Daily Devotion with Pastor Tong Liu: Today's Passage

2 Corinthians 13:1-4

...since you are demanding proof that Christ is speaking through me. He is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful among you. For to be sure, he was crucified in weakness, yet he lives by God's power. Likewise, we are weak in him, yet by God's power we will live with him to serve you.

"Because Christ is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful among you." Paul was encouraging the Christians not to be discouraged although they live in a sinful fallen world. Many Christians continue to struggle with their daily lives and live under bondage although they know the freedom they have in Christ. Just like Paul said in Romans 7:24, "What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?" Some people think there is no hope, so why fight and why seek? There are also those who know that they were wrong and they are weak, but refuse to change. Brothers and sisters, are you living in such a situation?

Paul said, "Christ is not weak in dealing with you." A Christian's life is not one that is helpless, rather it is filled with power. Because Jesus became weak for us, died on the cross for our sins, and was resurrected by God's mighty power, this living Savior now dwells inside us through the Holy Spirit. Romans 8:11 says, " And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you."

No matter what kind of obstacle we face in the physical realm, we have the resurrection power within us to overcome it. However, we continue to live in the bondage of the enemy. The most important reason is because we do not allow the power within us to flow out. We need to allow the Holy Spirit to move freely in our lives, so that He can bring peace, joy and by faith declare that the works of the enemy are cancelled. The Bible says, "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." A victorious Christian life does not come by naturally. You have to pay the price of resisting the devil. What kind of strongholds do you have in your life? Ask the Lord to strengthen us, so that we may take back the territory that once belonged to God, and submit it to Christ Jesus.

Pray with Pastor Tong

Lord, I thank you because you are the victorious one. You dwell in us through the Holy Spirit and gave us the power of victory in the name of Jesus, to overcome the strongholds in our lives. Remove the spirit of disappointment and give strength to our hands and feet so that we may stand up for the Lord. I thank you and pray in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!

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