Tag: Spiritual

¹⁰ And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends. And the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before. ¹¹ Then came to him all his brothers and sisters and all who had known him before, and ate bread with him in his house. And they showed him sympathy and comforted him for all the evil that the Lord had brought upon him. And each of them gave him a piece of money and a ring of gold. ¹² And the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning. And he had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys. ¹³ He had also seven sons and three daughters. ¹⁴ And he called the name of the first daughter Jemimah, and the name of the second Keziah, and the name of the third Keren-happuch. ¹⁵ And in all the land there were no women so beautiful as Job’s daughters. And their father gave them an inheritance among their brothers. ¹⁶ And after this, Job lived 140 years, and saw his sons and sons’ sons, four generations. ¹⁷ And Job died, an old man, and full of days. ~ Job 42:10-17

Job was a man of righteousness and faithfulness to the LORD. Job even sacrificed on behalf of his children just in case they sinned against the LORD. So, when the testing of the Devil came upon him, Job knew it wasn’t punishment from the LORD. Job knew his relationship with God. And because Job knew his relationship with God, Job knew God’s heart. He understood that there had to be another reason why he, an innocent man, was under spiritual attack. And because he knew his God, Job didn’t sin or speak against God during his test.

Some of us are going through a season of testing. We’re under attack by the enemy. Everything is being taken away from us. Finances. Relationships. Blessings. Health. Everything. During these seasons, it’s difficult for us to keep our mouths closed and not speak out against God. This is where Job and the Church today differentiate. So many of us speak against God as Bildad and his friends did. Very few of us refuse to give up. Very few of us turn to God and seek Him in these times. The majority of us blame God and become angry with Him. But look at your actions. Is this a test from God? Or is this an attack of the enemy because you let your walls down? You’ll know the answer by the actions you’ve made prior to this season. Were you faithful? Were you having a true relationship with God? Were you spending time with Him every day?

If you are faithful to the LORD in this season, regardless of how you got there, the LORD will be faithful to you and see you through it. When God restored Job’s fortunes, it wasn’t just the fortunes he had previously lost. God gave Job more than he lost. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, was poured into Job’s lap. Why? Because Job remained faithful to God. He refused to curse God and die. He refused to betray the LORD. He withstood the test, and the LORD restored and rewarded Job’s faithfulness.

So, if you’re in this season of testing, or even if you’re in a season of attack because you opened the door to the enemy, don’t be discouraged. Repent, close the door, and seek the LORD for restoration.

LORD God, please show me the season that I’m in. Show me whether I have opened a door to a spiritual attack or whether I am being tested. LORD, I know that I have sinned because I know that I haven’t yet been fully perfected, so LORD God, forgive me for each sin I’ve committed. Help me to close any door I’ve opened that isn’t of You. Teach me to seek Your face in the valley and in the mountain. Teach me to have a true relationship with You and not just a superficial one. Help me to trust You and love You the way that You deserve. Please help me to never take You for granted, so that when you take me through this season the restoration might also be of my soul and spirit. Thank You for Your love, mercy, and grace. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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¹ Now Elisha had said to the woman whose son he had restored to life, “Arise, and depart with your household, and sojourn wherever you can, for the Lord has called for a famine, and it will come upon the land for seven years.” ² So the woman arose and did according to the word of the man of God. She went with her household and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years. ³ And at the end of the seven years, when the woman returned from the land of the Philistines, she went to appeal to the king for her house and her land. ⁴ Now the king was talking with Gehazi the servant of the man of God, saying, “Tell me all the great things that Elisha has done.” ⁵ And while he was telling the king how Elisha had restored the dead to life, behold, the woman whose son he had restored to life appealed to the king for her house and her land. And Gehazi said, “My lord, O king, here is the woman, and here is her son whom Elisha restored to life.” ⁶ And when the king asked the woman, she told him. So the king appointed an official for her, saying, “Restore all that was hers, together with all the produce of the fields from the day that she left the land until now.” ~ 2 Kings 8:1-6

Elisha, the prophet, warned the Shunammite woman that a famine was coming, but when she returned after the famine, her home and land were no longer hers. The Shunammite woman was a wealthy woman, so leaving all of her land and her home behind to become a sojourner in the land of the Philistines for seven years wasn’t easy, but she wholeheartedly trusted the man of God. Now that the seven years of famine were over and she returned home, her home and her land weren’t even hers anymore.

This is how it is with us sometimes. The LORD sends us a warning, so we try to react to this warning, but maybe we make a mistake, and when we return, all we have left is gone. Or maybe we do exactly as the LORD tells us, and all we have left is still gone. But don’t be discouraged. Look what the Shunammite woman did. She didn’t gripe. She didn’t get angry. She didn’t get discouraged. She went to the king of Israel to appeal for her land, and her land was restored to her as she left, plus the seven years of production from the land while she was gone.

Sometimes when we follow God, the LORD allows for the enemy to swoop in and collect our land. Collect our home. Collect our job. Collect our blessing while we are away, but when we go before Him and appeal, the LORD has mercy and grace. Why? Look at who introduced the Shunammite woman to the king, Gehazi, the servant of Elisha, the man of God. The king might not have given the woman such a favorable response to her request if it were not for Gehazi explaining who she was to him. And just as Gehazi went before the Shunammite woman and, in a sense, spoke on her behalf, an even better spokesman speaks on our behalf.

Jesus, God incarnate, went before us into the Holy of Holies in the Temple of Heaven and spoke on our behalf. He tells the King who we are. We aren’t just someone He healed; we are the very children of God adopted in through His precious blood and His Holy Spirit. So, how much more would the King of kings give to His children? The king gave the woman all she left and all that was produced while she was gone, and he only knew of her because of the word of Gehazi. The King of kings knows who we are because He died for us and washed us in His precious and Holy blood. So, again I ask, how much more would the King of kings give to His children?

When the enemy swoops in to take something from you, it’s only for a season. Don’t be discouraged. Don’t become angry. Take it straight to the LORD. What has the enemy stolen from you? Lay it at the feet of Jesus. Bring an appeal to the LORD. Don’t waste any time, for you are more than just a common person. You are a child of Almighty God.

LORD God, help me return to my promised land so I can see what the enemy has taken. Please restore to me all that the enemy has taken from me. Finances. Assets. Investments. Jobs. Blessings. Be with me, LORD God, as I return to my promised land. Defend me as I bring forth my appeals. Teach me how to never give up. Teach me to be like the Shunammite woman and never become discouraged by my circumstances but always seek after You. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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¹ And David spoke to the Lord the words of this song on the day when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. ~ 2 Samuel 22:1

The Scriptures say that the LORD delivered David from his enemies and King Saul. King Saul wasn’t counted as one of David’s enemies. Not everyone that comes against us is one of our enemies. Sometimes they are just a pawn of the enemy trying to distract us, so we lose sight of the true battle. So that we lose sight of the true enemy. King Saul tried to kill David multiple times, he even gave his wife away to another man, yet David understood that King Saul wasn’t his enemy. King Saul was just a distraction.

Don’t allow the enemy to distract you with people in your life that try to bring you down or discourage you; then, the next minute, they’re singing your praises. Not everyone is your enemy. Not everyone is your friend. Some people in your life are being used by the enemy in order to stop you from reaching your God-given call.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Fight Only Your Enemies.

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¹⁶ Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men. ¹⁷ Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah: ¹⁸ “A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.” ~ Matthew 2:16-18

2,000 years ago, God had a plan, but if you notice, the devil had a counterplan to thwart or frustrate the plan of God. Today is no different. God’s plan was for Jesus to be born the king of the Jews; to be born in Bethlehem to a virgin named Mary; to grow up and usher in the kingdom of God; to give sight to the blind; to heal the sick; to make the lame walk; to cure the leper; but most of all, to purchase salvation for all mankind. Satan’s plan was to destroy the Christ. His plan was to destroy the hope and salvation of mankind.

Yet the world tries to deceive all into believing that God isn’t for us but against us. But look at God’s plan. God’s plan is to bless us and not to cause us harm, to give us hope and a future. There is nothing that our God will not do for us, and there is nothing good that He will withhold from us, His beloved. We have to put our trust in Him so that we might be delivered out of the hands of the enemy because the enemy tried to steal Christmas 2000 years ago by trying to kill the Light of the World. Today is no different. The enemy still tries to steal our joy and hope so that he can squash out the last bit of light so that the world might be left in darkness. This may be the plan of the enemy, but the plan of God is for our good and not evil. It’s to bring us hope and a future. Therefore, if we keep our eyes on Christ and we put our trust in Him, then we will always have an escape from the enemy’s plan to destroy us.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Flee To Egypt.

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⁷ Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. ~ Matthew 2:7

I used to think that the magi went to king Herod to inquire about where the promised Messiah was to be born, but they did not. Herod had to summon them. The lesson here is, do not seek the righteous among the unrighteous. All of those progressive churches that teach that you can live any old way, and Jesus is fine with it because, after all, God understands.

I’m here to tell you, Do Not seek the righteous among those who say there is nothing you can do to fall out of grace with their savior. It simply isn’t true. There is a right way to live, and there is a wrong way to live.

Jesus said that if you love Him, you will do what He said. And He left us a perfect example, Himself; therefore, there is no excuse. Yet there are those who try to corrupt the Gospel and lead others astray, but you don’t have to be deceived by them. The wise men knew the prophecy, they were focused on only the Messiah, so when they were warned of King Herod, they were able to withstand and see through the deceit of King Herod.

Therefore, if we know the Word of God and we keep our focus on the Christ, when the LORD warns us and gives us a spirit of discernment, we will be able to see through the traps of the enemy. We will be able to withstand the attacks against us and our God.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Focus On His Star.

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