Every Day with Jesus (2 page)

You know the faith God has given you works because you were born again by it. Now that you have experienced the greatest miracle in this life by the faith God gave you, don’t go back to thinking your needs are too big for your faith. If you got saved by faith, you can be healed, delivered, provided for, and promoted by faith. Put your faith to work today, and don’t let it rest until it gets the job done.

January 10: The Weapon of the Word

Matthew 4:1-11; Mark 1:12-13; Luke 4:1-13

And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.

Luke 4:4

When the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness, it was so He could be tempted by the devil. How did Jesus respond? He answered every temptation with, “It is written.” The Word of God is the sword of the Spirit (Eph. 6:17), and it is the only offensive spiritual weapon we have. Jesus showed us how to use it.

Since Jesus is the Word of God (John 1:1), anything He would have spoken would have been the Word. When He was tempted, He could have said, “Scat!” and the devil would have had to go. Nevertheless, He quoted the written Word of God each time, the same Word you and I have today.

This gives us great assurance that the written Word of God is sufficient for us. Jesus, in the face of the greatest temptations Satan could offer, did not need to say anything that was not already recorded in Scripture. The Word sustained Him and enabled Him to overcome all temptation to sin. It is likely that when He returns to this earth, He will just speak the written Word to destroy His enemies. No wonder Satan tries to keep us from studying and knowing God’s Word!

God has given you the mighty weapon of His Word. When you speak the Word in faith, hell shakes. Satan and his minions have already experienced what the Word can do. They know its power. Now you need to know it and be persuaded of it too.

January 11: The Just Live by Faith

Habakkuk 2:1-4

Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.

Habakkuk 2:4

The just don’t use their faith occasionally or only when they’re in trouble. The just live by faith. This describes faith as a part of our life that is as essential as eating or breathing.

When my wife and I first started in ministry, we struggled financially. We often used the phrase “living by faith” to describe our condition. Indeed, it took a miracle each day to eat, pay bills, or buy gas for our car. Even though our faith has grown to a level where we walk in blessings and don’t have to use our faith to receive food each day, we still live by faith. Our faith is what enables us to relate to God and thereby minister to others, which in turn produces finances to meet our needs. Our whole life is consumed with faith!

You don’t have to be a minister to live by faith. Everyone needs to fellowship with the Lord daily, which takes faith. We need to recognize God as our Source, and not rely only on our jobs. We need to depend on Him to handle the pressures of family and work that confront us every day. We need to walk in faith not just for ourselves but also for others. The people we encounter each day need the Lord.

You have other people’s miracles on the inside of you that can only be released as you live by faith. Make a conscious decision to live by faith today. If all your needs are met, believe God to help someone else. As you practice living by faith daily, your faith will grow. And then when you’re in need, you’ll be ready to receive by faith. The just live by faith.

January 12: Hearing His Voice

John 10:1-5

To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.

John 10:3

Jesus said that His sheep know His voice, and they do not know the voice of strangers (vv. 4,5). Yet it seems most Christians experience the opposite. The vast majority of believers hear the devil, the world, and their flesh loud and clear, but they have a hard time hearing the Lord. That’s not normal Christianity.

Jesus painted a picture showing that His sheep are sensitive to His voice and hard of hearing when it comes to anyone else. That should be the typical Christian experience. So what is happening to us? Why does our experience seem to be so different from what Jesus said it would be?

We can be assured that the problem is our hearing, not God’s speaking. He speaks to us continually in many different ways, but we often miss it. Psalm 19:1-4 and Romans 1:20 declare God speaks to us through creation. Each day has something new to say to us, but we are too busy to notice.

God also speaks through His Word, but few of us find the time to read it, study it, and meditate on it. We are too busy making time for television, the Internet, movies, work, sports, and a multitude of other things that fill our heads and hearts with everything but Jesus. Is it any wonder we don’t hear Him or recognize His voice when He speaks to us?

Jesus said He is speaking to you and has equipped you to hear His voice. You just need to tune in! Make time today and every day to hear no other voice but His, and it won’t be long before you hear Him more than anyone or anything else.

January 13: Knowing Who You Are

Matthew 4:1-11; Mark 1:12-13; Luke 4:1-13

And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.

Matthew 4:3

Two of Satan’s three temptations began with the words, “If you be the Son of God.” Jesus was God, but He did have a human body that had to grow in the knowledge and wisdom of God. (John 1:1; 1 Tim. 3:16; Luke 2:52.) It took faith for the physical mind of Jesus to believe the witness of the Spirit within Him that He was the Messiah.

In Matthew 4:3, Satan attacked the most basic of Jesus’ beliefs: who He was. Satan also knew He was hungry. Turning stones into bread must have been a temptation for Jesus, or Satan would not have used it.

Satan is very subtle in his temptations. It looked like he was trying to get Jesus to perform a miracle, but he was actually trying to make Jesus waiver in His faith concerning who He was. He tried to get Jesus to draw on the supernatural power of God to confirm His own identity, but it didn’t work! Jesus knew who He was and never wavered in believing it.

Unlike Jesus, we sometimes fall for this trick of the devil. We may say we are arguing what we believe, but we are hoping to convince ourselves. Someone who really knows who they are in Christ does not have to prove anything to anyone because they have full assurance from God’s Word that He loves them and values them.

Isaiah 30:15 says, “For thus saith the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength.” Today meditate on God’s Word and let the Holy Spirit build your confidence in who you are in Christ Jesus.

January 14: Prosperity Pleases Jesus

Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.

Jesus gave His life to deliver us from this present evil world (Gal. 1:4) and to give us an abundant life. (John 10:10.) Having walked closely with Jesus and being inspired by the Holy Spirit, John wrote that more than anything he wanted all believers to be healthy and productive. That’s what Jesus died for. He said this would happen as our souls prospered, and our souls prosper as we live in His truth.

Jesus said that if we saw Him, we saw the Father. He and the Father were in agreement about everything and were One. Therefore, it stands to reason that anyone who loved us enough to sacrifice His Son to purchase our freedom would do anything for our welfare. (Rom. 8:32.) Yet today many people think God either delights in or is apathetic toward our poverty and sickness.

The Word of God makes it clear that your soul and the rest of your life will prosper as you open your heart to the love and provision of the Lord in every area of your life—spiritual, emotional, mental, social, and physical. Not believing this truth has caused many others to see God as only relevant to their eternal needs. However, the Word plainly teaches that your great salvation includes so much more!

As you believe, experience, and preach a full Gospel, you will see God’s reality and power manifest in the here and now. You shouldn’t reject what Jesus died to give you for any reason. He is glorified when you let Him prosper you. (Ps. 35:27.)

Today give Jesus pleasure by walking in a whole new level of prosperity.

January 15: Make Jesus Marvel

Matthew 8:5-13; John 20:24-29

Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

John 20:29

When I first became aware that the Lord did miracles today, I realized I had missed out on the supernatural in my Christian life. That made me want to make up for lost time by immediately receiving everything I could. I heard about visions, dreams, and angels appearing to people—and I wanted all of that! So I started praying for those things to happen to me. However, the Lord used Scriptures like the verses above to stop me in my tracks.

Jesus said that the greatest faith He’d ever seen was a faith that didn’t have to see to believe. This faith was in the Word of God alone. (Matt. 8:10.) He told Thomas that he had believed because he had seen, but there was a greater blessing on those who believed by faith and not by sight. This means that we will walk in a greater degree of faith the more we are directed solely by God’s Word.

That settled it for me. I wanted God’s best. I knew that without faith it was impossible to please Him, and I wanted to operate in the highest form of faith. That’s not to say I refuse visions and dreams—I’ve had both—but they are no longer my focus. God’s Word is supernatural enough. If the Lord chooses to use an angel or some other means to speak to me, I’ll listen, but I no longer require these things. God’s Word needs no additional confirmation; it is the absolute authority in my life.

Today why don’t you decide to walk in faith and believe God’s promises no matter what you see or hear or experience. Have faith like the centurion, the faith that made Jesus marvel.

January 16: Satan’s Power Is Limited

Matthew 4:1-11; Mark 1:12-13; Luke 4:1-13

And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season.

Luke 4:13

The wording of this verse implies that Satan exhausted his arsenal of temptations on Jesus and then had to leave. We have mistakenly given him too much credit. He does not have a limitless number of temptations to pull on us. As 1 John 2:16 says, there are three areas where the devil tempts us: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. Jesus’ three temptations correspond to these three categories.

By giving Satan limitless powers and abilities, we have made him bigger than he is. The truth is, “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it” (1 Cor. 10:13).

Satan would like you to think he is tougher than he really is. One of his greatest weapons is intimidation, but Jesus defeated him on every score. His teeth have been pulled! Now he can only roar as a lion seeking to devour uninformed souls who don’t know their authority in Jesus Christ. (1 Pet. 5:8.)

Today, walk in the truth that whatever Satan is fighting you with is only temporary. Don’t quit-and the devil will have to quit. In due season you will reap, if you faint not. (Gal. 6:9.)

January 17: Sharing Your Faith

John 1:37-42

He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ.

John 1:41

Andrew was the first disciple of Jesus to share his faith and bring another to Christ. Look who it was that he brought—Peter, who became one of the greatest apostles of Jesus. He preached on the day of Pentecost and saw three thousand people born again. He healed a lame man at the gate of the temple and five thousand were born again as a result. He raised Dorcas from the dead, introduced Christianity to the Gentiles, and wrote two books of the Bible that have ministered to millions of people through the centuries.

Just think how many millions of people Peter touched, and how Andrew was responsible for it all. The accomplishments of Peter recorded in Scripture far outnumber those of Andrew, yet without Andrew, Peter would not have known Jesus. In the eyes of God, what Andrew did was just as important as what Peter did.

As the one who introduced Peter to Jesus, Andrew had a part in all Peter’s exploits. Therefore, on the Day we receive our rewards from the Lord, Andrew will share every reward Peter receives.

You may not ever shake your world as Peter did his, but God has called you to share your faith with others as Andrew did. Who knows, one person you lead to Jesus could be another Peter.

January 18: God Abides by His Laws

Romans 3:19-31

Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.

Romans 3:27

Paul speaks here of “the law of faith.” Faith is a law. Just as there are laws in the physical world, there are laws in the spiritual realm also. Failure to understand this is at the heart of many Christians’ frustrations. They don’t understand why God doesn’t do something to end their pitiful situation or that there are laws they must learn to obey.

A person who walks off a ten-story building shouldn’t be upset with God when they fall. The law of gravity, which God created, can hurt or kill them if they don’t respect that law and operate accordingly. Gravity-caused is not personal on God’s part. The law of gravity is a constant God will not cancel for our convenience. If He were to stop gravity so the person walking off the ten-story building wouldn’t get hurt, there would be untold other deaths from car and train wrecks. That’s what makes gravity a law. It’s constant and universal.

Likewise, there are laws God has to honor. He loves us and wants to answer our prayers, but He will not violate His laws to do it. There is a law of sowing and reaping in the physical world. The farmer who doesn’t sow shouldn’t be upset with God when the crop he prayed for doesn’t grow. He didn’t cooperate with the laws God established. In the same way, many Christians don’t cooperate with God’s laws for prosperity, healing, success, and joy; yet they can’t understand why they aren’t reaping positive results.

Today make it a priority to begin to learn and then operate according to God’s spiritual laws. Then you will enjoy the blessings God wants you to have.

January 19: True Prosperity Isn’t Selfish