Green Monkeys, Red Monkeys

Admin:  

    I will start this post with an apology for its belated update.  From now on, I will make best efforts to update it on Wednesday nights.

   The topic of Pat Hein's excellent, thoroughgoing message was Casting Down Temptation.  The handout/outline is available upon request either from us at heart4Him@aol.com  or from the church office.  Please continue to track the sermons in The Spirituality of Jesus as well.  Thx.

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    Whatever you do for the next two minutes, don't think about Green Monkeys.  Keep all images of  Green Monkeys from swinging tree to tree across your mental screen.

    What happened?  Were you able to escape the vision of  verdant primates run amok?  Probably not, at least not completely. Now..

    ...for the next two minutes, don't think about Green Monkeys,  and instead envision a horde of Red Monkeys.   


    If your like most people, that went a good deal better.  Having a strong replacement for the forbidden fruit of green monkey thoughts gives us a target for our attentions.  So it is with resisting temptation.

    The enemy of our souls, true to the God's Kingdom vs. Satan's Kingdom chart from Sunday,  has a highly alluring, attention-grabbing fraud - his green monkeys - to set up against the Truth.  If we are without the 'Red Monkeys' of the Word of God - we are lost.  If the truth is a horse, the enemy doesn't much care which side we fall off of, so long as we fall off.

    It seems to us Berean types that casting down temptation boils down to the following practical practices and understandings --

BLUF # 3 – Casting Down Temptation

·         The Word of God, lodged in our hearts and memories, is the key

·         The enemy doesn’t want your love, he wants to take away your love for God

·         God’s love lies deeper than your circumstances

·         Forgive everyone (of everything) ahead of time; avoid taking offense.  Let the matter then be between them and God.

·         Remember the source, always, of all ideas and communications