It's About The Cross

The High Places
TGIF Today God Is First Volume 1, by Os Hillman

"Blessed are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord? He is your shield and helper and your glorious sword. Your enemies will cower before you, and you will trample down their high places." - Deuteronomy 33:29

One of the most successful movies of our time has been Star Wars, a futuristic movie where the forces of good battle the forces of evil in a far-off galactic solar system. In order for the forces of good to win their battle, they must enter the airspace of their enemies and find the central power source inside the enemy space station. Their fighter jets must locate this central nervous system and fire a laser missile into its heart in order to destroy the power source. The final scene shows the hero sending a last-minute laser missile into the power source and blowing up the space station and all the evil characters who live on it.

Throughout history, cultures have recognized idols on the high places, on the tops of hills or mountains, as their power sources. God said these high places are an abomination to Him. When God brought the people of Israel into the Promised Land, He instructed them to destroy all the high places. Many times through history, God had to judge Israel for their failure to destroy the high places.

Today, every major cult or evil spirit has its own high place that must be destroyed first before a righteous foundation can be laid. It may not mean you can physically destroy this high place, but you can tear it down through spiritual warfare and intercessory prayer.

High places are anything that is elevated above God and is worshiped. Are there any high places that take the place of God in your life? Are there any high places where you live that must be dealt with through spiritual warfare to allow the Kingdom of God to reign? You must destroy the high places in order for God to reign completely. Ask God to show you the high places so that you can elevate the one true God.

Today's Prayer

Dear Father in Heaven, This day I lift up families to you. There are so many distractions in life. People get sidetracked by their own desires, the quest for more, what others think, trying to 'climb the ladder' of success, activities and more activities, working too hard, illness, challenges and problems, and so on. We often become consumed with all of that and distracted from all that is most important. God, I pray that every person spending this time with you right now will see the need to make time for family, to acknowledge and show love for their loved ones, to prioritize their lives and obligations, to focus on what would Jesus do. May we not become districted by everything else. May we put you first, our families next, and everyone and everything else after. Please guide us, give us wisdom, and encourage us this day and in the days ahead. In Jesus' name we come to you and thank you, Amen

Today God Is First (TGIF) devotional message, Copyright by Os Hillman, Marketplace Leaders




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Compromise
by Bayless Conley

Today, I want to highlight for you the third area where the devil will seek to cause you to fail when you are on the verge of a breakthrough. It is found in Matthew 4:8-11,

Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, "All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me." Then Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.'" Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.

If you think about it, the devil offered Jesus exactly what He had come to this world to obtain. Jesus came to win the kingdoms of this world to our God.

And the devil is saying, "Hey, You can take a shortcut. I will give You what You want. You don't have to do it God's way. You may have to compromise Your integrity, but think of how quickly You will succeed! You can even avoid the whole sacrifice thing! You don't have to do it God's way."

Listen, anytime God has set a goal for you, and you are going to obtain something, the devil will always come and try to get you to compromise and offer you substitutes.

He will tempt you by saying things like, "You can get what you want without living by all those narrow, restrictive rules that God puts on people's lives. You can be dishonest; you can be unfaithful; you can compromise; and you can still be blessed, and you can still be happy."

Do not believe him for a moment. His way of compromise leads only to ruin!

Visit the Answers with Bayless Conley website for more ways to Connect with God






The Pattern for Servanthood
Dr. Charles Stanley

Matthew 20:25-28

In the world's thinking, great men are the ones with authority, prominence, and power. Though Jesus Christ had all that, He gave it up to become a servant (Isa. 42:1).

Jesus gave Himself completely to fulfill the Father's plan of redemption, even though the beneficiaries—namely, each of us—were undeserving. God is holy and righteous, and He cannot be in the presence of sin. Therefore, He must separate Himself from those who are stained by wrongdoing. That includes all of humanity (Rom. 3:23).

Everybody is born captive to the desires of the flesh (Rom. 6:16-18). When someone claims to be living on his "own terms," he is actually serving whatever his human nature craves. The penalty for that false sense of liberty is death (Rom. 6:23).

Jesus' ultimate act of service was to give His life as a ransom for many (Matt. 20:28). The word describes the price paid to set a slave free—Christ voluntarily purchased our liberation. There was only one way our holy God could remove our guilt yet remain true to His own law: Someone sinless had to pay our sin debt for us.

Jesus' sacrifice spared us the penalty we deserve. Instead, we receive the gift of grace and have been declared no longer guilty. Moreover, we are elevated from slaves to sons and daughters of the Almighty!

Jesus served the Father's purpose faithfully. He gave up His righteousness to carry the weight of all our wickedness—and endured a crushing separation from His Father. To meet our needs, the Savior held nothing of Himself back, and thereby set a powerful example of servanthood for us follow.

For more biblical teaching and resources from Dr. Charles Stanley, please visit www.intouch.org.


It's About The Cross