Tag: Spiritual

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The Physical Stirs The Spiritual

17 When Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him, and he took his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 18 And Joseph said to his father, “Not this way, my father; since this one is the firstborn, put your right hand on his head.” 19 But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great. Nevertheless, his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his offspring shall become a multitude of nations.” ~ Genesis 48:17-19

Jacob or Israel, as he was also called, was about to die, and Joseph brought his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, to be blessed by Jacob, his father. So, Joseph put Manasseh, his firstborn, on his left, facing his father’s right hand, and Ephraim on his right, facing his father’s left hand. But upon blessing them, Jacob crossed his hands and placed his right on Ephraim’s head and his left on Manasseh’s head, but Joseph was not pleased when he saw that. So, Joseph tried to switch Jacob’s hands by force so that his right was on Manasseh’s head and his left on Ephraim’s head. But Jacob told him no, because although Manasseh would be great, Ephraim would be greater. By doing so, Jacob put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh.

It might seem like a small thing to us, but what happens in the physical world stirs or affects what happens in the spiritual world. That is why prayer can affect our circumstances. Scripture can change the atmosphere and tear down strongholds. Just having occult objects in your house can open spiritual doors that can cause supernatural activity in your home.

Even when the Israelites brought their offerings, they were required to say certain things and to do specific actions, such as waving the offering before the LORD as a wave offering. It may seem as if it was a useless action, but we don’t know what it stirred in the spiritual world.

The same would be true of other occult practices, such as yoga, and the different positions that accompany it. Many Christians practice yoga, not realizing that the positions are irrevocably linked to Hindu worship. These physical actions open spiritual doors. So, we must be conscious of what we do in the physical, because both worlds are inseparably intertwined.

Father please close spiritual doors that we have unknowingly opened. Help us to understand that what we do here in the physical will affect the spiritual and protect us from inadvertently inviting unwanted spiritual activity in our lives, in Jesus’ Name, I pray, amen.

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Let God Undo

8 Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. 9 And he said to his people, “Behold, the people of Israel are too many and too mighty for us. 10 Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and, if war breaks out, they join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.” 11 Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with heavy burdens. They built for Pharaoh store cities, Pithom and Raamses. ~ Exodus 1:8-11

The Israelites had to build two store cities: Raamses and Pithom. What do these two cities have in common other than being built by the Israelite slaves under their Egyptian slave masters? They are both named after an Egyptian god. Raamses means “Ra has begotten him,” and Pithom means “House of Atum.”

These two gods weren’t just two random gods; they were two of the most important gods in ancient Egypt. In fact, they even merged into Ra-Atum in later Egyptian beliefs. These two cities weren’t just regular cities; they were cities named for two of the most important gods of Egypt. This is how the oppression of the Israelites began: by building store cities for Pharaoh so that his power would continue to grow, and the cities were named after the gods of Egypt. Pharaoh started oppressing the people of Israel by enslaving them and forcing them to help build two cities to strengthen Egypt and, in a sense, strengthen Egypt’s gods and the Israelites’ connection to them.

How can we be sure? Raamses, located in the Nile Delta, became a major royal capital and center of Egyptian power. Pithom, in eastern Egypt, was a storage city for grain and supplies for the army and the treasury. Some believe Pithom became Heliopolis, a major center of worship that God later pronounced judgment on in Jeremiah 43. These cities were not just ordinary settlements—they were built to strengthen Egypt’s power, influence, and connection to its gods.

Now, fast-forward four hundred years: God has Aaron tell Pharaoh to let His people go so they might hold a feast and make a sacrifice to Him (Exodus 5:1). Their slavery started out with Pharaoh forcing a connection of the Israelites to the gods of Egypt, so when the LORD took them out of the land (and out of slavery), it was to break the connection they had formed with those gods and reconnect them with the God of their fathers (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob).

I think that’s kind of mind-blowing. God was undoing what the enemy had done. He wasn’t just physically freeing His people but spiritually freeing them as well. He brought punishment on those gods that had led his people astray and spiritually put a yoke around their necks (Exodus 12:12). Our God doesn’t play when it comes to us. He doesn’t just ignore our bondage. He doesn’t just ignore our pain and suffering. Nor does He ignore our oppressors, but vengeance is His. He will repay. He will right the wrong and deliver His people out of the hand of the enemy; we need only call on His name.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Let God Undo.

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Let’s Rethink

11 Then Jacob kissed Rachel and wept aloud. ~ Genesis 29:11

In today’s world, we have an idea of what masculinity is. An idea that strong men should never cry, they should never show emotion, but when you read the Bible (both New and Old Testament), you see something different. Throughout Scripture, you see the men of the Bible weeping. They wept privately and publicly. In front of their wives, families, parents, friends, crowds. They wept.

They didn’t hold in the pain, the suffering. They didn’t bottle it up and try to just ignore it, pretending it didn’t exist. Look at the statistics of the suicide of men in the US.

Male suicide in the United States is at a significantly higher rate than those for women. For instance, in 2023, the suicide rate among men was approximately 23 per 100,000, nearly four times higher than the rate for women (about 6 per 100,000).  This disparity has persisted for decades, with men accounting for 79% to 80% of all suicide deaths in the U.S., despite making up only about half the population.

Suicide rates are highest among men aged 75 and over, with a rate of 42.2 per 100,000 in 2021.  Rates have also risen sharply among younger men, particularly those aged 25-34, increasing by 30% since 2010. Men in certain occupations face elevated risk. Construction and extraction workers have the highest suicide rate (69 per 100,000), followed by those in installation, maintenance, and repair, protective services (e.g., policing), and farming, fishing, and forestry.

The older men get, the higher at risk they are for suicide. The more “masculine” job they have, the higher at risk they are for suicide. Could it be that all of those years of bottling up their emotions, pain, struggles just becomes too much? Could it be that the feeling of never being “manly” enough or never reaching some pedestal we’ve set for them makes them feel less than?

Ancient Israel didn’t struggle with suicide, but the US does. Ancient Israel mourned, wept, and openly expressed themselves, but the US does not. If we can change the way we see “masculinity” and how we treat our men in the US, maybe, just maybe we can stop this pandemic of suicide that is ravaging through our men.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Let’s Rethink It Together.

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Test Your Soul

10 The soul of the wicked desires evil; his neighbor finds no mercy in his eyes. ~ Proverbs 21:10

Solomon said that the soul of the wicked desires evil. Its very being desires evil. What does that mean? Well, when you go back to the original Hebrew you find that you could actually translate this as “the soul of the guilty desires punishment, his neighbor (or friend or companion) finds no mercy in his eyes.”

In other words, the guilty do not forgive. They lack the love of God that softens the hearts of His people. They lack the capability to forgive and show mercy like the unforgiving servant in the parable Jesus told.

We forgive because He forgave us. We love because He first loved us. But the guilty aren’t saved. They aren’t forgiven because their hearts are hardened and ice cold. They do not love because they are not forgiven and the love of God has not changed them and restored them. Therefore, this is a good test to see if you have been saved, if you are dwelling in the love of God, ask yourself “Do I show mercy and forgive?”

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Test Your Soul.

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The Genocide of A Generation

Deuteronomy 32:16-17

[16]  They stirred him to jealousy with strange gods; with abominations they provoked him to anger. [17]  They sacrificed to demons that were no gods, to gods they had never known, to new gods that had come recently, whom your fathers had never dreaded.

Jeremiah 19:3-5

[3] You shall say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, O kings of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I am bringing such disaster upon this place that the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle. [4] Because the people have forsaken me and have profaned this place by making offerings in it to other gods whom neither they nor their fathers nor the kings of Judah have known; and because they have filled this place with the blood of innocents, [5] and have built the high places of Baal to burn their sons in the fire as burnt offerings to Baal, which I did not command or decree, nor did it come into my mind—’

I heard some disturbing statistics the other day. It said that  approximately 28% (nearly one third) of Generation Z (those born between 1997 and 2012) have already died. How? Abortion. An estimated 26 million babies were murdered in their own mother’s womb in just one generation. This has been the generation that experienced the highest loss due to abortion among all generations in the US. This rate exceeds that of earlier and later generations, including Millennials and Generation Alpha.

Approximately 18% to 20% of Generation Alpha (2012 to 2024) have been lost to abortion in the United States, according to analyses using Guttmacher Institute and live birth data. This equates to an estimated 14.4 million abortions out of roughly 71.75 million total conceptions in that period, meaning nearly one in five Gen Alpha babies were aborted.

There is a spiritual war over our children. Over their lives. Their souls. Them. From the days of old, the demons posing as gods in the land of Canaan demanded child sacrifice in return of favor from them. Today, is no different. See, spirits never die. They simply change the way they work. They adapt to their surroundings. No more do we throw our children our babies into the fire of an altar to a demon, now we disassemble them in the womb before they even take their first breath.

We sacrifice our babies for our jobs, vanity, or simply because we don’t want our lives to change. We don’t want to take or accept the responsibility of our own actions or decisions.

Thankfully, abortion is no longer at the federal level, but has been brought back to the state level. Back into the hands of the people. And heartbeat bills have been passed. Much innocent blood has been spilled on our land. It’s time we stop the shedding of innocent blood and remove all the altars from our land.

Dear LORD, forgive us for allowing such abominations and atrocities in our country. Please forgive us for not praying, fasting, and tearing down the spiritual altars and strongholds we allowed to be set up. Forgive us for being docile, passive, and apathetic to the slaughter of our children. Forgive us for the innocent blood shed on Your land. For the earth is Yours and the fullness thereof. Forgive us LORD for the genocide we have committed. Forgive us. Heal our land. Touch our generations. Let not our sins be held against us. Let not the past dictate our future. Forgive us. Move in our culture. Shift the atmosphere that we might be on fire for You. That our hearts would melt and be made of flesh instead of stone. Forgive us, oh LORD. Forgive us. Let Your precious presence fill the United States of America and heal our land. Heal our people. Heal our country. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen. 

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A Clever Enemy

1 Peter 5:8-11

[8] Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. [9] Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. [10] And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. [11] To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

When we read this verse, often times we expect the Devil to come in a way that we’d automatically recognize. In a way that we would expect, but that isn’t always the way he attacks. See, the enemy knows you better than you know yourself. He knows you better than you think he does. He watches you. Studies you. Takes notice of every little thing about you. Your actions. Desires. Thoughts. And he’s taking notes. He’s preparing attack after attack for you.

Sometimes, he doesn’t come full force knocking down the front door. Sometimes, it’s just little things. Keeping your prayers held back, so that you think God no longer hears you. Making sure that for everything you get done right, multiple things go wrong. Chipping and chipping away at your self-esteem, drive, faith, hope until you have nothing left. Beating you in a battle that you didn’t even realize was with him.

Paul says we’re not unaware of the Devil’s schemes. This is true, but if we aren’t watchful and on guard as Peter tells us to be, then we will miss his attacks. We’ll fall prey to his teeth and claws. So, what are we to do? Pray. Seek. Read. Worship. We have to be in tune with the Spirit of God in order to have the discernment needed to see his clever schemes. In order to be encouraged to keep going. To not give up or give in. To keep fighting for another day.

Dear LORD, I’m sorry for all the times I’ve neglected You. I’m sorry for not putting You first in my life and allowing the enemy to sneak right past me. Please forgive me. Please remove him from within my life. Please seal up every open door and window in my life that has allowed him in. Help me to never open them again. Strengthen my heart, mind, and faith. Help me to fight and not give up. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Pray For Exposure

[12]  Who can discern his errors? Declare me innocent from hidden faults. [13]  Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me! Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression. ~ Psalms 19:12-13

David prays for two kinds of sins to be delivered from. First, he asks God who can know or discern their own šegî•’ā(h). šegî•’ā(h) is a Hebrew word meaning unintentional sin, sin committed out of ignorance. David makes his case before God explaining that how can anyone know the sin that he sins in ignorance? Then he pleads, declare me innocent from nis•tā•rôt’. Hidden things. Things that are kept hidden even from the person who has done them. David pleads with God to not only find him innocent of hidden sins within him, but to declare him innocent so that none can go before the Throne of Grace to use those sins against him.

Then David prays for intentional sins. He refers to them as zē•dîm’. Arrogant, presumptuous sins. Sins that he commits knowingly, willingly in spite of God. He ends that thought with, let them not have dominion over me. See, before the Holy Spirit, before the death and resurrection, we had no fight against sin. Sin had dominion over us. It ruled us like a lord, like a god.

David cried out for mercy. For grace. For forgiveness. And for divine intervention. David was still dwelling in the days of “I do the things I do not want to do, and the things I want to do, I do not do them.” Sin was his master. Sin was his ring leader. Sin controlled him, so he prayed diligently seeking with all that was within him that the LORD would deliver him from the grip, the chains, the bondage of sin.

Even though sin has been defeated. We have died with Christ to sin. How can we pray any less of a prayer? For David had an excuse, we today, do not. We have no excuse. For Jesus has come, suffered, died, resurrected, returned to the Father, and sent His Spirit to dwell with us, in us, and through us. He is interceding on our behalf. How can we expect to pray any less than David?

Dear LORD, thank You that You are a loving God. Slow to anger. Quick to forgive. Merciful with grace that is for anyone willing to accept it. LORD, please forgive me for each and every sin I have committed. Forgive me for the sins I committed in ignorance. The sins I committed without knowledge or understanding. Open my eyes to those sins, LORD, that I might not commit them again. That they might not take hold of me. LORD, please forgive me for the sins I have committed knowingly, willingly, presumptuously, and arrogantly. Sins that I knew better yet I gave in anyway. Sins that I ran to and made a way to take place. Sins I pondered on and sought out. Sins that have a stronghold in my life. LORD, break those strongholds from off of me. Rescue me from my own flesh LORD. Deliver me from spiritual bondage and oppression. Let not any evil spirits find doorways into my life through my flesh. Help me LORD to crucify my flesh. Help me to break free from these sins that have a foothold in my life. Deliver me, oh God, like only you can. Deliver me, LORD Jesus. Save me from myself. Give me the strength, determination, wisdom, and self-control to overcome in Your name. Leave me not to my own devices, but deliver me, LORD. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Recenter Your Home

Isaiah 29:13

[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, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men,”

We’re currently in the process of moving from one part of Tennessee to the other. So, we’re currently looking for a place of our own. While house hunting, we came across a home that was almost exactly what we were looking for. As my parents tour the home, they see a nice big room, and the lady explains that it’s their temple room. She further explained that in every Indian home, they have a temple room to pray and do rituals to their gods. I couldn’t believe it when I heard. Every other religion seems to have more dedicated followers than Christianity.

As Christians, we’re lazy. We take our faith for granted. We don’t even set aside a place in our room to pray, let alone set aside an entire room for prayer and worship. Hindus worship pagan gods. gods that cannot save them, yet they are dedicated to their gods. They are sold out for their gods.

We, Christians, serve the one true God. The God of gods. The KING of kings and LORD of lords. We serve the Creator of Heaven and Earth, yet we can’t even set aside time for prayer and worship. How sad of a state the Church is in. Weak. Helpless. Unable to see miracles, healings, deliverance, etc. that the Church was built on, and we have the audacity to blame God. We have the audacity to say He no longer moves in that way. No. We don’t see those things because we don’t worship. We don’t pray. We don’t dedicate ourselves to Him.

The early Church had a time of prayer when they came together to pray and worship. They met daily to read the Scriptures and grow together as a Church. They made time for God. How much time do we make for God? Do we make any time for God anymore? He should be the center of our lives, not a side piece that we go to every now and then. He’s the center of it all.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Recenter Your Home.

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Replace The Blinds

Matthew 7:21-23

[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.’

For the first time in my life, I had to sleep in a room without full blinds. And weirdly enough, I struggled. I struggled to sleep. I struggled to stay asleep. I felt uneasy. My peace was shaken. It was a rough night all because there was a decent sized hole in my blind. Then something hit me, this is a physical example of spiritual matters.

See, I felt unsafe because I could see out and anybody could see in. Even though the window was still there and the blinds only block what can be seen, I was unsettled. I had a trust in something false. Something not firm. Whether the blinds were there or not anyone or anything could break through that window. But because I could see that physical barrier (though flimsy and helpless to save me) it gave me a false sense of security. This is like us today.

Today, in the Church, we have a false sense of security. We think that because we go to church on Sundays, pray before we eat and before bed that we are safe. All we’re doing is putting our trust in flimsy blinds. We have an appearance of godliness. An appearance of salvation, but the substance isn’t there. The full armor is lacking. We have to put our flesh into subjection. We have to build up our spirit man so that we might be able to worship God in spirit and in Truth. So that we might not put our hope, faith, trust into weak armor but we can stand firm on the Rock. On Christ Jesus, and our relationship with Him.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and  Replace The Blinds.

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A Disruptive Enemy

[10] Anyone you forgive, I also forgive. And what I have forgiven—if there was anything to forgive—I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, [11] in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes. ~ 2 Corinthians 2:10-11NIV

Oftentimes, when you’re close to a breakthrough or you’re right by the entrance to the next level or season God has for you, the Devil will come in to try to disrupt your life. He’ll attack anything and everything he can. Your job. Your church attendance. Your worship time. Your family. Your finances. Anything he can get his hands on. Anything he can use to keep you from growing, from moving forward, he will use.

So, we have to be on our guard. We have to encourage ourselves in the LORD. We have to be sure that we don’t allow the enemy to take away what the LORD has for us.

Dear LORD, thank You for giving me another day. Thank You that You work on me night and day. That You never just throw me aside and say You give up, but You keep working on me. You keep molding and remolding. LORD, please open my eyes to the works of the enemy. Help me to see the Devil’s schemes trying to destroy my life. Give me discernment that I might not be destroyed by the attacks, but that I might recognize them and know how to defeat them and defend myself. Teach me to watch and pray that I might not fall into temptation, but that I might overcome all the temptation sent my way. Help me to overcome and walk into the promises You have for me. In Jesus’ name, I pray,

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