March 9, 2010
The Title Deed
Sharon Jaynes
Today's Truth
"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see" (Hebrews 11:1 NIV).
Friend To Friend
Hebrews 11:1 gives us a wonderful definition of faith: "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." The NIV Bible Commentary says, "It is that trust in God that enables believers to press on steadfastly whatever the future holds for them. They know they can rely on God." Neil Anderson, in his book, The Common Made Holy said faith is the "avenue through which God invades our lives."
In the Greek, the original language of the New Testament, the word faith is pistis, which means assurance, belief, believe, faith, fidelity. So when we say that we believe God, we are saying that we have faith in God.
Another Bible translation of Hebrews 11:1 notes, "Now faith is the assurance (the confirmation, the title-deed) of things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality--faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses" (Amplified).
I love the idea of a "title-deed." That means when Satan comes snooping around and accusing us of being anything less than what God has declared, we need to show him the title deed, the Word of God, to prove him a liar. We have been bought with a price and stamped with the official seal - the Holy Spirit.
When we built our home, we were blessed with a big backyard that served as playground, shaded flower garden, and gazebo refuge for many years. Our neighborhood's border was about 150 feet from our backdoor. We didn't have a fence along the border … didn't think we needed one.
The Smiths (not their real name) had lived in their home about fourteen years before we came along. Previously, Mrs. Smith had cleared and used about a third of our lot as her own. She had planted a nice ivy bed, hung flower baskets under the trees, and even had a sitting area under a big oak tree. When we bought the property, Mrs. Smith was furious that we were encroaching on her annex. But in truth, the land was not hers. The surveyors marked out the property line before we bought the lot, and even though our back boundary ran smack down the middle of her driveway, we didn't insist that they move it.
But over the following five years, the boundary line grew a bit fuzzy for Mrs. Smith. Gradually, she began to inch her way back into our yard, acting as though it were her own. At first, it was trimming the bushes along the back border, and then it was pulling up and thinning the ivy some ten feet within our yard. But when we drove up and saw her on a ladder trimming the lower branches off our trees, we knew it had to stop.
"Mrs. Smith," Steve said, "What are you doing?"
"I'm trimming the trees," she said.
"We don't want our trees trimmed," Steve said.
"Well, they need trimming." Then the dam broke loose and the deluge of hatred held back over five years burst forth.
"You didn't plant that ivy! You didn't plant those bushes! You didn't plant these trees!" she yelled. "I planted them and I can trim them if I want to."
"No, you can't," Steve calmly replied. "This isn't your yard. You can't come over here and act like it is."
"You're just selfish," she continued to rant. "What about ‘love your neighbor as yourself!'" (She did not attend church, but knew this verse well.)
Honestly, Steve and I were exasperated after seven years of a battle that continued to escalate. Finally, we did what we should have done in the first place. We put up a fence.
See, in Mrs. Smith's mind, she would not accept the fact that the property was not hers. She had used it for so long, and had even called a lawyer to try to claim squatter's rights like in the Old West. It was not hers … it never had been. She was actually breaking the law.
Why do I tell you this story? Because there is someone who would like to come into your territory and pretend that it is his. Before you knew Jesus Christ, Satan used you and pretended that you were all his. He planted thoughts in your mind, sinful acts in your will, and insecurities in your emotions. But God came along and chose you to be His prized possession … His personal property. He paid a very high price for you when He gave His only Son. And honestly, Satan was not and is not happy about that; as-a-matter-of-fact, he is furious.
Satan knows where the boundary line around your heart lies, but just like Mrs. Smith, he will attempt to creep back into your yard. He plants a little thought here, a little temptation there, and the next thing you know he's standing on a ladder trimming your trees! Well, maybe not your trees, but he's lopping off areas of growth in your life and whacking at anything within his reach. He might even throw out a few Bible verses taken out of context.
So what do you do when you see the enemy creeping back onto your conquered and purchased territory? What do you do if he tries to claim squatter's rights? You show him the title deed.
"Right here, Satan," you shout. "Right here in the Word of God it says that I have been bought with a price! I am no longer your property! I am God's! You have no right messing in my yard or in my life. You get out of here this instant! See that fence? That is there to keep you out. The Bible says that my boundary lines have fallen in pleasant places and they don't include you in my territory (Psalm 16:6). Jesus owns the title deed to my heart and you have no right messing with me! You got that? Now get out of here in Jesus' name!"
Let's Pray
Dear God, I feel all pumped up right now. I'm not going to let Satan take back any of the territory in my life that You have already purchased! The title deed is signed with Jesus' blood and sealed with the Holy Spirit's imprint. I'm Yours!
In Jesus' powerful Name,
Amen and Amen.
Now It's Your Turn
Are there any parts of your life where you have let the enemy creep back in? Here are some areas to consider: bad TV or movie viewing, bad language, impure thoughts, overeating, negative attitudes, overspending, lack of faith, worry over circumstances, neglecting your marriage, confused priorities…
I'm not going to ask us to ponder anything else today. I think that is enough. Ask God to reveal any area that you need to take back.
More From The Girlfriends
Today's devotion was taken from Becoming Spiritually Beautiful: Seeing Yourself from God's Perspective. If you would like to learn more about who you are in Christ, what you have in Christ, and where you are in Christ, this is the book for you! To learn more, read an excerpt, or watch an interview, just click on the link.
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Originally published Tuesday, 09 March 2010.
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