At one point in their history, Israel had not yet possessed all the land God gave them. Saul was king, but the army was under-equipped.  While trying to possess their Promised Land, the Philistines removed all their weapons. The only blacksmiths were the Philistines, so the Israelites had to go down to the enemy to have their tools sharpened but not well. The Philistines couldn’t keep Israel completely out of their land, but they kept their weapons blunt.

If the devil can’t stop you from entering your promised land, he takes away your weapons and if he can’t do that, he will make sure they are blunt and ineffective. If our axe is dull, our ability to build the house and get to the root of matters in people’s lives; is limited.  And when our sickle is used in the harvest blunt, it only bruises the harvest.

There are battles to be won and in the field the fruit is ready and the harvest is ripe. Fortunately, God has His own “blacksmiths shop” where weapons and harvest tools are created in the fire of devotion or adversity.

Friend, that shop always has a fire that roars. Sometimes it may seem like a dark place where there is hardness and the forging of things with hammers. It may even look like hell. But mostly the fire we see through the darkness is the fire of His presence. As we run to that Fire and sit in His flame, He forges the harvest tools and the love we need. And even when the fire has done its work and our implements are forged into the shape of His heart, time spent close to the "Oiled Stone" will give our life and “sword” the finest edge.

The people of Israel stood on the edge of Canaan but even after being told of the beautiful, promised land, they couldn’t rise to the opportunity God gave them. They still saw themselves as powerless slaves, even as grasshoppers.  We also can see a Promised Land before us but if we don’t see ourselves as those able to enter it, we won’t be able to.  Corinthians tells us that we are “new creatures” in Christ; a brand-new species and our future is as bright as the promises of God. God can do exceedingly abundantly above what we can ask or think. (Eph 3:19 -20). But we need to think about ourselves differently. 

It’s not your haircut or clothes or address that changed, but you; you're now God’s child. Your potential, your future and the impact of your past upon you, have changed completely. Certainly, our perception of God has changed but how you see yourself is more important than how you see your future. We might even have ignored ministry or work dreams and opportunities because we never saw ourselves as able.

Friends, people don’t necessarily grow into their potential; they only grow into what they think they deserve or what they believe they are capable of. God has made you more than able by putting Himself within you! The most important vision is not what you see ahead of you but who you see inside you. If you see yourself rightly, a new future will appear.

No wonder Easter is still the premier celebration in the universe. And no wonder the devil seeks to deceive the masses as to its consequences. “For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. (2Jn 1:7)   

Christ means Messiah. God come in the flesh to be our Saviour. This is such good news because it means a number of fabulous things.

1.                If Jesus Christ has come in the flesh, then God has revealed Himself! That means that we don't need to look for any other saviour. The gospel just needs to be told to all nations, races and religions.  It means we can all give up our false gods with false hopes and turn to Jesus Christ.

2.               If Messiah has come in the flesh, then God has spoken to man.  That means we can put away every other religious book, every other philosophy and ideology and give allegiance to the Word of God.  God’s Word is the standard by which every other book, every thought and every word is to be judged and weighed for truth and justice.

3.               If Jesus the Messiah has come in the flesh, then Jesus has modelled righteousness and right living. That means that we can judge all our behaviour, speech, and moral life based upon the teaching and example of Christ.

4.               If the Messiah has come in the flesh, then God has shown us the only way for us to be forgiven.  On the cross, Jesus paid the penalty for the sin of all mankind, so we can give up our pride-filled efforts to save ourselves and call on the Lord.

5.               If God came in the flesh, died and rose again, then allegiance to Christ alone is desirable and reasonable. Putting our trust in His word is life-saving and necessary. The Bible is not outdated. It matters not whether a man rides a horse or a helicopter, the Bible is always relevant and offers him hope.

What a fabulous Saviour! If we were saved by His death, how much more shall we be saved by His life? Romans 5.10.

In 1909 the Olympic runner from Tanzania, John Stephen Akhwari, fell as he was running.  He hurt his head and legs but dragged himself along to finish the marathon. When asked why he forced himself to endure unnecessary agony, he replied “My country did not send me 10,000 miles just to start the race but to finish it.”  Learning how to overcome adversity is important today because, while learning to parachute is optional and learning to macramé is a choice, learning to face adversity isn’t!  “In the world, you will have tribulation” (John 16:33).  

Every believer has troubles, even your neighbour.  They might be different from yours, or they may not even appear to have them, but believe me they do. Troubles are part of life for believers and nonbelievers.  Trouble is normal, but the big advantage is that we have Gods help and presence to empower us through it.  Knowing that troubles are normal, helps us persevere. Even while Elijah was chilling in the desert, he had challenges. First abundance, then famine, then ravens, and then lack and death in the home. It was an intense couple of years.  God was not trying to make great difficulties for him, but he was seeking to make him great.  God was growing Elijah for his tomorrow and us for ours. He was making a man of God who could pray down a revival, confront kings and turn back nations. A man who could pray earnestly and see the heaven opened over his nation.

Friends, our troubles are to make us more dependant and therefore stronger. God is developing conquerors, not survivors.  The hard thing about being a Christian is living on the earth; being a Christian in heaven, will be easy.  Expecting to have heaven now, where there is no sickness, no trouble, no sadness or trials, will only cause the pain of disappointment. There is a sure way to get into the blessing of God and there is a certain way into our destiny but there is no easy way. However Gods training in your life up till now, has made you more than strong enough to finish your race.

The sound of the rooster had hardly faded  from his ears, when Peter was gripped by remorse.  Embarrassed by his past, he wished he could have his time over again. How could he have been so weak and fearful?

Of course, Peter would felt bad after denying Jesus, but Satan seized the opportunity to condemn him terribly.  The devil seeks to sow lies into our hearts after we have failed.  Lies like, “Jesus will not want to meet with you; He’ll never want to work miracles for you; you have annoyed God too much; you have lost your call” and “you don’t really love God at all.”  

But look how Jesus restores him.  First, He comes to him. God always initiates and is never put off by our failures! Then He calls Peter and the other disciples children, affirming their family relationship with God. He then helps them with a miracle showing that God is not offended and still wants to bless him. Next, Jesus arranges for the fire and the coals to bring Peters past memories and shame to mind, only so He could speak over them with truth. He renews Peters call, and finally He gets Peter to affirm three times that he still loves Jesus.  By doing that, Jesus is undoing the lie the devil had been telling Peter. “You don’t love Him so how could be love you?”

Friend, it matters not what we think of ourselves or what the devil wants us to think, but it does matter what Jesus thinks.  Let Jesus have the final word, He loves you, believes in you, His plans for you are still good and is forgiveness of our failures just increases our gratitude and devotion to Him.

The gate clanged shut as he adjusted his eyes to the dark. It wasn't the first time for Paul. Paul spent years in various prisons on the way to his trial in Rome, but he never saw himself as a prisoner of the Romans but a prisoner of the Lord. (Eph 3.1)   In the Bible God’s people were put in prisons, because they served God, not because they committed a crime. People like Jeremiah, John the Baptist, and Daniel. Paul never saw himself in any place apart from in the hand of God.

Perhaps you seem to be in prison yourself at present. Maybe you are emotionally stifled as you face constant put-downs and manipulation. Perhaps you are stuck financially or work for a boss that is unkind or arrogant. Prisoners don’t have any say about who’s in their life. When we are a prisoner of the Lord, we don’t have much say, either. If we did, we would remove all the people from our “prison world” that we didn’t like. We would remove all the difficult parts of our job and lives and change all the challenging circumstances that are helping us to grow up.

Paul knew that the devil was against him, but God was sovereign. Therefore, no circumstance could stop Paul from fulfilling his assignment. They may be uninvited, and some certainly don’t feel good but will be turned for good by God. Joseph's troubles were all necessary steps toward him fulfilling God's purpose and bringing blessing to so many others. In the prison, God was working for his promotion. Paul said, “I know that I shall be delivered eventually through your prayer and the Holy Ghost” and he was.

Friend, through your prayer and the Holy Ghost, your prison will have an ending. If you are in the “prison of the Lord” for a limited time and for a specific purpose, thank God, He’s helping you succeed in your calling and destiny as He did for Paul. Talk to the “Prison Keeper” about the next assignment He has for you while you are in His prison.

Moses was set afloat on the river by his mother, who was hoping that her son would escape the murderous plans of the Pharaoh. His mother believed he was special, and the devil seemed to know it, so he sought to destroy the deliverer before he could grow up. Of course, Moses lived and eventually those seeking to destroy Moses, were destroyed in the red sea. As the new nation of Israel marched out of Egypt, an enraged Pharaoh chased after them. Perhaps the devil was trying to kill Israel while they were young as a nation, before they could become great and strong. Gods’ plans for you are awesome as well. The devil wants to stop what God plans for you, before it unfolds fully. The devil maybe trying to stop you, but what he is seeking to stop even more, is the “future you.” He knows that Gods plan for you is to be better than who you are now. You will be more blessed, more intimate with God and more powerful. Satan will never stop you then so he will try to stop you now. He tried to kill Moses as a child because he knew who he was to become. He tried to kill the Jesus as a child because he knew he would become the Saviour of the world.

Friend If the devils attacking you and seeking to destroy your faith, your hope, your joy, and your strength now, it is because he knows God plans a great future for you. Don’t give up just because your family rubbished you, or because you slipped up into some sin this week. It may even seem that your dream of a happy family or of serving God has died, but we all know what God can do with dead things! Don’t give up but rise up, with gratitude and faith in God who forgives. He will give grace and resurrection power to us for He has already planned you to be a more powerful you, in your future.

The woman was bowed over. She was a faithful woman who walked to the house of God on the sabbath for decades. Perseverance wasn’t her problem. She never stopped going even though she had more challenges in her life than most. She had courage and commitment. Everyone looked at her. Some pitied her and some secretly thought she must be less holy than she looked. The ancient Jews believed the righteous earned good things but the unrighteous deserved only bad. (This was a generalization based on Proverbs, but the rest of the Bible shows that bad things do happen to good people.)

She stood through the service and then Jesus stood up in the synagogue, angry that a woman could be 18 years in the house of God and still bent over by an evil spirit. He was angry that a devil seemingly enjoyed the powerless meetings. “Ought not this daughter of Abraham be loosed on the Sabbath day (Luke 13.11) Ought not  this women be whole in the house of God. He commands demons to go and her back straightens.

How did a faithful women get bent over in the house of God?  The troubles of life touch us all, but it is never what happens to us in life that bends us out of shape, rather it is always the lies that Satan attaches to those events. Perhaps it began when someone close to her, was one of the people killed when the tower of Siloam fell. Perhaps the women had been lied to by the enemy and she had believed it. “God doesn’t care for you; you must have been a bad person; your life is a waste of time, you’ll never be well, God doesn’t think you are worthy.” The lies turned her gaze downward. It became permanent.

What lies has the enemy told you? “God can’t forgive you that many times, or you can’t hear from God, you have wasted your life” and as we believe his lies, we start bending over, loosing faith, looking down instead of looking up.

Friend, the truth is, Jesus loves you and your house is the house of God. He has come to your house and He wants you free from every lie of Satan. Hear Him speak and let His word touch you and straighten you as a pillar in His house. Look up! Be loosed from the infirmity of your thoughts.