by Timothy Whalen | Nov 11, 2019 | Spritual Warefare
He Is Looking For You
“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” Ephesians 6:12 Most of Christianity today has no idea of the battle that rages on around us in the unseen spiritual world. To begin with, it seems like God is merely an attachment to our lives who is kind of like the rich uncle that lives in Texas. We know he is there and have warm thoughts of him, that he loves us, but we really don’t stay in contact very much. He is not our reason for existence. We do not greet Him in the morning as we rise from sleep. He is just another App on our screen. We believe in God and occasionally pray to Him but we only visit Him once a week. Then there is the devil. We believe that he also exists and then we trivialize him to the point of a cartoonish devil that wears a red jumpsuit, has horns, a thin mustache, and oh yes, a tail. I really want my readers to learn to lift up our Lord Jesus Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords and not give any undue attention or fascination to Satan but brother he exists! He hates you with a passion and rages against you and your family. He works 24/7, 365 days a year and does not really want the attention for what he does. In fact he would rather go undetected and work undercover where he does his best work. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 2:11 “We are not ignorant of his devices.”,but tragically we oftentimes are very ignorant and even complicit in his plan without knowing it. He would love for you to have a failed marriage. He wants your children to rebel against you. He wants you to be offended and leave your church. He does not mind if you skip the Sunday night service or Wednesday prayer meeting. He wants you to compromise just a little and will wait patiently for you to get cold and indifferent to the things of God.
Ignorance Is No Excuse
Those who do not know God very well and are ignorant of Satan’s devices will have flesh and blood battles against people and miss the real source of the conflict. Paul reminds us in 2 Corinthians 4:18 we should, “…look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen,…for the things which are not seen are eternal.”
Spiritual warfare is a subject that every believer should study and be aware of. We have the weapons listed in Ephesians Chapter six but very few believers use them.
Where Are Your Priorities?
We are encouraged to have a heavenly vision when it comes to our brief journey on earth. The Lord knew that we would be tempted to view life through the natural man instead of the spiritual man. In 2 Timothy 2:4 we read, “No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.” This battle as was mentioned before is an ongoing fight to the finish. We must understand who the enemy is and fight not fight a carnal (fleshly) battle with people. When we encounter strife and trouble with family or coworkers it is a natural response to push back at the one who hurt or offended us. In so doing we miss the true culprit who is the liar, accuser of the brethren, the deceiver, who is also known as an angel of light. When we battle flesh and blood (people) Satan gets the victory and we are further from victory than when we began. Let us never forget…”the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds; casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalteth itself against God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;” 2 Corinthians 10:4,5 To complicate matters many believers are filling their minds with the things which will eventually pull them away from the things that speak of Christ. It is a subtle tactic of the enemy and does not seem so wrong at first. But when this is the philosophy of life of one who will be leaving this world soon, it is a waste of time at best and will lead to further erosion of the testimony of the Christian. One secular writer lamented that just when the world needs the church the most the church has become just like the world. Those who are a child of God truly need to set their affections on things above. Instead of being heavenly minded many men are sowing seeds of destruction by spending huge amounts of time on social media. The shocking fact is that over 70 % of the men in the United States view pornography on a regular basis and according to study by The Barna Group 64% of “Christian” men admit to watching porn. Where are the blessings of God when this is happening? They certainly are not coming down as we need them to. One of the ways we can fight this scourge is to be held accountable, knowing that what we view will be known to our accountability partner. Covenant Eyes is an online company that will help us men to stay pure in God’s eyes. In their own words it will help us to “maintain our online integrity.” Satan has done a masterpiece of a job in the area of lust to render men helpless in this area of spiritual warfare. It is bad enough when our public world is so lewd and now with the click of a button or a tap of the finger, the vilest and most wicked things are right in front of the viewer.
Hell Is No Joke!
By now you are either on board with this blog or you think I am making much more of Satan than I should. Friend, we are warned many times in the New Testament of our fallen foe who seeks to devour you. If you are not viewing the reality of Satan, Witchcraft, and evil spirits from the perspective of the Word of God you will fall prey to the deception that most of the world has bought into, namely that he either does not exist or “Hey It’s all in good fun! i.e. Halloween and Buffy The Vampire Slayer et al. Hollywood has so muddied the waters in many ways but the most powerful trick they have pulled is to make you think this is harmless fun. Take note of how wildly popular the Harry Potter series was or the Disney kids cartoon, Vampirina. These subtle tactics have won thousands of young potential converts to the dark side as parents are left thinking, “How cute!” I have personally dealt with a young teenager who wanted help in getting out of witchcraft. Her sister meanwhile was happy to continue in a vampire-themed game complete with a playbook full of rules. In the NAVY I met and debated with four different practicing Satanists who were very devout in their worship of their Lord Satan. They were not joking at all! Hell is no joke and Satan plays for keeps.
We Are On The Winning Side!
Before you think the devil has the upper hand, remember that He was defeated at the cross where our Lord Jesus Christ paid for our sins and took the handwriting of ordinances that was against us and nailed it to the cross. Satan WILL be cast into the lake of fire and we DO have the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ on a daily basis. Never think we are to stand against the devil in our own strength. We stand in the power of the Lord and we clearly state, “I can do all things through Christ, which strengtheneth me.” – Philippians 4:13 Let me encourage you to be a man or woman of intense, fervent, red-hot prayer! Again, have a look at what The Barna Group has found about the prayer habits of evangelical Christians and you will be shocked! Other sources suggest that the average Christian spends 3-7 minutes in prayer daily and that includes meal time prayers! That “rub a dub dub thanks for the grub” praying just won’t cut it, friend!
It should give the devil a fit when he sees you bow in prayer. Your prayers, if prayed with a holy life will be like thunderous cannons destroying the kingdom of Satan. What a shame it would be if ole smutty face were to say to you, “Paul I know and Jesus I know, but who are you?” Leonard Ravenhill says you should be such a threat to Satan’s kingdom that you would be known in hell. Brother the time is short. Darkness is coming when no man can work.The devil knows it. Do we? Let’s get in the business of praying down the power of God and I believe we can still see revival and see many captives set free. Please feel free to leave a comment to encourage other believers in prayer. Let’s get some commitment. Can I get an Amen?
by Timothy Whalen | Apr 4, 2019 | Politics, Prayer
Christian Responsibility and Politics
I remember very well when I came to Owosso as the new Pastor of Bible Baptist Church. I wanted a good reputation towards the saved and the lost of the area. I thought gaining some status among the people would be a great avenue to influence others for Christ, hence I joined the Young Republicans of Shiawassee County. We had monthly meetings and plotted how to influence politics at the local,state, and national level.
As soon as I could I tried to find a receptive ear and share the gospel of the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus to these lost conservative ideologues. Do you think I found that “receptive ear?” I think not. As soon as they knew what I was up to I was dismissed and the conversation turned back to politics. They were quick to say words to this effect, “Don’t get us wrong we believe like you in many respects and we are glad to have you along for the ride. Huh! The Ride! Even today Republicans court the evangelical vote because it only helps their cause of course.
More to follow! Please leave comments as to what you think.
by Timothy Whalen | Nov 25, 2018 | Addiction
In this world of hurting people, there are not nearly enough people offering help to those without hope. In our community, we are averaging one suicide a month and others are overdosing on drugs or just committing the slow suicide of drinking themselves to death. I have been ministering in the jail system both at the county level and the state prison for well over seventeen years. Ten years ago our church started the Reformers Unanimous addictions ministry in the local jail. The jail admin said they would allow twenty men to sign up and over thirty men actually did! The chaplain said he has never seen a ministry launch so big and so fast.
It has been a thrill to see people set free from addictions and destructive behavior. The opioid epidemic is not confined to Michigan or even to Shiawassee County. It is now a nationwide problem and America has the stigma of being the largest drug consuming country in the world. I try to remind people of this when they want to criticize Mexico and the cartels. We are creating the demand and they are simply supplying it. I am looking for like-minded people who want to address the underlying problem, namely that of the consumer, the drug abuser who lives across town, or in your neighborhood or maybe even across the table from you.
Curse the Darkness? or Turn On The Light?
The Bible says we are blessed (happy) if we are not sitting in our seats scorning or despising those who are addicts. I have no use for that attitude! To be sure the addict has made bad and even sinful choices to get to where he or she is at. There are some who are responsible for their actions and others who are victims. I asked one man who had been a drunk for many years how long he had been drinking. He said, “My mother used to put beer in my baby bottle to keep me quiet!” I am sure there are many who have never heard his complete story and it makes me grateful for my precious parents. I was asking another man in his thirties how he had to come to use marijuana and he said his relatives forced him to smoke dope when he was still a young boy of six or seven, thinking it was cute. Yet another man, my good friend from high school had his drunken father take him to the bar when he was four or five years old and had set him on the bar stool to help him have his first drink of beer. Would you like other examples? Sadly I have many more. I am sure you see how scorning these people is the wrong thing and helps no one but to inflate our own egos.
Let’s stop kicking people who are down and be sure we have all of the facts before we sweep them to the side of the road of life and wait for the trash man to pick them up for a one way trip to the human landfill. Will you criticize and complain about our drug epidemic or will you partner with me to offer a hand of help to those in bondage?
It Takes Prayer, Love and Time to Help
I used to think that it took a lot of love to help people and to be sure it does. You will work really hard for their family and kids and then not have the loyalty or appreciation always paid back to you. I live by the maxim to do what I do as unto the Lord, knowing that ultimately it is Him that I serve.
My background is one of drug and alcohol abuse and I am grateful to be alive! With all of the dangerous things I have done and the people I associated with, I should have been killed many times over. I have been a lawbreaker, both God’s law and man’s law, and I am now on the other side! The Lord saved me from my sin, including that of abusing drugs and alcohol in the year of 1980. By His grace and power, I have been set free for thirty-eight years! It is a lie from the devil to say that once a person is an addict or drunk that they are doomed to a life of abuse. It a wonderful thing to experience sobriety, which I prefer to call victory from bondage. I so desire to see others join me in this walk of life that I have led our church in establishing Reformers Unanimous in our local church. Reformers Unanimous was established by Steve Currington and now has chapters in every state in the US and many foreign countries. I was quickly reminded of how much love it takes to love the addict, how much patience it requires to help with her baby steps toward victory and yes, the great rewards to have them testify, “I have been free from shooting heroin for over a year now!” or, “I have been tobacco free for two years!” or, “I have been anger free for three weeks!”
What Do You Want From Life?
“There is a way which seemeth right unto man but the end thereof are the ways of death.” (Proverbs 14:12) I attended a concert in San Francisco and remember chanting with the whole crowd, “We’re white punks on dope! White punks on dope!” I was deceived. I was blind. I was on my way to destruction. I had become the person my parents warned me about. Then I was set free with a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Will you join me in setting others free?
We Have a Worldwide Problem
This blog is intended to reach around the world. I may never meet you but please stay with us and help “Set The Captives Free!” I appreciate your input and feedback, because none of us is as smart as all of us.
by Timothy Whalen | Oct 27, 2018 | Prayer
Prayer Life Boring?
I had the privilege of meeting with several ladies not too long ago and I could sense their frustration with not having a consistent, vibrant prayer life. One by one they voiced their dissatisfaction and stories of failure. Now to be sure these are good ladies who want to have an energetic life of praying but the problems they listed that afternoon are the very problems that will bother us also and they will hinder a time of intimate prayer with our Lord Jesus. Yesterday I was talking with a man who explained how his prayer life had also stalled. Friends, I am so firmly convinced that God Almighty is very exciting to talk to but we approach Him in wrong ways with wrong ideas about Him and it leads to a boring prayer life and eventually we quit seeking Him in the secret place, the prayer closet, so we let others talk about it and we say, “Amen!” Remember we are not praying the Rosary or doing contemplative meditation. Those methods will sap the vitality out of your spirit to be sure! Let’s list a few hindrances and see how we can get the victory.
The Flesh Hinders
For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. Galatians 5:17. Leonard Ravenhill said, “Prayer is not the preparation for the battle. It IS the battle!” He also said, “Men of prayer must be men of steel for they will be assaulted by Satan even before they attempt to assault his kingdom.” That being said, your adversaries the world, the flesh, and the devil will do everything to keep you from getting alone with the Lord to see the Lord do great and mighty things for Him and through Him. It is BEST to get up early and get alone with the Lord for the greatest results. Let’s talk about the flesh a little. If you are like me we are tired and will fall asleep if we have a comfortable prayer position. (Between the sheets!) Get up and walk around when you pray if you are a person who will doze off while kneeling or sitting. Get out of bed and realize you are about to have an audience with the Creator-Sustainer God…. the One who controls the universe and all that is in it! This is thrilling! Many times we focus too much on ourselves and the dull sound of our voice so instead, put all of your focus upon Him! Remember how you shouted during the UM, MSU football game and you were excited or sad at the result? This time of entering into the prayer closet my friend is so much more important than any football game! Talk out loud and brag on Him and tell Him how much you love Him. Thank Him for his many blessings instead of going to complain on facebook at how mean people are. Pray and confess to the Lord that your flesh is hindering you from prayer. Ask Him for practical ways to overcome these fleshy hinderances. It may also help to shower, eat some food, or drink a cup of your favorite beverage to help stave off the drowsiness. Many people are just too tired because they stayed up late! Get off the phone and go to bed early and rise up early.
The Devil Hinders
Satan knows you are a threat to him and his kingdom because all prayer is really a matter of spiritual warfare and he is clever in stopping or stalling your prayer time. Listen to me! Intimate prayer, real storming the gates of heaven praying is the most powerful thing the Christian can do and Satan works hard at giving us substitutes for this communion with God. I have been with many Christians and since I am a Baptist let me just pick on us Baptists a little bit but I am sure your group is like ours in many respects. We believe in prayer bless God! We believe God hears and answers prayer! Glory! He can move mountains in answer to prayer! Come on preacher! Preach it Man! He delights in the prayers of His saints. Yes, we talk a mean talk but we do not pray! Why is that? I believe we somehow think that the believing in prayer almost equates to actual prayer itself but it does not! Satan LOVES for you to write about prayer. He delights in people talking about prayer. He does not mind if you possess books by Ravenhill, E. M. Bounds, Spurgeon, and others on prayer. Satan will pat you on the back when you quote the great divines on prayer. He thinks it is great that you once prayed all night many years ago and still brag about it. He is pleased with you that you once used to fast and pray. Think about this, “Prayer is as mighty as God, because he has committed himself to answer it. (Leonard Ravenhill) I am under such conviction right now! Excuse me. I’ll be back in a while. (Next Day) I was prompted by the Holy Spirit to go and practice what I was preaching yesterday so I had to steal away for a long time and get fired up. I had a tremendous time with the Lord and was very encouraged by our time together. The devil hates prayer and will offer even good substitutes for praying. (Like blogging!) Remember the devil knows that the good is the enemy of the best.
The World Hinders
There are, it may be, so many kinds of voices in the world, and none of them is without signification. 1 Corinthians 14:10 That being the case it is true that the world system is always vying for our attention. Try these things to shut out the world. Keep your phone off or away from you as you pray. Get alone far from the noise and “voices” that are trying to distract you. Rise early before the children do and they start to ask for breakfast. It would help if you had a special place in the woods where you can go for a prayer walk without anybody seeing or hearing you when you want to shout to the Lord or cry or clap your hands. God makes us many promises in the Word of God and he will never lie to us concerning them. Call unto me and I will answer thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not. Jeremiah 33:3 God WANTS us to pray. He LOVES to hear His children’s voices asking for His help. Marvin Smith, Pastor of Harvest Baptist Church said, “It’s as though God is in the unemployment line waiting to be put to work, but we don’t ask Him for help!” We are just too busy and esteem other things more important than fellowship with God. I have the same trouble also. When I sit down at my desk at the church it seems like all of the paperwork begins to talk to me. “Remember you said you would take care of me first!” “HEY! Over here, dude. I have been sitting here for two days now! Get with it.” If we are not careful those things that beckon for our attention will distract us from our primary duty of daily fellowship with the Lord. There is nothing my friend nothing as important as heaven hearing from you and you hearing from heaven. Nothing comes even close! Nothing!
Let Us Hear The Conclusion Of The Whole Matter
Prayer time is important but we don’t treat it as such because we tried it and we fell asleep or we got busy with life: Therefore….
1. Don’t give up! Just when you want to quit the most is the time to stay the course!
2. Go to bed earlier and wake up earlier. It works! You must train yourself.
3. Shower and drink a cup of coffee and walk around praying out loud and praying loudly.
4. Sing songs to the Lord and fall in love with Him. Love Him more than any person alive.
5. Remember the devil is after you and your family. Prayer is the best defense and offense.
by Timothy Whalen | Oct 10, 2018 | Depression, Mental Health
Keep Thy Heart With All Diligence
The above title is from a great verse found in the Bible, urging us to be very careful as to what we allow into our lives whether it be through the ear or the eye. Having said that there are still things that happen to us that put us into a downward spiral even if we have been careful to avoid the negativity that is so prevalent today. Right up front, we are not saying that this post will keep everyone from all depression ALL of the time. These are just a few ideas that you will find helpful. Let’s get started. Be wary of social media, prime-time television, the evening news, and negative people, specifically those who are scornful (Those who express contempt and derision).
To break these down many experts are finding that there is an increase in depression with an increase of social media use. There has even been a new term coined called Facebook Depression which describes the negative aspects of large amounts of time on different media. {Anxiety and Depression Association of America} See Dr. Jeff Nalin’s blog. Teens are especially vulnerable to cyberbullying and have even been known to have such a low self-worth that after being bullied they take their own lives! Then it is true also true that many will spend hours on their phones and miss out on proper social interaction with their parents and friends.
Primetime television will suck the life out of one’s soul if you will let it. I am going to date myself here by saying I enjoyed watching the Archie Bunker Show. But to be brutally honest it taught me to despise people, criticize others whom I did not like and tended to make the watchers of the show extremely self-righteous and judgemental. We began to identify with Archie and that my friend is a dangerous thing! Cheers! is a show I never got into and if the mention of that makes you bristle then you need to ask yourself what kind of edifying conversations can come from a show that is featuring drunk people at a bar? There is low brow humor galore to keep you hooked but the end result is a shallow “me first” philosophy of life. The Jerry Springer show was once almost off of the air and the producers told Jerry to get the ratings up no matter what it took and Viola! we have Trash TV, complete with off-duty Chicago police officers to break up the fights that the audience came to see. This type of drivel only causes one to despair at humanity and the downward spiral society is in.
The evening news can be overwhelming too. I understand that it reports the “news” around the world but it is usually full of the murders that took place that day or the latest terror attack. Remember positive events do not usually get Neilson ratings up. I DO care about other parts of the world but the constant barrage of horror that others are enduring overwhelms us and is depressing or we just come to the point that we don’t care anymore.
Negative people are the hardest to avoid because we may have to interact with them every day at the workplace or school. But ask yourself, “Do I have to listen to this stream of gossip, bile, or hatred as the other person wants me to?” I was once talking with Brother Doug Fisher and he said when the conversation turns so as to criticize others he politely excuses himself with a valid reason. Those reasons may include: “I need to get a drink of water. ” or “I need to make a phone call.” or “I need to flush my ears out.”
Be Proactive Against Depression!
How in the world can one be proactive against depression? Isn’t it true that I am doomed to an endless cycle of mood swings, trips to the doctor to alter my meds, and another session of therapy? NO! The following suggestions are not a cure-all but I strongly believe we can do something to fight back when we feel the onset of a depressive cycle. It is now October in Michigan and endless sunny days of riding the bike down to the park to play with the kids are coming to an end. Instead, we are being met with the cold, rainy, and rather gloomy weather which will eventually turn into snow! There I said it! The word snow is treated as a cuss (or curse) word to many. I have already heard a man who is manic depressive mourn that he was sure that SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) was just around the corner lurking for him. With that type of attitude, he will surely help with a negative self-fulfilling prophecy in his life.
While it is true we cannot all board a jet for a trip to the Bahamas we can make the best of the situation we find ourselves in. First, talk about it with someone you can trust and begin to plan to be with people when you are tempted to despair. Don’t go it alone please! The worst thing you can do is to isolate yourself when sad or depressed. Secondly, being a man of faith I get out a list of Bible verses that remind me of God’s great love and care for me. Some of these are: “Fear thou not, be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; Yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” Isaiah 41:10 To be dismayed is similar to depression. Take it personally when He says that He is your God! He is your personal God and you must take that promise and believe it with all of your heart! Further, He says He will Strengthen, help, and even uphold thee! Those are some wonderful promises that you can take to the bank of heaven.
Another verse that has encouraged me is in the Gospel of John. We read, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” John 14:27 When I read MY peace I give unto you that means so much! The Lord Jesus has perfect peace and He promises to give us that peace? Friend, that is out of this world! It is a supernatural peace that passes all understanding! (see Philippians 4:6,7) Also, note that is NOT what the world will give you for peace, a temporary, fleeting, shallow peace brought on by pills or booze. The key to these verses giving us help is to not read them from an intellectual perspective but to personalize them. Picture, if you will the Lord Jesus sitting down next to you and saying, “I know you are having an anxiety episode (or) I know you are very depressed and no one seems to care, but I want you to know, …” Then you let Him minister to you with these verses.
Some more verses are: For God hath given us a spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7 I also like a verse found in Joshua. “Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee withersoever thou goest.” Joshua 1:9
The problem with these verses is….wait….there is no problem. We have become too familiar with them and quote them without realizing we are looking at the very promises of God unto His children. I have had many a troubled night turned into a time of peace and then praise as I have reflected upon the precious promises of God. There will be other blogs on depression coming soon. It is such a scourge that Satan is using against the child of God and holding many in bondage. Please feel free to comment and suggest topics related to depression or anxiety or just share your story. I am listening and I care.
