Faith Requires Corresponding Actions

I love to talk about faith! Why? The reason is simple. Faith is required to please God (Hebrews 11:6). Faith is required to be saved (Ephesians 2:8). Faith is required to get healing (Mark 5:34). Faith is required to live without sin, because the Bible says that anything that is not of faith is sin (Romans 14:23). Also, according to James 1:6, faith is required to get our prayers answered. Faith is definitely important and I love to study and talk about faith.

However, faith is not just believing, faith is also doing.

James 2:14 says, “What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?”

James 2:17 says, “Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” Later in the same chapter it says, “But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?” (James 2:20-22).

How does a man have faith without works anyway? Well, he hears the Word but does not do it. And, according to the Bible, a man who hears the Word and does not act on it does not truly have faith.

Sometimes good people, who want to please God, unknowingly deceive themselves. Because they hear the Word of God, they convince themselves that everything is okay. However, the reality is that everything is not okay. They just think it is. Therefore they have deceived themselves. Thinking you have faith does not please God. Having faith pleases Him (James 1:22).

In Matthew 7, Jesus tells the story of two men who built houses. One man, a wise man, built his house on the rock. When the storms came, his house withstood the storms. The other man, a foolish man, built his house on the sand. When the storms came, his house was destroyed.

Jesus said the man who built his house on the rock was like someone who hears His sayings and does them. He compared the foolish man, who built his house on the sand, to a man who heard His sayings and did not do them.

We must not deceive ourselves. Hearing the Word of God without acting on the Word can be deadly. God didn’t give us His Word just so we could be highly educated. Education is good. It’s a good thing to read and study God’s Word, but without action it profits us nothing. That’s what the scribes and Pharisees did. Because they did not put the Word into action, Jesus rebuked them for their hypocrisy.

We’ve all known people who can talk really well but never seem to deliver. Our words are important. Our thoughts are important. Our faith is important. But we must not just believe. We must act. Only then will there be faith.

We must act on God’s Word. Only by hearing the sayings of Jesus and doing them, will our houses be built on the rock. Only when we build on the rock will we survive the storms.

Remember this. A doer of the Word is someone who prays for the sick. A doer of the Word is someone who forgives. A doer of the Word is someone who loves those who don’t love in return. A doer of the Word is someone who not only says he has faith but he has the corresponding actions to prove it.

Devotion 0153

Fairy Tales or the Truth

When I was seven years old, I loved Vacation Bible School. It was a time of making baskets out of ice-cream sticks and ceramic bowls for Mom. We would hear stories about Noah and the Ark, Daniel in the Lions’ Den, and Moses and the Egyptians. It was fun.

However, one time the pastor of the church said he wanted to speak to the children before we went home. So, they took us all into a classroom and he began to teach. Well, actually he began to preach. He preached a blistering message about hell. In fact, he preached as though he had just gotten back. The average child was under ten years old. We sat in shock as he vividly described screaming and gnashing of teeth.

That night while lying in bed, I started thinking about the sermon I had heard that day at Vacation Bible School. Needless to say, I got scared. I jumped out of bed, turned on the light and ran into my mother’s room.

I remember jumping on the bed and asking Mom this question. I said, “Mom, I’ve been told all these nursery rhymes and fairy tales, and later I was told they were not true. Isn’t that right?” “That’s right,” Mom said. “Well then,” I asked, “What about the devil? Is he real?”

I wanted her to tell me he was just like the monsters in the fairy tales. But my mother said, “Yes Son, he is real, but you don’t have to fear him if you believe in Jesus.” Then she sat me down and told me about Jesus in a way I could understand. I accepted Jesus that night. It was, of course, the greatest decision of my life.

It’s wonderful to know there are Christian adults who teach children the truth. Why should we teach our children about fairy tales? I don’t want to get into a deep theological discussion about their origins, but what I am saying is this: With the same breath it takes to tell about the Easter bunny, we could be talking about the resurrection of Jesus. Also, when we continually tell our children earthly myths and later have to tell them they were untrue, it plants the seeds of doubt in their minds about the true stories they are told in the Bible.

Isaiah 38:19 says, “The father [referring to earthly fathers] shall make known Your truth to the children.”

We need to make known the truths of God to our children. Many youngsters today are very confused. They hear one thing at church and then something different at home. This should not be. We must not be in conflict with the Word of God. Let’s get real. Knowing the Word will set you free. Knowing everything in the world there is to know about fairy tales won’t help you at all.

Jesus said in John 8:31-32, “If you continue in My Word, then you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

We cannot be lukewarm when it comes to our children. We must determine to give them God’s truth from the beginning. It doesn’t take any more breath. It doesn’t take any more time. It doesn’t cost any more. When you’re dealing with children, wouldn’t it be better to just tell them the truth? In the long run it will pay off in their lives – and in yours.

Devotion 0067

Exposing False Prophets

In Matthew 7:15 Jesus said, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits.” And in verse 20 He says again, “Therefore by their fruits you will know them.”

Many times, the Bible warns us of false prophets. God warns us because He loves us and He does not want us to be led away by false teaching and the greed of men. He wants us to only know the truth and to only listen to His true prophets.

It may not seem important to some, in the day that we live in, to be concerned with false prophets. After all how can they hurt us? How can false prophets and false teachers hurt a Christian?

Some people think false prophets are those who cause their followers to shave their heads and commit murders. There are those who think false prophets are those who gather together their followers and drink poisoned Kool-aid. Others think that leaders who teach their followers to store guns and food for the great war are the false prophets mentioned in the Bible. Well, they may be false leaders and they may use the name of Jesus, but they are not exactly the ones Jesus is referring to here in Matthew 7.

In the last days, there will be many false prophets, apostles, teachers, and brethren, and they will be led by their master, Satan. In 2 Corinthians 11:13-14, we are given some insight into their method of operation. It says, “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light, therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness whose end will be according to their works.”

Second Peter 2:1 is another verse that sheds some light on false prophets saying, “But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction.”

Many other scriptures refer to these counterfeit people, but here are two points that are extremely important.

1) These false prophets and false teachers will not appear to be false.

Second Corinthians 11:13 says that these leaders will appear to be righteous individuals who appear to radiate the light of Jesus. They will be so camouflaged that many will follow them. But that should not be.

Jesus said that His sheep would know His voice and another they will not follow (John 10:3-5, 27). We need to listen to the voice of Jesus daily (in our hearts) as He speaks to us through the voice of His Holy Spirit. Then when the false prophet comes along stealing, killing, and destroying, we will not be led astray because we will know that the voice is another voice and not the voice of the great shepherd, Jesus (v. 10).

2)  They will teach false doctrine.

Without the true Word of God being taught, faith will not grow. With undeveloped faith we will not be as effective in our witnessing and we will not be walking in the promises of God. Instead, we will be walking in the problems and the ways of the world. And that’s what Satan wants for you and me.

Let me give you a word of caution. Be aware that false prophets, teachers, and apostles are in the world. But don’t get goofy and go on a false prophet hunt. Be aware of the negative, but walk in the positive.

Devotion 0046

The Liberty of Grace

I was recently at a restaurant with a friend who was on a diet. We all know that eating at most public restaurants while trying to lose weight can be a challenge. But this trip to the restaurant gave me spiritual revelation. As my friend looked over the menu, these words kept coming out of his mouth. “I can’t have that. Oh my, that looks good, but I can’t have that. Oh my goodness, I sure would want some of that, but I can’t have that either.”

While he was looking at the menu, I heard the Spirit speak to my heart and say, “That’s the way some of My people are. They focus their lives on what they shouldn’t have but desire, and then choose to resist it because it’s wrong. Instead I want them to focus on what they can have and choose what is right because their heart is right, and they love Me.”

Legalism guides you to what you should have by telling you what you can’t have. But grace guides you to what you should have by showing you the goodness of the gift. Two people can be in the same restaurant and both eating a healthy meal. While one is eating healthy – after fighting an internal battle to put down the flesh and the desire for unhealthy food, the other is eating the healthy food because they enjoy good health and pleasing God. Even though both people are eating the same healthy meal, one person leaves the restaurant totally unsatisfied as a result of the battle to overcome the rules and regulations of what they should not eat, while the other leaves the restaurant satisfied.

As Christians we have been redeemed from the curse of the law. While it is true that God’s desire for our lifestyle has not changed and it is true that He wants us to live our lives in holiness, the motivation in the age of grace is different than during the age of the law.

I know what is right and what is wrong. Because of God’s Word, I know the lifestyle He wants me to live. The Bible clearly defines what is sin and what is not. But I choose to live a lifestyle pleasing to God because I love Him and not because I fear He will punish me if I don’t.

Years ago I spent a short time as a marriage counselor for a company in Kansas City, Missouri. It has always been interesting to me how people can rationalize their actions. Once during a counseling session, a husband complained that he was not receiving the affection that he desired from his wife. Immediately his wife said, “Every time he wants a kiss, I kiss him!” When I asked her why, she said, “I have to. We’re married and he’s my husband.”

Here’s the point. A kiss under legalism is not the same as a kiss as a result of love, and that husband could tell the difference. Although he was receiving the physical kiss, because she was kissing him under legalism instead of love, the kiss was not satisfying. You can’t fool the heart. Although the action is the same, the motivation is different. The Bible says that man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart (1 Samuel 16:7).

The letter of the law is legalism and legalism kills and destroys, but the spirit of the law is grace (2 Corinthians 3:5,6).

So, whether it’s dieting or living the life of a Christian, the motivation must be from a pure heart of love and not from the law. One way will leave you satisfied and the other way will not.

Devotion 0580

Spiritual Death is Separation from God

Jesus was the perfect sacrifice. When Jesus died and was resurrected, He defeated Satan. The Scripture tells us that He made a public display of the devil (Colossians 2:15). Jesus led captivity captive (Ephesians 4:8) and, once and for all, He did what He came to earth to do. He did what God told Him to do.

The Bible says that the reason the Son of Man was manifested was to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8). What were the works of the devil? His works were to destroy God’s creation, man: “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10).

The devil came into the Garden of Eden to tempt Eve (Genesis 3). Adam sinned and fell short of the glory of God. Before that point, he was able to walk and talk with God. But when Adam fell into sin, he separated himself from being able to fellowship with God. That’s what spiritual death is. Spiritual death is separation from God.

The work of the devil was to separate man from God. In the New Testament, we are told that one of the works of Jesus was to reconcile man back to God (2 Corinthians 5:18-21). The only way we can step into the presence of God again is for us to be cleansed of our sins and to be perfect. How can we do that? The answer is we can’t do that. It is impossible. You cannot be good enough to get into the presence of God.

That’s where grace comes in. Grace is God’s willingness to do for us that thing that we can’t do for ourselves. What is the thing we can’t do? We cannot clean ourselves up enough to go into the presence of God. No matter how good or religious we try to be, no matter how much we tithe and give to the poor, no matter how many good works we do like mowing our neighbor’s yard, no matter how much we love our spouse and hug our kids, we cannot get ourselves good enough to stand in the presence of God. We would die.

Satan liked it that way because man was forever separated from God. If man tried to get into the presence of God, he would die. In all of the earth, the high priest, once a year – one man out of all the millions of people on the earth – got to go into the Holy of Holies in the earthly temple or tabernacle (which was where he would enter into the presence of God). But even that was marginal. The sacrifices of the blood of bulls and goats had to be done just the perfect way.

But God had a plan. He sent His Son here to the earth so that all mankind could be cleansed of their sin. Then all mankind could do what they were created to do – to fellowship with God and to live with Him through all eternity. But either man had to be perfect or he had to have the perfect sacrifice. The perfect sacrifice, the only sacrifice that was without sin was Jesus. So God sent His Son, Jesus, here to the earth and He shed His blood on a cross for you and for me (John 3:16).

We must understand what Jesus did. We must understand that Jesus died for our sins, and accept Him as Lord and Savior. That’s what we call becoming saved and born again. Without the blood of Jesus, we could accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior and it wouldn’t do us any good at all. Without His perfect sacrifice, there is no remission of sins (Hebrews 10:10-21).

Yet because of Jesus’ sacrifice, we now have the ability to spend eternity with God. All we have to do is receive Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior by faith. All the work for salvation is complete. God’s plan is in place. Remember, the choice is ours. Choose life!

Devotion 0138

Why Christmas?

Last week I heard a disgruntled shopper complaining to a cashier in a department store. His comment was, “Why do we have this Christmas thing anyway? Whose idea was it to have this holiday?” Well, the answer to that question is easy. The commercialized holiday was man’s idea, but the event we celebrate was God’s idea.

When it comes down to it, some people don’t have any comprehension why Jesus came to earth. Why was He born here and why did He live a physical life of thirty-three years? What was the purpose anyway?

To give a complete answer in this article is impossible, but I will give you a brief overview. With a little study, you will see that Christmas is not just celebrating the birth of an ordinary child, but the celebration of a great God with a great plan for you and me.

First and foremost, God sent Jesus to restore His relationship with mankind and make a way for man to have everlasting life. (Luke 19:10 MSG; John 3:16.) Because man sinned and had separated himself from God (with the help of the devil), God developed a plan to restore the relationship. (Genesis 3.)

Without God, man was destined for death. God’s plan was to bring life and to destroy death and destruction forever.

According to the Bible, 1 John 3:8 says “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.”

Jesus did not come to condemn the world. He explains why He came in John 3:17: “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”

Jesus was not born just to give us a holiday. Jesus was born as the first part of God’s plan to deliver man out of the bondage of sin. When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we help to complete God’s plan.

Jesus is not a holiday icon. God had a purpose in sending His Son to us. “[The Father] has delivered us and drawn us to Himself out of the control and dominion of darkness and has transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love in whom we have our redemption” (Colossians 1:13-14 AMP).

Jesus is truly the Savior of the world. Celebrating His birth is a time of great love, peace, joy, and compassion.

Devotion 0427

Confidence in God

One of our anchor scriptures is 2 Corinthians 5:7: “For we walk by faith, not sight.” But let’s analyze this. What does it mean?

Walking by faith means that we base everything we do in life upon what God says because we believe Him. In fact, we believe Him so deeply that everything we say, everywhere we go, every action we take, and every thought in our mind aligns itself with what God says.

A few months ago, I was talking with a lady in my church who was being abused by her boyfriend. She was being abused slightly physically, but she was being severely abused verbally and mentally. The thing that amazed me the most was that even though her boyfriend was abusing her and lying to her regularly, she still continued to believe him and defend him. I remember thinking, Why is it that people will submit themselves to an evil person, but the same person will resist believing a God who has never lied and who always tells the truth?

We serve such a God. Walking by faith should be easy. However, it is a struggle for many. From early age, we are trained to believe what we see. In fact, a familiar phrase used by many is this: “I will believe it when I see it.” But for the Christian walking by faith, it’s actually quite the opposite. For us, we’ll see it when we believe it.

A truth we find threaded through God’s Word is that everything a Christian receives, he or she must believe for it first. Before we receive salvation, we must believe for salvation. God searches over the earth looking for those who will believe Him (2 Chronicles 16:9). And when He finds someone who believes Him, then He rewards them because God is a rewarder of those who believe that He is and diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6).

So here’s the key to 2 Corinthians 5:7. We must live our lives based on the truth of God’s Word instead of the facts that are found in the world. We act on the promise instead of the problem. We walk in the truth instead of deception and we walk in the light instead of darkness.

Devotion 0367

You Can’t Live Without Daily Bread

Jesus talked about bread several times. In John 6:35, He told us, “I am the bread of life.” Again, in Matthew 6:11 He said, “Give us this day our daily bread.” That doesn’t just mean our physical bread. That means our spiritual bread. We must have the daily renewing of our mind by the Word of God.

We must have the Word of God daily. We need to renew our mind with Jesus. We need to renew our mind with the Messiah. We need to renew our mind with the Word of God every single day.

Do we renew our mind with Jesus or do we renew our mind with the Word of God or do we renew our mind with Christ? The answer is all of the above. There is no difference. When we talk about the Word of God, we are talking about Jesus (John 1:1,14). That’s why when you say something in the name of Jesus, there is so much power. When you say, “in the Name of Jesus,” you are invoking all of the words that God has spoken. Every word that has been spoken from the mouth of God can be summed up into one word – Jesus.

When you speak to a demon and you say, “In the name of Jesus, be gone,” you are not just saying the name of a man. You’re not just saying the name of God. You’re saying, “In the name of the Word of God.” You’re speaking all of the Bible promises, the entire covenant, and all of the blood. You’re saying everything in the Word in one word. You’re saying power. You’re moving power when you say the name of Jesus because you are saying the Word of God. We live by the name of Jesus. We live by the Word of God.

In Mark 14:24 Jesus said, “This is My blood of the new covenant which was shed for many.” It was shed for everybody. Did everybody get it? No, only those who believe received the blood of the New Covenant. In Luke 24:30 it says, “Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them.”

Luke continued in verse 31, saying, “Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight.” How did they know it was Jesus? Because they recognized that when He gave that bread and broke it, that He was the bread. He was doing that as representative of Himself. When He revealed Himself as the bread of life, their eyes were opened.

Jesus revealed Himself through the broken bread, and then a miracle happened. In Luke 24:35 it says, “And they told about the things that had happened on the road, and how He was known to them in the breaking of bread.”

There are some symbolic things here. Remember how Jesus said “I don’t say anything unless the Father has said it first, and I don’t do anything unless the Father has spoken”? (John 12:49-50). Everything that Jesus said had to be the Word of God – everything! The reason is that Jesus didn’t say anything unless the Father said it first.

That’s the way we need to be. We need to quit stating our opinions and thoughts and speak the Word of God. Get out the Word, break the bread and see what God has said, and then say what God said. If you say what God said, then the words that will proceed from your mouth will be just like the words that proceeded from Jesus’ mouth. They will be light; they will be life; they will be spirit; there will be power behind them (John 6:63).

Jesus came to earth as a man. He suffered the same things that we suffer. He was tempted by everything that we are tempted by. Jesus had to get what He got the same way we do. He had to get it through faith and by repeating what God said. The reason the words that Jesus spoke were spirit and they were life is because what He spoke was the Word of God. I propose this to you: if you only say what God says, then your words will be like the words of Jesus.

How do we know what God says? There is only one way. We must break bread daily — we must open the Word and eat it. Unless we have the Word in us, we will not be able to speak it with power in our time of need.

Remember, Jesus said that what we have in our hearts is what will come out of our mouths. So, hide the Word in your heart and it will flow with power.

Devotion 0130

According to the Order of Melchizedek

And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him, called by God as High Priest “according to the order of Melchizedek” (Hebrews 5:9,10).

Jesus is our High Priest and as our High Priest He took the sacrificial blood to the altar in heaven for us. He placed the spotless blood of the Lamb on the lid of the Ark of the Covenant that is called the Mercy Seat (Hebrews 9:12). The blood was pure and undefiled and was the result of divine seed placed in a virgin girl.

As our High Priest, He is the only Man qualified to enter the Holiest of All and He is not of the Levitical priesthood.

From the time of Moses until the time of the revelation of the Messiah, the Levitical priests took the blood of bulls and goats to the altar. Year by year on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, the high priest, who was of the priestly tribe of Israel, cleansed himself and following the ritual procedure, entered into the Holy of Holies in the Temple (Hebrews 9:7). There he spoke the name of God and through the sprinkling of the blood made atonement for the sins of the people (Exodus 30:10). But this earthly priesthood could never cleanse and take away forever the sin of the one who entered the Holy of Holies. The blood of bulls and goats was inadequate and so was the priest.

As Christians, the Word tells us that we are to rule and reign as kings and priests (Revelation 5:10), but if the Levitical priesthood could not eliminate sin, but rather only atone (cover) sin for a while, then it is evident that we need a better priesthood and that is what we have in Jesus (Hebrews 7:11; Hebrews 9:11-14).

Jesus was not a priest in the Levitical priesthood. In fact, He was not even from the tribe of Levi. He was from the tribe of Judah and there has never been a priest from that tribe (Hebrews 7:13,14). Jesus was not of a Jewish priesthood, but rather, He was a priest according to the order of Melchizedek. Melchizedek is not a name, but it is a title (according to ancient Jewish writings, including the Hebrew Talmud). He was the king of Salem (later Jerusalem). According to ancient Jewish writings, Melchizedek was Shem, the son of Noah, and in the genealogy of Abraham (great x 7 grandfather of Abraham). Keep in mind Abraham was 58 years old when Noah died.

Melchizedek and Abraham made covenant after the victory over the kings with bread and wine and Abraham gave a tithe to Melchizedek (Genesis 14:18-20; Hebrews 7:1,2). While the Levitical priests received tithes under the law, Melchizedek received tithes apart from the law. In fact, the law did not even exist until 430 years later (Galatians 3:17).

On the day Jesus was resurrected and went into heaven, He took His blood and put it on the Mercy Seat. It was the first blood ever placed there. The heavenly Holy of Holies (referred to as the original and not the copy) had not been defiled by the blood of an animal or the entrance of a sinful priest but was pure and holy and ready to receive the perfect sacrificial blood of Jesus. When the blood touched the altar, instantly Jesus became the head of the church. He became the firstborn among many brethren (Romans 8:29) and our firstfruits offering (1 Corinthians 15:20).

Although the Holy of Holies that contained the Ark of the Covenant was built by man according to a template that was shown to Moses while he was on Mt. Sinai (Exodus 25:9; Exodus 26-27), it could not equal the original in heaven. So the perfect High Priest, Jesus, took the perfect blood (not from an earthly father) and placed it on the perfect altar in the original Holy of Holies in the heavenlies (Hebrews 9:23-26).

So, when we receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we submit to His priesthood which is not a priesthood under the law but under a new and better covenant based on faith and grace.

While the Levitical priesthood was for the children of Israel, our High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek is for all mankind who will receive Him as their Lord and Savior. While the Levitical priesthood was a shadow of things to come, our High Priest is the fulfillment of that prophecy and is the once-and-for-all permanent exclusive High Priest for all eternity. While the Jews who believed in Jesus were redeemed from the curse of the law, the Gentiles who received Jesus stepped into the new covenant having never been under the law. But for those who believe, whether we were Jew or Gentile, we are now one in Christ, our High Priest, according to the order of Melchizedek.

Devotion 0576

Who is the Seed of the Serpent?

Several years ago I was doing a Bible study on the Book of Genesis. Creation is a very interesting subject to teach. The Bible tells us that through the sin of one man, sin was brought into the world, and through the sacrifice of the Son of Man, sin was defeated. It’s interesting that when Adam sinned, he blamed the woman, but also blamed God because God gave her to him. When God asked the woman why she had done what she did, she blamed the serpent.

So in Genesis 3 we find where the Lord God spoke to the serpent. He said, “Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field; on your belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed” (Genesis 3:14-15).

You’ll notice that the reference to the Seed of the woman is capitalized. That’s because it is understood that Jesus is the Seed. After I taught that the Seed of the woman was Jesus, a young girl asked me a very interesting question. The question was, “If Jesus is called the Seed of the woman because He is her descendant, then who is the seed of the serpent? Who is his descendant?”

The answer to this question is one of the most important spiritual principles in the Kingdom of God. I could spend days explaining the answer. But briefly, let me say this. In Mark chapter 4, Jesus tells the parable of a man who sows seed. Then, in verse 13 Jesus said that in order to understand any parable or to understand the mystery of the Kingdom of God and the principles on which it operates, you must understand the parable of the sower. He said that to the world it would be a mystery, but to those who are on the inside it will be revealed. Then in verse 14 He begins to unveil the mystery of the Kingdom and how it operates. He said, “The sower sows the Word.”

If it is true that the Word is represented as seed, then we could say that the Seed of the woman is the Word of God. While it is also true that the Seed of the woman in Genesis 3:15 is referring to the person of Jesus, we find in John chapter 1 where it states clearly that Jesus is the Word.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made” (John 1:1-3).

Then in verse 14 we find that the Word became flesh and dwelt among mankind. Jesus is definitely the Word and He was in the beginning with God.

The word enmity means hostility and contention. God said there would be enmity between the Seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent. There has been and there is a war taking place in the mind. That war is between the Word of God and the words of the serpent, between the Seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent.

The Bible tells us that when the seed (words) of the enemy is sown into our thought realm that we are to cast them down and reject them. But when the Seed (Word of God) is sown into our minds, we are to meditate on it and receive it into our heart.

Jesus said that out of the abundance of our hearts our mouths would speak. So if we meditate and receive the Word of God, we will speak the Word of God and that will activate the promises of God in our lives.

The war is everywhere – in the world, in the Church, and in your mind. The words of the world continually are warring against the Word of God. You must choose which seed you will keep and what seed you will reject. The seed you nurture will grow and become strong in your heart. Out of the abundance of your heart, your mouth will speak and you will harvest your words.

Devotion 0430