Perfect Love Drives Out Fear

There is no fear in love.  But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.  1 John 4:18

When I first met the Lord as a teenager, I was plagued with many fears. At this time in my life, I struggled with feelings of inferiority and low self-esteem. But once I accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior, a new dynamic entered my life. I began to experience the love of the Father. The Holy Spirit ministered to me through His word, His Presence, and His people. The fears that once shaped me began to diminish in their power over me. As I grew in my relationship with God, I also grew in faith and confidence. Today I am still tempted at times to fear when circumstances arise, but I have learned to give my troubles to God and to allow Him to shower me with His love. His love makes me strong and His love will make you strong as well.

God's love is perfect, and His perfect love really does drive away fear. Fear is a spirit. It says in 2 Timothy 1:7 that God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power, love, and a sound mind. This promise is for us. We don't have to live with fear. Fear debilitates, it destroys. But with the Lord in our lives, we can win the victory over fear. We can allow His love to set us completely free. It may take time – it did for me. I found it helpful to meditate on scriptures that speak of God's love. Our Lord's truth brings deliverance; it brings us freedom.

If you are struggling with fear of any kind, I encourage you to invite the Lord into your situation. As you draw near to Him, He will draw near to you. Meditate on scriptures that speak of the love of God. His perfect love will surely drive away your fears.

Dear Father God,

Thank you for Your great love. Lord I surrender my every fear to You. I thank you that You live in me and greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world. Spirit of fear I bind you in the name of Jesus and I command you to leave me now. Holy Spirit come in your loving way and fill me. Thank you for giving me victory over every fear. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.    

We Have Overcome

“for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.” 1 John 5:4

The Bible says that those who have accepted Christ as their Savior are positioned “in Christ”. This is how God sees us. Like a bookmark enveloped in the pages of a book, we have been placed inside our Lord. Wherever the book goes, so goes the bookmark. In Christ we died. In Christ we rose again. In Christ we defeated the grave.

Jesus said we should take heart because He has overcome the world. We too have overcome the world. We are overcomers now in this life. We are not trying to overcome: we have overcome. This is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith. When we mix the promise of being an overcomer with our faith, we begin to experience this truth. When we believe we are overcomers, His Spirit backs up our faith and we can live out the reality of this promise.

This means whatever we are facing, God will enable us to win the battle. This means we can meet each day with a victory mindset. We are more than conquerers, victors because of our relationship with Christ. It doesn't matter how many times we have failed in the past; God desires to give us a fresh start. As we meditate on who we are in Christ, we can grow in our ability to overcome. In His strength we overcome in spiritual warfare, through financial difficulty, in sickness, and in every area of life.

We can learn to confess or profess the word of God concerning our position in Christ. When we speak God's word over our lives, our tongue – like the rudder of a ship – helps to bring God's promises into reality.

God sees us as overcomers because we are positioned in Christ. Let's stand on the promises of God and learn to live the victorious life that our Lord desires us to walk in. Let's declare God's word over our lives and begin to live out the overcoming life that Christ has purchased for us on the cross.

Dear Father God,

Thank you for making me an overcomer. Thank you that You have given me victory over every situation I come against. Lord I love you, and I praise you for all You've done. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

The Greatest Privilege of All

He (Jesus) replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightening from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.” Luke 10:19 NIV parentheses mine

Jesus appointed seventy-two believers and sent them two by two to preach the gospel and to heal the sick and cast out demons in His name. These "sent-ones" enjoyed enormous success. They returned with joy and said to Jesus that even the demons submit us in Your name.

Our Lord's response was intriguing. On one hand He encouraged them; He affirmed them by declaring the authority that was given them over Satan. But he also told them they were to rejoice that their names were written in heaven not because of the authority they possess through the name of Jesus. Jesus was pointing out that their relationship with the Father was to be their number one concern.

At this time, Jesus beamed with joy and said, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was Your good pleasure.” (Luke 10:21 NIV) It takes someone with a childlike heart to believe that God has given us power to defeat the enemy; it takes someone who has a genuine relationship with the Lord, someone who is not wise in their own eyes to find victory in spiritual warfare. Psalm 8:2 says, “From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.” Here the Scripture refers to praise as one of the weapons we have against the Devil, but also notice that this victory is given to children and infants or to those with a childlike heart before God.

Let's embrace the authority that the Lord has granted us. When we pray in faith, mountains move and demons flee in terror. But let us not glory in the power that has been delegated to us; rather, let's glory in the intimate relationship we have with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Because of Christ's sacrifice on the cross, we have been given the greatest privilege. We now have free access into the throne room of God; for knowing Him is the greatest privilege of all.

Dear Father God,

I praise You and worship You. I thank you for giving me victory over the enemy. But Lord I am filled with praise and awe because You chose me to have an abiding relationship with you. Help me to know you more and more intimately as I walk with You. In Jesus name, Amen.

The Words You Say

In the midst of the struggle

She cries out in faith

God's word on her lips

Creates the way

Paves a pathway through the chaos

To victory unearned

God's word spoken

A prayer that heaven heard

God moves with a fury

To right the wrong

To bring justice to His child

She sings a praise song

His faith is in our hearts

We must speak it out

We must speak it out

His faith in our hearts

Must be heard aloud

If you'll speak His word today

From the heart

Victory is on its way

If you'll speak His word today

God will listen to the words you say

The Prayer that Pleased God

The king went to Gibeon to offer sacrifices, for that was the most important high place, and Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.”  1 Kings 3:4-5

Heartfelt worship pleases God. Young king Solomon pleased God immensely when he offered the Lord those thousand burnt offerings on the altar. This worship cost Solomon of his time and his treasure. This worship came from Solomon's heart; otherwise, God would not have delighted in it.

That night the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream. He told Solomon that he would give him anything he desired – anything. Solomon impressed the Lord again with his answer. Instead of asking for great wealth, or great victory, or long life, he requested that he might receive a heart of wisdom and discernment to lead his people. He knew he was young and inexperienced, and his heart was humble and pure so he asked for what was right in God's eyes; he asked for wisdom.

This pleased the Lord to no end. He made Solomon the wisest king to ever sit on the throne, save Jesus Christ. The Lord also made him the wealthiest king to every live, even though Solomon did not ask for this blessing. Solomon started with a triumphant bang. Unfortunately, he stumbled greatly in his later years.

But we can learn much from Solomon's example here. We too can make worship a priority. We can set aside special times to seek God's face in a more focused and significant way. We can learn to ask God for things that delight our Father's heart. We can seek and pursue wisdom through prayer and the study of God's word.

If we will do these things, we will find - like Solomon did for much of his life - that the Lord will give us success in all we do. He will prosper us in every way even as our soul prospers. Like young Solomon, let's cause our Lord to smile, when we do, He will honor our requests and bless us with even more than we imagined.

Dear Father God,

I choose to seek first Your kingdom and Your righteousness, and I thank You that You will bless me with all the things I need and desire. Lord, I ask for your wisdom so that I can serve You better. Thank you for hearing my prayer. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

A Look into the Life of Samson

Whenever the Spirit of the Lord came upon Samson, he was furnished with supernatural strength.  The first time we witness this is when he is met by a roaring lion, while he was strolling outside.  The Spirit of God came upon him in power, and he literally ripped the beast to pieces.  On another occasion, he killed a thousand men with a donkey’s jawbone. 

Samson was uniquely gifted by God.  Before he was born, the angel of the Lord prophesied to his mother that her son would begin the deliverance of Israel from the hands of the hostile Philistines.  The angel also gave specific instructions for the mother and the child to follow.  One of these instructions forbade the boy from cutting his hair throughout his entire life.  His long hair was a sign of his covenant with God.

Although Samson had a great calling on his life, and though he was endowed with great power and had enormous potential, he proved to be a carnal man.  He did not honor his relationship with God above his desires.  On one occasion, we find that he slept with a prostitute.  Later, he fell in love with a Philistine woman named Delilah.  The Philistines promised her money if she could find out the secret of Samson’s strength.  They wanted to capture him.  At first, Samson tried to deceive Delilah.  He did not tell her the truth about his mystery.  But eventually her nagging persuaded him, and he told her that if his hair was shaven, his strength would diminish to that of a normal man.

When Samson fell asleep on Delilah’s lap, a man shaved his hair.  Then the Philistines subdued him and, soon after, gouged out his eyes. 

This is tragic.  Samson first gave in to the desires of his flesh, and then he compromised his unique covenant with God.  He lost his spiritual vision before he lost his physical sight.

The Scripture says that while he was in captivity, his hair started to grow back.  When we fall, God makes a way for us to rise again.  Though Samson never regained his physical sight, he did come to a renewed sense of spiritual vision.  One day, the Philistines celebrated and sacrificed to Dagon their god.  They called for Samson to be brought out of the prison to entertain them.  Samson asked to be placed between the pillars that support the temple.

Samson cried out to God for one last display of strength.  He asked to die with the Philistines.  He exerted great force on the two pillars and they collapsed causing the temple to be crushed to the ground and with it Samson and the Philistines that were gathered there.  In doing so, Samson killed more Philistines at his death than he did all throughout his lifetime.

What can we learn from this uncommon story?  I think a good take away would be that we value the calling the Lord has placed on each of our lives.  No matter who you are, if you belong to Christ, you have God-given gifts and abilities.  You also have a mission.  We have been chosen to build up the body of Christ and to win the world to Him.  We all have a part to play.  But our focus can become muddied by worldly living, if we allow it.  Let’s fix our eyes on Jesus and esteem the calling on our lives.  If we do, we will not only start well, we will live for God in a steady and consistent manner, and we will finish well with the strength that the Lord provides.

Infinite Love

I thought I stumbled upon it

Like Columbus encountering the American shores

But You sought me out

You drew me towards Infinite Love

Once I was aware of You,

My life began to change

Like black and white

Now bleeding with diverse color

You transformed me

Your love so pure, so driven

A catalyst so potent

Your love knows no limits

Your infinite love

It leads me to eternity's shores

Your love spills over

Instilling in me a passion

For the souls of men finding freedom

That they may taste and see

The goodness of God

That they may know firsthand

Your infinite love