Kept by the Power of God

 We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy … Colossians 1:11 (NLT) 

If you entrust your life into the loving hands of Jesus, you belong to God. You have chosen to use the faith God gave you to put your daily life and eternal destiny in the hands of the Father.

When you belong to the Son of God, you know you are forgiven. You know you have eternal life. You know you have been taken out of the darkness and transferred to the Kingdom of Light.

God is almighty, and that is very powerful. He uses His power to give strength to His children.
The Greek word for Power is DYNAMIS. The English word Dynamite comes from this Greek word. It makes you think of dramatic miracles, of sudden breakthroughs, of instant healings.

All of this is true.  In the Bible we see Jesus performing miracle after miracle, healing the sick, raising dead bodies to life, walking on water, multiplying bread a thousandfold.

But the Power of God is not only for instant miracles. There is another English word which comes from the Greek word DYNAMIS. That is Dynamo. A dynamo is a device for generating a constant flow of electric power.

Expect Sudden Turnarounds from God

When Jesus came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him.
A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”
Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy. Mt 8:1–3 NIV

God can change a man or a woman in an instant. God can change a person’s life in 24 hours. The day that David killed Goliath, he changed from being a shepherd boy to being a national military hero, in one day. More than that, in one day the nation of Israel changed from being terrified victims to being conquerors as God intended, all because one boy became a man in one day.

When the day of Pentecost finally arrived, there was the sound of a mighty rushing wind. 120 disciples of Jesus were baptised in the Holy Spirit. They all spoke languages they had never learned; Peter preached an inspired sermon and 3000 people were born again. The Church was born in a day.

One day a Pharisee named Saul was on his way to Damascus. The purpose of his journey was to arrest and imprison Christians in that city. On the way, Jesus appeared to Saul and the Apostle Paul was born.

On two days towards the end of 1915, a great but defeated army evacuated the coast of Turkey. Not one life was lost. In 2 nights, an unknown Australian colonel became a military hero whose brilliant thinking rewrote the British military textbooks and whose battle plans in 1918 shortened that terrible war by months.

When Jesus returns to Jerusalem to end the Battle of Armageddon, the surviving Jews will see their Messiah and believe, and a nation will be born again in a day.

Prepare for good things and great blessings. Expect sudden turnarounds.

The Holy Spirit in You

 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Mt 5:48 NIV

There are several Bible verses where you can find the expectation that we can be completely free from sin, and must be without sin.

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, Rom 5:1 NIV

What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?
By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Rom 6:1–2 NIV

Sin poisons your life. We must never lightly appease or tolerate sin.

But the Bible also warns us that we will never completely reach the goal of sinlessness.

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 Jn 1:8–9 NIV

The apostle Paul experienced a painful inner struggle against sin and guilt.

What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?

Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin. Rom 7:24–25 NIV

As the apostle John wrote (above), we will never be 100% without all sin, but if we focus on our faults and sins, we will live a miserable life.

An empty glass may not be completely empty, just as a good life is not completely sinless. An empty glass is full of air.

How can you get rid of the air? If you pour water or coffee into the glass, the air has to come out.

So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. Gal 5:16 NIV

You can never obey God through virtuous exertion. It is impossible.

You can only satisfy God by living in a close personal relationship with the Holy Spirit every minute of every hour of every day.

Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit,
speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, Eph 5:18–19 NIV

Paul says that we need to be filled with the Holy Spirit again and again and live in loving fellowship with God and other Christians.

In this way we will live in God's light, and God's light reveals what is evil and casts out darkness.

Resurrection Power for You

When Jesus was arrested in the garden, the disciples panicked.

Peter went berserk.

Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.) Jn 18:10 NIV

Then Jesus was arrested, and the apostles fled.

All of them deserted him and fled. Mk 14:50 NRSV

Peter tried to remain faithful, but he too failed.

Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. They asked him, “You are not also one of his disciples, are you?” He denied it and said, “I am not.” Jn 18:25 NRSV

Jesus prepared his disciples very well for this tough test. Nevertheless, they failed.

Jesus had given them wonderful promises.

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me.

In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. Jn 14:1–3 NRSV

These marvellous promises in the Gospel of John are also for us. Perhaps the Holy Spirit has personally communicated comforting assurances, as he did with the apostles at that time. Nevertheless, you have often failed, and so have I.

Take courage. Jesus visited the apostles after His resurrection. Then He gave them His Holy Spirit and glory.

God transformed them.

Jesus understands that we don't just need Bible knowledge and doctrines. We often need powerful experiences and dramatic visitations because we are weak without God's presence.

Jesus also wants to transform us, you and me. Expect God to do something powerful in your life. Don’t be content with passive conformity to evangelical customs and formulas.

God of Impossible Miracles

 Are you at the end of your tether? Is your situation impossible?

When I was 20, I was a student on holiday in Europe. Shortly before my flight back to Australia, I was alone in Rome. Everything was an adventure. I went for a walk and revisited this fascinating old world.

It was afternoon and I reached into my bag. Empty!

Where was my passport? Where was my flight ticket? Where was my vaccination certificate?

I was known to the Australian embassy. I made a phone call. They might be able to help with the passport, but the ticket and the vaccination certificate were problems.

I had to get home somehow, but how and when?

I thought about what I had done so far. I desperately walked back the same way. I visited a café and a shop, and finally I came to a currency exchange office and went to the same cashier who had served me in the morning.

‘Can you help me please? I've lost my passport today.’

She gave me everything back, passport, ticket and vaccination certificate.

God sustains and provides for us, even when we are totally stupid.

But even in much worse situations, God can do the impossible.

I know a woman who was snatched from certain death.

A large car came hurtling from her right side and she faced certain death, but instead of being crushed along with her car, the woman felt a terrible heat and drove on unharmed.

The other car did not crash against her, but drove through her, like in a fantasy film.  

‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’ Jer 33:3 NKJV

For with God nothing will be impossible.” Lk 1:37 NKJV