April 4 The Devil’s Waterloo

But now is Christ risen from the dead.
(1 Corinthians 15:20)

During the Battle of Waterloo, signalmen flashed news of the battle from hilltop to hilltop, until it reached London. There they had erected a great bulletin board for the people to read. At a critical point in the battle, two words appeared on the bulletin board, “Wellington defeated.” Suddenly a heavy fog settled down and nothing more could get through. Fear gripped people everywhere. Some locked themselves in their homes, refusing to come out. Others made plans to get out of the country. After a while, the fog lifted and another word came through from the signalmen—“Napoleon.” Now the completed message read, “Wellington defeated Napoleon! Fear turned into celebration and the streets filled with people, rejoicing because the enemy had been destroyed.

On Good Friday, Satan’s “bulletin board” read, “Jesus Christ defeated,” and a terrible darkness settled over the world. But three days later, on Easter morning, the darkness lifted, and the word “Satan” had been added. Now the bulletin board read, “Jesus Christ defeated Satan!”

 

Rejoice today, He’s alive, and because He’s alive—you can face tomorrow.^[1]

 

^[1] Gass, B. (1998). A Fresh Word For Today : 365 Insights For Daily Living (p. 94). Alachua, FL: Bridge-Logos Publishers.

April 3 Breaking Out

Jabez cried out to … God, “Bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.” God granted his request.
(1 Chronicles 4:10, NIV)

The name Jabez means, “a source of misery.” But it was a label he refused to wear and a prophecy he refused to fulfill—and you should too. Just because someone called you “illegitimate” doesn’t make it so. God says you were in His mind before you were in your mother’s womb. (See Psalms 139:13–16.) So whom are you going to believe? Who are you going to quote?

Jabez refused to allow his beginnings to dictate his end! He refused to allow his family to keep him down or his borders to keep him in. He took his case to a higher court and got God’s verdict. You can too! Listen to him: “Bless me! Enlarge my territory! Let your hand be on me! Keep me from harm! And God granted his request.” That’s a prayer God’s just waiting to answer for you also.

It’s time for you to break out; become a “boundary-crosser.” Start believing God for more, instead of settling for less. Paul says, “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit” (1 Corinthians 2:9–10).

 

God has some things He wants to show you, so get into His presence and stay there until you see them.^[1]

 

^[1] Gass, B. (1998). A Fresh Word For Today : 365 Insights For Daily Living (p. 93). Alachua, FL: Bridge-Logos Publishers.

April 2 Behold the Lamb

Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
(John 1:29)

When Adam sinned, God took a lamb and shed its blood to cover his sin. That day the principle of substitution was established: “The just for the unjust” (1 Peter 3:18). God told Noah to take two of each unclean animal, but seven of each clean animal, so that there would be a blood sacrifice when the world started again. In the Old Testament tabernacle, God arranged the furniture (the altar, the laver, the mercy seat, etc.) in the shape of a cross: four pieces down and three pieces across. Then He told Moses to sprinkle each piece with the blood of a lamb. For 1,400 years God looked down and saw a blood-stained cross in the midst of His people. How wonderful!

But one day John the Baptist pointed to Jesus and said, “Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). Did you hear that? Not just the sin of an individual or a family or a nation—but the sin of the whole world! That includes you and me. Listen: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

 

Today He’s waiting to save you from your sins; all you have to do is call on Him—He’ll do the rest!^[1]

 

^[1] Gass, B. (1998). A Fresh Word For Today : 365 Insights For Daily Living (p. 92). Alachua, FL: Bridge-Logos Publishers.

April 1 Call It What God Does

God … speaks of the non-existent things … as if they already existed.
(Romans 4:15, AMP)

God calls you in the present to what you’re going to be in the future, then He initiates the process that will bring it to pass. Embrace what God has said about you over what anybody else has said about you. His Word is right, and they’re wrong, no matter how sincere they are. If God has revealed it to you, it will come to pass if you’ll only walk by faith and obey Him. Jesus fulfilled His promises and proved His critics wrong on Easter morning by conquering demons, disease, and death; and the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead is alive and at work in you right now. (See Romans 8:11.)

Renounce the past and renew your mind with His Word today. Believe God in spite of your feelings. Don’t believe the lying prophecies of those who claim you’ll never amount to anything. Turn a deaf ear to the racist who says that because you’re a woman, you’re not important. The Bible says, “Let God be true, and every man a liar” (Romans 3:4, NIV). Get up in the Name of the Lord and get going.

 

Your destiny is waiting and it’s better than anything you’ve ever imagined!^[1]

 

^[1] Gass, B. (1998). A Fresh Word For Today : 365 Insights For Daily Living (p. 91). Alachua, FL: Bridge-Logos Publishers.

March 31 Busy People

As thy servant was busy here and there, he was gone.
(1 Kings 20:40)

Are you living a lifestyle that doesn’t allow you to stop and listen to God? Has the unspoken attitude of your heart become, “If God has anything to say, He’d better hurry up and say it”? It’s so easy to get caught in this trap. That’s why today’s word is for busy, overcommitted, let’s-hurry-up-with-the-prayer-so-we-can-get-on-with-it-people.

A soldier who had been given charge of an important prisoner was told, “If he’s missing, it will be your life for his” (1 Kings 20:39, NIV). Amazingly, he lost his prisoner—not because he was lazy or lacked commitment to the cause. No, he lost him because he got too busy with other things. Sound familiar?

God is saying to you today, “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13). Intimacy can’t be rushed; it must be worked on day by day. The Bile says, “Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed” (Luke 5:16). There’s a price to be paid for hearing from God and walking in His will. There’s no short cut to any place that’s worth going to. If prayer was such a big part of His life, how come it’s such a small part of yours? Today, take some time and think about these things.

 

Get into His presence and ask Him to give you the desire and the discipline to build a life of prayer. If you do, it’ll be the best move you’ve ever made.^[1]

 

^[1] Gass, B. (1998). A Fresh Word For Today : 365 Insights For Daily Living (p. 90). Alachua, FL: Bridge-Logos Publishers.