Tag: Evil

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Why Make It Harder?

SEPTEMBER 1

MATTHEW 6:34_Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Focus on who God is and who you are in Him! Receive extra power for the hard days. Worry only makes the hard days harder. In this verse Jesus says something to the effect of, “Life in this world is hard enough—why make it harder?“ Jesus lets you know He’s with you all the way.

Jesus can provide.

That doesn’t mean you may not go through lean times. If you have no needs you will never experience how God can meet them. He’ll hold and guide you on the path of discipleship and add “all these things unto you.”

Proverbs 4:18 (KJV), “But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.” Once you’ve committed to becoming salty-lit-up disciples for Jesus—that light just keeps on shining!  I Thessalonians 5:5 (KJV), “Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.”

All days are not hard, or bad, or evil. The devil would have you believe otherwise. He tempts you to worry about the future. Live free by focusing more on who God is, His grace and mercy, and His phenomenal power to transform any circumstance!

PRAYER

God Who Transforms, Thank You for the bright days I’ve had, and the ones on the way! In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.                                                         

Christ is full of light—He fills me with His light!

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It Was Not Created to Divide

JULY 26

MATTHEW 6:24_for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one and despise the other…

What happens when you try to divide your allegiance between masters? Jesus says you love one and hate one. You may not believe this, but submit to the fact that the Creator knows more about the creation than the creation knows about itself. If the creation knew as much as the Creator, it could have created itself. And when it breaks, it could repair itself.

This teaching goes back to the wisdom of “where a man’s treasure is there will his heart be also.” You can’t divide the heart from the treasure. It is the heart that cannot serve two masters. The treasure must be one. Single vision. Focused on Jesus or focused on wealth.

When the heart is asked to divide itself, it stumbles. It does not have the ability to divide. It was not created to divide. Because it doesn’t know how to divide, it does what it can – turns love to hate, devotion to envy, allegiance to betrayal, and affection to jealousy. When you insist the heart equally share good and evil – evil will win. Because without Jesus, the heart is hard.

Jesus must abide in and be in control of, the heart. 

PRAYER

God of All That is Good, Help me keep my heart united for You. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.

Christ does not share with evil—He overpowers it!

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The Light of Truth

JULY 23

MATTHEW 6:23_thy whole body shall be full of darkness…

What causes the whole body to be full of darkness? Evil. You can be totally blind, but still have light inside if your eye is single – focused on Jesus.

In the John chapter 9 account of the man born blind, Jesus pointed this out to the Pharisees. The blind man believed in Jesus and worshiped Him. Because of the blind man’s ability to know who Jesus truly was, he received sight. This was not physical sight. Jesus had already given him that. This was receiving the light of truth – giving him freedom.

The Pharisees did not believe. Jesus said they were blind. Although they had physical sight, their lack of faith in Jesus caused their whole being to be full of darkness – causing them bondage.

The evil eye sees double. It cannot distinguish truth from lies. An evil eye has stepped off the path and lost its light. Without light there is darkness.

In darkness you reach out, constantly trying to touch, to feel, to hold to something secure. You cry out, call out, hoping to hear a familiar voice.  

Perhaps someone will come and help you find your way back to the path – to Jesus!

PRAYER

Incomparable Jesus, When I am in darkness, I stumble.  Bring me back to You. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.

Christ is the path to freedom—I want to stay with Him!

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One Is Genuine, The Other False

JULY 22

MATTHEW 6:23_But if thine eye be evil…

If someone gives you the evil eye, they gave you a mean look – very mean! The mean look suggests something evil towards you – physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual. Maybe all of those.

This verse has a similar meaning. The single eye focuses on a relationship with Jesus more than with the world. Your whole being fills with light. The light is Jesus Himself, the Light of the World. 

People with double vision cannot see a single image before their eyes. The image is doubled either horizontally or vertically. Double vision can affect one eye or both. Corrective lenses can help not only for vision, but to keep them safe from injury to self or others.

James 1 (KJV) , “5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. 7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. 8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.”     

Seeing double divides vision – one vision is genuine and the other false.

Prayer with lack of faith is double-mindedness.

PRAYER

God of Wisdom, Help me not to see double, but to see Your truth and believe. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.

Christ can clear double vision—I want Him to clear mine!

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Good-Versus-Evil

JUNE 19

MATTHEW 6:13_but deliver us from evil…

Because the world is full of evil does not mean good does not exist. Nor does it mean good does not prevail. Good prevails more than evil – it is just harder to see. Ultimately, it will prevail once and for all. In the meantime, you live with evil.

Every day is a good-versus-evil battle. The times when evil wins are difficult. Just to see some of the world’s evil on the News can be disturbing. It causes an oppressive spirit to hang heavy in your soul. You ask God how such things can happen. You wonder how humans reach such a level of degradation.

When there is evil in your personal life – you need hope.  

When you pray not to be led into temptation, add as Jesus did to be delivered from evil. The devil intends evil daily. That’s his intention. It does not mean he wins. God intends mercy daily. God holds all the cards. One card God holds which the devil can never get his hands on is found in Romans 8:28 (KJV), “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.“

Get to know this verse and praise God for it. This is why good prevails more than evil. God can take the devil’s evil and cause good for His people. The times when evil wins a battle are not the end of the war. Your hope is in this verse.

Somewhere in the long run, God’s compassion and power will use pain to make you a better person!              

PRAYER

God of Hope, Please deliver me from evil. I know evil is in the world, but I know You are greater than the world. I praise Your power that helps me! In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.

Christ can make good from the devil’s evil – He does it for me!