July 12 - Fear God

"We have been rescued from our enemies so we can serve God without fear, in holiness and righteousness for as long as we live." Luke 1:74-75 We are in daily battles with 3 enemies: 1. The World 2. The Flesh 3. The Devil (Ephesians 2:1-3) All three are formidable, but in an eternal sense, you have already been rescued from all of them. While we walk the earth though, battles with all three will continue. These can weigh you down, set you on the wrong track, and disable you with fear. In Luke, he mentions Zechariah's prophecy about the coming messiah who descended from the royal line of David, just as God promised (Luke 1:69-70) While Zechariah looked forward to the coming Messiah, we look backward, knowing He has already arrived. Our salvation has been secured. But for now, we must live out our salvation. We can't fear persecution or even death for Christ's sake. We must instead, fear God. Serve Him faithfully in the spheres of influence where He has placed you, being confident that His work will continue, no matter what His enemies do. The enemy will prevail in battles. It will probably seem like a higher percentage than you think. Evil is everywhere. But we must remember the war has already been won.