DAILY MEDITATIONS AND AFFIRMATIONS - 249

[Albert Finch]

Genesis 3:1 - "Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?"

When we succumb to guilt and shame, we give in to the single oldest temptation in the Bible - the temptation to question our identity and God's identity.

The very first temptation in the Bible was not to partake of forbidden fruit, but to question what God had said. The serpent said, "Has God indeed said, ' You shall not eat of every tree of the garden?" Once he got them to doubt God's integrity and identity, it was easy to lure them into foolish actions.

In the same way, before the devil tempted Jesus with anything else, he tried to pry Him away from His identity: "If You are the Son of God...." (Matthew 4:6). He wanted Jesus to doubt His identity.

So what is the devil's strategy with us today?

Affirmations:

I AM A NEW CREATURE IN CHRIST.

I AM THE RIGHTEOUS OF GOD IN CHRIST JESUS.

I HAVE THE MIND OF CHRIST.

I HAVE BEEN GIVEN THE MINISTRY OF RECONCILIATION.

I AM AN AMBASSADOR FOR CHRIST.

I AM IN CHRIST JESUS.

Romans 5:3,4 - "And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope."

Jesus did not come to deliver us from our problems, but from ourselves. He did not come to change our circumstances - He came to change us.

"Others mocking said, 'these men are full of new wine.'" - Acts 2:13

"New wine" - a new order, new inspiration, new manifestation, a new creation. It is God's mind to fill us with that wine, to make us ready to burst forth with new rivers, fresh energy, no tired feeling.

What shall we do?

Believe -- stretch out -- press on -- let there be a new entering in -- a new passion to have it. We must drink deeply of the new wine, that multitudes may be satisfied and find satisfaction too.

ALBERT FINCH MINISTRY
http://afministry.ning.com/