“I have given you authority…to overcome…the enemy.” Lk 10:19 NIV
Has Satan singled you out for attack? Are you wondering, “Why would he even bother with someone like me?” The answer is—influence. Job’s influence was a constant irritant to Satan. One day God said to Satan: “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him?” (Job 1:8 NKJV). Shortly after that conversation Satan attacked Job’s health, his children, his marriage and his business. You can’t get God’s attention without getting Satan’s too! Whatever glorifies God, enrages him. But you have the power to overcome him. Jesus said: “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority…to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you” (Lk 10:18-19 NIV). Notice, you haven’t been called to defeat Satan; Jesus already did that two thousand years ago. You have been called to enforce His defeat each day. Jesus already disarmed and made a public spectacle of him at the cross (See Col 2:15). When He died and rose again He stripped the Devil of his power and declared, “All [power] in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go” (Mt 28:18-19 NIV). Go in His power. Go in His strength. Go in His name. He has given you authority over the enemy—use it.
FATHER'S DAY IS JUNE 19.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Let the refiner do His work!
“He will sit as a refiner…of silver.” Mal 3:3 NIV
It’s hard watching someone you love going through the refiner’s fire, but it’s the only way to get pure silver. It’s hard watching the refiner turn up the heat until all the scum on the bottom rises, every impurity is removed, and He finally sees His face reflected on the surface. But only then is the work complete. And that’s God’s goal for each of us. When we pray, “Make me more like Jesus,” we’re asking the Holy Spirit to do a work in us. Usually we don’t change until the pain of staying the same becomes unbearable. For most of us, knowledge is not the bridge to growth—pain is. No matter how much you love someone, don’t try to rescue them from God’s dealings. The worst thing you could have done for the Prodigal Son was go down to the pigsty, clean it up and make it comfortable for him. That’s called “enabling.” Let the refiner do His work! For much of his life Jacob didn’t think he needed God. He’d probably have told you, “I’m doing just fine, thank you!” But the time came when he had to go home, stand before his father and face the wrath of his brother Esau whom he’d wronged. And that’s when he became willing to go to God and say, “I will not let you go unless you bless me” (Ge 32:26 NIV). Change usually comes when it hurts so much that you have to change, when you learn so much that you want to change, and when you receive so much that you welcome change.
It’s hard watching someone you love going through the refiner’s fire, but it’s the only way to get pure silver. It’s hard watching the refiner turn up the heat until all the scum on the bottom rises, every impurity is removed, and He finally sees His face reflected on the surface. But only then is the work complete. And that’s God’s goal for each of us. When we pray, “Make me more like Jesus,” we’re asking the Holy Spirit to do a work in us. Usually we don’t change until the pain of staying the same becomes unbearable. For most of us, knowledge is not the bridge to growth—pain is. No matter how much you love someone, don’t try to rescue them from God’s dealings. The worst thing you could have done for the Prodigal Son was go down to the pigsty, clean it up and make it comfortable for him. That’s called “enabling.” Let the refiner do His work! For much of his life Jacob didn’t think he needed God. He’d probably have told you, “I’m doing just fine, thank you!” But the time came when he had to go home, stand before his father and face the wrath of his brother Esau whom he’d wronged. And that’s when he became willing to go to God and say, “I will not let you go unless you bless me” (Ge 32:26 NIV). Change usually comes when it hurts so much that you have to change, when you learn so much that you want to change, and when you receive so much that you welcome change.
Monday, August 1, 2011
Your way or God’s way?
“He guides the humble in what is right.” Ps 25:9 NIV
Did you hear about the old lady who earned a living by peddling her wares? Each day when she came to a certain intersection she would toss a stick up into the air. Whichever way the stick pointed when it landed, was the way she went. One day a man saw her tossing the stick into the air: once, twice, then three times. He asked, “What are you doing?” She said, “I’m letting God show me which way to go by using this stick.” Looking at her curiously, he said, “But why did you throw it up three times?” She replied, “Because the first two times He was pointing me in the wrong direction!” Hello! When you don’t like the direction God gives you, do you pray, hoping He will change His mind and tell you what you want to hear? If so, you have never exchanged your will for His! Jesus said: “I am the vine, you are the branches” (Jn 15:5 NKJV). Only as you stay “connected” to Christ will you bear fruit. Just as the life flows from the vine into the branches, so His power flows to you, then through you and begins to affect other areas of your life. The Psalmist said: “He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way.” God will show you what is “right” for you if you seek Him. Essentially, there are only two ways—His and yours! If you’re tired of doing things your way, get down on your knees and ask Him to show you how to do them His way.
Did you hear about the old lady who earned a living by peddling her wares? Each day when she came to a certain intersection she would toss a stick up into the air. Whichever way the stick pointed when it landed, was the way she went. One day a man saw her tossing the stick into the air: once, twice, then three times. He asked, “What are you doing?” She said, “I’m letting God show me which way to go by using this stick.” Looking at her curiously, he said, “But why did you throw it up three times?” She replied, “Because the first two times He was pointing me in the wrong direction!” Hello! When you don’t like the direction God gives you, do you pray, hoping He will change His mind and tell you what you want to hear? If so, you have never exchanged your will for His! Jesus said: “I am the vine, you are the branches” (Jn 15:5 NKJV). Only as you stay “connected” to Christ will you bear fruit. Just as the life flows from the vine into the branches, so His power flows to you, then through you and begins to affect other areas of your life. The Psalmist said: “He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way.” God will show you what is “right” for you if you seek Him. Essentially, there are only two ways—His and yours! If you’re tired of doing things your way, get down on your knees and ask Him to show you how to do them His way.
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