Let Me Count the Ways

How much does God love us? Let me count the ways: We have nothing to leave at the foot of the cross, except our sin and self-righteousness. However, we take away with us His eternal life, which is full of God’s glory (Hebrews 1:3).
 
He pours out His grace, mercy and faith on us, and we express a body, soul and spirit full of faith and praise back to Him. We no longer need to fear our disabilities, because Christ in us can do all things through us (Philippians 4:13). 

All doubt disappears once we realize that we can cast all of our cares on God, since He cares so much for us (1 Peter 5:7). God gives us the faith we need to surrender to His calling in our life (Romans 12:3). He is our rock, our defense and our protection (Psalm 18:2). 

He strengthens our life and gives us the courage to walk in His ways, even in the face of adversity (Psalm 27:1-3). He supplies every one of our needs exactly when we need it, even if we get impatient and lose hope (Philippians 4:19). 

He takes our fear and gives us power, love and a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7). He liberally gives us wisdom to deal with every issue we face in life and provides us with His righteousness in exchange for our sin (James 1:5-6; 1 Corinthians 1:30). 

His Word is a light to our path and a lamp to our feet (Psalm 119: 105-109). He gives us hope, because we remember that his compassion never fails and his mercy is renewed every morning; He is good to everyone who seeks Him (Lamentations 3:21-25).

Although Satan runs about like a roaring lion, seeking people to devour, our God in us is greater than Satan who lives in this world (1 John 4:4). We are more than conquerors in all things through Christ, who loves us and gave Himself for us, and He allows us to lead others to His truth (Romans 8:31-37; 2 Corinthians 2:14).

He came into the world as the Light of men, and He brings us His Good News (Acts 2:14-21). He poured out His Spirit on us, and promises never to leave us or to forsake us (Acts 2:16-18; Hebrews 13:5).

Prayer:

Father God, Your grace, which brings us salvation, is available to every human ever born (Titus 2:11). I know each person must respond individually to this grace; and I pray that You will work out circumstances in their lives to bring them to the end of their self-reliance, so they will wholly surrender to You (1 Corinthians 6:19). 

Thank You for living in us; it is in You that we live and move and have our being (1 John 2:28; Colossians 1:27; Acts 17:24-28). We love You beyond words and look forward to praising You now and throughout eternity.

Thought for the Day:

“For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” – Jeremiah 29:11

Public Enemy #1

Read: 1 Peter 5:8-9

"Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes." – Ephesians 6:11

Today, so few people realize that Satan is the god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4). This occurred when Adam and Eve surrendered their dominion over the earth to Satan (John 12:31, 14:31, 16:11; 1 John 5:19). He rules the world through deception and temptation (Matthew 4:8-9; Revelation 12:9). 

He transforms himself into an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14). He is the lawless one and the man of sin (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4; 8-10); a murderer from the beginning (John 8:44), the son of perdition (2 Thessalonians 2:3,4); a fallen angel (Revelation 9:1); the serpent of old (Revelation 12:9); the tempter (Matthew 4:3); the wicked one (Ephesians 6:16); the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:2).

Satan is well versed in the art of deception. He magnifies minor inconveniences in a marriage until they grow to paramount proportions in a couple’s mind, which destroys the home. If that does not work, he sends seductive lovers to lure one of the mates away from the family. He also employs his obliging agitators to disrupt the unity in churches. He distracts Christians from God’s purpose for their day with disruptions and roadblocks. He lures unsuspecting victims into reckless behavior and immerses them in addictive vices, which ravage their life. 

As their future lies in ruin at his feet, he observes their demise with glee and celebrates.

We do not have to succumb to Satan’s trickery, however. Christ lives in every Believer and He is more powerful than Satan (1 John 4:4). Jesus defeated Satan by his crucifixion and resurrection (Genesis 3:14-15; 1 Corinthians 15: 57; Revelation 12:11). If we live by the Spirit of God, and keep in step with the Spirit (Galatians 5:25), we will not be so easily swayed by Satan’s wiles. 

God calls us to grow into maturity in the faith and to have discernment, so we are not blown here and there by every charlatan’s wind of teaching that sounds good to our carnal ears (Ephesians 4:14). He also exhorts us to be self-controlled and alert, to be aware that our adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8).

We can resist Satan by standing firm in the faith and realizing that Christians all over the world are undergoing the same kind of temptations (1 Peter 5:9). James gives us a two-part piece of advice in dealing with Satan: 1. Submit yourselves to God. 2. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you (James 4:7). Paul warns us of the severity of the spiritual battle we face each day; but he gives us directions for how to prepare for the encounter.

First, he encourages us to be strong in the Lord and mighty in His power. He reminds us that we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers, mighty powers and evil spirits and authorities of the unseen spirit world. Then he instructs to put on every piece of God’s armor to be able to resist the enemy’s evil suggestions to us, and to stand firm in the battle against all the strategies of the devil (Ephesians 6:14-17).

The first piece of armor is to accept Jesus as our Savior. He is the Truth, and he is the belt that holds our lives together. Then, we put on the breastplate of holy living, which protects all the vital aspects of our life. We walk in peace, which comes from a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. This fully prepares us for the fight. In addition to all of these, we hold up the shield of faith in Christ to stop the fiery arrows of deception and temptation, which Satan shoots at us throughout the day. 

We put on the mind of Christ as our helmet. Finally, we take the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God; and we quote scripture to Satan when he tries to deceive us, just like Jesus did on the pinnacle of His temptation by the father of lies (John 8:44; Matthew 4:8-9).

Prayer:

O Lord Jesus, our spirit aches to see the day of Your return. We groan daily with the burdens of society and the depravity of our modern culture. We ask you to draw hearts to You and to give us opportunities to share the Good News with everyone we meet. Move by Your Spirit upon the earth and help us to make a difference in the world in which we life.

Thought for the Day:

The night of a godless society is nearly over; the day of Christ’s return is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. - Romans 13:12