Everything that I have read and studied today seems to have the very same theme, from different angles! The Spoken Word Church devotional is all about our choices! It includes this:
Don't blame others for what you have chosen to do. Don't blame others for the consequences of your choices. Never complain about what you permit. Your life is the result of your choices.
"Leave no [such] room or foothold for the devil [give no opportunity to him]" (Eph. 4:27 AMP). I remember reading in Reader's Digest about a lovely little patch of grass that people were prone to cut across. So the gardener built a small fence around this beautiful square of grass - just some small stakes and string. But people persisted in stepping over the string and walking across the grass. So the gardener painted a crude sign: Gentlemen will not, and others must not, trespass on this property! That gave me the idea of putting up a sign on my body. You can't see it, because it's in the spirit. But the devil can see it. My sign says: NO TRESPASSING! DEVIL, THIS MEANS YOU! I did that by faith. I've had that sign up for years now, and the devil doesn't trespass on God's property - my body. As the custodian of your body, it's your job to see to it that Satan does not trespass on God's property.
As born again believers, we are to KNOW what belongs to us! WE must take authority over our lives! When we speak God's Word into our lives, we give the angels of God, who are sent to minster FOR us (Hebrews 1:14), something to work with! They ONLY move at HIS Word! When His Word is spoken from our mouths, they act on it as though Jesus Himself were saying it! So, stop the attacks by using your authority and speaking to your situation! On the positive side, Jerry Savelle's devotional says this:
No matter how you feel or what your emotions are telling you, God has a great future for you if you will just trust Him. Not only has He got a great future for you, but He has a plan to get you there too! Believing that you will see the manifestation of the goodness of the Lord is essential to staying strong in faith and walking into that bright future that He has prepared for you.
David wrote in Psalm 27:13-14 (NKJV),
“I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord!”
“I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord!”
What you believe determines how strong or how faint you become. If you allow discouragement and hopelessness to grip you, you will start to grow weak and faint. Believing in the goodness of the Lord will increase your strength. Don’t let negative situations consume your vision. If that is all you see, you will forget the goodness of God and plunge into a pit of despair. Never lose sight of His goodness. God is a good God and He has good plans for you.
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11, NIV).
Then our Spoken Word Bible Reading Plan for today has THIS from Isaiah 60:1-2:60 Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. 2 For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and His glory will be seen upon you. ESV
Yes, this is speaking specifically to Jerusalem, but it is also speaking to the Church of Jesus Christ, His Body! Dare to believe His very good plans for YOU and YOURS! Speak the Word, stand your ground against the enemy and SEE the salvation of God! All for His glory! AMEN! Here is Hillsong with "Yours Is The Kingdom":
Shalom in Him!
