The Holy One calls to me this morning. The world is in such chaos and it is apparent that evil is on the march. We, as Christians, know that in the last days we are to keep our eyes on the Middle East for the last great battle on earth will take place there.
To see it all start to play out in real time speaks to how man's technology has developed in God's great plan as to how every eye will be able to "see" the return of our King, Jesus and even witness the lead up to that great battle in a land far away.
I confess that I struggle with God's Sovereignty knowing it is nothing for Him to intervene in our days and yet there is a time table for man's days upon the earth that is not altered even by the evil that I see. There is Divine purpose for each and every one of us in the time we have been given to spend on this planet.
The Holy One speaks into the early morning darkness and calls me to conference. "Sometimes you have to feel the lie in order to know the truth".
It is understood that we must walk by faith and not by sight. The "sights" we see generated by the evil one triggers our deepest emotions and that is where our faith can fall to unbelief as we begin to "feel" our way through the assault.
The Lord takes me back to His Word in Rev 12:7-12 (NKJV), "And war broke out in Heaven; Michael and His angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in Heaven any longer. So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast with him."
This entire chapter speaks to the birth of Christ Jesus and the battle Satan is waging against those of us who "keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ" on our lips and in our hearts. (Rev 12:17 NKJV) .
Jesus came in flesh form. He came as the Creator in flesh form to identify with us, His created. He was born in our same flesh form with a human brain, nerves, emotions and all that we are born with. The only exception and due to His virgin conception and birth, He was born without a sin nature that dictates our human vulnerability and failure in flesh temptation.
I know my Savior "feels" and because He suffered emotional pain, He validates my feelings. But then He asks me to get past those feelings and walk on the higher ground of Holiness. In some cases that means forgiveness and in the bigger picture that means trust.
The Holy One knows me well He knows all of us well. He has taken me today to the very place in His Word that draws me out of my funk. Satan is the accuser. He has been cast down and no longer has a place of authority in the Kingdom of our God or over me.
Satan uses a 3 pronged fork of accusation in his war for our hearts, minds and our souls: First and foremost, He accuses God to us. That makes for unbelief. Then he accuses us to ourselves. That makes for self-defeat. Then he accuses others to us and us to others. That makes for division and therefore corporate weakness and dis-unity. But before we throw in the towel and head for the hills to hide, let us remember: We have the power to overcome him by the Blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony.
Heaven rejoices because this nasty accuser has been silenced by the only means whereby God could save man and maintain His Holiness in judgement. God became like man in flesh to take our place. Satan thought he had God over a barrel seeing how humanity could be tempted to rebel as he did, whereby God would have to send all His beloved humanity into the lake of fire for their rebellion too.
But the Creator had a plan from the very beginning that the devil knew nothing about.
The Cross was that plan. Jesus came to earth as the Son of Man AND as the Son of God and was sacrificed to preserve humanity AND God's Holiness in judgment. Satan's nefarious plot to hurt the Creator by seducing His created, making us liable for Divine Judgment was foiled when Jesus died in our place.
Heaven rejoiced on the day of his eviction but then grief came to earth's inhabitants because of the wrath of this celestial being (AKA Satan) who makes war with those of us who keep the commandments of our God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Satan threatens death, but the Cross promises life. The power of the Cross is the Truth that through the sacrifice Jesus made in His flesh body and the life blood He shed, the death sentence for all humanity was paid in full. And His resurrection is the proof of that final verdict: God is still Holy and humanity is now saved. That is the testimony we are to give to the world that God so loves.
The message of this morning calls me out of the "feeling" that evil is winning, and encourages me to beef up and shout out my testimony of his defeat. I am reminded that the devil is a defeated foe. His outrage is temporary and by the Blood of Jesus who died in my place and by my testimony of faith in His death and resurrection, the enemy's power over me is neutralized.
The message of the Cross is that all humanity has been saved, but not all people know or believe that as Truth and this is the challenge and task for all of us who know we have been saved: To share our testimony of the power and purpose of the Cross. The Cross is where God's ultimate judgment for sin was poured out. Jesus died the death penalty required for all who have sinned and fallen short of the Holiness of our Holy God. His resurrection is the fact and evidence that the penalty has been paid and accepted by the One who gave the law: death for sin.
Today at first light, I did "feel" the lie but that despair drove me to know and remember the truth and it is the truth that did ultimately set me free. Now to share it!
The Spirit is calling. Can you hear Him?
To see it all start to play out in real time speaks to how man's technology has developed in God's great plan as to how every eye will be able to "see" the return of our King, Jesus and even witness the lead up to that great battle in a land far away.
I confess that I struggle with God's Sovereignty knowing it is nothing for Him to intervene in our days and yet there is a time table for man's days upon the earth that is not altered even by the evil that I see. There is Divine purpose for each and every one of us in the time we have been given to spend on this planet.
The Holy One speaks into the early morning darkness and calls me to conference. "Sometimes you have to feel the lie in order to know the truth".
It is understood that we must walk by faith and not by sight. The "sights" we see generated by the evil one triggers our deepest emotions and that is where our faith can fall to unbelief as we begin to "feel" our way through the assault.
The Lord takes me back to His Word in Rev 12:7-12 (NKJV), "And war broke out in Heaven; Michael and His angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in Heaven any longer. So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast with him."
This entire chapter speaks to the birth of Christ Jesus and the battle Satan is waging against those of us who "keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ" on our lips and in our hearts. (Rev 12:17 NKJV) .
Jesus came in flesh form. He came as the Creator in flesh form to identify with us, His created. He was born in our same flesh form with a human brain, nerves, emotions and all that we are born with. The only exception and due to His virgin conception and birth, He was born without a sin nature that dictates our human vulnerability and failure in flesh temptation.
I know my Savior "feels" and because He suffered emotional pain, He validates my feelings. But then He asks me to get past those feelings and walk on the higher ground of Holiness. In some cases that means forgiveness and in the bigger picture that means trust.
The Holy One knows me well He knows all of us well. He has taken me today to the very place in His Word that draws me out of my funk. Satan is the accuser. He has been cast down and no longer has a place of authority in the Kingdom of our God or over me.
Satan uses a 3 pronged fork of accusation in his war for our hearts, minds and our souls: First and foremost, He accuses God to us. That makes for unbelief. Then he accuses us to ourselves. That makes for self-defeat. Then he accuses others to us and us to others. That makes for division and therefore corporate weakness and dis-unity. But before we throw in the towel and head for the hills to hide, let us remember: We have the power to overcome him by the Blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony.
Heaven rejoices because this nasty accuser has been silenced by the only means whereby God could save man and maintain His Holiness in judgement. God became like man in flesh to take our place. Satan thought he had God over a barrel seeing how humanity could be tempted to rebel as he did, whereby God would have to send all His beloved humanity into the lake of fire for their rebellion too.
But the Creator had a plan from the very beginning that the devil knew nothing about.
The Cross was that plan. Jesus came to earth as the Son of Man AND as the Son of God and was sacrificed to preserve humanity AND God's Holiness in judgment. Satan's nefarious plot to hurt the Creator by seducing His created, making us liable for Divine Judgment was foiled when Jesus died in our place.
Heaven rejoiced on the day of his eviction but then grief came to earth's inhabitants because of the wrath of this celestial being (AKA Satan) who makes war with those of us who keep the commandments of our God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Satan threatens death, but the Cross promises life. The power of the Cross is the Truth that through the sacrifice Jesus made in His flesh body and the life blood He shed, the death sentence for all humanity was paid in full. And His resurrection is the proof of that final verdict: God is still Holy and humanity is now saved. That is the testimony we are to give to the world that God so loves.
The message of this morning calls me out of the "feeling" that evil is winning, and encourages me to beef up and shout out my testimony of his defeat. I am reminded that the devil is a defeated foe. His outrage is temporary and by the Blood of Jesus who died in my place and by my testimony of faith in His death and resurrection, the enemy's power over me is neutralized.
The message of the Cross is that all humanity has been saved, but not all people know or believe that as Truth and this is the challenge and task for all of us who know we have been saved: To share our testimony of the power and purpose of the Cross. The Cross is where God's ultimate judgment for sin was poured out. Jesus died the death penalty required for all who have sinned and fallen short of the Holiness of our Holy God. His resurrection is the fact and evidence that the penalty has been paid and accepted by the One who gave the law: death for sin.
Today at first light, I did "feel" the lie but that despair drove me to know and remember the truth and it is the truth that did ultimately set me free. Now to share it!
The Spirit is calling. Can you hear Him?
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