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WHO
IS IN
CONTROL? I once heard a preacher say, “Satan thinks he is the ‘stage manager’ of our life!” Wherever there is a performance being presented on stage, there will always be a person who carries the overall responsibility for that production. And, even though Satan wants to be the ‘stage manager’ in every person’s life, yet his nature is such that, when things go wrong, he takes no blame whatsoever for the evil he inflicts in people’s lives; he carries no responsibility for his devilish actions. So why does he have so much success? Probably because most people don’t believe that he even exists, let alone being the ‘stage manager’ of their everyday lives. But Jesus, the One who died on the cross for us, took upon Himself the responsibility for the sins of the whole world. Despite the fact that He was innocent of any wrongdoing, He obediently and humbly allowed His body to be bruised, beaten, bloodied and broken so that we might go free; so that we might have forgiveness of sins; so that we might respond to His great sacrifice and serve Him gladly on the stage of life. When we accept the Lord Jesus into our life, His word to us is . . . “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5b). This is the whole verse from the Message Bible . . . “Don't be obsessed with getting more material things. Be relaxed with what you have. Since God assured us, “I'll never let you down, never walk off and leave you.”" We can read very similar words in Deuteronomy 31:6 . . . “Be determined and confident. Do not be afraid of them (those who serve Satan). Your God, the LORD Himself, will be with you. He will not fail you or abandon you" (see also verse 8). God is with us – that alone makes us very different. Why? Because it’s GOD WHO MAKES THE DIFFERENCE! Gideon thought he was a weakling - a man under siege by the enemy. But God showed him that he wasn’t a captive to the enemy - only to his own fear and inferiority. Inside Gideon was a mighty man who had never ‘come out.’ God said, "The LORD is with you, brave and mighty man!" (Judges 6:12, GNB). What made the difference? The Lord was WITH him. Had the circumstances changed? No! Were the Midianites (the enemy) still there? Yes! But Gideon had changed on the inside. Gideon chose to rise up according to the strategies of God. Did he defeat the enemy? Yes, yes, yes!
The truth is there is only ONE TRUE GOD who “never leaves us or abandons us”; there is only ONE TRUE GOD who loves us enough to die for our sins then arise (come back) from the dead (the grave) to be our Lord and Saviour. There is no other LIVING GOD in all the universe. Certainly there are many counterfeits. Yes, there are many people who believe their god(s) are alive and real, but the truth is these gods are either dead, made of stone, or are demons faking themselves as God. They have no power to forgive sins! They have no power to change lives from a pathway leading to hell to a pathway leading to heaven! The statues have no ears to hear the prayers of their worshippers! And the demons only have ears to bring disaster rather than blessing into people’s lives! Be like Gideon and take up the challenge! Arise in your spirit! Stand up on the inside, you mighty man or woman of
God! ~ Joan Emery
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