Humility Cures Worldliness

Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners;
and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep!
Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.
Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

James 4:7-10 (NKJV)

Although God and the Devil are at war, we don't have to wait until the end to see who will win. God has already defeated Satan (Revelation 12:10-12), and when Christ returns, the Devil and all he stands for will be eliminated forever (Revelation 20:10-15). Satan is here now, however, and he is trying to win us over to his evil cause. With the Holy Spirit's power, we can resist the Devil, and he will flee from us.

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Can you imagine Michael Jordan coming back to the bench talking about, “I could score a whole lot easier if I didn't have that other guy putting his hands up in my face all the time”?

Michael's coach would tell him, “Michael, if there were no opponent, it would be easy to score. We're paying you millions to score with that guy in your face.”

As Christians, we have an opponent in our face too. Whenever you decide to do something significant for God, Satan will show up, usually in the person of people like Sanballat and Tobiah (reference Nehemiah 2). Not everyone wants their culture transformed by the influence of godly people. It displeased these men that Nehemiah had come to seek the welfare of Israel. They took it upon themselves to stop him. See, Satan's job is to keep God's people from carrying out God's will.

By the way, this isn't just true for the big projects such as rebuilding a community. Satan's job is to destroy you and your family because he knows Christian families populated by committed Christians are the foundation to transforming society. So he spends day and night plotting your demise. Just like we have angels assigned to us, Satan has demons with our names and addresses on their “to do” lists.

That is why the Bible says, “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood” (Ephesians 6:12). Do we need to fear Satan and his demons? No, not at all. We need to resist and overcome them in the power of Christ.

Nehemiah wasn't afraid of his adversaries, but neither did he take them lightly. For the rest of his rebuilding project and well beyond it, he kept a close eye on those characters.

But too many of us are like puppets on a string to Satan. All he has to do is yank our string a little, and we go where he tells us to go and get mad when he tells us to get mad. Once you understand what Satan is up to, you will get down on your knees and say, “Not today, Satan. Not me, not my marriage, not my family, not my community - because we are submitting ourselves to God.”

Stand firm for God and against Satan, and the Sanballats and Tobiahs of this world will melt like snowmen in summer.

Excerpts from: "Life Application Study Bible" by Tyndale House Publishers and "Time to Get Serious" by Tony Evans

God Can Save Anybody

Christians aren’t perfect people pretending we have life figured out.

We’re people who know what it feels like to be empty.

To make mistakes we regret.

To carry shame quietly.

To search for peace in places that could never give it.

To smile on the outside while hurting on the inside.

We know what it’s like to need grace.

To need mercy.

To need a fresh start we couldn’t earn for ourselves.

So no, we’re not standing here saying we’re better than anyone.

We’re standing here saying we were rescued.

We’re not pointing to our goodness.

We’re pointing to God’s goodness.

We’re not talking about perfection.

We’re talking about forgiveness.

We’re not saying we never fell.

We’re saying He picked us back up.

Christianity was never about a bunch of flawless people judging the broken.

It’s a bunch of broken people telling other broken people where healing can be found.

Because if He could save us…

He can save anybody.

- Cheyenne Traficante

Prayer: Difficult Circumstances

Prayer: Grace To Get Through It All

Remember the Treasure in Your Jar of Clay

 “But we have this treasure in jars of clay,

to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.”

2 Corinthians 4:7 (ESV)

Recently I visited a pottery store, looking for a special gift. Marveling at the beautiful pieces crafted by local artisans, I quickly found the perfect item - some golden-glazed, wood-fired mugs.

As I left the store, a sign on a small shed caught my attention: “Tired and Flawed Pots.” I chuckled to myself, appreciating the honesty of whoever posted the sign.

At first glance, the pottery in the shed looked similar to the pieces inside the store. But when I looked closer, I noticed these vessels were chipped, misshapen or imperfect in some way. For whatever reason, the potter had deemed them unworthy of a place in the main store.

I sometimes wonder if God sees me that way. Am I too tired, flawed and weak to be valued by Him? When my failings and sinful nature frustrate me, I’m tempted to believe the lie that I’m not good enough or that He will put me on the shelf in the shed.

But I’m learning the opposite is true.

In the ancient world, clay jars were symbolic of human weakness. In Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, he reminds us that God chooses clay jars to fill with His treasure - the Good News of Jesus Christ:

“But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us” (2 Corinthians 4:7).

As followers of Jesus:

1. Each of us is a clay jar.
2. Each of us has this treasure - the power of the gospel.
3. The power of the treasure belongs to God, not us.
4. God shows His power through us, the clay jars.

Paul’s words encourage us to be content with our weaknesses and hardships, even boasting of them.

God told Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness,” so Paul said, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).

If you’re feeling weak and discouraged, remember this truth:

God has given you His treasure in your weakness, and He’ll shine His power through it. Your weakness may be the very thing God will use to bring others to Him.

We can choose to bring our weaknesses to Jesus in prayer instead of becoming frustrated by them or letting them trip us up. When our focus is on sharing the treasure, not the clay jar, those around us will see the surpassing power of God.

Loving Father, thank You for giving me the treasure of Jesus in my clay jar. When I feel weak and unworthy, remind me that You choose weak vessels to fill with Your power. Help me to focus on the treasure and not on myself. Please shine through me! In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

- Lisa Lenning
Provided by "Proverbs 31 Ministries"