TGN: Perspective

Prayer: Father, my precious heavenly Father, You are the God of newness. I pour out everything I'm going through, feeling, anticipating, fearing, anxious and/or worried about, dreading, confused, mistakes, wrong motives and intentions, goals, expectations- I pour it all out to You. And asked for You to refresh me. To teach me how to truly put off the old and put on the new. New hope, focus, purpose,direction, a new charge of energy and excitement- and all that is new that is above everything I could ever ask, think or imagine. Thank You, my Holy Friend. The Almighty is my Friend. Hallelujah! I love You, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
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TGN received a great response to the Apostle study. There is so much we can learn from the men and women that God uses for His Glory, not only from the Bible but the people in our lives today. Make good use of these opportunities.
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www.biblegateway.com
Mark 3 v. 20-30 (NIV)
Jesus and Beelzebub
20 Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. 21 When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, "He is out of his mind."
22 And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said, "He is possessed by Beelzebub! By the prince of demons he is driving out demons."
23 So Jesus called them and spoke to them in parables: "How can Satan drive out Satan?24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26 And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come. 27 In fact, no one can enter a strong man's house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can rob his house.28 I tell you the truth, all the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them. 29 But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin."
30 He said this because they were saying, "He has an evil spirit."
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The teachers of religious law could not deny the reality of Jesus' miracles and supernatural power. They refused to believe that His power was from God, however, because then they would have had to accept Him as the Messiah. Their pride would not let them do that. So in an attempt to destroy Jesus' popularity among the people, the teachers of religious law accused Him of having power from satan (beelzebub). Jesus' reply in parables showed that their argument didn't make any sense.
Truth: God permits satan to work in our world. Yes, He does. "Why?" Well, going back all the way to Adam & Eve and the original sin, we live in a fallen world, where satan rules; BUT God is still in control.
So do we blame God? No! God gives us everything we need to escape what the enemy sets before us. We can only blame ourselves for sinning; for opening the door or window, and playing so close to temptation. In all, we can only blame ourselves for not listening to the commands of God. Sometimes it's not satan at all, it's just the consequences of our foolish actions.
It's very important to place everything in the right perspective or we'll begin lying to ourselves, believing that lie and living in that lie, instead of the truth; just like the religious teachers. Everything bad that happens is not because of the devil. What we perceive as bad, can actually be a great thing in hindsight. We have to learn to trust God, especially when we don't understand. We also need to take responsibility and check ourselves. What have we decided not to follow or listen to in God's Word, what have we decided to do our way and not His way. Is lust the motivation or love? What company do we keep (other people's sin can definitely affect us)? Who do we go to for advice? How is our prayer life?
We're not on this earth to be entertained. God tells us we will eat the fruit of our labor (Psalm 128); labor does not mean just a 9-5, but the work we do in Christ. How we live our lives, how we treat others; it's work studying the Bible, it's work to pray, it's work to love others (especially those who don't love us back); it's work (for some of us) to get up on a Sunday morning to go to church- these things don't come easy. But God rewards our work and the intentions of our hearts. Blessings and prosperity are those who walk in God's ways (Psalm 128).
Because Jesus is God, He has power over satan and is able to drive out demons, thus ending their terrible work in people's lives. So let's join Jesus in doing the work of God. Cleaning our lives and the lives of others from unclean and evil spirits- and filling ourselves with the Word. Don't let the fact that satan is on this earth, keep you from right living. Think about this: If the only difference between you and your friend who doesn't know Jesus, is the fact that you go to church or receive TGN daily; sorry- that's not enough. Are your actions, decisions, words, relationships, status updates and lifestyle different? We are Christ's Ambassadors!!! Righteousness should live within us and hope should come from the God in us.
Keep hope in the truth that one day satan will be bound forever (Revelations 20:10) and You will join the LORD Almighty (Shaddai) in eternity.
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TODAY, MAKE A COMMITMENT TO GREET EVERY CIRCUMSTANCE KNOWING THAT THE JOY OF THE LORD IS YOUR STRENGTH!
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"Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path." Psalm 119:105
Resources: biblegateway.com, NIV Women's Devotional Bible- Classic Edition, and Life Application Study Bible.
www.thegoodnews4yourlife.blogspot.com  "Providing you with what you already have access to in the most convenient way. So that we all can continue to grow in wisdom & understanding of God." LT