SOMETHING TO REJOICE ABOUT

Luke 10:19 NKJV “Behold, I give you authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”

It’s easy to jump up and down for joy when everything is going well but it’s not so easy on those days when life is hard and the last thing you feel like doing just at this minute is rejoice!😊 

So why and what are we rejoicing about? When the Apostle Paul told us ‘Rejoice and again I say rejoice’(Philippians 4:4), even when he was in prison, he knew why he was rejoicing. It wasn’t fake! On one occasion he was in a cell, underground, chained, beaten and in pain. We saw a photo recently of the actual prison they believe Paul was incarcerated in and it wouldn’t have made you feel like rejoicing!

So how could Paul rejoice? It was because his name was written in heaven! That’s why we can all rejoice who own the name of Jesus who have repented of our sins and are trusting in Him alone and not in our own righteousness. We have a sure and certain hope of heaven, because of all Jesus has done for us.

John 14:2-3 NRSV Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling-places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also.

It means even when we feel like we’re in a prison of difficult days or hard trials we can rejoice in this  - our names are recorded in heaven and one day Jesus is coming back to take us into our new home where there will be joy everlasting and our Heavenly Father is waiting to say, ‘Welcome Home!’😊

But until then, even when things may look impossible, we encourage each other to keep standing on all the promises of God, we walk by faith and not by sight, and having done all, we stand - and we can all rejoice because we know God loves us and our names are written in heaven. 

Thank You Lord Jesus. Amen.

Photo by Japheth Mast on Unsplash

OVERCOMING GIANTS AND LIONS!

1 Chronicles 11:22 NLT There was also Benaiah … a valiant warrior from Kabzeel. He did many heroic deeds,… Another time, on a snowy day, he chased a lion down into a pit and killed it. (See also verses 23-24)

We sometimes hear people say, “Have you ever heard of …..? and they name some so called famous person and very often I’ve never heard of them!😊 But have you ever heard of Benaiah? He’s worth knowing about because he was one of the famous thirty men who served under King David, who did many great deeds!

He killed two champion warriors, which of course then made him a champion! He chased a lion into a pit on a snowy day and killed it! Usually it would be the lion doing the chasing and it would be heroic enough to do it on a sunny day, never mind tackling it in a confined space in the snow, but nothing seemed to daunt the man! Then he took on a giant about 7.5 feet tall, just like David had done, wrestled with him, then took him down with the giant’s own huge spear!

Now scripture records all that for a reason. He was a conqueror, an overcomer, he was willing to take on anything and he won, but I can hear you say, “But I’m not Benaiah!”. 

True, but come forward and we see Jesus, our ultimate Champion, who took on every evil demonic force in every realm and totally conquered and overcame them all, but here’s the difference - He then gave us His victory, His authority, to take on and overcome and conquer whatever giant or roaring lion is facing us!

Jesus is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah and He is in us! Isaiah 41:10 “Fear not! I am with you!” 

So next time something looms up in front of you remember the lion being chased on a snowy day and wiped out by Benaiah and take courage. You have the far greater One now living in you and He will fight for you and through you, and you too will overcome, because there is a Champion in you and He is Jesus’ own Spirit. Hallelujah! 😊 

Zechariah 4:6 Not by might, nor by power but by My Spirit, says the Lord of Hosts. 

Photo by Claudia Schlettwein on Unsplash