Category: Breaking Down Strongholds

¹ By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion. ² On the willows there we hung up our lyres. ³ For there our captors required of us songs, and our tormentors, mirth, saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” ⁴ How shall we sing the LORD’s song in a foreign land? ~ Psalms 137:1-4^ESV

See, the Southern Kingdom—Judah—had fallen to the Babylonians in 587/586 BC because of idolatry… and was taken to a land that was not their own. They had forsaken the LORD’s commandment and let the fire go out on their altar. They had turned their backs to the LORD and had turned their faces to worship the Baals. And because of their rebellion against God, and their forsaking Him… the people of Judah were taken into captivity… They were taken to a foreign land.

Now, there in captivity, the people taunted them. You have songs of victory. You have songs of praise. Where is your song? Where is your hope? Sing your songs now, Judah. Play your harps now, children of God. And sing us one of your songs of David. They were tormented. Made a mockery of… and they were derided. Sing your song, O Judah… Sing us a song, O children of God… Come on, sing us a joyful tone…

But their reply was How shall we sing the LORD’s song in a foreign land? This was not their Promised Land. It was not their home. They were strangers and sojourners in someone else’s land. In fact, they held out to the very bitter end, trying to keep their own homeland… even though God told them, through the prophet Jeremiah, that it was decided they were going into captivity, and if they surrendered to the Babylonians, they would save their own lives as a reward. They did not want to go to this foreign land. It was strange to them.

So many of us are in a foreign land. We’re in a strange land that isn’t our own. A land of captivity and torment. A land without peace or the Spirit of the LORD God Almighty. And just like those men and women of Judah, it’s because of our own spiritual adultery. Our own sin that we have given in to, and the enemy has taken us away captive. Now, he taunts us to sing of our God and how great He is. He taunts us with the peace we once had. The joy we once felt—the love we claim to know.

What are we to do? Humble ourselves before the LORD. Humble ourselves before our God and King, so that He might have mercy on us. So that He might redeem us from this foreign land. This strange place that doesn’t have His Spirit or His Presence. A place that is dark and cold without hope or love, and bring us back into our Promised Land. We don’t have to remain in captivity. Jesus’ blood has purchased us and redeemed us. When we return to Him and dwell in His Word, we will remain in His love.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Humble To Be Freed.

⁷ The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; ⁸ The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; ⁹ The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. ¹⁰ More to be desired are they than gold, Yea, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. ¹¹ Moreover by them Your servant is warned, And in keeping them there is great reward. ~ Psalms 19:7-11^NKJV

¹⁶ All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, ¹⁷ that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. ~ 2 Timothy 3:16-17^NKJV

In today’s world, we often say that the Word of the LORD (The Bible) must adapt to fit the times. That it’s too offensive in its original meaning and, therefore, must be redefined and reinterpreted. They’ll even go as far as to say that Jesus not only condoned but supported pedophilia in order to defend their own fleshly desires. I heard a voodoo high priest explain that if your religion cannot adapt and change to fit the times, then your religion is a cult. That may sound good to some, but to me it really doesn’t make any sense.

If your religion is constantly adapting and changing to fit culture, then you don’t have an actual religion. You don’t have an actual set of beliefs. If your religion is shaped by culture, then your religion is your culture, which is just man’s own opinions and desires taking charge. And because of that, your foundation is no longer strong or even solid. It’s now shaky and uncertain. Something that cannot last the generations.

As Christians, our belief in Scripture is that it is the Word of Almighty God that defines generations, and is not defined by the generations. Culture is whatever man gives in to. That is why, in certain nations, they have a rape culture; they have a murderous culture. When we allow culture to define us, we lose sight of the only Rock on which we can stand. We lose sight of what is good and what is evil. We become blinded to the Truth. Therefore, we cling to the Word of God over any and every thing culture defines as right, for our foundation is Christ, the very Word of God.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Do Not Cling To Culture.

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. ~ Galatians 2:20^ESV

I recently watched a short of a musician trying to get backstage to get ready to perform with his band and he was stopped by security with no backstage pass or ID on him. Another security guard recognized him and let the security guard checking him know who he was. His reaction? Appreciation to the security guard for doing her job.

He didn’t get angry. He didn’t let his pride get in the way. He simply saw a woman trying to do her job and he understood that not everyone is going to know who he is. Even when she tried to apologize he told her she didn’t need to because she was just doing her job and he liked her for that.

As Christians, we should be ashamed of how most of us react to the slightest inconvenience. This reaction was by a lead singer of a pretty well known heavy metal group, who, by the way, is not a Christian. This is a man who said it doesn’t matter if he knows what God is. Pride has gripped so much of the Church so tightly that we easily angered, offended, up in arms over the littlest things.

Rarely do we live as Christ. Paul told us it’s no longer we who live, but Christ who lives in us. So, how can we live to Christ but allow our flesh to raise up so easily? We have to put our flesh into submission, so that we might not be caught being hypocrites. This man, believes there’s something more out there but has no idea what. He believes religion is foolishness because he was raised in the Church and the Church is full of hypocrites. When we live our lives according to the flesh instead of the Spirit, not only do we make ourselves look bad we make all of Christianity look bad, including our God.

We have to do more than just say we live for Christ. We actually have to act upon that statement. We have to bear fruit. We have to speak life. We have to live as Christ. Peace. Love. Go Forth and Don’t Be A Hypocrite.

There’s a song that I really love by Jason Upton called Dying Star.

We better trash our idols if we want to be
In the army of the Lord
And the greatest idol is you and me
We better get on the threshing floor
When will we learn that God’s strategy
Is giving glory to the Lord?
So we trash our idols cause we want to be
In the army of the Lord

Star how beautiful you shine
Your shine’s more beautiful than mine
You shine from sea to shining sea
World-wide is your strategy
But shining star I hope you see
If the whole wide world is staring straight at you
They can’t see me

They can’t see me
I want them to know, but they can’t see me
I want them to know me
I want to show my glory
But they can’t see me

These are just a few verses of the song. The lyrics, I believe, are about allowing pride to build up in you because of success. Because of the platform you’ve built, so Jesus gets lost behind you. For the average person, that’s a little hard to relate to. The average Christian doesn’t have a big platform that Jesus can get lost behind. No big spotlight or center stage for Jesus to fade into the background. But lately, as I sing these words, my brain no longer thinks it’s just talking about God getting lost behind the spotlight, but God getting lost behind you. Here’s what I mean.

It’s not just about being on a big stage and everyone looking at you and forgetting about Christ. The average Christian gets in the way of Christ through our own flesh. We get in the way. Our pride, anger, depression, anxiety, lust, addiction, etc. We are God’s representation on this earth. We are the hands and feet of Christ. We are His body. His Light should be shining through us. The only reason it doesn’t is because our flesh gets in the way. We allow our own feelings and emotions to control us, instead of Christ and His Spirit directing and guiding us.

We don’t need a big stage or platform to distract from Christ. Each of us comes in contact with nonbelievers every single day. How many of us can honestly say that we do a good job of being Christ to them? The majority of us can’t say that we do. Each one of us has become our own idol. We no longer crucify our flesh. We no longer put our flesh into submission to obey Christ. Anything comes out of our mouths. Anything fills our minds. Our thoughts are no longer put into check. Our actions are no longer held accountable. No longer are the Salt of the Earth and Light of the World, but instead, we have become like the World. Therefore, come out of the World. Be Christ to the World. And don’t be another dying star. Another Christian in name only, but instead be a true believer. A true follower. A true Christian.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Let God Shine Through You.

Therefore, since we have such hope, we use great boldness of speech— unlike Moses, who put a veil over his face so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the end of what was passing away. But their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ. But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. ~ II Corinthians 3:12-16 NKJV

⁸ Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. ~ Colossians 2:8 NKJV

I remember watching “Forbidden Kingdom” as a child, and one of the scenes Jackie Chan is trying to get the nation character to empty his spiritual Kung Fu cup. Why? Because he had watched so many Kung Fu movies that he thought he knew so much and therefore became a difficult student to teach. The Church today is much like that main character.

We have a lot of Church tradition knowledge, not necessarily Bible knowledge. Because of that, it’s difficult to actually learn what the Bible says and understand its true teachings. Paul said those under the Law have a blinder over their eyes until they come to Christ and the blinder is removed. Christians today have a doctrinal blinder over their eyes keeping them from understanding the Bible when they read it. Not because it’s too deep, too complex, too difficult to understand, but simply because they have a preconceived notion, idea, thought, belief in their mind that keeps them blinded. It keeps them from seeing the Truth of Scripture.

So, what are we to do? We have to empty our cup of doctrine and tradition, so that when we read our Bible, we comprehend, understand, and see what the Truth of God is. So that we aren’t blinded by the veil of doctrine or tradition. Here’s the thing, it doesn’t matter what a pastor, teacher, “prophet” or anyone of the sort says, it matters what the Bible says. We don’t need our beliefs grounded in what the early Church fathers taught, we need our beliefs grounded in the Bible. Can their teachings be helpful? Absolutely. But unless their teachings can be found in Scripture, then their teachings are no longer helpful, but harmful. Our faith and our beliefs should be grounded in Scripture, and nothing else, otherwise we are now putting our faith in man. It is now a man-made religion. It is no longer God-ordained.

Therefore, ground yourself in the Word of God. Read it. Learn it. You don’t need to chew on every single verse or you can’t read your Bible. That’s an excuse not to read. That’s an excuse to remain ignorant of Scripture. Yes, we need to study it to understand it. To understand the Deeper things, but we also need to read it to know what it says. Otherwise, anyone who has a little more knowledge than us can lead us astray. Any teaching can sound good and right, unless we read the Scriptures from cover to cover for ourselves.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Empty Your Cup.

²⁸ For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? ²⁹ Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, ³⁰ saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ ³¹ Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? ³² And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. ~ Luke 14:28-32

I’ve seen so many posts from people who made mistakes when setting up their eBay stores. Their advertising percentage is too high, their shipping has issues, their listings have flaws, and all of these things have cost them a lot of money in sales. And all I can think when I see these posts is, “Why didn’t they do some research before they dove right into reselling?” Before I started, I watched video after video after video, just trying to learn as much as I possibly could from those who are successful in what I wanted to do. I watched their tips, tricks, things they would’ve done differently, and ways they messed up. I watched so many videos that even my family members started learning stuff by default because it’s all I watched. I didn’t just jump into anything; I needed to know what I was getting myself into. How to set myself up as best as I possibly could.

See, in life, we can’t just dive straight into everything without first at least checking the water. It’s not always because we’re not good at something or because the enemy is just attacking us. Sometimes, we are our own biggest obstacle. We have to first learn to crawl before we can learn to walk, and then one day we’ll be running. Yes, the LORD is for you, but you also have to do your part. So don’t just dive into any and everything without first, at the very least, researching the very basics.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and First Look At The Water.

⁹ So Naaman came with his horses and chariots and stood at the door of Elisha’s house. ¹⁰ And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored, and you shall be clean.” ¹¹ But Naaman was angry and went away, saying, “Behold, I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call upon the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper. ¹² Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage. ¹³ But his servants came near and said to him, “My father, it is a great word the prophet has spoken to you; will you not do it? Has he actually said to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” ¹⁴ So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God, and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean. ~ 2 Kings 5:9-14

Sometimes worship doesn’t heal the wounds; sometimes worship does the opposite. It deepens them. When we pray, when we worship, we expect an immediate healing every single time. A quick fix so we can get back to life as usual, but not every wound is fixed by one prayer and worship session. Sometimes that one session opens the wound deeper, not because God is cruel or the wound is too great for Him, but because God is getting to the root of your wound. Sometimes, there’s something bigger, something deeper going on that we don’t even see or realize. Something buried so deep it’s become hidden from our conscious mind. So, it takes God digging deeper in us to reveal all that’s holding us back. All that’s keeping us from moving forward in life.

So, what are we to do? We keep peeling back the layers. One prayer. One worship session at a time. We dig and dig until we get to the root of the wound. The root of the hurt. The root of the pain. And once we get to the root of all of these things, that’s where we’ll find peace. That’s where we’ll find our solace. That’s where we’ll find our healing.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Let Him Dig Deeper.