DAILY DEVO... remove the stinger

Have you ever been stung by a bee?

If you have, then you know that the fist thing you must do is remove the stinger. As much as it hurts, that little thing must be removed or it could be deadly.

Most likely, if you have been stung in the past, you probably avoid bees altogether to avoid being stung again.

Isn't that exactly what we do when we get stung by "people"? Those who have hurt us, or talked about us, or disrespected us, or made us angry we avoid them as much as possible because we haven't taken the time to remove the "stinger".

Just like a bee sting, it hurts at first but when we pull the stinger out, it begins to feel less painful.

Don't let the sting of unforgiveness, anger, pride, malice, and division keep you from being around the "bees" in your life.

Hebrews 10:21 says to "come near God with a sincere heart and a sure faith because we have been made free from a guilty conscience."

Don't let the bees of life kill your spirit, draw close to God and watch Him take away the sting.

LACED WITH GRACE...Superman strength and power

TODAY I have shared the following devotion with the readers of LACED WITH GRACE. Please go to www.lacedwithgrace.com to read other great devotions.

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I haven't always been interested in the whole super hero thing, but when my boys were young, they all, at one time, tied a cape around their neck and would jump off of the couch pretending to be the next super hero with some great super powers. Sometimes it was Aqua man or Spiderman or Batman but the one that got the most attention would always be Superman! Superman was the greatest and the strongest.

He was the strongest hero until somehow the enemy would strip him of his source of strength. Superman's powers were dependent upon his ability to absorb solar energy in his cells, which he would obtain from stars like the earth's sun. He had a Kryptonian body that was like a solar battery that absorbed solar energy and then converted it into fuel for his strength and power. As long as he had the source of the sun, he was strong. But like anything, in all of the Superman's movies and comics, there was always that one dark side that was out to get him, that one that was always trying to figure out how to cut Superman's solar energy and bring him to the dark side

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We as Christians must realize that we are much like Superman.

None of us have any strength or power without the Son. The Son, which is Jesus Christ, is our source and as long as we are plugged into the source, we will be strong and mighty against the enemy. But just like the enemies of Superman, there is a greater enemy that is out to kill, steal and destroy us. An enemy that will stoop at nothing to get us to come to the dark side.

I always hated the part of the Superman movies where his powers were diminished, but yet, he still tried to run, he still tried to fly, he still tried fight. However, without his strength, he was at a disadvantage. No matter how hard he tried, without the solar energy to recharge him, the bad guys always ended up on top. It is so easy to be brave and strong when you have the home field advantage (when you are strong) but what happens when the tables get turned and you find yourself weak and unsteady in enemy territory?

When I think about the tempter, I remember how cunning and sharp he was towards Jesus. I can hardly imagine what it must have been like for the all knowing, all powerful God of the universe to come to earth to become a human and have to listen to the taunting and ridicule of Lucifer, himself. If Jesus had to listen to it and endure it, what makes us think we will be spared?

We will not be. Listen to what C.S. Lewis says in his book Mere Christianity:

"Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is ...We never find out the strength of the evil impulse inside us until we try to fight it: and Christ, because He was the only man who never yielded to temptation, is also the only man who knows to the full what temptation means-the only complete realist."

No doubt, Jesus greatest triumph was His death and resurrection, but every day He lived, He too had to overcome the temptations of this earth. This is why so often in the Bible we read that Jesus was praying. At the final hour that the tempter would come, Jesus even asked others to pray with Him. The source of His strength was found in God and even Jesus knew that He must be filled with the strength and power of the Holy Spirit in order to face what was to come.

You and I, my friend, must be re-energized in the power of the Son "for what is to come" or the enemy will easily overtake our strength. Superman had to go to the mountain to get closer to his source, the sun. Jesus went up to the mountain to pray to get closer to His source, the power of God. You and I must find our mountain and tap into it before all of our strength and power is useless and easily taken.

"Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where He prayed." -Mark 1:35

Today, I'm headed to the mountain to pray. My family, my church, my everything is counting on me to have superman strength, so I need to get closer to the Son! How about you...when is the last time you went to the mountain?