No Corners Cut, No Pacifying, No Round-About Way

Lou Coleman

By Lou Coleman

Our age is characterized by pathetic preachers and pitiful churches. Christ Himself gave this evaluation of the Laodicea church: “Thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, blind, and naked.” [Revelation 3:15-17]. The Head of the church [Jesus] was nauseated and said, “You make me sick!” You are a spectacle in the pulpit and a dis­grace in the community and need to be exposed for what you are. This was a church filled with self-deceived hypocrites. As a result of their ambivalence to spiritual things, Jesus would have nothing to do with them. He would “spit them out.” How did they get this way? [Jeremiah 14:3] says, “They came to the pits [cisterns], and found no water; they returned with their vessels empty.” The weeping prophet, Jeremiah, lamented, “They are not valiant for the truth… they know not me” [9:3].

Listen, you can’t put live chickens under a dead hen. There are too many preachers standing behind a sacred podium who have never been born again. They are spiritually dead. Their messages and manner of living reveal their inner condi­tion. Christ warned, “By their fruits ye shall know them” [Matt. 7:20]. Paul admonished, “But he that is spiritual judgeth all things” [I Cor. 2:15]. Don’t hate the messenger! I just deliver the mail….You cannot have the life of the kingdom of God until you have entered the kingdom of God. What you need is a conversion experience like that of Saul of Tarsus. You need a trip to Calvary. Let’s face it! Nehemiah was frank when he declared, “And, lo, I perceived that God had not sent him” [6:12]. Preaching is a calling. It is not enough to like to preach or merely feel that one ought to preach. There must be a holy compulsion that says, “Woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!” The spiritual plight of many ministers is found in the parable of the persistent friend [Luke 11:6]: “And I have nothing to set before him.” Job complained, “Miserable comforters are ye all” [6:2]. The Apostle Paul warned, “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradi­tion of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ” [CoI. 2:3]. Don’t get stuck on stupid! The religious world is full of un­sent preachers. “Wherefore wilt thou run, my son, seeing that thou hast no tidings ready?” [2Sam.18-22]

I tell you, there are a lot of windbags in the pulpit. Isaiah expressed the same opin­ion: “We have as it were brought forth wind; we have not wrought any deliverance in the earth” [26:18]. Jeremiah deplored, “And the prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in them” [5:13]. The writer of Proverbs states, “Whoso boasteth himself of a false gift is like clouds and wind without rain” [25:14]. Job declares, [13:4] “But ye are forgers of lies, ye are all physicians of no value.”  Shall I remind you that the Laodicea church is head­ed for judgment? “God says in [Jeremiah 12:10] you have destroyed my vineyard.” The Head of the Church, Jesus Himself, is nauseated with a flabby, flaccid, halfhearted church. It is dope ad­diction of the spirit, alcoholism of the heart, cancer of the soul, and blindness of the mind and pover­ty of vision from which the peo­ple perish.

How did you get this way? The Prophet Haggai put it thus, “Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came too little” (1:9). Isaiah gives the reason: “This day is a day of trouble, and of re­buke, and of blasphemy: for the children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth” (37:3). I tell you, the early church turned the world upside down. Today the world is turning our churches up­side down! Almost a generation ago A. W.Tozer wrote: “The preaching that once an­gered the atheists and brought them charging out against God and the Bible has pretty much disappeared. Hellfire, miracles, and the necessity that men please Almighty God are no longer a serious part of current Christian teaching. Christianity has been watered down until it is little more than “cheer-’em-up stuff.” We are so afraid of being nar­row that we have opened the doors to worldliness. Christ would share the grief of Jeremiah who grieved, “Mine heart within me is broken because of the prophets” (23:9). So many preachers these days are talking but not saying any­thing. The tragedy of today’s preaching is that most preachers give the people what they want to hear, not what God’s Word declares. Woe unto you!

So what can be done for pathetic preachers and pitiful churches you may ask? Consider the Potent Cure; “Begin at My Sanctuary,” says the Lord [Ezek. 9:6]. “Be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord,” declared Prophet Isaiah [52:11)]. “Carry forth the filthiness out of the Holy place” [II Chron. 29:5].

Listen, Christ said, “He would spew the Laodicea church out of His mouth.”  “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the House of God…” “The hour is late. The invitation is open by the Savior Himself: Repent! “Behold, I stand at the door~ and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door~ I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me,” [Rev. 3:20]. Don’t wait too late! The clock is ticking… Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock!

Lou Coleman

By Lou Coleman

“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: Whatever you sow, you will also reap.  If you sow to the flesh, you will of the flesh reap corruption.  If you sow to the Spirit, you will reap everlasting life. Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant [Galatians 6:7-8].  [Proverbs 4:14-19] says… “Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of evil. Avoid it, do not travel on it; Turn away from it and pass on…

The Apostle Paul places this warning in strong language, designed to make sure the point gets across without mistake.  It would be the height of foolishness to think that you are a match for the wits of God.  You cannot trifle with God. There is a caveat to the decisions of life and the choices you make.  Every choice has a consequence and every consequence is preceded by a choice.  It comes down to this, you can choose your choice, but you cannot choose your consequences.

The apostle Paul got down to specifics with respect to the pattern we should imitate, and the path we should avoid. He wrote; therefore be imitators of God as dear children and walk in love as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints; neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them (Ephesians 5:1-7).

I tell you, there is great value—and even the prospect of eternal reward—in taking the time to stop and ask yourself, “Am I walking on the right path? Am I headed toward a good end? Don’t be another Jehoram, [2 Chronicles 21] who knew the path to take but chose not to walk in the godly pathway that his father took. After all that he saw, he knowingly chose to follow the ungodly path of the wicked kings of the northern kingdom of Israel. And as a consequence of his choice, his end was the most pathetic and dishonorable of any of the other kings of Judah. His life story—and the end of it—is a great reminder to us that we must choose wisely the path we’ll walk before God; because—as invariably as night follows day—there are consequences to our choice.

I want you to know that in verse [12 of 2 Chronicles 12], it seems that the time finally came when God had enough of Jehoram’s unfaithful walk; “And a letter came to him from Elijah the prophet . . .” (v. 12a). It was a letter that had all the authority of a word directly from God Himself; and here’s what it said: Thus says the LORD God of your father David: Because you have not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat your father, or in the ways of Asa king of Judah, but have walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and have made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to play the harlot like the harlotry of the house of Ahab, and also have killed your brothers, those of your father’s household, who were better than yourself, behold, the LORD will strike your people with a serious affliction—your children, your wives, and all your possessions; and you will become very sick with a disease of your intestines, until your intestines come out by reason of the sickness, day by day (vv. 12-15). I tell you warning comes before destruction!

May God help us learn the hard lesson from the life of Jehoram; and choose to walk—all the way to the end—the path that leads to life!

Lou Coleman

By Lou Coleman

Can’t nobody tell you nothing! You think you know it all!  Mark Twain said, “It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.”  You ought to mimic Paul who said, “For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified [1 Corin 2: 2].

There are just some people you can’t tell anything. Their minds are like steel traps – tightly shut and difficult to open. They have their mind made up and they’re not going to change for you, me… or even God. That’s pretty much the situation we discover in [Jeremiah 44] when Jeremiah warns the people that God is upset with their behavior… and they respond: “We will not listen to the message you have spoken to us in the name of the LORD!” [Jeremiah 44:16]. They’ve made up their minds.  They liked what they’re doing. And they had no intention of stopping for Jeremiah or God.

I will venture to say that we all have come across people who think they know everything. Usually, they like to tell us how they know so much and make us feel like we are inferior. These arrogant personalities are perhaps the most difficult types of people to deal with.

But I just want to bring to remembrance to all the “Can’t tell me nothing” individuals. [Psalm 81:11-14], tells the story of a sad saga of a people who would not listen to God. From this Psalm, we learned that the nation of Israel did not listen to the counsel of God.  They tuned Him out and followed their own “stubborn hearts.”  You see, God told Israel through His commandments not to bow down to other gods, but they did not listen to Him.  Instead, [1 Kings 17:12] says, they worshiped idols, though the Lord had said, “You shall not do this.”  They chose to follow their own ways instead of God’s ways. And do you know what happened to the Northern Kingdom known as Israel? And because of their hard-headiness, in 722 BC, they were destroyed by the Assyrian army. Since they did not listen to God, and follow His will, God allowed the Assyrian army to defeat them.

What will happen to those of us who do not listen to God’s Word?  “He will punish us who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of Jesus” [2 Thess. 1:8]….. [2 John 9] says, “Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.”

Listen, if we want to live godly lives, then we must listen to God’s will and then put it into practice.  The Bible teaches in [Deuteronomy 11] that if we listen and obey God, we will be blessed.  On the other hand, if we do not listen to God, we will be cursed.

God still lives and His Word still speaks. We need to listen to His Word because of our position before Him and our responsibility to Him. It is Finished!

Lou Coleman

By Lou Coleman

Oh, Sinner Man, Sinner Man….  Jesus said, twice He said it [Luke 13]: “I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” Now, I don’t know about you, but I’ve learned that when Jesus says something it’s very important to listen. Turn or Burn! The urgency of repentance, [Isaiah 55:6-7]. “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon. For the Lord is not slack concerning his promise , but is long suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance [2 Peter 3:9].

God wants all of us to be saved, but as the prophet Isaiah says, “Your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you” [Isaiah 59:2]. Sinner Man!  Do not be deceived…The rich man in Hell [that Jesus talks about in Luke 16] wanted someone to return from the dead to warn his brothers, lest they would also come to that awful place. The answer given to him was, “If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead” (Luke 16:31). God is not going to send someone back from the dead to convince you that Hell is real. The Bible is clear enough, and its message is God’s first blockade to try and stop you from traveling on the broad road that leads to destruction. You say, “But surely God is too good and too loving to permit a person to suffer in Hell.” I challenge you to put your finger on a red hot stove and see if God is too good to keep you from getting burned. Jesus says of those who reject God’s plan of salvation, “These shall go away into everlasting punishment.” Evidence that God Will Punish Sinners in Eternity…. [Matthew 25:41-46; 2 Thess. 1:8; Revelation 20:11-15]. Sinner man, make no mistake about it, if you go to Hell, you’ll suffer. You will close your eyes in death, and the Devil will have your soul to torment in Hell forever.

The suffering of Hell is horrible. Not only is there physical suffering, but there is also a great deal of mental suffering. You’ll always remember your earthly life. You’ll remember your family and your friends. You’ll remember your spouse and your children. You’ll remember it all! You’ll also remember the chances that you had to be saved. You’ll remember reading this article, and you’ll remember your thoughts and comments about it. Do not be deceived! God is not a man that He shall lie! In Hell you will hear people screaming for mercy twenty-four hours a day. It’ll never stop! There will be no peace and quiet in Hell. Hell will be forever filled with roaring flames, boiling hot lava, and the horrible screams of billions of lost souls! You’ll never escape the sounds of Hell. In Hell, there will be nothing except weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth! [Luke 13:28]

Jesus said, that the rich man died and was in Hell immediately [Luke 16:22-23] He was a sinner, so he went straight to Hell. The rich fool in [Luke 12] had big plans for the future, but God said; “Thou Fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee. . .”Hell comes suddenly. When King Belshazzar threw his drunken brawl in Daniel Chapter Five, he had no idea that he’d be in Hell before sunrise. Goliath had no idea that a small stone slung by a young shepherd boy would land his soul in Hell forever, but it did. Before his corpse was even cold, his soul was suffering the torments of Hell. Hell almost always takes its victims by sudden surprise, and you could be next. Repent Sinner Man, Repent!

The Shame of Hell… If you go there, you will eventually come to grips with one unforgettable truth: You didn’t have to go! Imagine that! Imagine spending eternity with that on your mind! Imagine being in Hell for a million years and then thinking, “I didn’t have to come here! I could have received Christ! Oh, what a fool I was! If only I had not been so stubborn! If…if…if…!” That’s the shame of Hell: going there when you don’t have to go! ”

Jesus says, [Isaiah 1:18] “Come now, let us reason together, though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” Why not turn to Him right now? Turn from your sins! Claim His promises and trust Him to save you while there’s still time. Tomorrow may be too late. Repent, Oh Sinner Man! Repent!

Lou Coleman

By Lou Coleman

There are some dire consequences when you don’t do things God’s way. You lose out on the blessings that God has for you when you don’t do things God’s way. You lose out on the victory that God has for you when you don’t do things God’s way. Doors of opportunity will be shut in your face when you don’t do things God’s way. Sleep will leave your eyes and you won’t be able to get any rest when you don’t do things God’s way. You will find yourself disappointed, depressed, and sad when you don’t do things God’s way. You will find yourself in bondage and confused when you don’t do things God’s way. You will find yourself broke, disgusted and frustrated when you don’t do things God’s way. You will find yourself in a whole lot of trouble, a whole lot of mess, and in a whole lot of unnecessary drama when you don’t do things God’s way. You will become weak, and despondent when you don’t do things God’s way. There will be no peace for you and no comfort for you when you don’t do things God’s way. Not only will you mess yourself up, but you will even cause your family, your children, your neighborhood, or even your own church not to be blessed when you don’t do things God’s way.

If you want to be blessed, you have to do things God’s way. If you want the victory, you have to do things God’s way. If you want to be successful and prosperous, you have to do things God’s way. If you want to be the head and not the tail, you have to do things God’s way. If you want to be blessed in the city and blessed in the field, you have to do things God’s way. If you want to be blessed going in and blessed going out, you have to do things God’s way If you want to be more than a conqueror through Christ Jesus, you have to do things God’s way. If you want deliverance, you must do things God’s way. If you want to be healed, you have to do things God’s way. If you want to be filled with the Holy Spirit, you have to do things God’s way. If you want your home and marriage to be blessed, you have to do things God’s way. If you want to be blessed on your job, at school, in your neighborhood, you have to do things God’s way.

If the church wants to be blessed, the church must do things God’s way. If the choir wants to be blessed, the choir must do things God’s way. If the Usher board wants to be blessed, the Usher Board must do things God’s way. If the Deacon board wants to be blessed, the Deacon board must do things God’s way. If the Trustees board wants to be blessed, it must do things God’s way. If the Sunday School Department wants to be blessed, it must do things God’s way. If the Mission or the Evangelism Department wants to be blessed, it must do things God’s way. Last, but not least, if the Pastor and the Ministers in the pulpit wants to be blessed, they must do things God’s way because doing things God’s way is a whole lot better than doing things our own way. I tell you, we ought to be committed in doing things God’s way.

To learn how to do things God’s way, we must put our focus, our trust, and our faith in God because it is through Christ, we learn how to do things God’s way. In John 14:6- Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man can come unto the Father, but by me.” We must be in prayer daily. We can’t do anything God’s way without prayer. Jeremiah 33:3 says, “Call unto me, and I will answer thee and show you great and mighty things which thou knowest not.” Finally, we must learn, study and be taught the Word of God. To know what is written in the Word of God, we must read the Word, hear the Word, learn the Word, and study the Word.

God has given us instructions, and directions in His Word for our lives to follow and obey, and he has spoken to us by His Holy Spirit. All King Joash had to do was take heed and do exactly what Elisha the prophet had told him to do because what Elisha the prophet was telling him to do was of God [2 Kings 13:14-19]. God has spoken, let the church say, Amen!

Lou Coleman

By Lou Coleman

Paul summarizes it in [Romans 7:15-16, 18], “My own behavior baffles me. For I find myself doing what I really hate, and not doing what I really want to do…” Can you relate to this? He’s saying all the things I don’t want to do I end up doing and all the things I do want to do I end up not doing. I want to do what’s right, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what’s bad, but I do. Even though I know what the right thing to do is, why can’t I bring myself to do it?

Struggling with sin is frustrating. You want to change. But you just can’t. You have the motivation. But you don’t have the determination. You have the desire to do what is right. But for some reason, you can’t do it. Paul says it’s because evil is right there alongside of us. Evil — not just bad choices, Evil itself. We live in that kind of world. A world where the force of Sin, the force of Evil has rubbed off on us. We’re affected by it, tainted by it and we can’t help it. We can’t avoid it, we can’t outwit it. No matter how much we may wish to serve God in our minds, we find ourselves sinning in our bodies. As Paul describes his frustration in [Romans 7], with his mind he desires to serve God. He wants to do what is right, but his body will not respond. He watches, almost as a third party, as sin sends a signal to his body and as his body responds, “What would you like to do?” Paul finds, as we do that while our fleshly bodies refuse to obey God and do that which we desire and which delights God, it quickly and eagerly respond to the impulses and desires aroused by sin. The interaction between the soul (mind, will, emotions) and our Spirit and our Body is where the decisive battles take place. It is a battle of rulership.

It is one thing to have our body not do what we tell it to and quite another to realize that our body is very obedient to something else. That is the frustration of Paul in [Romans 7]. Every Christian who reads [Romans 7:14-25] should immediately identify with Paul’s expression of frustration and agony due to the weakness of his fleshly body: “Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?” [Romans 7:24]. We are confronted with a dilemma as we try to live righteously. Thanks be to God though, there is a solution!

Jesus said in [Mark 14:38], “The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.” If you’ve felt this way, have I got good news for you! You can change. The power is there. The Bible makes the principles very clear. GOD’S PROMISE… “Jesus said, ‘When you know the Truth, the Truth will set you free. ’Set you free.” Jesus said that the way you break free from a hurt, from a hang up is by knowing the Truth. How? The way you think determines the way you feel. The way you feel determines the way you act. God says you start with the way you think. Bad beliefs cause bad behavior. Everything you do, good or bad, is based on a belief. If you want to change the way you act, you have to change the way you believe, the way you think. You’ve got to have the truth. And what is the Truth? Jesus declared, “I am the way, the truth and the life; no man comes to the Father but by Me” [John 14:6]. Truth personified. He is the source of all truth, the embodiment of truth and therefore the reference point for evaluating all truth-claims. Who wants to be free? Jesus is on the mainline, tell Him what you want… You just call Him up and tell Him what you want!

Lou Coleman

By Lou Coleman

Always want to be front and center. Well, not today, tomorrow or the day after that. Get over yourself! It’s not about you! It’s about God. He is front and center. Today, tomorrow and always, and He WILL NOT share his glory with no one. You got that?

Listen; to be effective in ministry you need to learn one thing – don’t take yourself too seriously. Don’t get stuck inside your own ego, because over time it will become your prison. Pride is one of the most common of all human errors and shortcomings. A person who is too filled with pride is arrogant, self-important, egotistic, big-headed, egocentric, boastful and cocksure. Pride puffs us up and makes us think that we are bigger and more important than we really are. That is not the mark of Christianity. Ephesians tells us again and again that the life of a Christ-follower is not about us but about Him. So don’t get it twisted… It’s not about you!

You ought to know that throughout the Bible virtually every part of it condemns the proud. For example, in the Psalms, the writer said that pride is the necklace worn by the wicked. In the book of Job pride is considered the force that blocks people from hearing and responding to God. Not only is pride a universal sin, but the Bible points out the consequences of pride. What happens to a person who is too full of himself or herself? The people filled with pride shall be humbled and brought low. As the Old Testament prophet Obadiah said: “Your proud heart has deceived you … Though you soar aloft like the eagle, though your nest is set among the stars, from there I will bring you down, says the Lord.” And the greatest prophet of them all Isaiah, speaking for the Lord, told the proud that they will be forced to make their bed with worms and maggots. There is no pulling of punches when it comes to describing the fate of the proud in the Bible. Pride is a deadly sin that causes those filled to overflowing with themselves great sorrow and grief.

The message is clear from beginning to end in the Bible – the proud will ultimately be brought low. The proud will ultimately fall. The proud must live with the consequences of their actions and their deeds. Perhaps this is a good day to say sorry to God for the pride in your heart. Perhaps today is a good day to begin to put right those things that your pride has caused. Perhaps today is a good day to clothe yourself with humility and to start to live the Christ-like life God has shown to you.

So what do you say? Do you want to overcome pride in your life? Do you want to get rid of the arrogant and disdainful conduct which is plugging up your life? Do you want to have a more realistic opinion of yourself and be less conceited? Do you want to eliminate your smug, egomaniacal, over proud attitude? If so, then become the servant of others. Second, come to appreciate the wonderful gift of God’s creative and sustaining power. Third, learn about Jesus and celebrate what he has done for your life.

You know, Paul wrote that if we claim to be Christian, we cannot continue to live our lives as anything but. We can either walk through life focused on ourselves, our wants and supposed needs, or can we walk according to the Holy Spirit with God’s will in our sight.

Today, I call heaven and earth to witness against you, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, by loving the LORD your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him; for this is your life and the length of your days, that you may live in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them” [Deuteronomy 30:19-20].

Lou Coleman

By Lou Coleman

“What have you done for Me lately?” Jesus asks.  Fed the hungry?  Visited the sick? Entertained strangers? Nope! So why you bothering Me? What you want from Me? You want me to give you what you want, but you don’t want to do what I command you to do? Forget about it! If you can’t keep My Commandments, should I let you inquire of me at all?” (Ezekiel 14:3). I think not! Too busy pursuing temporal (temporary) rather than eternal things. Don’t you know that only those things that relate to Me, done My way, will count in Heaven! “If you love me, you will obey what I command. Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He is the one that gets My blessings.

Bottom-line: As Christians, we need to put God first in our lives. If you’re doing that, God does hear your prayers, and he answers them. Jesus said, “If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be given to you” (John 15:7). We must belong to God before we can communicate with him. “He who belongs to God hears what He says” (John 8:47).  The wonderful truth is, God blesses those who walk in faithfulness – He shows favor to those who favor Him. Many, however, don’t have a clue that Jesus Christ is calling their life.

What has happened? Self-interest has replaced God’s interests! Consider your ways!” “Wake up – think about what you’re doing!” You know in the book of Haggai: When the people put God’s interests first, He provided their food and shelter. Indeed, they were cared for by Him in every way: Their vineyards grew, their grapes were heavy. They slept peacefully at night, and their children danced in the streets. None of their enemies prevailed against them. It was a marvelous time of God’s blessing. But then the people became absorbed with their own interests!

Today, so many “Christians” are concerned about their own careers and families – too busy with their own interests!  So wrapped up in making money; trying to improve their life-style. Suddenly, their interests have over-whelmed the interests of God. God says you will pay a high price for putting self-interests first! (Haggai 1:6-9). “Running after material things – houses, land, money – which take up all your time and energy! God says, when you were consumed with doing [His] work, you had joy and satisfaction. But now you are empty, disillusioned, unsatisfied. And no matter what you do, nothing will ever satisfy you!”

So what does the Lord require of you? [Acts 9:6]: The Lord’s answer is “Arise, and go…” For God has not saved you to be idle–to watch others serve while you do nothing.  I suggest you read the book of Haggai. It is a marvelous lesson on how to get and keep the blessing and favor of the Lord. In utter simplicity the prophet Haggai outlines how God’s children can live and walk under God’s continual blessing and favor. Yet Haggai also shows the causes and reasons why people lose God’s blessing – and what they must do to come back into His favor!

I urge you – become faithful once more, putting God’s interests first and seeking Him with all your heart.         Hallelujah!

Lou Coleman

By Lou Coleman

Did He? Liar! If you are a Christian, Satan has no authority over you. You can’t say, “The devil made you do it.” [1 Cor. 10:13] There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

Listen; before I go any further, I want you to know that God has entrusted me with a ministry where there are No Corners-cut, No Pacifying, and No Round about Away.  Rebuke- Correction- Hope, in that order exactly!

I tell you, we always want to blame someone else. If you insist that the devil made you do it… What’s the solution? Bind the devil! Cast out the evil spirit! You see the devil’s wiles are easily defeated by knowing and believing the truth of God’s word rightly divided [2 Tim 2:15; 1 Thess 2:13]. Nobody else is responsible for your inward craving other than you… James says you are drawn away “of your own lust”—it is the direct agent. Lust of the flesh—living to please the senses; it feels, looks, tastes or sounds good. Lust of the eyes—living for material things; I want, I must have things in life. Lust of your life—proud of your life which leads to easy offenses, rebellion, etc. The devil does not make you sin! The devil lies, the devil tempts, but sin comes from the lust for it inside of you. Paul says evil is present in him [that is in his flesh] even after his salvation [Romans 7:21]. James, in another dispensation, defines sin as coming from every man’s lust not from God or the devil [James 1:13-15]. You sin because of your lust for it. You have a nature that is sinful. You have a natural taste for it. I tell you, nobody wants to take responsibility for their inappropriate actions. It is human nature to pass on the blame to someone else. But God wants us to go beyond the human, natural thing and become much more supernatural in our life.

Take Responsibility. The power to sin does not come from the devil, but from your old man. When you pass on the responsibility for sin, you pass on the need for the cross of Christ, and become religious in your behavior. Do not blame the devil. The devil did not make you do it. You sinned.  Take responsibility for your sin. Tell the truth, you did it because you wanted to do it. That’s the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth….

I want you to know that God created and fashioned us in such a way that Satan cannot, in any way, physically force us to do something, nor can he overtake our body and make it act against our will. Satan can only plant thoughts into our minds and try and deceive us. He cannot make us act on those thoughts. It is our choice how we will act on the thoughts and feelings in our minds and hearts. Besides, to give credit to Satan for our actions is to deny the power of God within us to act for ourselves.

So where do we get the strength and power to banish Satan from our minds and hearts? Where can we find protection? How can we stay safe from deception and lies and temptation all around us? We’ve already looked at the most crucial element: knowing God’s Word and hiding it in our heart. The second way to resist temptation is to understand how temptation works. We are tempted when desire and opportunity come together. Think of every time you gave in to a temptation. It always happens at the intersection of desire and opportunity. So when you feel the desire to sin, ask God to remove the opportunity. When you have the opportunity to sin, ask God to take away the desire. Remember, God will always provide a way of escape. Look for it. And remember, Satan can tempt us to sin, but he cannot make us sin. He can goad and press but never force us.

Lou Coleman

By Lou Coleman

You see, there comes a point in all of our lives, when we need to clean house. We need to get rid of the junk in our trunk. We need to let go of some things. What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and loose his soul?  So, whatever it is that prevents you from being the light in the darkness, you need to get rid of it! Whether it is a book, a thought, a boyfriend, a girlfriend, a habit, a fantasy, a desire, whatever it is, you need to get rid of it. Listen, ignoring sin will not make it go away.  Sin is missing the mark, falling short of God’s ideal for us.  We are all guilty of sin and therefore headed to Eternal destruction.  However, God has provided a way out through the Gospel.  We need to obey the Gospel in order to escape the devastating effects of sin. So whatever minimizes your devotion to God, whatever hinders your faith, whatever pulls you away from Christ, whatever defiles the temple, get rid of it. That stuff doesn’t belong in your life. You are God’s temple. God’s Spirit dwells in you. Destroy the garbage before it destroys you. You know someone has said the favorite word of the devil is “Tomorrow.” If the devil has a favorite word, it’s Tomorrow. And a lot of people have died and gone to a devil’s hell with Tomorrow on their lips. But Jesus says, today!  Today is the day of salvation… So get rid of it! Get rid of any and every thing that is hindering your walk with Christ.

You know the last thing Hezekiah did in [2 Chronicles 29] was burn the garbage. He disposed of it.  Hezekiah made up his mind and said the Hell with this! I have had to clean house many times in my life. I encourage you to do the same. Carry the filth out of your life. Get rid of it! Burn the garbage! Dispose of it! If, and when you do, God’s praise will echo in your heart again. God’s glory will sparkle in and through your spirit. And God’s presence will return to your soul.  God says, “I will make a new covenant with you. I will place in you a new heart. I will give you a new spirit. I will give you a new name. You will sing a new song. I will give you new wine. I will restore you to the joy of your salvation.”

Think back to those times when you were really happy, when you woke up in the morning with a song in your heart and a prayer on your lips. When you felt like praising God in song. When you felt like whistling. Do you remember those times in your life where you weren’t so rushed and racing, when you weren’t so concentrated on the tasks before you, when you weren’t so sour and negative, when you were truly happy inside? I do. God says, “He want to restore you to the joy of your salvation.” Get Rid of It! Stop holding on! Stop sinning! Let Go and Let God! Oh, taste and see the goodness of God. Don’t wait another day! Get Rid of It!