LOSING YOUR IMAGINATION

Jude 20-25
20 Dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. 21 Keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. 22 Be merciful to those who doubt; 23 snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear--hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh. 24 To Him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy-- 25 to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power, and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.

Philosopher Blaise Pascal (1623-62) said, "The greatest single distinguishing feature of the power of God is that our imagination gets lost when thinking about it." During intense times of temptation inside and outside the faith community, we need to let our imaginations get lost as we think about the power of God.

According to Jude 24, God gives a powerful guarantee to the Jesus-follower as his or her soul journeys on planet Earth.
He guarantees His unfailing power to live the full life. There is no outside force that can snatch us from God's hands (John 10:28; Romans 8:38-39).

Why is this true? Because there is no one greater than the Father and no one greater than the Son. Hell and its forces and fury, demons and darkness are not powerful enough to remove us from the loving care of God. This power is very practical. It keeps us from stumbling under the great weight of temptation.

There are times when we're weak and feel like giving up. But His power upholds and sustains us when we stumble (Psalm 37:24). Sometimes we fall, not once, but again and again.

Guess what? Even when we fall many times, His power is able to get us back on our feet to continue our journey (Proverbs 24:16). When we're weak, God's power will actually keep us from falling into sin by not letting the temptation become too great, and by providing a way out so we won't give in (1 Corinthians 10:13).

You don't know what to do? Well, don't fear, because His power will help you do as you should (Romans 14:4). Pascal is right--our imagination gets lost when thinking about the power of God.

So, as we journey into intense times of temptations and face the dark forces of the flesh, the world, and the devil, let's lose ourselves in His power. --Marvin Williams

DESTINATION POINTS

* When was the last time I lost myself in the power of God?
* How strongly do I believe that God's power can keep me from stumbling?
* How will I depend more on God's power and less on my own to live out my faith?

LINKS:
How Do I Resist Temptation?
http://www.christianitytoday.com/cl/ 2001/003/15.10.html

Run For Your Life!
http://www.christianitytoday.com/cl/8c1/8c1034.html

bottom line: His power is beyond our imagination.

soul journey