Christianity Oasis Forum

[logi bear]

This devotional was written by one of the pastors of my church, it was too good not to share!

Don't Take The Goods From The Enemy.

How many of you feel like you are coming out of a battle, and as soon as you come out, you are going right into another one? Most of us do. That’s what this journey seems like many times. We are constantly faced with decisions and choices that need to be made. What am I going to do? Where am I going to go? How am I going to respond?

Isn’t it great to have brothers and sisters-in-Christ come along side of you when they know that you are weary, discouraged, or despondent? They come and say, “Hey, keep your eyes on the Lord.” They come with those reminders that we are saved by His grace—to remember what it’s really all about—and that we are kept by His grace! This builds us up and edifies us! But then you have those people that come into our lives tempting us with lies—telling us we deserve what isn’t ours.

There’s always that temptation, whenever the Lord brings us through some type of difficulty, to take the lower road and to accept those temptations--to touch the glory of God, instead of persevering in the grace of God. You will always be tempted to lower your standard and yield to what the Enemy is dangling before you instead of going onward, keeping your eyes fixed on Jesus. In Genesis 14, we see Abram tempted in this way—a temptation dangling before him. Abram is tempted to take the goods from the enemy.

The Psalms tell us that the heathen go back to their vomit—making the same mistakes. We, as the church, are not to be like the world. When God delivers us from something, we are not to go back to it. We are to forsake it, not making the same mistakes, and we go on with Jesus.

Genesis 14:22 says: But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have raised my hand to the LORD, God Most High, the Possessor of heaven and earth, that I will take nothing, from a thread to a sandal strap, and that I will not take anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’”In other words, he is saying that he had made an oath to God. God did the miraculous on behalf of Abram and his fellow servants, and Abram wouldn’t touch His glory. It was all for the name of God. He wouldn’t take the goods from the Enemy.

I remember Pastor Chuck telling a story of Calvary Chapel. They needed to expand their building because people were literally standing outside of the doors of the church as they all couldn’t fit in the building. So Pastor Chuck began to pray about it, asking God to provide for the means to put an addition on the building, or to buy a new one. A gentleman came up to Pastor Chuck. He offered Pastor Chuck one million dollars to use however he wanted for the church. This was back in the ‘70’s. It was an offer of a lot of money! So Pastor Chuck responds by saying he would go and pray about it and see if that is what the Lord wants him to do. The man looked at him like Pastor Chuck was crazy. Who would even think of not quickly accepting an offer of one million dollars?

So Pastor Chuck went home and he and Kay began to pray and ask God if this was the means of His provision for the needs of the church. The Lord said that He would be the source of their provision and He was going to do a work bigger than they could imagine. Pastor Chuck was not to take this man’s money--that no one could take the glory for the work. So Pastor Chuck took a step of faith, not knowing how the source of income would come, and thanked him but refused this man’s offer of one million dollars. He explained that he believed that the Lord had a different way that He wanted to provide for Calvary Chapel. And guess what? The LORD provided and we’ve all seen what a great work the Lord has done. We are here today because of God’s blessings.

We have to hold true to our convictions. Even if others around us are not at the same place—they don’t see it the same way. We don’t lower our standards because everyone else is doing it. It doesn’t matter that everyone else is tampering with compromise and the things that Satan puts before them. We have to hold our ground. Hold it and say, “Hey, God delivered me from that. I’m not going to partake of that anymore.” If that’s what others want to do, that’s between them and the Lord, but we will not go there. We’re keeping our distance. We don’t want to see it, hear it, or be involved in it. God has brought us past that point. As believers, we have to be so careful that we do not give in to peer pressure. Don’t go backwards because other people do. We are to move forward, keeping our eyes fixed on the prize.

Raise the bar through your actions that others would look to you and say: This person is really different. This person really is radical about Jesus. They don’t do what they used to do. It’s a good thing when other people are convicted by your presence. That means the Holy Spirit is radiating through you. But there’s a difference between judging people and pointing the finger and truly living in such a way that the presence of God is known through our lives.

Be set apart from the things of this world. Cast those temptations aside, counting them as lost for the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ. It requires daily self- discipline. Get up and read the Word each morning. Let’s get on our faces and seek the Lord.

If you are the discouraged, despondent Christian thinking why am I even trying because I just keep blowing it. You’ve had it. You are considering going back to your old ways. You think you don’t get it anymore. Why did God even save me? God is saying to you, just as he did to Abram, “I didn’t deliver you in vain.” He has a mighty plan and calling for your life. He wants to use you powerfully for His glory. Separate yourself. Get a grip and keep your eyes on the prize.

[Angel of Hope]

I wanted to let you know this was a blessing to me.God Bless You!!

[logi bear]

I'm glad it was a blessing !