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Allowing His Touch to Shape Our Lives
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The Laws of Stewardship are rooted in the immovable ground of God's promises. They are sure and certain, truths that we can count on. They are the absolutely positive teaching of Jesus, such as the Law of Guaranteed Return that He stated like this: "Give, and it will be given to you," He said, "a good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." [Luke 6:38].
 
The purpose behind this promise is that we be motivated to give because it's a sensible investment. Spiritually speaking, there's virtually no risk but all reward. Any gift given for God's glory is backed by the infinite resources of the Bank of Heaven. There is no doubt about it, no cause for concern, no conditions under which the return is held back or held up. It will come.
 

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"Does Evil Triumph Over Good?"
 
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If you were to ask this question that we used for the title to this devotional today; to most people the answer would be a resounding yes! Why? Because in the eyes of most people, life is seen as having more heartache and trauma then success. It is unheard of by most individuals to think that we could possibly have reoccurring victory over a span of time consistently within our lives. Everyone is familiar with the agony of defeat, and for many this low place in life has become home for them. As a matter of fact, it is more common and natural for mankind to struggle for survival then to experience constant victory. It is much more realistic for us to embrace disappointment and its grueling pain then to realize that we could overcome regardless of what the circumstance may be.
 
In my years of following the Lord I have discovered the truth of how words do have the power to kill or give life just as the Bible says. My experiences in knowing this first hand, is because I happen to use the power of words most every day to communicate to individuals, a congregation, or when I write books, periodicals or other forms of literature. The choice of words that I use greatly affect how they will be received. Truth presented in the wrong way can push people further away from what it can do for that person. Yet, watering it down can be just as useless and even more deadly as it desensitizes them so they resist from hearing the Word of truth next time around. Therefore, every person should understand the magnitude of power that is released when we speak our words to one another.
 
The reason I am pointing this out is that it clearly shows why the title of this devotional would be answered by most individuals with an unflinching, "Yes!" That reason of course, is because we hear much more of the fatalist who project their negative and death griping words around our lives then those who speak life to us. Occasionally, someone may try to say that they are being optimistic about life and what it holds; but what usually happens the moment you get around them is that their conversations turn to a dreary and out right pessimistic outlook on life. Why? Because they place so much value on the messages that this world broadcasts throughout the many venues that they have in their personal lives.
 
To give you a few examples. The media tells us who we need to elect as a government official, because they paint the other guy or party as ruining the economy; and they promote that things are going to get worse before they get better. Then what happens on that news? Suddenly gas prices sky rocket and everything is going up while jobs are being lost. What happens next is that the people are moved to follow that lead and vote for the other candidate. Turn on your television as of recent days and you will recall that there was a promoting of a swine flu epidemic that was killing people in great numbers all over the country. What did people do on that report? Our officials elected to close the schools down to limit its spread. People everywhere were talking about the crisis that it spread fear all around. Only to learn later on that it was not as bad as they had first thought. So they decided to reopen the schools earlier than they had initially said they would. People gave a sigh of relief and life resumed. Therefore, what keeps happening is that another disruption is planted in the system of this world which creates another distraction that essentially breeds fear in the hearts of the people over and over again. The more we listen to these negative messages and take them to heart, the more we will hear of bleak and dreadful rumors intensify all around us as they spread abroad. And if the truth be known they often really have no validity of origin, or truth in them; yet, they are believed on though they are rumor driven, and it creates a panic of fear within our society. 
 
In all honesty, we hear the messages of doom and gloom much easier than the message of good news. And because we do this, most of us will live well beneath our privileges in God, though we have many promises in the Word that are backed by the blood of Christ. You might be saying to yourself, how does hearing bad news cause me to live beneath my privileges in God? It is because it violates and dilutes your confidence in the spiritual principles that you should be speaking from which should be in alignment to the Word of God. And because you believe in your heart based on the many negative things you are hearing they become fact to you, therefore, you begin speaking in agreement with the negative information to your own detriment. It is my greatest desire to put some truthful things in perspective here within this devotional, that hopefully will encourage you to live much more abundantly through the Word of God on purpose, rather than giving consideration to all of the nonsense that we so often give ear to. When you do the latter, the devil will rob what Jesus has done for you. Let's look at the gospel John and over in chapter ten.
 
John 10:7-10 (KJV)
7 Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.
8 All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.
9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. 

I know this passage of Scripture may be very familiar to most, but I hope we can show you some things in it that maybe you have been overlooking, and this could begin helping you to turn things around in your life. Jesus told His disciples that He was the door into the sheepfold. In other words, the place for bringing the flock into safety was simply a walled area (a canyon, or a small crevice which leads into an open area that is fortified with walls) to hold the sheep in during the night. This is where the shepherd would lie down and block the entrance to his sheep, that he may war off any intruders that would endanger his flock. In order to reach the sheepfold you would have to come through the shepherd himself who was blocking the entrance with his own body. If anything was allowed to enter in then it was for the good of the sheepfold and the shepherd approved it. However, if anything tried to come unto the sheep which was not approved by the shepherd, it would have had to sneak in some other way to get to his sheep. Therefore, it would have been the work of a professional thief, and obviously, it would be an apparent danger to his flock if it goes undetected.
 
Now this passage of Scripture has several teachings that could be extracted that would be totally in line with truth. For instance, we all know that a pastor is considered biblically speaking, a shepherd over his flock. And therefore, you could teach a lesson from this passage regarding the responsibilities a pastor might have over his congregation. But in this lesson I want to keep it more in line with its truest meaning and settle this question about whether evil triumphs over good. Jesus was instructing His disciples of His unique relationship to them. He is the Good Shepherd as He spoke in His own words, and we are His flock. Jesus was making it clear that He sits at the entrance of where we can lay down in safety and rest. Jesus was also making the spiritual point that there was no other door but by Him, which a man can enter the kingdom of God. In other words, for all of those who feel that there are many ways to get to heaven, you are gravely mistaken! Jesus calls them thieves, and that none can come into the Father accept through Him.  
 
Another great revelation that we can discover in this passage is that through Jesus Christ you and I can go in and out and find pasture, because He leads us out to those places of promise. They belong to us because we are heirs to the things in Christ. In addition, it is only through Jesus Christ the Son of God, that a man can have eternal life and receive the daily benefits that He loads us with. With that being said, it must be fully understood that Jesus Christ and the Word of God are synonymous. They are the same without variance. Therefore, when Jesus told His disciples if my Word abides in you and you abide in My Word, then you may ask anything you wish in My name and it will be done for you by My Father. This is because the Word in you is the same as Jesus speaking it out of you, and the Father always hears Him. In other words, you and I have a promise that if His Words live in us then we will receive without fail every promise that is believed on through faith in Him. Now this brings us to our lesson objective. Jesus' Words cannot live in you effectively while at the same time you are adhering to this worlds negative or limiting language. The world says if you have cancer at that particular stage medically speaking, you are going to die in certain amount of days or months. On the contrary, God's Word tells us that He is the God that heals us of all our diseases. It also tells us that He sent His Word to heal us and deliver us from our destruction. Now we have the dilemma of which word has the authority to speak into our life with effectiveness. I will be pointed in this next statement without apology. If the worlds voice has had your attention most of the time within your life and very little time is spent in the Word of God; then God's Word will be hard for you to hold onto with any real conviction though what it professes is what you so desperately need when the devil is messing with your life. Let me explain further.
 
When all else fails naturally speaking and the diagnosis is grim, we tend at that very moment of crisis to try and grasp all the spiritual applications that we can get around us. Why? Because we are out of logical and human possibilities and all that is left is that maybe something spiritual might work. Most generally this kind of reaching out for God's help in crisis is demonstrated through desperation rather than through faith in God whom you should know intimately as your heavenly Father. Let me give you another example. The world will tell you because you were born into a poor environment that you will always struggle and live in poverty. Yet, the Word of God tells us that Jesus became poor that we might be rich! It also tells us that we have been given power to get wealth that God may establish His covenant of promise. Again, which word speaks the deepest to you? And which word has seeded within your belief system what you should really trust? Many fail to see this and lose much of what Jesus did for them.  
 
I will tell you the truth and will not lie in regards to these things we are addressing from God's Word today. Our adversary the devil comes to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. He is the thief who comes in some other way other than the "Door," to infect the sheepfold with his diabolical diseases, poverty, and destruction; which he brings in the form of his lies in order to rob us of what belongs to us in Christ. Therefore, the devil gets you to add or take away from the Word of truth within your speech so it will fail in its performance. The reason we speak these cursed words so freely, is simply that our heart believes in them strongly because it is what we hear and give attention to the most within our lives. On another note: The devil knows he cannot come through the "Door" simply because Jesus is that entrance and has complete dominion over him no matter what disguise he may try to use. Jesus is never fooled by the devil, but you and I are, when we deliberately neglect God's Word.
 
Our Scripture in the gospel of John establishes something we should also deeply meditate on. Jesus tells us that His very reason for coming to this earth was that we might have life, and that we may have it more abundantly! This is the proof that God gave His goodness as the way for every believer. If the devil comes with a lie, then that means he is attacking the good things that we have already received in Christ. Therefore, the idea that God is always having to counter what the devil has done is a foolish conception on our part. The devil simply advances his kingdom over you through getting you to live and act through his lies. He is adamant about keeping your focus on the assaults or problems that he is implementing, so as to reinforce them strongly within you to trump God's Word. Sadly for most believers, this works very effectively. On the contrary, we have received all things in Christ Jesus right now! Which to name a few involves divine health, wealth, wisdom, joy, peace, and the many other benefits that we have in Jesus Christ our Lord. Many don't really believe that because they live in such dread that something bad is about to happen to them or someone they love. Our adversary will challenge those things that we have received from God's goodness to see if you really believe it. Remember! You were healthy before you became sickly; and you were rich growing up, until someone told you that you were poor. Believe me when I say this: the devil is very convincing when he applies his visual tricks along with his play on words, especially when we buy into it. If this happens and you believe it, then you will become the very person that declares, evil does triumph over good in this world. 

If you have read your Bible at all then you probably will recall that it tells us emphatically that we are more than conquerors. Again, you have read that, greater is He that is in you, then he that is in the world. If God be for you, then who can be against you. The gates of hell shall not prevail against God's church. With God nothing is impossible. We are instructed to have faith in God! Again, the Bible tells us that as a man thinks in his heart so is he. Therefore, God's Word tells us to renew and wash our minds in the Word of Truth daily. We are instructed to put on the same mind that Christ had who thought it not robbery to be equal with God. So, as you can see from just these few Scriptures mentioned above, that there is a voice that ought to be strongly written within us, that we will follow no other. But, time after time I hear so many believers in Christ regurgitating the worlds logic and reasoning only to end up living well beneath their privileges in God. Why? Because they esteem the voice of this world to be more credible than the Word of God. They will argue that it is not so, but the Bible does not lie, from the abundance of the heart the mouth will speak. There now, I said it and hate the fact that it holds true for so many today. Nevertheless, this makes me all the more restless to get the truth out to them and others alike. I want us to look at one more passage of Scripture before we close.
 
Matthew 2:13 (KJV)
13 And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. 

This passage shows us how God sent His only begotten Son into this world to be the "Voice" to lead us to the fullness of life that He desired for each one of us. Yet, within this passage of Scripture we find where God brought His goodness to all-mankind in the form of a child called Jesus we find something happens? The devil would seek to destroy that goodness by killing every young child in hopes of killing God's gift to men. So we find that it is the devil who is trying to counter God's goodness with his evil rather than God having to counter what the devil is doing. This is why he is called a thief, and a murderer, and one who seeks to destroy anything that is good. God created nothing but good for every person on this earth, and it is the devil who lies to men in order to convince them that it's not so. The devil has placed sicknesses upon healthy people of every generation over time who have had the same promise from God's Word. That promise is to experience wellness within their bodies; yet, they did not fully understand what they had in Christ, and therefore, failed to exercise their authority over what the devil was trying to steal from them, and they perished for lack of knowledge. Thus, leaving a more believable and damnable track record for the future generations to hold as the final say when certain sicknesses come upon them. Faithless people believe the evidences of the past, no matter what God's Word says about it, and therefore, they conclude that certain diseases will be fatal and they willfully concede to its lie. The results of all of this:  is fear! Because fear is the dominate spirit allowed to work in them they fail to know God's perfect love, which if known would completely casts out fear and afford them the victory over the thief. Sadly though, the voice which is cruel and evil, continues to destroy God's people, because they listened to it's lies and take them to heart.
 
In closing, God called things that were not as though they were, and they became manifest by things that were not seen. We are told in our conversion in Christ, that we are a new creation by His workmanship and not that of man or religion. The Word of God describes us as being in the very likeness and image of God Himself. That we have a divine nature about us that makes us different than those who remain as mortal men of the world who refuse to be called the sons of God. Our divine nature is why we can speak to sickness and command it to leave. It's what our new nature has the power to do. When Jesus walked this earth He healed people of all their diseases and told us the we would do the same works as He did, and do even greater things! This is also why we can advance in obtaining wealth rather than settle for a life of poverty just because we started there. Our new nature as described in the Word of God says we are rich because our Father owns everything, and we are in need of nothing. Now those words will be very hard to comprehend if this worlds voice has your ear. Let me sum it up with these final words. God's goodness to those who live in it every day, and because they believe it; will triumph over evil at all levels, and there isn't anything the devil can do about it accept go somewhere else to tell his lies. The Truth will make a man free, but if we believe more credibility in the lies of this world, then we will suffer for ignoring the truth that is written plainly in God's Word. It is never God who fails in our lives, for He has given us all things in Christ His Son. It's when we fail to keep the Word close to our hearts that we experience the ruin that the devil authors. The Bible tells us specifically, to take heed what we hear, and how we hear. If you hear the wrong things you will speak the wrong things. If you do not understand what the truth is saying you will probably speak the wrong interpretation of its meaning. A heart that is distant from the Word, will be distant from the privileges that the Word delclares. The truth tells us that a man believes in his heart what his mouth is always saying! After taking this journey with me today in this devotional, how will you answer this question: "Does evil triumph over good?"