JULY 12

YOUR PERSONAL PROMISES

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Ephesians 6:12

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

John 14:16-17

“And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.”

John 15:11

“These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.”

Psalm 18:39

For You have armed me with strength for the battle; You have subdued under me those who rose up against me.

1 Samuel 17:47

“Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give you into our hands.”

1 Samuel 15:22b

“…….Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams.”

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We are reading a book by Corrie ten Boom, with daily recordings she made to broadcast over Trans World Radio.  Her Dutch family  sheltered Jews during the Nazi invasion of Holland.  As a result, she, her sister Betsy and their father were taken to concentration camps in Germany. The Lord did many miracles to allow both Corrie and Betsy to bring the Gospel to the other women in their camp.   Their father was murdered in an extermination camp and Betsy was sick, dying just two weeks before Corrie and the rest were freed.  After her freedom, Corrie traveled the world, telling everyone even in remote areas, about salvation through Christ, besides radio and writing many books.  This one is entitled, “Not I, but Christ.”

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PRAISE AND OBEDIENCE

God seeks our praise whatever our circumstances.  I am reminded of a story about the famous conductor, Sir Michael Costa.  As he was conducting a rehearsal with hundreds of instruments and voices, the mighty chorus rang out with the thunder of the organ, the roll of drums, and the blare of horns. In the midst of all the din, one man who played the piccolo, far up in a corner, said to himself, “It doesn’t matter what I do,” and ceased to play.

Suddenly, the great conductor stopped, flung up his hands, and quieted the performers.  “where is the piccolo? He cried.  His sharp ear had missed it, and the whole piece had been spoiled.

What about you?  You may be insignificant and hidden, yet God seeks your praise.  He listens for it, and all the music of the great universe is made richer and sweeter because you give Him your best.

In one of the meetings I once held with students, we had listened together to the Holy Spirit and His Word about victory.  We experienced the reality of God’s promise to us that we can be conquerors of weakness and fear in our lives.   One of the boys said to me, “Now there are no problems left.  I see the answer to all my questions and know that there will not be an unsolvable problem in the future.  I could understand him and was able to share with him that such riches give a foretaste of heavenly joy.  I also told him that in order to have the total picture we need to realize that faith is a battle.  Therefore, we need the whole armor of God.

The Bible tells us that dark powers are conquered enemies, and I see in this fight described in Ephesians  Chapter 6 a very real battle of faith.  Our strength in this battle comes from the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.  When we open our hearts to Him, He is willing to fill us.  Then, instead of the powers of darkness, there comes into our hearts the fruit of the Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  For us the solving of the sin problem is not to try to pull out the root of sin; the answer is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  Jesus prayed to the Father to give us this Comforter “….that He may abide with you forever —  the Spirit of Truth,…”

I visited a friend of mine in Holland who is  the happy father of eight children.  In the attic I saw eight beds.  I asked him, “Why in the world did you not buy a house with bedrooms for your children?”

“I have,” my friend said, “but there is a family in my house who will not leave.  When they leave, all my children get their own bedrooms!”

My friend had bought and paid for the house, yet he had to wait to gain full possession. Jesus has bought us with His blood.  He suffered terribly at the cross.  He has a legal right to fill us with His joy if we have accepted Him as our Lord and Savior.  “These things I have spoken to you that my joy might remain in you….”  (John 15:11).

But where our ego lives, He cannot enter.

Thank You, Lord Jesus, for dying on the cross to redeem us and to cleanse us from sin.  Thank You, Holy Spirit, for living within us and teaching us the truth about ourselves and about God.  Father, we commit our lives to You.  Amen

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