Preserved!

2 Chronicles 22:10-12, “Now when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the royal family of the house of Judah. 11But Jehoshabeath, the daughter of the king, took Joash the son of Ahaziah and stole him away from among the king's sons who were about to be put to death, and she put him and his nurse in a bedroom. Thus Jehoshabeath, the daughter of King Jehoram and wife of Jehoiada the priest, because she was a sister of Ahaziah, hid him from Athaliah, so that she did not put him to death. 12And he remained with them six years, hidden in the house of God, while Athaliah reigned over the land.”

Beloved, today we contrast the lives of a destroyer verses a preserver!

Athaliah was a daughter of Ahab and Jezebel. She did no good and did much harm. Her life work was a Work of destruction. She destroyed her own husband, Jehoram King of Judah and also her son Ahaziah. We read of him that "he also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab: for his mother was his counselor to do wickedly, 2 Chronicles 21:3. She completes her destructive career by putting to death her grandchildren, the royal seed of the kingdom, 2 Chronicles 22:10, “Now when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the royal family of the house of Judah.” There are many women like Athaliah, whose life work is a work of destruction. Don’t be a Athaliah!

Jehoshabeath was also a king’s daughter who had not been corrupted by the wickedness of the court.Her work was a work of preservation. She was the wife of Jehoiada the priest - a good wife of a good man. She rescued Joash from Athaliah's massacre, and kept him hid in the priests' apartments in the temple, 2 Chronicles 22:11-12. There he was hid for six years, until the time that, as a boy-king, he was called to the throne. If there are Athaliahs in the world still, there are also Jehoshebas. If there are women of cruelty, there are also women of sympathy.

Beloved, today we have the choice to either be an Athaliah or a Jehoshabeath. We can either set out to destroy God’s work and His people or we can set out to preserve God’s work and His people. May we all strive to be a Jehoshabeath and not an Athaliah!

I pray that you will have a blessed week! I love you and I will be praying for you!

In His Love-

Pastor Joe

The Word of Grace Devotion for the Week of July 21, 2014

More Than Conquerors

Romans 8:37- “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”

Beloved- Satan wants us to play the victim while the Lord desires that we be more than conquerors. So how do we go from victim to victor? Revelation 12:11 provides us with three ways to overcome the enemy, the accuser of our brothers. It says, “They have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.”

Beloved, when Satan comes knocking at your door accusing you of being a dirty rotten sinner, when he tries to keep you from church or fellowship or even when he tries to make you take your own life…remind him that the Blood of the Lamb has taken away all of your sin. Because of Jesus death, as believers, we stand sinless before our Lord. Our past sin, present sin and even future sin has been paid for at the Cross. On a side note when you do sin remember to ask for forgiveness (1 John 1:9)! We move from being a victim to a victor when we apply the blood of the Lamb (Jesus) to our life.

Secondly, when the enemy tries to accuse us of being less than stellar, remind him of the word of your testimony. Beloved, our testimony is the work that the Lord begun and is performing in our life. It is HIS work in our life as Philippians 1:6 says, “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” Beloved, the simple truth is that Christ began the work and Christ will complete the work. We are all a work in progress and hence we all have a testimony of God at work in our life. We may not be whom we desire to be but we are certainly not whom we use to be! Remind the enemy and yourself that God is at work in your life!

Thirdly, we move from victim to victor when we love not our lives even unto death. Galatians 2:20 says, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Beloved, we must understand that Jesus bought us and thus Jesus owns us. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says, “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.” When love not even our own life unto death we move from being a victim to a victor!

Beloved, the Lord desires that we live as the victor and not the victim. The victor over our flesh, the devil and the world! We our more than conquerors!

Beloved, I pray that you will have a blessed week! I love you and I will be praying for you!

In Him,

Pastor Joe

Mark 2:21-22, “No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the patch tears away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made. 22And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins—and the wine is destroyed, and so are the skins. But new wine is for fresh wineskins.”

Beloved, this past week I got the opportunity to attend the annual Calvary Chapel Senior Pastor’s Conference. This year the conference was held at Costa Mesa as opposed to previously being held at Murrieta Hot Springs Conference Center. This move ruffled the feathers of many a senior pastor. Many wanted things to remain the same. Like so many of us, many are resistant to change. Yet change is what Christianity is all about.

When Calvary Chapel begun in the mid 60’s, the nation was at a crossroads. War, civil rights, drug use and such were running through the minds and hearts of many Americans, especially young Americans. They came to be known as “hippies”. Initially, Pastor Chuck opposed ministering to these people. He said, “What they need is a haircut and a bath!” But Pastor’s Chuck’s wife Kay had a soft spot in her heart for these young, lost individuals whom Jesus loved. She wanted Chuck to reach out to them and he did.

Today, our nation is at a similar crossroads. The church is pouring wine into old wineskins and not reaching the young. We are becoming insolated and isolated from the very world that Jesus called us to go out into as Mark 16:15 says, “And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.”

Beloved, we have a decision to make. We can either hide our faces in the sand and pretend that everything is ok or we can change. We need to change both personally and corporally. If we don’t change we may lose an entire generation of young folks that Jesus loves with all of His heart.

In Pastor’s Chuck’s day the church was content to pour wine into old wineskins. They balked at some of the things and people Pastor Chuck allowed in church. To put it simply, Pastor Chuck took chances on people. Beloved, we can either continue to pour wine into old wineskins or we can change and pour new wine into new wineskins. May we not become a relic of the past but may we continually be transformed to reach a lost and dying world!

I pray that you will have a blessed week! I love you and I will be praying for you!

In Christ,

Pastor Joe