Category: Be Aware of Spiritual Warfare

³ For although we live in the flesh, we do not wage war according to the flesh, ⁴ since the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but are powerful through God for the demolition of strongholds. We demolish arguments ⁵ and every proud thing that is raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to obey Christ. ~ 2 Corinthians 10:3-5^CSB

Lately, my biggest battle has been trying to cast down every thought that enters my mind that isn’t of God. I used to think that if you truly lay something down at the feet of Jesus, then you’ll no longer think about it. If you’re truly over it, those thoughts won’t enter your mind, but then I realized that there’s a difference between me dwelling on the past and the enemy shooting darts full of past memories into your mind.

See, it’s when we dwell on the pain and hurt of the past that we hold on to our own burdens instead of giving them to Christ. But when the thought pops into our mind randomly, and we cast it down, that’s no longer our flesh. That’s the enemy trying to force you to pick back up the baggage that we left at the feet of Jesus.

So what do we do? We continue to cast down every thought that isn’t of God. Why? Because we have this promise from the LORD:

⁷ Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

James 4:7^CSB

If we resist the Devil and cast down those tempting thoughts that he throws at us, he must flee, and we will overcome through Christ Jesus. It may not happen overnight, but it will happen if we are faithful to the LORD and submit our hearts, minds, and souls to Him.

So, don’t be discouraged by the attacks of the enemy. Fight until you see victory. Cast down evil thoughts and replace them with good thoughts. Replace pain and hurt with love and forgiveness. Replace anxiety with peace. Overcome evil with good.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Cast Down.

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¹⁹ See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. ~ Isaiah 43:19

Renewing your mind is basically changing the way you think. Replacing negative thoughts with positive thoughts. Replacing pessimistic words with words of optimism. Casting down the same old, same old, for the fresh and new.

Therefore:

• Do not let circumstances dictate what kind of day you will have
• Do not let someone else’s words disrupt your peace
• Do not let negative thoughts, which are most probably not true in the first place, take up residence in your mind
• Do not speak rash or say the first thing that pops into your mind
• Your thoughts become your words, and your words will eventually lead to your destiny

Why? Because God is doing a new thing. Therefore, the responsibility is on us to tune in to His frequencies by the renewing of our minds. We stop focusing on the things that are now, that are keeping us down, and we start speaking God’s promises instead.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Prepare For The New.

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⁷ For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: ~ Proverbs 23:7^KJV

As humans think, that is who we are. Meaning that we become our most intimate, and most pronounced thoughts. My daughter, Arie, has a quote on her wall which reads:

Watch your thoughts,
they become words.
Watch your words,
they become actions.
Watch your actions,
they become habits.
Watch your habits,
they become your character.
Watch your character,
It becomes your destiny

Your destiny can be determined by something as small as your thoughts, and that is why it is so important and necessary to renew your mind. Basically, your destiny depends on it. The Scripture is as plain as day: if you think about sinful things, you will be dominated by a sinful nature. But if you want to be controlled by the Spirit of God, and if you want to please God and have His peace that passes all understanding, then you must have thoughts that are pleasing to the Spirit.

If you say, “I will never make it,” then you will never make it. Your words determine your destiny. So, watch your words. Be intentional with your words, for the enemy is always watching, looking for a way to trip you up and keep you from reaching your true potential in Christ Jesus.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Rewire Your Mind.

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⁵ Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. ⁶ So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. ⁷ For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. ⁸ That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God. ~ Romans 8:5-8

Culture shifts daily. It’s an ever-changing, never satisfying, shifting world. Therefore, society needs to have some sort of standard in order to not go into total depravity, which we are not far from today. For instance, today, we have groups of people getting together to promote the normalization of people who feel like dogs. So, they get together and howl together like dogs. They walk around on all fours, barking while on leashes. This is crazy. This is not normal behavior. It seems like society is ‘pulling out all the stops’ in order to make the abnormal normal; we need a balance.

But for that, we need an unchanging standard, which is God, Who is ultimately our final judge. For the Word of God says that the LORD does not change (Malachi 3:6a and Hebrews 13:8). How do we combat this darkness? We start with us. Paul urges us to not let society or popular culture dictate our thoughts and, ultimately, our actions by accepting their perverted notion of morality.

But How Do We Renew Our Minds?

Well, first of all, we must make a conscious decision to make a change. But before we can actually make a change, we must identify the problem or the thing we wish to change, like anger, lust, and other things that God frowns on.

What I mean is to bring our lives into alignment with God. But how do we do that? By knowing what the Word of God says. You can only know what the Word of God says if you read the Word of God for yourself.

Craig Groeschel said, “Our lives move in the direction of our strongest thoughts.”

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Hold To What Is Steady.

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¹⁵ Instead, you should say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” ¹⁶ But as it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. ¹⁷ So it is sin to know the good and yet not do it. ~ James 4:15-17^CSB

My whole life, I’ve heard my parents say LORD’s willing when speaking of our future tasks. I myself have even said, but not enough around a certain person that she even told her husband she’s never heard me or my mother say it. When I search through my phone, I have message after message of me and my parents saying LORD’s willing, but I don’t have any to her saying it. This struck me as odd.

See, I was put in her life to help guide her in the Word of the LORD and help her grow in Christ, but I can’t find a message of me saying LORD’s willing to her. This could easily be something that anyone could say was just a coincidence, but I don’t believe in coincidences. I believe in spiritual warfare.

When you become comfortable around someone, and you don’t know why they’re in your life, you stop being intentional with every word you speak. To my own shame, it wasn’t me who showed her or taught her LORD’s willing; it was her husband; she called me to see if he was right. I say to my shame because he had learned it that night and was being intentional with every word he said, making sure to use it so as not to be arrogant, as James says.

I, on the other hand, wasn’t being intentional because I didn’t even realize until recently my purpose in her life. While I was proud of her husband for his desire to grow in the LORD, I felt disappointed in myself that the enemy could remove an important covering phrase from my vocabulary when talking to the person who needed to hear it most.

As Christians, we have to yearn for and earnestly seek the Spirit of Discernment so that the Holy Spirit might be able to speak through us, even in things that we wouldn’t necessarily see as big. We have to be intentional with our words and focused on our purpose in people’s lives so that the enemy has no room to trip us up in our words or actions or the lack thereof.

Dear LORD, please forgive me for all the times that I’ve been unintentional with my words. Please forgive me for every time I’ve missed the role I have to play in someone else’s life. Please fill me with Your Holy Spirit and with the gift of discernment. Teach me to discern right and wrong. What I need to do and what I need not to do. Who is in my life, and whose life I am in. Teach me to strengthen my spirit man that I might not be caught lacking. Teach me to be a light in this darkness. Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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⁸⁰ And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel. ~ Luke 1:80

This is speaking of John the Baptist, the forerunner of Jesus the Promised Messiah. The Scriptures say that he was in the wilderness before his public appearance to Israel. You know who else was in the wilderness before His public appearance to Israel? Jesus.

Luke 4:1-2 says,

¹ And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness ² for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, He was hungry.

If you notice, before their public ministry, many of the Old Testament heroes spent time in the wilderness. John the Baptist, Jesus, Moses, and Jacob were in the wilderness taking care of his father-in-law’s sheep, Joseph spent time in the prison, and the list goes on. But in the New Testament, the heroes spent time with Jesus.

Acts 4:13 says,

¹³ Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.

Even the great evangelist Paul spent time alone with Jesus before his public ministry. While writing to the Galatians, he described himself as still being largely unknown to the churches in Judea after three years.

But Acts 11:25-26 says,

²⁵ So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, ²⁶ and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch.

So, what am saying? The truth and seriousness of the return of Christ is still looming large right in front of us. We don’t have a whole lot of time left to mess around. We must be about the Father’s business. So, this year, determine to spend some time in the wilderness with Jesus, in prayer, fasting, and studying the Scriptures. It is the only way you will grow and the only way to really get to know the one who died for you and is coming back to get you. You don’t want to be a stranger to Him when He comes back in all of His glory. Be sure to set aside time to be alone with the LORD in this coming New Year.

Heavenly Father, thank You that I can spend time alone with You and that You want to be alone with me. There is no greater privilege than spending time with You, the one who purchased my salvation. Now, please help me to serve You with my full heart and with all of my strength; in Jesus’ mighty name, I pray, amen.

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¹⁷ When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near. For God said, “Lest the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt.” ¹⁸ But God led the people around by the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea. And the people of Israel went up out of the land of Egypt equipped for battle. ~ Exodus 13:17-18

The people of Israel had just been freed from Egypt. Their spirits were joyful but still fragile. So, what does God do? He leads them in the way that is best for them. When God frees us from our sins, He doesn’t always send us straight into battle. Why?

Because not everyone can take battle immediately. God equipped them for battle, but knowing the weak faith of the people of Israel after 400 years of slavery, God gave them time to grow before they saw war. God promised that He wouldn’t allow us to be tempted beyond what we can withstand but always gives us an escape route so that we can overcome. But I want you to understand that just because you may not see war immediately doesn’t mean you won’t ever see war.

Before Israel was able to settle in the Promised Land, they had to defeat their enemies. We will all face battles; some will be bigger than others, but one thing is for certain we will be able to overcome anything through Christ who gives us strength.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Be Prepared For War.

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⁸ And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹ And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. ¹⁰ And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. ¹¹ For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. ¹² And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” ~ Luke 2:8-12

I’ve often heard shepherds were liars, looked down on, poor, and of low estate; they were just poor, humble men, and that is who Jesus came to save; besides, the people could identify with them. But have you ever read where an angel of God appeared to a man or a woman who was wicked and unreliable, especially to bring them good news of great joy? No. Not once.

What I have read, though, was that angels appeared to devout men, men who were looking for and waiting on the redemption of Israel. Godly men who were serving the LORD. Abraham, Lot, Moses, Daniel, Ezekiel, Mary, Zachariah, Joseph, the apostles, Cornelius, the women who went to the tomb after Jesus rose from the dead, Peter, John, Paul, and countless others. There is not one unworthy man or woman that an angel appeared to. Matter of fact, Jesus wouldn’t even talk to King Herod just before His crucifixion.

So, I would venture to say that the reason the angels appeared to the shepherds is because they were watching, and praying, and hoping, and not because they were unworthy, or poor and humble, or any of the list of things they said. There has to be another reason, and that reason has to do with their job.

These men were not just ordinary shepherds. They were highly trained Levitical shepherds who specialized in recognizing and caring for sacrificial lambs. They were the shepherds who kept watch over the sacrificial lambs that would be used in Temple sacrifices, such as the two daily lambs: one for the morning sacrifice and one for the evening sacrifice.

Then there was the special feast and ceremonies like the New Moon sacrifice and the Feast of Passover. So, these knew the prophecies. They knew the Scriptures. They knew that the Feast of Passover was a shadow of things to come. They knew that one day, the Promised Messiah would come and redeem Israel. They were watching and waiting. If you want to hear from God, you have to watch and pray. You have to be waiting for God if you want to hear from God.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Watch, Pray, And Wait.

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¹ Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, ² saying, “Where is He who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw His star when it rose and have come to worship Him.” ~ Matthew 2:1-2

These wise men, also known as the magi, were watching and waiting for the promised Messiah. The king of the Jews, which would be the hope of Christmas for the whole world. They were probably scanning the night skies for generations, if not for centuries, waiting and hoping that it would be them who discovered the sign of the birth of Jesus, the Jewish Messiah. The One who will save the whole world.

As soon as these men saw His star rising on the western horizon, they, with joyful hearts, packed their bags and belongings and prepared for travel. Then, they set out to find this promised Messiah they had been so patiently waiting for.

As the Christmas yard sign says:

Wise Men Still Seek Him

How many of us can say we are seeking the Messiah like these wise men did 2000 years ago? They traveled long distances just so that they could worship the Messiah and give Him gifts. Today, we won’t even travel 10 minutes down the street for a Church service. We won’t turn off the TV or put the game or book down long enough to have quiet time. There is no longer a desire to encounter God in the Church today. This Christmas season, let’s make the conscious decision to end the year better than we started it by spending more time with the LORD.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Still Seek Him.

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¹⁵Then the Angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time out of heaven, ¹⁶and said: “By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son—¹⁷blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. ¹⁸In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.” ¹⁹So Abraham returned to his young men, and they rose and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beersheba. ~ Genesis 22:15-19^NKJV

Abraham was formerly Abram, and God had given Abram a promise that he would be the father of a multitude of nations. Not only would Abraham be the father of a multitude of nations, but in his seed, the nations of the world would be blessed. This seed is Jesus.

God promised the coming of the Messiah to Abraham. He promised that He would save the world and use Abraham’s seed to do it. Why? Because Abraham didn’t withhold anything from God. All that Abraham had, he willingly gave to God with faith and trust that it would be for his good. How many of us can honestly say that this is us?

Very few of us have the faith it takes to be used by God the way Abraham was used by God. Why? Because how many of us rush to meet God when He comes to meet us as Abraham did? In other words, how many of us set up a time every day to worship, pray, and spend time with God? Very few of us.

To be labeled a devout Christian in today’s world, all we have to do is pray before our meals and bed. Isn’t that sad? We don’t have to be on fire for God or even seek Him daily to be labeled a devout Christian. If we want to be used by God, we have to give Him everything.

Peace. Love. Go For and Give God All.

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