Category: Be Aware of Spiritual Warfare

¹ After this Jesus went about in Galilee. He would not go about in Judea, because the Jews were seeking to kill Him. ² Now the Jews’ Feast of Booths was at hand. ³ So His brothers said to Him, “Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing. ⁴ For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.” ⁵ For not even His brothers believed in Him. ⁶ Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always here. ⁷ The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil. ⁸ You go up to the feast. I am not going up to this feast, for my time has not yet fully come.” ⁹ After saying this, He remained in Galilee. ~ John 7:1-9

Jesus never did anything in order to impress others. He never gave in to peer pressure, even when it came from His own brothers. They didn’t even believe in Him, yet they were trying to give Him advice on His call. This is still true today. There are many people who don’t even believe in your call from God or even in God Himself, but they want to try to tell you how to fulfill that call from God. They sound very sincere when they do it, too, but rarely does the enemy send attacks that look like attacks.

When Eve was tempted in the Garden, the Serpent didn’t come at her with anger and aggression. When Jesus was tempted in the wilderness, Satan didn’t come at Him with anger and aggression. They were both asked questions. It probably didn’t even sound malicious when it was said. It probably sounded like enlightenment. If the enemy wants you to drink poison, he’s not going to label the bottle with a skull and cross bones. No. Instead, he’s going to label it healthy and say how it’ll help you and free you.

The enemy will use anyone he can in order to hinder the saints of God because we are the hands and feet of Jesus while on this earth. It’s us that goes out and makes disciples of all nations. We’re to spread the good news. We’re to keep charge over the earth. We’re to protect it and keep it. We’re supposed to keep evil from taking over the entire earth. So, the Devil uses whoever and whatever he can in order to overcome us.

Dear LORD, please help me to follow You regardless of what others do. Help me to always seek Your approval above all else. Help me to follow Your ways and fulfill the call that You have for my life, regardless of how hard or difficult it may be. Please strengthen me so that I may not fall prey to the attacks of the enemy; in Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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²⁹ And it shall be a statute to you forever that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict yourselves and shall do no work, either the native or the stranger who sojourns among you. ³⁰ For on this day shall atonement be made for you to cleanse you. You shall be clean before the Lord from all your sins. ³¹ It is a Sabbath of solemn rest to you, and you shall afflict yourselves; it is a statute forever. ~ Leviticus 16:29-31

Today is one of the most holy days in Judaism, for today is the Day of Atonement. When instituting this day, God told the people to afflict themselves because atonement was to be made for them in order to cleanse them. Now, many people will say this is the Law of Moses, and we’re no longer under the Law, so this doesn’t apply to us. I want to point out to all of you that the Law was a shadow of the good things to come. What does that mean?

No. We are not under the Law of Moses anymore; we are now under the Law of Christ. This is true. But the Day of Atonement has yet to have been fulfilled, and therefore, as Paul afflicted himself regularly so that he might never be overcome by his flesh, how much more should we in a day and age closer to the return of Christ than has ever been before, afflict ourselves? We’re living in the last days. They’re getting things ready for the Temple of God to be rebuilt. They’re trying their best to remove freedom of religion from every corner of the earth. We’re living in the perilous times that Paul warned Timothy of. No. Refusing to afflict your body today isn’t going to remove your name from the Lamb’s Book of Life, but choosing to afflict your body today will strengthen your spirit man. It will help put your flesh into subjection. And it will add to your treasures in heaven.

We’re called, by Paul, to present ourselves as a spiritual sacrifice holy and pleasing to God. How can we do that if our flesh rules our bodies and our spirit man has no room to grow? Therefore, give up something, even if it’s just for a few hours, at least until sundown, that you might have an offering to give to God as we await that day when we are changed in a twinkling of an eye, and our sins are completely removed from us never to cling to us again.

Dear LORD, help me to afflict myself by putting my flesh into submission. Help me to not give into the sins of this world, but instead, help me to overcome through You. You overcame the whole world. You were tempted in every way, just as I am, but You remained without sin. So, dear LORD, please help me to overcome through You. Help me to fast so that I might build up my spirit man within me and crucify my flesh. Help me to be a light in this dark world so that others might see You in me. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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²² In the time of his distress he became yet more faithless to the Lord—this same King Ahaz. ²³ For he sacrificed to the gods of Damascus that had defeated him and said, “Because the gods of the kings of Syria helped them, I will sacrifice to them that they may help me.” But they were the ruin of him and of all Israel. ²⁴ And Ahaz gathered together the vessels of the house of God and cut in pieces the vessels of the house of God, and he shut up the doors of the house of the Lord, and he made himself altars in every corner of Jerusalem. ²⁵ In every city of Judah he made high places to make offerings to other gods, provoking to anger the Lord, the God of his fathers. ~ 2 Chronicles 28:22-25

In his deepest time of distress, King Ahaz didn’t seek help from the LORD his God; he sought out the gods of the nations that defeated him. He forgot the LORD who brought his fathers out of the land of Egypt, the house of slavery. When you’re in trouble, who do you go to? Is it the LORD or another avenue?

Who or what we go to in our time of trouble determines who our god is. It determines who we serve. King Ahaz chose the wrong god, and he died in his sin. Never did it say that he repented. Never did it say he was restored. Never did it say he was saved. Instead, it was the ruin of him and all of Israel. Our actions affect more than just us. It affects those around us, just as King Ahaz’s decision affected all of Israel.

Dear LORD, help me to always turn to You in times of trouble and distress. Help me to always seek Your righteous right hand to uphold me. Teach me to never lean on anyone but You. Teach me to have faith in You and trust You with all that’s within me. Help me to be a light in this dark world by letting my light shine before all who I come into contact with. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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²⁴ So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. ²⁵ When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. ²⁶ Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.” But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” ²⁷ The man asked him, “What is your name?” “Jacob,” he answered. ²⁸ Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.” ²⁹ Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.” But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there. ³⁰ So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.” ³¹ The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip. ³² Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the tendon attached to the socket of the hip, because the socket of Jacob’s hip was touched near the tendon. ~ Genesis 32:24-30^NIV

Christians want the blessing but don’t wanna wrestle with God for them. Jacob wrestled all night with God and refused to let Him go until God blessed him. Christians today, myself included, are spiritually lazy. We struggle to read our Bibles once a week, let alone once a day. We can’t even pray for an hour without being distracted or falling asleep. Our spirit man is so weak he can’t fight the flesh. See, if our spirit man is too weak to wrestle with God for our blessing, then we’ll not only fall into temptation, but we’ll bring a curse upon ourselves and miss our blessing.

God doesn’t just give us everything He has in store for us. He expects us to fight for it. We have to prove ourselves worthy servants of Christ, unshakeable and unwilling to give up on the promise and/or blessing. The Promised Land was promised to the people of Israel, but those who refused to fight and instilled fear into the others, they didn’t see it. Only those who had faith. Only those who refused to give up. Only those who have held tightly on to the LORD and refused to let go.

Many of us are there. It’s closing in on midnight. The LORD is telling you to let go. Your eyes are seeing the Nephilim. There’s so much going against you, even your certain things seem to fail, but this is the time you hang on even stronger. This is the time you refuse to let go. You have to force your spirit man to fight. You have to feed him daily. You have to exercise him. You have to refuse to give up.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Refuse To Let Go.

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¹⁰ Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: ¹¹ For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. ~ 2 Peter 1:10-11^KJV

We are not called to live a mediocre life. We are called to live a life of excellence. The book of Hebrews tells us that there is a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us; some are cheering us on, some are watching, and others are hoping and praying that we stumble and fall.

So, let us throw off all that hinders and fetters us so that we can run this race with strength and endurance. We have all that we need to live a life of excellence by Jesus’ divine power so that we can be sure of where we are going to spend eternity.

In everything you do, always remember eternity is looming large in front of each one of us, and eternity is a long, long time. And during this long time, there is no second chance. Therefore, do all that you need to do today while on this earth.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Strive For Excellence.

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¹⁷ God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. ¹⁸ Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.” ¹⁹ Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink. ~ Genesis 21:17-19^NIV

Sometimes, we give up right before we reach our well of renewal. See, Hagar was at the end of her rope. She was so close to dying of thirst that she put her son under a bush and walked away because she couldn’t bear to watch him die. Then she sat down and cried. God heard the cries of the boy and opened Hagar’s eyes so that she could see the well in front of her.

Many of us are currently going through a dry season. A time of trials, tribulation, and lack. It feels like we can’t go any farther. Like the entire weight of the world is on our shoulders, and we have nothing left in the tank to keep going. That’s when you press in. You don’t wait until you can’t take another step; you cry out to God from the moment those thoughts enter your mind.

You pray, and you fast. You seek God and cry out to Him with all that’s within you. You remind Him of His promises and His call on your life. Then you believe. You have faith that He’ll open your eyes to a well of water to refresh you before it’s too late. You hold to the promises and believe with everything inside you that God is good, and He will never leave you nor forsake you. You quote those Scriptures you have memorized and encourage yourself in the LORD. Because when we cry out to God, and we seek Him with what’s within us, He answers.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Seek The Hidden Well.

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³⁷ Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. ~ Matthew 10:37

The concept of Christ being above every single thing in our lives is a difficult one to grasp when you really think about it. See, it’s not just the things of this world that have to be beneath Christ, but also our dearest loved ones. Why? Well, when you love your family more than you love Christ, then you’ll begin to not only overlook the sins of your family but fully accept and embrace them. We can see this throughout the Church today.

We don’t correct sin anymore; instead, we make excuses for sin to run rampant in those we love. When we do this, we put our family above Christ. And if we put our family above Christ, then we can’t actually pick up our cross and follow Him. We can’t abide in His love. Sin isn’t something that we can allow in our lives. We can’t let in even a grain of sin because sin’s one goal is to corrupt and destroy. It wants to rule your life. When you tolerate sin, you end up inviting more sin into your life.

So, when it comes to your family, don’t tolerate sin. Yes, love them. Yes, treat them with gentleness and kindness, but you don’t have to accept their sin. Place before God. Pray for them. Fast for them. Believe that God will intervene and show them the Truth. Spiritually fight for your family so that you won’t just save their soul but also your own.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Put All Under Christ.

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¹⁴ You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. ~ Matthew 5:14-16

Jesus said, “You are the light of the world.” He was speaking to the people of His day and age and to us here and now. This now begs the question, what is light? According to the Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains:

light, i.e., that which is contrasted to darkness (Genesis 1:3), note: in some contexts with the associative meaning of guidance, health, life, prosperity, enlightened judgment, and other positive things.

So, first of all, light is that which is contrasted with darkness. Which begs the question, what is darkness? According to wikipedia.org:

Darkness, the polar opposite of brightness, is understood as a lack of illumination or an absence of visible light.

If darkness is the opposite of brightness, or rather it is the absence of light, then we had better start spreading the light. Why? Because according to the definition above, light represents all that is good and useful for life.

• Guidance
• Health
• Life
• Prosperity
• Enlightened judgment
• And other positive things

And darkness represents the lack of all of the above.

Without light, there is no life, and we are the light. In other words, we carry the words of life taught to us by Jesus. What does that mean for us? We are to show God’s good work so that He might be glorified. But we must show God’s light now while we still can. A time is coming when darkness will overtake the whole world and forbid the working of light. We have to work while it is still day because night is soon coming when no one can work. Tribulation is coming for the full body of Christ, making it illegal to even say the name of Jesus. Unless we want that in our time, we have to spread the light now. We have to spread the Gospel throughout all the earth and push back the darkness that is closing in on us so rampantly.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Push Back The Darkness.

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