Warriors Arise: July 31st, 2020
John 20:26-27 (NKJV) And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!” 27 Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.”
Do you know what you believe about God? How would you put it into words? I am reminded of a song the Newboys recorded a song years ago called We Believe.
We believe in God the Father,
We believe in Jesus Christ,
We believe in the Holy Spirit.
And He has given us new life.
We believe in the crucifixion
We believe that He conquered death.
We believe in the resurrection
And He's coming back again.
All of these are true of our God and necessary to believe in order to be saved from death and hell, to live eternity in heaven. Once we confess our sin, seek forgiveness from God and profess Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we are saved and adopted as a child of God. Then the journey continues as we learn of our God, all that He has done, all that He has promised, and all that He is currently doing on our behalf.
So, what have you learned of Your God? I can't really answer this for you. Please pause for a moment before continuing and ask yourself, "What have I learned about my God? What principles do I stake my faith upon?"
Now, what do you believe of your God? Just because we have learned information about someone doesn't mean we believe the information. If we don't believe the information, then we don't act upon the information. With what you know about God, how have your actions and reactions changed? This reveals what you believe.
If you live in day to day fear and anxiety then it would be hard for you to say you believe "perfect love casts out fear." (1 John 4:18)
If you struggle with your value, then it would be difficult for you to say you believe 1 Peter 2:9: But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of His who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are not a people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.
If you struggle to pray for sinners to one day be saved, then it is difficult to say you believe Jesus died so that "none would perish." (2 Peter 3:9)
If you struggle to embrace the calling God has put on your life, then it is difficult to believe God has a purpose for you; therefore you live in the excuse that you do not have to contribute and take responsibility for expanding God's kingdom here on earth. But 1 Corinthians says in 7:17, 20 & 24 But as God has distributed to each one, as the Lord has called each one, so let him walk. And so I ordain in all the churches... 20 Let each one remain in the same calling in which he was called... 24 Brethren, let each one remain with God in that state in which he was called. (NKJV)
If you struggle to see the purpose of prayer or why anyone would pray daily, then it is difficult for you to believe God wants to communicate with you and use you to release His will upon the earth for His people. If you do not believe in the purpose of prayer then all the Scriptures on prayer are without purpose and power in your life.
If you struggle to take action according to the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20, operating in the same power as Jesus Christ, then it is difficult to believe God will do through you what He did through Jesus. Let alone embrace what Jesus said, "You will do greater works than Me." John 14:12
What you believe about the Bible, the recorded word of God?
Do you believe God made man from dirt? Think about it. God had art class in the dirt and made man. How can dirt become flesh and blood, organs to breathe and a heart begin to beat?
Do you believe God fashioned a woman from the rib of man? With one rib how did the rest of woman come to be?
Do you believe God spoke to Moses through a burning bush? Weird.
Do you believe God really entrusted Moses with His power? Sometimes Moses extended his staff and the miraculous happened. Sometimes Moses extended his arm and the miraculous happened. When leading the Hebrew through the desert God told Moses to just speak to the rock and water would come out. Of course, why not? God would have done that. He spoke for six days and we have the world we live in today. In Ephesians 5:1 we are told to "imitate God as dear children." Think of a child who observed their parent doing something and they go to their room to their toys and pretend to do what they saw their parent doing. One may try to cook or bake, another may play with their tractors. One may play grocery store and another pretend a box is a car and pretend to drive. The things we see and believe God to have done or is doing right in front of us is an opportunity to imitate Him like Jesus did.
The Bible tells us Jesus did only what He saw the Father doing (John 5:19). Do you think God stopped doing when Jesus went to heaven? If that is what you believe then why did Jesus teach His disciples to do the miraculous? Why did Jesus send them out, if they were not going to be able to do the miraculous after Jesus went to heaven? Jesus sent them out to do the miraculous and He didn't go with them. It was a practice run for what was to come. They were not going to have Jesus with them, but they would have the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is just as powerful as Jesus. One might think the Holy Spirit operates more in the creative miracles. Think about it.
Genesis 1:1-2 (NKJV) In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
So, the Holy Spirit was hovering over the face of the waters before God began speaking. Like a farmer who plows the field before planting the seed.
Jesus knew at some point the satan would try to tempt Him. As I look in my Bible, I am amazed. Once again, there is an example of God giving what is needed just before the battle. In Matthew chapter four, Jesus has been fasting forty days and forty nights and He was hungry. How many of you can related that when you are hungry you can get distracted and even irritable? We are not told Jesus is distracted nor is He irritable; but we do know He was hungry. That is when satan chose to engage Jesus in a battle. In this battle Jesus soundly defeats satan with Scripture. Jesus had help.
Matthew 3:13-17 (NKJV) Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. 14 And John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?” 15 But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him. 16 When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. 17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
Do you believe God sent the Holy Spirit only for Jesus?
Do you believe Jesus sent the Holy Spirit only for the disciples? They were to go to Jerusalem and wait.
Do you believe the Holy Spirit can be for the Gentiles as well? Cornelius was not a Jew and yet God sent an angel to tell him to send for Peter. Peter shared the Gospel with all of Cornelius' household. Then they received the Spirit of God before they were baptized (Acts 10).
I recognize we may see little of the miraculous being released today. But that is not the will of the Father. It has to do with what we believe of God. Jesus believed His Father and did as His Father was doing. The ten disciples and Thomas had to wrap their minds around the truth; Jesus died on the cross for their sins and is alive today. Just as He told Thomas, "Do not be unbelieving, but believing." He is telling us today.
If God were to go through your Bible with a black Sharpie and put a line through every verse or passage He knows you do not believe, what would your Bible look like when He gave it back to you?
Father, thank You for making Your word available to me. Thank You for teaching me of Your ways. Thank You for expanding my mind so I could believe everything Your Word says. I ask for You speak to me as I read Your Word. I ask for You to reveal to me the Scriptures, that I think I believe, but in reality they would be the very words marked through with black Sharpie. I ask for You to open my eyes to see the fullness of Your Word. I ask for You to expand my mind so I can wrap my faith and thoughts around the complete Word of God. I ask for You to minister to my heart, so I can live each day of my life with God-given purpose. I surrender to You. I ask for You to show me the Scriptures I struggle to apply to my life because I do not believe. I want to believe all Scriptures, everything You are and all You have placed me here to do. Come into my midst and reveal Yourself to me. I desire to believe You, Your ways, Your acts, Your power, and Your love in Jesus' name amen.
A Warrior in the Lord’s Army,
Veridee Joy
My hope is for Believers in Jesus Christ to join together each day to pray, to push back the enemy as we release God’s power here on earth against the coronavirus. The prayers will be listed each day as Warriors Arise. I will put a date with it so we can keep them straight. If you have any questions please feel free to make a comment or private message me. If you would like this to come to your email directly please go to verideehand.com and subscribe.
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