Tag: Awaken From Spiritual Slumber

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Discern Your Delilah

15 And she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me these three times, and you have not told me where your great strength lies.” 16 And when she pressed him hard with her words day after day, and urged him, his soul was vexed to death. 17 And he told her all his heart, and said to her, “A razor has never come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If my head is shaved, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak and be like any other man.” ~ Judges 16:15-17

Samson had become blinded by his own fleshly desires, his own lust for Delilah. He had put his desire for her above his desire for God and had spiritually fallen asleep. Three times Delilah came to him asking for the secret to his strength, and each time what he had told her, she had done to him. He was so spiritually asleep that he could no longer discern that Delilah was against him. That she was his enemy wanting only to destroy. He had allowed his fleshly desires to control him and put his spirit man to sleep.

This is like us today. We allow our fleshly desires to consume us and put our spirit man to sleep so that we don’t have any discernment. When we allow ourselves to love our sin, we lose that spirit of discernment, and we believe the lies of the enemy. We no longer see our sin as death, but instead as the life, we were meant to have. We, like Eve and Samson, are deceived by our own desires and give into sin.

And just like Samson and Eve, when we give in to sin, we spiritually die. Our discernment completely leaves us. We no longer even realize that we are completely separated from God. We no longer realize that we are living in sin because our discernment leaves and our spirit man dies. But don’t lose hope; there is redemption and new life in Christ Jesus.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Discern Your Delilah.

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Unbind Your Strong Man

7 Samson said to her, “If they bind me with seven fresh bowstrings that have not been dried, then I shall become weak and be like any other man.” 8 Then the Lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven fresh bowstrings that had not been dried, and she bound him with them. ~ Judges 16:7-8

Samson had become so Spiritually asleep that he didn’t feel Delilah binding him with fresh bowstrings. Samson had allowed the enemy to enter into his life and bind him. Oftentimes, this is exactly how we are today. When we become spiritually asleep, we allow the Devil to enter into our lives and bind us. We allow our past strongholds to return and bind us as they try to bring us back into slavery to sin.

Jesus said you must first bind the strong man before you can pillage his home. When we aren’t spiritually awake, we allow the enemy to enter into our lives and bind up our strong man, our spirit man. And if we aren’t careful, the enemy won’t just bind our spirit man up; he’ll kill him, which will spiritually kill us.

Peter warns us to stay awake, for our adversary is like a prowling lion seeking someone to devour. God warned Cain to rule over sin because sin was constantly crouching at the door with the desire to overcome and rule him. We have to stay spiritually awake that our strongman will never be overcome and bound so that we may never return to our old self. So that we may grow spiritually in Christ Jesus, becoming more and more like Him.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Unbind Your Strong Man.

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The Dangers of Growing Cold

20 And she said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And he awoke from his sleep and said, “I will go out as at other times and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the Lord had left him. ~ Judges 16:20

Samson had grown so spiritually cold that he couldn’t feel when the Spirit of the LORD left him. Samson had become spiritually asleep. He was the Judge at the time. The leader of the people of Israel, and yet, even he succumbed to the distractions of this world. And when the Philistines came, he could no longer defend himself. Samson had become just as weak as everyone else. He had become human.

This still happens to us today. We allow the distractions of this world to slowly wean us off of God so that we don’t even realize that we are no longer abiding in His love. They distract us with our jobs, family, friends, past, television, riots and chaos, depression and grief, and every kind of temptation known to man. The world keeps us so busy that we forget to make time for God, and we stray from His protecting presence. Then when the world attacks, we are like a sitting duck. We have nothing to protect us.

But just as God redeemed Samson when he humbled himself and called out to Him, so will He redeem us when we humble ourselves and call out to Him. Our God didn’t die on the cross and rise again just to leave us in chains and slaves to sin. No matter what we’ve done or how far we’ve run, God will always come running to our rescue when we bend our knees and call on His name.

LORD God, please awaken the sleeping spirit within us. Let us hear Your voice and feel Your Holy presence once again. Help us to be aware of the distractions of the world surrounding us, that we might not fall into any trap set before us. Guide us on our journey back to You, LORD God. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Be Like a Sentry on Guard

2 One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful. ~ 2 Samuel 11:2

The application here is that David had become spiritually lazy; he found himself in bed instead of out fighting the war with his soldiers. We are in a war, a spiritual war. A battle for our souls and the souls of our family, our friends, our congregations, our neighbors, those we know, and those we don’t even know.

We cannot afford to lie on beds and fall asleep while the battle rages all around us, we need to be doing what God has called us to be doing, and one of those things is our private time. If David was in his private time, he would not have been where he was not supposed to be, and not gazing at another man’s wife and lusting in his heart.

Spiritual laziness leads to spiritual slumber, and that’s exactly where David found himself; spiritually asleep. David started to think in his mind. He probably even fantasied about her. David had several wives by then, so it was not like he needed yet another. But the lust of the eye, as John wrote about in 1 John 2, got the best of him.

That is why we can’t let down our guard for one second; we must always be on the alert like a sentry. God warned Cain that sin is always on the attack; it never sleeps because it knows what it wants. You are what it desires. So, stay alert, armed, and ready to defend yourself from all attacks of the Evil One.

Dear LORD God, please awaken our sleeping spirit within us. Help us to stay awake, guarding our minds, hearts, and eyes as a sentry guard’s the gate protecting all inside the walls from any and all intruders. Help us to grow that we might not become distracted during our private time, prayer time, worship time, or Bible time. Help us to be on guard that we might successfully defend all attacks of the Evil One. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Remember Your First Love

2 I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. 3 I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. 4 But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. 5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. ~ Revelation 2:2-5

Jesus is speaking to the church in Ephesus. He said, “But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first” What He is actually saying is, “You have lost your passion for me. You no longer have the fire shut up in your bones.”

They had the actions, but not the passion.

Remember when you first got married? You couldn’t wait to see your spouse. To be with him/her. To talk with them and to hold their hand. Sometimes that’s all you could talk about at work or think about. That was passion.

Now the flames don’t burn as hot; you’re now ok with working late. You don’t sit and talk for hours anymore like you did at first because you didn’t want to go to sleep because it was time taken away that could be spent with the love of your life. It’s your first love; there was passion.

This is how we are with Jesus now, but that’s not how it ought to be. Jesus is our betrothed. We’re supposed to love Him, yearn for Him, seek Him, speak with Him. We’re supposed to be head over heels in love with our bridegroom, who is on His way to bring us to Himself so that we might be with Him forever.

LORD God, please help us to remember our first love. Help us to not seek out the darkness but seek out the light in the darkness. Ignite a passion within our bones once again that we might seek Your face and Your presence. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Don’t Return To Your Vomit

22b The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire. ~ 2 Peter 2:22

Peter compares returning to our sin as a dog returning to its vomit and a sow (female pig) returning to mire (muck). If this is what returning to sin is like, why do we do it? Could it be because we’ve allowed ourselves to be deceived? According to Paul (2 Corinthians 11:14), Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore we can assume that he disguises sin as well.

See, we often get caught up in the things of this world, and we stop spending time with God. We stop reading our Bible, praying, worshiping, etc. We become spiritually blind to the tactics of the enemy. Even though Jesus has just purged us of our sin, when Satan comes around with our vomit (past sins) in a new dish, we gorge ourselves because of our spiritual blindness.

We have to stay spiritually alert so that we won’t give any opportunity to the Devil. We have to spend time with Jesus every day, lest we fall away and return to our filth He cleansed us from.

LORD God, please open our eyes that we may be spiritually awake, testing and discerning the spirits around us. Give us wisdom that we might see sin for what it truly is. Guide us, LORD God, as we run this race set before us. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Have Your Eyes Grown Dim?

12 On that day I will fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. 13 And I declare to him that I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God, and he did not restrain them. 14 Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever. ~ 1 Samuel 3:12-14

I believe Eli’s spiritual eyes began to grow dim when he started turning a blind eye to what his sons were doing. You can’t keep your hands from getting dirty while playing with pigs. What I mean is, you have to be very careful who you align yourself with. The things they stand for and support will become the things you stand for and support. Therefore, if you strongly support a political candidate, celebrity, musician, etc., you better make sure their views are your views. You cannot stoke the fire and not smell like smoke.

Although Eli was watching her, he had become so comfortable and so spiritually blind that he no longer had the spiritual discernment to see Hannah was distressed in her spirit. Today’s churches no longer have spiritual discernment. Why? Because they are too caught up in the political/social agenda, without even realizing that it is designed to divide and conquer. They divide us on race, politics, religion, and on every aspect of life that they can. We no longer fight for unity. What would happen if the Church put aside all their differences and got together as one body, just like the bread is one loaf, and pray. The book of Genesis tells us that God Himself said that it’s impossible to stop a united people.

God was not pleased with Eli, and He brought judgment down on Eli and his sons. God said that judgment will start at His house, with His people. We better get our act together and start seeking God. We better start calling sin, sin and stop playing around with those who want to kick God out of our country and our government. We better stop promoting the political correctness agenda and start promoting God’s agenda.

LORD, open our eyes that we may have discernment. Awaken our sleeping spirit that we may never choose the world over You. Fill us with Your Holy Spirit that He may guide us as we run the race set before us. Give us strength to make a stand for righteousness. In the name of Jesus, I pray, amen.

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Look For Your Well of Water

19 Then God opened Hagar’s eyes, and she saw a well full of water. She quickly filled her water container and gave the boy a drink. ~ Genesis 21:19NLT

Hagar had become spiritually blind because of pride. She forgot who she was because she had a child for Abraham. Hagar didn’t raise her son to respect Sarah or to love Isaac, his little brother. She had become blinded by envy and pride. Hagar was so spiritually blind that she was sitting next to a well full of water and dying of thirst because she couldn’t see it.

This is how we are today; we’re all in a desert of sin, dying of thirst. Even though we’re in a desert of sin, dying of thirst, we don’t have to be. God is in the desert with us. He’s sitting right next to us, calling us by name. He is our well of living water,

38 Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from His heart.’

John 7:38

but we become spiritually blind because of pride and/or envy, and we refuse to bow our knees to God. We refuse to love His Son. We refuse to humble ourselves and ask for forgiveness, and we miss out on the well of living water that will end all thirst. Don’t live your life thirsty, dying of dehydration.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Look For Your Well of Water.

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The End Never Justifies The Means

3 Then when Judas, His betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he changed his mind and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, 4 saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” They said, “What is that to us? See to it yourself.” Matthew 27:3-4ESV

The Scripture states that when Judas saw that Jesus was condemned, he changed his mind. It sounds to me that that was not his initial intention. It seems like Judas was trying to force Jesus’ hand. He wanted to see the kingdom restored to Israel and wanted it now. He didn’t want, nor did he expect it to be, a spiritual kingdom. Judas was expecting a physical kingdom that he could see and touch now. He was expecting Jesus to be the anointed king that would free Israel from the tyranny of their Roman oppressors.

Remember, they had just had the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem. Everyone was singing and rejoicing. This seemed like the perfect time to force his will upon Jesus. Force Him to take the throne. But it was not God’s timing. It may have seemed like the perfect timing, but it wasn’t God’s timing, and that makes all the difference. We have to be extremely cognizant of God’s timing, or we will miss the boat completely, and someone else will take our place.

Judas was so focused on His own idea of what Jesus was supposed to be that he missed out completely on who Jesus was. He was in church every Sunday, best friends with the lead pastor; he even preached some Wednesday nights, and yet he had no spiritual discernment. On the outside, Judas was the epidemy of Christianity, but on the inside, he was spiritually dead. He was just going through the motions. He had no relationship with God. This why Jesus says,

“21 Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’”

Matthew 7:21-23

See, it’s not about the amount of good you do. It’s not about how many times you go to church a month. It’s not about how close you are with the pastor. It’s not even about how much time you spend in your Bible; it’s all about your relationship with God and our obedience to Him. It doesn’t matter if we say we love God or not; it’s how we live our lives. Judas was best friends with Jesus, he ‘loved’ Jesus, but he didn’t live his life as if he did. He only honored God with his lips.

13 And the Lord said: “Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me,”

Isaiah 29:13a

We have to seek the will of God. We have to seek Him to know Him. We can’t allow ourselves to fall asleep spiritually so that we can know the will of the one who created us.

Heavenly Father awaken the sleeping spirit within us today. Open our blind eyes and our deaf ears. Set a fire in our soul for You, oh LORD. Fill us with a desire to seek Your presence and Your will. Open our eyes that we may see You for who You are so that we may see Your plan for our lives. Help us to follow the path that You have paved out for us. Guide us with Your Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Don’t Blindly Follow

12 As she kept on praying to the Lord, Eli observed her mouth. 13 Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk 14 and said to her, “How long are you going to stay drunk? Put away your wine.” 15 “Not so, my lord,” Hannah replied, “I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to the Lord. 16 Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief.” ~ 1 Samuel 1:12-16

Eli was the High Priest at the time that Hannah was earnestly praying for a child in the Temple. Eli, though the High Priest, had no discernment. He took yearning and seeking after God for drunkenness. He had spiritually fallen asleep. Is this how the Church is today? Are our leaders spiritually awake?

In our society today, we’ve become more about feelings than about Truth. Why? Is it that our spiritual leaders have fallen asleep? Jesus said, that if the blind lead the blind both will fall into the pit. Just like in the days of Eli, the spiritually blind are leading the spiritually blind straight into the pit. When we stop reading the Bible for ourselves to see if what we are being taught is true, we are blindly following. And if we are blindly following, then how can we know whether our leaders are leading us to life or to death?

Spend time with the LORD. Seek out His wisdom and His discernment through His Holy Spirit. Jesus didn’t die on the cross to take away our sin and then raise again only to abandon us here alone. He went up to Heaven so that we could have the Holy Spirit with us and within us forever. He is our guide so that we never fall into a Spiritual blindness or Spiritual sleep as Eli did.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Don’t Blindly Follow.

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