Give the Devil his Due (Sermon)

By Joe Palmer

Ever since Flip Wilson passed. The devil hasn’t gotten his due. Flip had it right with his hilarious claim, “The devil made me do it.” The devil is the source of a lot of evil, if not directly, indirectly. Most of the time we see his genius and don’t even recognize it. So for a few minutes let’s give the devil his due.

1. The devil pulled of the coupé of coupés when was able to get people to blame a good God for the problem of evil.

Jas 1:13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.[
James 1:17 (ESV)

2. The devil convinced parents to hand their children to the state to raise and indoctrinate into their humanistic Godless society all in the name of free public education.

Train up a child in the way he should go;
even when he is old he will not depart from it
Prov 22:6 (ESV)

3. The devil has pulled off a double play when he created abortion. Not only does he destroy an entire life of a child, he destroyed the soul of a woman by hardening her heart towards her own child. She must silence her guilt that she traded the life of her child, for her own freedom, or to cover up her sin.

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be (Psalm 139:13-16).

4. The devil has accomplished a lot by rewriting our popular vocabulary: homosexuality became an alternative lifestyle, adultery became an affair, and drunkenness became alcoholism or a disease. It sounds more pleasant.

Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter !Isaiah 5:20 (ESV)

5. Satan is a master at reframing arguments. Abortion isn’t murder. Satan reframed this discussion so that the same people who will campaign to save abandoned and neglected animals, will logically argue that abortion is a “woman’s reproductive rights.” We don’t advocate for our right to euthanize our own children we simply say we are pro-choice.

Though they know God’s decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them. Romans 1:32 (ESV)

6. The devil is great at intimidating the forces for good to sit silent on the sidelines. He causes Christian to fear standing up because we might be labeled. If we declare something a sin we are hypocrites and judges. If we don’t want homosexuals holding positions as teachers or scout leaders we are homophobic. If we talk too much about Jesus we are religious fanatics.

for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
2 Tim 1:7 (ESV)

7. Satan has convinced us that religion is strictly a personal issue. We shouldn’t pray in public places. We shouldn’t protest against immorality in the business world. We shouldn’t share the gospel. Religion is off limits.

So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, 20 for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.”
Acts 4:18-20 (ESV)

8. Satan wins when he gets us to blame God for our sin. A pregnant girl cries to God, “Why did you let this happen to me?” A person caught for drug or alcohol use wonders why God allows them to suffer for their sin. We even forsake God because we are reaping what we sow. In essence we cut ourselves off from our only hope.

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
1 John 1:8-10 (ESV)

9. The devil has been able to get us to target the wrong enemy. We will fight with other religions. We will fight with believers who believe differently in some way. We will fight against sinners trapped in sin. We should be fighting to resist temptation, unity the family of God, love the lost, and destroy all the strongholds of Satan.
Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.   1 Peter 5:8-10 (ESV)

10. Satan has convinced us to accept a watered down faith as a substitute for the real thing. Most people are content if they believe in Jesus and make to church a few times a month. Few see their mission as being in alignment with the mission of Christ. Thus few people in the world see the big deal about being a Christian.

I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! 16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. 17 For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see.
Rev 3:15-18 (ESV)

Joe Palmer

Divorce & The Christian Response

By Joe Palmer

As we approach the season of love I am caused to reflect not only love as it exists in my life now, but in the past. It is said, “Better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.“ All words are shallow comfort when you have lost the love of your life, but the loss of love through death, and the loss through divorce are two totally foreign animals.

I lost my first love relationship through divorce. It hardly makes me unique in the world that we live in. Divorce is now so common.  Perhaps it can’t be compared to the cold, but it nears the state of certainty as death and taxes. In fact it is so certain many now consider the preëmptive moves to prepare for the inevitable before saying the nuptials.

As a Christian, and a minister I would like to tell you it is different in our world. But statistics and just general observations prove it is not. Too many Christian families end up in the divorce court.

Being a divorced preacher seems particularly contradictory to some. Once when reentering the ministry someone said, “We don’t want a divorced preacher.” I assure you I didn’t one to be on either. People ask questions like, “How do you preach against divorce?” Other questions, like, “How can you possibly counsel someone in a marriage or considering divorce,” are commonly asked.

I understand the questions and sympathize with those asking. It may seem hypocritical. I have decided to write a series of articles about divorce from the inside. A series I hope will help some people avoid this devastating mistake and hopefully preserve a few marriages along the way. I also hope to encourage people who are Christians to do a better job in comforting the divorced.

If the fact that I am divorced gives you pain, then let me assure you it gives me more pain. My hope is these words will help. I am glad to answer question either privately or openly depending on your own desire.

Blessings,

Joe Palmer

Give the Devil his Due

By Joe Palmer

Ever since Flip Wilson passed. The devil hasn’t gotten his due. Flip had it right with his hilarious claim, “The devil made me do it.” The devil is the source of a lot of evil, if not directly, indirectly. Most of the time we see his genius and don’t even recognize it. So for a few minutes let’s give the devil his due.

1. The devil pulled of the coupé of coupé when was able to get people to blame a good God for the problem of evil.

2. The devil convinced parents to hand their children to the state to raise and indoctrinate into their humanistic Godless society all in the name of free public education.

3. The devil has pulled off a double play when he created abortion. Not only does he destroy an entire life of a child, he destroyed the soul of a woman by hardening her heart towards her own child. She must silence her guilt that she traded the life of her child, for her own freedom, or to cover up her sin.

4. The devil has accomplished a lot by rewriting our popular vocabulary: homosexuality became an alternative lifestyle, adultery became an affair, and drunkenness became alcoholism or a disease. It sounds more pleasant.

5. Satan is a master at reframing arguments. Abortion isn’t murder. Satan reframed this discussion so that the same people who will campaign to save abandoned and neglected animals, will logically argue that abortion is a “woman’s reproductive rights.” We don’t advocate for our right to euthanize our own children we simply say we are pro-choice.

6. The devil is great at intimidating the forces for good to sit silent on the sidelines. He causes Christian to fear standing up because we might be labeled. If we declare something a sin we are hypocrites and judges. If we don’t want homosexuals holding positions as teachers or scout leaders we are homophobic. If we talk too much about Jesus we are religious fanatics.

7. Satan has convinced us that religion is strictly a personal issue. We shouldn’t pray in public places. We shouldn’t protest against immorality in the business world. We shouldn’t share the gospel. Religion is off limits.

8. Satan wins when he gets us to blame God for our sin. A pregnant girl cries to God, “Why did you let this happen to me?” A person caught for drug or alcohol use wonders why God allows them to suffer for their sin. We even forsake God because we are reaping what we sow. In essence we cut ourselves off from our only hope.

9. The devil has been able to get us to target the wrong enemy. We will fight with other religions. We will fight with believers who believe differently in some way. We will fight against sinners trapped in sin. We should be fighting to resist temptation, unity the family of God, love the lost, and destroy all the strongholds of Satan.

10. Satan has convinced us to accept a watered down faith as a substitute for the real thing. Most people are content if they believe in Jesus and make to church a few times a month. Few see their mission as being in alignment with the mission of Christ. Thus few people in the world see the big deal about being a Christian.

Joe Palmer

I hope you will share your thoughts about the devil and how he has managed to deceive the world.

How to Make Blogging Count in Your Ministry

By Joe Palmer

I love ministry. I love writing. I am excited to have found a medium where I can multiply my efforts by having more people around the nation read and comment on my work. Blogging has helped me fill that void.

To the non-technical let’s define how simple blogging is.

1. First of all blogging is free. Check out WordPress.com Blogspot.com and Blogger.com for more information on how to start your own free blog.
2. Blogging is liking having a website that you don’t have to build, don’t have to pay for, and if you are already writing sermons and articles don’t even have to work that hard to develop content for.  All these sites have templets that you can select and customize in a very short amount of time.
3. Blogging doesn’t have to be time-consuming.  If you write sermons: post them.  If you write articles for your bulletin: use them.  You can even go back and add old sermons and articles to your blog when you are too busy to write a new post.

Blogging also has the added benefit in that it serves as a back up for your articles and sermons.  It allows you to easily access them later in the event your hard drive crashes.

Blogging is also an effective way to expand your ministry.

1. It allows your congregation to access articles and sermons and even send them to friends. They can also go back and find them later for the purpose of Bible study or personal devotional.
2. It lets you get feedback from people in the community and around the world.
3. You can post announcements for events and send emails to your congregation encouraging them to go to your blog and then to send that link to a friend.
4. Blogs are also a place to introduce people in the community and potential members to your teaching style.

Promoting your blog. I will admit that I don’t think I have this one down yet.

1. You can tell people: in person, email, Facebook, Twitter,  are all great ways to let people know about your blog and it’s content.
2. Content is the key.  People read good blogs. They read blogs about topics that interest them.  They read topics that offer something unique, or controversial.  So first focus on content, then on promotion.
3. Join groups.  Join the groups that would enjoy your blog and mention it from time to time.  I have joined www.saintsmeet.com and various christian facebook groups.

A Secret Outlet for your blog.

I honestly started this post with just the intent of sharing this with my friends and expanded it.  When I started blogging I discovered that our local paper has a blog forum.  People post in a very crude format blog posts and comment on them.  I starting writing and posting some of my blogs on the newspaper’s blog forum.  I have found that people outside the church read and comment on my posts.  I list my name, church, and  contact information on my profile.  I try to pick articles that are relevant, and some that have a news angle to them. For example: “Obama Takes on Abortion” or  ”Pat Robertson: Open Mouth, Insert Foot, Embarrass Christians.”  I am recently writing articles about marriage to promote a class that we have that is open to the public.  I mention the class at the end of each article.

You can also post in the Notes section of Facebook, or the blog section of Saintsmeet.com and perhaps many more places. Again the same articles can be used and often links can be added to your main blog.

I hope this post helps you and I welcome your suggestion on how to better use blogs to promote the Lord’s work.

Joe Palmer

The Friend who Loves You Anyway”

By Joe Palmer

Can you imagine having coffee with God?  Perhaps going fishing with him.  Imagine speaking with God as a friend.  That is what Moses did.  Take a minute to read the story.

Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, far off from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting. And everyone who sought the Lord would go out to the tent of meeting, which was outside the camp. 8 Whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people would rise up, and each would stand at his tent door, and watch Moses until he had gone into the tent.  When Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent, and the Lord would speak with Moses.  And when all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, all the people would rise up and worship, each at his tent door.  Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend.  Ex 33:7-11 (ESV)

Friendships are special. Without friends life wouldn’t be much fun. Without friends each task would be more difficult.  Without friends our moments of joy would seem shallow, and times of sorrow, more bitter. Someone said,

“Don’t walk in front of me; I may not follow.
Don’t walk behind me; I may not lead.
Walk beside me and be my friend.”

A good friend is one who lives by this advice. That is what the goal of the church is.  It is a place where Christian friends walk with each other down life’s road.

Friends help each other to become better.  One person said, “Treat people as if they were what they ought to be and you help them to become what they are capable of being.” God’s word says, “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.” Proverbs 27:17 (ESV)

The most important friend we have is God. “A friend is someone who knows all about you and loves you anyway!!!” When I found that quote I knew that was God.  He is our friend that knows us and loves us anyway.

Joe Palmer

“Make new friends and keep the old, one is silver and the other gold”

“Strangers are just friends waiting to happen.”

“A friend is a gift you give yourself.” 
- Robert Louis Stevenson,

“Friendship is a pretty full-time occupation if you really are friendly with somebody. You can’t have too many friends because then you’re just not really friends.”

Saving Your Marriage Before it Starts.

This is a fun interactive group class with workbooks.  The class is designed for newly married couples, but anyone can profit from it.  Topics include: Facing the Marriage Myths, Finding your love style, developing the habit of happiness, communication, bridging the gender gap, fighting fair, and becoming soul mates.

We are inviting everyone from the community to join us. This is a great way to reach out to your friends and to help them grow in their marriage.

Class will meet each  Tuesday beginning, February 16 at 7:00 P.M. and will conclude on Tuesday, March 30^th.  Each class is approximately 90 minutes including a video presentation, and discussion.  There are seven session in the series.

Joe Palmer is the facilitator.  To sign up, call the church office, or leave a comment here.

Transforming Relationships:

LOVE: Nothing Else Matters

Jack had just gotten back from a date with the girl of his dreams. His friend Tom asked him how it went. “Great,” said Jack, “She was so beautiful, and so sweet, and after dinner we drove down to the lake. The moon was beautiful and the stars. She said to me, ‘Jack if you put the top down on this car I’ll give you a kiss.” “What did you do?” Tom asked. “I had the top down on that car in seven minutes flat,” said Jack. Tom said, “Jack, I can put my top down in 30 seconds.” Jack said, “Yea I know, but you drive a convertible.”

Love is the greatest motivational source of all. But why do we get into a relationship? There are at least three reasons:

1. What’s in it for me – Perhaps it’s money, status, or even sexual gratification. Some relationships are formed for purely self-interest.
2. My own insecurity – Fear of being alone, financial insecurity, and low self-esteem can cause us to settle for a relationship that’s not right, or rush into one that isn’t healthy.
3. Ulterior Motives – Pregnancy, family expectations, trying to get out of a bad relationship, and unplanned pregnancy are a few ulterior motives.

All of these are short-term motivations and relationships are designed for the long haul. No wonder so many people end up breaking up. They never had a foundation to begin with.

• If we are looking out for self then what do we do when a richer, sexier, or better connected partner comes along?
• If we got into a relationship out of insecurity, we will remain insecure within the relationship and that can cause lots of problems.
• If we had some ulterior motive, then we begin to second guess why we did something that we knew wasn’t right.

How do we fix it? First of all understand there is hope. Love is a decision, not an emotion. You can learn to love, and repair a broken relationship. I Corinthians 13:1-3 teaches us that in relationships, “Nothing Else Matters.” Love is the key.

• Words don’t matter - Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. I Cor. 13:1. Flowery words, poems, even a love song can’t replace love.
• Knowledge doesn’t matter - And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. I Cor. 13:2 Abilities, knowledge, these are small things compared to love. “Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies.” I Cor. 8:1 Wow, how true, sometimes our knowledge and arrogance actually hurts our relationship.
• Even actions don’t matter – And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. I Cor. 13:3 It is incredible to think that even actions don’t matter, but it’s true. You can do many things, buying expensive gifts, cars, or even a home. However, without love… NOTHING ELSE MATTERS. On the opposite side when you suffer sickness, adversity, and financial losses, if you have love, NOTHING ELSE MATTERS.

Joe Palmer

TRANSFORMING RELATIONSHIPS

By Joe Palmer

The story is told of an old farmer working his garden by the side of a road. One day a family with a U-Haul in tow stopped to speak to him. The father inquired, “Mr., we are thinking of moving to that town up the road a few miles. Could you tell us what the people are like who live there?” “Well,” the old farmer replied, “What were the people like where you moved from?” The father quickly responded, “Very nice, kind, and helpful. We had great neighbors, but we have to move.” The farmer said, “That is exactly the kind of folks you will find in that town up there mister.”

About two hours later a second family stopped, again pulling a U-Haul. “Hey old man,” the man driving asked, “What kind of folks live in that town up there? We are moving.” The old farmer responded the same as before, “What were the people like where you moved from?” The driver said, “Biggest bunch of hypocrites, grumps, and thoughtless people you will ever meet. I am so glad we are moving.” The farmer said, “You don’t want to move to that town then. The people there are exactly like the ones from your old town.” “Thanks for the warning,” the man responded, and they went on their way.

My father used to tell me, if you are having trouble getting along with people, then you need to look at yourself. Proverbs 18:24 says, “A man who has friends, must himself be friendly.” Luke 6:38 says, “Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”  If you want to change your relationship, change yourself.

How do we change ourself?  If you want to transform your relationship there are three keys that must be used.

1. Focus on the positive traits that other people possess. Everyone has some good qualities. The problem is we focus on their annoying habits. We fume over their consistent failures. We begin to see them only in light of their liabilities. The biggest difference I have seen in couples post divorce, or in those heading toward divorce, is the focus on interpreting everything in a negative light. Remember, “Love covers a multitude of sins.”

2. My contribution to the problem. Okay, your mate has some annoying qualities. Okay, you have put up with them for years. Take an honest look at yourself. What have others put up with from you? Where have you failed? How have you hurt your relationship?

3. What I can do to fix the problem. Now instead of looking and considering how you can get them to change, consider how you can change. One of the laws of relationship dynamics states, “When one party changes, it demands a change in the other party.” For example if you stop nagging, your mate has to react in some manner. If I refuse to get into our usual fight, or react in my usual manner, then my mate has to do something different. The relationship has changed.

None of these keys will work unless they are in the hand of someone who loves. When asked to summarize the law, Jesus put love # 1 and # 2. (Matt. 22:37) Jesus also said, “By this shall all men know that you are my disciples if you have love one for another.” (John 13:35)  We are even told to love our enemies.  When a once good relationship goes bad it seems like we have become enemies.  If we decide to love and focus on the three keys our relationship will change.

Joe Palmer

MAKE A DIFFERENCE

By Joe Palmer

The following story is a true story off a brotherhood website called “The Fellowship Room.” http://fellowshiproom.wordpress.com

Her name is Janice Helms. I met her two years ago when we moved to Geneva to work with the church here. At that time, she was our only small children’s Bible class teacher. We had one class, and sometimes just one little girl in that class. Still Janice continued to teach because of her love for the children.
Today when she talks about the Lord and His church, a radiant smile spreads across her face. She always goes about doing good and leading by example. Recently Janice did the unimaginable. She went out into our small town and invited the children to come. Soon her car was overflowing with small children wanting to come to Bible class.

Desperate for help, she called the church office and asked to use the church van. Insurance legalities were arranged and Janice became a designated driver. She started coming early to the building on Sunday morning, Sunday evening and Wednesday evenings to drive the van and pick up the children. She was on a mission to bring the children in to learn about the Savior.

Soon the van was overflowing, and she recruited her son and another young man to take their vehicles to go and bring the children to Bible class. It wasn’t long until her little Bible class was overflowing and we had to divide the children by age groups. Today, we have three Bible classes for children. Once a month Janice hosts a party for the children. This past Sunday afternoon she had 24 little children, wall to wall, in her small trailer for a pizza party. After the party she said, “God is so good. I just want to see His church grow.”

One person, one dream, one goal, and what a difference Janice Helms is making in the lives of us all. We now hear the sound of children’s voices ringing in the church building. May her example inspire us all to do greater works for Him who loves us so. By Glenda Williams

This story says it all. If we love the Lord we can make a difference. Don’t look at things and they way they are and just ask, why. Look for someone to make a difference, and ask, “Why not me?”

Joe Palmer

Pat Robertson:
Open Mouth, Insert Foot, Embarrass Christians

Pat Robertson is to Christianity what Joe Biden is to politics: a brilliant, accomplished man who has a knack for saying the wrong thing, at just the right time.

Here is the transcript of what he said.

“And you know, Kristi, something happened a long time ago in Haiti, and people might not want to talk about it. They were under the heel of the French, you know, Napoleon the Third and whatever, and they got together and swore a pact to the devil. They said, ‘We will serve you if you’ll get us free from the French.’ True story. And so the devil said, ‘O.K., it’s a deal.’

At first you would think that Pat was perhaps in Jamaica smoking what they sell in that tiny island country. But there is a possibility of some truth behind his story.

An event that allegedly took place on August 14, 1791 that has become known as “The Bois Caïman Ceremony.” To make a long story short there was a Voodoo ceremony before a revolution against the French. Some people believed that this ceremony lead to their victory.

Several points needed to cleared-up. First, It is not a certain fact that the ceremony took place. It may be just Haitian folklore. Second, It likely had nothing to do with their victory since God himself says He is the one who establishes nations. ‘Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.’ (Romans 13:1 ESV) Third, God doesn’t need Robertson to speak on his behalf. He has already proven himself to be a false prophet.

The most important point is that Christ himself warned against the kind of statement Robertson made. Consider what He said in Luke 13:1-5:

“There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? 3 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. 4 Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? 5 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” (Luke 13:1-5 ESV)

Jesus pointed to not one, but two, calamities of his day. In both cases he refutes the common misconception that all tragedies are the result of the hand of God and for the purpose of punishment. While God does punish nations, and individuals, that is not his desire. (II Peter 3:9) When it does happen, He doesn’t need us as mortal men declaring that a particular event is his judgment.

We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. To paraphrase Christ, “Let the nation without sin, cast the first stone.”

If Pat Robertson has any saving grace in this it was provided by, that great philosopher, Danny Glover. Glover decided to weigh in on the cause of the earthquake. He told GRITtv that it could have happened to any of the Caribbean island nations: “They are all in peril because of global warming.” Then, he lamented the failure of the climate summit in Copenhagen. As a result of that failure, he says, “this is what happened.”2

This proves that stupid statements are not limited by race, creed, religion, or political persuasion.

Joe Palmer

1. If you want to read more about the history of Haiti, and the voodoo ceremony I suggest. http://www.dennyburk.com/what-is-pat-robertson-talking-about/

2 http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,583162,00.html