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I AM AN 80 YEAR OLD MALE, BORN AGAIN, CHRISTIAN WITH A LOVE FOR JESUS. I DO NOT GET OUT MUCH ANYMORE BUT FIND THAT TELLING PEOPLE ABOUT THE LOVE JESUS HAS FOR THEM IS NOT ONLY WHAT WE ARE SUPPOSED TO DO BUT SOMETHING THAT THE WORLD NEEDS.
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Category: INSPIRATIONAL
ARE YOU IN GOD'S WILL?
Knowing God's Plan
John 1:23, 'He said, I [am] the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.'
JOHN 1:19-36
John knew who he was and what he was called to do. This was one of the keys to his success.
Unlike most of us, John did not have an identity crisis growing up. He knew God's plan and purpose for his life from the beginning and he spent his entire life preparing for it.
God has a plan for your life just as surely as he did for John the Baptist. To succeed in life, you must find God's plan for your life and then devote yourself to fulfilling that plan.
It is not enough to simply 'do your own thing' and then ask God's blessing upon it. Once you know you...
Satan's Power Is Limited
Luke 4:13, 'And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season.'
MT. 4:1-11; MK. 1:12-13; LK. 4:1-13
The wording of this verse implies that Satan exhausted his arsenal of temptations on Jesus and then had to leave.
We have mistakenly given Satan too much credit. He does not have a limitless number of temptations that he can pull on us. As 1 Jn. 2:16 says, there are three areas where the devil tempts us: (1) the lust of the flesh, (2) the lust of the eyes, and (3) the pride of life. Jesus' three temptations correspond to these.
By ascribing to Satan limitless temptations and abilities, we have built up our adversary to be bigger than he is. The truth is, 'There hath...
The Weapon Of The Word
Luke 4:4, 'And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.'
MT. 4:1-11; MK. 1:12-13; LK. 4:1-13
Jesus answered every temptation with, 'It is written.' The Word of God is the sword of the Spirit (Eph. 6:17). It is the only offensive spiritual weapon that we have.
Since Jesus was the Word of God (Jn. 1:1), anything he would have spoken would have been the Word. He could have said 'scat' and the devil would have had to go, yet He quoted the written Word of God three times.
This gives us great assurance that the written Word of God is sufficient for us. Jesus, in the face of the greatest temptations that Satan had to offer, did not need to...
Knowing Who We Are
Matthew 4:3, 'And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.'
MT. 4:1-11; MK. 1:12-13; LK. 4:1-13
Two of Satan's three temptations began with the words, 'If you be the Son of God.'
Jesus was God, but he did have a human body that had to grow in the knowledge and wisdom of God (Jn. 1:1; 1 Tim. 3:16; Lk. 2:52). It took faith for the physical mind of Jesus to believe the witness of the Spirit within Him that he was the Messiah. Satan was attacking the most basic of His beliefs. This must have been a temptation to Jesus or Satan would not have used it.
Satan is very subtle in his temptations. It may have looked like he was trying to get Jesus to...
A Greater Humility
Matthew 3:14, 'But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?'
MT. 3:13-17; MK. 1:9-11; LK. 3:21-23
John the Baptist was overwhelmed that Jesus was asking to be baptized by him. John had already declared himself unworthy to unloose the latchet of the Christ's shoes, and now the Christ was asking him to administer His baptism (Lk. 3:16).
Likewise, we are often overwhelmed by the idea that the Lord could use us. Who are we to proclaim the unsearchable riches of Christ? It is easy to disqualify ourselves and not fulfill God's instructions. However, Jesus told John that he had to do it to fulfill all righteousness.
As wonderful as it may seem, the Lord has chosen to...