The Power of Spiritual Engagement

The Power of Spiritual Engagement

The LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

--Genesis 3:14-15

With the entrance of sin into the world, there also came the need for salvation.  Sin had created enmity, or hostility, between God and sinful humanity. Sin had separated the human race from God, and it created the need for a Savior.

And with the verse above, we get the first words of eternal hope written in the pages of Scripture.  In them, God Himself promises that His sacrifice for sin would one day crush Satan.  And this promise was fulfilled when Jesus’ body was bruised, when He was beaten beyond recognition, and His blood poured out for us.

While Satan thought He had fully crushed Jesus when Jesus died on the cross, Jesus did not stay crushed! He rose from the dead in triumph, and as we are told in Romans 16:20,Christ will ultimately crush Satan in the end.  When that happens, the devil will stay crushed for all eternity!

What a hope Christ gives us.  And our hope is sure because our salvation does not come through our own sinful hands or worthless payments, but through the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the very Son of God!

This is why the chorus rings throughout heaven, “Worthy is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

So today, take time to thank God for His gift of salvation. Thank Him that Jesus was crushed for your sins…and that Satan will be crushed for eternity!

Praise God for the hope you have of eternal life.

How Great God’s Love for Us Really Is
by Dr. Paul Chappell
“If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and to morrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith? And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind. For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things.”

Luke 12:28–30

Maybe you’ve heard the story of a teacher in math class presenting one of her students with this question: “Suppose your mother baked a pie, and there were seven of you—your parents and five children. What part of the pie would you get.” The boy replied, “One sixth.” “I’m afraid you don’t know your fractions yet,” the teacher said. “Remember that there are seven of you.” “Yes,” the boy said, “but you don’t know my mother. She would say she didn’t want any pie and cut it in six pieces.”

There are times when a parent’s love exceeds available resources and they are not able to do everything they would like to do for their children. That never happens with God. He never sees a problem or need in our lives that He is not able to meet. While He allows us to experience difficulties and struggles as part of our process of becoming more like His Son, nothing that happens to us takes Him by surprise or taxes His resources.

The world around us is filled with examples and illustrations of both God’s power and His concern for even the smallest animals and plants that He made. When we think we are alone and must care for ourselves without His help, we are living just like the lost do. Instead, we should confidently trust that He will do what is best for us.

Today’s Growth Principle:
Because God is both all loving and all powerful, you can always trust Him to do what is best for you.