Devotions

“I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel” (Philippians 1:12). Paul is telling the Christians in Philippi not to worry about all the things he had endured.

Interestingly, Paul wrote this epistle while bound in a Roman prison. At that point he was a seasoned warrior of the gospel, having endured every conceivable hardship. If you have studied Paul’s life, you know the kinds of things he had faced: shipwrecks; beatings; mockings; hunger and thirst; defamation of character. And, sadly, Paul’s worst afflictions had come at the hands of those who called themselves born-again believers.

Some of Paul’s opponents were envious church leaders who turned their entire congregations against him. They ridiculed his lifestyle, mocked his preaching, misrepresented his message, and questioned his authority. Everywhere Paul went it seemed that he was met with trouble and sorrow.

But listen to his testimony! “None of these things move me” (Acts 20:24). And another place he said, “No one should be shaken by these afflictions; for you yourselves know that we are appointed to this … We told you before when we were with you that we would suffer tribulation” (1 Thessalonians 3:3-4). 

Paul was not complaining, he was reassuring these believers. “Why are you so surprised? I’ve told you all along that if you are going to walk with Jesus, you will face afflictions.” This goes directly against a philosophy in today’s American Church that says, “If you have your faith worked out correctly, you will prosper and not suffer.” But that is not what the Bible teaches.

God certainly has the power to keep us from all afflictions, but he allows us to go through certain things. Every trial God allows is an investment he is making in us, a training exercise behind which is a divine purpose. Listen to what the psalmist says, “For You, O God, have tested us; You have refined us as silver is refined” (Psalm 66:10).

Without a doubt, the blood of Jesus Christ is the most precious gift our heavenly Father has given to us. Christians used to sing about the power of the blood in a favorite old song that said, “There is power, power, wonder-working power in the precious blood of the Lamb.”

I fear, however, that we fail to comprehend the great significance of the blood of Jesus. While it is true that through his blood we are made free from the bondage of iniquity — all our sins are covered — there is much more virtue and value in the preciousness of his blood.

Most Christians know that Jesus shed his blood for us. When Christ lifted the cup at the last Passover, he said, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you” (Luke 22:20). We memorialize his sacrifice every time we participate in communion. But in Scripture the blood is spoken of in two ways: bloodshed and blood sprinkled.

A familiar example of the “blood sprinkled” is when the Israelites were commanded to take hyssop, dip it in the blood of a slain lamb, and sprinkle it on the lintel and side-posts of their front door for protection from the death angel. The house with the blood applied was then passed over unharmed (see Exodus 12:22-23). If the blood had simply sat in the basin, it would have had no effect. It had to be applied — sprinkled — in order to achieve efficacy.

This blood in Exodus 12 is a type of the blood of Christ. The blood that flowed at Calvary was not wasted — it did not fall to the ground and disappear. It was collected in a heavenly fountain, ready to be sprinkled on the doorposts of your heart, not only for forgiveness but also for protection against all the destroying powers of Satan. Proclaim the victory of Jesus’ blood in your life and begin praising him in a new way!

When you met Jesus, you became a new creation with a new spirit, a new mind, a new heart. However, even though you became a follower of Jesus and your whole world changed, the spirit of the world around you did not change. In fact, the powers of darkness became aligned against you.

We see in 1 Samuel 17:1 that “the Philistines gathered their armies together to battle, and were gathered at Socoh.” Every believer knows that the forces of darkness are arrayed against the followers of Jesus. The powers of the enemy gather around those who walk in the authority of the Holy Spirit and they begin to encounter difficulties in a new dimension. You see, the enemy is determined that you will fail in your new relationship with Jesus and every demon in hell has been given an assignment to attack you.

These attacks may manifest as depression or discouragement or overwhelming fear. Some of you may begin to experience new tensions in your marriage or increased financial difficulties. If your battle comes on you unexpectedly, you may wonder, “What’s happening? Does God love me? Will I survive?”

I am happy to give you good news! When you experience the elevation of the powers of darkness against you, be assured that God is allowing it temporarily so that he can train you in spiritual warfare. When you recognize that your human efforts cannot defeat the enemy, God steps in when you cry out to him. This is exactly what happened with David when he triumphed over the giant Goliath. “For the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give you into our hands” (1 Samuel 17:47).

David was anointed and prevailed over a formidable foe, just as you will when you seek God’s help. When Jesus moves forward and conquers the giant in your life, you will be filled with power, courage and strength from the Lord.

Jesus says, “Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever” (Matthew 6:11-13).

“And forgive us our debts.” “Forgive me for being lazy and not spending time reading and studying the Word. As Paul said to Timothy, I want to be a workman who is not ashamed (see 2 Timothy 2:15). In other words, not triumphed over in my day. Forgive me for each time I did not seek my daily bread, and as a result, ended up with insufficient strength to represent You as I ought to. Forgive me for finding myself without the strength to respond to the promptings of the Holy Spirit — for the times when You told me to speak and I didn’t; when You called me to stand and I wouldn’t; when You told me to love and I couldn’t.”

“And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” “However, do not let me be so discouraged by my failure that I start to agree with the devil’s condemnation of me.”

“For Yours is the kingdom.” “Yours is the only kingdom that will last. One day, all of men’s opinions, boastings, and curses will be gone! Your words are the only words that are eternal.”

“And the power.” “Your Word has the power to cancel the authority of death and give me abundant and everlasting life. Your Word has power to recreate me and to take me where You want me to go.”

“And the glory.” “The glory of the heart that knows You and knows Your Word; the glory of knowing that the Word abides in us; the glory of having a transformed mind — that glory that belongs to God alone!”

Carter Conlon joined the pastoral staff of Times Square Church in 1994 at the invitation of the founding pastor, David Wilkerson, and was appointed Senior Pastor in 2001.

“By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, and was not found, because God had taken him; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God” (Hebrews 11:5).

Enoch obeyed God with the sole objective of pleasing Him and he was rewarded by the Father by being translated – which means he was taken up into heaven without death. All because he pleased the Lord!

“And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight” (1 John 3:22).

Paul writes, “Even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts” (1 Thessalonians 2:4). “[Fulfilling] all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power” (2 Thessalonians 1:11).

Are you in love with Jesus?  Do you spend time with him in the Word and in prayer? Walking and talking with him will create a holy, loving fellowship. Praising him, worshiping him, will deepen your relationship

The more you love Jesus, the easier it is to serve and obey him. The opinions of the world will no longer concern you because you can say, “I’ve heard from my Father and I’m doing the pleasure of his heart!” This spirit of obedience will come from your heart and flow freely from you.

Jesus tells us, “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him” (John 14:21). What an incredible promise — all based on obedience!

How do you get to this place of loving Jesus? Search the gospels — get to know his words. Many Bibles have the words of Jesus written in red. And as you learn his word, do them! The more you obey him, the more you grow to love him.