Flashes of Thought.

“ But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things…” — 1 John 2:27 Scripture in 1 John 2:27 gives a wonderful assurance to the believer: in this maze called the world where we find ourselves, we do not have to get lost for lack of a guide. We are assured that there is a Teacher within us who teaches us all things. His specialization is in all things. He can teach you business, psychology, relationships, mathematics you name it. His reserve of knowledge and counsel is wide and inexhaustible. Such is the nature of the Holy Spirit, our Teacher. He knows all things, and He teaches all things. But there is a caveat. That the Teacher knows all things does not automatically mean He will teach the student all things. No. While the Teacher is capable and willing, the posture of the student determines how and what will be taught. How we posture ourselves toward thi...

Solomon is a striking example of what Scripture means by a city set on a hill. Far from being a mere illustration, he reveals the vast capacity of the human heart and soul to accommodate many influences, for the Bible records that he loved many foreign women, a thousand in number. Many ancient biblical cities accommodated such populations.  The man possessed by Legion is another witness to this immense capacity of the human heart to sustain myriads of distraction and destruction. A legion was an ancient Rome military unit of about three to six thousand soldiers. It is therefore no wonder that when the demons were driven out of the Gadarene demoniac, they entered two thousand swine and drove them violently into the sea! Pause and consider for a moment the nature of this man. Scripture in Mark 5:1-13 shows he was unsubdued and unhinged. Attempts were often made to restrain him with chains, yet none could hold him down. He was given to self-harm, cutting himself with stone...

Matthew 4:2 is a verse that sets the premise for one of the most momentous points in the life of our Lord Jesus Christ. Having fasted forty days and forty nights, going without food, the Bible says that He was hungry. It was from this point of hunger that the enemy launched his first customized attack. The nature of hunger is that it creates vulnerability in us. Knowingly or unknowingly man will almost do anything to satisfy his hunger. This does not apply only to physical hunger, but also to emotional, psychological, and spiritual hungers. It is from these hunger points that the devil attempts to manipulate our lives and outcomes. Remember Esau? Hungry to the point of death, he forfeited his birthright. Remember the Egyptian servant in 1 Samuel 30, who, after receiving water and bread, revealed the secrets of his former master. What of the prodigal son who was reduced to eating pig pods because of severity of his hunger? Points of hunger make us vulnerable and susceptible ...