Bridgedale Baptist Church in Metairie

11/30/2022

11/30/2022

Valuing What You Have in Christ

To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Colossians 1:27
My dear reader, the more you grow in your revelation and valuation of how Jesus’ finished work has placed you in Him—in the secret place where you are safe, protected, and secure—the more you’ll find your heart at rest instead of filled with worry and fears. Something powerful happens in your heart and in your outward circumstances when you begin to value being in Christ, in the secret place of the Father’s care, protection, and love.

Let me give you an illustration of what it means to value something. Suppose I brought you an old, dusty violin with two missing strings and I said to you, “Isn’t this beautiful?” Your reaction would probably be, “That’s not beautiful; that’s old and worthless.” But if I told you it’s an original Stradivarius that used to belong to a world-famous violinist, all of a sudden, your appreciation of this dusty, old violin would swell and you’d ask if you could hold it. What happened? Your appreciation of the violin changed when you understood its true value.

In the same way, I want to encourage you to value the preciousness of what it means to be in Christ—being in the secret place of inseparable closeness with Him, where we have His loving presence constantly with us, watching over us and protecting us. I strongly encourage you to keep hearing anointed preaching that keeps revealing who you are and what you have in Christ. Keep hearing grace-based teachings on God’s promises to protect you, as well as praise reports of God’s grace and protection over His people. Why? Because as you do, you’ll begin to value being in the secret place more and more. As you do, you’ll find your heart and mind more and more at rest in Him. You’ll wake up every morning confident of His tender care, protection, and preservation. You’ll live life full of hope and zest instead of worry and fear, and see Him deliver and protect you from whatever the enemy may throw at you!

11/30/2022

We Are in This World but Not of This World

Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence.

Psalm 91:3
Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler. Not “maybe” or “sometimes,” but an unqualified “surely.” Not a conditional “He might” but a definitive “He shall.” What blessed assurance we have that our God will deliver us from the snare of the fowler!

The Bible depicts the devil as a fowler. A fowler is a professional bird catcher. He lays traps and carefully conceals them so that he can ambush unsuspecting birds. The Bible also depicts the devil as a thief and murderer who comes to steal, kill, and destroy (see John 10:10).

What we need to understand is that the world we live in is a fallen world. Adam committed high treason and gave the keys of this world to the devil. Because of what Adam did, the devil is the ruler of this world. The apostle Paul calls him “the prince of the power of the air” (Eph. 2:2). That is why as long as the devil is still the ruler of this world, the world will continue to get darker and darker and there will continue to be accidents, sicknesses, calamities, tragedies, and deaths.

But we can rejoice in the knowledge that the devil’s lease on this world is quickly running out. Apostle Paul also tells us that our Lord Jesus is coming back and all His enemies will be humbled or put under His feet, with death as the last enemy to be destroyed (see 1 Cor. 15:26).

In the meantime, we will see the world getting darker and darker. But as believers, we do not need to live in fear. Our trust is in our Lord Jesus. We are in this world, but we are not of this world (see John 17:16). There is a very real and active fowler that is setting up snares. Even as I write this book, I’m reading and hearing reports of bombs going off, shootings, a commercial airplane crashing upon landing, and viral outbreaks in different parts of the world.

In the natural, this can be extremely disheartening. But don’t forget that we have a Savior who is even more real, and He has promised to deliver us from the snare of the fowler and from perilous pestilences (dangerous diseases and viruses). The bottom-line is, we need to realize how much we need our Savior and His protection daily. We need to involve the Lord Jesus in our lives every day. Only He can deliver us and keep us safe!

11/30/2022

Abundance of joy – Prayer for November 30. Jesus promised us abundance of joy. When? Where? For whom? Can we really imagine that? No, but we can guess it. And of course we can read about it in the Bible.

11/30/2022

Abundance of Joy Prayer for Today
Thank you God, that you have sent us your Son to give us life. Lord, you gave us a promise of eternal life, a gift of Salvation. Lord, we thank you for sending the Holy Spirit, who guides us and reveals wisdom. We thank you for the eternal inheritance you have given us and that one day, we can enjoy the beauty of your Kingdom and your presence forever. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

11/30/2022

Bible Verse for Today
“You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.” (Psalm 16:11)

11/30/2022

There is no misfortune in Heaven, no sadness, no worries, no sorrow, no pain, no end of pleasures. In short, in Heaven everything is absolutely perfect and that lasts forever.
If you live according the Word of God, put yourself into the path of God’s grace, and accept Jesus as your Savior and Lord, then you are on the right way to Heaven. Reflect what Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” (John 10:11)
We all dream about the eternal joy, which is the fullness in God’s face. God lives in Heaven and Heaven is real home for true believers in Jesus who lives according the Word of God. “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.” (Philippians 3:20-21)
We live in anticipation of heavenly life, but this doesn’t mean that we should live in sadness now. Jesus gives us life and he gives us a promise of rich abundance. The devil is a thief who wants to steal, slaughter and destroy our joy of life: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10)
Jesus says we should pray that God’s will be done here on earth, but that does not mean that we should sit sadly alone and hungry. When Jesus exclaimed, “It is finished” it means that Jesus redeemed us.
Devil and death have no more power over us longer. Jesus overcame all of this for us once and for all. “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33).
Make yourself aware today of the glorious spiritual identity Jesus has acquired for you. God wants you to be healthy, full of joy, helpful to other people, and a committed ambassador to his Kingdom.

11/29/2022

Believe Right, Live Right

“As you have believed, so let it be done for you.”

Matthew 8:13
Whether you are aware of it or not, what you believe affects how you live your life. What you believe determines how you think, how you perceive a situation, and, ultimately, what course of action you take.

I’ve said this time and time again, and time and time again, I’ve also seen this principle borne out in people’s lives: Right believing always produces right living. This means that if you want to see right living in your life, you need to understand the importance of believing right. When you believe right, you can’t help but live right.

You see, people are struggling to control their behaviors and actions because they don’t have control over their emotions and feelings. They don’t have control over their emotions and feelings because they don’t have control over their thoughts. And they don’t have control over their thoughts because they are not controlling what they believe.

The converse is true. When you begin to believe right about God and in His love for you, you begin to change the way you see yourself and your situation. You’ll stop feeling hopeless. You’ll begin to lose your fears. And you’ll respond differently to negative people and situations.

This is why God wants you anchored in the powerful truths of His Word to believe in His love for you. Your heavenly Father wants you to believe that He is for you and not against you. He wants you to know and believe that He is on your side, rooting for your success and propelling you toward your breakthrough with His love and tender mercies. He wants you to open your eyes to see what He sees when He looks at you—His beloved child.

My friend, I encourage you to take time to meditate on the truths in each of these daily readings. I believe that as you do, you’ll see old defeatist thinking habits falling away. You’ll find the most stubborn of addictions supernaturally annihilated. And you’ll find a confident expectation of good for your future and destiny in Christ strengthening your heart and creating amazing days ahead for you!