Be Aware of Spiritual Warfare Archives

February 18, 2020February 13, 2021

Run To Your Safe Zone

“¹⁴And again they wept together, and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law good-bye. But Ruth clung tightly to Naomi. ¹⁵’Look,’ Naomi said to her, ‘your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods. You should do the same.’ ¹⁶But Ruth replied, ‘Don’t ask me to leave you and turn back. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. ¹⁷Wherever you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord punish me severely if I allow anything but death to separate us!’ ¹⁸When Naomi saw that Ruth was determined to go with her, she said nothing more.” ~ Ruth 1:14-18

Ruth saw that if she returned to her people, she would worse off. She gave up false gods that she grew up with, the culture she was raised in, her false safe place and followed Naomi. Ruth got out of her comfort zone just so she could be close to her true safe place.

Our safe place is with God, yet we are afraid to walk out of our comfort zone to get to Him. We don’t wanna give up our traditions, our friends, our beliefs, our false gods and idols, our strongholds, our addictions, our comfort zone to be with God. All of these things will slowly kill us spiritually because we die where God isn’t, and God isn’t in any of those places.

Orpah couldn’t see past her comfort zone, she couldn’t see the life that would have come from sticking with Naomi. She missed it. But Ruth saw it. She clung to it. She obeyed it. She followed it. She served it. And she was blessed because of it. She will forever be known as one of Jesus’ ancestors. A foreigner with sin, who didn’t grow up with the law, she had foreign gods and idols, yet she saw life and chased after it, so God blessed her for it. And He saved her soul.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Run To Your Safe Zone.

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Breathe Life

“³¹Gehazi hurried on ahead and laid the staff on the child’s face, but nothing happened. There was no sign of life. He returned to meet Elisha and told him, ‘The child is still dead.’

³²When Elisha arrived, the child was indeed dead, lying there on the prophet’s bed. ³³He went in alone and shut the door behind him and prayed to the Lord. ³⁴Then he lay down on the child’s body, placing his mouth on the child’s mouth, his eyes on the child’s eyes, and his hands on the child’s hands. And as he stretched out on him, the child’s body began to grow warm again! ³⁵Elisha got up, walked back and forth across the room once, and then stretched himself out again on the child. This time the boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes!

³⁶Then Elisha summoned Gehazi. ‘Call the child’s mother!’ he said. And when she came in, Elisha said, ‘Here, take your son!’ ³⁷She fell at his feet and bowed before him, overwhelmed with gratitude. Then she took her son in her arms and carried him downstairs.” ~ 2 Kings 4:31-37

Here’s some more background, a woman and her husband took good care of Elisha whenever he was in the town of Shunem. They even built him a room, so Elisha wanted to do something kind for them. When he asked his servant Gehazi what he should do, he told him that she had no son. So Elisha granted her her desire and she was able to have this one son. One day he was out in the fields with his father and he began to have a headache. Then when his mother put him in Elisha’s bed, the boy died. She then had no one enter the room and went in search of Elisha.

When she met Elisha, she told him all that happened. So Elisha told Gehazi to go place his staff on the dead child’s face, expecting to see a miracle, but the woman refused to leave without Elisha, so he went back with her. But Gehazi returned, saying the child was still dead. When Elisha entered, prayed, laid on the child, the child still didn’t jump up alive. So Elisha got up, walked back and forth across the room one more time, praying no doubt, and then tried it again. Then finally the boy woke up.

The little boy didn’t wake up on the first attempt, he didn’t wake up on the second attempt, it took three acts of faith to awaken this dead child. Some of us have pleaded for a child, a business, a miracle, and have been given one. But for some reason, it has died, whether physically or spiritually. You’ve tried to fix it, but it just seems hopeless. But don’t give up hope. If God has given you this child, business or promised you a miracle, He will awaken whatever has died, even if you don’t see life.

It wasn’t until Elisha came in, prayed, and acted, did he begin to see life in the boy again. When something dies, sometimes it’s not enough to just lay down a stick. Sometimes you have to get on your knees and pray. Sometimes you have to layover what is dead and breathe life back into them. It took three tries to awaken that child, yet Elisha never lost hope. Don’t give up. There is still time for that wayward child to return, that business to pick up, that miracle to happen. Don’t give up, don’t be discouraged. Your Heavenly Father is working this out for the good of all of His children. He’s working it out for YOUR good.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Breathe Life.

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Focus On Eternity

“²We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting Him, He endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now He is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.” ~ Hebrews 12:2

Jesus endured all that He did because He knew what was waiting for Him. The pain and shame of the cross would only last a short moment compared to the joy and honor He would receive for all eternity. Jesus had His eyes focused on one thing, eternity. Where are your eyes focused?

Do the temporary things of this world pull you in? Do they control you? Are they how you make your decisions? Jesus never lost sight of what He would gain from the cross, He never allowed what He would lose to stop Him. In life, our call is our one purpose; if we allow this world and its distractions to control what we do and what we want, we will lose out on our great reward that is waiting for us in Heaven. These things won’t last forever, they’re only temporary, but what God has in store for us will last forever.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Focus On Eternity.

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Take Back What’s Yours

“¹⁸David got back everything the Amalekites had taken, and he rescued his two wives. ¹⁹Nothing was missing: small or great, son or daughter, nor anything else that had been taken. David brought everything back. ²⁰He also recovered all the flocks and herds, and his men drove them ahead of the other livestock.” ~ 1 Samuel 30:18-20a

David went before the LORD and asked Him if he should attack the Amalekites after they had stolen everything from David and his men. Because David waited on the LORD, the LORD was with him, and not one thing, neither large nor small, was left behind. David and his men recovered everything the Amalekites had stolen from them.

Instead of getting discouraged and allowing himself to become defeated, David humbled himself before God and asked God what he should do. Then he waited for an answer. The enemy has taken many things from us. Some he has taken children, spouses, loved ones, finances, success, health, and place it at the LORD’s feet. It may seem like an obvious answer but wait for the LORD to go with you because with him, you will be able to bring back that wayward child or spouse. Recover those depleted finances. Achieve success in every endeavor.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Take Back What’s Yours.

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Train Your Children

“¹¹Then the Lord said to Samuel, ‘I am about to do a shocking thing in Israel. ¹²I am going to carry out all my threats against Eli and his family, from beginning to end. ¹³I have warned him that judgment is coming upon his family forever because his sons are blaspheming Godand he hasn’t disciplined them. ¹⁴So I have vowed that the sins of Eli and his sons will never be forgiven by sacrifices or offerings.’” ~ 1 Samuel 3:11-14

The LORD places children in the hands of their parents. It’s not by chance or accident that you are the parent of the child you have, but it was supernaturally ordained by God. He gave you your child. He placed them in your hands, with the expectancy that you would train them up in the way they should go. Eli, even though he was the High Priest, never corrected his two sons. Because of this, his sons died for their sins, and Eli was also held responsible because he didn’t teach his children. He allowed his two sons to carry on however they wanted, when God wanted and expected him to raise his sons to respect and fear God.

The fear of the LORD isn’t a negative thing, it’s a positive. Proverbs 1:7 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.” Fearing the LORD means you respect Him and all that He commands. God’s ways don’t always make sense, but if you teach your child to have faith in the LORD, they will never abandon Him. They may stray, but never for long because you helped them build a strong foundation. Teach and discipline your children from a young age, and you will see the seeds you planted flourish as they age. When they are put to the test, they will be able to pass. When they are tempted, they will be able to overcome. When they are lost, they will know how to seek God.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Train Your Children.

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Remind God

“⁶A delegation from the tribe of Judah, led by Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, came to Joshua at Gilgal. Caleb said to Joshua, ‘Remember what the Lord said to Moses, the man of God, about you and me when we were at Kadesh-Barnea.’” ~ Judges 14:6

After the Israelites overcame the inhabitants in the Promised Land enough to settle in, Caleb reminded Joshua of the promise that God gave Moses about to two of them. Because Caleb brought this back to Joshua’s attention, everything promised to him was given to him. Some may say, why should we remind God of His promises to us? Isn’t He God? Shouldn’t He know already?

In a relationship, there are conversations. Promises are made and when you have finished your side of the bargain, it’s time to then go collect your side. To do that, you remind whomever you made that promise with. We are in a relationship with God. If we do our part of the deal, we must then go to God reminding Him of His part in the promise. God didn’t forget; this is so you will never forget.

If you haven’t seen a promise fulfilled yet, have you done your part? Have you gone to God with your finished offering and laid it down at His feet, reminding Him of His part? God is more than willing to fulfill His promise, He’s just waiting on you to finish your part. So finish with excitement, for the LORD is waiting to fulfill His promise and bless you!

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Remind God.

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Throw In Some Flour

“One of the young men went out into the field to gather herbs and came back with a pocketful of wild gourds. He shredded them and put them into the pot without realizing they were poisonous. Some of the stew was served to the men. But after they had eaten a bite or two they cried out, ‘Man of God, there’s poison in this stew!’ So they would not eat it. Elisha said, ‘Bring me some flour.’ Then he threw it into the pot and said, ‘Now it’s all right; go ahead and eat.’ And then it did not harm them.” ~ 2 Kings 4:39-41^NLT

Sometimes things look hopeless and extremely complicated, but God makes it simple for us. The poison could have really hurt the men who ate the stew, but instead of throwing out the stew, Elisha just threw some flour into it, and everything was okay. We’re all given a pot of poisoned stew at some point in time. Some of us eat it and slowly perish, others throw it away and miss out on the nutrition, and others throw some flour into the pot to purify it.

The pot of poisoned stew is your next step in life. If you take it without God, it’s like eating the poison. If you throw it away, you stay where you are and never grow, slowly dying from Spiritual starvation. Lastly, you can do it with God by throwing in the flour. Use the Holy Spirit to guide you, protect you, teach you, and take you to your next level.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Throw In Some Flour.

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