What the Enemy Meant for Evil…

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The disciples of Jesus were to know the tragedies of tragedies soon, for it is taught that it was on the Wednesday of Holy Week when our Lord was officially betrayed by one of His own. A disciple, Judas Iscariot, called to walk alongside Him for the past three years, turned on Jesus and sold Him for thirty pieces of silver (Matthew 26:14-16).

What the enemy meant for evil, God will turn it for good. We’ve all heard it quoted before, and may have even made it our declaration at times.  It comes from the book of Genesis, where Joseph declares the same thing due to the previous actions of his brothers after they feared retaliation for selling him into slavery for twenty pieces of silver (Genesis 37:28; 50:20).

Little did Joseph’s brothers or Judas know that the pain they would cause would eventually lead to a glorious future. While silver was exchanged from hand to hand, the setup to have a life exchanged for life was underway (compare John 11:50). Joseph was set up to save a people from famine and preserve a posterity for God’s people in this world. Jesus was set up for the saving of souls for all eternity, preserving a people for God’s Kingdom to come.

Rest assured, no matter what the tragedy may be, God always has the final say. In that, it is His plan that will prosper and win. The enemy may come at people in a myriad of ways, but everything must be filtered through the hands and plan of God. Just ask Job (see Job 1-2). In the end, we see God always has the last word in the matter (see Job 42:1-10).

Friend, not many of us are called to carry the burden of Joseph or Job. And none of us will ever know what it is to bear the burden of Jesus. But one thing we can be assured of is that if God had a plan for the pain they experienced, whatever tragedy one may face, God can make the painful produce something advantageous for us as well.

Take time through this Easter Week to remember all the Lord has done to secure your salvation. We are blessed because He was betrayed. We receive new life because His was taken away. And one day, we will rise because HE IS RISEN.

Nobody can flip the script like God can! What the enemy meant for evil, God can work it for our good. Because of what Christ has done for us, our hope for a better future will never be lost.

“But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.” Genesis 50:20

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28

“For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:17-18

More Inspiration:

“When God Turns It Around”

“God Has the Power to Help”

“Confident in God”

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Copyright © Word For Life Says.com (Sharing any posts or lessons can only be done through the share buttons provided on this site from the original posts, lessons, and articles only. You can reblog from the original posts only using the reblog button provided, or share using the share buttons provided from these social media platforms: Facebook, X, or Pinterest, etc., and they must be shared from the original posts only. All other repostings are prohibited. Posts and other items of interest found on this site MAY NOT BE COPIED AND PASTED, downloaded, uploaded, etc to another website or entity not listed (physical or electronic).  See COPYRIGHT PAGE for more details. 

Temples Won: Flipping Tables for Hearts

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Victories look different depending on the battles or contentions fought and won. The victory our Lord Jesus Christ gained on Calvary was nothing short of a miracle that could never be replicated again. But the fight to win the world, the battle to cleanse temples and hearts, didn’t start on the day the nails were driven into His hands. Holy Week is remembering the significance of each day that led to the cross and the sacrifice of our Lord.

Therefore, being Monday, we look back to the cleansing of the temple. Jesus could not bear the unholy manner in which the Father’s house was being treated. All respect, all honor for the sacredness of His place had been replaced by merchandising and swindling of those who sought to truly honor and worship before our Heavenly Father. Jesus, coming into the Temple, was appalled by what He witnessed.

In Jesus’ day, the temple of God, specifically the outer courts where the Gentiles worshiped (supposedly), was turned into a kind of marketplace. A meeting place of money and merchandise rather than humble hearts looking for a graceful God.

Can we imagine trying to worship and pray to God, sincerely lifting hearts up to Him, listening to the ding of a cash register going off and people asking for price checks while others barter over cost and quality of product? Well, there may not have been the ding of a cash register in Jesus’ day, but this disturbance in the meeting place of God was just as real. People who were seeking the Lord, in the place where they are told He may be found, were not able to connect with God as they should have been able to because of all the business going on.

Surely, this was not His first time there and witnessing the unashamed way people were being hustled, but as He was marching toward Calvary, He would make another attempt to redirect the hearts of those around. For Jesus, this event was about what was going on in the temple of people’s hearts, as well as the brick and mortar building of worship. Previously, I wrote:

“Unashamedly and without regard for roving eyes and the tsk tsk tsk of the people’s lips, He flips tables over and starts throwing people out to get His Father’s house back in order.  With holy force, He sought to reclaim what was rightfully God’s.

But can I tell you, His fight didn’t stop there.  He wanted more than a building to reclaim for God, He wanted people that rightfully belonged to Him.  He wouldn’t gain that by flipping over tables, rather He flipped over the gates of hell.  He wouldn’t get there by driving people with wrong intentions away, but with force, He drove the enemy of our soul away and crushed him under His feet. He wanted to win the temple of people’s hearts for His Father and this fight could only be won on the cross.” (©When Jesus Cleansed Our Temple/WordforLifeSays.com)

God has always intended His house to be a special, holy place where He and man can meet. And, from the time of Genesis, God has always had it in His mind that all men, from all over the globe, would be invited to come to Him and to worship: “Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people“ (Isaiah 56:7; emphasis added).

You and I, coming to the Father through Jesus Christ, were worth fighting for. Every leg of His battle, every scar, wound, and contention had Him focusing on a better future for us: “… who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2). Friend, your heart is the temple Jesus fought most to win. “Your heart wants God.  Your heart will never be happy with anything or anyone else. You may not completely understand how it all works, what it all means, or what this is all supposed to look like, but your heart wants God.” (©Your Heart Wants God/WordforLifeSays.com)

With that, the beginning of this week can be the start of a brand new life or a recommittment to Jesus Christ. Today, all the noise of this world can be silenced by the call to salvation: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16, and “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6).

Many battles have been fought through the years, but the greatest battle fought and won is the battle for the hearts of people everywhere. Will you let Jesus in your heart today? Jesus said, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” (Revelation 3:20). 

Father God, thank You for every leg of this Christian journey Jesus fought for and accomplished in our lives. Thank You for being so mindful of us that You didn’t mind flipping over tables and hell to win our hearts. Thank You for the holy determination that drove the Savior’s love for us to do the impossible, eventually laying His holy life down on Calvary’s cross to free us from our unholy life. Today, we don’t take for granted this remarkable love shown. You have done the impossible in our lives. May our hearts ever reflect on the sacrifice and love commended toward us during this Holy Week of remembrance.

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Copyright © Word For Life Says.com (Sharing any posts or lessons can only be done through the share buttons provided on this site from the original posts, lessons, and articles only. You can reblog from the original posts only using the reblog button provided, or share using the share buttons provided from these social media platforms: Facebook, X, or Pinterest, etc., and they must be shared from the original posts only. All other repostings are prohibited. Posts and other items of interest found on this site MAY NOT BE COPIED AND PASTED, downloaded, uploaded, etc to another website or entity not listed (physical or electronic).  See COPYRIGHT PAGE for more details. 

HOSANNA! BLESSED IS HE THAT COMETH IN THE NAME OF THE LORD!

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𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝟏𝟏:𝟖-𝟏𝟎 “𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐬𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲: 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐜𝐮𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐰𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐝, 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝, 𝐬𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐇𝐨𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐚; 𝐁𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝. 𝐁𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐝𝐨𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐃𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐝, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝: 𝐇𝐨𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐭.”

That day, the people honored Him with their “Hosanna” shout. They rallied and proclaimed the praises of Him who would save them, for that’s the meaning behind the word “Hosanna;” to “save now.”

“Hosanna” was the shout of triumph. In Him, they saw a victorious King. In Him, they had an expectancy of deliverance. In Him they rejoiced, proclaiming that He is the one who would fulfill the promise of “the kingdom of our father David,” (see 2 Samuel 7:12-14).

So, they rejoiced and shouted that He was, “Blessed.” His “kingdom” is “blessed.” He is the one that “cometh in the name of the Lord!” They were getting their praise on as we say it today! The King has arrived! The King has come! “Blessed is he!”

Jesus is He that was to come; the King to reign for all eternity. Let us shout his praises: “Hosanna in the highest!” There’s no need to look for another. He’s the One!

Friend, because of His triumph, we are no longer defined by the past; rather, we are now defined by what Christ has already done for us. New life awaits those who trust in Him. Today, you can rest in the finished work of Christ on the cross for yourself! That’s what Passion Week is all about. It’s about remembering and celebrating what He already accomplished for us on that sacred tree! In that, we honor our Lord Jesus Christ! “𝐇𝐨𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐚! 𝐁𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝.”

~Word for Life Says

Copyright © Word For Life Says.com (Sharing any posts or lessons can only be done through the share buttons provided on this site from the original posts, lessons, and articles only. You can reblog from the original posts only using the reblog button provided, or share using the share buttons provided from these social media platforms: Facebook, X, or Pinterest, etc., and they must be shared from the original posts only. All other repostings are prohibited. Posts and other items of interest found on this site MAY NOT BE COPIED AND PASTED, downloaded, uploaded, etc to another website or entity not listed (physical or electronic).  See COPYRIGHT PAGE for more details. 

“You Are Golden!”

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I want you to inhale these words into your being today: You Are Golden. You are good. And, you are going to be alright. You are up. You are alive. And you have been blessed with a new day!

Even if everything is not lined up according to your desires, you can still say that the Christ who dwells in me lets me know that I am going to be okay because, “Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world” (1 John 4:4).

Without God on our side, we may have somethinng to worry about. But since He is for us (Romans 8:31; Psalm 56:9), we have nothing to fear. “Let not your heart be troubled,” Jesus said. “Ye believe in God, believe also in me” (John 14:1).

Troubles may upset the worlds of those who are not securely enclosed in that Rock of righteousness. But the Bible says, “No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord” (Isaiah 54:17).

You are golden. Regardless of what has happened or what will happen, you are blessed and a highly favored one: “For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly” (Psalm 84:11).

You are golden because your trust in not in yourself today. Rather, you stand and say with the saints of old, “O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee” (Psalm 84:12), and that’s where you have anchored your hope.

You know who goes before into this day. You know God has extraordinary plans for your life (Jeremiah 29:11). So, don’t hold back and don’t give in. You are golden. Remain unbothered by what you may see and remain faithful in the things that God has for you, even when you don’t understand and can’t see it, because, “We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28) because you are golden.

Copyright © Word For Life Says.com (Sharing any posts or lessons can only be done through the share buttons provided on this site from the original posts, lessons, and articles only. You can reblog from the original posts only using the reblog button provided, or share using the share buttons provided from these social media platforms: Facebook, X, or Pinterest, etc., and they must be shared from the original posts only. All other repostings are prohibited. Posts and other items of interest found on this site MAY NOT BE COPIED AND PASTED, downloaded, uploaded, etc to another website or entity not listed (physical or electronic).  See COPYRIGHT PAGE for more details. 

The Love of a Father

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Friend, there is nothing like the insulating protectiveness and love of a true father. These men have a just cause to be on guard and protect those in their home. They are his. They belong to him; he will let no foul beast or person come against them unchallenged. He will provide for their care and run to the aid of the little one that cries out to him. Our Heavenly Father is no different. He set the course for all other fathers to follow, and His love for us is true, right, undying, pure, and protective. When the battles of life rage against us, God’s got you covered. There may be times when we may feel the enemy’s strike against us but the final victory will always belong to our Heavenly Father who surrounds and defends His people: “As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people, from this time forth and forevermore” (Psalm 125:2, ESV).

~ Word for Life Says

Copyright © Word For Life Says.com (Sharing any posts or lessons can only be done through the share buttons provided on this site from the original posts, lessons, and articles only. You can reblog from the original posts only using the reblog button provided, or share using the share buttons provided from these social media platforms: Facebook, X, or Pinterest, etc., and they must be shared from the original posts only. All other repostings are prohibited. Posts and other items of interest found on this site MAY NOT BE COPIED AND PASTED, downloaded, uploaded, etc to another website or entity not listed (physical or electronic).  See COPYRIGHT PAGE for more details. 

The Promise of New

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Friend, is your heart leaping in anticipation? Do you get butterflies tingling in your tummy with the heartbeat racing at the idea of something new? New is exciting. New comes with expectation. Some days, when our eyes open in the morning, it is easy to see the freshness and beauty. But other days may not seem so glorious as bad news spreads, world upsets are made prominent, and the disease of sin runs rampant. On days like this, one can almost hear the unpleasant groaning of creation (Rom. 8:22), and you can almost hear the cry for restored order and healing. And it will come. Any ugliness and dreariness of sin and decay today will all give way to the promise of the new that is to come. We are encouraged that things will not remain as they are now, with the Word encouraging us, saying, “And he who was seated on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’ Also he said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.'” (Revelation 21:5, ESV). We will, without a doubt, see the promise of the new.

~ Word for Life Says

Copyright © Word For Life Says.com (Sharing any posts or lessons can only be done through the share buttons provided on this site from the original posts, lessons, and articles only. You can reblog from the original posts only using the reblog button provided, or share using the share buttons provided from these social media platforms: Facebook, X, or Pinterest, etc., and they must be shared from the original posts only. All other repostings are prohibited. Posts and other items of interest found on this site MAY NOT BE COPIED AND PASTED, downloaded, uploaded, etc to another website or entity not listed (physical or electronic).  See COPYRIGHT PAGE for more details. 

Living Beautifully

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“He hath made every thing beautiful in his time…” Ecclesiastes 3:11

There is a time, a place, and a season for all things, Ecclesiastes 3 tells us. The scope of one’s life and days travels down many pathways. Although some paths may be littered with the less-than-beautiful side of life, it is on this walk where our living is carried out.

How appropriate in times of loss to find tears? And for times of gladness are we met with rejoicing? It is all a part of this wonderful life we live.

Every part may not bring fond memories or the fulfillment of future dreams, but living life beautifully says I trust God even when I do not understand all the paths upon which my feet stand. Whether the heart is in sadness and sorrow, or lifted in jubilation and joy – wherever and whatever part of life I am living, Lord, help me to know that this is just a little piece of the bigger picture You have in store for me and it is all beautiful in its time.

The varied seasons of life will come and go, but God’s sovereign plan and hand are steady and faithful through them all. He is the one who takes the not-so-beautiful and the beautiful and makes all of them work together for good (Romans 8:28).

Blessings~

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You Are the One

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You are the One we look to for hope and healing.
You are the One who gives new life so appealing.

You are the One who brings wholeness from brokenness.
You are the One who restores ruins and messes.

You are the One, the mender of breaches.
You are the One for whom my soul gladly reaches.

You are the One who shelters and saves.
You are the One who raises the dead from graves.

You are the One, all-encompassing truth.
By faith, my sight needs no visible proof.

For You are the One who saves from eternal fire.
You are the One, my glory and holy desire.

You are the One who bears us on eagle’s wings.
You are the One who carries us forever to eternity.

You are the One who saves to the utmost.
You are the One in whom my soul gladly boasts.

You are the One, the only one God true and right,
to Whom none can compare, my soul’s joyful delight.

“To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?” Isaiah 40:18

“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:” Deuteronomy 6:4

“I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me: That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the Lord, and there is none else.” Isaiah 45:5, 6


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Unexhaustable Faith

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Friend, let me assure you today that the faith we place in our Heavenly Father is a faith that cannot be exhausted. Our situations may be exhausting, and certain things or people may be tiresome and challenging, but the foundation of where our faith is placed and stands is sure. Instead of dwindling, like an unending stream, it is renewed and flows fresh every single day (Lam. 3:22, 23). He doesn’t need a cup of coffee to get through the day like some of us. He has all the strength, vigor, and unending support to offer and see us through anything because, “The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary…” (Isaiah 40:28).

~ Word for Life Says

Filling the Joy Tanks

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When was the last time you laughed out of pure joy? Not a giggle here and there, but from true happiness inside, the inner expression of the heart that cannot be contained?

To laugh like this is the outer proof that something wonderful has transpired inside. This type of enjoyment with life cannot flow from an empty well, so to speak. And if you haven’t laughed from pure joy in this way in a while, what is the well that you are daily drawing from filled with? Perhaps it’s not the lack of expression of laughter that’s the problem, because that will be a natural occurrence when one is filled with those things that will naturally produce it.

Then, there must be a problem with what’s in our joy tanks. There must be a depletion of those things that will, without effort, produce joy.

Today, in the natural, you can make a conscious effort to fill your life with those things that bring you delight and enjoyment. It can be something as simple as changing how you view a mundane routine and making it a place where the work may be mundane, but beautiful joy can be found in the work. It could also be as simple as changing thought patterns and where one chooses to focus. Philippians 4:8 helps us with this, saying, “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”

God wants us to enjoy the beauty this life can offer: “And I commend joy, for man has nothing better under the sun but to eat and drink and be joyful, for this will go with him in his toil through the days of his life that God has given him under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 8:15, ESV).

While those things are good, true joy doesn’t begin or end there, and we should not rest or be solely content with a natural filling. As we are making the effort to fill our lives with the things that bring us joy, we must be even more mindful not to leave out the greatest source of joy found in the spiritual.

In heaven, we are going to know the extreme happiness of “joy unspeakable” (1 Peter 1:8), but even now, that kind of joy is ours for the taking because when we are filled with Christ, who is the ultimate reason for joy tanks being filled, the overflow of all He is in us will saturate our very lives from the inside out.

Trust me, my friend, we may not fully comprehend how it will all be or turn out in our tomorrows or future forever, but we can surely act on what we know today. Today, we know that we can laugh with pure joy because pure joy is what Christ brings to our lives. Today, we can focus our hearts on filling our joy tanks with Him, knowing that our wells cannot help but overflow in happiness and all that blessed pleasure that comes as a result from on high.

The Lord Jesus spoke this beautiful summary, saying, “These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full” (John 15:11). Life may seem rough at times but there was a great exchange that took place at that cross on Calvary that gave us the great privilege of laying down what is burdensome and picking up a life filled with JOY!

Blessings~

More Encouragement:

“My Soul Shall Be Joyful In My God!”

“The Greater Joy in the Morning”

“There Will Be a Time When Joy Cannot Be Taken Away!”

Image by Arnie Bragg from Pixabay