Three Things The Election Will Not Change

By the time this blog posts the 2016 election will be in the books.

election

While most of us have deep concerns about what will happen to our Republic under the leadership of either candidate. As Christians we need to make the choice not to accept the prognosis that we are doomed. Regardless of the outcome of this election, we must remember three things in the days to come.

I. We Are Blessed In Any Outcome

Our blessings and our hope are not found in a political party. We need to tune out the junk and listen to what the Bible has to say about our present age.

God called Christians to carry the message of hope and change. At what point did the government take the message of hope and change from Christianity? When we work as agents of change, even if it’s just in one life, we are blessed.

Yes we may have to serve Him under persecution for a time, but if that is what God requires to bring revival to America would it be worth it?

[bctt tweet=”At what point did the government take the message of hope and change from Christianity? ” username=”michaelkduff”]

II. We Are Secure In Any Outcome

One of the big concerns with the outcome of this election is the next appointments to the Supreme Court. Both parties see the other side as a threat that will limit or end their freedoms.

With the current make up of the court, the right nominee could deal a severe blow to our religious freedoms. The thing we must remember is that a Supreme God, not a Supreme Court directs our religious activities. There may come a time like Peter and the Apostles where we have to take this position:

Acts 5:29 Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.

If and when that time comes, we need to trust in faith that nothing will touch us that has not first passed through the hands of God. We will never be more secure than that.

III. We Are Confident In Any Outcome

Regardless of where the vote falls, roughly 50% of this nation faces disappointment in the outcome. Our candidate may or may not have won, but either way we still have some biblical responsibilities.

I Timothy 2:2 (Pray) For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.

If we prayed as much as we condemned where would we be? We are to trust that the heart of the King (President) is in God’s hands to move and to change.

Proverbs 21:1 The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.

If we believe either candidate is beyond the reach of God’s grace, mercy and wisdom, we are wasting our life serving a very distorted version of an all-powerful God.

At the end of the day it is a blessing to live in this great country regardless of who is leading it. Lets covenant together to pray for America and its new President in the days to come. They will certainly need our prayers.

October 11, 2016October 12, 2016

Do We Experience Our Faith?

Faith is something every Christian will struggle with at some point. Our faith will face doubt and discouragement. Questions will go unanswered as the world tries to shake it. But the greatest struggle we will face is complacency.

Faith: photo of sky with words, "I go to prepare a place for you."

When things are going well, we place our faith on cruise control. We roll along from week to week doing the things we have always done. Faith seems smooth and effortless until something brings us back to the real reason for our faith.

In early October, in the space of five days, we buried my Mother in Law and my Mother. Two trips to Michigan, two funerals to prepare and a thousand details to put together took a tremendous toll physically, emotionally and yes spiritually.

It is a blessing that my Mother and my Mother in Law left this earth knowing Jesus Christ as their Savior. For them, that week their faith became sight.

If there was one lesson we learned through these trials, it’s that faith is so much more than words in a book. Throughout these difficult days, we experienced faith in a way we never had before.

When we face the trials that Christ promised would come, faith becomes a living thing.

[bctt tweet=”Faith is so much more than words in a book.” username=”michaelkduff”]

Faith Strengthens Us

Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

This verse encouraged me in the dark times. Those times when the enemy whispered to my heart, “You can’t do this.” No I can’t, but He can through me!

The missing part of the equation when we face dark days is the power of the Holy Spirit Who is able to do the unexpected in our lives.

[bctt tweet=”The missing part of the equation when we face dark days is the power of the Holy Spirit.” username=”michaelkduff”]

Faith Sustaines Us

Hebrews 3:15b …I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

So many people asked how we were getting through such a trial. My answer is, “I don’t know how. I just know that through Him we did.”

There were so many times that week that we sensed His presence, His strength and His love in a very sustaining way.

Faith Comforts Us

John 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;

Faith for us that week, faith meant celebrating life rather than mourning death.

In both services I shared the thought that, “Something is not lost when you know where it is.” The Apostle Paul taught us that for a Christian, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. These special women were both women of faith. We take comfort in knowing where they are.

Satan wants us to consider death to be a loss. But Christ wants us to consider death to be a victory as He welcomes our loved one’s home.

I Corinthians 15:54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

Today, Rachel Duff and Betty Butzer are laughing at the thing mankind fears most. They are laughing at death. The reason they can do so is because they had faith!

If you were to leave this earth today, would your loved ones have the same confidence about where you are?

If you would like to learn more about the faith of these women, visit my page, God and You!

May 28, 2016

Battling An Enemy

Have you ever faced an enemy that regardless of how hard you fight; you never seem able to defeat?

SC2 (1 of 1) Our receptionist named him Zacchaeus, the little bird that comes to the office every day to face a mortal enemy – his own reflection in the window.

This little guy’s entire day is spent puffing up, pecking and throwing himself at the window. Each night he retreats, but only to prepare for tomorrow’s battle!

No matter what little Zacchaeus does, he just can’t seem to vanquish his opponent.

Like Zacchaeus, we too face an enemy who challenges us every day. Our enemy stares back at us from the mirror as we arise each day and begin the battle anew.

Three things to expect from our enemy:

Our Enemy Is Relentless

There will never be a day that the enemy in the mirror does not want something that God has forbidden.

It might desire the reflection of another who is fighting a similar battle. It might desire the possessions or position of another. The desires of the enemy are endless in number.

God warned us this battle was coming.

Exodus 20:17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.

The fight is on and the enemy in the mirror will be relentless to get what it wants!

[bctt tweet=”There will never be a day that the enemy in the mirror does not want something that God has forbidden.” username=”michaelkduff”]

Our Enemy Is Untiring

One of the saddest parts of watching Zacchaeus do battle with his enemy every day, is when he slumps to the ground in total exhaustion from the battle.

The longer we battle with the enemy in the mirror, the more exhausted we will become in the fight. The hard part is that we are fighting an opponent who never seems to grow weary.

Regardless of how long the battle rages, our enemy never seems to tire of seeking to fulfill its desires. This is a 24/7 fight that strips us of our rest, our peace and our health.

As long as we are bound in this sinful flesh and fallen world, the enemy in the mirror will never cease to be pecking back at us, trying to get us to serve its sinful desires.

Our Enemy In Is Insatiable

The enemy in the mirror only wants one thing – MORE!

It does not matter how much, or how little we give, there will never be a point that our enemy will be satisfied. The reflection in the mirror will always want more.

One more step toward sin, one more sinful act, one more step away from God and His Word, one more…

Just one more, that’s all that is needed, until the next time we look in the mirror and face the same enemy. Each victory makes our opponent bolder and stronger. We will never be able to quench its desire.

So how do we break the cycle?

The only way we can silence the enemy in the mirror is to change the reflection of what we see.

mm3 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

As we become more and more Christlike, the desires of the one reflected in the mirror will begin to change. There will still be a battle each day, but as Christ works in us, the desires will begin to change.

The desire for more sin will be replaced with a desire for more righteousness, more godliness, more purity, and even more Christlikeness.

The more we become like Christ, the less we will want what the enemy wants. Our desire will change as we serve God rather than self.

The enemy in the mirror will always be lurking there, but we can alter its reflection.

Begin the change today. Write down three things that the enemy in the mirror wants from you right now.

For each item, find a biblical principle that addresses that sinful desire.

Then go read your response to the enemy in the mirror!