“The thief comes only to steal, and kill, and destroy. I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly.” Words of Jesus in John 10:10

“Every good thing bestowed and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation, or shifting shadow.” James 1:17

Dear Lord,

When life’s been less than perfect, I’ve sometimes struggled to understand.
Your power could have prevented, and sent something far more grand.
But then, one day, You reminded me about diamonds in the rough–
How You can take and polish things that seem to be so tough.

Your love will always work to heal when things, at times, go wrong,
Yet You desire to see us look to Your Word, which makes us strong.
We live by faith and are more than conquerors through Jesus Christ, our Lord;
And it’s in believing in Your love for us that we reap a rich reward.

P. A. Oltrogge

“The Lord will perfect that which concerns me….” Psalm 138:8 (NKJV)

“Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13-14

“You are from God, little children, and have overcome them, because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.” 1 John 4:4

“He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.” Revelation 3:21

“And they overcame him (the thief/devil) because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even to death.” Revelation 12:11

In some instances, it’s good to remember how God worked uniquely in the life of Joseph, who was sold into slavery by his brothers, later to become a great ruler in Egypt:

“And as for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.” (words of Joseph in Genesis 50:20)

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: ‘For your sake, we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.’ Yet in all these things, we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:35-39 (NKJV)

And we’re learning of and growing in the believer’s authority over the enemy’s attacks/setbacks. Search for that topic in the “Bookstore” at http://www.rhema.org

Scriptures: New American Standard Translation, The Ryrie Study Bible, or as noted.

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