Rebuke The Devil

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Rebuke The Devil

Matthew 16:23 But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.

There will be times when God will guide you to do something, and others will not understand. They will give there opinion or try and talk you out of what God has called you to do. We have to make the right decisions for our children and our family, and when God says move; follow through and don’t question Him. Jesus gives us the best answer for those who come against us and try to rebuke what God has commanded, get thee behind me Satan. When those we love who are among the believers stand against a direct order from God; know that it is not their heart that is against you, but the spiritual warfare of the devil. When others come against you, pray that God will open their eyes to see what He has ask you to do. When a fellow believer is doing something God has ask and you do not understand, pray that God will give you a heart of discernment. We as believers are not called to blend into this world, we are called to obey God and follow through when direction are given by Him. We are to deny ourselves pick up our cross daily and follow Jesus, and sometimes that means we have to let go of the material things of this world that hinders our walk, (Matthew 16:24). What may seem small in your eyes may be a battle in another’s life that is restraining them from fully serving God. What good does the message do in our hearts, if we are allowing the world complete control of our lives? We believers can not grow in Christ if we are more focused in the world and not in the Word. What we feed our hearts, is what others will see in our lives and that is what we will be judged by, (Matthew 16:26). When God says move and you follow, know that others may not understand and support you, but God will reward you for being obedient, (Matthew 16:27).

Most Gracious Father thank You for calling me out of this world and giving me specific directions on where to move. I know that others will not understand and that they will not support me at times for what you have ask of me to do. But I also know the devil will use other believers against me to make me grow weary and buckle. I made the choice 3 1/2 years ago to follow Christ and not this world and that is what I intend to do, in Jesus name, Amen.

Worshipping only God in a world of idolatry

Thursday, July 10, 2014

Worshipping only God in a world of idolatry

Daniel 3:25 He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.

I love this chapter in Daniel, of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego’s strong testimony of not bowing down to false gods and only worshiping the One a True God. This is a message that we Christian need to reflect on and how we need to stand out in this world as believers. We can all get wrapped up in this world and especially on how friends and colleagues view us individually. We should never be ashamed of being a Christian, “Romans 1:16.” We need to stand out in this world, at work, school etc…and let it be known that we our Christian and serve a mighty God, “Matthew 5:16.” Nebuchadnezzar had recognized the God of Daniel, as being the greatest of all gods in Daniel chapter two. But he still built this false image for the surrounding nations to bow down and worship, even though he had recognized the One True God. The statue, which the king arrogantly made, represented himself as an expression of his greatness and glory was 90ft tall and 9ft wide, “Daniel 3:1.” This world we live in today still bows down to 90ft false gods, wether it being money, fancy cars, big houses, apparel, drugs, alcohol, sex, music, social media and Holly Wood fame. The sad thing is, that we Christian are bowing down with the world and serving false gods; because we don’t want to stand out and loose our reputation. We should never have this mindset! Our jobs as believers is to still be standing, while the crowd is bowing and all eyes fall on us, “Daniel 3:12.” We should stand our ground and proclaim we serve God and not the idols of this world, “Daniel 3:18.” Yes we will loose friends, become unpopular, and we will face the heat of a fiery furnace, “3:19.” But God has promised that those who are persecuted in His name shall inherit the kingdom of heaven, “Matthew 5:10.” Just like Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, God will deliver us from the wrath that we are thrown into when we stand for our Lord, “Daniel 3:17.” Christ was the fourth man in the fiery furnace who protected the three men from the flames and delivered them unharmed and smoke free, “Daniel 3:27.” We too can be protected and delivered by God without a singe from the fires that come against us as we stand out in this world for Christ. Imagine the difference you can make by standing out as a Christian like these three men did. King Nebuchadnezzar honored not just their courage but their One True God as well, allowing them to worship Him without persecution.

Thank You Lord that when this world comes against me for standing out as a Christian and keeping my faith no matter what the wrath, You will always protect me and deliver me. I praise You and continue to trust that You will always be in the fiery furnaces of life with me, in Jesus name I pray, Amen.