Dr Paul Allen

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ I did not know Him, but for this reason I came baptizing with water: so that He might be revealed to Israel.” Then John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on Him. - John 1:29-32 When you are emotional and feeling things at a deeper level than usual, it is vital to submit those emotional feelings to the Holy Spirit. Just as you would bring your thoughts or desires before the Lord, you must do the same with your emotions and feelings to see if they align with God’s Word or need to be changed by the Spirit. It will be vital for you to compare your emotions to the emotional life of Jesus Christ to determine if your feelings are right or wrong. This can be challenging because almost everyone has an imbalanced view...

“So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him.” ( Isaiah 59:19 ) The great enemy of our souls “the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” ( 1 Peter 5:8 ). Yet he can also be “transformed into an angel of light,” and so can “his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness” ( 2 Corinthians 11:14-15 ). He and his ministers are perhaps most dangerous when most deceptive, quoting Scripture and spiritual sentiments in a superficial show of piety, yet distorting the “Scriptures, unto their own destruction” ( 2 Peter 3:16 ), and we must use the sword of the Spirit against them. Then there are those times when angered that their deceptions (sometimes even their own self-deceptions) are not persuading the true people of God to compromise their stand for God’s truth and His great salvation...

"Be sober and watchful, because your adversary the devil walks around as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour" (1 Pet. 5:8, MEV). The Scriptures are not silent on the tactical proficiency of the enemy. The Word paints the picture of a hungry lion, following the scent of blood and preying on the isolated and vulnerable. Satan has spent thousands of years honing his skills on the unsuspecting, the overly confident and the sleeping sentry who has let their guard down. Sadly, too many have been caught off guard, not because the Word fails to instruct us to be alert but because the instructions were ignored and complacency set in, resulting in disaster. Scripture gives us clear warning against becoming sedentary and self-reliant when it comes to spiritual attacks. "Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed, lest he fall" (1 Cor. 10:12). The reason so many end up falling is due to "tactical ignorance" in the midst of the attack. An alert warr...

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” ( 1 Peter 5:8 ) Several words are used in Scripture to imply spiritual watchfulness, and each has a slightly different meaning. Only as we compare and combine these words do we get the full force of the Scripture exhortations to watchfulness. One such word is the Greek word agrupneo, translated “watch.” In Mark 13:33 we read, “Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.” The word literally means to be sleepless and comes from two Greek words meaning “to chase” and “sleep.” It implies a purposeful and active state of awareness. More commonly used is gregoreo. It is a stronger word, meaning to arouse oneself and shake off lethargy, implying activity as on the part of one who is fully awake. “Watch ye, stand fast in the faith” ( 1 Corinthians 16:13 ), and “continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving” ( Colossians 4:2 ). “Watch ...

Some Christians foolishly come to think of Jesus as a pal, whose main job is to keep us happy. One way of correcting this almost blasphemous conception is to remember the reaction of those who really recognized who Jesus was when He was on earth, namely the demons. They were terrified, and wanted Jesus to go away. “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Swear to God that you won’t torture me!” (Mark 5:7). “Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?” (Luke 8:31). These devils knew that Jesus could dispose of them with a word. Yet these were beings able to overpower a man and compel him to live in tombs, break chains, and cut himself with rocks. These were angelic creatures whose power is so great the Bible sometimes refers to them as “gods” (Ps. 82:1). And Satan’s more subtle modes pose far greater danger than the blatant ones, for he often goes unrecognized as he entices people to their destructions and blinds them to their own foolishness. Rea...