May 22nd
May 22nd
Are you starting your day feeling defeated? Does the enemy seem too big for you to stand against? Do you feel like you just stand there taking a beating? Let’s take a look at what Jesus said about us!
Matthew 16:15-19 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
These words are for us, the Church, followers of Christ. He is basically saying death has no power to hold my redeemed people captive. We are not to start our day feeling defeated. It can be hard some days when the all of the situations in our life seem to be hard things after hard things. But that is exactly when we need to be reminded of these promises to us. That is when we need to be reminded that we don’t have to just stand and “take it.” We are allowed to fight back and take victories in our lives as well. He gave us the weapons and will teach us how to use them. What did Peter proclaim out loud just before Jesus said these promises? -He proclaimed that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God! If we proclaim that out loud in our life, I dare say that we will start seeing results that fulfill those promises! And ultimately it all boils down to the fact that in the long run vengeance is His and He will have the last word!
Ephesians 6:12-18 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.
2 Corinthians 10:3-5 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
Now take those defeated thoughts captive and proclaim Jesus as Lord over your day, then walk out in your full suit of armor and face your day with Jesus!
Jesus, thank you that you didn’t leave me here to fight the battle on my own. Thank you that you already won the battle and I just have to walk through it. Thank you that you gave me weapons to fight with and show me how to use them. Thank you for giving me everything I need to face this day and help me to be sensitive to you today Holy Spirit. Help me to recognize the enemies schemes to get me feeling defeated and frustrated. Thank you Jesus, you are Lord of All!