I Corinthians 10:12-13 (NIV)
So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.
The devil cannot make you and I do anything that we do not want to do. There I said it. God’s Children are covered by the Blood of Jesus, hearts sealed in the Spirit and surrounded by heavenly angels for protection. They are under guard of the Most High God. Though the enemy attacks, his weapons are futile against the Born-again, Blood-washed, believer who by faith stands firmly on the Word of God without wavering. Our faith is in the Word of God. Jesus is the Word of God wrapped in human flesh who lived and died to demonstrate God’s Love allowing us to step back into a right relationship with God the Father once again. To think that the enemy can harm us or take anything from us is to discredit God’s Power. It means that we consider satan’s power to equal or exceeding the Lord’s Sovereignty which is just not possible.
“So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!” The enemy’s tactic is temptation. The weapon that he yields is only one. His inability to touch us or harm us in any way leaves only one device – he is a liar and a really, really good one. No temptation has taken us except what is common to man. Sin began with a lie. The serpent challenged the reasoning of Eve concerning the Truth that God had given her. She chose to believe the lie rather than stay true to the Word. When God created human beings, we did not possess an ounce of shame. (Genesis 2:25) However, the moment they believed the lie – guilt and shame covered them. (Genesis 3:7) The Word of God concerning them. The Fruit of the Tree did not change Eve in the slightest, but rather it was her action that made the difference. The Tree of Knowledge did not enlighten Eve to some secret condition but in eating it sin now existed in her and she could see it. People are created in the image of God. The sin perpetuated from generation to generation is our inability to discern the difference between the Truth and a lie. It is sad to think that this is the source of our struggle yet the struggle is real.
God is faithful. He is always good. He cannot lie or change His Mind. What the Word of God says is true. This Truth is the basis of our faith completely. Though many people think that they know God and believe in Him without becoming filled with God’s Word and knowing the Truth – we are always on the verging of falling ever farther from our Father. He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you can bear. However, it is imperative that we know God’s Word and build it into the foundational truth of our very being and existence only then can we endure the trials and tests of life coming out victorious with faith intact and the blessings of God pouring over our life.
John 8:43-45 (NIV)
Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me!
People possess the power of discernment. When Eve ate from the Tree of Knowledge, discernment is was given to her. She now knew the difference between right and wrong. Discernment is the ability to distinguish or recognize. It means that one can discriminate. The fall of mankind came in the fact that they did not trust God so they accepted the lie. The lie was not the Word. When she ate from the tree, she was instantly give insight and understanding. The lie was that she would not die. Death is considered mercy. Without death, people would forever suffer in their deteriorated condition. God did not make eternal life available until the Perfect Sacrifice was given to restore our right standing with Him impacting our destination after death.
The Word of God is the Truth concerning us. If one decides to do exactly what God’s Word mandates line by line and precept by precept – they can live a better life. The Word of God is the absolute truth. Truth is validated in our life by trust. If we trust God wholeheartedly when tempted we will not be lured away. We bought our home. Our name is on the mortgage and deed to the property. We live here. So if someone were to come knock on the door demanding entrance claiming it was there house, I would tell them differently. I would certainly not let them in nor would I pack up my things and leave because I KNOW this is my house. It is time for God’s People to know His Word and believe it. When the enemy comes demanding what is rightfully ours as God’s Children, we would not give it up so easily because we would KNOW it belongs to us. Things like salvation, healing, deliverance and prosperity belong to us by faith and are assumed when we take God at His Word over the lie of the enemy.
2 Timothy 2:25-26 (NIV)
Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.
“My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.” (Hosea 4:6) How is this possible? We have lost of senses. Choosing to believe a lie over the Truth causes a double-standard making us unstable in our faith and ability to trust the Lord. When we believe what the enemy says over God’s Word, we fall into temptation. We leave the foundation of our faith which is truth to live captive to the lie. When Jesus taught his people how to pray, he included “and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one.” (Matthew 6:13). When the disciples were supposed to be praying but fell asleep, Jesus warned them, “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.” (Matthew 26:41) The lie of the enemy is our weakness. However, it does not have to be our downfall. Jesus told the woman at the well that true worshippers will do so in Spirit and in Truth. Jesus gives us His Spirit, we must work to know the Truth. Study to show that you are approved. The Word of God gives us confidence that in the midst of opposition – no weapon formed against us will prosper.
Luke 8:11-15 (NIV)
“This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. Those on the rocky ground are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.”
God’s Word is the seed for our life. His Word has the potential to yield harvests of prosperity to those who keep it, grow it, develop it and mature into godly wisdom for our life. It is human nature to find the lies of the enemy tempting full of shortcuts and substitutions. The enemy wanders through life ready to challenge the Word of God for our life. He will manipulate it and twist it to convince us that serving God is a worthless and stupid endeavor. You only live once right? Wrong. Your soul will live forever. Job was tested and tempted by the enemy but not before the devil went before the Lord to ask permission. God offered Job for consideration because He knew that this man was faithful and fully believed in Him. God did so to bless Job with a double portion. What is God’s Word for your life? How far will you go to protect it, nurture and solidify it in your life? I have trusted God and failed to endure. It was not until it became a matter of life and death that I hung on to the bitter end. Our ability to trust the Lord and live by faith is a matter of life and death. We must learn the difference between the Truth and his lies. We must remain faithful to the Word of God.
I Peter 5:7-10 (NIV)
Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.
Are you double-minded today? Stress, worry, anxiety and fear are symptoms of doubt. They are prefaced by a lie that is slowly accepted until it manifests these conditions in our life. We are to cast all our cares on the Lord because He cares for you. He loves you. He loves me. He will never let the righteous fall. He is a Good Father filled with unconditional love and compassion that causes Him to release His Favor over our life. Do you believe that? If not, you are double-minded. To recite the Word of God and then say, “but…” nullifies everything you said before. I hear it all the time. I trust God but… I believe God but… and my all-time least favorite is when “but” is followed by “but the reality is…” The reality of such a statement is the evidence that you trust the lie more than the Truth friend. We must call it what it is. When we decide that the enemy can tempt us beyond God’s Intervention and Grace – it is sign that we are overcome. We must resist the enemy. We must hold firm to the Truth we have been given. We must refuse to move until God does. The Word of God tells us that a double-minded person is unstable in all they do simply because they cannot tell a lie from the Truth. This is a curable condition.
James 4:7-8 (NIV)
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
Submission to God is full acceptance of His Word, who is His Son, as the Truth that governs our life. This aligns us with the Kingdom and releases Heaven to come to earth. Our pursuit of God by faith seems illogical but is not without explanation. We have all that we need to obtain godly knowledge, eternal insight, and become full of wisdom. Will we take the time to do it? His Word feeds and nourishes our spirit and fertilizes our soul for prosperity sake. We must decide to know God through His Word. Jesus said, “I am the way, truth and life. No one can come to the Father but through me.” We know of Jesus but to truly know Him enough to really love Him and surrender our trust to Him requires His Word on a daily basis. We need it to feed the streams of living water within us until it rises up in us and pours out of us into this dry and thirsty land. You do not have to go it alone. You have everything you need already supplied to open every locked door, as well as to close the ones barring the enemy’s access to your heart and mind. You have all power and authority because Jesus Christ, the Living Breathing Word of God lives in you. His Spirit and Truth connect to make the powerless more than powerful.
John 8:31-32 (NIV)
To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
If you can find it in God’s Word, you can have it for your life. God’s Promises belong to God’s Children. You are a child of God. Don’t let the enemy tell you any different. The Word of God cannot be changed by the enemy only challenged by his lies. Our knowledge and belief in the Word of God exposes the lie and brings it to no effect in our life. We hear it but no longer believe it. Greater is the one in us than he that is in this world. You must hold on to the Truth. When you do, the Truth will set you free. No longer bound by sin, shame or any other lie the enemy shoves in your face, you will overcome experiencing victory in all things just like the Father planned it. We win. We are victorious. Everything becomes possible when we believe the Truth over a lie. God is Truth. His Word is true. We can trust Him. The rest is up to you. Today, I claim this promise, I will know the truth and it will set me free!
Psalm 25:4-5 (NIV)
Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.
Pure Devotion 