ICS Daily Devotions
A New Beginning

We have peace with God because of Jesus’ death and His blood has appeased the wrath of God towards our sin. He is our mediator in Heaven because He has made peace between God and us. Jesus is also our advocate in heaven as Satan accuses us day and night in the presence of God. Nobody is able to bring a charge against us because God who is the highest authority in heaven has justified us. Jesus has made us righteous in God’s eyes and we are accepted in the beloved.

These truths are the shield of faith that will quench the fiery darts/arrows of the devil. Therefore, we need to constantly remind ourselves that we do not have an adversary in God, but it is the works of the devil that kill, steal and destroy.

Ephesians 6:16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.

We are made aware of the existence of the devil and his works. Therefore, we need to be alert and be ready to lift up the shield of faith when the fiery arrows are shot at us to create tribulations or crises. When a flaming arrow from the enemy hits its target – our emotions are thrown into rage, anger, anxiety, unbelief and worry. It will be deadly if it hits us without the shield of faith in front of us to take the hit.

One of the greatest struggles of mankind is to obtain the acceptance of God in our lives because of the sin that separates us. A man of character will not yield nor crumble to curse God in the midst of a crisis because he has a strong foundation established in the truth that God loves us with an unconditional love.

Hebrews 10:17-18 then He adds, “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin.

In the Old Testament, the sin of man was covered by the shed blood of the animal sacrifices but there was a yearly reminder. However, God remembers our sins and lawless deeds NO MORE in the New Testament because of the complete and thorough work of redemption by the blood of Jesus Christ! We do not have a PAST in the eyes and the record book of God because all the sins and lawless deeds have been cleansed by the blood!

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

We begin on a clean sheet in the eyes of God the moment we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. Our names are written in the Book of Life and we have been transferred from spiritual death to eternal life with God now. It doesn’t matter what kind of past we had because all things have become new. The newness of life includes being a child of God and we have the imputed righteousness in us.

Sermon Series: Job and I