Morning by Morning, August 12 - Just Say No!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Fill my heart afresh with Your Spirit today -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God. ...
"Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard in Jezreel, beside the palace of King Ahab of Samaria. And Ahab said to Naboth, 'Give me your vineyard, so that I may have it for a vegetable garden, because it is near my house; I will give you a better vineyard for it; or, if it seems good to you, I will give you its value in money.' But Naboth said to Ahab, 'The Lord forbid that I should give you my ancestral inheritance'" (1 Kings 21:1-3).
King Ahab was not a good king -- he "did evil in the sight of the Lord more than all who were before him" (1 Kings 16:30). And his wife, the infamous Jezebel, was even more wicked, controlling, and evil, at the expense of everything and everyone that stood in the way of whatever she wanted (1 Kings 16:31-33 and 18:4). So when Ahab came home to Jezebel "resentful and sullen" because Naboth stood his ground and refused to give up his inheritance from his father, Jezebel conceived an evil plan to destroy Naboth and steal his inheritance (1 Kings 21:4-7). She set him up with false witnesses to be slandered and then stoned to death so she could steal what was his (1 Kings 21:8-16).
What a prophetic picture of the enemy of our souls -- "the thief (who) comes only to steal and kill and destroy" (John 10:10). He relentlessly seeks to slander our name and steal our blessings. He'll use any means necessary to take away our Father's inheritance to deny us our identity and destroy our destiny as the children of God we are (Romans 8:14-17).
Naboth said No! And the Spirit of God is rising up in the hearts and souls of the children of God to say No! No, you can't have my Father's inheritance! No, you can't deny my identity and destroy my destiny! This is my Father's vineyard and He will produce His fruit in the good soil of my heart. He will have His harvest through my life!
Naboth paid for his resistance with his life. But You've already paid for our resistance with Your life. And now our lives are hidden with You in Christ. The enemy of our souls can't kill us because we've already died to all he would do when we died to this world in order to live in You -- "for (we) have died, and (our) life is hidden with Christ in God" (Colossians 3:1). We were "bought with a price" -- by the blood of the Lamb who has forgiven us and free us to live into the fullness of our inheritance in You (1 Corinthians 7:23). "It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me" (Galatians 2:20).
In that boldness we can just say No! As we entrust ourselves to You, we can "resist the devil and he will flee!" (James 4:7) By the victory of the cross, we say No! to him and Yes! to You. And by the power of Your grace, we can live into the fullness of the abundance of our inheritance in You -- secure in our identity and fulfilling our destiny. "Now to Him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more that all we can ask or imagine, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever!" (Ephesians 3:20-21) In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My friend, may you just say No! to the enemy of your soul and every plan to steal your Father's inheritance as you say Yes! to Jesus and your life in Christ, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!
Thank you for joining with me on this journey of prayer -- Morning by Morning! God bless you!
Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries
Healing from the Inside Out
Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries
4 Dominion Drive, Building 1
San Antonio, Texas 78257
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