I have good news for you. As a Christian, you have nothing to fear. As a Christian, you have nothing to worry about. As a Christian, you never have to wonder if you can overcome a problem. As a Christian, you never have to worry about defeat. Why? Because Jesus has already conquered anything that can come against you. Let me explain.

When Jesus was here on earth, He came with a purpose. Second Corinthians 5:18-21 says, "Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."

This may sound complicated, but simply put, here's what it's talking about. In the beginning, God created man and placed him here on earth. He gave him authority over all the earth. Adam was in complete control. He named and ruled over the animals. Everything was subject to him. He had authority over everything on planet earth. All man had to do to keep this authority was to be obedient to God's commands.

Satan is a deceiver. He is shrewd and cunning. He can take a lie and make it look like truth. And that is just what he did in the Garden of Eden. He convinced Adam and Eve that a lie was the truth. When they acted on the lie, they were driven from the garden and lost their authority. Satan had legally taken the authority from man and separated man from God. But, God had a plan.

God sent His Son, Jesus, here to earth to reconcile man and God. Jesus came to take back the authority Satan had taken from man.

First John 3:8 says, "For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil."

When Jesus died, Satan probably thought he had defeated God. But, when Jesus was raised from the dead, He took the authority on earth away from Satan. The Bible says that Jesus made a public display of the devil. Jesus defeated Satan, once and for all.

Jesus made a way for us to be reconciled to God. When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we become reconciled to God. But that's not all. As a Christian, we do not have to live lives of defeat. We have been given authority over the devil, all the forces of darkness, and every name that is named on earth.

We have been given authority over sickness, disease, poverty, stress, and every evil thing that can come against us. As a Christian, we have access to that power.

Just before Jesus ascended into heaven, He said, "And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."

Jesus would never command us to do these things without giving us the power and authority to accomplish the command.

Devotion 0161