Victorious and Free from Sin!

Good morning to all on this the 4th of July 2011. Waine and I are in Thomaston, Georgia having some good bonding time. The NEWS of the week is that little Hailie Christine has started walking! Freddie and Tracy sent us a video of her walking and then girlfriend finds a stepping stool and proceeds to climb upon it. Too funny. Waine and I marvel; there is a lot of us in all of our grandchildren. A spiritual brother of mine sent me a beautiful gift yesterday from John 15:7 "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire and it shall be done for you." He sent me many more verses that proclaim the Promise of God through Christ that has already granted us our desires so then I wonder why so many of us Christians struggle. I think its because we don't claim the Victory. Its like winning a prize but you don't go and pick it up! Its not that we have to wait for our Victory it has already been granted because as it says in Colossians "God has made us worthy". The independence from sin is to free your mind and heart from the slavery that sins brings so that you can proclaim yourself victorious and claim your prize. Amen and thank you Sean!

I am continuing my journey in Jeremiah 6: 22 - 30, "This is what the LORD says: Look, an army is coming

from the land of the north; a great nation is being stirred up from the ends of the earth. They are armed with bow and spear; they are cruel and show no mercy. They sound like the roaring sea as they ride on their horses; they come like men in battle formation to attack you, Daughter Zion. We have heard reports about them, and our hands hang limp. Anguish has gripped us, pain like that of a woman in labor. Do not go out to the fields or walk on the roads, for the enemy has a sword, and there is terror on every side. Put on sackcloth, my people, and roll in ashes; mourn with bitter wailing as for an only son, for suddenly the destroyer will come upon us. I have made you a tester of metals and my people the ore, that you may observe and test their ways. They are all hardened rebels, going about to slander. They are bronze and iron;

they all act corruptly. The bellows blow fiercely to burn away the lead with fire, but the refining goes on in vain; the wicked are not purged out. They are called rejected silver, because the LORD has rejected them. " May the Lord add a blessing to the reading and hearing of His Word, Amen and amen!

These Jews were truly unrepentant; they were UNRENEWED even when rebuked by God. Their sin would then lead them into captivity. This concept of being UNRENEWED captured my attention. As Christians we are admonished to RENEW our minds daily through the "WASHING of the WORD". If we are walking around today with the same negative thinking we had yesterday then we have not renewed our mind and we need to STOP, DROP and ROLL. Reflecting on God's WORD does that; it renews our mind instantly and then, then, then Stan creeps in with the "WHAT IFs". You need to rebuke the devil because he is a liar. That is what Christ did when the devil tempted Him. In Luke 1-13 it says "Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them He was hungry. The devil said to Him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’The devil led Him up to a high place and showed Him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to Him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. If You worship me, it will all be Yours.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’The devil led Him to Jerusalem and had Him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. 1For it is written: He will command His angels concerning you to guard you carefully; they will lift You up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left Him until an opportune time."

I confess, I have recounted this passage many times and this is the first time I have discerned that Christ was tempted for 40 days not after His 40 days of fasting. Christ was tempted by the devil for the entire 40 days and yet without sin. When the devil comes at us it is at an "opportune time". The devil is not going to come after you when you are in the Word of God, prayed up, and walking in Victory. The devil cannot be in the same space as the Word of God!  The devil will come at you when he senses you are doubting and therefore weak. Christ taught the devil this lesson over 2,000 years ago. And look at the progression of temptations. The devil will always try and buy us off with things that satisfy the flesh; he knows that we are most vulnerable to the fleshly desires of our hearts. If he can't defeat the Christ that lives in you with the fleshly desires of your hearts then he will tempt you with power and the pursuit of power. He told Christ that "all the authority and splendor" of this earth was given to him and he could give it to anyone he wanted. Well first the devil is a liar and all the authority and splendor of the earth has not been given to him but he will tempt us with it non-the-less. When tempted, remember that as Christians, we are already blessed with power and authority because we are the child of the King. And then, and then and then, the devil will tempt you with what brought him down. The desire to be God and not to worship God. That's what got satan; a desire to be the object of worship as opposed to be the vessel of worship. In all the temptations Christ DEFEATED satan with the WORD of God. The lesson here is that 1) we will be tempted; 2) we can defeat satan only with the Word of God; and 3) we will be victorious not because satan can give us anything but because with the RENEWING OF OUR MINDS we give our open hearts and hands to God who loves us undeniably and completely. With our hearts and hands open, we then can receive the BLESSINGS that are ours for the taking! Claim you independence from negative thinking and claim your victory that has been bought and paid for by the Lamb of God who has conquered the world. Hallelujah!

Now may the LORD bless you and keep you; may the LORD make His face to shine on you and be gracious to you; may the LORD turn His face toward you and give you peace. Amen.

Stephanie