"Victory Over The Devil"

"He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil." 1 John 3:8

Do not let the devil have any place in your life. He has no power over you. He is not the greater one. He has been defeated by Jesus/God. He has been defeated twice-- once in heaven and once on earth. He was defeated in the heavenly realm and in the earthly realm. When he tried to have dominion in heaven and establish a throne above God, he was defeated. "I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven." (Luke 10:18) When he tried to have dominion in earth and establish a throne above mankind whom God had given dominion of the earth to, he was defeated. "Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross. And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it." (Colossians 2:14,15)

Jesus has defeated the devil in every way possible, in every realm and on every level. And when He returns, He will enforce that victory once and for all forever. Then satan will be cast out and will not be found in the New Heaven and New Earth.

So today, enforce the victory in your own life that Jesus has won. He gave that victory to you, and He intends for you to walk and live in it. Don't keep giving into the devil, don't keep believing his lies, don't keep falling for his tricks, don't give in to his temptations. He continually tries to set up a throne over your life- a throne of bondage, remorse, addiction, anger, condemnation, and so on. But he has no authority over you. If you have surrendered your life to Jesus, He is the only one who has authority and lordship over you.

Have a great day. The devil has been defeated by Jesus in every area, so don't give him any authority in your life.

For further reading:

1 John 4:4
Revelation 20:18
Luke 10:19
Genesis 1:28
Matthew 16:19

"Talk To Me"

"Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required." Psalm 40:6

What does the Lord want from us? What is the thing that gives Him the greatest pleasure and joy? Most would answer that it is our works, it is our service, it is our obedience, it is what we do for Him. Those things are part of our relationship with Him, but the thing that delights Him the most is our communion with Him. In other words, He loves it when we talk to Him.

One of the biggest complaints in most relationships is the lack of communication-- "he/she won't talk to me". People want to have communication. The Heavenly Father is no different. He wants you to talk to Him. He showed us that from the very beginning in the Garden of Eden when He would come down in the cool of the day and talk with Adam and Eve, that this is His desire.

I am not going to belabor the point this morning, but I will repeat it again-- He wants you to talk to Him! Take time today and every day to do so. It doesn't matter what you talk about or what you want to say to Him, He just loves hearing your voice.

Have a great day. The Lord loves for you to talk to Him, have you today?

For further reading:

Genesis 3:8; 33:11
Jeremiah 33:3

"Propped Up"

"Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God." Isaiah 50:10

I want to focus on the last part of this verse-- "Stay upon his God". The word "stay" means to "lean on, trust in, support, rest". We all need something to lean upon at some time or other. We all get tired and weary from running the race of faith that is set before us and need to be "propped up". The concern is not that we need to be propped up every once and a while or that we need something to lean upon and give us some support while we "catch our breath"; the concern is in "what" or "who" we lean upon.

There are so many things out there that look like "props". They look like they will hold us up and give us the support that we need until we can continue on. But that is not always the case. I remember the time I sat down on my porch swing to relax a moment. The next thing I knew the swing and I were both on the porch floor. It looked sturdy, it was made out of good strong material, the chains looked intact, they were metal, but it wasn't as dependable as it looked. The chain had rusted; therefore, it could not support my weight.

There is nothing that is man-made (fleshly) that we can lean upon to give us the support that we need. Like a house that is built on the sand. It looks pretty good, it looks solid, but there is no foundation under it. It will cave in and you will find yourself swept away by the very thing you are needing the rest from.

There is only one place that we can lean upon-- our God. There is only one place where we can get the rest that we need when we are feeling weary, afraid, pressured, faithless, confused and discouraged-- our God. When David and his men arrived at their home in Ziklag and discovered that the enemy had come and taken their families and stolen their belongings, this is what David did-- he leaned upon his God. His heart was broken, his men talked of stoning him, his family was gone, but he found a place where he could rest and lean upon for guidance and strength-- his God. The Lord propped him up by encouraging him, by giving him direction, by giving him strength. From that place of "rest and propping" David found what he needed to then go forth and destroy his enemy and save their families.

What is propping you up today? What are you leaning upon? Your own understanding, your education, your strength, your job, your government, your talents, a financial institution, other people, your spiritual leader? There is only one true prop that will never fail you or let you fall-- our God. You can lean upon Him. He is the foundation that was under the house that did not fall-- our God is the solid Rock.

Have a great day. There is only one prop that you can lean upon that will hold you up-- our God.

For further reading:
Matthew 7:24-27
1 Samuel 30
Proverbs 3:5,6

"Jump Overboard"

"Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing." John 21:3

Yesterday we talked about getting weary while waiting on the promises of God to manifest in our lives. Sometimes that "weariness" will cause us to get tired, give up and return to our way and what is familiar to us. Peter was a fisherman before Jesus called him to follow Him. When it looked like the call and purpose that Jesus had for him was gone, he went back to what he knew-- fishing.

Maybe this is you this morning. You have given up and gone back to your old familiar way because you see no hope of any fulfillment of the plan and promises of God in your life? Have you turned from waiting on His will and gone back to your own plans?

If this is you this morning, God's plan and promises never change. His purpose for you doesn't change. His gifts and calling are without repentance. He saw Peter fishing and He went to him. God's plan was for Peter to catch men instead of fish. Even when we turn to doing our own plans, for whatever reason, the Lord has not changed His mind about our life-- He still has a plan, the same plan in mind. Don't think that just because you have gone back to "fishing" that it is too late. It isn't, because He doesn't change, and He doesn't change His mind about you. If you are hearing His voice calling to you from the "shore", listen and heed it and "jump overboard" (leave your plan) and "swim" to Him.

Have a great day. God's plan for you has not changed.

For further reading:

John 21
Romans 11:29
Jeremiah 29:11

"Weary In Waiting"

"In your patience possess ye your souls." Luke 21:19

Most of us have no trouble believing the promises of God, especially those that He has spoken to us individually concerning His will for our lives. The problem comes while waiting for it to manifest. It seems like the longer it takes for the fulfillment of it, the more impatient and questioning we become. It is at that point that we tend to doubt that we actually heard from the Lord, or we give up on it all together, or we try to make it happen ourselves. Any one of these three aren't good. They are all tricks of the enemy to cause us to miss out on what God intends for us.

When we doubt we heard from the Lord, our faith becomes small and we tend to wonder if we truly do hear from the Lord at all. When we give up, we lose out. When we try to make it happen ourselves, we wind up with an Ishmael. When you have an Ishmael you have problems from then on.

Are you in a waiting period? Does it seem like you have been waiting forever? Are you getting weary of holding on to what the Lord has spoken to you? Then this is when you need to just rest and give your feelings to God. You aren't the one who determines the time or the season for it to come forth. It is like being pregnant. There comes a point in pregnancy where all you can do is wait. It is during that last trimester where you are getting uncomfortable and past ready for your baby to be delivered. You want it to hurry up and happen, but you can't rush it. So you just get as comfortable as you can and wait for the time of delivery. It will happen in the fullness of time. God's promise will also be "delivered", it will come forth in the fullness of God's time. So don't get weary while you are waiting.

Have a great day. Learn to rest in God's faithfulness while you are waiting and not get weary.

For further reading:

Psalm 37:7
Galatians 4:4
Isaiah 66:9