Pastor Stephen Dedman

Tag: God

God Will Fight For You

Encouragement

You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, and the Lord will be with you.
‭‭2 Chronicles‬ ‭20:17‬

The godly king of Judah and his nation were under attack by three kings and their armies. It was three against one. It wasn’t a fair fight by any means, but God revealed to the king of Judah that a miracle was on the way. 

God said to the king of Judah, “You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your position… Don’t be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.”

The next verse states the king’s response. “Then Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshiping the Lord.”(‭‭2 Chronicles‬ ‭20:18‬) 

The next day the armies started closing in and the LORD destroyed them and great fear came upon every nation surrounding Judah because the LORD was on their side. What a great victory!

This Old Testament event proves that the Lord wants to fight your battles for you. He just wants you to get into position to receive a miracle. We face a powerful enemy that desires to destroy us, but God is more powerful and has already gained the victory. Raise your head up and allow God to show you what He can do for you.

Do you let the Lord fight your battles? When you get discouraged, do you set your mind on Heaven? When you get disappointed do you turn your eyes to Jesus? 

When life gets you down, let God fight your battles for you. He’s waiting for you to surrender. It takes you getting to the point that you can’t do anything on your own.

Pray

Lord, I surrender to Your almighty power and wisdom. Fight my battles today and give me rest. Forgive me for not trusting You.

Turn To The Lord

Encouragement

“And he (John the baptist) will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before Him (Jesus) in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”
Luke 1:16-17

What will it take to turn this world upside down for Jesus? That is a question that many spiritual leaders have been pondering for a while. We desperately need to see a change in our nation today but what will it take? Who or what can bring about such a change?

God will not do a mighty work in our land until the hearts of His people are changed. We must stop pointing the finger at other people and start pointing the finger at ourselves. Sad to say, but the mess that we are living in is due to the condition of the hearts of God’s people. 

The reason why the world is in such chaos is because the hearts of God’s people are in chaos. God desires that we, believers and Christians, get our heart right with Him.

We should never expect a lost and dying world to all of a sudden wake up and realize that they are wrong. What must take place is the saved people of God get their lives turned around and start living righteously and holy for our Righteous and Holy God.

John was sent as the forerunner for Jesus to prepare the way of Jesus’ coming. God used him to bring people to repentance by preaching and proclaiming the word of God. John was a man of God who lived a holy life set apart for God’s work. He did his job as God desired him to do. We too must prepare the hearts of others to receive Jesus. 

Our lives must represent the life of Jesus. We can not expect the world to change until the people of God change first. We must take our sin to heart and confess it and repent of it. Then God will hear His people and heal their land. But nothing will change if we continue to live like we are right now. Don’t point the finger at other people and criticize their actions and not judge yourself. That is a hypocrite! 

We must seek holiness and righteousness in our daily lives. We must be seeking after Jesus with our whole heart. We need to love like Jesus loves and forgive like Jesus forgives. Who among us will stand like John and proclaim the name of Jesus with courage and boldness? Who will prepare the way of Jesus’ coming soon? 

Pray

Lord, mend my heart. Break my heart for the thing that breaks Yours. Help me to live holy and righteous before You. Let my life prepare others for Jesus.

Say The Blessing

Encouragement

Then He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass. And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes.
Matthew 14:19

Praying before a meal is a beautiful testimony of our faith and thankfulness. Jesus gave the perfect example as He prayed over the bread and fish just before it was distributed among 5,000 men. It was a blessing indeed as some would say. 

Do you say grace before you eat? Do you ask the blessing at mealtime? Or do you return thanks before you dig in?

Praying over a meal is called many things and can be expressed in many ways. It is a sign of gratitude from the heart. The most important thing is that we are thankful for the blessings of God.

We are given another example of Jesus praying and blessing the bread before He broke it and ate with the disciples the night before He died on the cross.

It should never become a mindless habit nor should it be an inconvenience. Praying and thanking God for our food should be a pleasure and an expression of our heart’s gratitude. We should teach our children to bless the food and show them the importance of giving thanks for God’s provision. 

Those that do say grace on a regular basis might be tempted to repeat the same phrases or chants from memory. Maybe it’s time to find a fresh way to thank God for our blessings. Think outside the box and identify a couple of things to thank God for. 

Mealtime prayers should not be the only prayers offered up to God. Paul instructs us to pray without ceasing. Let your prayer time be meaningful. And if you are uncomfortable praying with people who don’t pray, let it be your testimony. Don’t ever be ashamed to pray!

Pray

Lord, I am so thankful for all the many things You have given to me. Let my heart be overflowing with gratitude and let my example of saying the blessing be a testimony to others.