Posts Tagged ‘Power’

You must Resist…

Posted: January 3, 2015 in Inspirational
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I wanted to start this New Year off by going on the offensive against our common enemy…Satan. All of us are preparing on this last weekend of the holiday to head back to our regular routines…whatever that means for you, however before you take that first step this coming Monday in January, I wanted to remind you guys of the power that exists within you as believers in Christ and that when faced with life’s difficulties, we can wield this power and achieve results. I have used the verse below before in this blog but from my vantage point, it never gets old and frankly continually cuts when it needs to. So as you begin your New Year for both you and your family, I remind you to always remember to resist the evil one…

Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you. To Him be dominion forever and ever. Amen.

1 Peter 5:8-11 NASB

This is one of those very powerful “get your attention” verses in the Bible put there to remind all of us that we are not at a country club in this life. It is an unseen war for your soul and Satan is the General in charge who is looking to beat you at all costs and he does not care who gets in his way because the more destruction he can release on you and everyone you care about…the better. Bodies in his wake are a victory for him.

Guys, I would like to point out the obvious for you…simply by using the word “resist” in the verse above God is telling us that we have the power to resist. Life is not a game of Russian roulette where we know eventually someone is going to get it and we just hope the bullet is NOT in the chamber when its our turn. Just because Satan is out there prowling around looking for you doesn’t mean he will win. My point is that your life is NOT already LOST. It is NOT inevitable that Satan is going to gain victory. In Christ, you have the power to tell Satan to “take a walk, I am NOT interested in what you are peddling today.”

Were you even aware that you could resist him?

I will tell you something else, when you wield the power that His word tells us we have because of Christ, did you know then that Satan is no longer a lion but rather more like a kitten? He can’t devour you, or affect you, or beat you, when you resist him in strong faith. When you deny him access to your personal vulnerabilities by telling him to take a hike, Satan is powerless.

What I don’t want you to hear me say however is not to be aware or be on the alert. Satan still knows your weakest areas where you are most likely to be vulnerable and those are the specific spots he will target in your life. He is not dumb. He knows where to stick the temptation and when and to NOT be prepared for that to happen is your fault not Gods.

Here is my bottom line…

You must RESIST and because of Christ…you have the power to…

Happy New Year…

 

Until next time guys…

 

Grace 101

Posted: September 21, 2013 in Inspirational
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As I have gotten older, I have come to like Grace a whole lot. I like to hear the word, I like to see it carried out, but most of all I like to receive it. Usually, when I receive grace it is because I need grace. If I forget to do something on time and I find out I have been extended more time…I like that wonderful feeling of relief…of grace…

My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness… 2 Corinthians 12:9

I have read these verses many times before but I think right now maybe some of you may need a simple refresh…The verse above are Christ’s words to the Apostle Paul as he wrestled with his “thorn in the flesh” which many scholars believe was poor eyesight. Even though Paul pleaded with God 3 separate times to remove this “thorn” from him, God chose NOT to do so…which is when we see Paul make reference to the verse above…why would God choose to NOT answer Paul’s prayer?

GOD WANTED PAUL TO TRUST HIM…

The “weakness” referred to here are the low points or the difficult times we experience along the paths of our collective lives. I know this isn’t a surprise to you but accepting Christ into your life doesn’t negate hardships…in fact, I believe we are presented with more challenges or “grace opportunities” as Christians simply because God wants us to learn to trust Him during the times we need Him the most. I don’t know about you, but I have a tough time with trusting. How do you handle adversity when it’s thrown your way? If you are like me, I am one of those people who have written about and believe that it is our Lords desire is to surround himself in heaven with people who understand and practice God’s power being made perfect in weakness (see verse above). In other words I believe that in eternity, God wants to hang out with the people who stood toe to toe against Satan during life’s battle and said, “Is that the best you can do?”…

And frankly, I have to admit, so do I…

But back to the beginning; if you recall, the first part of our verse talks about Gods grace being sufficient; sometimes I have struggled to understand what grace really means to me? Is it a “get out of jail free card?” or is it simply just a friend helping me get back up when I fall? Then I read recently an easier way to think of grace. Grace is simply the “presence of God” in our lives. So think of it this way, substitute the phrase “presence of God” for the word “grace” from now on and you will see what I mean. Grace is God’s physical strength from Heaven given to you, and to me, when we call on Him. I like that a lot. When I call on God you can bet I am wrestling with something and need His help. Isn’t it encouraging to understand and recognize that in our weakest points ever, God’s strength is made perfect in us? He is there! We are NOT alone…you are NOT alone. His grace, or His presence, is there to see us through our personal difficult path (whatever that is for you).

Brothers, I hope you can be encouraged by these words but even more important, consider extending some grace in someone’s direction that maybe needs it more than you do…

Until next time guys…