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Long ago the Lord said to Israel: “I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself. Jeremiah 31:3 (NLT)
The two areas that Satan attacks the most in our walk is our faith in God and our faith in ourselves. He knows that these two areas of our lives will dictate how we address everything else in our lives.
If we are confident in who we are and comfortable with ourselves then the attacks other people place on us will fall harmless by our side. If, on the other hand we see ourselves as weak and worthless people even the smallest ‘stones of attack’ will pierce our armor.
What it really boils down to is this question, a question we must ask ourselves every day as we get up and get ready for the tasks ahead: “Who do you see in the mirror?”
We all want to succeed in whatever endeavor we pursue. We want to be respected. We want to be liked. We may not need to be filthy rich, but it would be nice to at least have enough money in the bank account to buy food, make the house payment and own a car that can be counted on to get you from point A to point B with the least amount of turmoil. All these things influence how we feel about ourselves if we listen to the enemy instead of listening to the truth of what God says about us.
Here’s the lie that Satan wants you to believe. When things get tough. When you fail to conquer that temptation…again; when you fall to the seduction of lust; when you miss another house payment; when you explode in a flurry of words at your wife, your boss or your kids, he gently and quietly whispers in your ear.
“You did it again didn’t you. You can’t beat this. You are worthless. You will never amount to anything, you realize that don’t you? Then, here’s where he really gets you. He quotes scripture. He’s not above that you know. He did it with Eve. He did it with Jesus Christ himself! And he never uses it in context. He quotes just what he things you need to hear.
“Even the bible says your worthless. Remember Isaiah 64:6? God says you are nothing but filthy rags. Worthless. Smelly. Of no value at all. That’s you.”
Then, he leaves and you get to pick up the pieces. Wounded. Doubting your abilities. Ashamed. Embarrassed. You resolve to be done. You won’t try anymore. The pain of failure is too great.
Until we have a firm grasp of who we are we can never fully access the power of grace. Think of grace as a verb, not a noun. Grace is God’s unending, passionate love for you 24/7. Read Ephesians 2:1-10. Read it carefully. See the promise. You WERE dead, but now you are ALIVE. Your life isn’t based on your actions. Your life if based on Jesus Christ and his work on the cross. God’s view of you is based on Jesus’ actions, not yours. Jeremiah 31:3 tells us we are loved with an everlasting love. Romans 8 tells us that NOTHING can separate us from that love.
Here is the truth Statement we need to base the view from the mirror on: We are loved unconditionally. Period. The Creator God of the universe loves you. He’s more concerned about your future than your past or present. He’s willing to take a chance on you. In his eyes not only ‘will you amount to something’, you already are something.
PRAYER: Father I’m tired of listening to Satan’s lies about myself. I’m tired of the feeling of dread I get every day I climb out of bed. I’m tired of feeling like a failure to you and those around me. Empower me with your Spirit to see myself as you do, through the lens of Jesus Christ. In his name I pray, Amen.
Jesus is the only One who can save people. No one else in the world is able to save us.” Acts 4:12 (NCV)
There is, within each of us a desire to believe in something greater than ourselves. Something more powerful. More passionate and loving. Something that can take us from where we are and bring us to new levels of freedom, hope and peace.
The world is full of answers. Full of people and systems that urge us to follow their way and buy into their system of beliefs. It doesn’t take long to realize that all of that comes with a cost. It could be our lives. It could be money. In most all cases it requires that we ‘do something’ to prove our worthiness.
The enemy’s game plan is to burden us down with rules and regulations. He is fully aware that Jesus came to give us freedom. His goal is to make sure that we never experience the freedom purchased for us on the cross.
He’s also aware of our desire to believe. It may come a surprise to many, but Satan is a great fan of religion and he wants each of us to hold strongly to religion. His personal favorite is atheism by the way, but he’ll settle for any of the other ones. The important thing is that you realize that salvation comes at a cost and if you are going to be saved you must follow the rules.
Religion is a monster whose hunger will never be filled by human activity. The demands are too steep and we are too weak. We fail. We try again. We fail again. We lost heart. We stop trying or try a different religion or relationship. The end result is that we sink into this pit of despair that says “It’s no use. There’s no hope. I simply can’t do it.” We lose. Satan wins.
Jesus didn’t come to earth to burden us with rules and regulations. His purpose for being here is to bring us freedom. He didn’t come to condemn us (John 3:17) he came to give us freedom (Galatians 5:1).
The battle for our faith tells us that we have to perform to be spiritual. The Bible tells us otherwise. Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast”.
There is nothing you can DO to be a good Christian. All the things we measure our ‘spirituality’ by (going to church, reading the Bible, praying, etc) aren’t supposed to be duties to make us better Christians. They are activities that deep our relationship with Jesus. He purchased our salvation on the cross. He sealed our eternal fate in his resurrection. He doesn’t ask for our actions. He only asks for our heart.
Satan would have you believe that you must do something to be spiritual. Jesus only asks that you take his free gift and live in freedom.
The Truth Statement in the battle for our faith is: Our spirituality is based on relationship not rules.
PRAYER: Father God, it’s so easy to get caught up in ‘doing’ and not resting in the fact that my spiritual life rests in relationship and not activity. The enemy is constantly reminding me of my failures and shortcomings in order to keep me in bondage. Forgive me for listening to him. Today I will live in the truth that my walk with you rests on relationship not rules. Thank you. Amen.
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:36-40
We are in a battle of epic proportions. We aren’t fighting for land or status. We are fighting for ourselves. We are fighting for our self-respect, our peace of mind, our sanity!
Posts on this page are devoted to helping us see through the lies so that we can live in the Freedom Christ came to give us for “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” (Galatians 5:1)
So in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. Romans 12:5 (NIV)
Take a look around you. Right now. While your reading this. What do you see? Look for details. Colors. Shapes. People and the various details of their presence (hair color, eyes, voice inflections, clothing tastes and colors).
Now take a deep breath and smell whatever aromas are around you. Listen to the various sounds. Try for a moment to let your senses take complete control of you and focus on the details, not the whole.
Have you ever take time to contemplate the huge variety of differences around us? Even just looked out the window to take notice of the many shades of green? Our world is full of a vast amount of variety. All of that ‘stuff’ that makes up our environment works together in perfect harmony. Were it not for man’s influence on our environment many of the problems it has would probably be non-existent because nature, in and of itself is marked by two things: variety and harmony, or if we want to narrow it down further, all of nature works together in unity.
Isn’t it interesting that when Jesus prayed his last prayer in the garden, just hours before he was brutally murdered, he prayed for unity among believers? He didn’t pray that we’d all have the same doctrinal beliefs. He didn’t pray for one denomination (frankly I think the idea of denominations was one reason he sweat great drops of blood!). Jesus prayed that all of us would work together just like the world he created, in perfect harmony amidst the variety.
How many marriages would be saved if the parties involved worked together in unity? How many churches would thrive if they let go of the denominational distinctions long enough to work towards bringing people to Jesus? How many people would be fed in third-world countries if rival political groups would set aside the things they disagree with to focus on feeding the starving people?
When God created the world, he created diversity because there is beauty in diversity. When he created you and me he didn’t use a rubber stamp because you and I working amidst the variety to create harmony is a thing of beauty.
Notice when Paul wrote to the Roman believers he wrote that we are all one body and not a group of bodies? We who claim to follow Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior must celebrate the differences if we hope to win the world for Jesus. Set aside race issues. Destroy the ‘gender gap’. Eliminate the seclusion of denominational affiliation. Jesus calls us to go to ALL the world to bring the needy to him. Our time is short. It’s time to celebrate the differences!
PRAYER: Father God, You have created such a beautiful world full of variety and harmony. I pray that we, as your followers would celebrate the differences you have given us. Show us how to live in harmony and set aside the things that divide us. Please start with me. In Jesus name, Amen.
I ask the Father in his great glory to give you the power to be strong inwardly through his Spirit. Ephesians 3:16 (NCV)
One time I met a person while camping that told me about an experience he had about 15 years earlier. The guy seemed like a regular guy, nothing stood out about him. Plain and simple. But his story still makes me shake my head.
He and his fiancé’ (now wife) decided to take their boat acrossLake Erieto a restaurant on a small island for supper. During the meal they overheard some other guests talking about a storm that was on its way. They finished eating and decided to make a run for home since the sky didn’t look all that threatening. Long story made short, they didn’t make it. The boat was swamped by a wave from the fast moving storm. The couple spent 8 hours in the icy water clinging to the overturned boat, in the storm before being rescued. It was a phenomenal story of strength and determination
I hear similar stories and wonder what it is that gives people the inner strength to endure, to press on in the face of adversity when death seems immanent. What is the trigger in our minds that tells us, against all odds, I can make this happen? What motivates us to say “I will not be defeated?”
Stories of physical determination are intriguing to say the least, but what of our spiritual lives? What can we rely on for the emotional strength we need to endure addictions, to stand up in the face of abuse or persecution, to face job loss, cancer or divorce? What can we cling to when our kids take the wrong path or we lose a loved one? How can we pick up the pieces after natural disaster takes all we have?
The humanist will tell you we must rely on our inner being. You just have to believe in yourself. Have the will to succeed. Go the extra mile. While there may be some truth to that, just believing in ourselves is no guarantee of peace. Sometimes it just leads to denial.
The ‘religionist’ will tell you to rely on your faith. They have an easy answer to all the obstacles. They set up rules for you to follow. If things go bad they simply point to the rules. If you are enduring struggles you must have broken a rule. Follow the rules and all will go well. Believing in religious systems won’t, in and of themselves, offer much comfort.
The weakness in the humanist and religionist view point is that they both tell you that YOU are the main source of strength. Believe in yourself. Believe in, and follow the rules. You are the common denominator in endurance.
Jesus says, rely on me. With his Spirit within you, even though the world crumbles around you inside you know who is in control and it’s not you. It’s not ‘faith’ in yourself, it’s the spirit of the almighty creator God who just happens to be passionately in love with you!
Stop trying to do life in your own power. Ask the creator God of the universe to indwell and empower you. Life may not get easier, but by God’s strength you will find a way through it all.
PRAYER: Father God. I’m tire of trying to do it myself. I hear all these voices telling me I CAN but I can’t! Forgive me for trying it my way. Indwell and empower my by your Spirit to endure what lay ahead. In Jesus name, Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 