A word for you today…
God-tracking is expecting joyful victory in this fight we fight
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"Whatever difficulties we face in our lives or whatever calamity we witness in the world around us, we need to remember we are seated with Christ in heavenly realms."

#VictoryInChrist #difficulties #overcomeyourfears #faith

Daily Devotion — August 19 | Acts 19:20 (NKJV)

God's Truth Always Prevails

Acts 19 describes the powerful work of God in the city of Ephesus. As the gospel spread, many people turned away from sinful practices and publicly demonstrated their repentance by destroying items connected with their former way of life. Their transformed lives became evidence of God's power at work.

Luke concludes this section with a simple but powerful statement: "The word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed." Despite opposition, spiritual darkness, and resistance, nothing could stop God's truth from accomplishing His purpose.

This verse reminds us that God's Word continues to transform lives today. Cultures may change, opposition may arise, and circumstances may seem difficult, but the message of Jesus Christ remains powerful. As believers faithfully live and proclaim the gospel, God continues to accomplish His work.

Reflection Questions

1. Am I allowing God's Word to shape my daily life?

2. What old habits or influences should I leave behind?

3. How can I help others experience the transforming power of God's Word?

Prayer

Lord God, thank You that Your Word is living, powerful, and unchanging. Continue to transform my heart through the Scriptures and help me faithfully share the gospel with others. May Your truth always prevail in my life. In Jesus name Amen.

Practical Application

● Spend time reading God's Word every day.

● Remove influences that hinder your spiritual growth.

● Share God's truth with someone this week.

Takeaway Thought

Nothing can stop the life-changing power of God's Word.

#LordsbookDailys #DailyDevotion #August19 #Acts1920 #WordOfTheLord #FaithThatPrevails #GrowingInChrist #BibleInspiration #GrowInFaith

In Colossians 1, Paul uses two closely related but distinct concepts to describe the unmatched status of Christ. To understand the distinction, we have to look at the flow of Paul's argument and the specific Greek words he uses.

The Distinction in the Text

Preeminence (πρωτεύων - *prōteuōn*)
In verse 18, Paul writes that Christ might be preeminent (or "hold the first place") in everything. The Greek word prōteuōn is a present participle meaning "to be first in rank, influence, or position."

Preeminence speaks to rank, dignity, and rightful position. It answers the question: Where does Christ stand in relation to all other things? The answer is that He stands at the absolute top. He holds the chief place. In the immediate context of verse 18, this preeminence is specifically tied to the new creation—He is the head of the body, the church, and the firstborn from the dead. Because He conquered the grave, He rightfully holds the highest rank in the renewed creation.

Supremacy (πρωτότοκος - *prōtotokos*)
While English translations sometimes use "preeminence" and "supremacy" interchangeably, the concept of supremacy in this passage is anchored in the word prōtotokos ("firstborn"), used in verses 15 and 18.

Supremacy speaks to authority, power, and sovereign right. In the ancient Near East, the firstborn was not just the oldest child; he was the heir who held the highest authority over the household and received the double portion of the inheritance. When Paul says Christ is the "firstborn of all creation" (v. 15) and "firstborn from the dead" (v. 18), he is not saying Christ was created. He is declaring Christ's supreme authority over creation and over the new creation. Supremacy answers the question: Who has the power and the right to rule? Christ does, because all things were created through Him and for Him (v. 16).

How They Work Together

Think of it this way:
Supremacy is the basis of His authority. He is the sovereign heir and creator. He has the absolute right to rule because He is the agent of creation and the victor over death.
Preeminence is the result of that authority. Because He is supreme, it is only fitting that He holds the first place in rank, honor, and affection in all things.

Paul builds this argument to counter the early heresies creeping into Colossae, which suggested you needed Jesus plus something else—angelic worship, secret knowledge, or ascetic practices (Colossians 2). Paul's response is that Christ's supremacy and preeminence mean He is entirely sufficient. The fullness of deity dwells in Him bodily (1:19). There is no higher rank to reach, no hidden knowledge to acquire, and no spiritual power to supplement. He holds the first place in everything.

When you read this passage, you are looking at a deliberate, poetic structure where Paul establishes Christ's supremacy over the original creation (vv. 15-17) and then His supremacy over the new creation through redemption (vv. 18-20), culminating in the conclusion that He alone is preeminent in all things.

1 Corinthians 15:28 (ASV)

"And when all things have been subjected unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subjected to him that did subject all things unto him, that God may be all in all."

Here is the consummation of the entire plan of redemption. Yeshua HaMashiach, the one to whom all authority has been given, the one before whom every knee will bow, the one who will reign until all enemies are under His feet—this same Son will, at the end, subject Himself to the Father. Not as a defeated enemy. Not reluctantly. But as the obedient, loving Son returning the kingdom to the One who gave it.

This verse shatters every notion of a co-equal, co-eternal trinity. The Son is not the Father's equal in position. He is the Father's agent, the Father's appointed ruler, the Father's only begotten. He reigns because the Father gave Him the kingdom. And when the work is finished, He hands it back. The Father alone remains supreme. Yahuah is all in all.

But it also shatters something else: the fear that Yeshua's kingdom is about His own glory. It is not. It never was. From the beginning, His entire mission was to glorify the Father. He came to do the Father's will. He lived to reveal the Father's character. He died to satisfy the Father's justice. He rose to complete the Father's plan. And at the end, He will lay everything at the Father's feet and take His place as the eternal Son, forever subject to the One who is all in all.

This is not a demotion. It is the perfection of love. It is the Son showing the universe, for all eternity, what true submission looks like. It is the Son's delight to honor the Father, now and forever. And in that eternal act of loving surrender, we see the very character of Yahuah reflected perfectly.

That door is worth walking through. What lies beyond it is the beautiful, biblical truth of the Father and the Son—two distinct beings, perfectly united in love, with the Father supreme and the Son exalted. Not a trinity. A family. A Father and His only begotten Son, who loves the Father so completely that He will be subject to Him forever. That is the gospel in its final, glorified form.

#Christ #Yahuah #Yeshua #victory #trinity #Father #OneGod

Kingdom Carriers | The Kingdom the Father Delights to Give

There is a remarkable sentence Jesus spoke that we can easily read too quickly:

"Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom." — Luke 12:32

Think about those words.

The Father has been pleased to give you the Kingdom.

Jesus had just been speaking about worry.

What will we eat? What will we wear? How will our needs be met?

These are deeply human concerns.

Yet Jesus redirects their attention from what they were trying to secure to what the Father was pleased to give.

The Kingdom.

Perhaps that's where anxiety often exposes something deeper.

We become consumed with securing what the Father already knows we need.

Jesus doesn't deny those needs.

He changes their order.

"Seek His kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well." — Luke 12:31

The world teaches us to build life from the outside in:

Secure enough. Accumulate enough. Control enough.

Then perhaps we will have peace.

Jesus reverses the order.

Begin with the King and His Kingdom.

Then allow everything else to find its proper place beneath His rule.

And perhaps the most beautiful part is this:

The Father isn't reluctant.

Jesus says He is pleased to give us the Kingdom.

We are not trying to persuade an unwilling God to release His purposes.

We are responding to a Father who delights in bringing His children under the goodness of His reign.

So maybe Kingdom living isn't primarily about acquiring more from God.

Perhaps it begins by recognising the magnitude of what He has already invited us into.

We keep asking for things from the King.

The Father has given us the Kingdom.

Grace and peace,

Jacob

Kingdom Carriers

https://books2read.com/u/mlJqo7

Website

https://www.jacobisaac.co.nz

Greetings Brethren, here is the continuation of Sunday (8/16/26) Sermon Excerpt, "King David: A Portrait of a Godly Leader" - Contrast to Other Kings

Jesus and Women
Jesus' attitude towards women went beyond His teaching to encompass His entire behavior, a behavior in which the characteristics of the new man are strikingly evident.
Jesus was distinguished from His time—and perhaps from our time—by His unique attitude towards women, an attitude that was both free and liberating at the same time.
He had no "complex" regarding women: no complex of caution towards them, no complex of fear of society concerning His relationship with them, no complex of superiority towards her for being a man, no complex of mockery, as if she were a negligible quantity that could be taken lightly, nor a complex of use and exploitation for His own ends or sexual desire.
Thus, all of Jesus' behavior was a restoration of status for the deprived woman, the one with violated dignity, and a return to the original divine design of harmony, where there is no fear, aggression, or domination, between man and woman. And Jesus did not hesitate, for this purpose, to violate prevailing social customs, and even to violate the letter of the Law itself.

#JesusAndWomen #WomensDignity #Liberation #Gospel #NewMan #ChristianEthics

Luke 10:19-20 ESV
Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. [20] Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven."

You can now connect to our church, if you are interested using the popular YouVersion Bible App:
https://harvestchurchcaloundra.online.church/
Inside the app search for Harvest Church Caloundra and tap "Set As My Church."

Doing the Proverbs 4 Walk

We make multiple decisions each day, and that's why we need to learn to do the Proverbs 4 Walk.

"We're always making a decision to give up something that we value less for something we value more." Paul Richard, President, Consumer Financial Education Institute

Have you noticed grocery stores put staples like milk and eggs at the back so we have to go through the store to get them?

To avoid temptation, we can go prepared with a list and keep our eyes straight ahead instead of glancing at the aisles of temptation along the way.

Satan employs this tactic too. He lines our life path with costly choices and distractions: immoral sex, selfishness, fear, anger, resentment, envy, etc.

He'd like to divert, delay, or derail us, making us spend all we have before we reach YHWH's goals for our lives.

To avoid temptation, we can do the Proverbs 4 walk: "Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. Give careful thought to the paths for your feet.…" Proverbs 4:25-26

What are some practical ways you walk in the Proverbs 4 path?

Some helpful truths about temptation:

YHWH always provides a way out. Let’s take it!

1 Corinthians 10:13: "No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And YHWH is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it."

It’s all a matter of whom we submit to, YHWH or Satan.

James 4:7: "Submit yourselves, then, to YHWH. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."

When we give in to temptation, we have no one to blame but ourselves.

James 1:14: "Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away."