OVERCOMERS

Revelation 12:11 (NKJV) “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.

God wants us to be world overcomers!  As we see in the Word of God, this is possible.  So if God wants this and it is possible, how do I go about being the world overcomer that God says I can be?  Well, this verse shows us how.

The first step to being an overcomer is to be under the blood of Jesus Christ.  You might ask, what does that mean?  Do I need to pour His blood on me every day?  No, this means that when you accept Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, you are placed under His blood. 

There is no work in this.  It is all by faith in what He has done, not by what we have to do.  Too many times, Christians try to work for their salvation, but we need to remember that it is a free gift through accepting what God has already done for us.  It is not by works that we are saved.  It is by faith.

The next part of this verse talks about the word of our testimony.  Faith always has a good testimony; a good report.  When you start speaking God's Word like it is true, like you have it already, you will see a drastic change in your life.  Jesus did this over and over in His earthly ministry, and we need to do the same thing.

We need to find out what the Word says about what we would like, and start saying that Word instead of the situation.  This will make us a world overcomer.  Abraham believed God before He ever saw his promise fulfilled, and believing for a child when you are a hundred and your wife is in her nineties is pretty amazing!

So today, look to Him and believe.  Look to the finished work of the cross and thank God that you do overcome by His blood and His Word.

Confession: I am a world overcomer because of the blood of Jesus and the Word of God!  I do not love this world, or the things of this world.  My love is for God.

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WAIT FOR HIM

Lamentations 3:25 (NKJV) The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him.

God, our Heavenly Father, looks for those who want Him.  God has given each of us a free will.  He does not push Himself on anyone.  But for those who are hungry for Him and wait for Him, look out!  Good things are coming your way.

Like an earthly father who desires fellowship with his children, so our Heavenly Father desires fellowship with us.  From the very beginning, God created Adam and Eve for fellowship.  He desired a family, just as a husband and wife desire one.  He is the One that put that desire within us, because it was in Him.

Our Father loves us so dearly and is longing for times of fellowship, times of good talks, and times of just hanging out.  The thing that hinders and limits this is that God is a Spirit and we are flesh.  But one day this flesh is going to get peeled off, and we are going to be able to fellowship, Spirit to spirit!

Nevertheless, do not look at the limitations that we have today.  There have been many throughout history that sought the Lord and hungered for Him, and God revealed Himself very strongly to them.  As this verse says, "The Lord is good to those who wait on Him.”

Make a decision today to wait upon Him, and to hunger for Him.  Jesus said that those who hunger and thirst for righteousness shall be filled.  So let us do it!  Get quiet, get with Him, and see what a difference it will make in your life.  You will have peace and joy unspeakable and full of glory!

Confession: Today, I am making a decision to seek after my Father God more than I have before.  Today, I want to know Him and I desire Him.  My God is so good to me, and I want to bring joy to His heart.

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THE GREATER ONE

Isaiah 59:19 (NKJV) 19 So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and His glory from the rising of the sun; when the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD will lift up a standard against him.

Satan attacks us through his lies and deception.  But thank God for the Holy Spirit!  When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Holy Spirit will hold him back in our lives.  This is the great message of the Gospel.  The enemy has been defeated, and Jesus has given us the victory!

Too many times, we look to our own strength or to the outside, but what we need to do is look to the inside.  Look to the Greater One that lives within us!  He will help us, strengthen us, and guide us in the course of life.

When Jesus left the earth, He said that it was to our advantage that He leave, and that He would send us someone to help us.  He said that He would be with us 24/7, and He would protect us from the evil one.  So again, do not look at the enemy, but look to the Greater One.  Look to the One that has conquered him, and has now given us the victory!

The only power that the enemy has left against us is the power of deception.  He lies, and tells you how big and how mean he is.  He even goes around like a roaring lion.  But remember one thing, this roaring lion had his teeth knocked out.  So today, do not look to your own strength; look to the Greater One!  Do not look here and there, look within and you will see the victory come about in your life!

Confession: The enemy might come in like a flood, but Jesus, the Greater One, will dry him out by the power of the Holy Spirit.  The Greater One lives within me, and He will conquer the enemy every time!

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UNITY IN THE CHURCH

Psalms 133:1-3 (NKJV) Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!  2 It is like the precious oil upon the head, running down on the beard, the beard of Aaron, running down on the edge of his garments.  3 It is like the dew of Hermon, descending upon the mountains of Zion; for there the LORD commanded the blessing—life forevermore.

It is so wonderful when family, friends, and churches walk in unity!  God wants us to be unified, and it is something that we can all work on a little harder.  Here we see this beautiful picture of Aaron, the high priest of the Lord, with the oil of the anointing running down his beard and then on to his garments.

Many people ask why we do not see more of the power of God in the church, or in our lives.  I believe that a big part of it is because so many people in the church do not walk in unity.  In the book of Acts, we see the words “one accord” mentioned more than ten times!  We also see so much power manifested in the book of Acts.

When Jesus was on earth, He prayed to the Father that we would be one body.  I want to fulfill the words of Jesus.  How about you?  I want to see the church operate like a smooth-running machine.  I want to see the Head, our Lord Jesus, give a command and we get right on board.  That takes unity.  That takes us putting ourselves down and lifting others up.

In 1 Corinthians 13:7 in the Amplified Bible, Paul (by the Holy Spirit) said, “Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening]”.

Wow, think of that!  Love believes, bears, hopes, and is fadeless.  These are the words for the body of Christ.  So let us do it today!  Let us do it for our Jesus, and see unity spread throughout the churches.

Confession:  Today, I let love flow through me.  I will not let disunity rule in my life.  Sin will not control me, and I will not let disunity control me.  I will not let strife be a part of my life.

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DWELLING IN THE HOUSE OF THE LORD

Psalm 23:6 (NKJV) Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

As we finish today with this amazing Psalm, we read that, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life."  Did you get that?  What is following us?  Goodness and mercy!  Not sickness, disease, lack, poverty, stress, or problems.  No!  Only goodness and mercy are following us.

We need to start looking over our shoulders and saying, “Hello goodness!  Hello mercy!  Thanks for following me today!  Thank you that good things are going to come my way today.  Even if I mess up, as I ‘fess up,’ His mercy will follow me.  Not just today, but every day of my entire life!”  You see, God is a good God and the devil is a bad devil.  As you stay close to the Great Shepherd, He will have only good things follow you all the days of your life.

I love the ending here, "and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever."  After we have lived a good life, and enjoyed all the benefits of this beautiful Psalm for His honor and glory, the Good Shepherd will be there to take us home and bring us into His presence.

Can you imagine it?  I have been to some amazing houses, and I have seen some beautiful mansions in this life, but can you just think for a minute what the House of the Lord must look like?  Can you picture the rooms and the landscaping?  Can you picture the decorations and the windows?  This passage says that we will dwell in His house forever!

So death, where is your sting?  Go ahead and live a good and blessed life, and do not fear as you come to the end of your journey on earth, because our Good Shepherd will be right there to greet you and take you home!

Confession: Thank you goodness and mercy, for following me wherever I go.  Thank you Lord, that after I live a blessed life, You will be there to take me to Your house.  Thank you Father, for the Great Shepherd and for His watchful eye over me in this journey of life.

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YOU PREPARE A TABLE FOR ME

Psalms 23:5 (NKJV) You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over.

What an amazing verse of scripture!  Let us look at each part.  "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies."  When the enemy comes and attacks us, our Great Shepherd is there to protect us.  Here it is almost like He is saying, “Do not worry or fret about anything.  Come here, have a seat and enjoy a big meal.  I will take care of it for you.”

Can you picture it?  Here our enemy is, all kinds of mad, and we are sitting and enjoying an amazing meal with friends and with the Great King.  Man, it does not get much better, does it?  And when He prepares the table for us, can you just imagine what is going to be on it?  I can tell you this: It will be the best of the best!

The next part says that He will anoint our heads with oil.  Oil was used in the Bible to anoint kings, and it was also used as medicine.  The Great King has anointed us as kings, under His rulership, to rule and to reign in this life.  When people see us, they see a marked people, because our heads and hair are shining with His oil of anointing upon us.  And even when we are sick, there is healing in the Name of Jesus.

And now, look at the way He ends this verse, “my cup runs over."  It is not just a little to drink, but a full and overflowing cup.  This is a cup that never runs dry; a cup that is more than enough.  Have you ever done that, when you are so thirsty, and you start drinking and you drink to the point you cannot drink anymore?  That is our Great Shepherd!  He not only gives us a drink, but He gives us so much that it overflows!

Confession:  Thank you Father, that all three parts of this verse are for me.  Thank you for a table set before me in the presence of my enemies, an anointed head that shines with your glory, and a cup that never runs dry.  It is full to the brim, and overflowing in my life!

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WHEN I AM IN THE VALLEY

Psalms 23:4 (NKJV) Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

We have seen in all of these verses that the Shepherd leads, guides, helps, and loves us.  In this verse, it changes from the Shepherd’s actions and love for us, to our own actions.  You see, in life there are going to be times when we do not listen, so we get ourselves in places we should not be.  Here it is called "the valley of the shadow of death."

Have you ever had times like that?  You find that the grass is not green and the stream is dirty and you say, “How did I get here?”  Then you see that through the decisions you made, or by not taking time to listen to the Shepherd's voice, you opened doors that should have stayed shut.

Even in these times when we mess up, the Great Shepherd does not leave us!  He promised in Hebrews 13:5 that He would “…never leave you nor forsake you.”  Never means never!  This passage says, “I will fear no evil; for You are with me!”  What a promise!  When we mess up, we need to “fess up” and He, the Great Shepherd, will forgive and restore.

Even when we open doors to the evil one, our Shepherd takes out His mighty rod, He grabs hold of us with His wonderful staff, and He brings great comfort to our lives.  What security!  What comfort!  What hope we have because of our amazing Jesus!

So take heart today!  There is no sin too strong that the blood of Jesus cannot wash it away.  Rest in His loving arms, and hear His heartbeat as you lay your head upon His chest.  Know that He loves you, and He will always protect you from anything that the enemy might bring against you.  He will even protect you when you open a door that you should not have opened.

Confession: Father, I thank You for the blood of Jesus that has washed me as white as snow.  I thank You that no matter what comes against me, and even when I am walking in the valley, You are there to comfort and to restore.  What a God I serve!

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