The Glory on the Other Side of Trials

If we choose to walk in the Spirit, we will not fall into Satan’s temptation, not fulfill the lusts of our flesh, and we will walk in God’s everlasting truth (Galatians 5:15-25).  

We will avoid making intimate friendships with unbelievers, realizing that light has no fellowship with darkness (2 Corinthians 6:14-15). Christ in us is our path to and hope for glory (Colossians 1:27).

Just as Jesus was tempted at Gethsemane to abandon God's plan for Him, we too experience times of anxiety, regret, and hopelessness (Matthew 26:39). We see what we have and think that it is better than what God has in store for us, so we do not want to give it up.

When Jesus remembered the glory which awaited Him on the other side of the cross, He willingly surrendered His will to our Father's will. We too have glory waiting for us on the other side of every trial.

When we experience trials, we witness triumphs in Jesus through every one of them. We see His miracles unfolding in our life and in His corporate Body. We are a part of a world-wide union of Believers in Christ.

In times of blessing, we often slip into ingratitude, expectations and assumptions in our relationship with Christ in us. We are overly confident and take His love for granted.

Yet, life has a way of reminding us that regardless of our years of service and our spiritual maturity, we remain weak and helpless apart from Christ in us. God's grace is always sufficient and His power is continually manifested in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).

Prayer:

Father God, You choose the foolish to confound the wise and the weak to put the strong to shame (1 Corinthians 1:18-31). You use the most unlikely people as Your ambassadors to the world around us (2 Corinthians 5:20). We feel privileged to serve You with our life.

Help us to lay down our idol of pride in order for You to fill us with Your Spirit. We are a willing sacrifice, just as Jesus was, in order to fulfill Your will for our life. We thank You for Your Lamb who paid the price for our redemption. We give Him all the glory, honor, praise and blessing, because He is worthy to receive power, riches, wisdom and strength (Revelation 5:8-14).

Thought for the Day:

Christ abides in us and we live, move and have our whole identity in Him; as His Body, we make up a mighty army that has victory against the world, the flesh and the devil.

 - Acts 17:28; Hebrews 4:16

Part 1 - Is Satan Real?

 

Satan is not a little man in a red suit with a pointy tail and pitchfork, but he certainly is real. God created him as an angel of light with mighty power (Isaiah 14). Yet, this was not enough for him. He led a rebellion of angels against God and he lost (Isaiah 14:13-14). He was demoted as the “ruler” of this world (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11), the “spirit” of this world (1 Corinthians 2:12), the prince of the “power” of the air (Ephesians 2:2), the “enemy” (Matthew 13:25,28,39), and the “god” of this age (2 Corinthians 4:4).

Due to his rebellion and unbelief, Satan will spend eternity bound up in the lake of fire, along with every other rebellious unbeliever on this earth (Revelation 20:10). For now, Satan inspires human beings to seek worldly gratification, ambition, status and riches to the detriment of our relationship with God and our family. He encourages us to enable and rescue others, to boast with pride, to take whatever we want, to surrender to the desires of our flesh, and to make life miserable for everyone around us (1 John 2:16).

Satan whispers lies into our mind about other people, and we react to them with accusations, unforgiveness, bitterness, spitefulness and revenge. He keeps us living in fear. Therefore, we often abandon our responsibilities, thwart our blessings from God, and escape into the fantasy of addictions. Self-preservation causes us to build walls around our heart, which makes us run when confronted or easily angered to keep people from hurting us. Self-indulgence is our motive behind our every action.

Satan condemns us until we hide behind masks, because we are afraid for people to see who we really are (Matthew 4:1; Mark 1:13; Luke 4:2; 1 Corinthians 7:5; 1 Thessalonians 3:5). The last thing Satan wants us to realize is that although we live in the world, we do not have to live as part of the world (John 17:11,14,16). He encourages us to fit in with the crowd, and to covet our neighbor’s wife and goods (Exodus 20:17). He tempted Jesus too, but our Savior contradicted Satan’s accusations with the Word of God (Matthew 4:1-11).

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, we can follow in Your footsteps when we deal with the devil. You were tempted in every area that Satan tempts us (Hebrews 4:15), with the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life (1 John 2:16). Yet, You remained faithful. We too can stand against the wiles of the devil by the dynamite power of the Trinity within us (Colossians 1:27). I am so glad that Satan does not have Your powers of omnipresence, omnipotence and omniscience.


Thought for the Day:

Spiritual warfare is very real and constant, but Satan would rather make you believe that it does not exist at all. - Ephesians 6:10-20