Zebra Ministries

Good morning Zebras,

I had another dream last night, but this one I remember.  There were three of us and we were working together to try a kill a very bad man.  I had him cornered and I could have won but I started goofing around trying to show him how much stronger I was.  I woke up right after he attacked.

Immediately, I felt God say: “Don’t mess with Satan.”

Jesus never messed around with Satan.  Read His temptations in the desert and you will see He didn’t get into a discussion, He just quoted Scripture.  (Matthew 4:1-11) And when Peter got off track He didn’t mess around He called him out:

Matthew 16:23 But (Jesus) turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

One-way Satan gets in is when we see another believer doing something we want to do.  If they are doing it successfully it is because God is doing it through them.  And if it is something from God, something just for them, then it can’t be copied.

Acts 19:11–16 And God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were carried away to the sick, and their diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them. Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists undertook to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.” Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this. But the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?” And the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.

Paul was given a special gift.  It could not be copied because it was from God.  And all of us have special gifts that have been given to us by God that are supposed to be used to build up the body.

Ephesians 4:11–16 And He gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.  Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

When you look to God to tell you what you should be doing, your work will be blessed.  But when you look at others and think “I wish I could do that.” you have started toying with Satan.

Peter wasn’t Paul and Paul wasn’t David and neither one of them was Abraham, but they were all great men of God.  I’m not you and you’re not me and neither one of us is Beth Moore, but all of us can be great women of God if we keep our eyes focused on Him, refuse to let jealously and envy in, do not think of ourselves “more highly than you ought, but rather think of ourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given us”. (Romans 12:3) and work with our whole heart, mind and soul on the task God has laid before us.

I love you Zebras, so much. Enjoy your day using the gifts God has given you to strengthen the church and reach the lost. 

Love,

Jill