Dana Duke on LinkedIn: Monday, August 12, 2024 Powered by the Holy Spirit “Don’t be drunk with… (2025)

August 18, 2024 SET APART "Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth."— John 17:17 THE WORD “SANCTIFY” means to be set apart. In the temple, vessels were set apart to be used exclusively in the worship of God. They were to be used for no other purpose. And that is what sanctification means for us—that we might be set apart from the world and freed from the world’s influences, that we might be committed and dedicated unto Him, that we might be God’s own property.OUR LIVES ARE BOMBARDED BY SIN ON A DAILY BASIS.Every time you turn on the television or the radio, every time you step into a mall or a grocery store, seductions and enticements try to draw you after the things God has declared to be impure. We need to partake of the Word daily in order to counteract these influences of the world. At the end of each day, let the Word of God cleanse you from all of the junk you have been exposed to.As Jesus said in John 15:3, “You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.” It is His Word that cleanses away the filth we have been exposed to each day.Because we love God, we should want to fulfill His desires. If He desires that we be kept from the world, set apart, then we should want that too. We should be diligent to make our stand against evil. And if God says that the Word is what cleanses us, then we should go to the Word daily.Father, we thank You that You have loved us and have taken us out of the world and given us heavenly citizenship. Set us apart, Lord, through Your Word. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Divorce Is Not God's Best 'And the Pharisees came to him, and asked him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife? tempting him.'- Mark 10:2 MARK 10:2-6 The Pharisees didn't really want to know what Jesus taught on divorce and remarriage. They didn't value His opinion but were tempting Him and desired to get Him mired in the big dispute of their day between liberal and conservative views on divorce. This was a very emotional issue then, just as it is today, and they thought they had Jesus in a 'no win' situation.However, as always, Jesus proved to be more than their match and He gave them much more than they asked for.The Pharisees didn't question whether or not divorce was right. They took the right to divorce for granted. But Jesus, instead of expounding on acceptable grounds for divorce, went to the very root of the problem and showed that God never intended there to be any divorce at all. If they really understood the extent of the one flesh covenant between a man and his wife, they would not be looking for an excuse to get out of marriage. This approach amazed the Pharisees and brought forth the question 'why did Moses in the law make provision for divorce?'Once a person begins to question, 'How can I get a divorce?' instead of, 'How can I keep this marriage together?' indicates, that there is already a serious breach in the marriage, that Jesus calls a hardened heart.Jesus answered that divorce was permitted but never intended. God allowed something that He hated because of the hardness of people's hearts. This was also true of polygamy and slavery. Jesus came to remove our stony heart and give us a heart of flesh so that we could walk in God's best for us.

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Fault Finders and Healers “And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”John 9:2When an accident occurs, two types of emer-gency vehicles arrive on the scene. The first to arrive are usually the police. They try to deter-mine who is at fault and, if necessary, give a citation to the guilty party. The paramedics arrive next. They really have no concern as to who is at fault—they just want to alleviate the pain and suffering.The disciples passed by a man born blind. Like policemen, they wanted to immediately assess blame for the casualty. Jesus declared that neither the parents nor this man was at fault, but that the works of God might be made manifest in him when Jesus healed him.God has called us to be paramedics rather than policemen.How do you look at human tragedy? Do you come like a policeman, or like a paramedic? Jesus said that God did not send Him into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.Often a person’s life is shattered because they are reaping the consequences of their own rebellion against God. Do you shake your finger in their face and say, “If you had not done this or that, you wouldn’t be in this situation”? Do you have your codebook out, citing them for their violation of the law? Or do you come as a paramedic seeking to bind up their wounds?Ours is not the responsibility of finding the reason for the suffering, but to seek to heal the damage that has been done, even as Jesus did.Father, may we be your witnesses, doing Your work in this hurting world. IN JESUS' NAME, AMEN.

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. Matthew 12:36TODAY'S TRUTH When God created Adam, He breathed the breath of life – the spirit of God – into him. We are two elements: the dust from which we were created and will return, and the spiritual man which will live forever.It is impossible to speak without inhaling and exhaling. Somehow, God has connected the breath of the supernatural to our speech. One day, we will give an account for every word that we utter. We will be condemned – or justified – by the things we say.There is a miracle in our mouths just waiting to be spoken into existence! In Matthew 17:20, Jesus declared that, if we had faith as tiny as a mustard seed, we could speak to a mountain and command it to move. Nothing would be impossible!By the power of His spoken Word, our God creates something out of nothing (Romans 4:17). When we dare to believe in the promises that He has made, and we speak them aloud, the supernatural becomes reality!Instead of saying that you "can’t," affirm, “I will, by the grace of God!” Don’t say "impossible" declare that "nothing is impossible with God." In the middle of the trial, boldly proclaim that "the afflictions of the righteous may be many, but the Lord delivers us from them all." There is a miracle in your mouth!

Mark 9:23-24 NKJV[23] Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” [24] Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”https://lnkd.in/eQJzZ6y4

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Mark 9:24 NKJV[24] Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”https://lnkd.in/eiCmcQiU