Be Aware of Spiritual Warfare Archives

April 30, 2021April 30, 2021

Ignite Your Faith

¹⁷So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. ~ Romans 10:17

So many of us in the Church today lack one of the most important foundational blocks, faith. We no longer operate in faith. When we try for a goal, we expect failure, and we defend this by calling ourselves a realist. But is that what we are? Realists? Or are we really just doubters? What’s happened to the Church? Why are we filled with so much doubt and so little faith?

In today’s world, we have so many different distracters fighting our attention. It’s hard to find time for God. It’s especially hard to find time to read our Bibles. Most of us make time to pray at least once a day (our bedtime prayer), but we don’t make time to read our Bibles. Why? Why is it so hard to bring ourselves to read the Word of God?

I believe it’s because the enemy knows that faith comes through the Word of God, so he does everything he can to stop us from reading our Bibles because he knows that without faith, no amount of prayer matters. We are in an ongoing war for our souls. We have to fight. We can’t allow ourselves to become so spiritually drained that we don’t even realize that we’ve fallen asleep. As Christians, we have to make the conscientious decision every day to make time for God to speak to us through His Word.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Ignite Your Faith.

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Our Sun and Our Shield

¹¹For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly. ~ Psalms 84:11

God is our sun and our shield. Every morning the sun rises to shine His light to overcome the darkness of the night. It’s another chance for us to overcome because God’s mercies are renewed every morning. Each and every day are reminded that we can overcome the darkness that tries to overcome us.

Our forerunner, Jesus Christ, went before us and defeated the darkness. He overcame the entire world, and because He overcame, we can also overcome. We overcome through Christ because He is our shield. His blood covers us and protects us from the enemy. We don’t have to fear. We don’t have to be intimated. We are more than conquerors through Christ Jesus.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Overcome Through Our Sun and Shield.

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Proclaim

⁴Then He said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! ⁵This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. ⁶I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’” ~ Ezekiel 37:4-6

We make prayer so complicated. Prayer is confession. Prayer is asking. Prayer is proclaiming God’s Word. You need something, look for that promise in the Scripture and pray it. Claim it as yours. It is as easy as praying Scripture.

Proclamation is not a mantra, it’s not some memorized bedtime children’s prayer. It’s strong, it’s powerful, it’s speaking the word of God. If we proclaim what God has promised us, we will see it come to pass. It doesn’t matter how difficult it may look. It doesn’t matter how impossible it may look, as long as we believe and proclaim, we will see it come to pass.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Proclaim.

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Can These Bones Live?

³He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.” ~ Ezekiel 37:3

God already knew the answer to that question, and what’s more, He already knew what He was going to do. You see, to Ezekiel, it was hopeless. The bones were dried up and bleached white from the scorching heat of the sun. There was no life left in those bones. So, to Ezekiel, it was like a trick question. It is no way that these bones can live. It is a hopeless situation.

Unless that’s why he answered the way he did, he knew he couldn’t do it. He knew the bones couldn’t do it on their own. But He knew with God, it was possible. He knew all things were possible. God will ask questions in difficult times just to test our faith and see where we stand.

There is nothing too difficult for God to do. Therefore, all things are possible for him or her who believes. Ezekiel wasn’t special; he had no more power than you or me. The difference was his faith in God, his relationship with God, and his obedience to God.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Let These Bones Live.

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How Do You Know?

¹⁵ but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect. ~ 1 Peter 3:15

Everyday tv personalities are getting bolder and bolder about their contempt for Jesus. They poke fun at the LORD and use Him as the butt of their jokes. But God is patient and kind, not wanting anyone to perish, but for them to come to repentance because He is a good, good God.

Here is the first and most famous question. “How can we trust the Bible is accurate? After all, it was written by man.” This is the enemy’s first line of attack. This shouldn’t come as a shock or a surprise since this is the one that the serpent used in the garden in the very first recorded temptation. It is designed to confuse and distort the word of God. (Genesis 3:1)

The law was given to the man before the woman was created. So, the Gospel, or the Law, or the word of God was handed down to the woman just as it is handed down to us. The evil one came and tried to question the reliability of the word handed down to her.

Peter says that Scripture did not originate in man’s own thoughts, but the prophets spoke and wrote as God led them. He was comparing the New Testament writing with the Old Testament Scriptures, and this is what he said about Paul’s New Testament writings. (2 Peter 3:15-16)

We have 24k more manuscripts than the closest one. Not only that, but the entire New Testament was written within 70 years of the actual events. This means that a lot of the eyewitnesses were still alive and could have disputed the stories and facts about Jesus. But surprisingly, none did. Yet, it’s the most disputed and considered the most unreliable. You must ask yourself why? Why is that? Even though they have been proven to be highly preserved.

If that is the case, then would it not stand to reason that other historical figures with way less documented evidence should also be subjected to doubt and scrutiny? Yes, they should, but they are not. Only Jesus, and Scripture.

Jesus said, blessed is the one who believes and has not actually seen. The truth is, it’s through faith that we are saved. You don’t have to worry; the same God who spoke the world into being is the same God who preserves His own word. Jesus is the Word that became flesh; therefore, His word cannot be corrupted.

As we said, Jesus is alive, and He is coming back to judge the living and the dead. Are you Ready? If you haven’t accepted Jesus as LORD and Savior, I invite you to know Him today. No matter what you’ve done. No matter what you’ve said, it’s only one step back to Christ.

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Clear The Rubble

¹⁰ Meanwhile, the people in Judah said, “The strength of the laborers is giving out, and there is so much rubble that we cannot rebuild the wall.” ~ Nehemiah 4:10

Nehemiah had just arrived in Jerusalem, and the first thing he does is get acquainted, and then he sees about his project. Now, when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant, and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they were upset at what was going on because they didn’t like the Jews and didn’t want them to prosper, so they started taunting them in order to discourage them.

This added to the rubble that was piling up, trying to hinder Nehemiah from building. When mocking didn’t work, Tobiah started threatening them; he tried intimidating them. He did some of everything to try to discourage them, which only added more to the rubble.

Today, we have these same problems. The world has become an incredibly stressful place—so much hate and division that presses you down. Employers requiring more and more with no more pay or benefits, it all adds to the rubble. But remember, when you see too much rubble piling up in your life, take it all to God in prayer.

I would like to give you a few suggestions to reduce the rubble in your life. As a Christian, when feeling overwhelmed, the first thing you need to do is:

1. Remember God loves you
2. Remember God, and who He is, and that He is still in control
3. List the prayers God has answered in the past
4. Meditate
5. Identify/recognize and understand your problem
6. Go outside/Take a walk
7. Exercise
8. Relax
9. Sleep

Never let anything stop you from building. When God has called you, He will make a way for you to fulfill your call. But that doesn’t mean it will be easy. You have to fight for it. You have to start to clear the rubble; then God will help you.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Clear The Rubble.

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Take Authority

“¹⁶Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. ¹⁷And when they saw Him they worshiped Him, but some doubted. ¹⁸And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’” ~ Matthew 28:16-20

This is after the resurrection and just before the ascension. Jesus had instructed His disciples to go to a certain mountain at a certain time to meet Him there. These are the last recorded words of Jesus in the Gospel according to Matthew, “…All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me…” When Jesus said ALL authority, He actually meant ALL authority, meaning that He has authority to overrule any other and every other authority or power or word or law. No other power or authority has authority when the name of Jesus is invoked.

Call upon that name that is above all names, and nothing will be impossible for him who believes. We are not called His body for nothing. We must be His hands, His feet, His eyes, His ears, His mouth, and His heart. We must be His heart so that we can show love to the unlovable. Someone once said the only Jesus some people will see is the Jesus in you. You are God’s agent holding God’s power of attorney.

If you’re sick, take authority. Harassed by harassing spirits, take authority. Are you broke? Take authority. Need a job, take authority. Whatever your need, He will supply; just take authority.

Peace. Love Go Forth and Take Authority.

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Pray, Fast, and Give

¹²And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken. ~ Ecclesiastes 4:12^NIV

The number three stands for that which is solid, real, substantial, complete, and entire. The significance of 3 comes from the fact that it is the first of four perfect numbers: (3, 7, 10, 12)

1. Three denotes divine perfection
2. Seven denotes spiritual perfection
3. Ten denotes ordinal perfection
4. Twelve denotes governmental perfection

God is three separate persons, yet He is One. “Hear O Israel, the LORD thy God is one” (Deuteronomy 6:4). Now, since we are created in His image, we too are triune beings:

1. Body
2. Spirit
3. Soul

As Christians, our main three-strand cord is:

1. Prayer
2. Fasting
3. Giving

These are only three of our Christian Disciplines. But they are three of our most powerful weapons of warfare. What soldier goes into battle without first taking up his weapon and learning how to use it so that when he is in the heat of battle, he can fight successfully and overcome the enemy?

With these three disciplines, there is nothing that we cannot do. We can overcome anything with prayer, fasting, and giving. When we pray, God hears us. When we fast, we are strengthened. When we give, we are blessed. God has given us a strong three-strand cord to help us overcome any obstacle in our way; let us not take it for granted. Instead, let us put into practice these three disciplines that we may stand firm in our faith.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Pray, Fast, and Give.

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Cling To His Divine Nature

⁴And because of His glory and excellence, He has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share His divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires. ~ 2 Peter 1:4^NLT

God has called us to Himself so that we may be saved. When we are saved, we are changed. We are given a new clean heart and a right spirit. We are given a new life. We are a new creation. Because of this, God Himself lives inside of us and shapes us into His perfect image. This is why we must fight sin.

We can’t allow ourselves to be overcome by the very thing that God has just rescued us from. We have to set our minds to live in righteousness. God has given us everything we need in order to overcome sin and cling to righteousness. Put on your whole Armor of God that you can overcome every sin that comes your way and become more and more like God.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Cling To His Divine Nature.

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Continuously Ask

²⁰So the Lord told Abraham, “I have heard a great outcry from Sodom and Gomorrah, because their sin is so flagrant. ²¹I am going down to see if their actions are as wicked as I have heard. If not, I want to know.” ~ Genesis 18:20-21^NLT

The LORD didn’t just destroy Sodom and Gomorrah out of nowhere. There was a great outcry against them for a long time. The people affected by Sodom and Gomorrah’s wickedness didn’t just cry out once; they cried out and cried out until God heard them. This is how we have to get God’s attention. We have to continuously bring our petitions before the LORD.

The majority of the time, nothing will happen after our first request. We have to keep asking God. We have to keep reminding God of His promises. The LORD doesn’t intervene unless we first pray and seek His intervention. We have to make the first move. We have to fight for our families, our dreams, and our lives.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Continuously Ask.

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