June 4, 2013 … Which Plan Do We Follow?

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2013 - Day 155

  Passage of the Day #1: Jeremiah 29: 11 [In the context of verses 10-14] [NLT] …  
10 “The truth is that you will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again. 11 For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. 12 In those days when you pray, I will listen. 13 If you look for me in earnest, you will find me when you seek me. 
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 Contextual Study for today’s passage: Jeremiah, Chapter 29 [NLT] … Go to this link …  ===========

Reference Passage #1: John 10: 10 [Which destiny will it be … Satan’s or God’s? … Our choice!] [NLT] …  
10 The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give life in all its fullness. 

Reference Passage #2: Proverbs 3: 5-6 : [Yes, again!!] …[NLT] …  
5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. 6 Seek his will in all you do, and he will direct your paths.

My Journal for Today: If you’re reading along with me here; and you know that you know that you know you are a born again believer … that your salvation is assured, … well, my friend, I hope you also know that you know that you know that God has a plan for your life … as does Satan?

No, Satan, God’s arch spiritual enemy, cannot have your soul. That’s a done deal. Jesus sealed that plan on the cross; and when you repented of your sinfulness, believing in your heart-of-hearts, that The Christ is your Savior AND LORD, your eternal fate was sealed forever. … However, Satan can derail and/or damage the testimony and/or witness of a believer, can’t he? And we also have ample evidence in Scripture of how he has tried to damage the testimonies of men of God whom the Lord had chosen to carry out God’s purposes.

Remember Satan did all he could to kill off Moses and Jesus as infants; but God’s plan for their lives and His purposes prevailed. The Thief also did all he could to destroy the plans of Moses and Jesus as adults … but to no avail. And you could go through a litany of stories from scripture about God carrying out His plans to overcome and thwart the plans of Satan. Take note and mediate on the highlight and reference passages I have cited above. What do they tell you?

They tell me that Satan is going to do all he can to steal, kill, or destroy my testimony and/or my witness for the Lord; but God, on the other hand, has a purpose for my life which includes God’s abundant life. And I know (e.g., from John 16: 33) that I’m going to encounter Satan’s attempt to derail or distract me from God’s purposes; but that truth also lifts me up in the knowledge that my Lord has overcome the world; and as God’s word says in today’s highlight passage, … God has plans which supersede the plans of Satan. And we have as Christians God’s very Spirit dwelling in us which is more powerful than Satan’s spirits of the world (according to 1st John 4: 4).

So, today as we enter into our walk in this world, to which spirit (or Spirit) will we yield? We can yield to the Holy Spirit [i.e., trust wholly in God] and allow God to enable and empower us; or we can surrender to self and/or Satan’s plans, which will – by our choice –carry us away from God’s purpose. I don’t know about you, my friend, but I choose to follow my Lord and to seek His will and His ways from His word. And when I do that I know, according to Prov. 3: 5-6, that He will direct my steps.

My Prayer for Today … Lord, I so seek to follow YOU. Help me today to avoid the ploys of the enemy and of my own deceit-ridden heart. … Amen