The Promise of Deliverance from Evil

On Saturday, we discussed II Peter 1:2-4 and rejoiced in the Father's great love for us. "He gives us everything we need for life and godliness and delivers us from evil."

Let's mine this vein some more. When Jesus was teaching His disciples to pray, He asked the Father to "deliver us from the evil one."

Jesus asked the Father. Will God deny His Son anything?
Will He deny those who believe in Jesus anything we ask according to His will? Count on it: God will deliver His children from evil when we ask.

Not convinced? Check this out. Paul is speaking here.

"But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one."

~II Thessalonians 3:3 (NIV)

Still not convinced? John, the "beloved" disciple of Jesus said,

"I write these things to you
who believe in the name of the Son of God

so that you may know that you have eternal life.

This is the assurance we have in approaching God:

that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.

And if we know that he hears us--whatever we ask--

we know that we have what we asked of him."

~I John 5:13-15 (NIV)

Are you dealing with oppression today? Do you feel the sting of the enemy's darts? Then turn to the One Who has promised to strengthen and protect you. Ask and it shall be given to you . . . .

A Promise to Lift Your Spririts

They say that depression is highest around the holidays, especially Christmas. Having experienced a "low" over Thanksgiving, I now understand what a downer depression can be.

Could God ever want me to be depressed?
Then where does depression originate?
And what is the antidote for it?

Consider this: "The joy of the Lord is your strength" (Nehemiah 8:10).

When we lack His joy, what can we do about it?
We can do what we always do when we fall short of something we need--draw on the Lord's never-ending supply. Whether that's love or wisdom or peace or . . . .

How do we do that?

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you!
Ask in faith, believing!
Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the darts of the enemy.
Remember: greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.

Do you believe these things only in theory? Put them into practice.
Choose the joy of the Lord over the gloom and doom of the enemy.

The joy of the Lord is your strength!

A String of Selah Pearls - Psalm 46:1-3

Positioned gracefully across the Book of Psalms is a string of seventy-one pearls, lovely beads of wisdom followed by the admonition SELAH which means, “Pause, think on these things, meditate.”

Psalm 46:1-3 “God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. Selah.”

Meditation:

It often takes something much less significant than earthquakes or floods to cause me to tremble with fear. Sometimes the smallest thing can catch me off guard, causing me to panic. Can you relate to that? Large or small, fears can cripple us.

What would happen if we faced our fears (maybe stomped on them a bit!) and discovered that most are mere shadows. Think how our lives would change if, instead of cowering in fear, we would turn to God, our ever present help in trouble—even imagined trouble! We would know a freedom we hadn’t experienced before.

When fears hold you back, picture yourself in Psalm 46:1-3. Mountains! They’re shaking, swelling, and falling into the middle of a raging sea. Waves! They’re crashing and foaming—the roar must be deafening. Dust and ash blacken the skies and smudge your face. You are in the midst of it, yet you are not afraid. God is with you. You are sitting in the palm of his hand. Nothing can harm you there.

And nothing can harm you here . . . .

SELAH

Look up: Psalm 91:4-7; Romans 8:38-39