“Rescued from the Lion’s Mouth” 8-10-10

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Right where I am is right where You meet me—every morning, every moment. You’re always ready to continue the journey in our communion of prayer. … “But the Lord stood by me and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and save me for His heavenly kingdom. To Him be the glory forever and ever” (2 Timothy 4:17-18). The kingdom of darkness is never happy about the advancement of the kingdom of light. And in these days of steady acceleration and constant advance, the intensity of the spiritual battle increases around us whether we see it or not. The enemy of our souls, who hates the message of freedom, healing, and hope You’ve entrusted to us to proclaim with our lives, comes like a roaring lion, looking for his opportunities in our vulnerabilities to stalk and devour his prey (1 Peter 5:8). But we have nothing to fear, for the Lord our God is always with us, standing by us, forever giving us strength and courage to stand firm in our faith, to “resist the devil, and (know) he will flee from (us)” (James 4:7). Though “every evil attack” of our adversary may be blatantly fierce or subtly deceptive, his schemes will be exposed and his strategies will be defeated, as we keep looking to You and keep standing firm in our faith. We defeat his strategy of deception by proclaiming the truth. We defeat his strategy of division by keeping our hearts clear with one another. We defeat his strategy of fear by trusting in the perfect love of God that always casts out all fear, restoring us with Your power, Your love, and Your sound mind. We are never alone, for You are always with us. You even surround with angelic hosts, warring in the heavenly realm on our behalf, reminding us that “there are more with us than there are with them,” if we’d only open the eyes of our heart to see the truth through the eyes of Your Word (2 Kings 6:16). So let us never fear the battle or be surprised that it comes. It’s only evidence that Your kingdom is advancing within us and through us. And let us never doubt that the victory is won, though the battles are real, the encounters are fierce, and the stakes are high. “For the One who is in (us) is greater than the one who is in the world” (1 John 4:4). Then even his attacks, become our opportunities to advance, as we call on Your name and stand firm by faith in Your truth. You shut the mouth of the lion when we fill our mouths with Your words of truth and fill our hearts with Your nature of love. And then all that he tries to take from us for living our lives for Your sake, we will “receive a hundredfold now in this age … and in the age to come, eternal life” (Mark 10:29-30). That’s one of the ways You fulfill Your Word that “the God of peace will shortly crush Satan under (our) feet” (Romans 16:20). What a mighty God we serve—mighty to save and mighty to love, through every battle we face. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Subscribe for free by email to me at Messiah Ministries: MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org To order my books and our ministry resources or contribute to our ministry on-line: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org Messiah Ministries; 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 God bless you!