Satan was questioning Jesus’ authority. Satan knew who Jesus was – but used intimidating language , wanting Jesus to falter. Never allow Satan to force you to question if you’re saved or not…if God really loves you or not… or if He can heal you or not. For if Satan can get you to waver in your belief and trust even a little, fear and doubt will rush in and take over. And when they do, God’s plan and purpose in your life will be stymied.
Tag: inspirational
James 2:1 ” My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don’t show favoritism.”
Last night our small group Bible study had quite a lively discussion on discrimination within the Church. We tend to be most comfortable at Church when everyone looks and acts like us. Our prejudice surfaces when someone outside that “mold” ventures into the Sanctuary seeking the Lord. Yes, they may not look like you…they may not have the same values or mores…but they are still a Child of God searching for the truth. We need to extend to them the same love that Jesus did…not judging, but supporting and encouraging as the Holy Spirit moves in their life.
Matthew 3:2 ” Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is near.”
Repentance is the beginning of your journey with God. True repentance means taking responsibility for what you’ve done… for owning your sins. Repentance could also be called an action word…it starts with a heart change, but commands a directional change too – a turning from darkness to light, evil to good, wicked to righteous. Repentance is the starting point of that new life you’re looking for.
Luke 11:9 ” Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”
Today marks the 1500 devotional I’ve written over the last 4 1/2 years. What would have happened if I had not asked…not sought…not knocked? God tells us He will supply all our needs…all we have to do is supply the trust. And in additional to that, we need to have the insight to realize what we “want” may not be what we need. As I look back today at how He’s worked in my life with Safetypinlove, I see the plan and purpose He had for me when I first asked, sought, and knocked.
John 18:27 ” Again Peter denied it, and at that moment a rooster began to crow.”
Several Chapters earlier in John, Jesus had rebuked Peter’s declaration of solidarity – even to the point of dying with Jesus, by saying, “Will you really lay down your life for Me? I tell you the truth, before the rooster crows, you will disown Me three times.” The moment that rooster crowed, Peter realized just how fickle the human race could be. And as the sound of the crowing continued, Peter began to sink deeply into fear and grief as tears fell…for he profoundly realized – he had disowned the Lord.
We’ve got to live: Securely in His love
For those of us who have been betrayed by someone who said they loved us, but did the opposite. Who said they would protect and esteem us, yet carried out appalling acts against us. We feel hesitant that the Lord is really trustworthy…we are anxious and uneasy to put our total faith in someone who could, for all we know, suddenly turn and threaten or deceive us. But by immersing ourself in His Word, and reading promises such as Psalm 13:5, which says, “But I trust in Your unfailing love.”…we can grasp with certainty the unending, unchangeable love of the Lord.
Proverbs 26: 28 ” A lying tongue hates those it hurts, and a flattering mouth works ruin.”
Words can cut deep…and if they’re deceitful on top of that, they’re deadly. Why then do we choose to lie? It’s simple, if the truth doesn’t serve us well – we lie. If we want to get back at someone we dislike – we’ll lie. If we want our way – we sweet talk and flatter…saying what we know the other person wants to hear. Lying can become a way of life – where no two stories are ever the same, and we say whatever will get us the results we desire.
Habakkuk 2:18 ” Of what value is an idol, since a man has carved it? “
So many times our humanness gets in the way of a right relationship with the Lord. In a twisted form of arrogance, we place our wretched past up on a pedestal and proclaim it to be “too terrible” for the Lord to forgive. Yes, your past may be riddled with bad choices…but nothing God hasn’t forgiven beforehand. Murder, adultery, rape…the list goes on in the Bible of deplorable actions done by people in difficult situations. But when they took responsibility for their sins and asked forgiveness…God forgave them. For there’s nothing so serious, so vile, that God’s redemptive power can’t forgive.
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.
Safetypinlove 