God could have sent the archangel, Michael…who was a mighty warrior. He could have sent the angel, Gabriel…who had announced the birth of Jesus. But instead, He sent someone else. An angel that not only carried the keys to the Abyss, but wrangled the devil, hog-tying him up in a chain and tossing him headlong into the bottomless pit. God didn’t need to send Michael or Gabriel to subdue the devil…He just needed some unknown angel to do the job.
Tag: faith
Numbers 10:35 ” Rise up, O Lord! May Your enemies be scattered; may Your foes flee before You.”
Lord, we know of Your intense hatred of idolatry and hypocrisy, and that You will repay Your foes according to what they have done. (Isaiah 59:18) As we look at all the evil in the world, we remember the words of the Psalmist who said, “…as wax melts before the fire, may the wicked perish before God.” (Psalm 68:2) So we echo this verse and say, “Rise up, O Lord! May Your actions be immediate and dramatic…may Your enemies be scattered.”
I Chronicles 26: 12 ” These divisions of the Gatekeepers, through their chief men, had duties for ministering in the Temple of the Lord, just as their relatives had.”
Have your parents always been active in Church, but you’ve held back…maybe thinking it’s not for you? Look around your Church and assess the age of those who serve the most. Are they in their 20’s or 30’s…or is it more like 60’s and 70’s, or older? The sad fact about many Churches today is that the vast majority of those ministering and volunteering are the elderly of the Church, not younger adults. In this verse, it speaks of the Gatekeepers being chief men…men who were strong and in the prime of their life…charged with guarding and protecting with self-discipline and integrity. The Church is only as young as the people who serve. And when those precious Saints of the Church are gone…what happens next? Who will fill their shoes? Will you?
Malachi 1:7-8 ” You place defiled food on My altar. But you ask, ‘How have we defiled You?’ By saying that the Lord’s table is contemptible. When you bring blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice crippled or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you? says the Lord Almighty.”
Leftovers. For many, they’re not very appetizing. So why do we repeatedly offer them to the Lord ? Those remaining bits and pieces of our time and money in a rather half-hearted attempt at devotion. God doesn’t want our leftovers. He wants our utmost. He doesn’t want what’s left…He wants our very best.
In Christ Jesus…You are redeemed and forgiven.
Forgiveness. For some that’s a hard word to accept. They feel as if they need to “do” something first in order to gain God’s pardon. But to be forgiven by the Lord has nothing to do with us…for it is solely based on God’s unmerited love and mercy… His redemptive power working to heal and make us whole again.
Isaiah 25:1 ” O Lord, You are my God; I will exalt You and praise Your name, for in perfect faithfulness You have done marvelous things, things planned long ago.”
Elsewhere in Isaiah it says, “The Lord Almighty has sworn, ‘Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will stand.’ ” Lord, I give You thanks and trust that everything, both big and small, that happens in my life has been prepared long ago. Each wonderful, miraculous, and extraordinary thing that has and will happen to me You have planned out far before I was even born. And I know you have much more for me to be doing, and I look with eager anticipation to the future and Your plans for me. And everyone said, Amen.
Exodus 4: 11-12 ” The Lord said to him, ‘Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.’ “
Moses had many excuses of why he wasn’t the person to go to the Pharaoh and demand release of the Hebrew children. But the Lord countered with an airtight defense of why Moses was just the right man for the job. We want to argue with God, but speaking from very personal experience…you’ll never win. We can object all we want, but God desires obedience exclusively. For if He calls you to something, He can and will give you whatever skill is needed to accomplish that task. With God, arguing will get you nowhere…obedience on the other hand, will move His Kingdom forward.
Psalm 52: 8 ” But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God’s unfailing love forever and ever. “
I am planted like a thriving tree in Your presence Lord…grafted securely to the root of Jesse…my dependence is on You and You alone. I praise You Lord for Your never-ending mercy and kindness. I thank You for Your everlasting and eternal love. Amen.
James 2:17 ” In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. “
Prayer is good…action is good, but the Lord wants us to do both together in wisdom. In Nehemiah 4: 8-9 it says, “They all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and stir up trouble against it. But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to met this threat.” Prayer will give you God’s vision. It will give you courage and resolve to move out in discernment and a clearer understanding of the problem you face. Prayer is good…action is good, but they need to go hand in hand to be the most effective.
Galatians 6:7 ” Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. “
Have you ever been mocked for your faith? Maybe it was something general like, “It’s only the weak that need religion.” Or maybe it was pointed like, ” You’re stupid to think that there’s a God!” Either way, when someone ridicules and laughs at our belief in God, they’re treating our precious Lord with contempt. So stand strong when you’re scoffed at for your beliefs… don’t be tempted to compromise or cave in when poked fun at, for God’s shoulders are very broad and He can take the taunts. And besides, as this verse reveals, He can and will not be mocked.
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