Liar! (Part 3)

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The apostle John mentions six types of liars in his short five-chapter book of 1 John.

#1: People who say they’re Christians but actually walk indarkness.

#2: People who claim they haven’t sinned because they’ve redefined sin according to culture’s standards.

If we claim we have not sinned,
we make him out to be a liar
and his word is not in us”
(1 John 1:10 NIV).

If we say we haven’t sinned, we’re actually calling God a
liar—because He says ALL have sinned.
Let’s just be honest: We HAVE sinned.
But the good news is that God can and wants
to give us victory over sin.

We don’t have to remain in a sinful lifestyle.
When the Holy Spirit empowers us,
He can give us the strength we need
to say no to sin.

We’re still human—
we still may choose to sin—
but when you DO sin, be honest about it
and seek His forgiveness!
Don’t lie about it and rationalize it away.
Or call it a mistake.

Let’s ask the Lord to show us any area
of unconfessed sin in our lives so we
can repent and live in holiness and obedience
to Him.

Thoughts?

I’m speaking at the district family camp in
Howell, MI July 23-28 and would appreciate
Your prayers!

Liar! (Part 2)

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The apostle John mentions six types of liars in his short five-chapter book of 1 John.
#1: People who say they’re Christians but actually walk in darkness.
“If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth” (1 John 1:6 NIV).
If we say we’re Christians but walk in darkness, we’re lying.
What IS darkness?
It’s the opposite of light.
It’s not being in God’s will.
If I say, “It’s OK to steal if you really need it,”
I’m teaching you something that’s against God’s will.
I’m walking in darkness, and I’m leading you into darkness.
But, wait a second! you may be thinking.
If we’re walking in the light and living in the light,
how do we suddenly start walking in darkness?
Well, it’s usually not suddenly.
It often happens gradually.
We become desensitized to the truth.

Here’s an example: Eskimos in the barren North
often kill wolves by taking a razor-sharp knife
and dipping it in blood.
They allow the blood to freeze to the blade.
Then they bury the handle of the knife
in the snow with the blade exposed.

As the wolf begins to lick the blade,
his tongue becomes numb and desensitized
because of the cold. As he continues,
his tongue begins to bleed,
and he licks even faster—unaware that he’s consuming his own blood and slowly killing himself.
Later, the Eskimos return and bring the dead animal home.
In the same way, satan numbs us through compromise.
Within time, we, like the wolves, don’t realize that we’re dying spiritually. The devil desensitizes us until we’re numb to the things of God.
So we need to ask our heavenly Father
if we’re truly walking in the light—
or if we’re slowly being desensitized to Him.
We want to be men and women of truth—
not liars who say we’re walking in the light
but are actually dwelling in an area of darkness.
Will you ask God to shine His spotlight on every area of your life?
Let Him reveal any area of darkness that you need to confess.
Let’s be truth warriors!
Thoughts?
I’ll be sharing more about the types of liars the apostle John talks about in next week’s blog!
I’m speaking in Fishkill, NY this weekend and would appreciate your prayers.

Liar! (Part 1)

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Ever heard this phrase: “Liar, Liar! Pants on fire!”
It’s a phrase that children like to scream at each other
whenever they think the other is lying.
It’s really a stupid thing to say—because if your pants actually
caught on fire when you lied, more politicians would be dead.

(Ha! I couldn’t resist.)
I did some research, because I wanted to know where this phrase came from. One story tells of a boy who stole his dad’s cigar and ran out to the shed to smoke it. He heard his dad approaching, and he quickly shoved the cigar into the pocket of his pants. When Dad asked if he’d been smoking, he denied it—even though his pants were beginning to burn. Thus, “Liar, Liar, pants on fire!”
But the phrase actually originated from a poem written in 1810 by William Blake titled “The Liar.” The Bible actually has quite a bit to say about liars. But lets just look at what the apostle John has to say about them.
You know he wrote the Gospel of John, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John and the also the very last book of the Bible—Revelation. In John’s short five-chapter book of 1 John, he describes six types of liars. Let’s look at one of them right now:
#1: People who say they’re Christians but actually walk in darkness.
“If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth” (1 John 1:6 NIV).
Ephesians 5:6-16 explains the contrast between worldly darkness and Christian light. This passage reminds us that we once were in darkness, but when we committed our lives to Christ, we began living in the light.
But it takes EFFORT to remain walking in the light, doesn’t it?
It takes discipline.
This is why it’s essential to read the Bible consistently
and to pray throughout the day.
Even if you only read the Bible one minute a day, DO IT.
By keeping ourselves in the Word and praying,
God helps us avoid walking in the darkness.
He helps keep us in His light.
So if we say we’re Christians but walk in darkness, we’re lying.
Meet me back here next week, and we’ll continue this thought.

Meanwhile, please pray for me. I’m in Peru right now on my annual international missions trip. I’d love for you to join me next summer when we go to Guatemala. It’s usually the first two weeks of July. Please start praying about it now.
Thoughts?

The Next Step

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Oftentimes we make “knowing God’s will” into something much
harder than it really is. Most of the time, it’s simply taking the next step.
Doing what’s right.
Walking forward.

I think of Moses.

Yes, he’s known for leading God’s chosen people out of the bondage
of Egypt’s slavery, but the scene begins when he was simply
watching sheep for his father-in- law. A nearby bush went up in
flames, and when Moses turned to look, He heard directly from God.
So he took the next step. He did the right thing. He obeyed and
moved forward. The result? He led millions.

And David.

Sure, he went down in history as the giant-killer. But the only reason
he was even near Goliath is simply because he was running an
errand for his dad. Once there, he just did the next thing.
He took another step forward.
He obeyed and later became the Israel’s greatest king.

 

What about Andrew?

He would never be the leader like his brother, Peter.
He wasn’t good in front of a group, he wasn’t a leader, and he wasn’t
an extrovert. But he loved people. He shined at one-on- one
relationships. And in the midst of thousands of hungry people,
Andrew made friends with one little boy.
When Jesus instructed the disciples to feed the thousands, Andrew
simply did the next thing. He took another step. He brought his new
friend to Jesus. And Jesus took a few fish and some bread and
produced the greatest food delivery service in history.

Then there’s Peter.

He and his fishing crew had been out all night, but their nets were still
empty. Jesus entered the scene and challenged them to fish a
different way. Peter obeyed. He took the next step. He tossed his net
on the other side of the boat and pulled in a haul so great, he madehistory with it.
But do you think when he slid into his sandals that morning and
pulled his tunic over his body he had any idea that this was the day
he’d be drafted by the Messiah to join Team Jesus and turn the world
on end with Christianity? Do you think any of Peter’s fishing crew
even imagined they’d write parts of the Bible and launch the church?
They all just took the next step.
They did what was right.
They simply obeyed.
Instead of wringing your hands trying to figure out God’s will, why not
simply take the next step?
Do what’s right.
Keep walking in obedience to His Lordship.
This is His will.
The rest of the plan will unfold in His perfect timing.

Thoughts?

I’m not speaking this weekend. I’m home and will be attending my
home church this Sunday. Will you pray for my annual missions trip?
It’s coming up June 26-July 9. We’ll be serving in Peru. I’m taking 125
with me. We’re a bit short on funds. If you’d be willing to help
financially, please consider writing a check to Susie Shellenberger
Ministries. You can send it to me at:

3128 N. Timber Avenue,
Bethany, OK 73008. I’ll send you a tax receipt because I’m a 501 C-3.

Anything you can do will help a LOT!

Taking God at His Word

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My 95-year- old aunt passed away in November, 2016.

And my almost-93- year-old Dad passed away in February, 2017.

Both of them had pre-paid their funeral costs. Years ago they met

with the local funeral home director, selected the casket and made

monthly payments until everything was paid for—including the

honorariums to pay the minister and musicians.

What an incredibly generous and loving act that was! My

brother and I weren’t burdened with the tremendous expense of

funerals.

The Bible gives us a similar example in Genesis 23. In fact, an

entire chapter is devoted to Abraham’s purchase of a cave for the

burial of his wife, Sarah—and where he would also be buried years

later.

 

You may remember that God told Abraham to move, but he

didn’t know where God was taking him. In faith, Abraham and Sarah

followed God. As a result, he didn’t own any land in Canaan. But in

Genesis 17:8, we read that God had promised to give Canaan to

Abraham’s descendants.

So Abraham was actually moving in faith when he purchased

the burial plot for himself and his wife. He took God at His Word,

believing he and his future relatives would fill the land.

Abraham was proving his faith in what God had promised!

I want to be more like Abraham.

Oftentimes, we say we believe God’s promises, but when we’re

faced with difficulties, we fail to put our faith into action and claim

what God has already promised.

How about joining me in living inside the promises God has

given us?

Thoughts?

This weekend I’m speaking in Rocky Mt., N.C. and would love

to know you’re praying for me.

It’s one thing to say we believe; it’s another to

prove it.

Many times professing Christians act like

atheists. We say we believe but when we make

decisions or deal with hardships, we act like we don’t

believe.

 

I am praying that I will be more like Abraham and live

what I believe. Will you join me in that prayer?

What’s the Big Deal About Easter?

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It doesn’t get as much splash as other holidays, but it can hold its own!

We need to give Easter a little help.

Bless its heart.

It just doesn’t measure up to Christmas.

Of course, how can you compete with lighted trees surrounded by brightly wrapped gift packages?

If we surveyed everyone in North America, they’d probably place Easter behind Halloween. While Easter gives us a few chocolate bunnies, Halloween gives us entire sack loads of candy. And for those who choose not to participate in the world’s custom of trick-or-treating, churches open their parking lots, malls extend their hours and people can still get all the candy they want without ever having to mutter “Trick or treat.”

And Valentine’s day captures our hearts. It’s the time for romance and the opportunity to share love with friends and family members. The day is filled
with the smell of roses, boxes of chocolate hearts, candy hearts, exquisite cards—all declaring love.

But Easter?

No tree. No parties. Not many decorations.

What do we get at Easter?

A sermon.

And sometimes even that’s a little flat!

 

A Little Help, Please

So maybe we should spruce Easter up a bit. If we could get some really cool celebrities to get behind it, Easter might mean more. It seems whenever we have a devastating tornado, tsunami or earthquake that takes out a city, the celebrities rush to get involved and make a difference.

So if we could get Jennifer Lawrence, Chris Pratt, Taylor Swift and a few of their friends to really embrace Easter, we’d be off to a great start. And we’ll recruit some athletes, of course. Serena Williams, Lebron James and Steph Curry can get us started.

Imagine all of the above promoting Easter on television ads!

That would be a great start, but we’d still need a good marketing plan. So maybe we bring the fashion industry into this. Put a few models in some super cool T-shirts that boast “Easter Is Cool,” “Vote Easter Best Holiday,” “Easter Is #1,” “Easter Rocks!”

Yes. If we can get the celebs, the athletes, the models and a creative marketing plan, Easter might have a chance!

 

Wrong Plan

I’m glad it’s not up to us to make Easter popular.

Easter was never created to be popular.

Why?

Because it’s the message of the Cross.

And the Cross is an ugly message.

The Cross means death. And death doesn’t sell well.

You see, even if we could get the celebs to promote Easter . . . if the celebs haven’t experienced and embraced the Cross the way Christ did, what good would it do?

The truth is: God doesn’t need any celebs to take on Easter. He doesn’t need help promoting it. He doesn’t even want help promoting it. He doesn’t want people embracing Easter for the wrong reasons. He wants true followers.

The God of color and rhythm and the Grand Canyon and kangaroos and gravity and Niagara Falls and sound and lightening and donkeys who talk and hyenas that laugh could have created an amazing marketing strategy to promote Easter. But He’s not into marketing. He doesn’t think strategy. He thinks love.

 

The Truth

The message of the Cross is an invitation to die. “Wanna follow Me?” Jesus asks. “Then pick up your cross. We’re going over there. It’s a hill called Golgotha. We’re going to die.”

How do you market this?

How can you make this sound glamorous?

You don’t. You can’t. If you try . . . you’ll miss the meaning.

But the truth behind Easter is dying with Jesus.

Why would anyone do that? They wouldn’t.

Unless—they’ve experienced first-hand the death of Jesus for their own sins.

You see, once a sinner realizes that Jesus willingly picked up the Cross and died in her place, she’s overcome with joy and love for her Father. She wants to live for Him, obey Him, serve Him, follow Him, die with Him.

 

A High Price Tag

Jesus told everyone to count the cost before deciding to follow Him. (See Luke 14:25-30.) He reminds us that a contractor doesn’t start to build a house without first counting the cost of all the materials. If he doesn’t do this, he may only build half a house and run out of money.

What does it cost to follow Jesus?

It costs a lot.

It costs everything.

You see, Jesus isn’t looking for half-hearted followers. He’s not interested in being the next big fad. He doesn’t recruit with a polished benefits package. That’s not the way He works. He’d rather have 12 sold-out disciples than an entire world that’s only talk.

So why would anyone want to follow Jesus?

Because of love.

No one loves like He does.

And forgiveness.

No one else has offered to pay for our sins.

And eternal life.

The only way to God (and to live forever in heaven) is through Jesus (see John 10:10).

And peace. And purpose. And meaning. And joy. And real life!

 

They Don’t Compare

If you stack Jesus against all the other gods, none of them even compare with Him! Think about it: In all other religions, you have to work really hard to reach your god. You have to pray so many times a day, or sacrifice so much, or travel thus far or . . .

All other religions show man reaching up to their god. ONLY Christianity shows God reaching down to man! Wow. Read that again, because it’s mega-powerful. ONLY Christianity shows God reaching down to man!

Christianity is the only religion that offers free salvation. You don’t have to earn it. You can’t pay for it. You’ll never be good enough to deserve it. So God reaches down to YOU by sending His only Son wrapped in human flesh to die an ugly death on the Cross for YOUR sins.

That’s love!

And He invited you to participate.

 

Make This YOUR Easter

Many of you reading this have already accepted Christ as your Savior. You’ve already asked Him to forgive your sins. (If you haven’t done this, you can do it right now. You can tell Him you’re sorry for disobeying Him, ask Him to forgive you and place your faith in Him.) But many of you reading this right now really want to go deeper in your relationship with Christ. We call this Lordship.

If you desire to give Christ your all, you can pray this prayer. No, it’s not a bunch of magic words. You really have to mean it. And God will know if it’s genuine.

Dear Jesus:

Thank You for forgiving my sins. I’m so grateful that You died for me. I love being a Christian. But I want to go deeper. I want to give You everything! So right now, I’m choosing to die. I’m dying to my will, my dreams, my way, “me first,” my future. I want You to be LORD of every area in my life. I’m moving to the back seat; You’re now in the driver’s seat. You’re in complete control. Please release the power of Your Holy Spirit within me and enable me to live a holy life pleasing to You. I love You, Jesus. Amen.

 

New Plan

If you prayed that prayer and meant it, this Easter will become something brand-new to you. More than just another holiday, it will be your love response to a God who’s crazy about you. He doesn’t need a few celebs; He needs YOU.

You are His marketing plan.

YOU . . . simply loving one person at a time to Him.

You . . . dying to yourself and coming into new life through Him.

You . . . celebrating His resurrection from death.

You . . . living forever with Him.

This is Easter.

 

 

 

Thoughts?

 

I’m not speaking anywhere this weekend. I’m enjoying soaking in the Truth of Easter in my home church in Bethany, Okla. But next weekend I’ll be speaking in Brookings, OR and would love to have your prayers behind me. Love you all!

Please Push Pause

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Sometimes we all need to push life’s pause button.

Check this out:

“My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

(Exodus 33:14)

 

I don’t deny the fact that I need a break.

But you need one, too!

So . . . how about taking one together?

Seriously.

Would you consider getting away with me for six days?

 

I’ve put a six-day cruise together for the express purpose of spiritual growth, fun, relaxation, great entertainment, recreation, and amazing food.

 

This six-day cruise through Susie Shellenberger Ministries will happen January 14-21, 2018. We’ll depart from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. and will visit four ports—three in the Bahamas and one in the Dominican Republic.

 

I’ll be speaking (and I’m bringing another evangelist friend of mine, Billy Huddleston who will also speak, along with some great praise and worship). You’ll be challenged and encouraged spiritually during our times together . . . but you’ll also get to experience all the exciting musical shows that the ship provides.

 

Did I mention all you can eat . . . anytime you want . . . any THING you want? And if you want to stay in your room, no problem.

Room service is FREE.

 

All kinds of fun excursions are available for your enjoyment.

But best of all, you’ll get to hear some great messages to challenge you spiritually—and you’ll truly unwind and relax. You’ll come back fired-up and renewed to have a great year in 2018.

 

If you’d like me to send you the brochure, email me your address. (Please don’t respond to THIS—instead send me an email and give me your complete mailing address—your house address—and I’ll send you a brochure through the postal system.)

Email me at: susieshell@comcast.net

 

OR . . . you can call my friend Carla Pryor who’s handling all the details because she’s an amazing travel agent and has worked out an incredible deal for us. (She’s getting each room $75 onboard ship credit! You can spend it on ANYTHING!)

Here’s her number: 251-423-0900.

 

Please know that I love and care for each of you—

and I’m lifting you in prayer. My desire is that you draw intimately close to our Savior . . . and that you truly relax and get renewed!

 

“For all who have entered into God’s rest have rested from their labors, just as God did after creating the world. So let us do our best to enter that rest” (Hebrews 4:9-11 NLT).

How Come?

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Once in a while, I’m going to use this blog as a way to answer some questions I’ve received. I recently got this one—and maybe you have friends who struggle with this as well:


It doesn’t seem fair that God would send people to hell who have never heard of Him. How can this be?

 

First of all, does the answer to this question change whether or not Christianity is true?

It doesn’t.

If God exists and has revealed Himself to us, and if Christ is the only way to God, then the question may puzzle us, but it won’t change the truth of the Christian message, will it?

The Bible teaches us that God is holy, just, unchanging and all-loving. This means that God will always do what’s right—even though our finite minds don’t understand. We CAN trust Him to do what’s right.

I like what two passages in the book of Romans tell us:

“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities

his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse” (Romans 1:20.)

 

And “the requirements of the law are written on their hearts” (Romans 2:15).

 

These passages claim that everyone has an inherent knowledge of God, and this can be clearly known from creation and that everyone also has a God-given moral compass.

Is it true, then, that “those who have never heard,” really have no idea of God’s existence or of their moral responsibilities? Biblically speaking, it’s not true.

“Those who have never heard” have heard something and they do have access to key information about God. They know that God exists, that there’s a moral standard and that they’ve broken this standard.

Check out what 2 Peter 3:9 tells us: “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”

So we know that God desires everyone come to Him through Christ, but not all will.

We, however, don’t have access to a list of who will respond to God and who won’t.

So early Christianity in the Bible places a huge emphasis on missionary efforts.

Let’s go to Romans 10:13-15 for the importance of Christian evangelism when it comes to reaching those who have never heard: “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

In other words, Christians are actively spreading the message of Jesus so that “those who have never heard” will get an opportunity to hear. You may have heard or read various missionary stories about those who have never heard the gospel but who have responded to God’s general revelation (through nature . . . through God’s stirrings in their hearts, etc.) and are later visited by Christian missionaries.

The Bible records just such a story about the guy named Cornelius. He knew about God, but not about Christ. Because of his sincere desire to know God, Cornelius came in direct contact with the Apostle Peter who told Cornelius about Jesus (see Acts 10 for the entire story).

Here’s something interesting to chew on: Two guys (Christopher Morgan and Robert Peterson) wrote “Is Hell Real?” and they say this:

“How could it be fair and just for those who have never even had a chance to hear the gospel, which is necessary for salvation, to be condemned to hell? The question sounds powerful, but behind it lie faulty assumptions.”

What are these “faulty assumptions”?

“The first mistaken assumption is that our condemnation is based on a rejection of the gospel. Scripture teaches that our condemnation is based on the fact that we are sinners, not because at some point in time we rejected the gospel . . . Furthermore, God’s wrath is revealed against everyone who suppresses His truth revealed through creation . . . Strictly speaking, the Bible denies that there are persons who have never heard of God.”

Morgan and Peterson go on to explain another faulty assumption, this one having to do with “a confusion of justice and mercy.”

God is merciful in that He has provided a way of salvation through Christ for those who will accept Him. But God is also just in that unrepentance will not go unnoticed.

 

Let’s remember this: We know that God will deal fairly with those who haven’t received a direct presentation of the gospel, just as He will deal fairly with those who have. But is God’s way too narrow?

No way.

God’s way is wide enough for everyone willing to accept it and receive Christ. The most important question any of us can answer is the one Jesus asked His own disciples, “But what about you? Who do you say I am?” (Matthew 16:15; Mark 8:29; Luke 9:20).

Bottom line: God is just. He is fair. And we can trust Him. We don’t have to understand Him to know that we can trust Him.

Thoughts?

 

(I worked at Focus on the Family for almost 20 years, and some of these thoughts have come from materials they shared with us.)

 

I’m speaking in Lansing, Mich., this weekend. Will you pray that God moves in a mighty way in our services?

Rewards

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Congrats!

God wants to reward you.

He says this in Revelation 2:2: “I know how many good things you are doing. I have watched your hard work. . . .” (The Living Bible)

He knows exactly how many good things you’ve done.

Think about it: Every good thing you do is seen by your heavenly Father. And He’s hugging you for it. He’s applauding you.

He’s affirming and encouraging you because of your good deeds.

It’s easy to think no one notices when we go out of our way.

We tend to think no one cares that we took food to a sick friend,

or used a fourth tank of gas to help someone run errands.

But all these things are extremely important to God.

Why are they important?

It’s certainly not good works that saves us.

We’re saved by His grace.

But works are important to God.

In fact, we’re told in James 2:14-17 that good works are an essential ingredient to our faith. “Faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead” (English Standard Version).

The apostle James goes on to say, “For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead” (2:26).

Works alone won’t save us. But pretty soon after we become a Christian, God starts talking to us about getting involved in good works. He wants to use us to help those in and outside of the church.

When my dad passed away Feb. 6, I was immensely encouraged by the good works from people in the Body of Christ. Meals, flowers, phone calls, e-mails, cards and thousands of prayers were given in my behalf—and I am STILL being strengthened by those good works.

Let’s commit to involving ourselves in good works so that Christ Himself can be glorified. And know that He will reward you eternally for those works.

 

Thoughts?

 

I’m speaking at the Dallas District Ladies retreat this Friday and Saturday—and at the Church of the Nazarene in McKinney, TX on Sunday morning. I’d love to know your prayers are behind me.

We Have a Weapon

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We hate satan.

And we hate it when he messes with us.

But guess what—God has given you a weapon to rip satan’s strategies to shreds.

We’re told in Ephesians 6:17 that God has gifted us with the sword of the Spirit—which is the Word of God.

The sword referred to in this Scripture, comes from the Greek word machaira, and it was a horrific weapon that would inflict fatal damage. It’s tip was constructed upward, and sometimes it was even twisted. So when it was thrust inside an enemy’s stomach his insides were immediately shredded when the sword was twisted.

But our Scripture in Ephesians says this sword (machaira) is also the Word of God. How do the two relate? The term word here is from the Greek word rhema. It means “a quickened word.”

And what does THAT mean?

You’ve probably experienced it but didn’t recognize it as such.

Maybe you’ve been in a tough situation and God uses His Spirit to suddenly bring a specific Scripture to your mind. That’s rhema. The Word of God is sharp. It quickly defeats satan. That’s why Christ used it as ammunition when He was tempted in the desert.

The next time you’re battling satan, make it a point to immediately draw your machaira and trust God to use His Word to defeat your enemy. This is why it’s so important to read the Bible consistently—the Holy Spirit can’t bring to your mind what you haven’t read. Will you allow this to be a loving reminder to read the Word regularly? Even reading one chapter a day will make a huge difference in your life.

 

Thoughts?

 

I’m speaking in Independence, KS this weekend and in Pittsfield, IL next week. Please pray for me.