River Bottom Christian Outreach Ministry

07/16/2021

The Antichrist is Satan’s son.

2 Thessalonians 2:3 “Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way. For that day will not come unless the apostasy comes first and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction.”

Revelation 20:10 “Then the devil, who had deceived them, was thrown into the fiery lake of burning sulfur, joining the beast and the false prophet. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”

Satan’s children are unbelievers.

John 8:44-45 “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.”

John 8:41 “You are doing the works of your own father.” “We are not illegitimate children,” they protested. “The only Father we have is God himself.”

1 John 3:9-10 “No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.”

Matthew 13:38-39 “The field is the world, and the good seed represents the people of the Kingdom. The weeds are the people who belong to the evil one. The enemy who planted the weeds among the wheat is the devil. The harvest is the end of the world, and the harvesters are the angels.”

Acts 13:10 “You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord?”

Satan is deceiving his children.

2 Corinthians 4:4 “In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.”

Revelation 12:9-12 “This great dragon—the ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world—was thrown down to the earth with all his angels. Then I heard a loud voice shouting across the heavens, “It has come at last— salvation and power and the Kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters has been thrown down to earth— the one who accuses them before our God day and night. And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony. And they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die. Therefore, rejoice, O heavens! And you who live in the heavens, rejoice! But terror will come on the earth and the sea, for the devil has come down to you in great anger, knowing that he has little time.”

Was Cain the son of the devil? Not in the physical sense, but the spiritual sense.

1 John 3:12 “We must not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and killed his brother. And why did he kill him? Because Cain had been doing what was evil, and his brother had been doing what was righteous.”

07/15/2021

05/21/2021

“I am a Shield for all who take refuge in Me. On some days you feel your need of My shielding Presence more than on other days. At times you’re not even aware that you need protection, but I am continually close by—watching over you. I delight in being your Protector, so you can always find shelter in Me.

One of the best ways to make Me your Refuge is to spend focused time with Me and pour out your heart to Me. Tell Me about the things that have wounded you: the unfair things done to you or said about you. Trust that I care about you and want to heal your hurts. Also, I know the truth about everything; My view of you is untainted by innuendos and half-truths.

Knowing that I understand you completely is vital to your healing. It is also crucial for forgiving those who have wounded you. Forgiveness is usually a process, so keep at it till you are free. Rejoice in Me, beloved, for I came to make you free.”

“As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him."—Psalm 18:30

"Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge."—Psalm 62:8

“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”—John 8:32 nkjv”

12/13/2020

Let's praise Him...

10/12/2020

You are not safe if Jesus hasn't saved you.
By Pr. Connie Benton-Lucas

Tune in, or tune out.
Rated PG

First of all, I have a plank in my eye, but little by little, I break a piece off every day. I will NEVER teach something I don't strive to achieve myself. When I teach, I learn. And when I learn, I discern. I practice what I preach.

The one thing I am not guilty of is sexual perversion or adultery because when I turned my life over to the Lord, that part of my life became a non factor. My desire is what God desires from me. The only man in my life is Jesus. No man can stake no claim BUT Him. And I don't have time to lust because my affections are in Him. The Lord makes it easy for me to stay virtuous and Holy and use discernment in uncomfortable situations. He makes it easy for everyone. He gave us the power to decide.

We all have a sin nature. We were born into it. Our first mother and father in the very beginning passed that down to each and every one of us. When Eve took and ate of the fruit of knowledge, then shared it with Adam, they committed the first murder/suicide. They killed their only chance to take care of the land, be fruitful and multiply. That was God's perfect plan but humankind destroyed it. Then it went to hardcore murder and deception. So that sin, that act of sheer disobedience, cost us the rest of our lives. Our lives got shorter and shorter. Methuselah lived to be 969, and John died at 93 or 94.

So, with that said, we all fall short of the glory. But it's gone from them making a bad decision, to God giving us a choice to make the right decision. He tells us that not one letter of His word will be blotted out or changed.

After God decided that there were those who were going to listen and change, and those who would not, He hand picked us and brought us out of exile, and killed the rest.

Now we are trying to find salvation in what society (the flesh) perceives and deems okay by rearranging the 'translation' of doctrine. It will never change and the Pope and Archbishops are NOT above God! That's why we speak different languages and have different nationalities in the first place! The Babylonians were one prime example of what will happen if we think we don't need God.

Call it what you want. The Bible will always be the unedited truth of God and Gospel of Jesus Christ.

God gave us many gifts to use in our daily lives... 1: Discernment, 2: The Power of Reconciliation, 3: The Power of Redemption to name a few.

Discernment:
We know when something doesn't feel right so we attempt to avoid it. You know that you shouldn't step in front of a moving vehicle because you know the consequences of that decision is surely ending in death.

Reconciliation: Reconcile yourself to the Lord.

Job 22:21-23
“Reconcile yourself with God, and be at peace with him; in this way your prosperity will be good. Accept instruction from his mouth and store up his words in your heart. If you return to the Almighty, you will be built up; if you remove wicked behavior far from your tent,"

Redemption: Clear your debt with God every day. Ask him to lead you out of temptation and to deliver you from all evil. Being saved from sin, error, or evil.

I will continue to pray for your deliverance and restoration. It's never too late to step out of the flesh and into the Holy Spirit.

10/12/2020

“The Devil is in the Details”

So this quote seems pretty self-explanatory, but pay close attention.

Upon an initial Google search, we have the following: The Devil is in the Details: “the details of a matter are its most problematic aspect.”
We’re getting somewhere, but I don’t think this quite nails it. Why is it an assumption that details = a problematic aspect of a matter. Details are not always a problem, so I don’t think we can assume this for every scenario.

Problematic Definition:
prob·lem·at·ic/präbləˈmadik/: constituting or presenting a problem or difficulty. I don’t think problematic is the right word for this. Instead, we should look at terms that are synonymous with importance. Why? Because details are important to a matter, not problematic.

So instead, the definition should read as: the details of a matter are its most crucial, essential, significant aspect. Other definitions of this quote include: “The details of a plan, while seeming insignificant, may contain hidden problems that threaten its overall feasibility.” (source).

“Something might seem simple at a first look but will take more time and effort to complete than expected” (source) “The idea that whatever one does should be done thoroughly” (source).

The second one above is particularly interesting, especially the first half: Something might seem simple at a first look. Why is it interesting? Because it goes back to the idea of the “Devil.” Assuming the Devil exists, “he” (I guess the Devil is a guy) would not appear so obvious to the world, otherwise we would all be aware of his existence. So he must, therefore, be hiding within the “details” of the universe. (As such, something that “might seem simple at a first look” is ever rarely the case).

Here’s the actual origin of this quote from this website: “The source of the proverb ‘The devil is in the details’ is often attributed to the German/American architect Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe. This is almost certainly a misattribution. The expression derives from an earlier German proverb — “Der liebe Gott steckt im detail”, which translates as ‘God is in the detail’. Mies Van Der Rohe is also associated with this earlier form but, although he may have used it, there’s no evidence that he was the first to do so.”

Ah, so it originally stemmed from “God is in the detail” which was later changed to “The Devil is in the Details,” as evidenced below:
“‘The devil is in the details’ only came into common use in the 1990s (Van Der Rohe died in 1969) and the earliest citation of it that I’ve found in print is in Richard Mayne’s explanation of the workings of the European Union — The Community of Europe, 1963: “On the principle that ‘the devil is in the details’, what should have been a merely formal occasion developed into a debate about the Community’s official languages and the site of its headquarters.” (source).

It’s interesting to note that the phrase was changed from “God” to “Devil” in the 1990s, which was also around the time that the film The Usual Suspects was released. This film is noted for having not only a great twist ending, but a very unusual quote regarding the Devil:
“The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist”

Now this is more of a cousin of the original “The Devil is in the Details” but it adds an additional layer of mystery.

If the Devil has indeed convinced the world that he doesn’t exist, than how could we actually know for sure if he does exist? It wouldn’t be so obvious.

Maybe that’s why the phrase was changed from “God is in the details” to “The Devil is in the details.” “God” at least has the Bible backing “him” up, which doesn’t exactly shy away from letting God’s presence known. There aren’t very many hidden clues or “details” that give God’s existence away. He is simply the Cinderella of his own story.

But the Devil is something else.
What does the Devil have to support his cause for existence? He doesn’t have his own bible (although I’m sure he’s mentioned in God’s bible occasionally). Nor does he have any clear-cut evidence that points to his existence.

He simply lies hidden within the world we live in (assuming he exists).

And that’s the funny thing about details. They are hidden aspects of this world. They are not always apparent and may even seem insignificant, but they are present.
Kind of spooky, eh? Especially if you apply that logic to the idea of the Devil. How he may be present in this world, yet we are too blind to notice the very details that point to his existence.

And what details would that be, you may ask. Good question. If the devil does exist, he has done a pretty damn good job of covering his tracks, so as not to leave any apparent details behind. So what does “The Devil is in the Details” actually mean? (Whether you believe in God or the Devil or Voldemort is irrelevant by the way).

I believe at the core of this quote, the meaning lies in the idea of paying attention. Pay attention to the little things in life, the seemingly insignificant, fleeting moments that you think may have no effect on you, or on others. As a matter of fact, those small moments, those details, are the very cause of life-altering events.

Ever got in a car accident? It’s because you and another car collided at the exact same time. Why? Because all of the tiny little “insignificant” moments in life have added up to cause this “big” moment to occur. Maybe if you left the house one minute sooner, or got out of bed one minute later, than such an accident would not have occurred.

This same logic can be applied to everything in life. Being late for work. Winning a race. Nailing an acting audition (maybe the director didn’t like the color shirt you were wearing).

All of these “big” moments point to the little “details” that propel these kinds of potentially life-altering events.

And sure, these details may not be apparent at first, but they play a crucial role in all of our lives. So pay attention. You might not see the Devil, but you might see something else.

God bless.

Tally...

Rev. Connie Benton-Lucas