Freedom During CaptivitySample

IS IT DIFFICULT FOR YOU TO RECEIVE?

Are you ready for some hard truth? If a person isn’t living for the Lord, they are living for the enemy! Wow! Let’s dig in to see the tricks of the enemy and how it can have an impact on living life today! Learn from scripture how to get-up out of life’s valleys.

CAN YOU RELATE?

Even in our sanctuaries, few pastors mention the devil or Satan anymore. Today, our culture tends to shun ‘that kind of talk.’ When is the last time you heard those names spoken by anyone? It is as if when they aren’t mentioned, they cease to exist. That in itself is a trick of the enemy. Once we know scripture, we can recognize the tricks of the enemy.

Within Ephesians chapter 2, we learn that God saved us, by his grace when we believed, and we can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. If the enemy of our soul can make us believe we are deserving, just because we are good, we have been truly deceived.  

Do only Christians do good things? Of course not. We have a world full of 'good' people. To be frank, sometimes I have met kinder people who do not claim Christ as their Savior, than some Christians who do. This just should not be! When this happens, it shows us that those who are claiming Christ, are walking on their own merits. 

Our ‘good deeds’ do not earn us a spot in heaven—it is only through God’s Grace. And if we truly have turned from our old nature, our hearts will only want to do good. Why is it that I do good, but it seems everything has gone wrong in life?  

Just because we follow Christ, does not exempt us from bad things happening, but gives us power and strength to walk through them. 

As we read through these scriptures, we learn that we were once without hope. We were on the outside without Christ. I shared yesterday that my husband lost his arm and shoulder from bone cancer. I honestly can say without the knowledge of scripture and hope it gives, we couldn’t have walked through all of his surgeries and loss without the Lord.

God gave you and I the gift of salvation through His Son Jesus. Christ broke down the wall of hostility that separated us; uniting both the Jews and Gentiles into one people. Christ reconciled us, and now we are one and can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit, because of what Christ did for us! 

This should remind us that as we go through the darker valleys of life, we are not in them alone! Yes, we will have times of suffering, but now we have a power within us to be overcomers!

 Through faith in Christ, you and I stand acquitted! We, as believers are joined together in Him, becoming a Holy Temple for the Lord. We are the church, and wherever we go, we take the church with us! Whether you are in that dark place that makes you depressed, or on level ground where life seems just okay, or you are enjoying a mountain top experience, God is right there with you! When valley’s come, remember to use the key of praise that keeps the door unlocked!

ARE YOU RECEIVING ALL GOD HAS GIFTED YOU?

Before you respond to this question, think of the last time someone gave you a gift; it doesn’t matter how big or how small. Was your automatic response, “Oh thank you, but you didn’t have to do that!?” No, God didn’t have to offer us His gift, but He did!

Is it difficult for you to accept and receive a blessing? When we reject the gift of Salvation and don’t accept it, imagine how that breaks God’s heart and how it makes Jesus feel. 

May we learn to receive all God has for us and may we as Christians represent Him well—even in the most trying of times. The greatest example of being strong in Christ is when we are in the valley times of life.    

WHAT WE LEARNED TODAY FOR LIFE’S JOURNEY:    

• If we aren’t following Christ, we are following the enemy.   
• We are saved eternally through grace, not good works.  
• To accept the gift of Christ we must learn to receive.  
• When we receive Christ, we become His living church.