There’s one battle in life where you want to claim victory. And that’s the battle against temptation. It’s a tough one to win, often impossible on your own.

We’re faced with temptation every day. Some come and go like the fly I’m swatting right now as I write. Then there are other temptations that seem to plague us for years, maybe our entire lives. We have weak spots that are exploited by the enemy of our souls, or by our own “fleshly desires,” as the Bible describes them. No matter where temptation comes from, it pulls us in the wrong direction.

Thank God for his encouraging guarantee. We'll center in on it today.

KEY PASSAGE:

1 Corinthians 10:12-14

"So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry"

RESOURCES:

Download the 21-DAY FRESH FAITH EXPERIENCE at www.retreatingwithgod.org.

Visit FRESH FAITH 24/7, a place where you can retreat with God and get to know him more deeply: www.freshfaith247.com.

Jesus sent his Holy Spirit so he could reside in every believer. It’s beautiful. It’s amazing.

Do you realize the implications of God living in you? Above all, it means that the loving Father, Lord of the Universe — Almighty God — has taken up residence in you.

You’ve got power, strength, might. It’s God’s power. And it’s unlimited, because he is an unlimited God. This power was given to you to live for Christ and to bring glory to him.

Today, we retreat into one of Paul's most inspiring statements -- and see how we can make it our own. We'll center on four words that jump out and drive home the truth of the Holy Spirit living in you.

KEY PASSAGE:

Galatians 2:20

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me"

RESOURCES:

Download the 21-DAY FRESH FAITH EXPERIENCE at www.retreatingwithgod.org.

Visit FRESH FAITH 24/7, a place where you can retreat with God and get to know him more deeply: www.freshfaith247.com.

Life rains down on us, and sometimes we just need to run for shelter. I felt that way in today's story that I share.

There are assuring words for you when life is raining down. Philippians 4 is our focus as we start the week and a new theme: Encouragement.

Key Passage: "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:4-7).

RESOURCES:

Download the 21-DAY FRESH FAITH EXPERIENCE at www.retreatingwithgod.org.

Visit FRESH FAITH 24/7, a place where you can retreat with God and get to know him more deeply: www.freshfaith247.com.

“Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh king of Egypt” (Genesis 41:46 NIV).

This one line in Scripture describes a pinnacle for an extraordinarily courageous man of God. Let’s venture back more than a decade when Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery. He was betrayed and deserted by his own family. What a lonely, frightening and hopeless situation.

Yet, God had big plans for this young man, even when bound by the constraints of captivity. We can learn a lot from Joseph when it comes to compromising our relationship with God. We'll do that in today's audio devotional.

KEY PASSAGE:

Genesis 39:1-10

Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there.

The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did, Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the Lord blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph.

The blessing of the Lord was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field. So Potiphar left everything he had in Joseph’s care; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.
Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “Come to bed with me!”

But he refused. “With me in charge,” he told her, “my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her.

RESOURCES:

Download the 21-DAY FRESH FAITH EXPERIENCE at www.retreatingwithgod.org.

Visit FRESH FAITH 24/7, a place where you can retreat with God and get to know him more deeply: www.freshfaith247.com.

I blew it big-time. And it took me two days to see God’s purposes in it. Let me set the table for you . . . literally. My wife and I were having a pleasant lunch with friends we hadn’t seen in years. Great conversation, delicious Mexican food, excellent service. Did I mention excellent service? More than excellent is what our waiter must have thought after we left.

I gallantly took the check (with an elbow from my wife) and treated our six guests. In the parking lot afterwards, everyone was all smiles as we wished each other “Sayonara!” The shock came several days later. Listen today and I'll share the rest of the story in our audio devotional.

KEY PASSAGE:

Romans 8:29-34

For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.

RESOURCES:

Download the 21-DAY FRESH FAITH EXPERIENCE at www.retreatingwithgod.org.

Visit FRESH FAITH 24/7, a place where you can retreat with God and get to know him more deeply: www.freshfaith247.com.

COURAGE... our theme this week as we start the Retreating with God podcast. We can learn a lot from Daniel:

Daniel had a target on his back. He was challenged by a group of jealous cohorts for worshiping the God of Israel. These cunning colleagues wanted to trap Daniel, so they had a new law created stating that only the king could be worshiped.

Daniel courageously worshiped God no matter what the cost, boldly pushing back against the world. It nearly cost him his life. Let's explore more in today's audio devotional.

KEY PASSAGE:

Daniel 6:10-23

Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. Then these men went as a group and found Daniel praying and asking God for help. So they went to the king and spoke to him about his royal decree: “Did you not publish a decree that during the next thirty days anyone who prays to any god or human being except to you, Your Majesty, would be thrown into the lions’ den?”

The king answered, “The decree stands—in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.”

Then they said to the king, “Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, Your Majesty, or to the decree you put in writing. He still prays three times a day.” When the king heard this, he was greatly distressed; he was determined to rescue Daniel and made every effort until sundown to save him.

Then the men went as a group to King Darius and said to him, “Remember, Your Majesty, that according to the law of the Medes and Persians no decree or edict that the king issues can be changed.”

So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions’ den. The king said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!”

A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the rings of his nobles, so that Daniel’s situation might not be changed. Then the king returned to his palace and spent the night without eating and without any entertainment being brought to him. And he could not sleep.

At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lions’ den. When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?”

Daniel answered, “May the king live forever! My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, Your Majesty.”

The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.

RESOURCES:

Download the 21 Day Fresh Faith Experience at www.retreatingwithgod.org.

Visit FRESH FAITH 24/7, a place where you can retreat with God and get to know him more deeply.

Something remarkable happened just before Jesus breathed his last breath saying these words, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” (Luke 23:46 ESV).

The passage tells us that the curtain of the temple was torn in two. One simple sentence, yet it was a dividing line in human history. Let's discover what it means to us today in our audio devotional.

KEY PASSAGE:

Psalm 139:1-12 (NIV)—a wonderful passage about God’s presence with us.

You have searched me, Lord,

and you know me.

You know when I sit and when I rise;

you perceive my thoughts from afar.

You discern my going out and my lying down;

you are familiar with all my ways.

Before a word is on my tongue

you, Lord, know it completely.

You hem me in behind and before,

and you lay your hand upon me.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,

too lofty for me to attain.

Where can I go from your Spirit?

Where can I flee from your presence?

If I go up to the heavens, you are there;

if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

If I rise on the wings of the dawn,

if I settle on the far side of the sea,

even there your hand will guide me,

your right hand will hold me fast.

If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me

and the light become night around me,”

even the darkness will not be dark to you;

the night will shine like the day,

for darkness is as light to you.

RESOURCES:

--> Take the Free PERSONAL SELF-ASSESSMENT. It only takes 3 minutes. Download it at www.retreatingwithgod.org

Visit FRESH FAITH 24/7, a place where you can retreat with God and get to know him more deeply: www.freshfaith247.com.

Connect with Jon at jon@freshfaith247.com

The Word of God is nourishment for our soul. God’s Holy Spirit takes this book and miraculously gives us his insights, his strength and his life. It’s not just literature, but as we studied recently on Retreating with God, “The word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12 ESV)

Something special happens when we internalize God’s Word. Let's discover that in our time together today.

KEY PASSAGE:

2 Timothy 3:14-17 (NIV)

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

RESOURCES:

--> Take the Free PERSONAL SELF-ASSESSMENT. It only takes 3 minutes. Download it at www.retreatingwithgod.org

Visit FRESH FAITH 24/7, a place where you can retreat with God and get to know him more deeply: www.freshfaith247.com.

Connect with Jon at jon@freshfaith247.com