Jesus reigns!!

Woah, so much has happened recently!! Its been really easy to see where both myself and my church have been under massive attack from the enemy recently. But the devil is a liar, and it makes me so excited when I look back at the last few weeks and realise that I (and the church) can say, just like Job - that whatever happens, "I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth" (Job 19:25).

Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: "Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death". (Revelation 12:10-11)

I love that bit, where it says they overcame the lies of the enemy by the blood of the lamb and the word of their testimony. When we stand on the truth that is Jesus and proclaim that the enemy has no place, he flees. There's a verse in James that says "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you".

I had been really struggling for a while with a situation I'm facing which I can see no solution to; I know God is all-powerful and that He has got everything sorted, but often I look at things and see a hopeless situation which not even God can sort. How wrong I was!! Last Monday, inspired by the verse in Philippians which urges us to present our requests to God by "prayer and petition", I decided to petition God for a miracle which would bring hope to the situation by the end of the week...not a finished article or a complete answer to the situation, just something that I would know to be from God that would set my mind at rest. I prayed for this every day during the week; part of me wanted to lose confidence as the week progressed and I didn't see any miracles on the horizon, yet part of me knew that Gods promises are promises! At the last possible minute, I had a text from a friend (unaware of the situation) with a verse that had come to her whilst she'd been praying for me...

"For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will." (Romans 8:24-27). Patience is a virtue!!

So I've been going about my business with a fresh reminder that God is in control. Other passages that have stuck out to me recently in different situations (which need not be mentioned!) have been these...

And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well. (Mark 16:17-18)

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. If you make the Most High your dwelling—even the LORD, who is my refuge - then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent. You will tread upon the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent. (Psalm 91:1, 9-10,13)

I have this picture on my bedroom wall. It's an awesome reminder that Christ is reigning over everything. I would love to go to Rio de Janeiro one day just to see that figure of Christ looming over the city in all its splendour; the way it overlooks the office blocks, the high rise hotels, and the slums. Does Jesus reign over your entire being - the rich parts and the slums?