Weekly Bread

The Apostle Paul, in writing to Timothy, said people would become unthankful in the last days. Being unthankful, among many other negative character traits, would be prominent evidence in the world. You see, man without God doesn’t get better but rather grows worse. Even Christians who don’t continue to walk with God spiral downward. Becoming unthankful is the result of an insufficient awareness of God and His goodness in our lives. When we replace God with things and other less-important pursuits, we’ll quickly become self absorbed and live independent of God. This has been a challenge man has faced since Adam fell in the garden. No one is exempt from the pull of the flesh that demands its independence from God. Although this is true, God did not leave us hopeless or powerless to face this dreadful, diseased attitude alone.

Paul wrote to the believers in the great city of Ephesus instructing them how to be powerfully full of the Spirit. Ephesians 5:17-20 says;

“Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;”

These are keys to unlocking the power of God in our personal lives. It’s like taking a shot of life in the heart. Becoming unthankful is very similar to a contagious disease that afflicts the human body, except this goes right for the heart. Acting on these verses of scripture is practicing the presence of God; and in doing so, we are developing a mental awareness that goes beyond the head to the core of our heart.

Have you ever rehearsed a problem in your mind? Before long it became so big in your mind that you felt overwhelmed and powerless. As negative emotions, thoughts, and actions followed the thought pattern, it became as if you were full of the problem. Paul said we can be filled with the Spirit by practicing psalms, hymns, spiritual songs, singing in our heart and being thankful. Oh! How we need this in our lives! It seems as if society is growing more and more self-centered. They are pushing God further and further from their lives, but we can draw closer and closer. Let's become a more thankful people than ever before, and become a greater witness to the world we live in.

God Bless You;

In Hosea 4:6 we read;

“My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge; because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me; see thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.”

The most important subject in the Bible today is Jesus. The second most important subject in the Bible is the devil. People raise their children in church; they teach them about Jesus, and teach them about Bible stories. Then one day their kids are in trouble with the law and making all kinds of bad choices, and they wonder why. They say, “We did everything right. We raised them in church, we taught them about Jesus.” What went wrong? They didn’t teach their kids about the devil, and that is just the way he likes it. The devil wants to prey on our lack of knowledge, so he can get an advantage over our life.

In II Corinthians 2:11 we read;

“Lest Satan should get an advantage of us for we are ignorant of his devices.”

The devil’s devices are deceptive strategies. The devil’s greatest and only weapon is deception. Just yesterday, on Halloween, I saw a women dressed like the devil. The devil is so deceptive. He has convinced people that he is no harm to them; but even worse, many people don’t even believe he is real. They think he is a cartoon or something. He makes people powerless, because how can they overcome something they don’t believe is real?

If you and your family are going to live in victory and overcome the world, you must know about the devil, how he operates, and realize that he is your enemy.

In John 10:10 we read;

“The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill and to destroy; I am come that they might have life, and have it more abundantly.”

As Christians, we can’t be deceived anymore. We don’t need to be looking for demons around every corner, but we must realize that they are the major influence of all the evil that transpires in our world. We see people as being bad, without seeing the powers of darkness at work behind the scenes. We must recognize the devil’s works and influence, not only in those around us, but in our own lives. As we walk in the light of God’s Word and recognize the devil and his deceptive strategies, we will be able to resist him with the truth of God’s Word. The devil will flee, and we will live in victory.

As I close, be encouraged; the greater one, God, lives inside of us. We are more than conquerors. Learn about Jesus and the authority that has been given to us as believers, but don’t be ignorant of the devil and his deceptive strategies. Remember this, where there is truth, there is no deception. Where there is no deception, there is no defeat.

Have a blessed week,