Jesus' Authority

Luke 10:19
Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall injure you.

When Jesus sent out seventy disciples, they returned rejoicing that even the demons were subject to them (Luke 10:17).

Before Jesus left earth, He gave the same charge to all believers (Mark 16:17-18) when He said, “And these signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it shall not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

The authority He speaks of here is like the authority of a policeman directing traffic. He puts up his hand and cars stop. Not because he has the power within himself to stop cars, but because he has the authority given to him to stop traffic because of his official office.

Jesus gave us His authority to act in His stead. To do the things He did while on earth. Believers are His designated officials. We must be about His business.

Lord Jesus, instill in us Your holy boldness
to step out in faith as we exercise Your authority
at Your direction, to see Your will done
in the here and now before our very eyes.

In God's Family

John 6:37
All that the Father gives Me shall come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.

Once we come to Jesus, He will never banish us from God’s family. He will never deprive us of His power and influence in the world. We are His forever and ever.

The enemy might try to tell us differently, but we must remember this. Jesus know him will. He called him a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44).

Jesus is the true truth. His word in our heads always lines up and agrees with what the Bible says. May we weigh each word we hear and square it with God’s word. If it doesn’t match up, we need to disregard it.
Know this. If we have come to Jesus with a sincere heart, He will never let us go.

I praise You Jesus, that You grip
is stronger than any other.
That once I belong to You
nothing will snatch me out of Your hand.
Thank You for Your truth
that can never be diluted or made void.

Day of Accounting

In this scripture, Paul writes to those in Corinth who are arrogant. He tells them he will come soon for a visit if the Lord wills. He’s going to look at their fruit to see if they are spouting empty words or if their ministry is accompanied with signs following.

Those signs could be anything from people being healed of various diseases, delivered from demons, or having their life turned around by the power of the gospel. In a later book Paul refers to people like this as “Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away” (II Timothy 3:15).

We need to behave with an eye on this passage. Are we bringing people to Christ? Are we operating in the power of the Holy Spirit to minister to their needs? Do we see fruit from our labor or do we simply spout an empty doctrine devoid of the Holy Spirit’s power?

These are important questions to ask ourselves because one day we will stand before our Lord and give an account for the days He gave us.

Lord Jesus, please fill my days with Your presence
so that I may see as You see,
hear with Your ears,
and operate in the power of Your Holy Spirit.

Truth and Purity

I John 1:7
But if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin.

As believers and followers of Jesus we must conduct ourselves in truth and spiritual purity. We must not only know God’s word, we must live it out in our thoughts and actions. When we do, we have spiritual intimacy with other believers.

When we do fall short in thought or deed, we have wandered from God’s laws. We need to turn around, go back, and ask Father God to cleanse us with the blood Jesus. His blood purifies, consecrates, and dedicates us to Him and His service once again.

Let us go to God and admit the dark thoughts we have entertained and allowed to become action, that we may once again have fellowship with Jesus and His followers.

Lord God, I have sinned against You in thought and deed.
I ask Your forgiveness.
Cleanse me with Jesus’ blood that I may once again
enter Your presence and enjoy fellowship only You afford.