GOD WILL MAKE IT HAPPEN

“Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. God will make this happen, for he who calls you is faithful.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 New Living Translation

      Paul, Silas & Timothy were faithful to bring the gospel message to the people of Thessalonica and followed up with this letter to help strengthen their faith and reassure them of Christ’s return. Since no one knows when his return will take place except the Father ⁽¹⁾ believers should stay in a constant state of readiness. This is a wonderful way to end a letter, in that it wishes the recipient well from a spiritual perspective and calls out the faithfulness of God.

    We serve a God who promotes peace on all levels and will bring it to pass in your life if you ask. Living a godly life can only be accomplished with the help of the Holy Spirit and that’s convenient because he happens to reside within us. For those who promote unrest, there is hope for them, but they must surrender to a power that is far greater than themselves. This is difficult for the unsaved mind. Faith in an unseen spiritual being is way too abstract to accept at face value. The step of faith that comes is often when a person has no other place to go.

     Whatever it is that you request within the boundaries of his will for you will take place because the Lord is faithful. He will do that which he has said he would do. We can trust God, so place any trust you may have in God and allow him to fill you to overflowing with all the blessings that you have coming to you. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing!

Resource: The Life Application Study Bible.

⁽¹⁾ Matthew 24:36 New Living Translation “However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows.”

CONQUERING EVIL WITH GOOD

“Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.” Romans 12:21 New Living Translation

     Evil is a powerful force. It brought rise to world wars down thru the ages and individual pain and heartache as well. It’s never all right for a child of God to repay evil with evil. Love is the most powerful force there is and can conquer evil when manifested in word and/or deed.

     These last three devotionals have dealt with a common thread; namely letting God avenge you, bless your enemies and now doing good as a means of conquering evil. Perhaps there is some great evil in your life. It may seem overwhelming at times, even debilitating, but we must always remember than God is Almighty, meaning nothing is more powerful than he is. He’s in complete control of all things in his creation and will never allow evil to defeat us. There may be times when evil will cast a black shadow over you, but be of good cheer because the light of God can remove any shadow.

     When we do good to those who do evil toward us, we throw water on their raging inferno of hate, causing its effect to diminish and slowly die. That is not to say this is easy. Sometimes we have no desire to place a salve of love on an evil filled situation. We wish to harm the aggressor in some way, but this is not God’s way. If we are to be imitators of Christ then we must place our own will along with its associated feelings aside and be the conduit of good God intends for us to be. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing!

Resource: The Life Application Study Bible.

BURNING COALS OF SHAME

Instead, “If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals of shame on their heads.”^[1] - Romans 12:20 New Living Translation

     On the heels of yesterday’s devotional regarding letting God avenge our pain from those who would do evil against us comes the very next verse which tells us what we should do instead of retaliating. We are to bless our enemies. First of all we can remain silent rather than get into an argument, which could potentially escalate into a physical altercation. We must proof we are different than the world by maintaining self-control in the face of instigation. 

     We should always pray for those who are against us. This invites and allows the Holy Spirit to rectify the situation from the inside out. Prayer changes things. Prayer puts the wheels of heaven in motion. Prayer is for our benefit. It will build up our faith and reliance on God. Our natural human inclination is to defend ourselves, but with Christ as our advocate and the Holy Spirit dwelling within us, we can step back and let God handle things as only he can.

     When we don’t react the way our instigator anticipates it’s like throwing a batter an off speed pitch. He can’t always handle it and neither can the instigator. He’s itching for a fight but will get known from the man or woman of God, for they have the proper Godly restraint to allow the Spirit to take control.  Bless those who persecute you and let the Lord work out the rest. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing!

Resource: The Life Application Study Bible.

^[1] Proverbs 25:21-22 - “If your enemies are hungry, give them food to eat. If they are thirsty, give them water to drink. You will heap burning coals of shame on their heads, and the Lord will reward you.”

GOD’S PAYBACK

“Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, ‘I will take revenge; I will pay them back,’ says the Lord.^[1]”  -  Romans 12:19 New Living Translation

     Did you know that revenge against someone who has hurt you will not remove your feelings of pain? Only forgiveness can do that. Some feel that getting back at someone who has hurt you in some way is satisfying, but if it is it’s only for a brief time. The one who hurt you may retaliate further causing a never-ending cycle that will lead to bitterness and resentment. This is not what God wants for us. This is why he gives the instruction to leave revenge to him. It is his place to take care of such things.

     The reason it is better for God to take revenge for us is because his revenge is fueled by righteous anger. Sin breeds evil and God hates that which is evil. Man acts and reacts many times based on his feelings at the time and can overreact to that which he feels is an injustice against him. We are not to do anything but forgive and love the individual. It’s what makes us different than the world.
     If the world will know we are Christians by our love for our brethren, how much greater will our testimony be if we show love and forgiveness to those outside our faith who have done us wrong. Retaliation is human, a normal response for those who are ignorant of God’s character. If we place the hurt into God’s hands and leave it there we will be much more at peace. This is what the Bible refers to as “the peace that passes all understanding”^[2].

Resource: The Life Application Study Bible.

^[1] Deuteronomy 32:35  - “I will take revenge; I will pay them back. In due time their feet will slip. Their day of disaster will arrive,
and their destiny will overtake them.”

^[2] Philippians 4:7

SALVATION IS BOUGHT & PAID FOR

“God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.” - John 3:17 NLT

     We are no doubt all familiar with John 3:16, which directly precedes the above verse. “For God so loved the world that he gave …”.  God will judge the world and everyone in it at the end of time, but Jesus did not come to judge any of us. In truth we condemn ourselves by our lifestyles, so judgment isn’t even necessary, but it will come nonetheless. Some folks simply don’t believe God would send anyone to hell. They are actually right about that. God sends no one to hell; they go by their own decision.  If you don’t choose Christ then you are voluntarily going to hell for sin cannot abide in the presence of God.

     Jesus, God’s Son and God as part of the Trinity package, was sent into our world. He didn’t come to spread doubt, fear and negativity, but rather love, mercy and grace. All these components lead an individual to God’s forgiveness. It is up to us to grab hold of that gift and apply it to your life.

     There is no other way for man to save himself. He can’t buy forgiveness, nor can he conjure it up on his own. It is a gift purchased for you. Accept it if you will, reject it if you must, but understand that we have one shot at this thing called eternity. And doing things on your own just isn’t going to cut it. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing!

Resource: The Life Application Study Bible.