Today’s Bible Verse
O foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified?
Galatians 3:1 (NKJV)
The Heart Regulates the Hands
Today I share with you an account of a woman who was discipled by a life group leader in our church. This is an excerpt of the email sent to me:
It was not until sometime after college that I realized there was a purpose to fulfill, a destiny that was predestined by God just for me. I thank God who protected me in my ignorance and graciously revealed His will for me. Soon after this, I married a godly man. I recall from the beginning of our union we both applied the Christian principles living as born-again believers. We also learned the importance of becoming a disciple of our Lord Jesus Christ. We were very fortunate to have been discipled by some great leaders. They truly helped convert our thinking to what God’s standards are through the written scriptures.
There is a scripture in 2 Corinthians 8:12 MSG that really helped us to understand why we needed to grow spiritually. The verse states, “Once the commitment is clear, you do what you can, not what you can’t. The heart regulates the hands.” We realized we needed to be committed to being planted in the house of God, taking ownership of our “giftings” from God to glorify Him.
As time passed, life was good. We had a house, cars, and a beautiful family. We were always good Christians, and we were the ideal Sunday church goer, who did the right things. However, no one knew that behind closed doors was much grumbling and complaining. Our hearts were not right. Our outward appearance was fake.
A few weeks later, we noticed that we started to agree with ourselves too much . We started to believe lies like, “we were getting too busy” and “the church was asking too much of us and that was the reason we were so unbalanced.” Obviously, our commitment had wavered, and our hearts were definitely tainted. It was when we read, Galatians 3:1, that our eyes opened: “O foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified?”
Wow! It was a wake-up call we needed! We were so ignorant. We bowed our knees to our Lord Jesus Christ as soon as we realized we were being invaded by evil, demonic forces. The spirit of Jezebel was trying to boot us out of our calling and honorable place in God’s church. We quickly turned our back against the satanic forces of darkness. We refused to abide by the lies any longer. We spoke the Word of God, agreeing with God that we would no longer engage with and support the wicked schemes of darkness.
When I read the email my spirit leaped with joy! They identified, through the Word, the state of their hearts, and they were willing to repent and turn from their sin. (Pastor Darlene Tsuha)
Seize the Moment
Perhaps you can relate; however, you are still stuck. Could your change of heart for the things of God be due to spiritual warfare or other reasons? The lust of the flesh? The pride of life? Or the cares of the world? Write down what comes to your mind.
Set Your Life
Reflect for a moment. What has the Holy Spirit already begun to speak to you concerning your commitment to God? How has today’s devotional redirected you toward spiritual progress? Write it down.
Today’s Declaration
Heavenly Father please forgive me for being ignorant of Your Word and the tactics of the enemy. Today, I recognize and refuse to allow that spirit of rebellion, Jezebel, to dictate my spiritual progress and joy in believing You any longer. I welcome Your Word and choose to obey and grow in faith, hope, and love from You. Thank You for making me what I ought to be in Christ Jesus. As You are, so am I in this world. Amen.
Today’s Bible Reading
- Old Testament: Exodus 13-15; Psalms 28
- New Testament: Matthew 12:22-37; Acts 17:16-34
