nothing can in any way compare with what Jesus has in store for us! Yet it seems that for today’s “church,” reward is primarily in this temporal world.

He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. –John 12:25. See also Colossians 3:1-3.

6) Self denial. Luke 9:23 says, “ And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” Yet the professing church of today doesn’t really deny itself, does it? And it certainly won’t teach this message to the general congregation. The preaching of the cross has become foolish, even with regard to the daily life of individual believers. Some would say, “God accepts me as I am: and besides that, He hasn’t asked me to give up these things.” The key part in Luke 9:23 is instructing us to deny ourselves. In other words, we are choosing for ourselves to put away anything that might stand in the way of following Christ; we choose it, even if God hasn’t yet instructed us to do it. And the Word of God will reveal what pleases the Lord, and what to avoid.

So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do. –Luke 17:10.

7) We are fighting the devil. Most Christians will not accept that they are fighting Satan directly, and churches don’t teach it. Typically, our fight with the devil is thought to be indirect; we suppose that because Satan deceived mankind into sinning, and we now have a sinful nature, that this is the measure of our fight with the devil. Such assumptions may have an element of truth in them, but their conclusion is way off base. The devil is very, very real. But our enemy does like to disguise his work by using points of “ordinary” agitation. I will give 2 examples. It is a fact that babies cry, and we would expect an infant to do this in trying to communicate that something is wrong. Satan can take advantage of this. My wife and I attended a church where there was no nursery, so the small infants were kept in the sanctuary with their parents. Occasionally, a loud din of crying would ensue from these young infants; my wife and I would look at each other, and then in barely audible voices we would bind Satan from working upon these children in Jesus’ name. By doing this we were acknowledging that there might be some legitimate reason for crying, but focused on preventing the devil’s agitation. The crying always stopped. When we shared this with the pastor, he was stunned; his reaction told us that he didn’t think the devil could be in his church!

On another occasion, just recently, I was trying to dispatch a “green bottle” housefly in our home. He showed up suddenly, and just before I was going to pray. He was buzzing back and forth quickly, and I thought it seemed almost angry; I thought it would be very hard to get. But then I bound Satan from working upon the fly in Jesus’ name; the fast, angry flying stopped, and he landed on the back of the nearby chair! Yes, I got him! So let’s not take our adversary for granted, or the weapons God has given us to fight him.

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. –I Peter 5:8, 9. See also Ephesians 6:10-18.

8) Compromising with family. As Christians, we must expect the resistance of the enemy. We must also expect that he will use those closest to us to cause a lot of trouble. Under many circumstances it is only reasonable and logical to maintain good relations within a family; but our commitment to Christ must take priority. The church of these “last days” emphasizes “getting along” with others above almost everything else. But we as believers must be careful not to let the worldly value of unity lead us into a denial of Christ. There was an article in a local newspaper some time ago, highlighting how a pastor defied his denomination to perform a wedding for his homosexual son! Of course, the paper was presenting this as if there was some type of nobility in the pastor’s decision. Yet the espousal of this sin wasn’t noble in God’s eyes; in fact, it denied Christ.

Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. –Matthew 10:34-39. See also Luke 14:26. Bold type added.

Jesus said that if we love Him, we will keep His words (John 14:23). He calls us to embrace His full counsel, and not only the pleasant parts. Living for Christ is really not easy, for it means behaving in a way that is often contrary to our natural inclinations in the flesh. It is time for us to put our spiritual houses in order and prepare to meet our God; for truly, the coming of the Lord draws near.

And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof. –Romans 13:11-14.

For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator. –I Peter 4:17-19.