Halt, Thief!

Proverb 6: 31

But when he is found, he must repay sevenfold.

Restitution by a thief is what is being discussed in this passage. When the thief is discovered, he must repay seven times what he stole. There is an interesting connection from the New Testament. Jesus told us that “The thief comes only to steal, and kill, and destroy” (John 10: 10). Who is the thief? The devil, of course. He is the enemy of all who love Jesus and he would love to steal everything from you but you have the ability to stop him and even to make him repay seven times what he stole.

I wrote to you last week about how we are increasingly ignoring, or denying the existence of the devil and his minions. When we deny the existence and influence of Satan we begin to blame God for the bad things that happen. I find this tragic. Not only do we allow the devil to get off free when we hide in our denial but we don’t receive the restitution we are due. Worst of all, since we need someone to blame, we blame God. Obviously, these recriminations against God damage our relationship with Him. How can you have a close, trusting and loving relationship with someone you believe is doing you harm? Even if you try to justify the assumption that God is the one who is making bad things happen as His attempt to strengthen you, it will still destroy your relationship with Him.

I was exposed to this dangerous teaching like many of you were. I remember telling my basketball coach, “It’s too hard with God so I am going to have to be without Him.” I turned my back on God because people had me convinced that God was doing all these bad things to me. I sure wish someone had stood apart from the crowd and said, “Hey, that’s the devil who is evil doing those things, not God who is good.” I think I could have taken it from there and realized how foolish and broken my logic was.

I don’t know if people are just afraid of the devil so that is why they deny his existence or if he just has really good Public Relations people. None the less, our continual denial of his existence and his shenanigans is putting God, our beloved, right in the target sights. No one is throwing stones at Satan. They are all casting stones at God, the one who loved us so much that He sent His only child to die a horribly cruel death so that we might be saved. When you state it that way, it really defies logic but that is what so many of us do without really considering.

Look, you don’t have to be afraid of the devil. You’ve got Jesus and his victory. All you have to do is catch the thief. He has to pay back seven times if you will catch him instead of blaming God. God is the one who will make him pay restitution because He is a righteous God. There are any number of weapons Jesus has provided for you, all of them effective. Praise music, reading your Bible out loud to the devil (he loves that), giving money to a ministry (one of my personal favorites), prayer and more. Just remind the devil of the blood of Jesus. Figuratively, bathe your business, ministry or family in the blood. Dedicate everything in your life to Jesus, whatever the devil is torturing you with or messing with, see yourself go put it on Jesus’ altar. Then dare the devil to mess with it. Install Jesus as CEO, but really do it, not merely mouth the words. Let Jesus run your business for a couple of weeks and see if the devil doesn’t take his hands off of it.

Give over leadership of your family to Jesus. He never meant for you to be the leader of your family. That’s how it gets messed up. He wants to be head of the household. As long as you are, the devil is going to get in your stuff. Give it to Jesus. It really is his problem afterall, because he is the shepherd, not you. You are one of the flock.

Whatever area of your life is being challenged. Go put it on the altar and sprinkle Jesus blood on it. Remember, this is how Abraham became the Father of us all, by putting his son on the altar. Releasing control to Jesus is the quickest way (not the easiest mind) to get the devil out of it. Where ever there is the blood of Jesus, the devil will flee. He hates the Word, and he cannot bear even one drop of the blood.

I want you blessed and I am so tired of watching the devil steal from Christians. God has prepared a way for us and has given us all of the tools necessary. Put blame where it is due and make the devil pay; make him pay back seven times what he stole.

Crimson Veil

Hebrews 10: 19 -20

Since therefore, brethren, we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh.

In Old Testament times there was a tabernacle which housed the Ark of the Covenant. The ark was in a section of the tabernacle called the Holy of Holies. Only the high priest could enter this section of the tabernacle and then only once a year. The priest had to be sanctified and entered this holy place only by means of sacrificial blood. This Holy of Holies was the place where God’s presence met with humanity through the priest. This is the place referred to in today’s verse as “the holy place.”

There was a veil which separated the Holy of Holies from the rest of the tabernacle. When Jesus died on the cross “the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom” (Mark 15: 38). No longer did the veil stand between humanity and God. Jesus removed the veil with his sacrifice so that we are free to enter into the Holy of Holies and commune with our Father. 

Now, re-read today’s verse in light of these thoughts. You can see that Jesus shattered religion and replaced it with relationship. He bought our entrance into the presence of God for all time with his blood. And think about it . . . the blood of God was shed for us and sprinkled over us so that we may forever enter into God’s presence. The veil has been lifted. God was released from the box but I would like to suggest that there is a new veil in place. This one is for our good though, and rather than separating us from God, it draws us to him. 

The new veil is the blood of Jesus our Christ. When God looks at us he sees us covered head to toe with the saving blood of Jesus. He doesn’t see our sins and short-comings. He sees his beloved son intertwined with us. He sees the communion of our souls. We are glorious in God’s sight because we have put on Jesus like a robe. He is the crimson veil through which our Father sees us. Today’s scripture tells us that Jesus has ushered us into the presence of God, right through the veil through the sacrifice of his flesh. He bought us our freedom; we are free to roam the halls of the citadel of God. We can freely and boldly enter into the throne room.

So, stop telling God about all of your weaknesses and sins. He sees you glorified in Christ. If you have “blown it” today, put on Christ. As a matter of fact, isn’t that what we want to do each day, don Christ? You are now God’s beloved. He sees you pure and sanctified. Don’t stand out in the parking lot when Jesus has purchased your ticket to the main show. Enter into the throne room with thanksgiving for you have a crimson glow all about you.