BE SOBER

 

BE NUMBERED AMONG THE UNDEVOURABLE

1 Peter 5:8 - Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

The devil cannot just walk right up to you and rob you of your health, peace or family. He cannot just come into your life to enforce disease and destruction.
If the devil can do that, then he does not have to walk about “seeking whom he may devour”. He only has to walk straight up to anyone he wants to devour and devour him! But since the Bible says that he goes about seeking whom he may devour, the truth then is that there are people whom he cannot devour.

You see, the devil goes about like a roaring lion trying to stir up fear in people with his roars. But the people who are not devourable are those who refuse to be intimidated by his roars because they know that the true Lion of Judah, Jesus Christ (Revelation 5:5), has already come and rendered powerless him who had the power of death. (Hebrews 2:14, NASB) They know that the devil cannot just do anything to them because the Lion of Judah resides in them, and that He is greater than the devil who is in the world. (1 John 4:4)

My friend, the Lion of Judah is in you. He has given you rights, privileges, authority and power. He redeemed you with His blood. Therefore, everything about you and your life is redeemed by His blood. So if you are fearful about losing your job, cover your job with the blood of Jesus. If you are worried about your children’s safety in these days of terrorist attacks, plead the blood of Jesus over them. If you have received a bad report from the doctor, speak the blood over yourself.

Whatever you have covered with the blood of Jesus, God declares, “Protected! Redeemed!” And the devil flees when he sees the blood. And when he flees, he takes with him sicknesses, diseases, pains, sufferings, destruction and loss.

Once the devil knows that you know who you are in Christ and what you have in Him, his days of intimidating you are over, and you are numbered among the undevourable!

Thought For The Day :

Everything about you and your life is redeemed by Jesus’ blood

PRAYER (3) ...

You will ask what you desire. - John 15:7 NKJV

Jesus said, ‘If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.’ For your prayers to be answered you must:

(1) Make Christ the centre of your life. ‘If you abide in Me.’ John was close enough to lean his head on Jesus’ breast, but Peter ‘followed [Him] at a distance.’ (Luke 22:54 NKJV) How close to God do you want to be? It’s up to you.

(2) Fill your mind with Scripture. When you pray the words of Scripture your faith is activated, the devil retreats as he did from Christ in the wilderness, and God responds because you’re praying in harmony with His will. So ask yourself, ‘Is my request in line with Scripture; will it blend with my gifts; will it draw me closer to God; what is my part in answering it; have I obeyed the Lord?’ Now, when you pray, ‘Give us this day our daily bread’ (Matthew 6:11 NKJV), God probably won’t rain down groceries! He will give you opportunities you must seize and act on. The words, ‘Pray without ceasing’ (1 Thessalonians 5:17 NKJV), mean you should stay in God’s presence long enough for Him to answer your prayer, or change your request.

(3) Before you ask, examine your heart. ‘If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.’ (Psalm 66:18 NKJV) Achan’s sin had to be dealt with before Israel could go forward in the Promised Land (Joshua 7:10–26). And so does yours! The moment you become conscious of sin, confess it, then be confident that God has forgiven you and move forward.

IF you will STAY IN FAITH, before LONG, you will see how EVERY SETBACK, EVERY DISAPPOINTMENT, even a TERRIBLE LOSS was another PART OF YOUR STORY

THE SPRING OF LAUGHTER ...

Anyone who drinks the water I give will never thirst — not ever. The water I give will be an artesian spring within, gushing fountains of endless life - John 4:14, MSG

When you make Jesus the Lord of your life, God puts within you an eternal well that will never run dry. You have an unlimited supply of good things inside you which should be continually bubbling out of you. But Satan doesn’t want your joy, happiness, or laughter to flow freely. So he comes along and throws a stone of, say, worry into your well. You may think, “That’s just one little stone. It’s not hurting anything. The water is still flowing pretty well.” But Satan will be back soon with another stone, whether it’s fear, self-pity, or hopelessness. If you haven’t dealt individually with each of these stones and gotten rid of them, your nice, free-flowing well of good things will become clogged. Take the time today and every day to evaluate your well. Ask God to give you revelation and to help you keep your well clean!

PRAYER (2) ...

When you pray, go into your room, close the door - Matthew 6:6 NIV

Have you ever tried to have a conversation with a toddler? When you’re in the middle of a sentence, they figure it’s a good time to play with their toys or chase the dog around the house. Sometimes that’s how we treat God. We give Him a few hurried minutes and scattered thoughts, but we don’t set aside a time and place to give Him our full attention. We forget that the place of prayer is also the place ofanswered prayer! Our problem is ‘the war of wandering thoughts’. Things we’ve forgotten suddenly ‘parade’ across our consciousness, demanding our attention. And as James says, if we’re ‘double–minded’ we don’t get answers to our prayers (James 1:8). What can we do?

(1) Pray aloud. This makes it difficult for your mind to wander. You may feel awkward at first, but you’ll soon get comfortable with it.

(2) Jot down distracting thoughts. When the ticker tape starts running, write each thing down and forget it until later. And if you still can’t help thinking about it, take it to God in prayer.

(3) Keep a diary. Sometimes we don’t really know what we want or how we feel about something until we put it in writing. Then, like a mirror, there it is: your deepest needs and yearnings in front of you—and God. Tell Him your longings and let Him purify them. Tell Him your temptations and let Him strengthen you. Tell Him your resentments and let Him forgive you, and empower you to forgive others. There’s no greater privilege than the privilege of prayer, so don’t neglect it.

REVELATION KNOWLEDGE ...

Luke 2:26, "And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ."

Simeon didn't receive this knowledge through the normal method of learning. This knowledge was revealed to him directly from the Holy Spirit. This revelation knowledge which comes only from God is distinctly different than knowledge acquired through study. Man's knowledge is based on observation. It cannot give perfect instruction about the future. God's knowledge can. Through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit we can know things to come (Jn. 16:13).

When dealing with God, revelation knowledge is essential. The Lord's ways are not always our ways (Isa. 55:8). A fear of trusting the intuitive knowledge that God gives us will cause us to miss many blessings of God.

If he hadn't received it and anticipated its fulfillment, what a blessing he would have missed! He would not have been led into the temple at exactly the right moment to see the salvation of the Lord.

We need to ask for and expect to receive revelation knowledge from the Lord. God desires to impart it more than we desire to receive it. Great blessings await those who will not depend solely on their own understanding (Prov. 3:5).

PRAY WITH A NEW COVENANT MINDSET

For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. - Mark 11:23

Did you know that when it came to a blessing (rain for Israel), Elijah prayed hard by bowing his head between his knees (Kings 18:41–45)? But when it came to a curse (drought for Israel), he simply declared it with confidence (1 Kings 17:1). Why? It’s because Elijah had more faith in God’s judgment than in God’s goodness! He was an old covenant prophet with an old covenant mindset when it came to prayer!

My friend, old covenant prophets call your sins to remembrance and deliver to you the judgment and punishment of God. They are judgment-minded. New covenant prophets, on the other hand, call your forgiveness and righteousness in Christ to remembrance, and point you to the finished work of Christ.

So when it comes to praying, do you have an old covenant mindset that says, “God is quick to curse but slow to bless,” or do you have a new covenant mindset that says, “Because of Jesus, God doesn’t curse me but is quick to bless me”? I encourage you to put on a new covenant mindset. Know that because of Jesus’ finished work at the cross, if you need a blessing today, you don’t have to pray hard and long, as if God is reluctant to bless you. No, all you have to do is boldly declare the blessing in faith and it will come to pass!

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