Rhythm of Faith

Read: 1 Corinthians 10:11-13 Memory verse: Ecclesiastes 11:5 Psalm 31-33 Key Point People fall little by little and rise little by little. If you don't want a negative surprise, watch little developments that are taking place in your life. Memory Verse As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all. Ecclesiastes 11:5 Message It is good to know the weapons with which to engage the enemy, but this is not enough. It is important to also know the techniques of the enemy so that you will be guided on how to apply the weapons you have. The more I study the devil, the more I am convinced that he is a good boxer. In boxing, there are three major types of blow: the jab, the hook and the uppercut. The average boxer aims at hitting the head of his opponent but he may not start there. He starts with the jabs at the head, while the opponent is dodging these ja...

Deuteronomy 28:3 3“Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country. You may have heard of people who think that to have better “luck”, they have to move to a new home, work for a certain company or even migrate to another country. The truth is that it is not the place that gets you the blessings, but whether God’s blessing is on you. And for you, child of God, you are already blessed with all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 1:3) He has paid for your blessings with His blood. So the blessing is not on the land but on the man! It was in the city of Jerusalem that Jesus was whipped, cursed and spat on. And it was outside the city on Calvary’s hill that He was pierced and crucified. That is why you are blessed in the city as well as outside in the country! In fact, you are blessed regardless of your location. Perhaps you work in a non-Christian company and your boss doesn’t quite like you. In fact, he sometimes mistreats you. But God can...

Luke 10:19 19Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Years ago, while traveling on a domestic flight in the United States, I was seated next to a woman whose whole body was tense with fear. Concerned, I asked if I could help her in any way. Between sobs, she told me about her fear of flying. I told her, “Don’t worry. I am on board. Nothing will happen to the plane.” I did not say it with pride. I said it knowing that the Lord was on board the plane with me and that I would have a safe journey because He has promised that “nothing shall by any means hurt you”. Once, when Jesus was in the boat with his disciples, He told them, “Let us cross over to the other side.” (Mark 4:35) Believing that they would cross over to the other side, He fell asleep in the stern. A great storm arose, but it could not rouse Him from His sleep, only the cries of His terrified disciples did. The...

And accept salvation as a helmet, and the word of God as the sword which the Spirit gives you. Eph6.17. After we've humbled ourselves and submitted to God, the Bible teaches us to defy the Devil. We don't passively resign ourselves to his attacks. God tells us to fight back. The New Testament often describes the Christian life as a spiritual battle against evil forces, using war terms such as fight, conquer, strive, and overcome. Christians are often compared to soldiers serving in enemy territory. How can we resist the Devil? Paul tells us, "Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." (Ephesians 6:17 NLT) The first step is to accept God's salvation. You won't be able to say no to the Devil unless you've said yes to Christ. Without Christ we're defenseless against the Devil, but with "the helmet of salvation" our minds are protected by God. Remember this: If you are a believer, Satan...

Proverbs 4:20–22 20My son, give attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. 21Do not let them depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart;22for they are life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh. God has given us a sure way to receive the answers to our problems and challenges. It is His Word. Every answer or solution we need is found in the Bible. Yet, many Christians are not walking victoriously in certain areas of their lives. This is because the devil continuously wages a war of distraction against them. He has managed to take them away from the one thing that can bring them victory — the Word. He will do everything possible to prevent them from opening the Bible because he knows that the Word will deliver them. The distraction can be very subtle: A lot of things to get done, a lot of TV programs that interest you, or it may take the form of a big problem that makes you feel that you need to focus all your attention on it. The en...

Exodus 14:15–16 15And the Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward. 16But lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it... The problem with the body of Christ today is not that we are not praying. We are praying. But many of us are praying desperate prayers. We are praying, “God, help… God, please… God, do something about my problem!” If you are smiling a little by now, most likely, you know about such prayers and might have prayed a couple yourself. My friend, God does not want you to pray pleading prayers all the time. He wants you to use the authority He has given you to pray powerful prayers, to boldly command and to “stretch out your hand” and see miracles happen. When Moses stood before the Red Sea with Pharaoh’s army in hot pursuit, the Bible tells us that he cried out to God. But God told him, “Why do you cry to Me?” There is a time for you to cry out to God and there is a time for you to use your au...

How long is forever going to last? Forever! Someday your body is going to die, but you aren't! You're going to live forever in one of two places - heaven or hell. They're both real places. You will spend eternity in heaven or hell. Why should Christians be the most confident people about the future? "Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord." (2 Corinthians 5:6, 8 NIV) For Christians, death is a transfer, a promotion. It's on to better things; no more problems. You're not ready to live until you're ready to die. You don't know how to live until you're ready to die. Only a fool would go all through life totally unprepared for something that everybody knows is inevitable. You're going to die - someday. If you've accepted Christ, then you're going to go to heaven. Y...