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Thursday, April 29, 2021

The Shield of Faith



To fight the good fight of faith, you have to deliberately choose to put on the armor of God. The Word of God is your Truth to stand praying and believing for your promise against the deception of the enemy. The righteousness that Christ has given you guards your heart against the enemy’s lies and gives you the authority to crush the enemy’s tricks and innuendoes. When you allow the gospel of peace to claim your mind and heart, faith rises from within you to shield your mind from the enemy’s attempts to kill, steal, and destroy the abundant life that is yours in Christ.

 

“Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one” (Ephesians 6:14-16, NKJV).

 

For the shield of faith to be effective, you must be fully convinced that it will quench the fiery darts aimed at your mind and heart by the wicked one. Each one of us has a measure of faith. Your faith in Christ will make you an overcomer. Hang on to your faith. When you are in a battle, your faith is what is tested. The enemy is trying to make you give up on your faith and what you believe. He wants you to say “believing and praying for my promise doesn’t work for me.” But faith does work for you!

 

Jesus told the centurion that his faith had healed his servant. He told the woman with an issue of blood that her faith had made her well. He told the two blind men that they would be healed according to their faith. When Jesus told the father of the demon-oppressed boy “all things are possible to him who believes,” the father cried out, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”

 

You have a measure of faith to believe and when you choose to believe with that measure of faith what the Word says is true, your belief in the promises of God matures and produces fruit. Your shield of faith is strengthened against the lies of the enemy. Do you realize you can have belief and unbelief at the same time? But when you choose to believe that all things are possible in Christ, your doubt—your unbelief is overshadowed. That measure of faith flourishes. 

 

“You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday. A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you” (Psalm 91:5-7, NKJV).  The shield of faith protects you from all evil that comes against you. 

 

When you activate your faith by choosing to believe in God’s Truth over what anyone says—over what the world says—over what the enemy says, you use your authority in Christ and put on the shield of faith. And with that shield, you extinguish all the evil with which the wicked one targets you.

 

Faith is more than enough to receive your promise. You just have to keep fighting the good fight of faith. If you are confused, KNOW that God is not the author of confusion! Never give up trusting Him, and don’t doubt. Trust God with every breath you take! We are all tempted by doubt but don’t give in.  Just know that when you are in a battle, your faith is tested. Fight, and if you get weary, don’t stay that way. Always reengage your shield of faith.

 

When you fight the good fight of faith, you put the Truth of your salvation on like a helmet to protect your thoughts. God’s Truth then continually renews your mind. When your mind is renewed by Truth instead of the enemy’s lies, the incorruptible seed of the Word, which is planted in your heart, grows and produces unshakeable faith that your promise is already yours.


© 2021 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2021/04/the-shield-of-faith.html

The Gospel of Peace


 

You know that prayer—the one that you prayed believing and then time and the enemy came against you?  It is still powerful and answered in Jesus’ name.

 

“Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace” (Ephesians 6:14-15, NKJV). Verse 15 in the New Living Translation reads, “For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.”

 

“Shodding” your feet means you wear shoes of a specific kind. The specific kind you wear is the Good News—the Gospel of peace. When you are walking in peace with God, you are walking in peace with yourself and with others. If you want to get to the place where you stand believing for what you prayed, then you are going to have to live in peace with God and others in your life. 

 

Are you at peace with God, or do you sometimes believe He is mad at you? Some believers think when times are hard that God is mad at them. This is a lie of the enemy. God loved you enough to send His Son to die for you. Jesus came to save you so that you can have a right relationship with His Father. Don’t get upset with God, and fight against him instead of fighting the good fight of faith. When you pray things like “why, God, is this taking so long” or “why is this happening,” you are not at peace fighting the good fight of faith. When we get upset with others, we wonder why our prayers are hindered. You can’t have bitterness toward anyone (your husband, your wife, your children, your church, your family, or friends) and expect God to answer your prayers (1 Peter 3:7). You need to be at peace with God and with others for your prayers not to be hindered. When you walk in peace, you are putting on the Good News. The Gospel of Grace is alive in you.

 

You fight the good fight of faith when you forgive as Christ has forgiven you. When you are living in God’s peace, you are standing on His Truth that you are at peace with Him and with yourself and with others. You believe your worthiness in Christ and that you are forgiven, and you forgive others as Christ has forgiven you. 

 

“Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory. We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance” (Romans 5:1-3, NLT).

 

You have peace with God! Jesus has overcome your personal problems with the peace He has purchased for you with God! You can pray confidently and go into God’s presence KNOWING and BELIEVING He will answer your requests. You can walk joyfully and confidently in His peace knowing that you have His Grace to forgive as He has forgiven you. When issues in life don’t defeat you but, instead, help you persevere in faith, you walk in the peace of God. When you share God’s forgiveness, you bring His peace to not only your striving heart but also to others. 

 

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7, NKJV).

 

Believe the Gospel of peace that is yours, and put it on in your life. Give your requests to God with thankful confidence. His peace, which human reasoning cannot grasp, will guard your heart and mind. The peace that lives within your spirit is Christ within you. When you allow His peace to claim your mind and heart, the enemy can’t kill, steal, and destroy the abundant life Christ has bought for you. Faith rises from within you to shield your mind from the lies and deceptions of the enemy. You stand believing the Truth of God’s promises. You are fully convinced that Christ, the hope of glory, lives within you. His peace, which overcame the world, has overcome your personal world of any doubt or fear. You KNOW and BELIEVE your prayer is answered.

 

© 2021 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2021/04/the-gospel-of-peace.html

 

 

Wednesday, April 28, 2021

Stand Strong in His Righteousness


 

Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness.

—Ephesians 6:14 (NKJV)

 

Yesterday, we talked about how girding your waist with the Truth of God’s Word is the first piece of armor you put on and how all other pieces of the armor are connected to it. You stand against the enemy on the Truth of God’s Word that you are righteous in Christ. It is not just enough to know that you are righteous because of the finished work of Christ. You have to deliberately choose to believe you have His righteousness. Believing you are His righteousness protects your heart from the enemy’s deception. When you put on the breastplate of righteousness believing nothing hinders your prayers, you can know that your prayers will be answered even if you aren’t perfect in your flesh.  

 

The enemy reminds you constantly of the old person you once were, and Jesus wants you to remember the righteousness He has given you. When you pray from the mindset of the new person Christ has made you, you pray as one who is forgiven, healed and whole. You pray, believing without a doubt your prayer is answered because you are no longer a sinner needing Grace. You are now saved and redeemed and healed and made new in Grace. When you choose to believe you are righteous in Christ, you know that within yourself you are nothing but that in God you have His power to stand strong. You KNOW that He is in you, and you are in Him. You BELIEVE in your heart that the Word is true! God has poured every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm into your life.

 

In a battle, the enemy reminds you of who you are in the flesh with lies and accusations. He will remind you of your sins and your failures. You have to remind the enemy that those lies and accusations are no longer true. Jesus has made you righteous. You learn to cast those lies and accusations down, and having done that, you stand.

 

God doesn’t answer your prayers because of anything you have ever done or will do. He answers your prayers only because you are standing in the righteousness of His precious Son. He is not going to answer your prayers according to your holiness or your works but according to the Grace of Jesus. Because of Jesus, there is nothing against you. You are approved, loved, and accepted because of Grace. 

 

“The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life” (Proverbs 10:11, NASB). “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit” (Proverbs 18:21, NASB). 

 

Declaring that you are righteous in Christ is putting on righteousness. You have the power to speak death and life. Your mouth can speak death to the lies of the enemy and also be a fountain that speaks life! If you don’t cast down the destructive thoughts the enemy tries to plant in your mind, you won’t stand strong. You will become weak, and fear will run rampant. But when you declare and speak who you are as a child of God, you speak with His authority. You have the power to speak and cast down anything that does not come from His Truth. Nothing will prevail against you when you gird yourself in Truth, declaring and believing that Jesus has made you righteous, healed, and whole.

 

When you look at yourself through your own eyes, it is hard to see Christ’s righteousness. You only see the imperfection of your humanness. But when you keep looking into your heart with the Truth of the righteousness He has given you, things change. Stay focused on who Christ has made you, and rebuke the lies of the enemy. You know that prayer—the one that you prayed believing and then time and the enemy came against you?  It is still powerful and answered in Jesus.

 

Stand strong in His righteousness.

 

© 2021 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2021/04/stand-strong-in-his-righteouesness.html

Tuesday, April 27, 2021

Truth Overcomes



Yesterday, we talked about standing and fighting the good fight of faith. Sometimes our prayers are answered immediately, and sometimes they just take longer. Answers that aren’t immediate are the ones that the enemy attacks. When you are praying and putting on the whole armor of God to stand against the subterfuge of the enemy, the Holy Spirit may enlighten you as to what might shorten the time to receive your promise. 

 

But remember “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth” (Ephesians 6:12-14a, NKJV).

 

You fight against the enemy—not people. He comes against your faith and brings the battle to your mind. You will face discouragement very quickly if you aren’t equipped to fight your battle. When you start to believe God’s Truth for something, that is when your battle begins. You don’t just stand against the enemy one time. You stand against him again and again and again. Standing builds your faith to receive your promise.

 

When you are in a battle, you need to give attention to the armor of God. You can’t just assume that you will automatically have His armor working in you.  You must be proactive and deliberately allow each piece to be used in your life. To do this, you have to understand the six pieces of armor in Ephesians 6:14-17. 

 

Ephesians 6:18 says that the purpose of God’s armor is to make your prayers effective! Do you know that putting on the armor of God is worship? And He empowers you to hold on believing for your promise.

 

Paul uses the armor worn by a Roman soldier as an example of God’s armor. The girdle or the belt was the first piece of armor that a Roman soldier put on around his waist.  Everything in his armor connected to the belt. The first piece of God’s armor is His Truth. All the other pieces of His armor are connected to and empowered by God’s Truth. Make sure you are walking in the Truth of the Word and not focused on your feelings and the emotions they evoke. Don’t focus on your circumstances or what you are told or what you feel. Stand on the Word alone. 

 

The enemy will tempt you to look at the facts and the circumstances of your life instead of trusting the unseen of what God says is true. Fight the good fight of faith with the Word and not with your emotions. “He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water” (John 7:38, KJV). Out of your belly flows life. God’s Truth girds and protects your life. 

 

The enemy will also try to tell you that you will never understand God’s Truth. Don’t let what you don’t know to keep you from believing what you do know! Fighting the good fight of faith and believing in the Truth that you do know will, in time, help you understand what you don’t know. 

 

You WILL know God’s Truth, and His Truth will set you free to fight the good fight of faith! Gird yourself with His Truth and stand firm. The Word is your authority. No lie can penetrate its spoken Truth. 

 

The Word is your salvation. Why is the Word the last place so many believers go

in the heat of battle? Know the Word. Believe the Word. And receive its life-giving promises. 

 

“No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is from Me,” says the Lord.

—Isaiah 54:17 (NKJV).

 

God’s Truth overcomes everything. No weapon shall prevail against it. You shall condemn anything that comes against His Truth in your life. This is your heritage. You are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.

 

 

© 2021 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2021/04/truth-overcomes.html

 

Monday, April 26, 2021

The Good Fight of Faith

 


The Good Fight of Faith

 


Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

—1 Timothy 6:12 (NKJV)

 

You fight the good fight of faith with the knowledge of the Word of God and by believing and declaring the revelation of who you are in Christ.

 

“Awake to righteousness, and do not sin; for some do not have the knowledge of God. This is to your shame” (1 Corinthians 15:34, NKJV).

 

The enemy battles you from within with lies—with deception—and even twists Scripture to deceive you. “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (James 4:7, NKJV). Don’t submit your thoughts to the lies of the enemy. Don’t give him power. Submit your thoughts to God. Resist the enemy. He will flee, and you will escape his manipulation to kill, steal, and destroy. 

 

We submit to God—even in our sin and in our failures—because Christ has made us righteous. We are convicted by righteousness—not by the unworthiness of shame and guilt. When you understand how you fight sin from a position of righteousness, then you can understand how to fight the battle for your promise from a position of victory in Christ.

 

Many believers don’t have a knowledge of God in regards to the righteousness Jesus purchased for them. When you know the power of the righteousness Christ has given you, you are filled with spiritual wisdom in your knowledge of Him. Awake to the righteousness He has given you!  Allow the Word to teach you! Jesus has won the total victory over hell and sin and sickness and death! It is a finished work! You fight the good fight of faith from a position of victory! You never fight from defeat! Lay hold of all the promises that are yours in your assurance of the new life Christ has given you. Have you confessed and declared your hope to others? Well, keep confessing the Truth of God’s promises. And hold fast the confession of your hope without wavering, for God who promised is faithful (Hebrews 10:23). 

 

For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them” (Mark 11:23-24, NKJV).

 

How do you fight the good fight of faith and hang onto your promise when you are battle-weary? You have to stand and trust God. You can’t stand and trust God if you don’t know His Word. It may be a while before you experience the manifestation of your promise. Most often, time passes before the mountain you told to be gone is removed. You appropriate by faith the Truth of God’s Word. You believe and take His promise as your own.

 

Believing doesn’t happen when you have received the answer to your prayer. You must believe that when you pray for something that you have already received your answer. When you speak to your mountain—when you pray believing without a doubt—your promise will come to pass.  The key is believing that when you pray for something that nothing will keep you from receiving what you have asked for. When you believe this Truth, you are able to stand—declaring what you believe in God’s realm is true for you. You will receive the manifestation of your promise—if you will not give up.

 

“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand” (Ephesians 6:10-11, NKJV).

 

These verses tell you how to stand. Be strong in the Lord and in His power—not your power. Don’t look to yourself. Don’t be the author of your faith. You will only confuse the faith that you have. Look unto Jesus, the author, and finisher of your faith (Hebrews 12:2). Put on the whole armor of God so you can stand against the enemy who lies, deceives, accuses, and creates issues. 

 

Notice in these verses in Ephesians 6:10-11 we are told twice to stand so that we can “withstand” in the heat of battle. Things are not always going to go easy when you are standing. You have to learn to withstand the attacks of the enemy because he wants to tear you down—to make you believe your promise is not true and convince you that God does not care. God’s armor is what empowers you to stand against the enemy’s deception and wickedness and attempts to kill, steal, and destroy your promise.

 

During the next few devotionals, we will look at how to stand believing for our promises by putting on each piece of God’s armor. It is God’s righteousness that empowers us to willfully choose the armor. God doesn’t dress us. We allow His power to dress us for victory. You want abundant life? You have to stand and fight the good fight of faith.

 

© 2021 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2021/04/the-good-fight-of-faith.html

Thursday, April 22, 2021

What If Jabez and What If You



Have you read about Jabez and his prayer in I Chronicles 4:9-10? 

 

—Now Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, “Because I bore him in pain.” And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, “Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!” So God granted him what he requested.

—1 Chronicles 4:9-10 (NKJV)

 

Jabez’s very name meant “pain.” Every time someone called his name, he was identified as one who had caused his mother pain in childbirth. His prayer reflects that this was the way he labeled himself. He prayed that God would keep him from evil so he would not cause pain. Perhaps, you have also determined to pray the prayer of Jabez asking God to enlarge your territory and that His hand would guide and bless you. 

 

I’d like to stretch you a little and consider if Jabez hadn’t lived under the law of the Old Covenant but under the New Covenant Grace of Jesus. Do you think his life and his prayer might have been different?

 

If Jabez had lived under New Testament Grace, as a believer he would have been a new person in Christ. The past and pain in his life would have been completely wiped away. He would have no longer been known as Jabez—one who caused pain. The name which labeled him would have ceased to be his identity. 

 

Pain is related to trauma. Some terms that are the opposite of traumatizing are comfort, create, receive, and restore. As a new person, Jabez would have experienced and been comforted by the new creation He was in Christ. He would have received the fullness of God in his born-again spirit. And in the process of transforming His mind by the Truth of God’s Word, he would have been completely restored by the power of the Holy Spirit! His past would have been crucified with Christ, and Christ would have lived within him. Jesus would have been his identity and not a label that said he caused pain.

 

Don’t accept labels that the world or anyone else has given you. People will declare things about you that are not the Word of God. They might see you a certain way, but when you know your identity in Christ, you know the old things that have identified you are gone You must have a determination that you are going to believe who Christ says you are.

 

God granted Jabez’s prayer. But Jabez cried out to God asking for something that as a believer under New Covenant Grace, He would have already had. By the gift of Christ’s life, Jabez’s life would have already been blessed out of the abundance of His relationship with Jesus. As a believer, Jabez would have known that God had declared Him free from sin and labels and lies and pain.

 

What has God declared about you? You are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. You don’t have to earn anything to take away what the world or others or your past have labeled you. Jesus took it all away for you when He gave His life for you. What provision has God made for your life? His riches in glory are yours. You are called, justified, and gloried in Christ!   


Jesus has redeemed you from the curse of the law! Be thankful you are not under Old Covenant law like Jabez! You are under Grace! Can you imagine Jabez’s prayer as a believer in the redeeming love of Christ?  

 

“Praise you, Lord, that I am no longer a person whose very name means pain! I am new! My past is no longer who I am or what others say about me. I am who you say I am!  Praise you for enlarging my life to overflowing!  I receive the abundant life you died to give me! I cannot contain all the blessings! Thank you for the authority you have given me to stand against the evil one. I exercise what you have given me, and I speak death to the enemy’s lies. I’m no longer known as Jabez! I am restored in you! My name is your name. I’m redeemed!”

 

Jabez would have grabbed hold of his new identity in Christ and been free from who he had always been. How about you? God calls you called, justified, and glorified. What shall you say to these things? Don’t accept the labels that have defined you. You are new in Christ. 

 

©2021 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2021/04/what-if-jabez.html

 

Wednesday, April 21, 2021

I Choose Grace



Read Galatians 3:13-21.

 

This passage of Scripture, Galatians 3:13-21, is Good News! We are now under Grace and not under the law. We’re free from the law. I don’t have to perform according to the law for God to love and accept me. When I believed in Jesus Christ, I received God’s approval and promise of freedom.

 

The covenant God made with Abraham is irrevocable. God gave the promise to “Abraham and his child.” The "Abraham and his child" to which the promise was given represents Abraham and his descendant, Christ. The covenant with Abraham is one of grace. There was no law Abraham had to keep to receive it. If the law had been in force at that time, some of the things Abraham did would have broken it. There was no law until it was given to Moses 430 years later on Mount Sinai. And that law given to Moses didn't cancel the covenant of grace that God had given to Abraham. If it had been canceled, God would have broken his promise. 

 

Abraham's covenant of grace is still in force—just as the law is still active. Abraham’s covenant of grace is received by faith through Jesus Christ, who perfectly fulfilled the requirements of the law. Abraham's faith in God was credited to him as righteousness. Jesus, as our perfect mediator, has met the requirements of the law and set us free. We are heirs to Abraham's promise, and faith in Jesus is credited to us as righteousness. Jesus has paid what the law requires because we never can. We live in the freedom of His Grace and not in debt to our sins.

 

The law only exposes and gives power to sin. It doesn’t make us righteous. We are made righteous by faith in Christ. Those who depend on the law to make them right with God are cursed by it because it is impossible for them to keep the whole law. They erroneously believe that their good performance will make them acceptable to God. 

 

Only faith in Jesus sets you free from the condemnation and judgment of the law! To perfectly keep the law (which is still active just as every other covenant made by God is active) you can't fail one law. If you fail one law, you have failed all of over 600 laws. Only Jesus could perfectly mediate for our inability to keep the law. He was our perfect sacrifice. He became the curse for us because we can’t save ourselves! In Jesus, we are free from having “to do anything” to be saved. We believe by faith, and faith in Jesus makes us righteous to God.

 

“Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses?” Paul asked the Galatians. “Of course not! You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ. How foolish can you be? After starting your new lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort? Have you experienced so much for nothing? Surely it was not in vain, was it” (Galatians 3:2-4, NLT)?

 

What about you? Are you striving to be perfect when Jesus has made you righteous by faith? You can't make yourself righteous by keeping a law. That becomes self-righteousness. After accepting Jesus as your Savior, do you bear the weight of guilt from sin, which Jesus bore for you on the cross? Have you experienced the grace of Jesus for nothing? When you have a revelation of who you are in Jesus, you are forever changed by the Holy Spirit. Living for Jesus doesn't come by self-effort. It comes from the gift of His Grace within you.

 

“The law was our guardian until Christ came.” Paul wrote. “It protected us until we could be made right with God through faith. And now that the way of faith has come, we no longer need the law as our guardian” (Galatians 3:24-25, NLT). 

 

If you believe the Good News of Jesus, you are accepted and approved by God. Jesus has made you worthy. Nothing you do makes you worthy. The law is no longer your guardian. You live by faith.

 

“You are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you” (Galatians 3:26-29, NLT).

 

The promise was given to Abraham and his child. And now because of Christ, you are also an heir to God’s promise of salvation! By faith, you are saved! Nothing of yourself!  Christ makes you free! Nothing you do gives you freedom. You are a new creation in Christ! Nothing you have—nothing you do—has the power to give you a new life where the old is completely gone. Only Christ gives new life! Allow the Holy Spirit to teach you in His Word the new you that He has made you! Believe in the promises you have received in Christ! 

 

We decide which covenant under which we live. I choose Grace.

                                                                    

 

©2021 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2021/04/i-choose-grace.html

 

Tuesday, April 20, 2021

Already Overcome in Love



 

This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”

—Romans 1:17 (NLT)

 

 

The Good News tells us that we are made right with God through faith in Christ. Faith in Jesus is the only way that a person lives a righteous life. Without faith in the finished work of Christ, we have no hope. 

 

“Faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ,” Paul wrote (Romans 10:17, NLT). Faith comes from hearing the Word. You believed the Gospel when you heard it and accepted its truth by faith. You were made right with God when you believed the Gospel in your heart, and you were saved when you declared it (Romans 10:10). Do you still know you are loved or have problems in life shaken your assurance of God’s love?

 

If you believe that God is upset with you, you will find yourself striving to win His love back. The Truth is He has never left you or stopped loving you. Life’s problems and the enemy’s attacks and lies have convinced you otherwise. There is nothing you have to do to earn God’s love. He has loved you from the beginning. He accepted you as His own when you believed in Jesus. You became His righteousness and belong completely to Him. Believing who you are in Christ is the only way to be fully convinced of His love for you.

 

Paul knew how to rejoice when he ran into problems because He knew who He was in Christ. 

 

“We can rejoice, too,” Paul wrote, “when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love” (Romans 5:3-5, NLT).

 

Strength of character develops through perseverance in the face of problems. With a strong character, we have greater confidence in God. We believe in His love because He first loved us on the Cross (I John 4:19). And that work is complete in us. Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see (Hebrews 11:1). The hope God has given us never leads to disappointment! When we know and believe that what we need is already ours, we live by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthian 5:7)! And when we believe, nothing has any power to come against us.

 

You want to live life to the fullest? His life in you is lived by faith. When you believe that you are completely new and lack nothing in Christ, what you see and feel doesn’t determine your peace and joy. Christ determines who you are, and He reveals who you are in His Word.

 

Believe, my friend, in the finished work of Jesus! Know who you are in His Grace. Faith fuels your spirit, your mind, and your body. Your mind will be flooded with the love of the Holy Spirit, and you will know that the love of God fully dwells in you. When you know you are the righteous of God in Christ Jesus, you live each problem in life with faith believing Jesus has already overcome it (2 Corinthians 5:21).

 

What do you face today? You can walk by faith and not by sight. He has already overcome it. He loves you!

 

© 2021 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2021/04/already-overcome-in-love.html

Monday, April 19, 2021

Move Toward Healing



And suddenly, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years came from behind and touched the hem of His garment. For she said to herself, “If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well.”

—Matthew 9:20-21(NKJV)

 

This woman moved to receive her healing. She didn’t stand still just hoping to be healed. She believed if she touched the hem of Jesus’ garment she would receive healing.

 

Do we exercise faith and reach for our healing? Or do we just expect it to happen— even when we question if God wants us well? Jesus didn’t release healing to this woman. He felt it go out of him because she drew her healing from him. Jesus told her that her faith had made her well. For twelve years she had tried every avenue she could think of to find healing. And then she heard of Jesus and believed beyond her physical ailment. 

 

How many times do we allow our physical issues to keep us from reaching by faith to Jesus?  Jesus healed according to what faith was present (Matthew 9:20-22, Matthew 9:28-30, Matthew 8:7-13). He often asked questions of those seeking healing to find out what they needed. He stirred faith in the people to whom He ministered. 

 

Do you know that the Holy Spirit tries to motivate you to exercise your faith? God doesn’t want you consumed with your illness but, instead, consumed with the Truth of His Word. 

 

Jesus asked a question of the man who had waited for years for healing at the pool of Bethesda (John 5:1-8). Jesus asked him if he wanted to be healed. Jesus wasn’t going to go against anyone’s will. He stood right before this man, but the man still had to believe that he could be healed. It is almost like Jesus was saying, “Do you believe I can do this?”

                     

Christ, your healer, lives in you. The healing that you want—the healing that you need—is carried around in you in the person of Jesus. But like the man at the pool of Bethesda, sometimes we look for healing in other places instead of in Christ.

 

The woman who touched His garment had tried other places for healing, too. But she had come to the point where she was convinced that just touching the hem of His garment would set her free. The man at Bethesda had placed his faith for healing for years in the stirring of the waters. But he had no one to help him into the water in time. Now here was his answer asking him if he wanted to be well.

 

The two blind men in Matthew 9:28-30 were told by Jesus that they would receive healing according to their faith. In Matthew 8:7-13, Jesus told the centurion that his faith had healed his servant. Faith is always the key ingredient to receive healing. And faith calls for our response. We reach by faith for healing. And we receive healing with the same measure of faith it took to receive salvation. We plant that measure of faith in the Truth of God’s Truth and allow His Truth to transform our mind until we believe in our heart that God wants us well. 

 

“My child, pay attention to what I say. Listen carefully to my words. Don’t lose sight of them. Let them penetrate deep into your heart, for they bring life to those who find them, and healing to their whole body” (Proverbs 4:20-22, NLT).

 

Healing starts in your mind. When His Word transforms you to believe in your heart the Truth “by His stripes you were healed (1 Peter 2:24, NKJV),” confident faith starts to grow. The stirring of healing begins.

 

“Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him” (1 John 5:14-15, NKJV).

 

“Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers” (3 John 1:2, NKJV).

 

It is God’s will for us to be well. Move toward your healing. Allow His Word to prosper healing in you.

 

© 2021 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2021/04/move-toward-healing.html

 

 

 

Friday, April 16, 2021

I Trust You





As for God, His way is perfect;

The word of the Lord is proven;

He is a shield to all who trust in Him.

—Psalm 18:30 (NKJV)

 

Thank you, Lord, that I can stand on your Word knowing and believing you are my shield and protector. Your Word is Truth (John 17:17). Nothing can come against me because you are for me (Romans 8:31). No sickness—no problem—no concern has the power to defeat me because you have already defeated it. You uphold me with the Truth of your living Word.

 

Your way is flawless, Lord. You guide me into all Truth (John 16:13). You reveal who I am in you. In your strength, I can crush an army. In your power, I can scale any wall—overcome any issue that arises (2 Samuel 22:30). You have given me the authority to speak life to every need and death to the enemy who tries to steal the abundant life you have given me (Luke 10:19, Proverbs 18:21, John 10:10).

 

Without faith, I have no hope (Hebrews 11:1). But you have given me a measure of faith (Romans 12:3). By faith, I choose to believe the Truth of your Word. I live by faith and not what I see. When I walk by faith and not by sight, I hope and trust in you—my solid rock (2 Corinthians 1:7). You protect me. When I call, I know you will answer and rescue me. With long life, you satisfy me and show me your salvation (Psalm 91:14-16). How long do I live to be satisfied? I want to live as long as I can to help others experience the joy of their faith (Philippians 1:25). Even in old age, I will remain fruitful, vital, and green (Psalm 92:14).

 

My life is perfect in you—not in this world—but in you. You are my way—my truth—my life (John 14:6). You have overcome my world with your peace (John 16:33). I place my faith and hope in you, Lord, because you have raised me from death and given me new life (2 Corinthians 5:17, 1 Peter 1:21). Only you are the source of my hope and fill me completely with joy and peace. I overflow with confident hope through you, Holy Spirit (Romans 15:13).

 

NOTHING separates me from your love (Romans 8:35). You never leave me or forsake me (Hebrews 13:5). Joined as one, I am in you, and you are in me (1 Corinthians 6:17, John 17:22-23). You, who died for me, became new life for me (Romans 6:1-4). No fear in your perfect love, I am whole and healed in your flawless Grace (1 John 4:18, 1 Peter 2:24). I trust and believe you. You are the Word (John 1:1).

 

“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from destruction, who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, who satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s” (Psalm 103:2-5 NKJV).

 

© 2021 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2021/04/i-trust-you.html

Christ My Hope of Glory

  .   And now, Lord, for what do I expectantly wait? My hope [my confident expectation] is in You. —Psalms 39:7 (AMP)   I wait [patiently] f...