Everyone wants to eat the bread, but no one wants to make it. Remember that story? Well, in the spiritual realm, most people don’t want to be ruined by the Devil. But hardly anyone wants to be ruled by God. But the fact is, the only way to victory over the enemy is surrender to the Hero. There are not multiple ways to beat Satan. There is only one way. And that is through the blood of Jesus Christ. You can’t try hard enough to be stronger than the Devil. You can’t be smart enough to outwit him. You can’t be more spiritual than him and expect him to leave you alone. You aren’t faster than him. You can’t outlast him. Shouting him down doesn’t work. There is only one way to beat the enemy of your soul. You have to resist him. Sounds easy, right? But that resistance is part of a formula, or a process, if you will. The apostle James wrote to the early church, “Submit to God. But resist the Devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7) There is an order. A lot of people are trying to fight Satan under their own flag. Frankly, the Devil doesn’t care what kind of a fight you put up on your own as long as you aren’t fighting under the authority of God, because Satan fears no one but those who are serving God. So we need to submit to God if we want our resistance to the Devil to mean anything. If you are trying to resist the enemy without first submitting to God, you are putting the cart before the horse. The real horsepower in life comes from the throne of God. When we try to accomplish God’s task without surrendering to His power, we are setting ourselves up for massive failure. To submit is to ‘to yield to governance or authority.’ To resist is to ‘to withstand the force or effect of.’ Can I say it? I think a lot of people are wanting to resist the Devil even as they are resisting God. That ain’t gonna work. To resist is to withstand the force of something. To submit is to cease resistance. Stop resisting God. Yield to His authority. That is where you will find the power to resist the Devil. If you are resisting God, you are submitting to Satan. If you are submitting to God, you will be able to resist the enemy. To flee is to ‘run away from danger’. When you are surrendered to God, and you withstand the effect of Satan, he will realize he is in a place of danger. He will flee. That’s what scared things do. They run from danger. If you are not submitted to God, Satan does not fear you. If you are under the authority of Jesus, there is nothing Satan fears more. I know you don’t want the enemy to beat you today. I know you want him to run in fear and leave you alone. And that is possible. But not if you try to engage him in battle without first submitting to the One who has already secured victory. The quickest way to get victory in your life is to surrender your life. That may not sound right… but it is ultimately true. The path to victory runs through the pass of submission. [Bible quotes are from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, unless otherwise noted.] Find more of David’s work at Heart Of Ministry. Many of us need God to do something in our life, but we either don’t receive what we want, or we don’t receive it in the way we want, or we don’t appreciate it when we do receive it. Unfortunately we can become disillusioned, frustrated, and even ungrateful, right in the middle of a great miracle. The same thing happened when Jesus was on the earth performing great miracles from town to town. So maybe we can learn some things from the lives of those people He touched. In one story, as Jesus went through a village there was a group of 10 men who suffered from a horrible skin disease. They could not be around other people, and even had to call out that they were “unclean” so no one would come near them. When Jesus came into town they cried out something different… “Jesus, have mercy on us!” Jesus responded by telling them to go to the priest and be pronounced clean, as was the custom of Jewish law. Off they went, and as they walked, they were cleansed. One man, recognizing that he had been healed, turned and went back to Jesus, loudly worshiping and thanking Him. Jesus said, “Weren’t there 10 of you healed? Where are the other 9? How is it that the foreigner (a Samaritan, not a Jew) is the one who came to say, ‘Thank you’?” Jesus then told the man to go on his way for his faith had made him well. There are three things we can learn from this miraculous story which can be found in Luke 17:11-19. · There is power in the word… both our word and in the word of Christ. We often don’t receive healing or deliverance because we don’t ask for it. Once I was the last person in a Krispy Kreme store. While checking out with 2 dozen doughnuts and a bottle of milk I jokingly asked if I would get the ‘last customer discount.’ Without cracking a smile she rung me up and charged me $1.82 instead of the $14 it should have been. There is no such thing as a ‘last customer discount.’ But I received it because I asked for it, and she had the power to give it. When our word of faith is met by Christ’s powerful word of truth, a breakthrough is bound to happen. The apostle James says, “You do not have because you do not ask.” (James 4:2) How many other people in that village needed deliverance through Jesus but didn’t even ask Him for anything? · There is a process in the way. When the miracle does not come immediately upon the request, we can give up on it. We have to have our vehicle emissions tested. Sometimes after an emissions leak is repaired, you have to drive 100 miles in order to clear the on-board computer. Only then can you take it in to have it inspected for the repair and cleared for approval. Jesus didn’t wave a magic wand over these men and heal them. They were cleansed as they went on their way. The Bible is full of stories of people who had to march around their enemy for days to gain victory, or dip multiple times in a river to be healed. God doesn’t always perform a flash miracle. Sometimes He works the deliverance through our walk. · There is purpose in our worship. There is something to be said about praise and thanksgiving. King David wrote to God, “You are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.” (Psalm 22:3) In His presence we find completeness. In praising Him for what He has done we scatter the enemy. God has worked in everyone’s life, but not everyone will go back to loudly tell Him, “Thank you!” Jesus keeps track of His miracles, and it moves Him when the unlikely person does not just receive a miracle from Him, but returns to worship Him. Today Jesus will be passing through your village. There is no need to sit quietly like a spectator as He meets the needs of those around you. Call out to Him in faith and watch Him respond in power. When He commands you to walk, keep on walking. Don’t give up because the breakthrough because it isn’t how you imagined it would be. And when you are delivered, return to Him to give great thanks. He has done for you what you cannot do for yourself, and what no one else could do for you. Make a big deal out of that. Don’t be the 9. Be the 1. [Bible quotes are from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, unless otherwise noted.] Find more of David’s work at Heart Of Ministry. We spend much of our lives making a living, trying to get to that place where we are happy enough that we do not have to keep working hard to be happy. “If I only had…” has become the rally cry for millions. If I only had a wife. If I only had a husband. If I only had children. If I only had a new car. If I only had a house. If I only had a better job. If I only won the lottery. If I were taller. If I were prettier. Apparently happiness and contentment is just around the corner from where we live. We think that we are just some thing away from that place of peace and fulfillment. A few of us humans have found that this is not how it works, and it is often a tragic path to discovery. History is full of people who jumped from their penthouse to their death because they weren’t satisfied. Men who have been married to supermodels have gone after prostitutes. Women with wonderful children have exchanged home life for the corporate world. People chase contentment like the wind, and get caught up in a hurricane of disappointment, because they find that contentment cannot be found in anything but a choice. We should know better by now. We have plenty of history as proof. And on our good days, when we can just sit and chill, we know this. But the marketing force that is material America will not let us stay in that place without a fight. We are constantly sold the thing that will make us complete. Our friends even get in on the action, encouraging us to spend money we don’t have, on things we don’t need, to impress people we don’t really care about, knowing that when we wake up we will not be more fulfilled, but we will be more frustrated. Contentment is like a ghost today. It is a moving target. But what if we valued contentment as we do gold, or a new car, or that perfect relationship? What if we stopped thinking that adding things to our life would make us more valuable, and started realizing that we already have great value that we are to add to others. What if we sought a peace in life instead of seeking another piece of something to add to our life? What would this look like? The apostle Paul wrote letters to help early Christians understand what it means to follow Jesus in a world that isn’t always supportive of the Christian lifestyle. In one of those letters he said, “I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know both how to have a little, and I know how to have a lot. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being content—whether well fed or hungry, whether in abundance or in need. I am able to do all things through Him who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:11-13) Paul tells us all that contentment is not to be found in things, but is to be learned and experienced in the midst of things. There is apparently a secret to contentment. I tend to agree, because so few people actually experience it. What is the secret to contentment? Knowing who you are in Christ, and realizing that true fulfillment as a human being can only come through Him. When we sell out to this truth, we will look to Christ for happiness, joy, peace, and riches rather than look for those properties in temporal things. Adding another person, vehicle, job, or zero at the end of your paycheck will not make you a better or more fulfilled person. Adding more of Jesus to your life will. If He chooses to give you more stuff, then praise God. If He decides that more stuff will distract you from who He is causing you to become, praise God. After losing everything of material and relational value in his life, Job declared, “The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. Praise the name of Yahweh.” (Job 1:21) You won’t get to that point by chasing after the constantly changing winds of desire in this world. But you can get there by chasing after the consistent breath of the Spirit of God in your life. When we are content with Christ… when we are satisfied with His Spirit, we will experience true fulfillment in our daily life. The benefits will be outrageous. This is the secret to contentment. [Bible quotes are from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, unless otherwise noted.] Find more of David’s work at Heart Of Ministry. I’m not the most patient person. Some things I dislike because they seem to keep me from doing things I like. When I was a kid, I thought baths were a waste of time that I could be using to do something important… like playing outside. So I started whittling down the amount of time it takes to get a shower. That worked pretty well until I got bigger. The time I shaved off the shower was now needed to get all the way around me. Haircuts are the same way. At least as I get older there is less to cut, so nature is working with me on that one. But still… sitting in a chair as I get my haircut seems counter-productive. But it is a necessary evil, so I do it. You may have some of these things in your own life. The thing is, you know they are coming yet you try to put them off for as long as possible. But when the time arrives, you just have to go through it. Our computers need updates from time to time. I enjoy my computer. It is a tool of work, and also a toy for enjoyment. Every so often I see a notification that tells me the computer needs to update. It gives me the option to initiate the update immediately, or put it off for a later time. You know which one I pick. Sometimes I can go for days and constantly click on “Install Update Later”. Eventually the computer outsmarts me and starts the update on its own… to my dismay, and benefit. As the update installs, there is another notification telling me to not turn the computer off while it updates. It must know how impatient I am. I finally comply with the instructions on the screen. It is amazing. After the updates, I am very pleased with how the computer runs. Some of the problems I was having before the update are now gone. I was frustrated with the slow operation of the computer, but I wouldn’t take the time to let it fix itself. I think this is a great picture of how we are in life. As believers we know we have not arrived. We know we aren’t perfect. Along the way we need to be updated. God even gives us notifications that an update is needed… and ready to be installed. But we put it off. Things don’t go well in our lives. We become impatient with people. Our pride wells up at inopportune times. We start focusing more on money than we should. We start hedging on the truth as deceit works its way into our life. Our lives get glitch. We get more frustrated. Things go from bad to worse. Eventually something happens that causes us to surrender to the inevitable. The Holy Spirit begins updating our life. He takes out some things that were inhibiting our growth. He adds some things to make things run more smoothly. Basically He is cleaning us up and making us more like Christ. As He works, we become hopeful. Maybe this update will remove that spirit of gossip. Maybe when this is done I won’t use those obscene words I hope that this update helps me become more generous to the church and people in need. But we must be patient. If we stop the update, we will thwart the process. God knows when He is done changing a certain part of our life. If we check out of the process too early, we can be in worse condition than when we started. The apostle James put it this way when writing to some of the early Christians, “Consider it a great joy, my brothers, whenever you experience various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. But endurance must do its complete work, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.” (James 4:2-4) God didn’t create us to be incomplete, running on an old system. He wants us to be exactly who we are supposed to be. We can be complete… perfect if you will. Right now, you can be everything you are supposed to be right now. You can’t be who you are going to be. There will be more updates in the future. But you can be up to date as a person. This week, God will want to work in your life. When the notification pops up you should say, “Here I am, Lord. Work on me.” Then as He does, be patient and let Him finish. It won’t always be easy, but it will always be worth it. [Bible quotes are from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, unless otherwise noted.] Find more of David’s work at Heart Of Ministry. Yesterday I was able to catch a baseball game with my wife. It was an unusual game played by 1863 rules. They wore period outfits. It was truly a throwback experience. Several things stood out to me, and I think we can learn something from it. Sometimes I think we have an ‘evolutionary’ approach to how we do church, just as we find it in so many other areas of life. But progress is not always progress. Here are three things I saw at the ballgame that we don’t see in today’s baseball, and is rare in today’s church… though they shouldn’t be: 1 – Engagement Of The Opponent – In 1863, the pitcher wanted the batter to hit the ball. He was actually apologetic when he threw a pitch that could not be hit. In a sense he was trying to help the other team, but this made the game more competitive. Today no baseball pitcher tries to throw a pitch the batter can easily hit. I think the church should be throwing pitches those on the opposing team can hit. Too many times the church makes it too difficult to become part of the church. We should never compromise holiness. But we should not live as though we are trying to keep others out of the game. When engaging non-believers, we should give them something they can hit. There will be plenty of opportunities for them to be turned off by the things of God that are offensive to the wicked. But the first thing they get from us should not be that offensive thing. We aren’t trying to strike them out. We are trying to help them get a hit. Sending them straight back to their dugout is not advisable. 2 – Standard Of Behavior – In 1863, players were not allowed to use curse words or spit during the game. This was a gentlemen’s game, and the behavior of the participants was to reflect that. If an official heard a player curse or saw them spit, they would issue a fine. Could you imagine if they levied fines for cursing and spitting today in major league baseball? I think the behavior of Christians should reflect Christian standards. This would involve where we go, what we listen to, what we watch, how we talk, what we wear, etc. The official ruling on such things is the Holy Spirit. But we should also be able to hold each other accountable. Not that we should be fining other believers. But we should be able to encourage and even challenge behavior based on whether or not it is in keeping with Christian standards… the standard of Christ. 3 – Recognition Of Camaraderie – At the end of the ballgame, both teams went to the middle of the field. They had both been trying to win. But only one came away with the victory. But at this point, you could tell that they, while not part of the same specific team, were part of the same league. They congratulated each other for their efforts. While we in the Church are in a battle with the enemy, we are not to be at war with other Christians. Some churches do better at certain ministries than others. Some have more attendees. Others have more actual disciples. But the only competition that should exist in the Church is trying to outdo one another in humility, love, and encouragement. We may be playing with a different set of players. But we are not only in the same game... we are in the same league. Do we as churches celebrate other churches as we should? I don’t think we do. So, we should be positively engaging the world, giving them a chance to get in the game. We should be living according to standards that become a Christian, because we do represent Christ. And we should be each other’s greatest fans. We are after all aiming for the same goal. I’ll leave you with the words of the apostle Paul to the early Christians, “According to the grace given to us, we have different gifts: If prophecy, use it according to the standard of one’s faith; if service, in service; if teaching, in teaching; if exhorting, in exhortation; giving, with generosity; leading, with diligence; showing mercy, with cheerfulness. Love must be without hypocrisy. Detest evil; cling to what is good. Show family affection to one another with brotherly love. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not lack diligence; be fervent in spirit; serve the Lord.12 Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; be persistent in prayer. Share with the saints in their needs; pursue hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep. Be in agreement with one another. Do not be proud; instead, associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own estimation. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Try to do what is honorable in everyone’s eyes. If possible, on your part, live at peace with everyone.” (Romans 12:6-18) [Bible quotes are from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, unless otherwise noted.] Find more of David’s work at Heart Of Ministry. |
AuthorMy name is David, and I want to know God more, and help other people find Him. Archives
March 2019
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