Under God's Protection

No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. (1 Corinthians 10:13)

In the New Testament, we have the account of Jesus saying to Peter, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren” (Luke 22:31-32).

Put yourself in Peter’s sandals. You’re sitting near the Lord when He turns to you, looks you in the eyes, calls you by name, and says, “Satan has been asking excessively that you be taken out of the care and protection of God. The devil has been asking for you by name.” I don’t know about you, but if Jesus Christ, the Son of God, said that to me, it would be cause for great concern.

Peter was such a big fish that Satan himself went after him. I wonder if the Lord paused for effect: “Satan has been asking for you by name But I have good news, Peter. I have prayed for you.”

It’s a good reminder to us that when the devil comes knocking at our door, we should say, “Lord, would you mind getting that?” We are no match for the devil. But even though he is a powerful foe, he is still a created being, and certainly not as powerful as God. Even so, we don’t want to tangle with him. We want to stand behind God’s protection.

In spite of the devil’s power and wicked agenda, he must first ask permission when it comes to attacking the children of God, because of the hedge of protection that God has placed around us.

God knows what you are ready for. And He won’t give you more than you can handle.

(Blue Ridge Broadcasting)

Our choice in life

Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? (Romans 6:16)

As a guest on Larry King Live a few years ago, Billy Graham was asked to comment on the rash of violence on high school campuses, as well as other problems in our culture. He said, “One thing that is being missed by many people is that the devil is at work.”

That is so true. The devil is at work. When you get down to it, it is the only logical and plausible explanation for the madness that humanity is capable of. Just as surely as there is a God in heaven who loves you, there is a devil from hell who hates you. Jesus summed it up succinctly when He said, speaking of Satan, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). At the end of the day, our choice in life really boils down to belonging to the Lord, or belonging to Satan. There is no third, “independent” option.

A lot of people say they don’t choose either. But in reality, by not choosing God, they choose the devil by default. There are no other choices. One of Satan’s most brilliant strategies is to convince people he does not exist, when all the while, he is manipulating their lives. Humanity is basically bad. And it is the devil who works through the fallen nature of human beings, getting them to do the evil things that he does.

God gives us a choice in life. We aren’t forced to choose Him. Nor are we forced to choose the devil. But God has given us something called free will. We can choose sin, which leads to death. Or we can choose obedience to God, which leads to righteousness.

(Blue Ridge Broadcasting)

The source of happiness

You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness. (Psalm 30:11)

It has been said that the best cure for hedonism is an attempt to practice it.

If you chase after pleasure, you will eventually come to the same conclusion as King Solomon: “I said to myself, ‘Come now, be merry; enjoy yourself to the full.’ But I found that this, too, was futile. For it is silly to be laughing all the time; what good does it do?” (Ecclesiastes 2:1-2, TLB).

The Bible tells us that if the driving desire of our lives is to please ourselves, that very quest will be the source of endless problems and heartaches. “What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Isn’t it the whole army of evil desires at war within you? You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous for what others have, and you can’t possess it, so you fight and quarrel to take it away from them. And yet the reason you don’t have what you want is that you don’t ask God for it” (James 4:1-2, NLT).

It comes down to this: If you live for yourself and your own happiness and pleasure, then you will be a miserable person. It’s ironic that the people who live for happiness never find it, while the people who live for God find happiness as a byproduct. The people who chase after pleasure never really experience it. They may find little bits here and there, but nothing to speak of.

Certainly nothing enduring. Yet the people who live for God experience the ultimate pleasure—a joy that bubbles up from deep down in the inmost being. Pleasure isn’t in itself a bad thing, although you might get that impression from some Christians. I think the Christian life is the most pleasurable life around. Why? Because God is the creator of light and laughter and joy beginning here and now, and stretching on into eternity. The Bible teaches, “You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand” (Psalm 16:11, NIV).

Cheap thrills are a dime a dozen. True and lasting happiness comes from the hand of God.

(Blue Ridge Broadcasting)

Blessings for all

“… for He makes His sun to rise on bad and good…” – Matthew 5:45

Have you noticed how that lazy, stubborn, good-for-nothing bum breathes the same air that you breathe — for free?
Do you see how that loudmouth, backstabbing, slandering neighbor or classmate or officemate of yours get warmed by the same sun and showered by the same rain? Observe how all people are blessed by God every day. Why? Because God loves them all. God loves us all.

But here’s the catch.

Notice how loving, generous, forgiving, grateful, peaceful, prayerful and happy people seem to get “more of God’s blessings”? It’s because they are the ones who are more open to receive them.

But realize that God never stops blessing those who are seemingly “closed” to these blessings. Grace, mercy, healing, miracles are there for the taking — anytime — if they open themselves to God. In fact, many of God’s supply — like the air, the sun, the rain — just keep on coming. And only fools will close themselves to these. Which means God does not stop loving them.

Now why should you give up on them… or give up on yourself?

(KYRGMA Family)

Remember to forget

Where is another God like you, who pardons the sins of the survivors among his people? You cannot stay angry with your people forever, because you delight in showing mercy. Once again you will have compassion on us. You will trample our sins under your feet and throw them into the depths of the ocean! (Micah 7:18-19, NLT)

Have you ever done anything that you’re ashamed of? Have you ever done things you wished you hadn’t? If you have repented of those sins and have turned your back on them, the Bible clearly teaches that you are forgiven.

There is something in us that wants to keep dredging up our sins. Maybe we feel that by doing so, we are somehow making amends for the wrong that we’ve done. Maybe by punishing ourselves, we think we are somehow appeasing God. But this is wrong—and thoroughly unscriptural.

The book of Acts tells us: “Brothers, listen! In this man Jesus there is forgiveness for your sins. Everyone who believes in him is freed from all guilt and declared right with God—something the Jewish law could never do” (Acts 13:38-39, NLT).

Speaking of our sins, God said, “And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins” (Hebrews 8:12, NLT).

In the verse that opens today’s devotional, the prophet speaks of God throwing our sins into the depths of the ocean. Have you ever lost anything in a lake or in the ocean? It’s pretty much a lost cause. Once it goes down, it goes way down. And that is what God has done with our sins: He has thrown them into the deepest part of the ocean. Simply put, our sins are G-O-N-E and you and I shouldn’t choose to remember what God has chosen to forget.

(Blue Ridge Broadcasting)

Just Getting Started

He has made everything beautiful in its time. (Ecclesiastes 3:11)

When I look back on my life at the things God has allowed me to do and the opportunities He has opened up, I can see the wisdom of His perfect timing.

Our tendency is to rush things. But just because something has never happened in your life today doesn’t mean it won’t happen tomorrow. And just because it doesn’t happen tomorrow doesn’t mean it won’t happen a month or a year from now. Maybe one phase of your life is ending and another is beginning. Maybe everything that has happened to you up to this point in your life has been preparation for what is still ahead.

Moses didn’t get going until he was eighty. Then there was Caleb, another Israelite who left Egypt in the Exodus. Along with Joshua, Caleb came back full of optimism and belief when they were sent to spy out the Promised Land. But when the Israelites believed the pessimistic report of the ten other spies, God was so displeased that He refused to allow them to enter the land.

Years later, when Joshua led a new generation of Israelites into the Promised Land, Caleb was among them. And at eighty years old, he said to Joshua, “I’m asking you to give me the hill country that the LORD promised me. You will remember that as scouts we found the Anakites living there in great, walled cities. But if the LORD is with me, I will drive them out of the land, just as the LORD said” (Joshua 14:12, NLT). Joshua gave him his little segment of land as was promised, and Caleb drove out all of its inhabitants. Caleb believed God’s promises, and God was faithful. We need to do the same.

(Blue Ridge Broadcasting)

Getting to the root

We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. (2 Corinthians 10:4, NLT)

So often when something is going wrong in our country, we want to protest, circulate a petition, or maybe organize a boycott. But did you know that as believers, we have something infinitely more powerful than those methods? It’s called prayer, and the Bible tells us to devote ourselves to it (see Colossians 4:2).

We need to pray for our country. We need to pray for people who need to hear the gospel. And we need to share that gospel! We need to offer the good news of Jesus Christ to that woman who wants to abort her child. We need to speak forth the gospel message with that man or woman who is trapped in the homosexual lifestyle. We need to explain the way of salvation to gang members and those in our society who are hurting.

As people learn there is another kingdom, it will change the way they live in this one. Far too often, we Christians have been preoccupied with the symptoms in our society and haven’t touched the root of the problem. The root is sin. The solution is the gospel.

So let’s get the solution to the root. Our country needs to turn back to God. We keep thinking that a new president will solve all of our problems—or maybe some new members of congress—or some new government program. But our nation’s problems won’t be solved through any efforts of our own doing. We need to turn back to God.

Let’s tell others about Christ and not be so preoccupied with what they’re doing because of their sin. Let’s try to reach people where they are really hurting.

And let’s never forget that prayer isn’t wishing or hoping it is power.

(Blue Ridge Broadcasting)