becoming mighty

Fresh Manna
by Pastor Tim Burt

Do you ever find yourself caving into doing or saying things you shouldn’t? Do you find yourself doing things you don’t want to do or more importantly, doing things you know God doesn’t want you to? Do you ever find yourself NOT doing things you know you should? Do your good intentions too often only last for a short time before you just cave and think I am such a wimp! I have no inner strength to do anything I know I should.

The Bible says, “As a man thinks, so is he!” God’s word teaches us that it matters what you think! It matters what you think about life and what you think about yourself. If your overview of life is negative in general and if your view of yourself is less than good, then your words and attitudes are going to match. You will inwardly put yourself down. And the devil will surely accommodate your thoughts and feelings with lies about everything! He’ll affirm the lies that you are worthless and a failure before God and he’ll point out proof by reminding you of past experiences of your lack of inward strength to do what you truly want to and should do. You may see yourself as one with little willpower or inner strength to reject bad choices and snail slow to make good and wise and healthy choices. And the devil will flash memories of proof of it in your life. Even so, that doesn’t mean that you actually do lack inner strength. God reveals that we do!

I remember reading a story about Kathy Martin. She was a 30 year old nurse and definitely not a runner. Her husband was but not her. But she’d been thinking this thought: If I cannot run a mile at 30, will I even be able to walk one at 60? So one day she put on her shoes and tried to run with her husband. It was a disaster but she didn’t quit. To make a long beautiful story short, she became a world class runner setting world records in her older age. The inner strength was not in her running but in her determination to give something a worthy effort which she obviously did. Here is her story for you to read later! Kathy Martin

Prior to Jesus, I was lost. I was doing everything I shouldn’t and thinking God probably despised me because of my lifestyle. I had little confidence because wrong choices were blowing up whatever good I was doing. I was afraid of God. I didn’t have a clue He had a purpose for my life. I was a lost wandering soul. Others may not of thought so but inside, I was! And then I found Jesus and came to understand that His truth was the only truth. The Bible changed all my thinking! I could understand why Jesus said we needed to be “born again.” I felt like I had been. Everything I believed changed resulting in my entire life changing. God’s word taught me that my thinking and what I believed was critical to the blessing God desired for me!

In my life prior to Jesus, I thought I enjoyed my sinful life. That is until I didn’t. All the while, I was hiding from God. I tried to deny His existence because I believed if He was real, He must hate me. And if that was the case, I believed I was in serious Hell-bound trouble. But the Bible opened my eyes to the truth of God’s love toward me and everyone of us. It opened my eyes and brought understanding to who God created us to be. Far too people never learn of God’s love and mercy or His purpose for our lives through Jesus and so they hide from God all their lives. For them, this verse describes their life. Hosea 4:6 (NKJV) “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…”

Jesus died for our sins. For those who receive Him into their heart as Lord and Savior, He washes their sins away and fills them with His Holy Spirit. That all happens in an instant of time bringing about a new life in Christ. In that new life the new believer begins to to see life and God’s will for their life through His eyes. The Bible says, “Behold, old things pass away and all things become new.” One of the things God wanted us to see and know was that we weren’t created to be wimps living without inner strength and yielding to every fleshly desire. He created us to be mighty in Spirit that would lead us to be mighty in life! And that is not because of us but because of the Holy Spirit within us! His word tells us that it is the same Spirit (the Holy Spirit) that raised Christ from the dead who now lives in us and strengthens us. Romans 8:11 NLT says, “The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, He will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.”

Meditate on that thought because it is a real wow that I’ll talk about more next time! For today, realize that the day you gave your life to Christ, the Holy Spirit came to live within you to help you see life through God’s eyes, to know His will, truth, and purpose for your life, and to give you an inner strength that will revolutionize your world and help you live a life without regret! More next time…

Ephesians 6:10 (NKJV) “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.”

In His love,
Pastor Tim Burt

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If your heart has been touched by God’s love through Fresh Manna, would you like to help Pastor Tim reach others also? Please prayerfully consider donating. No gift is too small.

Timothy Burt

Daily Devotionals and Inspiration to Encourage Your Heart

Spiritual Power and Might Comes From God Part One

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