Except the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; except the Lord keeps the city, the watchman wakes but in vain.

— Psalm 127:1 (AMPC)

If we want to succeed at what we do, it is vital that we invite God to be in charge of the project. Whether we are trying to build a marriage, a business, or a life, our labor will be in vain unless God is the head of the building committee.

Think about your life today and ask yourself if you are trying to do things that you have not invited God to be part of. If so, I can assure you that you are struggling and probably frustrated because things are not working out well. God is waiting to be invited to help you, and all you need to do is ask Him. Humble yourself under His hand, and He will guide and direct you.

Prayer of the Day: Father, I am sorry for leaving You out of so many things in my life. I recognize that I need You and that nothing will prosper without You. Please help me, guide me, and direct me in all my efforts. Thank You. In Jesus’ name, amen.

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Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

— 2 Corinthians 5:17 (ESV)

Recycling is something that has developed over the past several decades and is now a big business. We are all encouraged to put certain types of trash in special trash containers for recycling. It is good to take used and even damaged things and create something new from them. We may think this is a modern idea, but God has been doing it as long as time has existed.

There is nothing about you or your past that God cannot restore and make something new out of. He actually uses those people that the world views as completely without value and throws away. Look forward to your future and never think it is too late for you to have a good life.

Prayer of the Day: Thank You, Lord, for being a good recycler and for restoring everything in my life that is damaged. You make all things new!

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For as in one physical body we have many parts…and all of these parts do not have the same function or use, so we, numerous as we are, are one body in Christ (the Messiah) and individually, we are parts one of another [mutually dependent on one another].

— Romans 12:4-5 (AMPC)

Today’s verses teach us about the diversity of gifts given to individuals. We are all parts of one body in Christ, and He is the Head. In the physical realm, all body parts must relate to the head if everything is to be in good working order. The various parts of the physical body work together; they are not jealous or competitive. The hands help the feet put their shoes on. The feet take the body wherever it needs to go. The mouth does the talking for the rest of the body. There are many parts to the body; they don’t all have the same function, but they all work together for one combined purpose. The spiritual body of Christ should work the same way. That is why the Holy Spirit used the example of the physical body when He inspired Paul to write the book of Romans.

When we attempt to function in any way other than the way God has created and assigned us to function, we end up with pressure in our lives. But when we do what God has designed us to do, we experience joy, satisfaction, and great reward. We need to work with the Holy Spirit to discover what our unique, customized destiny is, and then do everything we can do to fulfill it. When God has gifted or enabled you to do something, you will be good at it, so find something you are good at and start doing it.

Prayer of the Day: Father, I know we are all different, but help me always to realize that we are one body in Christ, Your Son. Guide me to embrace and make the most of Your gifts, so that I can help facilitate peace, harmony, purpose, and joy—not only in my own life, but in the lives of others, amen.

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I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.

— Psalm 139:14 (ESV)

Do you ever stop and think about how unique and special you are? When our soul is wounded, we don’t always feel special. Sometimes we feel very bad about ourselves, and we feel unloved or unlovable. But everyone God creates is “fearfully and wonderfully made,” and He loves each of us more than we can comprehend.

Just like the stars in the sky, every one of us is different. We are all born with different personalities, different likes, and dislikes, different gifts and abilities, different physical features—even different fingerprints! Each of us has a special part to play in God’s overall plan.

A lot of people have suffered wounds in their soul. The pain has some similarities, such as feelings of disappointment, rejection, or hopelessness, but people handle it differently. Some try to bury their pain, pretending that the situations that caused it never happened. Some express it in unhealthy ways, such as addictions or excessive behaviors. And some people have learned to deal with it in healthy ways.

People choose to handle their pain differently, and God chooses to heal our pain differently. One person’s journey to healing will not be like anyone else’s journey. Each is unique. When God begins to heal us, we cannot assume He will do it the same way He healed someone else, but we can always be sure He will do it in the way that is best for us. All we need to do is discover how He is leading us and follow Him down that path.

God chooses to heal some people in the context of a Bible study or small group from church. He chooses to heal others in more private settings, maybe by spending time with a pastor or Christian counselor. Some people find healing in nature. Others find it in creating art or sculpture. No matter what your journey to healing looks like, I can assure you of two things.

First, your journey will be designed by God just for you. In His deep knowledge and love for you, He will lead you in a way that is right for you.

Second, your journey will be based on His Word. He may lead you to study a specific book of the Bible, such as Ephesians or John. He may lead you to study certain portions of Scripture, such as Psalms or Proverbs. Or He may impress on your heart that you should study Bible verses on specific topics that will help you heal, topics such as receiving God’s love, trusting God, forgiving others, finding peace, finding joy, or many other subjects. I encourage you to pray and ask God to reveal the unique journey He has for you. Follow Him wholeheartedly, and great things will happen!

Prayer of the Day: Father God, I come to You in the name of Jesus, and ask You to guide me on my unique journey to healing. Let Your Word, Father, illuminate my path, and strengthen my trust in Your perfect plan for my life, amen.

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He who observes the wind [and waits for all conditions to be favorable] will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap.

— Ecclesiastes 11:4 (AMPC)

When the Lord asks His people to do something, there is a temptation to wait for a convenient season (Acts 24:25 KJV). There is always the tendency to hold back until it won’t be so difficult. The problem is that in order to accomplish something for God, you have to be willing to leave your comfort zone and take on new responsibility.

God expects you to do something that will produce good fruit. If you do not use the gifts and talents that He has given you, then you are not being responsible over what He has entrusted to you. You need to be a person who is unafraid of responsibility and change. It is in times of challenge that you build your strength. If you only do what is easy, you will always remain weak and ineffective. The time to move forward is now!

Prayer of the Day: Father, please give me the strength to leave my comfort zone and embrace responsibility. Help me to bear good fruit for You and to move forward without fear, amen.

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Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you [uncompromisingly] righteous…shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

— Psalm 32:11 (AMPC)

People from all walks of life have bouts with discouragement and despair. There are many underlying causes for despair and a variety of treatments offered to deal with it. Some are effective, but many offer only a temporary solution. The good news is that Jesus can heal us and deliver us from discouragement. He can restore our lives to one of joy and peace.

If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, the joy of the Lord is already inside you. Even when you don’t seem to feel joyful, you can tap into that joy and release it by faith. You can experience what is yours as a result of your faith in Jesus Christ. It is God’s will for you to experience joy!

I had problems with discouragement and despair myself a long time ago. But thank God, I learned I didn’t have to allow negative feelings to rule me. I learned how to release the joy of the Lord in my life! When discouragement comes, don’t accept and agree with it, but encourage yourself by looking at God’s promises and letting them fill you with hope. No matter what you have gone through in life or are going through now, being discouraged won’t change it. No matter what you have lost, you still have a lot left. Stop living in the past and ask God to show you the future He has planned for you!

Prayer of the Day: Father, I come to You today in the name of Jesus and ask You to help me overcome my discouragement. Renew my joy, show me the road to the future You have prepared for me and help me to tap into Your joy, amen.

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This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live.

— Deuteronomy 30:19 (NIV)

As you learn to manage your emotions more effectively so you can be stable in an unstable world, it’s important to realize that no one is born knowing how to manage their emotions, but we can learn to do it. Making healthy, godly decisions when we feel like doing something else is vital to enjoying a victorious life. For years, I simply did what I felt like doing, and it got me into a lot of trouble. But God has taught me how to follow His Word instead of following my emotions. I don’t always succeed, but I have learned a lot about this and will continue learning all of my life.

People respond to emotions in various ways. Some ignore, deny, or suppress their feelings. Others respond physically—by overeating, drinking, exercising excessively, or substance abuse (whether that’s sugar, caffeine, prescription medications, or mood-altering drugs). Still others withdraw when emotions are intense, while others run to their friends or to social media to process how they feel. And there are some who go on cleaning sprees, and others take shopping trips. The list goes on. Perhaps you’ve experienced one or more of these unhealthy responses. If so, today is the day you can begin to handle your emotions in positive ways instead of negative ones.

In today’s scripture, God tells His people to “choose life.” This means to make decisions that lead to peace, joy, and stability. We learn how to make these decisions as we study His Word, and we find peace, joy, and stability as we obey it.

Prayer of the Day: Thank You, God, for Your Word and for the ways it teaches me to choose life. Help me to obey it in every area of my life for as long as I live.

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And they shall know [from personal experience] that I am the Lord their God, Who brought them forth out of the land of Egypt that I might dwell among them; I am the Lord their God.

— Exodus 29:46 (AMPC)

Consider your life. Are there situations you now handle well that would have previously made you feel fearful and anxious? Of course, there are. As you have been walking with God, He has been strengthening you through experience and hardening you to difficulties.

In the same way, I can also assure you and encourage you that some of the things bothering you right now will not affect you the same way in the future. We often struggle when we do certain things for the first time. But after gaining some experience, that struggle is no longer present. We must press through the feelings, gain some experience leaning on God, and never allow circumstances to control us.

Prayer of the Day: Lord, I can’t do this without You. Please give me Your strength to get through the challenges in my life and guide my reactions to face whatever lies ahead with Your grace, amen.

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 …I have raised you up for this very purpose of displaying My power in [dealing with] you, so that My name may be proclaimed the whole world over.

— Romans 9:17 (AMPC)

If you want victory over something, prepare yourself to work at it. But it is not a matter of depending on yourself or winning at life through your own determination. God gives us grace to do good works. But grace doesn’t mean that our human flesh gets a free ride while we just lie down and go to sleep.

You are made for good works, to be a servant of righteousness. You are built to take responsibility, and God will help you accomplish all He gives you to do. He set you free from the bondage of sin so that you can conform to His divine will in thought, purpose, and action (see Romans 6:18). Victory is achieved through God’s grace, but you must choose to trust Him every step of the way.

Prayer of the Day: Lord, please give me the desire to do good works, through faith. I trust in Your grace and not my own power or strength. Please guide me in righteousness and line up my actions with Your divine will, amen.

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Then Jesus was led (guided) by the [Holy] Spirit into the wilderness (desert) to be tempted (tested and tried) by the devil. And He went without food for forty days and forty nights, and later He was hungry.

— Matthew 4:1-2 (AMPC)

After Jesus had gone through a 40-day fast, Satan approached Him with three tempting offers. The devil came to Jesus when he was weak and hungry. It’s natural to assume that the Lord was physically weakened after being without nourishment for such an extended period of time, so, of course, the devil’s first offer involved food. If You are God’s Son, command these stones to be made [loaves of] bread (Matthew 4:3 AMPC).

Later Jesus performed several miracles that included food, such as changing a boy’s lunch into enough fish and bread to feed five thousand people and, at another time, to feed four thousand. All of Jesus’ miracles were for the good of others. He never performed miracles for Himself or to satisfy any need of His own. That’s one major lesson we learn from His temptation.

The devil then took Jesus to a mountaintop and showed Him the nations of the earth. He said, in effect, “You can have it all in exchange for one slight, easily excusable act. Worship me—just once—and You can have it all.” I can even imagine the devil saying, “It’s all right; God will understand. You’re so weak right now.”

It was as if Satan said, “You’re going to rule it all anyway. This is just a shortcut.” He implied that through one simple act of worship, Jesus could avoid the rejection, the suffering, and even the horrifying death on the cross. And either way, He would achieve the same goal.

As attractive as the offer may have sounded, Jesus turned it down. He recognized the deliberately crafted lie, and Jesus never hesitated. The world would be won for God, but it would be won by the way of sacrifice and obedience. The way of the cross would be Jesus’ pathway to victory.

Again, Jesus teaches us that His is not the easy way. Instead, we must take the right way. Whenever the devil tries to convince us there is an easier way—one that will make life better for us—we know we don’t want to listen.

As we read the story, the choice seems obvious. But suppose you had been in that wilderness for forty days and nights without food and water. Suppose you had faced such great temptations. Suppose the devil had whispered in your ear, “Just this one time and no one will know.”

This is one of the enemy’s most subtle lies. Not only does he tempt you to give in and to receive the things you’d like to have, but he also makes it sound simple and easy: “Just do this one thing, and it’s all yours.”

God never works that way. He wants you to have the best and only the best, but it has to come in the right way.

At the end of the temptation accounts, Matthew inserts a powerful statement. With each temptation, Jesus won because he relied on the Word of God for His strength. And the devil couldn’t fight the Word. Finally, Matthew records, Then the devil departed from Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him (Matthew 4:11 AMPC).

The wisdom to be gleaned from this experience is powerful. Even after you’ve been battered and tempted, God doesn’t leave you. He remains with you to comfort you, to minister to your needs, and to encourage you. Never forget that He is as close to you as the mention of His name. He will never leave you nor forsake you.

Prayer of the Day: Lord Jesus, thank You for winning the victory over the devil. Thank You for not listening to Satan and for standing on the Word of God in the midst of every temptation. Lord, in Your name, I pray for the wisdom and the strength to defeat the same enemy when he tempts me, amen.

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Praise the Lord, all you nations; extol him, all you peoples. For great is his love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.

— Psalm 117:1-2 (NIV)

Psalm 117 consists of only two verses, and we read similar words throughout Psalms. I have come to believe that any time God’s Word says certain things repeatedly, they are important, and we need to pay close attention to them.

We enter God’s gates with thanksgiving and come into His courts with praise (see Psalm 100:4), so I believe thanksgiving and praise should always precede our requests. I can’t ask God for something if I am not even in His presence, so I begin my morning prayer times with praise and thanksgiving. I pray in other ways throughout the day without doing that because I am not making a law out of it, but I do believe that our day should be filled with thanksgiving and praise, as well as prayers for ourselves and others.

Scripture says many times that God loves us and that His love is great and endures forever, and I believe we should also tell Him that we love Him throughout the day. I don’t think we can say this too often. I never tire of hearing my husband tell me that he loves me, and I never tire of hearing God tell me that He loves me. I seriously doubt that He gets tired of hearing us tell Him we love Him.

Tell God today that He is good, that you appreciate all He does for you, that you love Him, and that you are relying on Him to help you in all you do.

Prayer of the Day: Father, I am thankful for You, and I praise You for all Your mighty works. I love You and I need You. You are good and You are faithful. I put my trust in You, amen.

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Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. Then he said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard him say it.

— Mark 11:13-14 (NIV)

One of the Bible stories that can be confusing to people is the story of the fig tree. They wonder why Jesus cursed it to the point that it withered and dried up. I think the reason is simple: It wasn’t doing what God designed it to do. Because it had leaves, it should have had fruit too.

The day after Jesus cursed the tree, He and His disciples passed it again, and the disciples were shocked to see that it had died. Seeing their shock, Jesus told them, Have faith in God (Mark 11:22 NIV). He then went on in Mark 11:23–24 to talk about the sheer power of faith.

Fill your mind today with thoughts of faith and confidence in God, not with thoughts of doubting Him, questioning Him, or wondering if He means what He says.

Believe God’s Word and keep believing it until you see Him fulfill His promises.

Prayer of the Day: Father, may I never be surprised when what You say actually happens. May I live looking for You to move and expecting You to do what You say You will do. In Jesus’ name, amen.

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Enlarge the place of your tent, and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out; spare not; lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes.

— Isaiah 54:2 (AMPC)

God’s Word teaches us that He can do much more than what we can dream, imagine, or think (Ephesians 3:20), so why not think big? Surely, we don’t believe that God wants us to live narrow lives with barely enough to get by in life. He is a big God and wants to provide more than enough of all that we need.

Always be content with what God is providing, but at the same time, think big about your future. God wants to use you in a big way, bless you in a big way, and help you in a big way! Don’t let your own small thinking keep you trapped in a little life.

Prayer of the Day: Father, thank You for reminding me to think big! Let me think Your thoughts and dream Your dreams.

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[So] they summoned them and imperatively instructed them not to converse in any way or teach at all in or about the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied to them, Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you and obey you rather than God, you must decide (judge). But we [ourselves] cannot help telling what we have seen and heard.

— Acts 4:18–20 (AMPC)

What is your boat? Is it a boat of passivity and indecision? Is there something crying out in you, “I wish I had a life…had some friends…could lose some weight…could have some fun…could get out of debt. I want to be free!” Well, get up and get out of the boat. Get going. Stop whining and moaning about it. You are the only one who can do anything about it. Take responsibility for your life.

You can pray until you’re blue in the face for God to make it happen miraculously, but what if God is saying you have to confront it yourself and deal with it yourself? Are you too afraid to do it? Perhaps you feel that if you make no decisions, you can’t be wrong. And if you make no decisions, you think you have no responsibility. But you have to stay in the boat and take the consequences.

Prayer of the Day: Lord, I hate being lulled into passivity and staying trapped when You are calling me to action. With Your help, I will take responsibility for my life today and start turning my wishes into reality, amen.

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How can you say to your brother, “Let me take the speck out of your eye,” when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?

— Matthew 7:4 (NIV)

Everyone we meet has flaws and weaknesses, but everyone has good qualities too.

Today’s scripture encourages us not to criticize other people’s imperfections without first looking at our own weaknesses. If we concentrate on the areas in which we need to improve ourselves, we probably won’t have time to judge other people for their flaws.

When we think about ways we need to grow and change, we need to do it in a healthy way. Some people are overly concerned about their weaknesses, to the point that they become obsessed with fixing them. For example, some people feel they are overweight and become obsessed with losing weight to the point that they develop eating disorders. Some people face criticism or even punishment for talking too much, so they reach a point that they become excessively quiet and withdrawn. When I mention strengthening ourselves in our areas of weakness, I am not talking about going to extremes, but about making changes as the Holy Spirit leads us, and He always leads us in ways that are healthy and balanced. Is there an area of your life in which you need to be changed and strengthened? Ask God to help you today.

Prayer of the Day: Father, help me to appropriately assess my weaknesses, not so I can obsess over them, but so I can become stronger in those areas as You lead me. In Jesus’ name, amen.

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Tremble, earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob.

— Psalm 114:7 (NIV)

God is great and mighty, and we should tremble in His presence not because we are afraid of Him, but in reverence and awe, realizing how powerful He is. When I am invited to go to a church to minister the Word of God, I have a reverential fear of the pastor, and I want to be respectful. I do what I am asked to do and stick to the time frame I am given. I know the pastor has the power to either invite me back or never ask me again. Having a reverential fear of God means that we obey Him and want to please Him because we know that He has the power to bless our lives or to remove blessings if He so chooses.

It seems to me that few Christians have, or even understand, the fear of the Lord. The Bible says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10 NIV). It also speaks of perfecting holiness in the fear of God (2 Corinthians 7:1 NASB). God has called us to live holy lives, but we can’t do so without the reverential fear of Him.

God is great, and He wants to show His greatness in your life, but it’s important to remember to ask Him to do so. As James 4:2 says, You do not have because you do not ask God. Go to God’s throne boldly and ask Him for more than you think is possible, remembering that all things are possible with Him (Matthew 19:26 NIV).

Prayer of the Day: Father, thank You for all You have done in my life. I ask You to do great things, and I also ask that You help me increase in holy living and teach me to reverently fear You.

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That is why I would remind you to stir up (rekindle the embers of, fan the flame of, and keep burning) the [gracious] gift of God…For God did not give us a spirit of timidity…but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind….

— 2 Timothy 1:6–7 (AMPC)

On difficult days it is helpful to be reminded to persevere in order to fulfill the call of God on our lives. On those days when you feel like giving up, just remember that God has given you the power to hold on!

In the scripture for today we learn that Timothy was a young minister who simply felt like giving up. The fire that had once burned within him was beginning to grow cold. The Church in those days was experiencing a great deal of persecution, and Timothy had some fears. Perhaps he felt worn out and that everything was crashing down upon him. He had reached a place where he needed to be encouraged to stir himself up in faith.

Paul was basically saying, “Timothy, you may feel like quitting, but I am reminding you of the call on your life. Remember the power of the Holy Spirit that changed your life. He gives you a spirit of power, love, discipline, and self-control.” Paul encouraged Timothy to be stable.

If we have stability, we do what is right even when it is difficult and does not feel good. Be encouraged today that you can do whatever you need to do. In Christ, you’ve got what it takes!

Prayer of the Day: Father, help me hold on and not give up when things get tough! In Jesus’ name, amen.

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Recalling unceasingly before our God and Father your work energized by faith and service motivated by love and unwavering hope in [the return of] our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah).

— 1 Thessalonians 1:3 (AMPC)

God’s Word encourages us to have an active faith, and by doing so we shut the door to laziness, procrastination, and passivity. You are more powerful than you may realize. God has given you free will, and that means you can decide to act on, think, and speak what is right, and nothing can stop you.

It takes time to train yourself to think, speak, and act positively, and you may not succeed every day. If you realize you have failed, don’t waste time being discouraged; just pick up where you left off and begin again. Be kind to yourself because beating yourself up for every mistake is just the result of another negative thought that needs to be eliminated.

When you decide to act in favor of God’s ways, He always joins forces with you for assured victory.

Prayer of the Day: Father, help me to walk in active faith to overcome any and all failures. In Jesus’ name, amen.

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May Christ through your faith [actually] dwell (settle down, abide, make His permanent home) in your hearts….

— Ephesians 3:17 (AMPC)

If you want victory over something, prepare yourself to work at it and for it. But it is not a matter of depending on yourself or winning at life through your own determination. God gives us grace to do good works. But grace doesn’t mean that our human flesh gets a free ride while we just lie down and go to sleep.

You are made for good works, to be a servant of righteousness. You are built to take responsibility, and God will help you accomplish all He gives you to do. He set you free from the bondage of sin so that you can conform to His divine will in thought, purpose, and action (see Romans 6:18).

Victory in life—and winning your unique battles—is achieved through God’s grace, but you have to choose to trust Him every step of the way.

Prayer of the Day: Father, I choose to trust You in everything I do…but I will need Your help in this, just like everything in life. In Jesus’ name, amen.

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 …What I have forgiven…has been for your sakes…to keep Satan from getting the advantage over us; for we are not ignorant of his wiles and intentions.

— 2 Corinthians 2:10-11 (AMPC)

Suppose we receive a package from an overnight carrier. After we open it, we stare at a beautiful, oversized envelope, with our name written on it in exquisite calligraphy. Inside, the invitation starts with these words: You are invited to enjoy a life filled with misery, worry, and, confusion.

Which one of us would say yes to such an outrageous invitation? Don’t we seek the kind of life that keeps us free from such pain and distractions? Yet many of us choose such a life. Not that we blatantly make that choice, but we sometimes surrender even temporarily to Satan’s invitation. His attack is ongoing and relentless—the devil is persistent! Our enemy bombards our minds with every weapon at his disposal every day of our lives.

We are engaged in a warfare that rages and never stops. We can put on the whole armor of God, halt the evil one’s advances, and stand fast on the Word of God, but we won’t put a complete end to the war. As long as we are alive, our minds remain Satan’s battlefield. Most of our problems are rooted in thinking patterns that produce the problems we experience. This is where Satan triumphs—he offers wrong thinking to all of us. This isn’t a new trick devised for our generation; he began his deceptive ways in the Garden of Eden. The serpent asked the woman, …Can it really be that God has said, You shall not eat from every tree of the garden? (Genesis 3:1 AMPC). That was the first attack on the human mind. Eve could have rebuked the tempter; instead, she told him God would let them eat from the trees, but not from one particular tree. They couldn’t even touch that tree, because if they did, they would die.

But the serpent said to the woman, You shall not surely die, for God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing the difference between good and evil and blessing and calamity (Genesis 3:4-5 AMPC). This was the first attack, and it resulted in Satan’s first victory What we often miss about temptation and the battle our enemy levels against us is that it comes to us deceptively. Suppose he had said to the woman, “Eat of the fruit. You’ll bring misery, anger, hatred, bloodshed, poverty, and injustice into the world.”

Eve would have recoiled and run away. He tricked her because he lied and told her what would appeal to her.

Satan promised, You will be like God. You’ll know good and evil . What a marvelous appeal to the woman. He wasn’t tempting Eve to do something bad—or at least he phrased it in such a way that what she heard sounded good.

That’s always the appeal of sin or satanic enticement. The temptation is not to do evil or to cause harm or bring injustice. The lure is that we will gain something.

Satan’s temptation worked on Eve. And when the woman saw that the tree was good (suitable, pleasant) for food and that it was delightful to look at, and a tree to be desired in order to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she gave some also to her husband, and he ate (Genesis 3:6 AMPC).

Eve lost the first battle for the mind, and we have continued to fight for it since that time. But because we have the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives, we can win our battle for the mind—and our battles in life—and we can keep on winning.

Prayer of the Day: Father God, help me resist the onslaughts of Satan, who attacks my mind and makes evil seem good. I ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

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