Who is Your Accuser?

 God tells us about him. He is often called "the accuser of the brethren."

We see him beginning his campaign against us in Genesis 3. Then witness him in action in Job. And finally see him destroyed forever in Revelation 20.

In some places he is called "Satan," the "adversary," "the enemy," the "serpent," "deceiver," and "tempter."

John gives us this picture of him in Revelation 12:

   "Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say, 'Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of His Messiah. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony.'"

Think of it...he is working against us 24 hours a day!

But we can, through Christ, defeat him!

He is described as "subtle" and "shrewd." We are told he keeps records of our shortcomings and anything he can use against us in order to dishonor and discredit us before God.

Remember the song we used to sing? -- "Greater is He that is in you than he who is in the world!"

I remember my friend who told me that whenever Satan knocks at her door to tempt her, she turns her eyes on Jesus and says, "Jesus, could you get the door?"

Sounds like a good plan to  me!

He can't take away our salvation -- that is secured forever by Jesus Himself -- but he can tarnish our testimony, destroy our joy, and try to make us feel shame, guilt and condemnation...IF WE LET HIM!

Pour Out Your Heart!

"Trust in Him at all times, you people. Pour out your heart to Him. God is a refuge for us" (Psalm 62:8).

"Every once in a while we just need to cry it out. Our heavenly Father is always there, watching and waiting for the opportunity to hold His children. His love is freely given and knows no bounds when it comes to those who seek Him for sanctuary."  Cindy Boyd

He is there - waiting to give comfort...and courage....

The prophet Zephaniah understood it. He know God as his loving Father, holding His child, quieting him and bringing him rest and peace during times of anxiety. As soon as we cry out, He is there -- already there -- watching over us as a parent watches over His beloved child.

"The LORD, your God in your midst, the Mighty One, will save. He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you in His love, He will rejoice over you with singing." (Zephaniah 3:17)

Make It A Better Day!

 This day is beginning as a perfect day!

I started it with this wonderful prayer hymn -- written by Kate Wilkinson 100 years ago! I highly recommend it to you -- just pray the words and feel God's love and joy and peace fill your heart.

   "May the mind of Christ, my Savior, live in me from day to day,
    by His love and power controlling all I do and say.

    May the Word of God dwell richly in my heart from hour to hour,
    so that all may see I triumph only through His power.

    May the peace of God, my Father, rule my life in everything,
    that I may be calm to comfort sick and sorrowing.

    May the love of Jesus fill me as the waters fill the seas;
    Him exalting, self abasing, this is victory!

    May I run the race before me, strong and brave to face the foe,
    looking only unto Jesus as I onward go.

    May His beauty rest upon me as I seek the lost to win 
    and may they forget the channel, seeing only Him!"

Best suggestion for sure -- ask your magic music box to play it for you - just ask for "May the Mind of Christ, My Savior" and be blessed!

Fretting and Worrying - Oswald Chambers

                                      

                                                 Fretting and Worrying 

                                                                        --   Words from Oswald Chambers

"Do not fret. It only causes harm " (Psalm 37:8).

"Fretting means getting ourselves 'out of joint' mentally or spiritually.

Resting in the Lord is not dependent on your external circumstances, but on your relationship with God Himself. 

Worrying always results in sin.

We tend to think that a little anxiety and worry are simply an indication of how wise we really are, yet it is a much better indication of just how wicked we really are.

Fretting rises from our determination to have things our own way.

Our Lord never worried and was never anxious, because His purpose was never to accomplish His own plans but to fulfill God's plans.

Fretting is wickedness for a child of God.

Deliberately tell God that you will not fret about whatever concerns you.

All your fretting and worrying is caused by planning without God."

How Dark is the Darkness?

 

These are dark days.

Evil is called good and good is called evil. It feels like we've gone down Alice's 'rabbit hole'. Nothing is determined to be consistently true.

The New Testament asks us, "How should we live in these days?"

Here's Jonathan Cahn's answer:

   "Believers are called to respond to the darkness of their age by becoming the antithesis, its counterforce [opposite].

The believer who lives in an age of heresy must become a counterforce of faithfulness to God's Word. In a culture of immorality, a counterforce of purity and moral virtues. Those who live in a godless culture must become the counterforce of God's presence. And those who live in a culture of radical evil must become radically good..."

Living in darkness requires that we shine more brightly.

In the face of a radically evil society like ours, we must become radically good!

And in a godless society we must always display God in our lives - showing those around us that there is a God and He is always here - He is Immanuel....we are to be His eyes and heart and hands and mind...We are to show Him to the world!

We are to display the presence of God in our lives -- all the time!  Making Him visible!

The more radically evil the world around us - the more radically good we must become!