Strategy to Overcome

IOI CHRISTIAN MORNING MEAL

TOPIC: Strategy to Overcome

Mark 1:35-39

We see Jesus being attacked by the devil at every turn: chapter1:14, John the Baptist is imprisoned; vs.24, evil spirits speaks lies against him, "Have you come to destroy us?" It reads as if one thingafter another confronts Jesus as he starts his earthly ministry. Thereis no time to stop, no time to rest. There is so much to be done as weread in vs. 33-34, "he drove out many demons, he healed many who were sick."

Jesus is fighting against the power of Satan. How does Jesus remain strong in that battle? We need to know because the battle still goes on today.

You are fooling yourself, you are being fooled by Satan if you think everything is fine. We still face persistent temptation and attack by Satan.
Events like sickness, trouble, pain, hardship, disappointment, even death. These are constant struggles in this sin-filled world.

Where do we get the strength to stand against this attack, to keep fighting the good fight of faith?

Where does Jesus get the strength? We might think of him as some kind of super hero: The Son of God. He has super powers and just keeps going. Of course it is true that Jesus as Son of God is the greatest, the most powerful person who ever lived. He demonstrates his divine power in healing, casting out demons, even raising the dead (Mark 5). But we need to remember that Jesus was also completely human. He was "like us in every way" the author of Hebrews tells us, except he was without sin. (Heb 4:15).

Here in Mark 1 we see the importance for Jesus to do the work he is doing, to stand against the devil, to overcome the flood of sin and evil in the world, to be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Jesus needs to be strong in that communion with God. Jesus takes the time to pray.

How much time do you spend in personal devotions? I’m afraid the devil has succeeded in convincing many here that it is not important. Or maybe we can agree it is important but for you there is really no time. Many here do the equivalent of no devotions. No personal devotions, No prayer, No Bible reading,
No time in the week, so you feel weak, you are weak. Weak in the faith, weak in prayer, with little Bible knowledge, little sense of God working in your life, powerless before the temptations and attacks of the devil. Busy all right. The devil has you busy being "ineffective and unproductive." (2 Peter 1:8)

You can tell if you are this kind of a weak believer if you do not have a special time set aside. The Bible is speaking to you today. Jesus is demonstrating for you the importance of setting aside a time, a special time.
Maybe you think you are strong enough in the faith, you can manage without a special devotional time. Don’t you think Jesus was tempted that way by Satan too? Satan could say, "You are the son of God, you know what you are about, you don’t need it." We are so quickly tempted. We feel we know it all. We don’t need to study the Bible more. We have better things to do. We are busy.

Jesus took a special time. Perhaps you can start with 10 minutes in the morning or at the end of the day, or maybe even in between somewhere. Take the Bible, some devotional material, read and pray. Get in tune with God. Consider his will for you, for your relationship to your spouse, kids, family, in church. Start now, start today, decide right now, pick a time.

LET US PRAY
In Jesus Name, you will not die unfulfilled

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Good morning friends