Category: Strength for Today

Exodus 23:29
“I will not drive them out from before thee in one year; lest the land become desolate, and the beast of the field multiply against thee.”

God makes it clear throughout the Scriptures that He expects the Christian to be a conqueror. He says in Romans 8:37, “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.” One of the best examples that God gives us on how to be conquerors is found in the verse above when He lays down some principles for Israel to conquer Canaan. These principles must be followed if you want to be a conqueror in the Christian life.

First, you will never grow without God’s help. God says in verse 30, “…I will drive them out…” You will never become a conqueror until you get God involved in your life. A daily time of spiritual nourishment is needed to conquer by walking with God in His Word and prayer. You can try to conquer yourself, but you will fail without God.

Second, don’t try to conquer everything at one time. God told Israel to conquer, “By little and little…” Too many Christians try to overcome everything at one time and fail because that is not how growth occurs. If you are going to be a conqueror in the Christian life then you must learn that it will take time. Choose one thing to conquer at a time instead of trying to fight the whole battle at once. Be careful that you don’t allow your zeal to do right cause you to pass up the reality of your ability to conquer.

Third, replace the bad with the good. Romans 12:21 says, “Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.” Anytime you remove the wrong, you must replace it with good. If you don’t replace what you removed with good, the Devil will use the void in your life to allow something worse to fill its place. Just remember that the best way to get rid sin is to start doing good and it will force out the bad.

Fourth, set up boundaries and limitations. God said in verse 31, “And I will set thy bounds…” Boundaries and limitations are not bad. In fact, you will never succeed in conquering without have boundaries and limitations that you set for your life. When a parent tells their child to stay in the yard and not to go into the street, they are not inhibiting them from enjoyment, but they are guarding them from oncoming cars that could hurt or kill them. Likewise, you must have rules, boundaries and limitations that guard you from those things that could cause you to go into sin. Don’t let the Devil shame you into removing the boundaries and limitations that keep you safe.

Fifth, separate from that which would cause you to digress. In verse 33, God told Israel that they were not allowed to let the people of the land dwell within their country. God was establishing the importance of separation. The Christian who is going to be a conqueror must separate from those things or people who would keep them from conquering. Separation is a stimulant to growth, for worldliness and compromise will cause the Christian to digress instead of conquer.

You will never be a conqueror without following these five principles. Follow them, and you will experience the conquering life.

Exodus 9:35
“And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, neither would he let the children of Israel go; as the LORD had spoken by Moses.”

One of the saddest statements that is said about Pharaoh is found in the verse above when it says, “And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened…” Several times God gave Pharaoh a chance to do right, but every time he had an excuse for hardening his heart. What Pharaoh didn’t realize was that once he hardened his heart the first time, it made it so much easier to do it the next time. The eventual result of hardening his heart was fatal when he pursued Israel through the Red Sea and God closed the waters killing him and his army.

One would think that every Christian would learn from Pharaoh’s life not to make the same fatal mistakes. Though Pharaoh was not a saved man, the mistakes he made are the same mistakes many Christians make in dealing with their sin. When you study Pharaoh’s response to sin, you will learn several mistakes you must avoid.

The first mistake Pharaoh made was in thinking that nothing had happened yet. God delayed His judgment when He killed all the frogs. Pharaoh saw that there was “respite” or a delay in God’s judgment. Just because God delays His judgment doesn’t mean that He is not going to  judge. You may think you have gotten away with your sin, but a delay in God’s judgment is simply a space of grace for you to get right. Don’t waste the opportunity God gives you to get right. Don’t take the delay of judgment as weakness on God’s behalf. Nothing may have happened, but that is an opportunity to get right.

The second mistake Pharaoh made was in thinking that God wasn’t fair. God plagued the Egyptians cattle, but He didn’t plague the cattle of the Jews. Pharaoh saw this and thought to himself that God wasn’t fair in His treatment of the Egyptians. Don’t fall for the mistake of judging God’s fairness. Don’t continue in sin just because you think God should have judged someone else. God deals on a personal level, and you must not compare how God treats others with yourself.

The third mistake Pharaoh made was in thinking that he was bigger than God. God destroyed the barley and the flax with hail, but did not destroy the wheat and the rye. Pharaoh’s mentality was that he had taken God’s best shot and was still alive to talk about it. Just because God has not totally destroyed you does not mean that you are bigger than God. You may think you have taken God’s best shot and survived but God still has more power to judge; instead, He has reserved it to give you an opportunity to get right.

The fourth mistake Pharaoh made was in thinking that he could negotiate with God. Pharaoh constantly tried to negotiate his sin throughout this whole process. God doesn’t negotiate right and wrong. God doesn’t say that He will let you do some wrong if your good outweighs the bad. Sin is non-negotiable with God. You may think that you are negotiating with God, but you are only delaying the inevitable because He will not change.

Friend, don’t make these fatal mistakes concerning sin. God does not desire to judge or destroy people. Throughout the Scriptures God gives people ample time to get right before He judges. Don’t become so emboldened that you make the same fatal mistakes Pharaoh made. Throw your excuses out and get right concerning your sin today.

Acts 24:25
“And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee.”

God never said that it would be convenient to serve Him. In fact, when Jesus called people to follow Him He said, “…If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” (Luke 9:23) Felix wouldn’t get saved because it was inconvenient. He knew if he got saved that there were some things that would change, and he surmised that it would inconvenience his lifestyle. There were four things that were inconvenient that stood in the way of him getting saved. It was not that these things were necessary for salvation, but he understood that God expected these things of a Christian. These four things that Felix found inconvenient are the same four things that keep most Christians from selling out for Christ. Let me show them to you.

First, righteous living is inconvenient. Felix “reasoned of righteousness.” Doing right is not always a convenient thing to do. If the only time you plan on doing right is when it is convenient, you are going to find that serving God is laborious. When you look at doing right, it is inconvenient at times. Going to church faithfully, soul winning, tithing, dressing right, walking with God and loving people is not always going to be convenient. There are times when these things and more are very inconvenient. You have to come to the point in your life when you don’t do right because it is convenient, but you do right because it is the right thing to do.

Second, practicing self-control in inconvenient. Felix didn’t want to get saved because he wanted to live his life in whatever way he desired. You will find that being temperate with your desires and actions won’t be convenient. When you are in an atmosphere where the pressure is to do wrong, you must make the inconvenient choice to do right. When wrong things are around and immoral pleasures present themselves, it is not always convenient to say, “No.” The inconvenient thing to do is to tell your flesh that you are going to do right even when it wants to do wrong.

Third, it is inconvenient to do right and turn down an opportunity to make money. Felix wanted money to be paid for Paul’s freedom, which tells us that he would rather live in sin and make money than get saved and lose his wealth. You certainly don’t have to be poor to get saved or serve the LORD, but money cannot be your focus in life. If you are going to successfully serve the LORD, there will be times when you must inconveniently turn down financial opportunities because they will interfere with your service to the LORD.

Fourth, timing is never convenient. Felix wanted to wait when he should have immediately gotten saved. If you are waiting for a convenient time to serve the LORD, then you will never find that time. There is never a convenient time to step out by faith. Living by faith is one of the most inconvenient acts you’ll do, but you will never please the LORD without doing it.

Friend, these four things are necessary to pleasing the LORD. If you wait for a convenient time to do them then you will never do them. Serving the LORD is very inconvenient, but the blessings of being inconvenienced are immeasurable. I challenge you to choose inconvenience over convenience.

Acts 17:2
“And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures,”

Paul was one who never backed away from discourse, even with those who were antagonistic. There were many times when he reasoned with people who had a heart that truly desired to know the truth, and he was able to lead them to salvation. There were other times when he reasoned with people who were simply unreasonable. The verse above shows us one of those times when those who were unreasonable eventually tried to destroy him.

If you have ever attempted to reason with an unreasonable person, surely you will admit that it was a very unpleasant situation. We oftentimes try to reason with people with the hope that they will come to the truth. The verse above shows us how to reason with those who seem to be unreasonable.

First, don’t make yourself or your opinions the issue. When you are trying to reason with people, you have to take yourself completely out of the picture. Unreasonable people always try to make personality the issue, but you must not allow them to succeed. You are never the issue, and your opinions are not what matters. You must never let personalities and opinions be the source of dispute. When you make personalities, opinions or yourself the subject of reasoning, you will only find yourself in a losing situation.

Second, base everything on Scriptures and facts. Paul never one time quoted his opinions, instead he reasoned with them through the Scriptures. The Scriptures are always fact. You disarm and frustrate the unreasonable person when you only quote the facts or the Scriptures. The unreasonable person doesn’t want the facts or Scriptures, they only want their way. Even when they misquote Scriptures and twist the facts, you must always stick with truth.

Third, state the Scriptures and facts and don’t elaborate. When you start elaborating is when you get yourself into trouble. The Scriptures and facts will do the work that needs to be done. Always remember that the more you talk, the greater the possibility to contradict yourself. Learn to speak in short statements by stating what the Scriptures and facts say. If they try to turn the conversation to something else, always go back to the Scriptures and facts. An unreasonable person will continually try to turn the conversation, but you must not sway from what you came to discuss concerning the Scriptures and facts.

Fourth, expect trouble from those who won’t accept the Scriptures and facts. You have to understand that the unreasonable person never wanted the truth, they only wanted their way. When they don’t get their way, they will turn to try and hurt you. Don’t be surprised when they turn to evil. The unreasonable person is like a spoiled brat who only wants their way and will never listen to truth.

If you serve the LORD for any length of time, you will find yourself in a situation where you must deal with unreasonable people. Let these four pieces of advice guide you when you find yourself in this situation. Always remember that it is not about who wins. As long as you make the Scriptures and facts your basis for everything, it won’t matter if the unreasonable person rejects you.

Acts 11:24
“ For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith: and much people was added unto the Lord.”

One of the known people in the Scriptures who is rarely examined is Barnabas. Everyone knows him as the man who traveled with Paul in his early ministry and who strongly disagreed with him about John Mark, but there is more to this man’s life than this. Barnabas was a great Christian. He was an unsung hero in the Scriptures who made in impact on the Gentile world without getting the credit for it.

The name Barnabas means, “The son of consolation.” Barnabas was a helper his entire life. He seemed to be that person who was willing to be the unsung hero at the side of someone else, but his impact was truly seen when “much people was added unto the Lord.” Paul’s ministry would have never gone as far as it did without a Barnabas. John Mark would have never recovered without a Barnabas being willing to fight for him. The verse above shows us that being a helping hand was more than just being a help. If you want to have the same impact on others that Barnabas had, then there are some characteristics and actions you need to copy.

The first thing that made Barnabas a great helper was that he was a good man. In other words, he was morally and actively right. Nobody would ever be able to point their finger at him and accuse him of doing wrong. You will never be the helper you need to be until you start living a moral life. Morality is a big key in helping others. You can’t help others when your life is full of sin. Sin doesn’t help; it destroys. Barnabas was a great help because he lived a moral life.

Second, Barnabas was full of the Holy Ghost. You will never help people without the power of the Holy Ghost upon your life. One of the missing elements in this generation is the power of God on the lives of Christians. Being full of the Holy Ghost is more than just being influenced by the Holy Ghost. It is being controlled by the Holy Ghost. Without His power, you will not be the help to others that you need to be.

Third, he was full of faith. What does it mean to be full of faith? It means that his life was the ministry. Everything else in life simply accompanied his life, but the ministry was the central focus of all that he did. He realized that the ministry was about people. He believed in people when others didn’t. When others didn’t believe in Saul, he did. When others gave up on John Mark, he believed there was still good in him. This is the type of Christian you must be if you are going to be a help to the LORD’s work. Be the type of person who always believes in people. You need to have the type of faith that never gives up on people and is willing to restore them. That is what made Barnabas who he was.

Fourth, he was a soul winner. It says about Barnabas’ influence, “…much people was added unto the Lord.” This means he aggressively went after the souls of men. You will never be a help to others without being a soul winner.

Are you a Barnabas? Are you willing to be the unsung hero who influences others for the LORD? Every church needs to be filled with people who are willing to be that second person who doesn’t look for the credit, but is a help to those who do receive the credit. This makes for a winning team and this is a staple in every influential church.

Genesis 47:9
“And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years: few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.”

The Scriptures consistently compare life to a pilgrimage. When Jacob talked about his life he said, “The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years…” When God talked about the heroes of the faith He said about them in Hebrews 11:13, “…that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.” God encouraged the Christian in 1 Peter 2:11, “Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts…” God is teaching the Christian that we are not citizens of this Earth, but we are citizens of Heaven. We then need to live our lives in such a manner that we make the most of our pilgrimage on this Earth. There are four things you need to keep in mind if you are going to make the most of this pilgrimage.

First, life is a journey, be patient. The word “pilgrimage” means, “A long journey to some place deemed sacred.” One mistake many people make is that they try to do everything at one time and forget that they have their whole life ahead of them. Enjoy each stage of your pilgrimage. Whether you are a teenager, single person, young adult or middle aged, enjoy each stage realizing that life is a journey. Be patient with each stage and don’t rush it.

Second, there is time to recover, don’t despair. It is comforting that God calls life a pilgrimage because that gives hope that we can recover from falls and mistakes that we make along the way. So, you have messed up a portion of your life, remember that life is a journey and you have time to recover. Don’t stay stuck in your mistake and think that life is over. You are on a journey and you have time to recover from any mistake you make. Don’t despair!

Third, time is short, don’t waste it. When Jacob talked about his life he said that the days of his pilgrimage were “few and evil.” The man lived to be a hundred and thirty years, yet he said that his days were few. Certainly life is a journey and you should be patient, but don’t waste the time away thinking that you can get to something later. You will one day get old and look back and wonder where the time went. Make the most of time while you have the energy and vitality of life.

Fourth, years are filled with days, so live each day wisely. Every day you waste not serving the LORD is a day you can never take back. Those days will add up to years, and one day you will look back and see the years you wasted with regret. Friend, if you are going to make the most of your pilgrimage, then you are going to have to use every day wisely and accomplish the most in each day. Every day you waste will continually diminish the opportunities of tomorrow. If you make the most of each day, then your years will be fruitful years.

My friend, one day you will get old and will look back at your life like Jacob. If you waste your life, then you will say that your days have been “few and evil.” Don’t let that be the autobiography of your life. Make the most of what God has given you on this journey, that is the only way you will be able to enjoy those seasoned years of old age.

Genesis 39:7
“And it came to pass after these things, that his master’s wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me.”

Anytime a person experiences success, they will have to watch out for the vultures who will take their success away. In the verse above, Joseph had a vulture who tried to take away his purity. It says, “And it came to pass after these things…” “These things” is talking about his success. Thankfully, Joseph handled this vulture correctly and it benefited him in the long run. Vultures come in different forms, but each vulture will destroy you and the success God has given if you don’t watch out for them. Let me show you three vultures that you will have to watch out for and how to kill them.

First, watch out for the vulture of friends. Many people will try to become your friend when you experience success. You will always have to ask yourself, “Where were they when nobody knew me?” It is not that you won’t gain new friends after success, you just have to be more careful in choosing friends. You have to remember that many people run to the next big thing hoping to be on the platform with you. Watch out for these vultures who will leave when the battles come.

Immoral opportunities is the next vulture you must guard against. This lady who offered pleasure to Joseph didn’t love him, she loved the success and where she saw him going. You have to understand that if someone is willing to leave purity to enjoy immorality with you when you are successful, then they will be willing to leave you for the next rising star. They don’t love you, they love limelight and immorality is the door that will give it to them. These vultures will play on your ego, but don’t give them any space in your life.

The third vulture is pride. Pride has killed the success of many people. Just because you’ve experienced success doesn’t mean you are someone. Always remember that pride is one step away from destruction. Do your best to stay humble and chase away the vulture of pride.

How can you kill these vultures? There are two ways to kill vultures. First, continue to do right. It was doing right that brought the opportunity for success, and doing right will be what continues to give you success. If you want to continue experiencing the blessings of success that God has given you, then you had better be sure to keep doing what brought it to you.

The second way to kill the vultures is found in Psalm 91:1, “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” Walking with God in His Word and spending time in prayer will chase the vultures away. The “shadow of the Almighty” has a way of keeping the vultures from destroying you. The importance of walking with God in His Word and prayer can never be stressed enough. It is in the “secret place” where pride is removed, discernment is given to perceive the wrong friends and moral desires are nurtured. When you leave the “secret place,” you are leaving the place where vultures are chased away.

My friend, I hope you experience great success in your life, but if you do, you must beware of the vultures. Don’t let the vultures take away your success. There are many people you can help if you will keep the vultures away.

Genesis 32:6
“And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, We came to thy brother Esau, and also he cometh to meet thee, and four hundred men with him.”

Jacob found himself in a situation that he hoped would never happen. That situation was that Esau was coming to meet him. Jacob had successfully avoided this situation for years, but now the thing that he feared was about ready to become reality. His brother was coming to meet him with four hundred men, and the only thing that Jacob could think of was that he was coming to kill him. Jacob’s problem was that he thought he could avoid his unresolved issues, but he found out that unresolved issues must be resolved for you live a peaceful life. There are four lessons that must be learned to resolved unresolved issues.

First, unresolved issues have a way of coming back. What situation comes to your mind that you have not resolved? Just like Jacob found out that unresolved issues have a way of coming back to reality, you will also find this out at some point in your life. The worst thing about unresolved issues is that you live with that fear in the back of your mind. You may be able to successfully hide it for years, but it will eventually come to the forefront if you don’t deal with it. Living in fear of your unresolved issues coming to light should motivate you to deal with them sooner than later. Until you decide to deal with them, you are going to have to live with the fear that they are going to come back at the most inopportune time.

Second, don’t manipulate the issues, but resolve them. Jacob tried manipulating his issues, and he was successful for years, but eventually he had to face them. You may be able to cover up your issues so that nobody knows about them, but one day they will come back. Manipulating them while you have the power to manipulate may give you temporary peace, but one day you will lose the power to manipulate. Deal with your issues instead of manipulating them.

Third, change starts with you. You need to come to grips with what you have done and start changing yourself. You must never wait for the other person to deal with the issues. You need to take control of what you need to change. I believe Esau was trying to get the issue resolved once and for all. He knew it was not healthy for he and his brother to live at odds, so he made the first step to come and resolve the issue in a right manner. Don’t wait for the other person to resolve your issue. Instead, take the uncomfortable step and dealing with it by changing yourself.

Fourth, admit your wrong and try to make it right. When Jacob met his brother, he did everything in his power to try to right what he made wrong. When you attempt to resolve unresolved issues, admit your wrong and don’t try to massage a response from them. It is more important for you to be right than it is for you to get them to right what they have done wrong. Admit what you have done, and do everything in your power to make it right.

Resolving unresolved issues is simply done by choosing to face them now. It will be uncomfortable, but it will give you the peace of mind and lift the pressure knowing they are resolved. Settle whatever issue it is that the Holy Spirit has brought to your mind through this devotional so that  you can live at peace the rest of your life.