Creation Can’t But Redemption Can!

When Adam sinned and fell, everything about creation fell. Yet, people today are still putting their trust in creation. For example, they try to become healthy by eating what is called the “Eden diet” — vegetables and no meat. They are acting as if creation did not fall, as if there is still hope in it. They also forget that there are people who eat well and exercise regularly, and still drop dead in the prime of their lives! 

John 9:7
⁷And He said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated, Sent). So he went and washed, and came back seeing.

Thank God that what creation cannot do, redemption can and did. Jesus demonstrated this when He spat on the ground, made clay with the saliva and put it on the blind man’s eyes. (John 9:6–7) Now, it is certainly unusual to put clay on a blind man’s eyes because he would become doubly blind!

So why did Jesus do that? He was demonstrating to us that all our body parts come from the ground and that because creation is fallen, the work of creation cannot open a blind man’s eyes. But the work of redemption can! That is why He sent the blind man to the pool of Siloam. The word “Siloam” means “Sent”, referring to the sent one, Jesus. When the blind man washed his eyes in the pool of the sent one, he received supernatural healing for his eyes. 

Beloved, when we go to Jesus, the sent one who came to redeem us with the price of His blood, and we rest in His finished work, we will receive our miracles. If we believe that by His stripes we are healed (Isaiah 53:5), we will have greater health than those who trust in creation. 

Jesus was sent to redeem us from every curse that came upon creation with the fall of Adam. (Galatians 3:13) He has redeemed us from sickness, pain, sorrow, depression, poverty and even death. The world may know Him as the Creator. But today, we know Him as our Redeemer. Where the work of creation cannot save us, His work of redemption can and has!

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Covered With Jesus’ Robe Of Righteousness

Covered With Jesus’ Robe Of Righteousness

Leviticus 1:6
⁶And he shall skin the burnt offering and cut it into its pieces.

Do you know who in the Bible first clothed man with coats of skin? It was God Almighty Himself, when He found Adam and Eve hiding behind the bushes after hearing His voice! They had become fearful and conscious that they had sinned against God. In his sin-consciousness, Adam realised that he was naked and that the glory of God which was his covering was gone.

So God killed an animal to clothe Adam and Eve with coats of skin. (Genesis 3:21) An animal had to die and its bloodied skin was their covering. This speaks of the blood of Jesus that covers you when He became your burnt offering. The Lamb of God did not just take away your sins. He also gave you His righteousness.

You are covered by Jesus’ blood. You are righteous by His blood. God has clothed you with the robe of righteousness which was paid for by Jesus’ blood. I am not talking about a physical robe made of cloth. I am talking about the robe of righteousness that was on Jesus when He said to the storm, “Peace, be still!” and there came a perfect calm (Matthew 8:23–27), when healing flowed from Him to the sick and when He raised Lazarus from the dead. (John 11:38–44)

When you believe that you are righteous because of Jesus’ blood, you will see the effects of wearing Jesus’ robe of righteousness. You will see miracles happening before your very eyes. You become a blessing magnet, a favour and grace magnet. And it is not your righteousness, but the robe of righteousness of Jesus you have put on, which is attracting all these blessings of God in your life.

My friend, have the consciousness of being clothed with Jesus’ own robe of righteousness. Every day, come to God and say, “Father, I thank You that Jesus is my burnt offering. He covers me from head to toe with His righteousness. What He is to You, I am. As He is now, so am I. I am in Him.” And you will see the manifestations of the blessings of health, wholeness, protection and prosperity that the robe attracts!

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Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?

“Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathaniel asked. - John 1:46

If anyone ever came from a Podunk town, it was Jesus. Nazareth, where Jesus grew up, sat on a hillside in a remote valley southwest of the Sea of Galilee. Along one of its dusty alleyways, lined with sun-baked mud walls, Jesus’ father ran a carpenter’s shop. Certainly there were no bragging rights about being from Nazareth. 

Nazareth was such a backwater town that when Nathaniel first heard that Jesus was from there, he exclaimed, “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” But after meeting Jesus, Nathaniel changed his mind. In Jesus of Nazareth, he met the one who fulfilled the Law and the Prophets, the one for whom the people of Israel had been waiting and longing. He had met the Son of God and Son of Man.

Not only had Jesus of Nazareth come to fulfil God’s promises to the people of Israel, but as the Son of Man, Jesus said, he would open the gates of heaven and be the way for all humanity to find peace and full life with God.

The invitation to know Jesus of Nazareth began with a simple invitation from Nathaniel’s friend Philip: “Come and see.” 

Won’t you offer your family and friends today the opportunity to come and see Jesus? Then they too may know his presence in their lives and worship the Son of Man.

Prayer

Jesus of Nazareth, forgives us when we fail to see who you really are. Help us to recognize you today as King of kings and Lord of lords, and to share you with the world. Amen.

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God makes us new

If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! - 2 Corinthians 5:17

Do you ever wish you could have a “do-over,” a chance to go back and do something differently, to avoid a big mistake you made? Most of us can recall times when we did something foolish or sinful.

We wish we could take back that one conversation or email, that one deed that remains imprinted on our minds. Perhaps some of us wonder whether God could ever accept us with such a blemish in our past.

The good news of Jesus is that God makes us new. He not only wipes away our past sins; he creates a new person by reconciling us to himself through Jesus. When we confess our fall from the goodness of God’s created intent for us, God offers us the gift of redemption in Jesus. When we trust in Christ, God does not count our sins against us. What a gracious gift!

This awesome truth gives us new freedom as we live. God knows that we are sinners, but our status at the judgment is not “sinner.” Instead, we are redeemed and newly created in Christ. God sees in us the perfect love of Jesus. He calls us to live for Jesus and to share the good news of his love with other sinners who are in need of the same grace.

God has given us something better than a do-over. He forgives us and makes us new in Jesus.

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Jesus, you rule over all things by your Word and Spirit

“What is this? A new teaching—and with authority!” —Mark 1:27

When Jesus comes on the scene, something new happens. Our hope, our longing for change, takes on a different shape. Hurting people, sinful temptations, human brokenness, and disease are confronted with authority.

The people in this story recognized Jesus’ authority in regard to two specific things: his teaching and his power over impure spirits (demons). There was something about Jesus that made him different from the other religious teachers of his day. In fact, this is the first thing mentioned in Mark’s gospel about Jesus’ public ministry: it was a ministry of authority.

We often long to witness the authority of Christ confronting diseases, financial hardships, broken friendships, and injustices of all kinds today. But we do not pause as often to consider the spiritual dimensions of our suffering. The apostle Paul reminds us that “our struggle is not against flesh and blood” (Ephesians 6:12). Rather, we contend with demonic powers that want us to think that our circumstances, not our hearts, are the problem.

It’s worth noting that Jesus’ teaching, not just his healing, triggered a reaction from the crowds. But “being amazed,” by itself, is not a response to authority. Jesus’ teaching demands either submission or rebellion. He calls us to bring our hurts, our diseases, and our hearts under his authority. How will you respond?

Prayer

Jesus, you rule over all things by your Word and Spirit. Enter our lives with your authority today, we pray. Amen.

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“Are we there yet?”

Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. (Mark 1:3)

 “Are we there yet?”

Parents often hear these words from their children as their family travels on a long trip—or even a short one. Young children have an underdeveloped sense of time and distance that prevents them from understanding how long a journey will take.

God’s people often have an underdeveloped sense of the gap that exists between our lives and God’s kingdom vision. We would like to think we are decent people who just need a few minor adjustments to become right with God. We might rationalize, “If I lose a little weight, try a little harder to be nice to my neighbours, and give a little money to charitable causes, then I will really have my life together.” In reality, there is much more that keeps us from God’s ideals.

The distance between God’s ideals and humanity’s ideals was so great that Jesus did not merely come into the world without advance preparation. God sent someone to get us ready for him. John, the son of Zechariah and Elizabeth, came to help people recognize that the condition of this world needed a major turnaround. He called God’s people to repent and to experience a new way of life (not just a few minor adjustments) that would be signified in baptism. John helped people to realize the problem before they could be prepared to see the solution in Christ.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, help me to glimpse the kind of glory you are calling me to, so that I am ready to make a radical turn from the ways of this world, to embrace you. In your name. Amen.

Taken from Today Daily Devotional.

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Be Full Of The Consciousness Of God

1 Corinthians 2:12

¹²Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.

I believe that you know the story of David the shepherd boy who defeated the 10-foot-tall Goliath, a champion warrior. Ever wondered why David succeeded while the others failed? 

David’s secret was that he didn’t know defeat because he was not conscious of a God who cannot. He was only conscious of a God who had rescued him time and again.

You can imagine him saying, “One day, I was taking care of my sheep when a lion came and took one of them. I was not willing to settle for that! I went after the lion, caught it by its beard and smote it. The Lord delivered me from the lion’s mouth. On another occasion, a bear came and took one of my flock. I went after the bear and smote it. The Lord delivered me from the bear. This same God, who delivered me from the paws of the lion and bear, will deliver me from this Philistine.” (1 Samuel 17:34–37)

David was conscious of what God had done for him. He knew that God was the one who was for him, loved him, favoured him and gave him success. You can also remind yourself that the same God, who did tremendous things in the past for you, will do the same for you again.

Be like David, who was full of the consciousness of God. Do not be like the army of Israel, who were full of the consciousness of the words of Goliath. I believe that they must have talked about Goliath’s threats, rehearsed his words and, as a result, filled their hearts with fear and trembling. (1 Samuel 17:11, 24)

Do not feed on man’s words nor the devil’s which only give you anxiety and fear. Feed on God’s Word by reading the Bible and listening to messages about who you are in Christ and what He has done for you. Pump yourself up with God’s Word until you are filled with the consciousness of God, that you might know the things that have been freely given to you by God!

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FAMILIARITY BREEDS CONTEMPT

Luke 4:24, "And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country."

LUKE 4:16-30

A modern day equivalent of this verse is "familiarity breeds contempt." Those who know the most about us also know more of our faults than anyone else. As a general rule, our weaknesses will blind most people to our strengths.

However, in the case of Jesus, there were no faults or failures to bias these people. In this instance, the problem stemmed from the people's lack of perception. They knew Jesus better than most in the flesh, but they had failed to see who He was in the Spirit.

Jesus was God in all His power and majesty, yet He was clothed in flesh --a human in every respect (1 Tim. 3:16; Heb. 1:3). These people looked on Jesus' outward appearance and failed to see God within (1 Sam. 16:7).

Likewise, we fail to see the potential in others and even in ourselves because of our preoccupation with the outward appearance and actions. But within every born again person is a new creation which is waiting to be released (2 Cor. 5:17). All it takes is someone who believes.

Today look beyond the exterior in yourself and others and help bring into reality what we can be in Christ.

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Be Conscious Of Your Position In Christ

John 15:5 I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.

Have you ever noticed that in this verse, Jesus says, “I am the vine, you are the branches”? He did not say, “I am the vine, try to be the branches.” In other words, He wants us to realise that we already are the branches. We do not have to struggle to become the branches. 

And as His branches, we only have to abide or remain in Christ our vine. How do we do that? We do that simply by being conscious every day of our position in Christ. 

Because we have received Christ, we are in Christ and are accepted in the Beloved. (2 Corinthians 5:17, Ephesians 1:6) God accepts us because we are in the Beloved and He is in us. And that is how God sees us today when we come into His presence. 

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Blessed Wherever You Are

Deuteronomy 28:3                       

3“Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country.

You may have heard of people who think that to have better “luck”, they have to move to a new home, work for a certain company or even migrate to another country.

The truth is that it is not the place that gets you the blessings, but whether God’s blessings are on you. And for you, child of God, you are already blessed with all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 1:20) He has paid for your blessings with His blood. So the blessing is not on the land but on the man!

It was in the city of Jerusalem that Jesus was whipped, cursed and spat on. And it was outside the city on Calvary’s hill that He was pierced and crucified. That is why you are blessed in the city as well as outside in the country! In fact, you are blessed regardless of the location. 

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Down But Not Out

2 Corinthians 4:8–9

⁸We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; ⁹persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.

Before you were a Christian, when something sad or bad happened to you, you cried until you had no more tears left. Your heart simply broke into pieces, and you felt trapped, depressed and totally defeated.

But after you became a Christian, even when something worse happens to you, you still cry, but you feel comforted inside. You are sad outwardly, but your heart isn’t heavy. You don’t understand why, but deep down inside you, there is something lifting you up. That something buoyant, which is rising from the inside of you, is the life of Christ in you!

You cannot be completely distressed because Christ in you is the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6) who says to you, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27)

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‘All That I Have Is Yours’ - Luke 15:31

Luke 15:31
³¹And he said to him, “Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours.”

After running a few errands for his parents, a little boy went to his father and said, “I know why you and mummy had me.”

“Why?” his father asked. 

“So that you will have someone to run errands and work for you!” exclaimed the boy.

Like the little boy, do you see God as a Father who demands obedience and service from you? Have you ever felt that unless you obey God and keep all His commandments, you don’t have a right to be blessed by Him?

Jesus told the story of the prodigal son to show how some of us call God “Father” and yet don’t know the Father’s heart. There are two sons in this parable. We know what happened to the prodigal son, but we can also learn something about the older son. This is what he said to his father when he discovered that his father had thrown a party to celebrate the return of his irresponsible, spendthrift brother: “Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends.” (Luke 15:29) 

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Don’t Be Dust-Conscious

Don’t Be Dust-Conscious

Luke 13:11    
                   
¹¹And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up.

Imagine being bowed over for 18 years. All you would see is the dust on the ground. That was the predicament of the woman in Luke 13. Dust was all her eyes fell on, all the time, everywhere she went, until she became dust-conscious. Thank God she finally saw the beautiful feet of Jesus, who brought her good news and raised her up. 

Now, dust is the devil’s food. The Bible tells us that God cursed the devil to eat dust all the days of his life. (Genesis 3:14) Dust represents death. (Genesis 3:19) The devil wants you to be like him — to fall flat on your belly, crawl and eat dust. To eat dust is to feed on your shortcomings and lack, until you constantly feel that there is so much in your life that you need to clean up. You may not be bowed over, but like the woman, you become dust-conscious and life every day is a struggle.

Having a dust consciousness also affects the way you see others. You look at people’s faults all the time. You point out their shortcomings and rake up their past failures. When you are dust-conscious, you find your relationships robbed of peace and joy.

And if you, like the woman, keep looking at the dust, before long, that inward position of dust-consciousness becomes so entrenched that you become the devil’s food because dust is what he eats. God’s Word describes him as being like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. (1 Peter 5:8)

If you don’t want to be devoured, lift your head above the dust! Instead of looking at your failures, look to Christ who has delivered you from every defeat. See yourself the way God sees you — righteous and holy in Christ. (Colossians 3:12, 2 Corinthians 5:21) You are not dust because you are not in and of the flesh — you are in and of the Spirit. (Romans 8:9)

The more you realise who you are in Christ, the more you will straighten up and walk the way God sees you — a new creation with His authority, power and overcoming Spirit!

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Asking In Jesus’ Name

Asking In Jesus’ Name

John 16:23
²³… Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give you.

Do you always end your prayers with “in Jesus’ name. Amen!”? Maybe your Sunday school teacher taught you to do this, or maybe you have heard church leaders and other believers utter it at the end of their prayers. 

I used to say, “In Jesus’ name. Amen!” very quickly as if those were magic words that would get my prayers answered. Then, one day, I heard the Lord asking me why I was doing that.

God wanted me to realise that whenever I pray and say, “In Jesus’ name,” I am putting my entire faith for my prayer to be answered not in who I am, nor in what I have done, but on the person and name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and what He has done at the cross! 

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Fix Your Eyes On God’s Unshakeable Word

Fix Your Eyes On God’s Unshakeable Word

Philippians 4:19
¹⁹And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

“This war will affect the world’s economy.”

“Unemployment is at an all-time high.”

People of the world feel helpless as systems of the world go up and down. But God does not want you to feel helpless because you are not of the world. (John 17:16) You are of God and therefore need not be subject to the world’s systems. Whatever the world’s situation is, fear not because “God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus”.

Notice that Philippians 4:19 says that “God shall supply all your need”. It does not say that God may supply some of your needs. It also says that God will do it “according to His riches”. It is not out of His riches. If a millionaire gives you a hundred dollars, it is out of his riches. The sum is only a small portion of his riches. However, if he gives to you according to his riches, it means that he is lining up his millions for your supply!

Lastly, the verse says that God does it “according to His riches in glory”. It is not according to the riches of your company or how well the economy is doing. No, it is according to God’s riches in glory! 

So how do you stop yourself from feeling helpless in uncertain, shaky times? The same way I stopped myself from getting sea-sick when I was on board a navy ship for the first time during my National Service stint. A senior navy officer had advised me, “Don’t look at the waves around you. Look at the horizon far away. Look at that stable, stationary line and you will feel better.” When I fixed my eyes on that unshakeable, unwavering line, even though the ship bobbed in the rough sea, I did not feel sea-sick anymore. 

My friend, don’t look at your circumstances or the bad things that are happening in the world because you will get “earth-sick”. Instead, look at the unshakeable, eternal Word of God. Your heart will become stable and you will see your God supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus!

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Fight From Victory, Not For Victory

Fight From Victory, Not For Victory

Ephesians 6:11
¹¹Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

God does not need you to defeat the devil today. Jesus has already done it and given you the victory. (Colossians 2:15, Romans 8:37) Your part is to enforce the victory by simply standing your ground, which is victory ground. In other words, you “fight” from victory ground by standing. You don’t fight for victory.

In Ephesians 6:10–18, the passage on spiritual warfare, the word “wrestle” appears only once (verse 12), while the word “stand” appears four times — “… stand against the wiles of the devil…” (verse 11), “… withstand in the evil day…” (verse 13), “… and having done all, to stand…” (verse 13), “Stand therefore…”. (verse 14) Four times the Holy Spirit tells us to “stand”. Yet, many Christians are focusing on wrestling their way to victory!

My friend, you are already on victory ground. You already have everything in Christ. (1 Corinthians 3:21, 23) You are already blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ. (Ephesians 1:3). The devil knows this. And that is why his tactic is to deceive you and make you think that you don’t have the victory.

So when he attacks you by saying, “Look at that meagre balance in your bank account! How are you going to pay the bills?” stand your ground. Declare, “I am not trying to be rich, I am rich. In Christ, I am rich!” It doesn’t matter how much you have in the bank. You are rich because you are in Christ. And as the need arises, the supply will be there if you believe you are rich.

It is the same with healing. The devil will try to attack you with symptoms in your body. He will try to put pain in your body, and make you feel weakness here and there, so that you think that you are still sick. He is trying to make you believe that you don’t have your healing. Call his bluff there and then. Say, “No devil, I am not trying to get healed, I am healed! I am standing on the victory ground which Jesus gave me!”

My friend, it makes a world of difference when you fight from victory and not for victory!

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Guard Your Heart

Guard Your Heart 

John 14:27
²⁷Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

The night before He died, Jesus gave His peace to His disciples — “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you…” This peace is not just for His disciples, but also for us. Today, we have His peace.

The moment you believe in Jesus Christ, He who is the Prince of Peace comes to live inside you. And when the Prince of Peace resides in you, every blessing that you will ever need pertaining to your soundness and wholeness is already inside you.

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GOD'S IDEA OF GREATNESS

GOD'S IDEA OF GREATNESS

Luke 3:20, "....he shut up John in prison."

John spent 30 years preparing for a six month ministry, followed by one and a half years in prison before he was beheaded. Many people would not consider his life very successful, yet Jesus said John was the greatest man who was ever born (Mt. 11:11).

John's greatness didn't lie in his own success, but in the success of another. John stirred up the hearts of an entire nation in expectancy of their Messiah. The ministry of Jesus owed much of its success to the work of John. John had prepared a people to meet their God (Mal. 3:1).

In our celebrity conscious society, few people want to be the backup singer or the announcer who introduces the main speaker. We have adopted a mentality that unless we are in the limelight we have failed. That's not the way the Lord looks at things.

When the Lord passes out rewards in heaven, we may be shocked to see how He evaluates greatness. Many people who did not receive recognition while on earth will shine like the stars in eternity. The Lord will judge our works on what sort they were and not what size they were (I Cor. 3:13).

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Critics beware

From experience, we know that it is easier to criticize than to correct; we understand that it is easier to find faults than solution and we realize that excessive criticism is usually destructive not productive. Yet the urge to criticize other remains a powerful temptation for most of us. Our task, as obedient believers is to break the twin habits of negative thinking and critical speech.

James 4:11  Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.

Negatively is highly contagious: we give it to other who it turn, give it back to us. This cycle can be broken by positive thoughts, heartfelt prayers and encouraging words. As thoughtful servant of a loving God, we can use transforming power of Christ’s love to break the chains of negativity and we should.

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God Can Turn Your Evil Day Into Good Days

God Can Turn Your Evil Day Into Good Days

Esther 9:22
²²… rest from their enemies… sorrow to joy… mourning to a holiday…

Today, many Jews are celebrating the feast of Purim. The name Purim is derived from “the lot” which a Gentile, Haman, cast concerning the fate of the Jews when they were in Persia under King Ahasuerus.

Haman, the villain in this story in the book of Esther, hated the Jews and sought to exterminate them. He got King Ahasuerus to allow him to issue a decree to annihilate all the Jews in one day — on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month of Adar. But God used Queen Esther and her uncle Mordecai, both Jews, to turn the tables on Haman and save the Jews.

Haman was hanged on the very gallows that he had constructed for Mordecai! Then, the king allowed Queen Esther and Mordecai to issue a counter-decree to allow all the Jews to defend themselves and destroy their enemies in one day — on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month of Adar! 

So instead of the Jews being exterminated on that fateful day, their enemies were destroyed! God turned an evil day for the Jews into good days. He turned their mourning into rejoicing and gave them victory over their enemies.  

My friend, God can do the same for you today. He only wants you to remain in your position of rest in Christ. You see, because of Jesus’ finished work at the cross, you are seated in heavenly places in Christ, far above every principality, and evil assault the devil can throw at you. (Ephesians 2:6) Just as Mordecai sat within the king’s gate, and refused to stand up and bow to Haman, let’s not “bow” to the devil by allowing him to move us out of our position of rest in Christ. Don’t allow him to get you worried, frantic and doing things to save yourself. 

Queen Esther was also in a position of rest before Haman was executed. She was seated on a couch as Haman pleaded before her for his life. While doing so, he accidentally fell over the couch where the queen was. The king, thinking that Haman was assaulting his queen, sent him to the gallows!

Beloved, remain at rest in Christ’s finished work, and He will turn your evil day into days of rejoicing and feasting!

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