JACKS DAILY DEVOTIONAL THOUGHTS
(1st Peter 5:8) “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour”.
Some have said that the devil’s greatest lie… is convincing the world that he doesn’t exist.
Satan is the supreme deceiver, striving to convince humanity that all that the Bible’s teaches about him is the stuff of myth, legend, and ancient folklore… antiquated stories that have no place in our enlightened and comfortably brave new world.
But the Bible clearly teaches that the devil is real and he is “the father of lies” (John 8:44) and the deceiver of nations (Revelation 20:3-8)
He will do whatever is in his power to cause us to forget him altogether and to live as if he doesn’t exist.
Paul says he “disguises himself as an angel of light” (2nd Corinthians 11:14)
As believers, we know Satan exists, but many of us still fall into the subtle trap of ignoring him and hoping he’ll leave us alone.
But just as we cannot read a page of Scripture without running into the sovereignty of God, neither can we read very long without coming face-to-face with the harsh reality of the power of the evil one.
And so, we must realize that we cannot ignore the reality of his existence and his agenda in the world.
Scripture encourages us to be a people of faith and to “walk by faith”. (2nd Corinthians 5:7) with complete trust in God in all things.
But too often we tend to do the opposite and walk by sight and not by faith… thinking that we can live our Christian lives by some sort of spiritual inertia… and its then that we fall into Satan’s trap of thinking he’s not really there, or at least as if he’s not very active.
It does seem after all to be a much more pleasant thought to believe that he’s not around or at least that we’re really not a “significant enough target” for him to spend his time on.
While all true believers know Satan exists, many have succumbed to the notion that spiritual warfare is not that big of a deal.
I fear that there are even some of you whom are reading this devotion today that might be thinking and saying to themselves, “Yeah, okay, sure, I know Satan exists, and yeah, I know spiritual warfare is real… but I don’t believe that Satan or his demons are lurking behind every bush, and I don’t really believe that I can really do anything about it anyway.”
That is the attitude I most fear for myself, for my family, and for the people of God whom I do my best to serve and inspire.
The Bible says, ”for we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12).
These forces of evil have set their sights on all true believers, and they are unrelenting.
Paul teaches us that the god of this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers so that they might not see the light of the glory of the gospel of Christ (2nd Corinthians 4:4).
The implication is that in having blinded their minds… he can then focus on his primary work… “the deception of spiritual truth” in the lives of believers.
It would seem to be the case that before we trusted Christ, the devil was certainly our enemy… but not to the degree that he became after we trusted Christ.
If we were blessed to grow up in a Christian home, he was unquestionably the enemy of our family.
But after trusting Christ, we gained Christ and his righteousness by being united to Him once and for all.
And, as a result, Christ’s enemy became our enemy in a more “significant” way, and he began to take greater aim at us with his flaming arrows in order to try to bring us down.
I read a quote somewhere that says, “If God were not my friend, Satan would not be so much my enemy.”
Although we know that Satan and or his demonic host can neither indwell believers, nor read, nor control our minds… we do know know that they can wreak havoc on us.
As I said, “The forces of evil have set their sights on all true believers, and they are unrelenting.”
Therefore, we must make every effort to make use of the means our Lord has given us to fight the good fight of faith.
God has given us extraordinary ordinary means of grace, and these are also the ordinary means for spiritual warfare… namely, The Word of God and prayer.
He has given us the Lord’s Day, a day of worship and rest, and He has given us the opportunity of weekly worship… gathering together with our spiritual family where we sing and proclaim our battle songs of faith and victory in Jesus… and affirm faith and trust in God… encouraging and inspiring other believers we meet with to stand strong.
Over the years I have experienced the lies of the enemy that tell me I don’t need to go to church… that God loves me and I can worship Him any where… so why go to church.
This is one of the greatest tactics the enemy of our soul uses to divide and conquer as it were.
It is part of the satanic agenda of the kingdom of darkness to hinder, destroy and take away the awesome strength and the power that is bestowed upon Gods people when we come together in unity of worship.
Never forget that the purpose of the church is for coming together in unified worship, and prayer, and that in the midst of that coming together we are encouraged and strengthened in our faith by hearing the preaching of the Word of God by which we learn to walk in together.
Not one of us is an island unto our selves… we need each other!
It’s in unified gatherings of the faithful that we are encouraged and strengthened in this battle that believers face with our archenemy the devil.
Separate or divide the troops and you have less of a threat or strength.
Remember the age-old adage “there is strength in numbers”.
We must not underestimate the mischievous work of Satan designed to keep us from regularly attending to these blessings of grace that we have as weapons of spiritual warfare.
Above all, our God has given us Himself in Christ, and He has given us the Holy Spirit.
And although Satan is not afraid of us, he is terrified of the one within us.
We can rejoice as well in the knowledge that our protector “never sleeps nor slumbers” (Psalm 121:3–4),
And in Him, “we are more than conquerors” (Romans 8:37)
And greater is He who is in us than He who is in the world (1 John 4:4).
Even so we must be prepared.
We must be on guard, we must be aware of the devices of our enemy.
We must acknowledge that the war against evil and spiritual darkness is real and raging all around us… and we must be ready to fight.
For it is a battle for our hearts, our marriages, our churches, and our children, our time, our talents, our words, our wallets, our motives, our hope and our joy.
We cannot pretend these things are off-limits to our accuser.
We cannot coast through the Christian life.
We cannot be luke-warm!
We cannot allow ourselves to be unaware of Satan’s schemes.
We cannot allow fear and anxiety to get the best of us, and we must continue to be strong and courageous, leaning on Jesus and His strength, and leaning on each other as well… because the Lord is with us, for us, and in us.
Good Day!
(John 8:44) “…for he is a liar and the father of lies”
Just after Jesus made the statement “you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free”, a group of Jews began to accuse Him of blasphemy and calling Him a liar and a devil.
Jesus replied to them “You belong to your father, the devil, and all you want to do is carry out your father’s desires.
He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him.”
“When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44).
Satan is the “father of lies” and in that statement you need to know and understand that he is the greatest of liars… even from the beginning of time.
He is the “father” of lies in the same way that Martin Luther is the “father” of the Reformation and Robert Goddard is the “father” of modern rocketry and Bill Gates the father of the personal computer.
Satan told the first lie in recorded history to Eve in the Garden of Eden.
After planting seeds of doubt in Eve’s mind with a question (Genesis 3:1), “did God really say”… he directly contradicts God’s Word by telling her, “You will not certainly die” (Genesis 3:4).
With that lie, Satan led Eve to her spiritual death-bed, Adam followed, and so have we all.
Lying is Satan’s primary weapon against God’s children.
He uses the tactic of “deceit” to separate people from their Heavenly Father.
Some of his more common lies are “there is no God,” “God doesn’t care about you,” “the Bible cannot be trusted,” and “your good enough… works will get you into heaven.”
The apostle Paul tells us that Satan “masquerades as an angel of light”
(2nd Corinthians 11:14), so that what he says and does sounds good and seems reasonable… but it is nothing more than a false hood designed to trip us up and cause us to stumble.
The Bible has many names for Satan to describe his true nature, including “ruler of this world” (John 12:31),
“god of this age” (2 Corinthians 4:4),
“tempter” (1 Thessalonians 3:5),
“deceiver” (Revelation 12:9),
“Beelzebub” (the ruler of demons, in Matthew 10:25),
and “Belial,” meaning “wicked” (2 Corinthians 6:15).
Satan has told more lies to more people than any other being ever created and his success depends on people believing his lies.
He has used everything from “little white lies” to huge, pants-on-fire whoppers to deceive folks.
Adolph Hitler, a man who learned how to lie convincingly and effectively once said, “If you tell a big enough lie and tell it frequently enough, it will be believed.”
Whether a lie is small or large is not really the issue.
Lies are of the devil.
But even as Satan is the great deceiver and the father of lies.
Jesus is the truth (John 14:6), “I am the way, the truth and the life”.
And He will never deceive you.
Those who come to Jesus in faith will find that “you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32).
Satan says, “God doesn’t want to hear from you anymore, not after you’ve ignored Him for so long”.
The truth? God always wants to hear from you, even if it’s been a while.
“Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” (Jeremiah 33:3)
At the very moment we say, “Father in Heaven”, God hears our prayers and is sensitive to us and our needs… He will see you with eyes of love and mercy?… love and mercy that we cannot fully understand.”
(Matthew 11:28) “Come unto me all ye that labor and I will give you rest for your souls”.
Satan also says “Because God loves you, your ‘behavior” ultimately doesn’t matter all that much.
But friend this is a lie based on the truth?
This lie can be especially tricky because it takes a truth?, (that God loves you?, and that you have been saved by grace through faith not of works lest any man should boast)… and it draws an interpretation from that truth that is false.
That interpretation being that “you can live in any manner you want to” because God loves you and Christ saved you, so don’t worry about whether you sin or not.
Yes God does love each and every one of us, and He offers grace unto salvation to each of us… grace that is totally unearned but the rest of the promise is a sfollows.
His word says that “we been saved unto good works” (Ephesians 2:10).
In other words it does matters that we walk uprightly and circumspectly always being mindful that we are writing a message to the world around us by the things we do and say.
Men read what we are writing whether faithless or true what’s the gospel according to you?
With every word we speak and every action we involve ourselves we send a message to the world around us.
What we do matters to God and He has given clear directives about how we should behave.
(John 8:31) Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
Another lie Satan uses is directly linked to discouragement when he says God doesn’t love you because He hasn’t answered your prayer/s.
The truth?
If you want to know the capital of Assyria, a smartphone and about three seconds will get you your answer.
However, “matters of the spirit” can take time, and it’s always worth the effort.
I don’t pretend to know why “faith to believe” comes easier for some more than for others.
I’m just grateful to know that the answers are always there, and if we seek them?… I mean with real intent and with full purpose of a prayerful heart?… we will eventually find the answers to our questions as we continue on the gospel path.
Another lie Satan uses is “the Church’s teachings are outdated. Just look at how most of the world believes and behaves today”.
Satan says “millions of people can’t be wrong!”
The truth? No matter how many people believe otherwise, eternal truths are still eternal truths.
We know that the preferred strategy of the adversary is to lead people away from God and cause them to stumble by emphasizing “the philosophies of men” over the Savior and His teachings.
However (Isaiah 55:8-9) says “For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.”
The God of Heaven is not a heartless referee looking for any excuse to throw us out of the game.
He is our perfectly loving Father, who yearns more than anything else to have all of His children come back home and live with Him in close relationship forever, as in the story or the parable of “The Prodigal Son” found in (Luke 15:11-32)
When we fall short of perfection (and we always do), it’s easy to get discouraged and want to throw in the towel.
Satan is the master of discouragement.
This seems to be one of his most effective tools on the most faithful of saints and believers,
When everything else seems to fail for me, when I begin to feel discouraged, it helps me to recognize who is trying to get me down.
This makes me mad enough to cheer up, just to spite the devil.
It’s all right to get mad at the devil!
After all, who likes being lied to?
He wants to make you miserable, remember?
Next time you find yourself facing one of these lies, or others like them, focus instead on your “eternal potential” and the many blessings our
Heavenly Father has prepared for us both now and for eternity.
Truth?
Jesus said it clearly, “You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free?
Good Day!
(Zechariah 3:1) “He showed me…Satan standing at his right hand to oppose him.”
Some have said that the devil’s greatest trick is convincing the world that he doesn’t exist.
Satan is the supreme deceiver, striving to rid our minds of his existence and to make us believe that all the Bible’s teaching about him is the stuff of myth, legend, and ancient folklore
Antiquated stories that have no place in our enlightened and comfortably brave new world.
But the Bible tells us that the devil is “the father of lies” (John 8:44) and the deceiver of nations. Revelations 20:3-8).
He “disguises himself as an angel of light” (2nd Corinthians 11:14) and he will do whatever is in his power to get us to forget him altogether and to live as if he doesn’t exist.
As believers, we know Satan exists, but many of us still fall into his subtle trap of ignoring him and hoping he’ll leave us alone.
I have come to understand and I truly believe that he is “the #1 enemy of our soul” and has an agenda against each one of us.
He is constantly on the look out to trip us up and cause confusion and distraction in each of our lives, all in order to “get our attention off of God”, and the promises of God for each of us.
Whether you realize it or not, when you acknowledged God into your life you gained an enemy of your soul who’s one focus or purpose in life is to destroy you and your relationship with God!
The reason being is because now you have become a threat to his kingdom of darkness.
Paul tells us “we fight not against flesh and blood but against principalities and spiritual wickedness” (Ephesians 6:12)
Now in keeping with that you also need to know that God has placed angels around you to protect and bear you up lest you dash your foot against a stone, (Psalm 91:11-12)
These angels are “ministering spirits” (Hebrews 1:14) sent by God to protect from the wiles and the deceit of the enemy.
Sometimes Satan’s attacks are obvious.
In the Old Testament, the prophet Zechariah wrote, “He showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to oppose him.”
But Satan usually prefers to work incognito, so frequently he will attack you through people—especially those closest to you.
He will attack you unawares
The Bible tells us, “The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas…to betray Jesus” (John 13:2).
So what’s your best line of defense?
The living Word of God.
Exposed to a greater level of temptation than any of us will ever face, Jesus quoted the scriptures to Satan three different times and put him to flight.
When Satan attacks your mind with temptation, condemnation, doubts, and feelings of inadequacy, God’s Word is a shield he cannot penetrate.
David said, “If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished” (Psalm 119:92).
Notice what happened when Jesus finished doing battle with the enemy: “The devil went away, and angels came and took care of Jesus” (Matthew 4:11).
You are not alone.
God has placed a cordon of angels around you to sustain and protect you.
And “angels are only servants—spirits sent to care for people who will inherit salvation” (Hebrews 1:14).
During seasons of adversity, remember you’re a champion, not a victim.
Invest your words and energies into creating new goals and dreams.
Hide the “Word of God” in your heart so that you might defeat all the “schemes of the devil” (Ephesians 6:17)
Stay awake, alert, aware, productive, and focused (2nd Peter 5:8) “for your enemy the devil is like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour”.
Exude faith, and expect your faith to be supernaturally honored by the God who promised to intervene when you need Him most.
(Isaiah 59:19) “When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him.”
We have become very “complacent” to the schemes of the enemy here in North America.
We have enjoyed “the good life”, “the American dream” for some time and now we have become complacent to the schemes of the enemy.
But he has been at work all along, quietly sneaking thru the corridors of higher learning.
Slowly and stealthy installing his soldiers and generals into the hall’s and courts of authority so that the believer, the child of God, the Christian has little or no voice or authority, as He slowly and methodically does everything he can to take away our Godly influence and destroy the kingdom of God in this world.
So what can we do about it?
Heed Paul’s advice in (Ephesians 6:10-19))
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.
In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.
With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.
Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains”.
Pray that I (and all of us as well) may declare it fearlessly, as I (as we) should.
See you on the battlefield!
Good Day
(Genesis 19:26) “His wife looked back…and…became a pillar of salt.”
The valley’s of “shoulda, coulda woulda” and “If only I’d known”… were not the disappointing destinations of regret when you first started the journey toward them.
But somehow you got your eyes off of “His plans and His Way”… and began to follow your own “way”.
(Proverbs 14:12 -16:25) says “there is a way which seems right unto a man but it is the way of death.”
Now I really need you understand something here.
We all “lose our way” at times.
We all get distracted and sometime get off the path that God has prepared for us and onto the wrong path.
And there is nothing wrong with that!
It’s all a part of maturing and spiritual growth in our lives and our walk with God.
What is the problem however… is when we find our redirection and our sure footing and yet we keep looking back with regrets.
I’ve always maintained that we cannot keep looking into the rear view mirror.
No where in the bible does it say to look back and remember.
But it does say “looking unto Jesus the Author and the Finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2)
If you continue to look back, looking at the past or behind you,
You will never see what’s before you… and you will only have more wrecks in your life because while you are looking back ward… you cannot see what’s ahead of you or where you are going when your eyes are not on the road ahead of you.
Lot had made some regrettable choices in life.
Yet God was willing to deliver him and His family before judgment rained down upon those choices.
”Before destroying Sodom and Gomorrah, angels of the Lord rescued Lot and his family. “When they had brought them outside…he said, ‘Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed’” (Genesis 19:26)).
But the record reads: “His wife looked back…and…became a pillar of salt.”
There’s an important lesson here for each of us… and that lesson is to resist the temptation to linger in the quicksand of past mistakes… either your own or other people’s.
It can be hard to see ahead when horrendous things have happened to you in the past.
But when you get bogged down in the past, you miss what God has for you in the present and fail to see its connection to your future.
The good news is that it’s not too late to allow God to use you and move you forward on your journey.
He can heal the wounds others have inflicted on you.
He can make you wiser as a result of the poor decisions you made in the past.
It’s not too late to become who you might have been or who God has prepared you to be!
You may not be where you want to be… but thank God your not where you were!
God delights in transforming your weakness into strength.
He can create treasure from what you’ve discarded as trash.
Even if you’ve lost your way, backslidden and detoured from the path you know He wants you to follow, now is the time to return to His highway.
“‘I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord. ‘They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope’” (Jeremiah 29:11).
So today start moving forward… and don’t get mired down looking back.
Paul wrote “Old things pass away and behold all things become new” (2nd Corinthians 5:17)
God is still big enough and powerful enough to fulfill His plans in your life if you will stop looking back at the mistakes of the past.
Leave the past in the past.
(Isaiah 43:18) “He who sits on the throne says ‘Behold I make all things new’”.
You may not understand it or how God can do it… “but with God all things are possible!” (Matthew 19:26)
And that is His will for you today.
Paul writes this encouragement for all of us in (2nd Corinthians 1:20)
“For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through Him… thru Christ… the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God,”
Good Day!
(Psalm 119:11) “I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against You”
I have met so many people that are displaying symptoms of discouragement, despair, frustration because of their inability to cope with life… and the seemingly endless cycle of pain or discouragement caused by their inability to overcome the many tests or trials that they face daily.
The walk under the “Mastery of Sin”.
How about you?
Now come on fess up. You and I are no different, and I have been there!
Have you become discouraged because you keep committing the same sins over and over again?
The same habits and powerful addictions keep raising their ugly head and scream their deceptive call out to you.
You keep facing the same tests over and over.
Perhaps your feeling like the Apostle Paul when He cried out in Romans (7:15-25) “who will deliver me”, and then he goes on to describe the conflict that he is facing in overcoming the temptations and the sinful conflicts that continue to try to pull him down.
And after his tirade, he makes the following statement, “ But thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law,”
Please notice the words Paul uses here.
“In my mind I serve ‘the law’ of God.”
That “law” which he us referring to here is the “law of God” or the “Word of God”!
In (1st Corinthians 15:27) Paul says “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!
Thank God though we fall, though we stumble, “we will not be utterly cast down for the Lord upholds us in the palm of His right hand” (Psalm 37:24)
So how is that victory obtained?
Here’s your answer… soak your mind in God’s Word!
Just like you soak a sponge in water and it comes out dripping and filled to capacity, soak your mind in scripture until it’s filled to the brim with God’s Word.
That way, when you’re tempted to do wrong, your first recourse will be a Spirit-and-Word-empowered thought response.
If you keep doing what you’ve always done, you’ll keep getting the same results.
So if you are sick and tired of living in defeat… here’s a time-tested prescription from God’s Word for making you whole!
(Psalm 119:9) “How can a young person (or an older one) stay pure? By obeying your word”
(John 15:3) “You are already clean because of the wordI have spoken to you”
(Ephesians 5:26) “That He might sanctify and cleanse (you) with the washing of water by the word”
(Hebrews 4:12) “The word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit…joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart”
(Jeremiah 15:16) “Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart… for I am called by Your name”
These scriptures all lead to one conclusion… if you’re serious about wanting to walk in victory… you must get into God’s Word and get God’s Word into you.
There is no other way.
Jesus said (Luke 4:4) “Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”
Let me say this folks.
Our minds are nothing more than very sophisticated computers.
Computers can process only what is put into them.
When we saturate our minds and lives with the principles of the world then that is what you are going to get in return.
Garbage in garbage out!
In (1st John 2:1) the Apostle John wrote, “My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin.
But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father… Jesus Christ the Righteous One… He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.”
And then thru the rest of the chapter he talks about how to over come the tendency to sin.
And the greatest strength he focuses on is “not loving the world”.
When we are focused on this world with all of its sin, moral degradation and humanistic philosophy, it wages war on the righteousness of God within our heart and minds.
(Romans 7:23) “But I see another law at work in my body, warring against the law of my mind and holding me captive to the law of sin that dwells within me.”
So today I want to encourage you… help you realize that the only way you are going to over come the bad habits, the addictions that keep beckoning out to you, the bleak “outlook” that our future seems to hold for us, is to see yourself in a different light.
The light of the Word of God!
(Psalm 119:105) “Thy Word O Lord is a lamp unto my feet and Light unto my path”.
That’s where our victory is found, that’s where our hope lies.
Not in our selves and our own sufficiency, but in the Word of God, that is able to save our souls.
It took me many years to learn this principle but as I have implemented it, I can honestly say that the bumps in the road are fewer the, endless war that wages in my mind is not as troubling… and I see more bluer skies than grey!
Good Day!
(Jeremiah 15:16) “Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart… for I am called by Your name”
These scriptures all lead to one conclusion… if you’re serious about wanting to walk in victory… you must get into God’s Word and get God’s Word into you.
There is no other way.
Jesus said (Luke 4:4) “Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”
Let me say this folks.
Our minds are nothing more than very sophisticated computers.
Computers can process only what is put into them.
When we saturate our minds and lives with the principles of the world then that is what you are going to get in return.
Garbage in garbage out!
In (1st John 2:1) the Apostle John wrote, “My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin.
But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father… Jesus Christ the Righteous One… He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.”
And then thru the rest of the chapter he talks about how to over come the tendency to sin.
And the greatest strength he focuses on is “not loving the world”.
When we are focused on this world with all of its sin, moral degradation and humanistic philosophy, it wages war on the righteousness of God within our heart and minds.
(Romans 7:23) “But I see another law at work in my body, warring against the law of my mind and holding me captive to the law of sin that dwells within me.”
So today I want to encourage you… help you realize that the only way you are going to over come the bad habits, the addictions that keep beckoning out to you, the bleak “outlook” that our future seems to hold for us, is to see yourself in a different light.
The light of the Word of God!
(Psalm 119:105) “Thy Word O Lord is a lamp unto my feet and Light unto my path”.
That’s where our victory is found, that’s where our hope lies.
Not in our selves and our own sufficiency, but in the Word of God, that is able to save our souls.
It took me many years to learn this principle but as I have implemented it, I can honestly say that the bumps in the road are fewer the, endless war that wages in my mind is not as troubling… and I see more bluer skies than grey!
Good Day!
(John 10:10) “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly”.
Here are two enemies that threaten your spiritual life.
1) Boredom. I heard a thought years ago that went something like this. “If you’re weary of some sleepy form of devotion or worship, God is probably just as weary of it as you are.”
Walking with God is the most rewarding life possible. (Psalm 16:11).
“In Your presence is fullness of joy… at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore”
(2) Busyness. Jesus told Martha, “You are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it” (Luke 10:41-42)
And what was Mary doing?
Sitting at Jesus’ feet listening to Him!
Martha loved Jesus… and she couldn’t do enough for Him.
Like many of us, Martha’s thought was, “if I do all this He will love me”.
But she was so busy serving Him that she didn’t know how to relax and enjoy being with Him.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again… there is nothing you can do to make God love you more than He already does.
Yes He desires obedience from us… but what parent doesn’t desire that their children be obedient?
He desires faithfulness from us… but then again what parent doesn’t desire that from their children?
But what God desires even more from us… is our love… our devotion to Him… time spent with Him.
Maybe like Martha, you think that unless you do the job yourself, it won’t get done right… and you may be right.
But God will never ask you to do anything that takes His place… in your life.
He… wants to be your top priority.
Sometimes we approach God with a list of requests the length of our arm because we’re more interested in His “presents” than His “presence.”
David said, “The one thing I ask of the Lord… the thing I seek most… is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life… delighting in the Lord’s perfections and meditating in His temple” (Psalm 27:4)
Can you imagine having that one thing… at the top of your agenda at all times… needing and desiring to spend time with God?
Think how that could revolutionize your life.
I meet people everywhere I go whom are professing Christians and church attendees… but who have told me they are bored with their faith and their walk with God.
To me that is a shock… something I don’t understand.
You see, “the life I live… I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me”. (Galatians 2:20)
And by that I mean that there is so much to learn and to do in this relationship with God… that I don’t know how one can find time to be bored.
There is so much to learn, so much to be involved in, in service to God.
I don’t know how anyone can be bored.
The relationship I have with God is exciting and new every morning… with new challenges and new opportunities.
How can you be bored with God?
Unless you have gotten your eyes off of Him… and instead… began to focus on this world and all of it’s lure and temptations.
But listen friend, the bible says that the world will give you pleasure… but it lasts only for a season. (Proverbs 14:12) (Proverbs 16:25)
(1st John 2:15-16) says, “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them.
For everything in the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life--comes not from the Father but from the world.”
There is pleasure in this world but unfortunately most of it is sinful or leads to sin.
But the Bible is clear that sin’s pleasure is fleeting.
The writer of Hebrews uses Moses’ life to illustrate this point.
“By faith Moses, when he was grown up, he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.” (Hebrews 11:24-26)
Moses could have continued to experience the lavish and at times unrighteous lifestyle of growing up in Pharaohs court.
But instead, he chose to fully associate himself with the people of God, even though it would lead to mistreatment (since the Israelites were slaves at that time to Egypt).
He considered mistreatment for the cause of Christ to be more valuable than all the treasures of secular Egypt.
The pleasure of sin is fleeting.
It goes away.
Then you’re right back to where you started.
The pressures, the needs, the lack of confidence, the troubles, the things you desired or tried to eliminate are still there… and sometimes even more complicated now because of the sin in which you engaged.
The problem is that you’re left with the same result after sinning or enjoying the world’s pleasures or the pleasures of the world, than what you had before.
So how do you fight past the temptation of sin’s pleasure?
How do you overcome spiritual boredom?
How do you fight past boredom in your relationship with God.
How do you get past the busyness of “doing” just for the sake of being involved?
The answer? You keep your eye on the reward.
You keep your eyes on the prize.
That’s what Moses did.
He knew there was something greater coming in his relationship with the Lord, than what the world would offer.
Moses wasn’t perfect, and neither are we.
There will be times we give into sin, but remember that whatever you believe is being offered by that worldly temptation, there is something so much greater in Christ.
Listen folks Jesus said “I will never leave you nor forsake you lo, (this word ‘lo’, can be translated as ‘listen to me’, ‘get this’, ‘understand this) I will be with you always.”
Look to Jesus today, the Author and the Finisher of your faith.
God is not done with you .
He has an exciting plan for you in days to come.
Jeremiah said it like this. “For I know the plans I have for you says the lord. Plans to prosper you and give you a future, not plans for evil.
The devil will lie to you saying, “you haven’t lived till you’ve tried this.”
But God says “there is real freedom and life in Christ.” (John 10:10) “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”
Good Day!
(Malachi 3:10) "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse"
As I said yesterday I have been guilty of not preaching the whole message of God in the past because I have not wanted to offend people especially “non-believers”… with the subject of giving money to ministries the Church or the Kingdom of God.
God says in (Hosea 4:6) “my people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge”.
And one of the greatest areas of neglect… or lack of knowledge with believers… is in the area of finances and the Kingdom of God.
I find it so very interesting how quickly people, (especially people that call themselves Believers or Christians) get upset, when talking about finances and giving into the Kingdom of God.
Did you know (according to some statistics) that less than 10% of the people who attend church, contribute more than 90% of the income that comes into most churches??
Can you imagine the work that could be done in our communities and how much the church could help the needy in our world… if every believer felt it his duty or responsibility to give at least 10% of their income to the work of God?
When you honor the Lord in your business, He will bless your business!?
Imagine the advantage you'd have in the marketplace with God as your partner!
Many famous Christian business people throughout history were faithful tithers/givers to the Kingdom of God, including Henry John Heinz of “Heinz 57 Varieties” and William Colgate, the toothpaste magnate.
Some of these people were so blessed that before their lives were over they were giving God "ninety percent" of their income.
Yes 90%... and they lived very well off on the remaining ten percent.
In (Malachi 3:10-12)... God says "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house.
Test me in this...and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of Heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it... All the nations will call you blessed"
When you demonstrate that God's business means more to you than your own... He will prosper you.
And He invites you to "test" Him in this.
How long have you known that you should tithe, wanted to tithe, said you were going to, and yet you've never gotten around to it?
Its time to start now… and start with what you have!
What you can do now, today, is the only influence you have over your future.
John D. Rockefeller is reputed to have made the following statement concerning the habit of tithing.
He said "I never would have been able to tithe the first million dollars I made... if I hadn't tithed my first salary, which was a dollar fifty per week."
One other thing.
Tithing demonstrates that you've conquered self-interest and the fear of lack. ?
It's a demonstration of faith!
And God always rewards faith!
Good day!