You Lying Little Snake (Part 2)

Bible Verse

Genesis 3:4 – But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.”

Your Discipleship Minute

First came the doubt.  Now we see the outright lie.

“You will not surely die.”

But they did die.  They died spiritually as soon as the sin was committed, but in His mercy, God allowed them to live out their physical lives on the earth before death finally claimed them in their old age.

Satan thought he had won the victory, and indeed he had won a battle, but God Himself had already written the outcome, and had a plan to save sinful men and women through the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Through faith in Jesus, Satan is defeated and we are restored to our right standing with God.

Praise God that the end was known before the beginning!

Action Point

Be on the lookout for the lies of Satan.  His tactics haven’t changed much since creation.  First he sends a seed of doubt then an outright lie about God and His Word.

Stay strong in the Bible and you won’t be fooled when Satan’s attack comes.

 

You Lying Little Snake (Part 1)

Bible Verse

Genesis 3:1 – Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”

Your Discipleship Minute

Doubt. The part of our selves that is always looking for the loophole.

Satan used it in the Garden to tempt Eve with disobeying God, and Satan has been using it ever since to tempt mankind into doing the same thing.

Doubt is a powerful thing because it is the opposite of faith.  Peter walked on the water by putting his faith in Jesus, but when he doubted, he sank like a stone.

Action Point

Faith is the key to living a victorious Christian life.  Ask God to show you areas in your life where doubt has replaced your faith and then confess those areas and give them to God in faith once more.

 

The Cosmic “Fun” Police

Bible Verse

Genesis 2: 15-17 – The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”

Your Discipleship Minute

The commandments of the Lord are not given to keep us from something good, but rather to save us from something bad.

But how many times are we guilty of looking at God as the “fun police,” keeping us from all of the good and pleasurable things in this world?

It is a lie of Satan, just like the one he told Eve in then Garden, that God is deliberately withholding His best from us and that we need to reach out and take for ourselves what God has not ordained for us.

Action Point

God is always seeking our best, even if we don’t understand what He is doing.  It is a matter of trust to look at our life and allow Him to guide and direct us in our path.

Sometimes, God wants us to give up what we think is good in our lives so that He can give us what is best.  Trust Him today to lead you through your life. Even when it seems you are going over the edge of a cliff, trust Him to catch you.

 

Be Conformed to Christ

Bible Verse

1 Thessalonians 4:3 – For this is the will of God, your sanctification.

Your Discipleship Minute

For Christians, praying to receive Christ is the beginning of a lifelong commitment to God and the Bible.

Or, at least, it should be.

Sadly, once they pray to accept Jesus as their Savior, they stop there and think they can go back to their regularly scheduled life.

This is not how God means for it to be. Accepting Christ is not the final step in becoming a Christian – it’s the first step in a lifelong process called sanctification where we eschew sin and become conformed to the image of Jesus Christ Himself.

Sanctification is the result of daily discipleship practices and the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

Action Point

You’ve trusted in Christ for your salvation.  Now trust in Him for your sanctification.  Allow the Holy Spirit to change your heart and draw you in to a closer relationship with Jesus.

 

1 Thessalonians 2:2 – Boldness in Christ

Bible Verse – 1 Thessalonians 2:2

²  But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict.

Your Discipleship Minute

Conflict and difficulty are going to be part of our lives, especially if you are willing to take a stand for what you believe in.

The Apostle Paul understood suffering and shame all too well, but he did not allow it to interfere with fulfilling his ministry which was spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

As a disciple of Jesus, you and I have a ministry that we are expected to fulfill as well.  In addition to whatever else the Lord has gifted us to be, each one of us has been called to be an evangelist to the people in our families, at our jobs and in our lives.

We may be treated badly.  We may be shamed.  We may be put in the middle of great conflict. But we have been called to declare the Gospel to those around us.

Action Point

Choose to be bold in Christ today.  Share the Gospel with someone in your life who needs to hear it. Trust God to protect you from the conflict that could arise from taking a bold stand for the name of Jesus.