Tag: Power

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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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Love Conquers All!

JULY 24

MATTHEW 6:23_therefore if the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!

Darkness can be dangerous to: the body, the soul, the spirit.

Darkness of soul causes deep depression: absence of hope. Hope gives light.

Without hope there is an absence of security. Security overrides fear. 

Without security there is an absence of power. Power defies weakness.

Without power there is an absence of peace. Peace prevails over despair.

Without peace there is an absence of confidence. Confidence resists doubt. 

Without confidence there is an absence of love. Love conquers all!  

Darkness of the spirit is to be void of Jesus.

Without Jesus: Giants cannot be slain. Mountains cannot be moved. Waters cannot be parted.

If you allow your light to become darkness—it will be dark indeed!

PRAYER

Jesus Who Conquers, Praise You there is no darkness You cannot conquer. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.

Christ has already conquered darkness—I must believe!

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The Devil Hates Freedom

JULY 17

MATTHEW 6:20_where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through and steal.

No one can steal your spiritual gift, but the devil will do everything he can to do just that. He wants to discredit all of the fruits of the Spirit. When you are having a bad day, and the fruits don’t appear to be producing—the devil targets your soul. He whispers in your mind, will, and emotions that you have no love, joy, peace, longsuffering (patience), gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, or temperance (self-control). He tries to convince you that you are too low on God’s list for Him to give you these gifts.

You are not the only one the devil accuses of being unworthy of the kingdom—he targets all believers. 

The devil calls out all the demons in his deadly arsenal to attack you. He sends them to steal the virtues the Spirit bestows—lest you receive the fruit of freedom. The devil hates freedom. That’s why he hits you when you are down.

When your heart is broken, where is your joy?  When your future plans have fallen apart, where is your peace? When you feel God has deserted you, where is your faith? Times will come when you feel like this, but:

The devil does not have the power to steal your treasures in heaven.    

PRAYER

Compassionate Jesus, I ask You to rebuke the devil when he taunts my soul. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.

Christ rebukes the devil—He will do it for me!

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Free Me!

JULY 12

MATTHEW 6:19_Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth…

Aesop’s fable has good advice. Jesus gives wise advice. Remember, Jesus teaches radical 180 degree creation principles. Look deeply into His teaching.

One way to study the Bible is to examine words. The key word to understand this verse is treasure. Merriam-Webster defines treasure as, wealth…stored up or hoarded. Jesus is not talking about preparation for future expenses. When you know your college tuition is due next month, don’t spend all your money this month. 

Another way to clarify the meaning is to examine 1 Timothy 6:9-10 (KJV), “But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. 10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”

The key words in verse 10 are, “For the love of…”

Great wealth, and the power that comes with it, has potential to consume the human soul.

Jesus wants you to live free, not in bondage to wealth.

PRAYER

God Who is my Treasure, I want You to be my treasure. I want to be consumed by You. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.

Christ wants me free from the love of money—Free me!

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A Time for God to Examine

JULY 9

MATTHEW 6:18_but unto thy Father which is in secret…

You want your fast to be seen by God: to examine your heart and motives.

You learn more about how to let God lead, and you follow. 

Your spirit grows stronger.

These are the kinds of things the Father sees in secret.

Prayer, Bible study, and meditation on Scripture, are perfect condiments to fasting. This opens the door for The Big Three: Wisdom, Understanding, and Knowledge. Psalm 119:1-7 (KJV) comes alive, “Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord. 2 Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart. 3 They also do no iniquity: they walk in his ways. 4 Thou hast commanded us to keep thy precepts diligently. 5 O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes! 6 Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all thy commandments. 7 I will praise thee with uprightness of heart, when I shall have learned thy righteous judgments.”

That’s some powerful stuff, but self-denial is a powerful act.

Fasting is by no means the only form of self-denial. Just changing the channel, or turning off the TV when something wicked shows up, can open these same doors.

Your Father sees everything that’s done in secret.

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, I seek You with my whole heart, I want to walk in Your ways. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.

Christ walked in the law of the LORD—He teaches me!