Today in the Word for August 18-26
Today in The Word
Tuesday Aug 18, 2020
We all want to escape judgment. Welcome to The Word with Pastor David. Jesus speaks to how to escape final judgment in Luke 21:34, 36:
“Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing…and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap…Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.”
What is one strategy to be an escape artist from judgment? Escapees travel light. We are not to weigh our hearts down with carousing.
Our culture has a powerful leisure mindset. We are pulled toward an entertainment lifestyle. But the party animal has a heavy heart. There is nothing wrong with recreation or celebration, but if the point of our existence is to make it to the next weekend away, next party, or even the next evening of video games, we stand in danger of judgment. Real life consists of more than a pursuit of entertainment. Our purpose on this planet is greater than mere entertainment. And mere entertainment is never enough. Bored people make bad choices.
So, if you want to escape judgment, lighten up on the leisure mindset.
And that’s The Word from Pastor David of Deer Lodge Assembly on the corner of 5th and Montana.
Today in the Word
Wednesday Aug 19, 2020
Don’t you want to escape judgment? Welcome to The Word with Pastor David. Jesus speaks to how to escape final judgment in Luke 21:34, 36:
“Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with…drunkenness…and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap…Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.”
What is one strategy to be an escape artist from judgment? The warning here is against drunkenness. Substance abuse, whether from alcohol in Jesus’ time or various drugs and alcohol in our own era, bears risk of judgment. Escapees travel light, and substance abuse weighs down the heart. The change of mood or high that we chase with the substance becomes a cruel master. Substance abuse is a dead end—a trap.
If our goal is to escape the judgment to come, we must travel light and steer clear of the heavy baggage of substance abuse. We must be masters of what we put in our bodies, or else we may be under the boot of a cruel master.
And that’s The Word from Pastor David of Deer Lodge Assembly. Join our Wednesday adult Bible Study at 6:30 for more of the Word.
Today in the Word
Thursday Aug 20, 2020
We all want to escape judgment. Welcome to The Word with Pastor David. Jesus speaks to how to escape final judgment in Luke 21:34, 36:
“Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with…the anxieties of life and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap…Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.”
What is one strategy to be an escape artist from judgment? It is to keep one’s heart from being weighed down by the anxieties of life. Escape artists are to travel light.
Our culture is anxiety producing. We are bombarded with worry—about the economy, about our health, about retirement, about how to parent, about how to attract and keep a spouse, about many things. Jesus tells us to be alert to the anxieties of life and make them a matter of prayer. Our bodies and minds do not perform well when dominated by worry. God’s caring shoulders are broad enough to carry our anxieties. We function best when we let him help us escape worry.
And that is the Word from Deer Lodge Assembly on the corner of 5th and Montana.
Today in the Word
Friday Aug 21, 2020
When someone escapes from prison, their decisions are just beginning. They need to determine which way to run. Welcome to The Word with Pastor David. Our spiritual lives are similar. II Timothy 2:22, 26 reads:
“Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace…and escape from the trap of the devil…”
If we want to be successful escape artists from the trap of the devil, we have got to determine which way we will run. Are we going to run from the evil desires that used to keep us captive? The Word say to flee from them. Are we going to run toward the fruit of the Spirit like faith love and peace? The Word says to pursue them.
However, I have observed many people do exactly the opposite. They run toward their evil acts, and seem to wander away from the faith and peace that would strengthen their life.
If escape from your evil past is your goal, it matters which direction you decide to run, and the Lord will help. I Corinthians 10:13 reads:
“…And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out…”
And that’s the Word. You can enjoy more of the Word this Sunday at 10:30 at Deer Lodge Assembly on the corner of 5th and Montana.
Today in The Word
Monday Aug 24, 2020
What can help us escape from the trap of Satan? Welcome to The Word with Pastor David. II Timothy 2:23-26 reads:
“Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone…not resentful… [and you will] escape from the trap of the devil…”
One important question that an escape artist from Satan’s traps must ask is, ‘How do I talk.?’ Our world is full of quarrelsome, argumentative people--even more so in this time of pandemic. In the media, on the computer and in person, it seems most Americans are itching to start a quarrel.
Paul tells us that such arguing produces a resentful heart, and sets us up perfectly for one of Satan’s traps. If we want to successfully become an escape artist, we have got to drop the arguments, and invest our creative energy in being kind to one another.
And that’s The Word from Deer Lodge Assembly on the corner of 5th and Montana.
Today in The Word
Tuesday Aug 25, 2020
Are there good questions to ask ourselves if we wish to avoid Satan’s traps? Welcome to The Word with Pastor David. II Timothy 2:25-26 reads:
“Opponents must be gently instructed, I the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.”
If we want to be spiritual escape artists, we need to ask ourselves this question: ‘Can I be taught?’ We will not escape our past ways of lousy thinking if we are not open to learn new ways of thinking. We can appeal to God’s grace for salvation, but will we change if we are resistant to being taught a new way to live? A person willing to be taught is a person willing to be corrected by the Word of God and the godly advice of others who care about you. It is one of the critical reasons to attend church—it provides an opportunity to be taught new ways of thinking from God’s Word.
Do you want to escape Satan’s traps? Then I ask you, are you willing to be taught?
And that’s The Word from Pastor David of Deer Lodge Assembly on the corner of 5th and Montana.
Today in The Word
Wednesday Aug 26, 2020
Uppermost in the mind of a prison escapee is to avoid recapture. Welcome to The Word with Pastor David. Hebrews 2:1, 3 reads:
“We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away…how shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him.”
If we have been freed by the grace of Jesus, how do we keep from being recaptured by the power of the Enemy? One of the key warnings is to watch out for ‘drift.’ Most do not wake up one morning and deny their salvation. But many have slowly drifted away from their faith. They just went with the prevailing current of culture downstream. And this passage tells us that one of the best ways to fight drift is to remember the words of Jesus and those who witnessed him in scripture.
It is hard to be caught in the culture’s drift from God when we stay close to the stories and teaching of the Word of God.
A successful escapee from Satan’s clutches avoids recapture by resisting the tendency to drift.
And that’s The Word from Deer Lodge Assembly on the corner of 5th and Montana.