When I hear Mac Powell’s voice on the radio, I immediately think of Third Day. Prior to beginning his solo career, Mac was the founding member of the Christian rock band, Third Day. Mac and Roland Hayes were both inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame due to their long run of hit songs with Third Day. One of Mac’s most recent songs is New Creation.
I have been crucified with Christ [in Him I have shared His crucifixion]; it is no longer I who live, but Christ (the Messiah) lives in me; and the life I now live in the body I live by faith in (by adherence to and reliance on and complete trust in) the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself up for me, Galatians 2:20.
One of the first messages I heard when I first started attending a Methodist youth group in high school was becoming a new creation in Christ. Subsequently, when I first heard Mac’s song on Christian radio, I went back in time to this simple yet crucial call. As you listen to New Creation, may you be inspired to follow the apostle Paul’s advice in the passage above.
While documentaries and numerous Cable shows on Unidentified Flying Objects have reduced the stigma on this topic, you will still get strange looks if you appear too excited to discuss aliens and UFO’s. Modern day churches have similar issues that are taboo, especially televangelists who prefer to paint a positive spin on life to maintain online donations. Yet, outside of horror films like the Exorcist, bringing up demons remains a topic of conversation that freaks out most church members.
And Jesus summoned to Him His twelve disciples and gave them power and authority over unclean spirits, to drive them out, and to cure all kinds of disease and all kinds of weakness and infirmity, Matthew 10:1.
As a child, I wasn’t much of a reader until I discovered Daniel Cohen. Cohen was the In Search Of author of books. Rather than listen to Leonard Nimoy on television, Daniel Cohen introduced me to mysterious phenomena like the possibility of a Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monter and Unidentified Flying Objects. Subsequently, as an adult, topics like demons and a real-life Devil who serves as the ruler of the air, Ephesians 2:2, doesn’t seem all that far-fetched to me. This belief was confirmed when I was confronted by a demon while assisting Mark, a Stephen’s ministry counselor during a home visit with an alcoholic.
But when the unclean spirit has gone out of a man, it roams through dry [arid] places in search of rest, but it does not find any. 44 Then it says, I will go back to my house from which I came out. And when it arrives, it finds the place unoccupied, swept, put in order, and decorated. 45 Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and make their home there. And the last condition of that man becomes worse than the first. So also shall it be with this wicked generation, Matthew 12:43-45.
Perhaps, too many Christians are afraid to talk about demons in public, like the former stigma of opening up about alien encounters. After watching a rerun of Cold Case Files on A&E, the detective interviewed a serial killer who blamed a Succubus, a female demon, for persuading him to rape and kill women. If this is the case, how many other attacks, crimes, and unsolved mysterious can be attributed to demonic influences? It doesn’t take much to look at tragic stories on social media to imagine the possibilities. If Jesus took demons seriously 11 times in the gospel, churches need to unveil this spiritual aspect of life.
Jason Crabb is a frequent guest and host on the Trinity Broadcast Network’s Praise program. When you’re a multiple Grammy and GMA Dove Award-winner, God opens doors to use your spiritual gifts. While listening to K-Love Radio on my way to work, I was introduced to Jason’s most recent hit song Good Morning Mercy.
But this I recall and therefore have I hope and expectation: 22 It is because of the Lord’s mercy and loving-kindness that we are not consumed, because His [tender] compassions fail not. 23 They are new every morning; great and abundant is Your stability and faithfulness, Lamentations 3:21-23.
One of my favorite passages on mercy comes from the prophet Jeremiah. Known as the weeping prophet due to the mostly negative messages God gave him to share with Israel, Jeremiah’s words in the passage above are refreshing. Perhaps this passage served as the inspiration for the lyrics of Good Morning Mercy. As you listen to today’s song, remember that everyday God’s mercy is available and waiting for you to embrace.
As cable and streaming services continue to feature horror films this month, the Bible contains a villain unlike any depicted by Hollywood. The backstory of this man from Gerasa comes to the surface as Jesus asks a series of probing questions. Apparently, this man left home as he was afraid that he might hurt his wife or children. Subsequently, he moved out to live alone in a series of catacombs.
They came to the other side of the sea to the region of the Gerasenes. 2 And as soon as He got out of the boat, there met Him out of the tombs a man [under the power] of an unclean spirit. 3 This man [a]continually lived among the tombs, and no one could subdue him any more, even with a chain; Mark 5:1-3.
According to John Mark, this man exhibited uncontrollable fits of rage, possessing supernatural strength. Sensing some sort of demonic possession, Jesus doesn’t stop his inquiry until discovering this man’s spiritual condition. Based upon the context of Mark 5:13, this Legion which spoke to Jesus was like something out of the Exorcist. The actual number of demons inside this man was two thousand.
For he had been bound often with shackles for the feet and [b]handcuffs, but the handcuffs of [light] chains he wrenched apart, and the shackles he rubbed and ground together and broke in pieces; and no one had strength enough to restrain or tame him. 5 Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always [c]shrieking and screaming and [d]beating and bruising and[e]cutting himself with stones, Mark 5:4-5.
The number of demonic influences living inside this man is incomprehensible, even for Hollywood. Nonetheless, this sets the scene for one of the most memorable exorcisms in the Bible. Mark spends a total of 20 verses on this man living in a house of horrors, waking up from nightmares in a graveyard. Yet, in this story, there were no human murders, just a herd of hogs that drown in the Sea. This account reveals how Jesus can transform one man’s house of horrors into a peaceful sleep and in his right mind.
Anne Wilson made her debut as a Christian artist in 2021. Wilson’s version of “My Jesus” reached number one on Billboard ‘s Hot Christian Songs chart. Perhaps Anne’s timing was ideal like the words of King Solomon in Ecclesiastes 3:4. Regardless of the reason for Anne’s success, I was impressed my Wilson’s most recent single Devil.
Then Jesus was led (guided) by the [Holy] Spirit into the wilderness (desert) to be tempted (tested and tried) by the devil. 2 And He went without food for forty days and forty nights, and later He was hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to Him, If You are God’s Son, command these stones to be made [[a]loaves of] bread. 4 But He replied, It has been written, Man shall not live and be upheld and sustained by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God, Matthew 4:1-4.
When I heard this song on K-Love Radio a few weeks, I was immediately reminded of the passage above. After fasting for 40 days to prepare Jesus for his earthly ministry, the Devil tried to catch Him off guard. Jesus was tempted physically, mentally, and spiritually before telling the Devil to get lost. The lyrics of Devil reference the apostle Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 15:54-58. May Anne’s song bring you comfort the next time you are tempted.
Two Old Testament prophets write about Lucifer’s fall from heaven in Isaiah 14:12-14 and Ezekiel 28:14-15. According to the Bible, 1/3 of all angels were expelled from heaven along with the arch angel Lucifer, a.k.a. the Devil. The apostle Paul explains Satan’s new role on earth as the ruler of the air in Ephesians 2:2. Despite these supernatural powers, Jude 1:6-7 reveals how Jesus makes the darkness tremble.
You believe that God is one; you do well. So do the demons believe and shudder [in terror and horror such as [a]make a man’s hair stand on end and contract the surface of his skin]! 20 Are you willing to be shown [proof], you foolish (unproductive, spiritually deficient) fellow, that faith apart from [good] works is inactive and ineffective and worthless? – James 2:19-20
As someone who grew up in a military family, the Army drilled into my father a spirit of discipline along with a clear right and wrong. Whenever I wasn’t acting properly, my mother responded with the words, “wait until your father gets home.” Since the demons know they are on the wrong side of history, they tremble in fear of their future judgment just as I was frightened to receive the consequences for my actions.
And when this perishable puts on the imperishable and this that was capable of dying puts on freedom from death, then shall be fulfilled the Scripture that says, Death is swallowed up (utterly vanquished [h]forever) in and unto victory. 55 O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? 56 Now sin is the sting of death, and sin exercises its power [i][upon the soul] through [j][the abuse of] the Law. 57 But thanks be to God, Who gives us the victory [making us conquerors] through our Lord Jesus Christ, 1 Corinthians 15:54-57.
The real game changer occurred on Easter Sunday. Like Super Bowl 51, Satan thought he was victorious like the Falcons who were up 28-3 at halftime. Yet, when Jesus rose from the grave, the sting and power of death was conquered. The apostle Paul writes about this in Colossians 3:1-14. When a Christian’s mind dwells and focuses on God’s Word, this mindset also makes the darkness tremble.
As an impatient person, the only thing worse than waiting is being stuck at a waiting room in the hospital. Sometimes you may be waiting for the birth of your first child or grandchild, but most times hospital waiting rooms are for unexpected emergencies. Due to building procedures, you’re left in the dark about the condition of a loved one.
Even youths shall faint and be weary, and [selected] young men shall feebly stumble and fall exhausted; 31 But those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him] shall change and renew their strength and power; they shall lift their wings and mount up [close to God] as eagles [mount up to the sun]; they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint or become tired, Isaiah 40:30-31.
However, the group LaRue sing about a different type of waiting room. LaRue is comprised of siblings Phillip andNatalie LaRue. The song Waiting Room refers to waiting for the love of Jesus to transform a Christian’s heart and life. As the apostle Paul suggests in 1 Corinthians 13, you may have good intentions but many acts are absent of love. May LaRue’s song inspire to put your faith into action, sprinkling the love of Jesus to your neighbors.
One of my first nights as a college freshman, a girl in my dorm opened up about a traumatic experience that happened over the summer. Her parents’ house backed up to one of the major interstates in New Jersey. While hanging out in her backyard, she heard a large explosion. Something inside of her moved her toward this massive pile up. Moments later, she helped drag a child from a burning car. This instinct was something she couldn’t explain, but it was a sign of love deep inside her heart.
This is My commandment: that you love one another [just] as I have loved you. 13 No one has greater love [no one has shown stronger affection] than to lay down (give up) his own life for his friends. 14 You are My friends if you keep on doing the things which I command you to do, John 15:12-14.
As God’s plan for His life was a few days from being fulfilled, Jesus began to open up to His disciples. Passion Week served as a way to prepare these twelve men for life after His ascension into heaven. Looking back, it’s clear that Jesus is pointing to his death on a cross in the passage above. Yet, most of the disciples thought that Jesus was merely introducing another expectation for his followers. To someone like Peter, this is an extension of Matthew 16:24-27, a call to prove your love for God.
Now it is an extraordinary thing for one to give his life even for an upright man, though perhaps for a noble and lovable and generous benefactor someone might even dare to die. 8 But God shows and clearly proves His [own] love for us by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One) died for us, Romans 5:7-8.
Alain de Lille is a French theologian and poet who referred to the apostle Paul’s letter to Rome as the Road to Romans in 1175. This first century epistle is considered one of the most theological books in the New Testament. The passage above along with Romans 6:23 play a crucial role in Evangelism Explosion, a course I took at a local Methodist Church in Delaware. Paul illustrates the greatness of Jesus’ love. Nearly 2000 years after his death and resurrection, Jesus wants to know how great is your love on earth?
As the sun rises on a new day, there are two questions that Christians should consider prior to leaving for the day. The first is where does God want me to go beside school or work? The second is like it: what opportunities will God give me to be at the perfect time and in the perfect place? The group Vienna sings about this in their song Where I Wanna Be.
And in the morning, long before daylight, He got up and went out to a [u]deserted place, and there He prayed. 36 And Simon [Peter] and those who were with him followed Him [[v]pursuing Him eagerly and hunting Him out], 37 And they found Him and said to Him, Everybody is looking for You. 38 And He said to them, Let us be going on into the neighboring country towns, that I may preach there also; for that is why I came out, Mark 1:35-38.
Jesus didn’t leave this up to chance in the passage above. Rather Jesus goes for a walk early in the morning, finds a quiet place to focus and calls out to his heavenly Father to provide insight on what to do today. While Jesus’ disciples each had their own ideas and plans on what to do, Jesus knew the exact place to go, ministering to others along the way. May the song Where I Wanna Be inspire you to attempt to follow in Jesus’ footsteps.
At some point in my lifetime politicians have decided to experiment with law and order. Rather than keep the current judicial system which was established by America’s founding fathers, democrats, liberals, and progressives want to close down prisons throughout this country. In the process, individuals formerly found guilty in court are being released back into society with many not being reformed internally.
How much worse (sterner and heavier) punishment do you suppose he will be judged to deserve who has spurned and [thus] trampled underfoot the Son of God, and who has considered the covenant blood by which he was consecrated common and unhallowed, thus profaning it and insulting and outraging the [Holy] Spirit [Who imparts] grace (the unmerited favor and blessing of God)? 30 For we know Him Who said, Vengeance is Mine [retribution and the meting out of full justice rest with Me]; I will repay [I will exact the compensation], says the Lord. And again, The Lord will judge and determine and solve and settle the cause and the cases of His people, Hebrews 10:29-30.
There 93 references in the Bible to the expression “Vengeance Is Mine saith the Lord.” When a topic is mentioned this many times, one can make the assumption that a day will come when God does as He promised. Yet, human nature has a tough time comprehending this concept. Turning the other cheek seems too old fashion to not do something in response in the heat of the moment.
After this I heard what sounded like a mighty shout of a great crowd in heaven, exclaiming, Hallelujah (praise the Lord)! Salvation and glory (splendor and majesty) and power (dominion and authority) [belong] to our God! 2 Because His judgments (His condemnation and punishment, His sentences of doom) are true and sound and just and upright. He has judged (convicted, pronounced sentence, and doomed) the great and notorious harlot (idolatress) who corrupted and demoralized and poisoned the earth with her lewdness and adultery (idolatry). And He has avenged (visited on her the penalty for) the blood of His servants at her hand. 3 And again they shouted, Hallelujah (praise the Lord)! The smoke of her [burning] shall continue to ascend forever and ever (through the eternities of the eternities), Revelation 19:1-3.
Yet, the disciple whom Jesus loved has a vision of what this day will look like when justice is celebrated by the residents of heaven. According to John, there will do a mighty roar, something that you might hear at a riveting sporting event. However, on this day God fulfills His promise in the Bible by condemning all those who has transgressed against God’s people. Like a guilty verdict in a modern-day court room, law and order will prevail in heaven.
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