Pastor's Daily Word - Daily Practical Insights Into A Believers Life

March 11th, 2010

 Victory!

He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross. 

Colossians 2:14

 

"Finished" is the word we use after a job is done. It is a word that says we don't need to work anymore, because it is done. "Finished" is also the word Jesus used from the cross. He said, "It is finished!" (John 19:30). In other words, "It is accomplished!"

The devil was soundly defeated at the cross of Calvary—and that is something he doesn't want us to know. Referring to His impending crucifixion, Jesus said, "The time for judging this world has come, when Satan, the ruler of this world, will be cast out." Through His death, Jesus destroyed the one who had the power of death, which is the devil. And when we put our faith in Jesus Christ, the stranglehold of Satan is broken. He cannot control us. We can rest in the finished work of Christ.

This means that when we face spiritual battles, we are not fighting for victory; we are fighting fromit. We don't fight to get victory. We fight because it has already been obtained. We don't need to pray, "Lord, give me victory." Rather, we should pray, "Lord, I have victory, and I will live accordingly." As Romans 8:37 tells us, "Despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ."

We can win in the spiritual battle. We can overcome the enemy. I am not saying we will win every skirmish and every conflict, but I am saying we will win the war. I am not saying we never will sin and never will stumble, because we will. We all will. But we can win the battle overall, because we stand in the righteousness of Christ.

So when the devil tries to strike that fatal blow against you, it no doubt will be repelled, because you are standing right with God.

 

March 9th, 2010

He never leaves the helm

For reading & meditation: Psalms 76:1-12

"Surely your wrath against men brings you praise '" (v.10)

We touched yesterday on the truth that the reason why the ungodly are set in eminent places is because God arranges it. The psalmist goes on to say that not only does God raise up the ungodly, but He also brings them down: "You cast them down to ruin. How suddenly are they destroyed '" (Psa. 73:18-19). The hand that led them up to the top of the slope is the hand that also casts them down. Why does God act in this strange and mysterious manner? One reason is that God is able to demonstrate how unreliable and insecure are the ways of those who choose not to walk with Him. This explains why we so frequently read of some prominent godless person, such as a film star whom everyone is acclaiming, being suddenly removed from the face of the earth. The feet of such people were set in slippery places. Some reading these lines will remember how everyone stood in dread of Adolph Hitler. He had the whole world frightened, but now he is gone and almost forgotten. The psalmist's words "You cast them down ' how suddenly are they destroyed" are really an exclamation of godly wonder at the suddenness and completeness of the sinner's overthrow. God makes a spectacle of those who persist in rejecting His love and grace. They make a splash for the moment of their lives, but after that they are gone and soon forgotten. Keep that fact before you as you look out upon the world. It may sometimes seem as if God is not in control, but in actual fact His hand is ever upon the helm of human affairs.

 

March 8th, 2010

 

Exceedingly Great and Precious Promises

2 Peter 1:2-4 says,

Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

I want to draw your attention to verse 4 where the Scripture states that through the promises we partake of God's nature.

The promise is the connector, it is the pipeline through which God's nature flows to us.

"What is God's nature?" you might ask.  It is the answer to everything you need!  His nature is life, it is health, it is peace, it is wisdom, it is abundance.  There is an answer in God's nature for every one of mankind's needs.

That is why the promises are called "exceedingly great and precious."  Without a promise, there is no pipeline.  Without a promise, we cannot partake.

But when you take a promise—an exceedingly great and precious promise—and act upon it in faith, God's nature is released into your situation.

Thank God for His promises! 

 

March 7th, 2010

Forever With Him

1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 gives us powerful prophetic words,

For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God.  And the dead in Christ will rise first.  Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.  And thus we shall always be with the Lord.  Therefore comfort one another with these words.

Jesus Christ will return, and the church will be caught away!  We will meet the Lord in the clouds and in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, we will be changed.  From that moment on, we will always be with the Lord.

Maybe you are going through a rough patch right now.  If so, let me remind you that this earthly life is a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.  But we have eternity in store.  Thank God we will ever be with the Lord!

If He tarries and we die before He returns, we get to go to heaven.  But I have a feeling, with the way things are shaping up, that we will be the generation that sees His return.

Have you noticed how the eyes of the world are on the Middle East?  This is all end times stuff.  Also, one of the things that Jesus said would be a precursor to the end is that the Gospel of the Kingdom would be preached to every nation, literally, to every language group.

And you know what?  That will be completed in our generation.

March 6th, 2010

 

The Holy Spirit: Our Teacher 

John 14:25-26

 

If you are going to take instruction from someone, you want to be certain that person is well qualified, right? It's interesting, then, that so many believers neglect the greatest Bible teacher available. We read religious books, consult friends, and tune into a favored preacher before we will get on our knees. While those sources can point us in the right direction, only the Holy Spirit illuminates God's Word to our hearts and minds.

 

 

 

Asking someone to explain God's Word seems easier than seeking to understand it through the Holy Spirit's power. But consider what a person misses by forsaking Him. Who better to instruct believers about the Scripture's depth and breadth than the One who wrote it (2 Peter 1:20-21)? The Spirit laid His message on the authors' hearts, and they dutifully recorded it, each in his own unique voice.

Furthermore, as a member of the holy Trinity, the Spirit knows the mind of God (1 Cor. 2:10). He is often called the Spirit of truth, because He understands everything. The Spirit recognizes our emotional and mental state and can identify exactly where we are in our Christian growth. Therefore, He can reveal to our minds passages that will encourage, challenge, or convict us as needed.