It's not unusual for God's Word to be misapplied. Satan's favorite tactic against Christians is presenting God's words out of context in ways that appeal to carnal man. Satan even tried it on Jesus: At the end of forty days in the wilderness, we see the evil one quoting the wrong scripture to Jesus, merely as an enticement for personal gain. Now if the devil would actually try to deceive the Son of God with God's own Word, would he try the same thing on Jesus' followers? You bet!

The devil has forever taken God's gifts, His holy and precious things, and added a twist to them. The serpent has taken all of God's blessings, all the things that are meant to give us life - and added poisoned short cuts. The evil one finds ways of making these things more appealing, but also life robbing. Food, work, sex, wealth - all of these are meant to bring blessing to mankind, but in a fallen world, all of these have the power to suck the life out of us as we go overboard. His is a kingdom of counterfeits; the devil cannot come up with one original creation. Everything he offers is but a twisted version of what God meant for our good. Precisely because these things have power to bless us, they have potential to harm us when under the serpent's deception. And God's Word is no exception. Two people want to guide us in applying God's Word: the Holy Spirit, and Satan. The Holy Spirit wants to help us rightly apply the Word in our search for Truth, while the enemy will actually try to bring about deception by prompting us to listen to just one side of God's Word.

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FreshBread

The Word for Today
With Bob Gass

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Experiencing The Miraculous Do whatever He tells you. - John 2:5 NIV

Do you need a miracle?

Reread the story of Jesus turning water into wine. Notice what Mary said to the attendants at the wedding reception: "Do whatever [Jesus] tells you." Do it, even though:

1. You're not in the right place. They were at a wedding, not a church, when Jesus performed this miracle. Some of our greatest blessings will be at "other places," if we'll just be sensitive and obedient to God.
2. You've got a lot of problems. They'd run out of wine for their guests. How embarrassing. Too often our problems drive us away from Jesus instead of to Him. Miracles begin when we focus on God's power, instead of our problems.
3. You're not being encouraged. When Mary turned to Jesus for help, He tested her faith saying, "Dear woman, why do you involve Me... My time has not yet come" (Jn 2:4 NIV). But she passed the test. Instead of being discouraged, Mary laid hold of the possibility of a miracle, believed God and received one.
4. You haven't walked with Christ very long. The servants who obeyed Jesus had just met Him. And His disciples had just started following Him. Yet they were all expected to obey Him. So are you.
5. You haven't yet seen Him work miracles in your life. This was Jesus' first miracle. They had to obey Him without the faith that comes from a previous track record. That's always challenging!
6. You don't understand the process. Why pour water into empty containers? Answer: give Jesus what you've got and He'll give you back what you need. That's how to experience the miraculous!

SoulFood Bible Readings: 1 Kings 18:16-20, Matt 14:22-36, Ps 116, Pr 12:25

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This message from The Word for Today came from Rhema Broadcasting Group Incorporated in association with The Vine, New Zealand. "The Word for Today"® is copyright © Bob Gass Ministries.

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