Daily Devotionals - Wired to Win

Michael Vowell

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Scripture

1 John 5:18 NET

We know that everyone fathered by God does not sin, but God protects the one he has fathered, and the evil one cannot touch him.

Heart Thoughts

I knew a lady one time that told me, “Rabbi Michael, I am battling with all my might against the devil but I just feel like for every step forward I take then I take three steps back.” I told her, “I don’t think you have a ‘devil’ problem, I think you have an identity crises.” This lady was trying to operate out of her might, out of the volume of her prayers and the intensity of her prayers. The enemy was baiting her into a battle and gaining the upper-hand.

Here is the point: the God-begotten are also the God-protected. You may not realize it but when you were born-again of the Spirit, God put a new set of desires inside of you and the mark of His spiritual DNA in you. Your desire is no longer to live in addiction but freedom from addiction, no longer to walk in darkness but to live in light, no longer to live estranged to God but to be alive to God. That is why those who are God-begotten do not make a practice of sin.

Even more, He has put the mark of His spiritual DNA in you. You ever hear believers saying things like, “I am trying to overcome the enemy?” Or, “I am struggling to get victory?” Those phrases should not even be named amongst the God-begotten. You were born again to to win against the devil because the spiritual DNA of the Most High God is inside of you and the enemy cannot touch you.

You don’t have to shout or scream to overcome sin or defeat the devil. No, rather, you just have to declare, “I’am God-begotten and God-protected I will not be taken by sin nor touched by the devil.” You are wired to win against sin and against the devil.

Bracha

May the Fatherhood of God become your greatest confidence. May your soul be filled with trust and assurance that you are God-begotten and God protected. May you boldly declare today that sin will no longer dominate your heart and the devil will not be able to touch you.

For the Feed

Day 2

Scripture

2 Corinthians 5:17 TLV

Therefore if anyone is in Messiah, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

Heart Thoughts

As I sit here and write this devotional I am watching my children play with other children from their dance team. One of the wonderful things about watching children is how everything is new to them. Everything is filled with awe and wonder. But what is also amazing about children is how easy it is for them let each other off the hook and give each other a fresh new start.

Have you ever met someone who is always saying, “It just runs in my family?” Or they say things like, “If I would have just been born in a different neighborhood, gone to a different school?” Or, “I come from a family with addition it just runs in the blood?” Or, “I just have failed to many times in the past to be a success right now?”

Here is what these people are missing, that the Messiah has already let them off the hook. The Messiah does not hold you to an old standard but gives you a fresh and brand new radical new starting line.

Rabbi Paul is drawing this radical teaching in about the new creation from the promise of Israel’s future redemption from exile, which recalls the exodus from Egypt, reads: “Do not remember the former things, and do not consider the old things. Look, I am doing new things which will now spring up, and you will know them. And I will make a road in the desert and rivers in the dry land.” Rabbi Paul identifies these “new things” with the new fresh start that the Messiah gives you.

Now it is your turn. Let go of the old things. The past sins. The past mistakes. The past that held you back and start declaring that new things are coming. That new things are going to spring up in your life. Even miraculous things like rivers in the dry land and roads in the desert.

This in the context of Israel’s future redemption from exile, which recalls the exodus from Egypt, reads: “Do not remember the former things, and do not consider the old things (ta archaia). Look (idou), I am doing new things (kaina) which will now spring up, and you will know them. And I will make a road in the desert and rivers in the dry land.” This ot text plays a major role in the nt (cf. O. Betz). Paul identifies these “new things” with the redemptive work of Jesus Christ in the world. In the process, he recalls the “old (palaia) covenant” and the “new (kainē) covenant” mentioned in , , which is also understood in the traditional context of the second exodus redemption.

Bracha

May the Lord God of Israel who made God promises through prophet Isaiah and Rabbi Paul encourage your heart today. May you have the courage and strength to let go of the old and hold on firmly to the new. May the Lord cause unheard of new things to sprout up in your life today.

For the Feed

Rabbi Paul is drawing this radical teaching about the new creation from the promise of Israel’s future redemption from exile, which recalls the exodus from Egypt, reads: “Do not remember the former things, and do not consider the old things. Look, I am doing new things which will now spring up, and you will know them. And I will make a road in the desert and rivers in the dry land.” Rabbi Paul identifies these “new things” with the new fresh start that the Messiah gives you.

Day 3

Scripture

John 10:10 TLV

The thief comes only to steal, slaughter, and destroy. I have come that they might have life, and have it abundantly!

Heart Thoughts

When you trusted in Yeshua you were born-again to win. Yeshua said in , “I came to give life and life abundantly.” Let me Geek out just for a second. That phrase, “life abundantly” comes from one Greek word perissos and it means simply, “whatever goes beyond the normal, the expected amount.” In other words, it would be like taking your child to Baskin Robins to get ice-cream and they look at you and say, “Can I have one scoop or two scoops of ice-cream dad? And you say, “I did not bring you here to give you just one scoop or two scoops, I brought you here to give you all the ice-cream in the store with all the toppings you could ever imagine. Have as much as you want, as often as you want. I am giving you ice-cream in abundance.” That is the super-abundant life Yeshua promises to all who trust in Him.

However, many people only see one side of the abundant life. That is the eternal side. And the eternal side is amazing! It is a gift of indescribable proportions. Yet, we did not just get born-again to get heaven only but also to experience abundant life here on earth. When I was in at Dallas Theological Seminary working on Master of Theology one of my professors pointed out that religion always focuses on eternity and atheism always focuses on reality but the Gospel says that if you have been born again then you have abundant life in eternity and in reality, right now.

Bracha

May the Lord God of Israel’s hope fill you with His abundant life. May you experience the joy of knowing the abundant life of eternal life and the abundant life He offers right now. May your cup truly run over with blessing from now until forever.

For the Feed

Day 4

Holy Scriptures: Tree of Life Version Chapter 9

When Saul arrived in Jerusalem, he made attempts to join up with the disciples—but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple

Heart Thoughts

Don’t let the past shepherd your heart, let the present work of the Messiah guide you in the present. There is no doubt the guys in Jerusalem had real reason to have concern about Saul. Saul said of himself in

Acts 22:4–5 TLV

I persecuted this Way to the death, arresting both men and women and throwing them in prisons— as the kohen gadol and all the council of elders can testify about me. I also received letters from them to the brothers, and I went to Damascus to bring back to Jerusalem even those who were there in chains—to be punished.

The believers in Jerusalem had a hard time believing he too was a disciple. They probably believed he was faking the whole thing to get the upper-hand and then at the right moment he would strike. They were shepherding in what they knew of his past but Saul, aka Paul, would have to prevail because of the work the Messiah had just done within inside of him. Unfortunately, this story reminds us that even the best among can fail to have faith that the worst among us can be born-again, can change from the inside out.

There will be times when the people who knew who you once were will not quickly accept who God has made you now to be. Don’t let them shepherd in the old you. You must continually confess and demonstrate that you are a new creation in the Messiah Yeshua. When I was born-again just before my 21st birthday, my family and especially my friends could only see the old me until I stood positively on the new me. It was not until they saw the new creation me, the born-again me in action and in various situations that they knew I was not the same person anymore.

A. David’s family could only see him as used to be and not what God had made him to be.

B. Even the early apostles struggles to see Paul as God made him to be and they could only see him as he used to be.

C. You have to stand up to the shepherds of the old you and declare to them that you are a new creation with a new shepherd of your soul.

1. Illustration: My friends and even my family could only see the old me until I stood positively on the new me.

Here is the point. I would not let other people, even the best of my family and friends, shepherd in my past. I confessed that used to be me but that is not me any longer. I would declare that I am a new creation, I am not a slave to addiction, this was not a passing fad but an eternal transformation, that I was no longer a victim but a victor for the Messiah. Over time, just like with Saul, those closest to me embraced the new creation God made me to be and stopped shepherding in the old memories, old failures, old sinful ways; but rather, began to celebrate God’s work inside of me.

3. You can be that for your children, you can be that for your grandchildren. You can break the curse of the past but declaring right now in the present, “I am a new creation, I am God-begotten and God-protected.”

Bracha

May the Lord God of Israel give you faith, hope and love as you encounter people who try to shepherd in the old you. May God strengthen your resolve to live out of your new born-again spirit, may He open wide the eyes of your heart to see just how much He believes in you and wants you succeed and to win.

For the Feed

4. You can be the end of negative things that have been passed down. It may not have started with you but it will stop with you. On the other hand, you can also be the start of positive things to be passed down. Say to the

Day 5

a. Poverty, no more

b. Addiction, I am an overcomer.

Acts 9:27 The Message

Then Barnabas took him under his wing. He introduced him to the apostles and stood up for him, told them how Saul had seen and spoken to the Master on the Damascus Road and how in Damascus itself he had laid his life on the line with his bold preaching in Jesus’ name.

c. Divorce, not in my family.

Heart Thoughts

Find yourself a mentor or someone you respect that believes in you as much as God does. There is nothing more powerful than having someone you respect take you under their wings and having them open doors for you, stand up for you and vouch for what God is doing on the inside of you.

d. Depression, be gone.

You need the right people in your life to remind you that you are born-again to win. I would not be serving as Beth Messiah’s senior rabbi if Rabbi Freeman did not see God’s handiwork on the inside of me. When I met him, I was defeated, discouraged, doubting and ready to leave ministry. I was walking away from who God created me to be and called me to do. Rabbi Freeman looked at me and said, “That is not who you are. You are called. You are anointed. You are a captain. You are a leader. I believe in you. I believe in God’s work in you.” He opened up doors for me with people and organizations. He took me under his wings and introduced me to people I had only seen from a distance.

e. Begin to say: Joy your welcome here, Romance fills my life, Blessings are in my future, Today I choose life, Today I crucify the old and let loose the new creation that God has made me to be.

I believe God has Barnabas or a Rabbi Freeman for you. God has a person out there that is ready to take you under their wings and encourage you, motivate you and give you access that you never dreamed of before. At just the right time, God will bring this person across your path to encourage you to strong in all that God has been doing on the inside of you.

Bracha

May the Lord God of Israel create a divine appointment for you today. May He bring the right person in your life that can encourage, motivate and open doors for you.

For the Feed

Find yourself a mentor or someone you respect that believes in you as much as God does. There is nothing more powerful than having someone you respect take you under their wings, open doors for you, stand up for you and vouch for what God is doing on the inside of you.

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