The blueness of a wound cleanse away evil:  so do stripes the inward parts of the belly.  – (Proverbs 20:30 KJV)

Some people worry about the black and blue marks of a bruise, but these marks are actually symptomatic of the healing process.  The blue is the rich oxygen of the arterial blood that brings in new supplies and healing materials of the body’s “first aid” kit.  Then red venal blood carries out the damaged cells and waste products.

Have you ever realized that Jesus’ blood also has a twofold healing purpose?  It cleanses us of sin and waste, and it also brings the freshness of His love into our lives.

Christ’s blood is one of the most powerful cleansing agents known to mankind!  His blood does more than whitewash our hearts — it purifies them from the inside out.  Christ’s precious blood purifies our hearts so completely that we become temples of God.

When Jesus was confronted with the wrong-doings of the Pharisees, He warned them, “You are clean on the outside, but your hearts are like the insides of tombs — filled with death.” What do you want to be — a tomb of death, or a temple of God?

Dear Heavenly Father, we thank You today for the life of Jesus that flows through us.  We thank You for the dealings of Your Spirit to remove the garbage from our lives; and we thank You for Jesus’ love that brings us freshness.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Surely, Lord, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield. – (Psalm 5:12)

Every one of you reading this wants to have favor.  We want to have favor with our spouses, our children, our grandchildren, we want to have favor on the job, with friends and even our neighbors.  We just need favor!  So, what can get us into the favor of God, favor with people, favor with relatives, and favor with our neighbors?

When I looked at Jesus’ life and how He grew in wisdom and favor with God and man, I noticed it came after he submitted to his parents.  Had you ever seen it that way?  I hadn’t either!  But you know how you read the Bible and you think, “Where did that come from?  I never saw that in this light.” That’s because the Bible is Spirit and Life.  It’s not just a book; it has life to it.  It is the Living Word!

Luke 2:51-52 says, Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them.  But his mother treasured all these things in her heart.  And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.  Jesus increased in wisdom and stature and favor with God and man, but it came after they returned home, and Jesus submitted to His parents and was obedient to them.

You want favor?  Submission brings favor!  It did in Jesus’ life.  So, what makes us think we can do our own thing and still have favor?  No.  It’s submission that can give you favor with God and with man.

Jesus, I declare that I can have favor with God and with man.  But it’s not by being lawless and going my own way; it is submission that brings favor.

Fear and trembling have beset me; horror has overwhelmed me.  I said “Oh, that I had the wings of a dove!  I would fly away and be at rest.” – (Psalm 55:5-6)

Countless people today do not seem to believe that God is in control of all things, let alone of all situations in their personal lives.  Just as importantly, they do not believe that God can help them gain control over their own thoughts and feelings.  Many people are content to live with their fears and doubts.  It never dawns on them to confront their fear—many of which manifest in worry and anxiety.  It never dawns on them to seek God for answers that will erase their doubts.  Instead, like the psalmist, they feel trapped, seeing no way out and wishing to flee.

Some people don’t believe that Christians can or should be oppressed if they are walking with God.  Christians, however, can get discouraged just like non-Christians.  Christians can become depressed.  They can have anxiety.  But the key is this:  we don’t have to settle for a life filled with fear and doubt!

When you find yourself feeling discouraged, go immediately to God in prayer.  Get serious about seeking God to discover the reasons for your fears and doubts, and be open to what God speaks to your heart about what you are to believe and do.  Then, ask God to fill you with courage to move beyond fears and doubts, including anxiety.

Jesus, I believe that You want me to be free from the fears and doubts that hold me back from being a witness for You.  Give me the courage to confront my anxiety.  I declare that with God, I will be victorious!

Indeed, we count them blessed who endure.  You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful. – (James 5:11 NKJV)

St. Patrick was taken as a slave by the Irish when he was a young man, around 16 years old.  They chained him to a stake, and for six years, he fed pigs with no one to talk to but the Lord.   One night, after six years, the Holy Spirit spoke to him and gave him and gave him a way to get back to England.  But once back in England, he had a dream that two of the tribal leaders in Ireland invited him to come and tell them about Jesus.

He immediately went to the church in England and volunteered to go to Ireland as a missionary.  When Patrick got off the boat, the Irishmen were waiting to kill him.  He said, “Before you kill me, you have to hear my dream.” He told them the dream he had, that he was to come and tell them about Jesus.  They listened to the Gospel, the story of Jesus dying and rising from the dead and how He saved them and could come into their hearts.  These tribal leaders asked if they could bring other tribal leaders to listen, and within 70 years, all of Ireland was saved.

During those six years in slavery, St. Patrick had the patience and perseverance of Job.  He learned to listen in his spirit, and the Holy Spirit connected with him, and he ended up transforming an entire nation.

Jesus, I want Your presence to so fill me that when people see me, they see You; when people hear me, they hear You; when I speak, it is Your Word that fills my mouth.  Christ in me, the hope of glory!