confidence

Submit and Resist

June 3, 2021 by Bill 1 Comment

Picture this:

It’s early morning and you have continued your walk on the Path of Life. From the side of the path, out jumps the devil blocking your way. (You know it’s gonna happen.) He says, “Hey, I have something over here that I know you’ll be interested in, come take a look.” You’ve heard it before and you reply, “Hold on just a minute.” You turn around and say, “Jesus.” You knew He was there with you and now you see Him. You step to the front of Him and get down on both knees and bow your head. You spread your arms up and wide and say, “Lord, I submit to you. Forgive me of any sin I’ve committed, purify and wash me and refill me with Your Spirit.” Can you see it?

You then feel God’s hand touching your head and you sense power coming through Him into you. Chills run through your body. You stand up, look into His smiling face as He nods in recognition of your submission, and He says, “You’re good now.” As you turn, you notice that you’ve been given something extra, the Full Armor of God! Wow! Your confidence rises.

So, you walk back over to the devil who’s waiting on the path for you. “Ok devil, now what was it you wanted to show me?” His eyes get big as he sees your armor and senses your confidence and power and frightfully replies, “Oh, nothing, never mind!” as he turns and runs back into the bushes along the path. Can you see it? You turn and give the “thumbs up” to Jesus who is smiling at you as you continue your journey.

“Submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you.” (John 10:10).

“Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” (Ephesians 6:11).

“Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” (Luke 10:19)

Are you equipped and ready?

It’s Over!

January 23, 2021 by Bill Leave a Comment

Have you ever had this feeling? In spite of everything you’ve planned, prepared, done, and even prayed for, you feel that it was all of no use. There’s no way out, it’s over. Yes, I think we’ve all had that feeling. We may be feeling that now. But I want to encourage us, me included, that it’s not over. We may not understand it, “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:9). God is in control and we just haven’t seen the results of His plan yet. A great praise song by Israel and New Breed, “It’s Not Over” says, “It’s not over, it’s not finished. It’s not ending, it’s only the beginning. When God is in it, all things are new.” If we have humbled ourselves, prayed, sought His face and turned from our wicked ways, (2 Chronicles 7:14), God is in it. We may not understand the timing, but God is in control and we must thank Him.

As I was thinking about this topic, several examples from the Bible came to my mind.

Job’s wife, in Job 2:9, summed up their problems by saying, “Curse God and die!” Basically, she was saying, “It’s over!” But Job’s attitude was, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.” (Job 13:15). It wasn’t over!

Think of the Israelites at the Red Sea. The impassible sea before them, the Egyptian army behind them; there was no way for survival. They probably said, “It’s over! We should have stayed in Egypt.” But God told Moses to tell the people, “Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you today:” (Exodus 13:14). It wasn’t over!

The king of Aram was after the prophet Elisha because he had always revealed Aram’s battle plans against the Israelites. He found out where Elisha was and sent his army there. Gehazi, Elisha’s servant, went out on the balcony that morning and saw the enemy army surrounding them. He was afraid and said to Elisha, “Oh, my lord, what shall we do?” (2 Kings 6:15). “It’s over!” But Elisha replied, “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” (V. 16). “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” (V. 17) “It wasn’t over!”

There are many more examples of God showing up when it seemed it was over, but I want to share maybe the most important one of all. Jesus’ disciples were huddled up in a room fearful for their lives after the crucifixion of Jesus. They had walked with Him, learned from Him, did miracles in His name for over three years with great hopes that He was going to deliver them all from oppression. But now, He was gone, the Romans and Jewish religious leaders were going to come after them. “Oh no, it’s over!”, they were thinking and saying. Then… “Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”, (John 20:19). The doors were locked but, there was Jesus! “Hey, you all, It’s not over, it’s only the beginning.”

“Jesus Christ the same, yesterday, today and forever.”, (Hebrews 13:8). No matter what we are going through, trust the Lord, lean on Him, thank Him, and declare, IT’S NOT OVER!

Jesus Is With You

November 28, 2020 by Bill Leave a Comment

“I will never leave you; I will never abandon you.” (Hebrews 13:5 GNT)

God speaks to me a lot about our journey on the Path of Life. There have been so many lessons He has taught me “on the Path” and I want to share one with you today.

As the verse above says, if we have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior, He is always with us wherever we go. But in this lesson, God showed me that Jesus may be in different locations with us on the Path. Try to picture these different scenarios.

Jesus will lead you. Picture yourself on the Path and Jesus in in front of you leading the way, holding out His hand, saying, “Follow Me.”. “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is good for you and leads you along the paths you should follow.” (Isaiah 48:17 NLT). “He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.” (Psalm 23:3). Pay attention, keep your eyes on Him and follow Him. Now, sometimes it may be really dark, and you’re hesitant about moving on but you hear this: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12). Keep going.

Jesus will be beside you. Picture you and Jesus on the path and He is walking beside you maybe holding your hand. “I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me.” (Psalm 16:8 NLT).

Jesus will be behind you. You’re on the path wondering which way to go but you hear a loving, all-knowing voice right behind you encouraging you to go on. “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” (Isaiah 30:21). God told Jehoshaphat to go to the battle lines with Israel’s army when it seemed impossible for them to be victorious, but God was backing them up. (2 Chronicles 20).

Jesus will carry you. Sometimes you will be so worn out and burdened on the Path that you think you just can’t go on. Then: “I will be your God throughout your lifetime— until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you.” (Isaiah 46:4 NLT). Even when you fall, He will pick you up and carry you if needed.

And the last thing I learned from the Mind of the Master was that this journey on the Path to our final destination is a process. God is with us all along the way, but He doesn’t want to carry us all the way. He wants to train us, to strengthen us, to teach us, to increase our faith and develop us so we can successfully complete our mission. You know, getting to Heaven is not the only mission we have. We are to be servants and helpers to others along the way. Jesus wants us to be changed: “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 3:18). Be like Jesus, He’s with us…let’s go!

Submit and Resist

It’s Over!

Jesus Is With You

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