Power Scriptures!!!! - crafted for personal declaration

We are demolishing arguments and ideas, every high-and-mighty philosophy that sets itself against my knowledge of the one true God. Together the Holy Spirit and I are taking prisoners of every thought, every emotion, and subduing them into obedience to the Anointed One.

2 Corinthians 10:5

 

For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in me will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.

Philippians 1:6

 

For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world - my faith.

1 John 5:4

 

The Lord said to me, “Do not fear them, for I have given them into your hands; not one of them shall stand before you.”

Joshua 10:8

 

Everything that goes into a life of pleasing God has ben miraculously given to me by getting to know, personally and intimately, the One who invited me to God.

2 Peter 1:3

 

But no matter what comes, I will always taste victory through Him who loves me.

Romans 8:37

I trust in God. When I do, honestly, I can say to this mountain, “Mountain, uproot yourself and throw yourself into the sea.” If I don’t doubt, but trust that what I say will take place, then it will happen. So whatever I pray for or ask from God, I must believe that I’ll receive it and I will.

Mark 11:22-24

 

I am cracked and chipped from my afflictions on all sides, but I am not crushed by them. I may be bewildered at times, but I do not give in to despair. I am persecuted, but I have not been abandoned by my precious Father. I have been knocked down, but I am never destroyed. I always carry around in my body the reality of the brutal death and suffering of my Savior. As a result, His resurrection life rises and reveals its wondrous power in my body as well!

2 Corinthians 4:8-10

 

For the Lord my God is the One who goes with me to fight for me against my enemies to give me victory.

Deuteronomy 20:4

 

I can be content in any and every situation through the Anointed One who is my power and strength.

Philippians 4:13

Delight Yourself in the Lord

Take great joy in the Eternal! His gifts are coming, and they are all your heart desires!
(Psalm 37:4)

Drawing Them Out

Proverbs 20:5 - Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out.

This scripture speaks to the wisdom of one who recognizes the wisdom within a man and seeks to draw it out. While men and women of wisdom may not also be persons who are overly verbose and liberal with their knowledge, we do well to seek conversation with and counsel from them. Men and women of understanding will do exactly that. Knowing that wisdom lays deeply within, the man of understanding will be diligent and relentless in pursuing that knowledge from others.

A Moment of Thanks and Praise

Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance. I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay. You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. (Psalm 16:5-11)

These words of David are so precious and clearly heartfelt. The Lord is the One we need in our lives. He is our security, He is the one who makes plans for our lives and designates our blessings. The Lord speaks to our hearts even in the night – because of the time we spend in intimate relationship with the Lord, we hear His counsel even in the dark and quiet times. Because of these truths we can rejoice and rest assured that the Father is always with us…protecting us…providing for us…guiding our paths…and filling us with His joy.

Father, we thank You and praise You!

His Finished Product

Use all your skill to put me together; I wait to see your finished product. (Psalm 25:21)

We touched on this concept just a couple of days ago – God’s process with us. May our hearts truly seek to submit our lives completely to the Lord, living with the touch of His hand. And may we be excited to see all that He will do in and through us!

Conquering Loneliness

Regarding this matter of loneliness, Charles Stanley writes: “God desires that all people feel connected to Him and to each other…The first step is to enter into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Second, we must admit that we’re lonely. Some Christians incorrectly think they shouldn’t be susceptible to normal human feelings. But nothing in the Bible says we won’t endure emotional isolation. Finally, we should develop godly friends. These are the Christian brothers and sisters who will laugh, cry, and empathize with us. Above all, believers need friends who will continually point them to God and pray over them.”

I can’t agree enough with these three points…but especially about connecting with our Christian brothers and sisters. If you’ve read this page for a while, you’ve seen this theme emerge more than once. It is vitally important that those of us who are living for Christ, connect and support one another through transparent, intimate, and supportive friendships. This can be much tougher than Stanley’s first two points because it requires vulnerability. But I know that the Father will direct us toward those whom He desires for us to connect with in this way. All we need to do is ask.

But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.  (James 1:5)

So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; (Colossians 3:12)

Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing. (1 Thessalonians 5:11)

Better Now Than Ever Before

But He knows the way that I take [He has concern for it, appreciates, and pays attention to it]. When He has tried me, I shall come forth as refined gold [pure and luminous]. My foot has held fast to His steps; His ways have I kept and not turned aside. I have not gone back from the commandment of His lips; I have esteemed and treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food. (Job 23:10-12)

Those that keep the way of the Lord may comfort themselves, when they are in affliction, with these three things: 1) That they are but tried. It is not intended for their hurt, but for their honour and benefit; it is the trial of their faith, 1 Peter 1:7.  2) That when they are sufficiently tried, they shall come forth out of the furnace, and not be left to consume in it as dross or reprobate silver. The trial will have an end. God will not contend for ever.  3) That they shall come forth as gold, pure in itself and precious to the refiner. They shall come forth as gold approved and improved, found to be good and made to be better. Afflictions are to us as we are; those that go gold into the furnace will come out no worse. - Matthew Henry

Our precious Father is with us in the midst of every trial. Be encouraged. Although we go through trials of “fire”, like gold, we come out refined and purified. And how precious it is that Henry points out that the Refiner (our Father) has already found us to be good (Ephesians 1:3-6), but in the trial, we are made to be better.

I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace and confidence. In the world you have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration; but be of good cheer [take courage; be confident, certain, undaunted]! For I have overcome the world. [I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you.] (John 16:33 AMP)

So that [the genuineness] of your faith may be tested, [your faith] which is infinitely more precious than the perishable gold which is tested and purified by fire. [This proving of your faith is intended] to redound to [your] praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One) is revealed. (1 Peter 1:7 AMP)

Ezra 10:4

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God is Ever Present…and He Cares

At the end of Job’s trying time of the loss of his flocks, herds, labor, servants, and children, and the horrific attack on his body, the Lord restored all Job had lost. The Lord restored Job’s fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before. He restored double the flocks and herds and gave him 10 more children and allowed him to live long enough to see his children and their children to the fourth generation! Amazing restoration. It is even speculated that Job was 70 at the onset of this time of trial and we see that the Lord allowed him to live to the age of 140. Another doubling of His blessing?!?!?
But right before the account of the restoration, we get to read an account of  the conversation the Lord and Job are having. The following verses are seen in the midst of God being very clear about who He is and how intimately involved He is in the lives of His creation: “Who then is able to stand against me? Who has a claim against me that I must pay? Everything under heaven belongs to me.” (Job 41:10b&11)  Job’s “friends” were not men of wisdom. They were advising Job wrongly about the work of the Lord. The Lord rebuked them, saying to Eliphaz, “I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has.” (Job 42:7b) Although Job was struggling, he did not believe he was enduring punishment for sin or God’s abandonment. This is the same for us today.

Please hear me, we need to repent for sin – confess it, turn our backs on it, and never return to it. But I don’t want us to erroneously believe that every time difficulties come, we are hopeless and abandoned. Jesus assured us that in this world we will have troubles but that we can rejoice because the Savior of our souls has overcome this world! (John 16:33) Further, we know that the Lord knows us intimately (Psalm 139:1-18), loves us dearly (John 3:16, John 15:13), and has great plans for our lives (Jeremiah 29:11). The trouble that the believer endures is not because the Lord has removed His covering from our lives, but because there is a purpose in the trouble. And the trouble that He allows (as he did in Job’s life) will be for our good and His glory…and quite possibly for the good of many others!

Be encouraged, our Father God is always with us…especially in the midst of the storm. No plan that any enemy has against us can override the wonderful plans God has for our lives.

Psalm 33:10&11 - The Lord foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples. But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.

Proverbs 16:4 - The Lord works out everything to its proper end—even the wicked for a day of disaster.

Proverbs 19:21 - Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.

Proverbs 21:30 - There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the Lord.

Our Identity in Christ

A couple of days ago we looked at the loving behavior of the believer. Today I just want to briefly explore some of the other truths we see in God’s word about who we are as believers. Unlike other meditations we’ve gone through, today I invite you to look at and meditate on these scriptures on your own. An easy website to access for that purpose is https://www.biblegateway.com/

1. WE ARE CHOSEN & HOLY. See Colossians 3:12, 1 Peter 1:15&16, 1 Peter 2:9

2. WE ARE DEARLY LOVED. See John 3:16, Colossians 3:12, 1 John 4:7, 1 Thessalonians 2:13

3. WE ARE ACCEPTED IN THE BELOVED. See Ephesians 1:6

4.  WE ARE THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD. See 2 Corinthians 5:21, Romans 3:22

5. WE ARE UPRIGHT AND HONORED. See  Ecclesiastes 7:29, Proverbs 3:32-34, Psalm 37:36-38.

6. WE ARE GENTLE & PATIENT. See Galatians 5:22&23, Romans 2:7. Romans 5:4, Romans 15:5.

7. WE ARE FORGIVING & LOVING. See Ephesians 4:32

God is With Us

“What is mankind that you make so much of them, that you give them so much attention, that you examine them every morning and test them every moment? Will you never look away from me, or let me alone even for an instant? (Job 7:17-19)

What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of [earthborn] man that You care for him? (Psalm 8:4)

In the Job passage and in this Psalm of David, we see almost identical sentiments. However, they are written with very different background.

In Job 7, we see Job lamenting the tragedy of life and his current struggle. Job had just lost his children, flocks and herds, servants, property…and now his body was under the attack of the enemy and he suffered with “painful sores from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head”. At this point, Job was feeling as if God had removed His loving care and instead was trying him, was pushing him, was making a target of him – for some destruction. This severe affliction did not make sense to Job who saw himself as being in good standing with God.

Today we know that Job was, in fact, in good standing with God. God said that Job was blameless and upright and that he was a man of integrity who feared God and shunned evil. And it was God who allowed the enemy to try Job. God did not allow the enemy to have free reign but He allowed some room for trial.

Now, let’s move forward about 400 years to when David penned Psalm 8. Again, David almost quoted what we see in Job 7, but from a different perspective. David is marveling at the awesomeness of God’s creation – the heavens, His works, the moon, the stars. 

I look up at your macro-skies, dark and enormous, your handmade sky-jewelry, moon and stars mounted in their settings. Then I look at my micro-self and wonder, why do you bother with us?     Why take a second look our way? (Psalm 8:3&4 MSG)

David is amazed to understand that the God of the universe, in His awesome power, and considering all that He’s ordained, would even be concerned with mankind. Would provide for mankind. Would care about us. Matthew Henry expresses it this way: "Lord, what is man (enosh, sinful, weak, miserable man, a creature so forgetful of thee and his duty to thee) that thou art thus mindful of him, that thou takest cognizance of him and of his actions and affairs, that in the making of the world thou hadst a respect to him! What is the son of man, that thou visitest him, that thou not only feedest him and clothest him, protectest him and providest for him, in common with other creatures, but visited him as one friend visits another, art pleased to converse with him and concern thyself for him! What is man—(so mean a creature), that he should be thus honoured—(so sinful a creature), that he should be thus countenanced and favoured!’’

Yes! Both Job and David were right. God does concern Himself with our daily affairs. He is involved in the life of the believer in an intimate way. However, He is not pursuing our destruction or making a game of hurting and torturing us.

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28)

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.  (Jeremiah 29:11)

The circumstances that God allows in our lives may not always be what we consider to be pleasant but we are assured from His word that they are profitable for us.

In the midst of it all, we know that our loving God is with us. 

Odd…but Appropriate Empathy

Repeatedly in scripture, we see Paul’s consistent persecution by the Jews who opposed him (actually they were opposing God’s work). Everywhere he went it seemed that some group of opponents would whoop up a crowd to oppose the disciples, seize them, accuse them of false things before leaders, or just try to kill them without any type of legal process!

It hit me today as I was reading Acts 22, that Paul would have understood very well the enthusiasm some of these haters had. Some of them hated what the disciples were teaching because they truly believed it was blasphemous.

At the beginning of this chapter, we see Paul’s ability to relate to the enthusiasm of his haters. He is addressing them from jail, having just been seized by yet another angry mob who tried to kill him but were interrupted in their efforts and then made false accusations before law keepers. When Paul was jailed, he asked that he may address the angry crowd outside, was granted permission to do so – and this is how that address began:

“Brothers and fathers, listen to me as I offer my defense.” (When they heard him speaking in Hebrew, the silence was even greater.)  “I am a Jew,” he said, “born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, but educated here in Jerusalem under Gamaliel, at whose feet I learned to follow our Jewish laws and customs very carefully. I became very anxious to honor God in everything I did, just as you have tried to do today. And I persecuted the Christians, hounding them to death, binding and delivering both men and women to prison.  The High Priest or any member of the Council can testify that this is so. For I asked them for letters to the Jewish leaders in Damascus, with instructions to let me bring any Christians I found to Jerusalem in chains to be punished.” (Acts 22:1-5)

Paul goes on to tell them about his Damascus Road experience with Christ. But when Paul says that God instructed him to go to the Gentiles to teach them the truth, the crowd went crazy! They were unhappy about this and demanded that he be killed. The commander in charge brought Paul back inside and intended to whip him in order to get him to confess his crime, but he learned that Paul was a Roman citizen and relented. Craziness!

But the beauty in the beginning of Paul’s address is that he says, “I became very anxious to honor God in everything I did, just as you have tried to do today.” Wow! Once again he had an angry mob trying to kill him and he is able to say he was just like them…he understands. Beautiful words of empathy towards those who hated him and wanted to see him dead. A great example to us of loving our enemies. And Paul even went as far to as to identify himself with them! Beautiful.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” (Matthew 5:43-45)

Opportunity and Anguish

For to you has been given the privilege not only of trusting him but also of suffering for him. (Philippians 1:29 TLB)

Suffering for the sake of righteousness.  It is a privilege. As we walk in relationship with Christ, we can expect opposition…even persecution and suffering. But Paul, in this letter, gives the Philippian believers a fresh perspective on this matter of suffering. Along with the privilege of trusting in our precious Savior, we have the privilege of joining Him in suffering.

It is a privilege to be able to trust in Christ because only those who are in intimate relationship with Christ can do that. You cannot trust in someone whom you are not in relationship with. And in this case, we get to trust in the Savior who loves us extravagantly.

As for suffering with Him, it is a privilege to be identified with Christ – to serve Him and to partner with His purposes on earth. And with this association with Christ, inevitably suffering will come. Christ is hated and those who love Him will be hated as well.

His [Gamaliel’s] speech persuaded them. They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. (Acts 5:40&41)

Here is a trustworthy saying: if we died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him. (2 Timothy 2: 10-12a)

There’s far more to this life than trusting in Christ. There’s also suffering for him. And the suffering is as much a gift as the trusting. (Philippians 1:29 MSG)

Do you consider the suffering that you endure because of your righteousness to be a gift?  Be encouraged, Jesus says this… “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5:11&12)

Amen!