Day 23: The Believer’s Power

Have you ever really thought about the power available to you in Jesus Christ?

Today, I felt anxious.

Nothing seemed to go as planned. I had a speaking engagement tonight, and I didn’t feel I had adequate time to prepare.

Well, guess what? I did what I could, and God did the rest. He showed up, and everything went fine. It was better than fine.

However, I focused on that and the needs of my family today. Now it is 9:40 PM, and I haven’t written a blog post for breaking up with food!

I will repeat the above question.

Have you ever really thought about the power available to you in Jesus Christ?

Studied it, meditated on it, looked up the Scriptures on it?

I will leave you with a passage in 2 translations and the breakdown below of what the Scriptures are really saying here.

“You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.” Colossians 2:13-15(NLT)

“When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. 1When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.” Colossians 2:13-15 (NASB)

You were dead (in your sin)
Now made alive with Christ (in forgiveness of sins)
Cancelled certificate of debt/charges – wiped away literally.
And took it away/took it out of the midst (kill, destroy, or bear)
Nailed certificate of debt to the cross.
Disarmed spiritual rulers and authorities, disarmed means “to despoil a rival” (to strip of belongings, possessions, or value)
Made a public display of them/shamed them publicly
With victory on the cross

Maybe we’ll talk more about that another time!

Bible Reading: Part of Mark 8, and all of Mark 9 into Mark 10
Prayer Cards Prayed: Check
Food Tracked: Check
Activity: Check
Daily Reading: Check
Worship in Song: Check
Choosing to Trust: Check

Day 11: Breaking Up with Food

This post contains affiliate links. Read the policy here.

Today began with an early walk, for which I am grateful. I am also grateful I have not developed a headache today after several days of pain. I was able to record tomorrow’s “Coffee with Brenna” talking about what’s the real issue – what’s really going on in our hearts? I’ll come back and share the link when it posts tomorrow.

The last few days have been more challenging in terms of staying on track with my food. I will share at some point more about the checklist, including some details about what my eating looks like. I remember when I first read Made to Crave: Satisfying Your Deepest Desire with God, Not Food by Lysa TerKeurst that I searched the internet to find out her food plan – as if a specific food plan would solve all my problems! I prayed so many times, God, show me how to eat so I feel satisfied! Well, since we’ve determined this is a heart issue and not a food issue, what exactly I eat doesn’t fix my heart, but having a plan does help.

And don’t worry! I’m keeping a list of things I said I would come back to. I really will; I promise!

Today, I read this in Jude:

“But you, dear friends, must build up your lives ever more strongly upon the foundation of our holy faith, learning to pray in the power and strength of the Holy Spirit.” Jude 20

This is something that intrigues and fascinates me. I have been thinking about and studying the power that is available to believers since last year when I did a study on the word “power” in the Gospels. I don’t know if I was just drawn to dive deeper after reading through all the Gospels, or if deep down, I was feeling so defeated by this struggle with food, I wanted to read what God’s Word says about the believer’s access to power.

I know by reading Scripture that “feeling defeated” is just that – a feeling. According to Scripture, defeat is not my reality. I may not yet be walking in the fullness of this promise of victory, but it is still a promise, as evidenced in the following verses:

“You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.” Colossians 2:13-15

Satan has not only been disarmed, but he has been publicly shamed by Jesus’s victory on the cross.

Today, I build my life upon my faith in what Jesus Christ has done (not how I feel or what I might have accomplished) as I learn to pray in the strength and power of the Holy Spirit in me.

Bible Reading: Jude
Prayer Cards Prayed: Check
Food Tracked: Check
Activity: Check
Daily Reading: Check
Worship in Song: Check
Choosing to Trust: Check