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Dear Peppers: Intercession Matters - Tuesday Praise & Pray (for others) January 21, 2025

P L U N D E R E R
Jan 21
3 min read

Over the years, I have repeatedly noted that intercession is a way to emulate Jesus, who prayed unceasingly for others. It is also a way to emulate other great women and men of God in the Bible.

The more I study the word, the more I learn how crucial the ministry of intercession is. Think of the great people in the Bible, they not only prayed for themselves but for others. God said in Ezekiel 22:30 - I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found no one.

Doing so requires great discipline. You have to learn how to put your prayer needs to the side, while zealously petitioning for the needs of others. Human beings naturally think of themselves first before turning their attention to others. However, intercession requires you to trust that God knows what you are going through and will not ignore your plight. Therefore, taking the time to focus on someone else's problems will not place you at a detriment.

Still don't believe me? Look at this gif -

This gif perfectly illustrates why you can trust God to never forget your issues. It features two young men. One is in a white wife-beater, while the other is in Nike basketball shorts. The Nike guy stands a few inches to the side of the wife-beater wearer and waits with his hands behind his back, as a football approaches. He had to trust his friend to catch that ball so it wouldn't hit him and adjust his face. The result was that his friend caught the ball inches away from it making contact and did it so smoothly.

Imagine yourself as the guy in the Nike shorts. Imagine God to be the friend. The Lord will catch everything that comes at you no matter how close that something gets. It will not harm you (Isaiah 43:2). With that attitude, you can set your prayer requests to the side and focus more on the needs of others. Indeed, you actually must. It is a sign of faith in God's capacity to get you through whatever is going on in your life. When you focus on praying for others and make that a priority, You tell the Lord that you trust Him to handle your challenges while you meet with Him on other people's issues.

Now, is this easy? Nope. But His grace is sufficient for you and will get you through (2 Corinthians 12:9).

I can't stress how much of a difference this attitude will make in your life. I'll end by pointing to scriptural evidence about the impact of intercession. In Acts 12, King Herod was busy executing Christian disciples and held Peter to be killed. But the church prayed without ceasing and God sent an angel to set him free from prison. Not long after, God got rid of the threat entirely. Herod collapsed, died, and started to decompose immediately.

All I know is that prayer works. Please pray for others more consistently. Be selfless in worshipping God on behalf of other people. Forget your problems for a bit and remember, others have it worse so cover them in prayer first before picking up your issues again. May the Lord help us all to act as effective intercessors to His glory and by His grace, IJMN, Amen.

(Originally published on August 17, 2021)

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Spiritual Adultery: Consequences - Tuesday Praise & Pray (for others) January 17, 2025

P L U N D E R E R
Jan 17
4 min read

We've learned that spiritual adultery involves a so-called Christian putting their false gods and idols above or on the same level as God Almighty. Today, we consider some consequences that arise from such behavior.

Spiritual adultery creates separation from the Lord. The Bible states that nothing can separate us from the love of the Father (Romans 8:38-39). However, our choices can bring separation. One such choice occurs when someone puts false gods above or on the same level as the Lord. He considers this a great sin and Isaiah 59:2 tells us, But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.

For instance, God told Ezekiel that abominations were being committed by those who claimed to serve Him. Abominations serious enough to drive Him away from the Temple which He'd chosen as His residence among mankind (Ezekiel 8:6). Through a vision, the Lord revealed different groups of people all worshiping a variety of false gods. All this was happening within His sanctuary. No wonder Ezekiel also received a vision showing that the glorious presence of God left the Temple in Ezekiel 10. God could not remain among those who would worship other gods.

Their spiritual adultery led to death, destruction, and captivity. In due time, many of these same people were slaughtered while some were captured when Nebuchadnezzar conquered Jerusalem and destroyed it. Nevertheless, the Lord protected a remnant of people - those who had not participated in spiritual adultery. These individuals, including Jeremiah, Baruch, and many others, were not taken as captives to Babylon (Jeremiah 42).

The defilement of God's temple with idolatry and false god worship brought deadly consequences for the Israelites of old. Such repercussions await Christians who claim to honor God but serve His enemy, satan. They do so by wearing the evil eye for 'protection', burning sage for 'cleansing', and doing rituals, spells, and baths for money, influence, or beauty. Then they think they can call on the Lord and He will answer because in their minds those activities do not separate them from God. Alas, the Bible clearly shows that it does.

Many modern Christians forget that they are supposed to be God's temple. Through Jesus Christ, the Lord lives within each person who truly submits to Him. This is why Jesus said nobody can come to the Father except through Him (John 14:6 ). Everyone needs to give their life to Christ and receive the Holy Spirit who dwells within each believer and thus makes them God's temple on earth. A consequence of spiritual adultery is that God cannot live in those who commit this grievous sin.

Spiritual adultery also leads to curses upon a person, a group, and the generations to come. In the Ten Commandments, God said He would curse three to four generations of those who bow to idols and other gods. He noted that such people hate Him (Deuteronomy 5:7-9). The curses for this are laid out glaringly in Deuteronomy 28. Many Christians would never say they hate God, but their actions say different in that they do not obey His word. Jesus said in John 14:15 - If you love me, keep my commands. We cannot claim to love Jesus Christ, from whom we get our name - Christian - if we do not obey His teachings and do not obey the teachings of His Father, the Lord God Almighty.

This is not just an Old Testament matter as the issue of other gods, idols, and spirits was addressed in the New Testament. Firstly, Jesus said He did not come to abolish the Laws of Moses in Matthew 5:17. Thus, the Old Testament remains relevant. Secondly, if admixture with other gods, idols, and evil spirits were righteous, Paul would not have cast out the spirit of divination from the slave girl in Acts 16. She spoke accurately about who he and Silas were, but she gained that knowledge through other gods, and the evil had to go from her. Thirdly, if witchcraft was godly, why did the Ephesians confess their sorcery as sinful and burn all their sorcery tools when they learned about Jesus Christ in Acts 19? Fourthly, why did Paul have the authority to blind Elymas the sorcerer in Acts 13:11 if his practices were tolerable?

Just because the consequences of bad behavior and sin have not arrived does not mean they do not await. It's like Vashti who discovered that she would never again be able to say no to King Xerxes, despite him being her husband. God loves people and particularly, His children. But, if those who are meant to serve Him choose to serve other gods and bow to idols, then they will experience His punishment. Scripture cannot be broken and we must all heed it (John 10:35).

Yet, God's word states that He longs to redeem even those who have made wrong choices. So that is the key—seek His redemption—desire to be free from the consequences of turning away from the Lord. Receive the fullness of life, sound mind, and other blessings God guarantees His own.

God is not interested in simply pointing out flaws. He is invested in correcting and saving those who desire to be changed. Hosea 10:12 - Sow righteousness for yourselves, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the LORD, until he comes and showers his righteousness on you. Seek God in prayer and repentance. Choose to live righteously and sow seeds of faith and love all around you. He has promised that all who seek Him earnestly will be saved in Hebrews 11:6 and Joel 2:32. He will heal you of everything that causes spiritual adultery when you commit not to cheat on Him anymore.

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Spiritual Adultery - Tuesday Praise & Pray (for others) January 14, 2025

P L U N D E R E R
Jan 14
2 min read

Although cheating seems to be popular and frankly, heralded in our modern society, adultery is very much a grave sin in God's eyes. It is why He said, "thou shalt not commit adultery," listing it as one of the 10 Commandments that all who believe in Him are to follow.

And for those who like to dismiss the Old Testament and claim to be subject to only the New, remember that Jesus said to treat others as you want to be treated. Since no reasonable person would want their spouse to cheat on them, no reasonable Christian, who loves Christ and is led by the Holy Spirit, should commit adultery.

And yet, many of us Christians - married and unmarried - are committing adultery every day. Let me explain.

The adultery in question is of the spiritual variety. Christians are actively cheating on God and thinking nothing of it. This is partly because they have not studied God's word to recognize and understand the gravity of their sinful ways. It is also because they've become stiff-necked and now justify their adultery. They are ignorant of the Vashti line that awaits all who do not realize they need to serve only God Almighty.

How exactly are Christians committing spiritual adultery, you wonder? Well, the very same way the Biblical Israelites did. The only difference is they should know better.

They bow to fame, money, sex, lust, pornography, abortion, celebrity worship, New Age Spirituality and the occult, social media, satanism, self-indulgence, gossip and slander, lies and deceit, murder, alcohol, weed and other drugs, and more. When these modern idols control a person's behavior, they represent the many faces of one evil entity - the devil. And they have taken the place of priority God should have in the lives of those He created.

What do you do first thing in the morning? Do you praise God? Do you read His word for guidance for the rest of your day? Or do you grab your phone to find out what you missed while asleep? Is there someone you text before turning your attention to the God you claim to belong to? Does He get your full attention at some point in the day? Or does everything else take precedence?

Adultery is a sin and God hates it. He also despises seeing those whom He loves giving their affection - the love He should receive - to anything else. He wants fidelity - complete faithfulness and loyalty - the kind expected in a covenant. When that is absent, adultery strengthens, growing like a pebble gathering dirt while rolling down a hill. It starts with a little compromise here and there, becoming full-blown cheating over time. The Lord will teach us and we shall obey His command to be faithful to Him, IJN Amen.

Join us today for fellowship at Noon EST and come back on Friday when we'll learn about some consequences of spiritual adultery.

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