WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN SAYING?

Many things in life can cause us to fear—losing our jobs, deadly diseases, terrorist attacks and so on. When these things confront us, we tend to give in to worry and fear, and start talking about our fears.

Job was no different. He constantly feared that God would punish him and his family because he kept thinking that his sons had sinned against God. He would get up early in the morning to offer burnt sacrifices, saying, “It may be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” And the Bible tells us that he did this “regularly” (Job 1:5).

So Job kept confessing the sins of his sons and fearing that something terrible would happen to him and his family. In fact, his sin-consciousness didn’t just produce fear, the Bible tells us that he “greatly feared” (Job 3:25).

It is important that we understand that it was Job’s sin-consciousness that opened the door to Satan. His preoccupation with sins that his family may have committed gave Satan the opportunity to bring death and destruction into his life. God had a hedge of protection around Job. But when he started being sin-conscious and having a fearful expectation of judgment, the hedge was removed and Satan could attack him (see Job 1:9–12).

My friend, today, if you have sinned, don’t say, “I have failed again. I deserve to be punished by God.” Know that you already have forgiveness of sins because Jesus was punished and condemned in your place (see Ephesians 1:7)! So say, “I am the righteousness of God in Christ. Jesus, You are my holiness and perfection” (see 1 Corinthians 1:30, 2 Corinthians 5:21).

We must be mindful of what we believe and say regularly because “death and life are in the power of the tongue.” So when you hear of a deadly virus taking many lives, don’t say, “I’m next because I have not been a good Christian!” Instead, say, “Jesus, You are my righteousness and protection. Surely You shall deliver me from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence” (see Psalm 91:3)!

Beloved, such believing and confessing not only please God, but they also shut the door on Satan so that he cannot make any inroad into your life!  (Article & Picture; courtesy of Joseph Prince Ministries used with kind permission).

JESUS GIVES YOU PEACE IN EVERY AREA

Then the Lord said to him, “Peace be with you; do not fear, you shall not die.” So Gideon built an altar there to the Lord, and called it The-Lord-Is-Peace.  Judges 6:23–24

I want to share with you a beautiful truth from the story of Gideon in Judges 6. Even after Gideon had God’s promise to “go in this might of yours” and save Israel, he was still fearful and unconvinced. He then asked for a sign to confirm that he was indeed speaking to the Lord. Gideon then presented an offering to the Lord, and fire rose out of the rock to consume the offering. Then our Lord Jesus disappeared. Only at that moment did Gideon’s lightning-fast mind perceive that he had indeed been speaking with the Lord Himself. He gasped, “Alas, O Lord God! For I have seen the Angel of the Lord face to face” (Judg. 6:22).

Gideon began to panic, because in those days, they believed that if they saw God face to face, they would die. But before Gideon could frighten himself any further, the Lord said to him, “Peace be with you; do not fear, you shall not die.” (Judg. 6:23, boldface mine). So Gideon built an altar there to the Lord and called it “The-Lord-Is-Peace” (Judg. 6:24), or in Hebrew, Jehovah Shalom. This is the first time the name Jehovah Shalom appears in the Bible, and the word that goes with this name is “you shall not die.”

According to the Strong’s Concordance, the word shalom refers to completeness, safety, soundness, welfare, health, and supply. It also refers to peace, quiet, tranquility, and contentment, as well as friendship in human relationships and with God in a covenant relationship. So if you think that Jehovah Shalom just gives you peace of mind, you are wrong. When you receive the Lord as Jehovah Shalom in your life, you are receiving so much more!

My dear friends, I believe with all my heart that the Lord wants to speak to you today about the world we live in. Like Gideon, we may be surrounded by bad news, like news of diseases such as Ebola and Zika, of bomb attacks, of random shootings, of hijackings, of missile strikes, and of fatal accidents. But God has already foreseen the problems that we will face in this day and age, and His protection and covering over us is all-encompassing!  (Article & Picture; courtesy of Joseph Prince Ministries used with kind permission).