BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

Of course, even Christians who know these things sometimes get lazy and fail to act on them. I was reminded of this a few years ago when Ken and I were on the road preaching. We’d finished ministering in Detroit and had arrived in Milwaukee where we were scheduled to minister again. When we got to the hotel on Saturday night, I was rather tired. So I got into my pajamas and climbed into bed. “I’m taking the road of least resistance!” I said. As I spoke those words, I realized that’s what many Christians do when it comes to dealing with the devil. They take the road of least resistance. When sickness tries to come on them or they’re faced with some other kind of trial, they just put on their spiritual jammies, climb into the bed and let the devil run over them. They just hide under the covers and hope God will do something to help. That’s a recipe for failure! The devil is the thief. He comes into our lives “to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.” Jesus came that we might “have life, and that [we] might have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). If we want to enjoy the abundant life Jesus has provided, we must receive it by faith, stand up to the devil and resist him. We must say, “No you don’t, thief! You’re not coming into my family. You’re not stealing from my bank account. You’re not destroying my health. I will not tolerate you in any part of my life. In Jesus’ Name, I cast you out! Now, GO!” Do you know whose voice the devil hears when you say those things? He hears Jesus, because Jesus is the One who whipped him in the pit of hell. Jesus is the One who “having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it” (Colossians 2:15). Jesus is the One who stripped the devil of all his power and left him with absolutely nothing, and gave us His Name to use! All the devil has to use against us now is lies! He doesn’t have any power that we don’t give him. So don’t give him anything to work with. Don’t give him your words. Don’t give him your actions. Don’t yield to him even one iota of your faith. Instead, give it all to Jesus. Give God everything to work with in your life and give no place to the devil! I will warn you though, in spite of the fact that the devil is a major loser, he does have one thing going for him. He is a persistent cuss. He’s not triumphant but he is tenacious. So you have to be aggressive with him. Ken used to illustrate this by describing how his mother would have reacted if an old slop hog had ever gotten into her living room. That was always easy for me to envision because Ken’s mother was a bold woman and she had white living room furniture. If some filthy hog had ever dared to get near that furniture, she would have kicked it out of the house fast! She wouldn’t have talked softly to it. She wouldn’t have gently asked it to leave. She would have gone after it tooth and nail. She not only would have shouted, she would have grabbed the broom and beaten the tar out of that hog. We ought to be the same way. After all, spiritually speaking, we have a white living room, too. We’ve been washed clean by the blood of Jesus and made white as snow. Our lives have been put together by God and He wants us to live abundantly. So let’s do it! Let’s live by faith, take authority over the devil and triumph over every trouble. Let’s come through every fiery trial like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego—unharmed and smelling like a rose! V ********************************** Points to Get You There: Overcoming Trials Living the Christian life is not a piece of cake. Sometimes it can be tough. The trials and troubles that come your way can leave you feeling like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the midst of the fiery furnace. But if you walk by faith you can experience the same kind of victory they did. You can triumph over every trouble and come through every fiery trial—unharmed and smelling like a rose. Here are a few points to help you: 1) God is not the source of your trial. James 1:13: “...God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man.” 2) God is your deliverer. James 1:17: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” 3) He works with your faith. Habakkuk 2:4: “The just shall live by his faith.” 4) Faith and obedience are inseparable, so believe right and do right. Isaiah 33:14-15: “Who among us can dwell with that devouring fire? Who among us can dwell with those everlasting burnings? He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly....” (The Amplified Bible) 5) Be diligent to stand against the devil. James 4:7: “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” V MAY '14 : BVOV : 9

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