Be On Your Watch

"Be sober and alert because your enemy the devil prowls about like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour." - 1st Peter 5:8

It's funny that Saint Peter describes the devil as a roaring lion seeking someone to devour when we usually fall into temptation left and right without noticing. If we actually saw the devil as a roaring lion, we would run away, wouldn't we? But so many of us run toward him and away from God without giving it a second thought. Peter was right in telling us we need to be sober and alert because the smallest slip on our part sets us on the road to keep on falling. The devil is a very real threat to our souls and he's anxious to make us turn away from God in very subtle ways. Being in the wrong company or even missing our night time prayer just once is enough to give him an edge on us. He takes any opportunity to start telling us that it's ok not to pray, ok to miss church, ok to treat someone with disrespect because they did it to us. He's a liar and in order to keep him far away, we need to be awake to reject all of his lies. Pray whenever you get the inspiration to so that he can't get in the way of your faith and what God is doing in your life. Don't ever let him deceive you, but be on your watch.

Today's Prayer:
Lord Jesus, I know that my soul is strong but my flesh is weak. Help me to remain strong in You so that I never let my defenses down against the devil. In Your Name we pray, amen.

What Happens After the Call

"Then the Spirit led Jesus into the desert to be tempted by the devil." - Matthew 4:1


My little brothers have this misconception that once you get touched by God it's this one time deal that changes the rest of your life. It can be, but they think that after that, it all gets better, our faith becomes solid and everything is great. There's nothing further from the truth.

The first time Jesus makes an appearance in the gospels as an adult was during His baptism in the Jordan River by John the Baptist. John recognized Him to be the Christ and while baptizing Him, the sky opened up and the voice of God was heard saying that Jesus was His son, His beloved. You have to remember, Jesus was also fully human, so for a human to have experienced something so profound, it had to have really shaken Him up and touched Him. What do you do after such an extraordinary touch from God? I think most people would go off by themselves to pray and try to make sense of what just happened and how they're supposed to respond to God next.

As we can see from this verse above, the Spirit led Jesus into the desert right after His baptism to be tempted by the devil. The desert was where Jesus went to think about what happens next, what He was supposed to do, but it also symbolizes what we all go through as soon as we feel God's presence come into our lives. What happens is that it feels like God withdraws. Like He touched us, but then pulls away. Jesus was also in a symbolic desert. He was alone and it felt like He was stripped away from the protection of God and vulnerable to the attacks of the enemy. At this point, we all become vulnerable. We forget the touch we received from God and when the devil comes around to rob us of the experience we had (and he will do this) we are tempted by sins of the flesh, we might want to test God or we become arrogant and think we don't need God and what we felt before wasn't true. And the worst part of it is that this happens and we don't realize it's happening. If these pitfalls were so obvious, none of us would sin. In the desert, when He felt alone and without God, the devil tempted Jesus with sins of the flesh, he tempted Him to show His power if He really was so beloved by God, and he tried to offer Jesus all the powers in the world. As tired and exhausted as Jesus was, He fought back the temptation. How did He do this? Was it because He was God? No, it was because Jesus knew God's promises and God's Word. To each and every attack of the devil, Jesus was able to resist with scripture and faith.

This is why we all need to remain strong in the faith and strong in the Word of God. When we experience a touch from God, there will be moments where we will not perceive the presence of God and we will be tempted and attacked by the devil. All this is necessary so that we grow and become truly powerful in the Lord... so that we are not easily knocked around. But if you are not prepared, on the day of temptation, you will fall. Now is the moment to prepare. Now is the moment to pray and ask for the Lord's protection so that when we are called out into the desert, we can be like Christ and face anything.

Today's Prayer:
Lord Jesus, You equipped me with all I need to fight the enemy. Now that I have been filled with Your Spirit, prepare me for my dark night and prepare me for battle with the enemy. Lord, cover me with Your blessing so that I may never fall and lose sight of the work You want to do in me. In Your Name we pray, amen.

Betraying Thoughts

"O Lord, how great in number are my foes! How numerous are they who rise against me! How many are they who say of my soul: 'There is no help for him in God.' But You are my shield, O Lord, my glory, You lift up my head." - Psalm 3:2-4

I'm not sure how many real enemies I may have but I know that my worries are many and the things that make me sad are many; they are my foes. And sometimes it feels like they all come up against me at the same time. Then, like in the psalm, these problems rise against me to tell me there is no help in God. I've been praying, kneeling in God's presence and I've heard voices in my head saying, "there is no one there, there is no one to really help you, just give in to your sadness." But you know what, I've learned two things - a. This life will always be full of problems and b. The enemy will always try to take away whatever good God is trying to give me. Although everything just feels like it's against me and I can't see a way out and I just feel so helpless and alone, I set my hopes in my God because I know He will not abandon me. It might take some time before I see these worries go away, but through my hope in Him, He gives me strength to make it through the day. It might not be the best day and things might not be going my way, but He will come through…He always has.

Today's Prayer:
Lord, You don't need to search my soul for You know the sadness and fear that lurks within. You know the betraying thoughts that float around my head, but You are bigger than this Lord and today I ask You to come and descend upon me as Your child. Guide me and show me Your love and protection. In Your Name we pray, amen.

Nothing Will Be Against Us

"What shall we say after this? If God is with us, who shall be against us?" - Romans 8:31

This is a verse of victory through adversity. As you know, I was sad yesterday but thanks to your prayers, I have been uplifted. It's so easy to forget the power of God when we're going through trials and even easier to overlook it when our faith is lacking, but that does not change the truth - if God is on our side, who can defeat us/ what can hurt us? I can see myself up to the neck in trouble, but that's as far as it will go because God is on my side. He protects me for I know His Name. If He watches out for me in the small things, the power of His hand is astonishing in the big things. Nothing can ever hurt us if we cling on to Him, even though in this life, trials occur at every corner. This should be a reason for hope. He is with you to protect you against any evil, any fear, any worry. Rely on Him for health problems, rely on Him for financial problems, emotional problems. Anything, He can and will overcome if you truly trust in Him.

One of my readers wrote me today and told me how she was going through some financial difficulties, and without even asking for it, she was offered a job and she starts on Monday. She told me, "God is good!" She expressed how she just decided to trust in Him and now she has seen His care for her. There is nothing too big or even too small that the Lord Almighty can't deliver you from! Praise Him for He really is good and deserves our deepest adoration.

Today's Prayer:
My Lord, forgive me for not being more grateful for the way You take care of me. Thank You for reminding me that with my eyes fixed on You, nothing can EVER harm me for I am protected by Your love and faithfulness. In Your Name we pray, Amen.

Power To Overcome The Enemy

"You see, I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpians and to overcome all the power of the Enemy, so that nothing will harm you." - Luke 10:19

Jesus said this to a group of His followers after they began to see the work they were accomplishing in His Name. Two thousand years later, He tells you and I the same message again. By being His followers, He gives us the authority to overcome evil. Every obstacle, every temptation, every negative energy around us, Christ has empowered us to destroy!

The next time you find yourself facing a strong temptation or involved in a sin, remember that in Christ, you can defeat anything the devil throws at you, for Your Lord and Savior will be there to give you the strength to overcome!

Not only that, but when you're depressed, when you're nervous and have anxiety, or it just isn't your day, don't doubt for a second that that's the work of the devil trying to rob you of your joy. He's a thief and doesn't deserve an ounce of your energy. Jesus Christ has defeated him and as His believers you have the power to overcome any adversity!

What are you scared of? What do you fear? Jesus Christ has given His life so that we can break away from all evil that holds us down. Believe in this and exercise this power so that you may experience the power of God.

Today's Prayer:
Lord Jesus, in all of my difficulties and through adversity, help me to always remember that You are my God and You have given me power over the devil to defeat him and all the traps he has laid out for me. Keep me firm in You. In Your Name we pray, Amen.