Pastor Stephen Dedman

Tag: faith

Your Sins Are Forgiven

Encouragement

I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; And I will not remember your sins.
Isaiah 43:25

If God chooses to never remember our sins that have been forgiven, then why do we? We ought to forget the things that God forgets. But it seems that human nature tends to remember the things that we ought to forget and forget the things that we should remember.

How often do you recall the failures in your past? Or what regrets keep haunting you? It’s a powerful thing for God to never remember the things that have been removed from our past. More importantly, God chooses to forget! He chooses to never bring up the charges against us.

However, the devil, our accuser, constantly reminds us of our mistakes and mishaps. He tries to keep us thinking of the dark past. It is the past failures that keep us from a rewarding future.

When you are reminded of your “forgiven and forgotten” past, just remember that brokenness brings blessings. God uses our past failures to show His glory and grace. God uses the broken things to provide blessedness. Do you remember the 300 men of Gideon’s army that faced overwhelming odds but when they started breaking their clay pots, the Midianites were so scared and confused they killed one another?

Have you ever considered how God has used brokenness in your life? We tend to think that brokenness disqualifies us or weakens us. However big the sins may be, if God forgives and forgets them then we should rejoice and experience the power of grace. 

Let grace have victory in your life. Seek forgiveness in Jesus’ name and rest in the promises of God.

Pray

Lord, allow Your Light to shine through my darkness and brighten my future. Help me to know Your character so I may learn to deal with my remembrance.

God Keeps His Promises

Encouragement

‘For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.’
II Corinthians 1:20

The moment you were saved by Jesus Christ every promise of God ever made in the Bible became “yes” for you. Do you believe this in your heart? 

We should spend our time and effort seeking the promises of God and live them out.

Can you imagine what would happen if we believed every promise of God? There are hundreds of promises given to us in the Word of God. It’s one thing to hear it in our head, we need to let it sink eighteen inches lower to our heart.

Once a promise of God connects with our heart it changes the way we think, act, and feel. And once we discover one promise it creates a desire to find every promise God has given to us. If it’s only in our head, it will never change the way we live.

James 4:8 says, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” Do you personally believe that in your heart? Why do we not draw near to God and keep in that direction until we know God has drawn near to us? 

Here is a fact for you: you cannot be in the presence of God and remain the same. That would be impossible. Once you come into the presence of the Almighty, Holy, Righteous God, we can’t help but fall to our knees and tremble. The closer we come to God we see who we are.

Pray

Lord, I know what Your Word says. Help me to believe it in my heart and let it change my life. Make every word of Your promises make my life a reflection of You.

Watch And Pray

Encouragement

“Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭26:41‬

The only way you can live victoriously in this fallen world is to heed the instructions of Jesus and to watch and pray. Keep watching and keep praying, is the guiding principle for every child of God, every moment of the day and throughout our time on earth. 

As Jesus prayed before the night of His crucifixion, He urged His disciples to watch and pray as well. The disciples were all exhausted and could not stay awake to pray. After praying for some time, Jesus walked back towards them and found them sleeping when they should have been praying. 

We need to be praying in unity with the Holy Spirit. Our flesh is weak. We need the strength of the Holy Spirit of God to give us victory while we walk this earth. 

We must remember that God is in control. Jesus is on His throne and has everything under His authority. But what Jesus wants is His bride to be watching and praying. We are to pray in unity together and for one another. 

This is a time for Believers to come together and strengthen one another’s faith. We are to encourage one another through prayer and sharing the Word of God. Don’t let this day of chaos blindside you and find you sleeping. This is a great time for us to shine the light of Jesus Christ into a dark and sinful world. 

Pray

Lord, let us all be aware of what is happening in our world today. Hear our prayers and heal our land. Let me be a light of Jesus for someone to see.