~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Bible Verses ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Gen 1:26 And God said, Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of heaven and over the cattle and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.
Rom 16:20 Now the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Words of Ministry ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ We need to consider the words image and dominion in Genesis 1:26. An image is an expression. God created man in Hisi mage with the intention that man might express Him. Dominion means kingdom, authority. Man was made in God's image to express God and was given authority to represent God and to have dominion.
In God's original creation, He had only one purpose-to express Himself. Due to Satan's rebellion, God now has another purpose-to deal with His enemy. When God created man, He had both of these purposes. Therefore, He created man in His own image that man might express Him and He gave him dominion that man might deal with His enemy.
We need to express God and to deal with Satan in our home life. Many times the husband comes home and immediately the wife does not express God. She expresses the serpent. Many times the husband also expresses the serpent. I have learned this by experience. A number of times I realized that I was expressing the serpent. I went to pray, "O Lord, forgive me. Bind the serpent."
Don't try to deal with your spouse. It is not their fault. We must deal with the serpent that is behind them. The more we argue, the more Satan gains ground. The only way to deal with Satan is to go on our knees, pray, call on the name of Jesus, and ask Him to bind the serpent.
Also...
Quote: The Power in Perseverance
“ My brothers, consider it pure joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the trial of your faith produces endurance.” James 1:2-4
The other day I was working on the computer with my oldest son, Luke. When he signed on, I asked him, “What’s your password?” He said, “ Keep on .” That is a great password. (He’ll have to change it now that I’m telling everyone.) He said, “Oh Dad, that’s my password for everything.” Keep on. Keep on. Keep on. I’m proud that my son is learning how critical those two words are to success in life. The biblical word is endurance or staying power—the ability to remain under the pressure. Nothing is more essential to success in the Christian life than that. Faith gets you started, but perseverance keeps you going.
This matter of perseverance is so critical to the Christian life that James 1:2-4 tells us that above all other human traits, perseverance is the characteristic that God is trying to build into your life and mine. Perseverance—keep on making and keeping the commitments of life.
God uses trials to teach us that perseverance, “My brothers, consider it pure joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the trial of your faith produces endurance (i.e. perseverance; another translation says, patience. The Greek, hupomeno , means the ability to remain under the pressure.)”
What do you do when the pressure is on? I’ve often said that it’s easy to start a race but when the miles click past and your muscles start to fatigue, it’s easier to quit. It’s easy to put on a white dress or rent a tuxedo and get to the front of the church but to have a happening marriage—not just for five, but for fifteen or forty years—that takes work! It’s easy to pray a prayer or walk an aisle and confess faith in Christ. But to keep following Christ—when it’s hard and the pressure is on—that takes staying power. If God could get perseverance into your life, He can give you everything else.
Recently, my dad said to me on the phone, “I wish that people had explained to me early on that there are seasons in the Christian life.” He’s right. There are times when you are fired up, but other times when you question and struggle. Are you in a tough season? Maybe like Timothy, you need to be reminded of the encouragement that the Spirit of God inspired Paul to write:
“For I am mindful of the sincere faith within you which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice. And I am sure that it is in you as well.” (2 Timothy 1:5)
Paul was like, “Hey Timothy, I just got to thinking about what kind of man you are—you are a man of sincere faith.” And then he reviews the story of Timothy’s conversion, “Do you remember your mother and your grandmother and the faith that dwelt in them that now dwells in you?”
Now hear this message for your life. Draw to mind the story of your conversion. Do you remember when you first met Christ? In February 1967, my mother led me to Christ as I knelt by her bed. It was an absolute turning point in my life. Though I lost sight of God many times over the next fifteen years, God never lost sight of me! When God puts His hand on a person, it’s there to stay.
What’s your story? Do the same thing Paul told Timothy: Review your faith. Think about the grace that God showed you in opening your eyes to the good news about Jesus. Review it. More importantly, refresh it. Have you ever gone camping? Remember staying up late with the big bonfire blazing and roasting marshmallows, maybe making s’mores? The next morning, you think your fire is out—but wait. Get down close and poke it and stoke it and blow on it and all of a sudden it’s going again. That is what Paul is saying here. Kindle your faith afresh. Fire it up again.
Listen—I want to talk to you who would honestly say, “My faith has grown cold. This year has not been good for me. I haven’t been in God’s Word or serving Him as faithfully as I should. My faith is almost gone.” Wait! It’s not over! You can fire it up again.
You ask, “But what caused it to die down?” Two things: Sin . “But we all sin,” you say. Unconfessed sin, piled one on top of the other, causes the fire to die down so quickly you can’t believe it. It’s like a bucket of water to our faith. Self-sufficiency. “I can handle this.” “I don’t need to read the Bible; I know what to do.” “I don’t have time to pray.” “I can solve this problem on my own.” And the fire of your faith dies down.
“How can I kindle my faith?” Get alone with God today— today— and ask Him to bring to mind any sin you haven’t dealt with. Write it down and lay it before God. Pray alone. Pray as a couple. Pray as a family. Say, “God, we need You. We trust You. We can’t persevere without You. We want to follow You.” I’m telling you that you can have a blaze by suppertime.
Like Paul to Timothy, allow me to exhort you in your faith toward perseverance. Maybe it hasn’t been going that great lately, but you have it. Review it! Refresh it. Fire it up! Receive this challenge to get focused on what it means to live for God and keep on . . . keep on.
