The Backdrop

Science is wonderful. Science has helped us understand the laws of nature, the elements, our solar system, and the known universe.

Through the pursuit of scientific discovery we have enjoyed many benefits through inventions and processes that have helped us grow food more efficiently, mechanize repetitive tasks, enjoy better health; explore farther into space, deeper into the oceans, and into infinitesimally small particles of matter.

Our lives are easier than the lives of our parents and grandparents. We have harnessed the power of water and electricity and the atom, although we have not explained all their mysteries. We continue to advance new discoveries, amassing libraries of knowledge in every aspect of our existence, all because of science. Yet, even with such advancement and tremendous progress, we are still mesmerized by science and scientists.

We are beholden to the latest scientific report that has advanced a medical treatment, probed the human mind, explained a societal trend, or explained a mystery from our past. We are still learning and we accept these reports as factual information. Science.

Science is not at fault for our idolatry; we are. Only a few centuries ago mankind moved from thinking dominated by superstition. We moved into a rational way of thinking about our world and have been conditioned to accept the results of scientific inquiry for quite some time. After all, science does not allow an individual’s personality, whims, preferences, or mood swings to influence it. Science boasts the removal of emotion, subjective impressions, and anything bordering on fantasy. Science is neutral. Science is honest. Science is true.

Scientific discovery is based on the scientific method that demands the unbiased observation and analysis of measurable things. For many years our society has worshipped this presumed objectivity to the point of believing almost every declaration made by modern science.

In this way, for generations, science has been the backdrop against which man understands himself and his universe.

However, since science is not equipped with instruments with which it can observe, measure, and analyze beyond the material universe, a tension exists between science and religion. Many, perhaps, most scientists have concluded that God is a myth conjured up by ancient man to explain things not understood. Spirituality, some say, is little more than a psychological phenomenon to explain or pacify one’s anxiety.

Science is wonderful, and yet, it leaves an emptiness within every person. Science cannot answer basic questions about reality found in the heart of man, questions such as...

• Who am I?
• Why am I here?
• How/where can I find meaning?
• What is good? Is evil really evil?
• Does anything exist after death?

In truth, it is God who stands as the backdrop against which man finds understanding of himself, the universe, and his place in the universe. It is not man who explains God, but God who gives meaning and understanding to man. It was not man who created God, but God who created man And revealed himself to man….

In the beginning . . . God!

Mark Stinnett

February 2, 2025

How Do You Stop The Devil? (Part 4)

I called her Fern for...actually I’m not sure for how long. But her real name was Lois. I know, I know, “How did you get Fern out of Lois?” you are thinking. I have no idea. It was embarrassing when I was finally corrected. Thankfully, Lois had a good sense of humor.

Being called by the wrong name is like having your identity confused. You know who you are, but how important is it for others to know who you are? Perhaps a better and more focused question is: How important is it for God to know who you are? Does God really know who you are???

That was the central focus of the devil’s second temptation of Jesus in Matthew 4:

Then the devil took Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written, ‘He will command His angels concerning You’; and ‘On their hands they will bear You up, So that You will not strike Your foot against a stone.’”  --Matthew 4:5-6

Did you notice the ‘if’ statement: ‘If’ you are the Son of God?

The ‘if’ is designed to create doubt. The first temptation also started with an ‘if.’ It was designed to create doubt in Jesus’ identity as the Son of God, as if to say, “Are you sure you are the Son of God?” The second temptation questioned the identity of Jesus from God’s perspective, as if to say, “Does God really know who you are; does He think you are the Son of God?”

In the first temptation the devil tempted Jesus to prove His identity by performing a miracle Himself. In the second temptation he tempted Jesus to force God to perform a miracle to validate that HE believed Jesus was the Son of God.

The devil quoted from Psalm 91 (That's impressive!), but consider the verse after the quotation:

You will tread upon the lion and cobra, The young lion and the serpent you will trample down.   —Psalm 91:13

The vivid imagery in Psalm 91 was used to convey a message of protection and assistance for those who trust in God. It was not meant to be taken literally. The devil misapplied scripture.

Jesus detected the devil’s deception and knew that he was trying to make Him question His relationship with God. Did God need to prove anything to Jesus, or was God’s word enough?

God had made an open verbal declaration stating that Jesus was His Son (Matthew 3:17). For Jesus to do what the devil suggested would have been asking God to prove what He had already said by doing a miracle. Jesus did not doubt God, but responded wisely:

On the other hand, it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’   —Matthew 4:7

One way the devil tempts Christians is to make them doubt their relationship with God. When difficult times come some people wonder if God really cares. Some people wonder if God hears their prayers. They doubt God when they do not receive the things for which they pray. Do you think an easy life, good health and constant blessings are necessary to prove God’s love for you? In reality, there is nothing for God to prove, not to you and not even to the devil.

Read Romans 5:1-11. 

Stop. Look it up. Read the verses; then finish.

Has God already demonstrated His love for you? 

Has He already declared His relationship with those who are in Christ? 

Do you believe what God has already said about you!? 

Or...

Will you put God to the test?

How Do You Stop the Devil? (Part 3)

How did Jesus stop the devil and overcome temptation?

Three specific temptations are recorded in the gospel accounts of Matthew and Luke. The first temptation:

And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”

--Matthew 4:3

The bread idea generally receives a lot of attention because Jesus was really hungry. (Remember? Forty days of fasting.) So, the devil used the natural physical hunger of Jesus as a smoke screen to tempt Jesus.

Was the temptation all about food, or was there something more?

Look at the ‘if’ statement: “If you are the Son of God….” The ‘if’ statement draws into question the identity of Jesus as the Son of God. The ‘if’ statement suggests the possibility that Jesus was not the Son of God. The devil asked the question and tried to get Jesus to question his identity.

With one miracle Jesus would be able to satisfy his physical hunger AND he would be able to prove that he was indeed the Son of God.

Think again.... 

Turning stones into bread proves nothing. Other people did miracles, but that did not mean that they were the Son of God. There was no prophecy in the Old Testament that connected a stone-to-bread miracle with the Son of God. So, the only thing such a miracle would have proven was that the miracle-worker was able to turn a rock into nourishing bread.

Jesus saw the disconnect and did not fall for the devil’s deception. In fact, Jesus KNEW with absolute certainty His identity. After being baptized by John the Baptist the Holy Spirit descended and rested on Jesus. John had been assured by God that the Holy Spirit would come and rest on the one who was the Son of God. So, with the testimony of the Holy Spirit John testified that Jesus was the Son of God (John 1:33-34). In addition, the voice of God declared, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.” (Matthew 3:16-17). So, Jesus had the testimony of the Father and the Holy Spirit that he was God’s Son.

The devil simply used the physical longing for food to plant the seed of doubt in the mind of Jesus. The food miracle was a temptation, but a deeper temptation was that of proving his identity.

So, how did Jesus overcome these temptations?

He addressed both levels of temptation saying:

“It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’”

--Matthew 4:4)

Jesus was basically saying, "I don't need eat now...and I am confident in my identity because of what came out of the mouth of God; I don't have to prove anything."

Jesus demonstrated contentment by refusing to personally satisfy his physical appetite. He was committed to wait on the Lord for strength. In addition, he did not allow the devil to create doubt about his identity. He KNEW that he was the Son of God because of the declarations of the Father and the Spirit, so there was nothing to prove.

The devil cleverly appeals to our appetites making us think that we are the only one who can satisfy our needs. In reality the human being can go without food for days; can survive without a big house, without the latest fashion in clothing, without cutting edge technology, without entertainment, without sex, etc. Jesus trusted God and chose contentment over indulgence.

The devil also challenges our identity by making us doubt that we are children of God. Yet we, like Jesus, have nothing to prove. After all, God has declared:

For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.

—Galatians 3:26

So, when temptation knocks at your door...

Remember, who you are in Christ: Sons of God.

Wait on the Lord; choose contentment.

Who Are YOU???

Everyone knew Scrooge, in fact, just about everyone ‘knows’ Scrooge. Over 150 years ago Charles Dickens brought to life the character Ebenezer Scrooge in his beloved “A Christmas Carol.” Today the nickname ’Scrooge’ is often pinned on those who lack Christmas spirit.

Scrooge was a money-hungry, miserly old grouch. So, was it his attitude toward money, his harsh business dealings and grouchiness that defined him? Or was it rather that these undesirable traits and behaviors emerged from who he already was?

Dicken’s Scrooge is fictitious, so I'll not argue the point. However, the question is relevant for each one of us. Is it our behaviors and words and moods that make us who we are, or is it who we are that really defines our behaviors and speech and moods?

Think back to a funeral you have attended, not just any funeral, not necessarily the last funeral, but a very specific funeral. Recall a funeral in which the good deeds and kind attitudes and encouraging words of the deceased were remembered and then the speaker added, "That's just the way she (he) was."

Do you see the beauty of that statement? The good deeds and acts of service were not what defined the deceased, they were a natural outcome of who she was already. Her goodness produced good behavior, good attitudes, and kind and encouraging words.

The simple point is that she was defined by her good character; her good behavior was a natural outgrowth of her character, her inner identity.

____________________

People in our day are still ‘trying to find themselves.’ People are still dealing with ‘mid-life crises.’ You have known people who ‘do’ good things, admirable things, even great things, then you see their lives in turmoil because of addictions, immorality, or criminal behavior. Someone quips, “I guess you never really know a person.” All the good is just a lot of ‘doing’ by actors who have no idea who they really are. Lost identity.

____________________

I think most people in our culture see themselves (and others) as the sum total of all they have done. One's identity is defined by a set of accomplishments, a kind of resume’ of life. The longer the resume’, the more significance...or so we think.

Does your resume’ define you, or do you define your resume’? Who are YOU?

____________________

Did you know that your fellowship with God is based on your identity? God does not ask for a resume’, a list of accomplishments, but rather a relationship. He identifies you by your relationship to Him.

For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
                                                                                            --Colossians 3:3

The Christian has died and therefore lost his identity, but he is hidden with Christ in God. So, he has not lost his identity.

Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son;
and if a son, then an heir through God.
                                                                --Galatians 4:7

The Christian has changed identities, no longer living for himself, but losing his identity in Christ, he is a son of God.

The Apostle Paul challenged Christians to not turn back to their old lives because they had “...come to know God, or rather to be known by God….” (Galatians 4:9)

Do you know who you are?
Are you a child of God,
       known by God,
              awaiting your inheritance?

Who are YOU???