Nov 16, 2021
With all the talk going on in the church about spiritual warfare, Christians still have not learned how to stand up to the enemy. We are pushovers for the devil!
I don’t believe every misfortune that befalls a Christian comes from the devil. We wrongly blame him for a lot of our own carelessness, disobedience and laziness. It’s easy to blame the devil for our foolishness. That way, we don’t have to deal with it. There is a real devil present in the world today, though, and he is busy at work.
Let me tell you something of Satan’s strategy. If he cannot pull the Lord Almighty off of his throne, he will try to tear God’s image out of you. He wants to turn worshippers into murmurers and blasphemers, but Satan cannot attack you at will. God has put a wall of fire around each of his children, and Satan cannot go beyond that wall without God’s permission. Some people are afraid to pray because they think the devil eavesdrops on them. Others think the devil can read their every thought. Not so! Satan cannot read a Christian’s mind. Only God is omnipresent and omniscient.
Scripture commands us to stand up, be strong and do battle against the flesh and the devil: “Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong. Let all that you do be done with love” (1 Corinthians 16:13-14, NKJV), and “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil” (Ephesians 6:10-11).
You have to become fed up with being held down by the devil, living low, depressed, joyless, empty, harassed! We need to say what God is waiting to hear: “This has gone far enough! We serve a mighty, victorious God. Why do we go on, day after day, taking this abuse?”
God will not do anything until you are thoroughly disgusted, until you are sick and tired of being sick and tired. You must cry out to the Lord! We serve the same God that Israel did. If he heard Israel’s cry in their idolatry, he will hear you in your sincerity.
Nov 11, 2021
Let me give you one of the most powerful verses in all of scripture. Proverbs give us these prophetic words of Christ: “Then I was beside him as a master craftsman; and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him, rejoicing in his inhabited world, and my delight was with the sons of men” (Proverbs 8:30-31, NKJV).
Beloved, we are the sons being mentioned here. From the very foundations of the earth, God foresaw a body of believers joined to his Son. Even then the Father delighted and rejoiced in these sons. Jesus testifies, “I was my Father’s delight, the joy of his being, and now all who turn to me in faith are his delight as well!”
So how do we love Jesus in return? John answers, “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:2-3).
What are his commandments? The gospel says, “Then one of them, a lawyer, asked him [Christ] a question, testing him, and saying, ‘Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?’ Jesus said to him, ‘”You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.’” (Matthew 22:35-40).
The first and most important command is to love the Lord with all our heart, soul and mind. We’re to hold nothing back from him. The second is that we love our neighbor as ourselves. These two simple, non-grievous commands sum up all of God’s law.
Jesus is saying here that we cannot be in communion with God or walk in his glory if we bear a grudge against anyone. Therefore, loving God means loving every brother and sister in the same way we’ve been loved by the Father.
Nov 10, 2021
Many Christians talk about intimacy with the Lord, walking with him, knowing him, having fellowship with him; but we can’t have true communion with God unless we receive into our hearts the full revelation of his love, grace and mercy.
Communion with God consists of two things:
1. Receiving the love of the Father
2. Loving him in return
You can spend hours each day in prayer, telling the Lord how much you love him, but that isn’t communion. If you haven’t received his love, you haven’t had communion with him. You simply can’t share intimacy with the Lord unless you’re secure in his love for you.
I know when I come to my Lord, I’m not coming to a hard, fierce, demanding Father. He doesn’t wait for me with an angry countenance. He doesn’t trail me, waiting for me to fail so he can say, “I caught you!”
No, I’m coming to a Father who has revealed himself to me as pure, unconditional love. He’s kind and tenderhearted, full of grace and mercy, anxious to lift all my cares and burdens. I know he’ll never turn me down when I call on him.
The prophet Zephaniah says something incredible about God’s love for us. He writes, “The Lord your God in your midst, the Mighty One, will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing” (Zephaniah 3:17, NKJV).
God rests in his love for his people. In Hebrew, the phrase “He will rest in his love” reads, “He shall be silent because of His love.” God is saying, in essence, “I’ve found my true love, and I’m satisfied. I don’t need to look elsewhere because I have no complaint, and I won’t take my love back. My love is a settled matter!”
He cares about everything concerning me (see Psalm 100). Can you receive his word that he loved you before the world was created, before humankind existed, before you were born? Can you accept that he loved you even after you fell into Adam’s sinful ways and became an enemy to him? That’s why I come into his courts with praise and thanksgiving because I’m thankful for who my God is.
Nov 9, 2021
Whenever opposition arises, God’s grace thrives in us. Think about what happens to a tree when a great storm beats violently against it. The wind threatens to uproot the tree and carry it away. It breaks off branches and blows away its leaves. It loosens its roots and blows off its buds. When the storm is over, things look hopeless.
Yet, look closer; the same storm that opened crevices in the earth around the trunk of the tree has helped the roots go deeper. The tree has access to new, deeper sources of nutrition and water. It has been purged of all its dead branches. The buds may be gone, but others will grow back more fully. That tree is now stronger, growing in unseen ways. Just wait till harvest because it’s going to bear much fruit.
Maybe you’re in a storm right now. The wind is blowing hard, shaking you violently, and you think you’re going down. Beloved, don’t panic! You’ve got to know that in the midst of the tempest, you are putting down deep spiritual roots. God is developing in you a deepening humility, a greater mourning and sorrow for sin, a heightened hunger for his righteousness.
Paul says, “Not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance” (Romans 5:3, NKJV).
In 2 Corinthians 4:16-17, we read, “Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.” The word ‘working’ in this verse is the same as ‘produces’ in Romans 5:3.
God is making you a seasoned soldier of the cross, battle-scarred but battle-smart and courageous. You may get down on yourself at times, but the Lord never does. The fact is that he could have acted sovereignly at any time to pluck you out of your struggle, but he didn’t because he is using to produce strength and new life in us.
Nov 5, 2021
Some believers can tell you all about their spiritual growth, and you can clearly see the changes in their lives. They testify to you about how the Holy Ghost has vanquished the enemy for them, and you rejoice with them in their victory.
Yet these kinds of Christians are the exception. Most believers are totally unaware of any spiritual progress in their lives. They pray, read the Bible and seek the Lord with all their hearts. There’s no obstruction to spiritual growth in them, but they can’t discern any growth in themselves. I’m an example of this type of believer. I know I walk in the righteousness of Christ, yet I never sense that I’m making progress. In fact, I occasionally get down on myself whenever I do or say something un-Christlike. I wonder, “I’ve been a Christian for years. Why don’t I ever learn?”
I think the Thessalonian Christians were stunned when they heard Paul’s glowing assessment of them. “We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is fitting, because your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of every one of you all abounds toward each other” (2 Thessalonians 1:3, NKJV).
Rest assured that if you have the fear of God in your heart, you’re going to emerge from your life’s storms much stronger. When you’re doing battle with the enemy, you’re calling forth all the grace and power of God. Even though you may feel weakened, that grace and power are strengthening you. For one, you’re becoming more urgent in your praying. Second, you’re being stripped of all pride. The storm is actually putting you on “spiritual guard” in every area of your life!
Paul knew that spiritual growth is often a secret, hidden thing. Scripture likens it to the unseen growth of flowers and trees. “I will be like the dew to Israel; he shall grow like the lily and lengthen his roots like Lebanon. His branches shall spread; his beauty shall be like an olive tree, and his fragrance like Lebanon” (Hosea 14:5-6).
God is telling us, “Go to the lilies! Just try to watch them grow. I’m telling you by day’s end you won’t see any growth whatsoever. But know this; I water the lily every morning with the dew I send, and it’s going to grow.” The same is true of most spiritual growth, especially in the middle of trials. It’s imperceptible to the human eye.
Take heart, friend; I’ve got good news for you. You are growing in your struggle. In fact, you may be growing by leaps and bounds because of your struggle.
