Spiritual Archives

March 14, 2024March 14, 2024

Blessed To Sleep

⁴ When the Lord your God drives them out before you, do not say to yourself, ‘The Lord brought me in to take possession of this land because of my righteousness.’ Instead, the Lord will drive out these nations before you because of their wickedness. ⁵ You are not going to take possession of their land because of your righteousness or your integrity. Instead, the Lord your God will drive out these nations before you because of their wickedness, in order to fulfill the promise he swore to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. ⁶ Understand that the Lord your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your righteousness, for you are a stiff-necked people. ~ Deuteronomy 9:4-6^CSB

It’s very easy to justify sin when you’re seeing a harvest of plenty. Everything you do seems to be profitable. You have no lack, nor do you have fear. So, when you’re corrected, you justify your actions by the way you’ve been blessed. Blessings from God don’t always mean you have His favor and support for your life choices and decisions. How is that possible?

Jesus said that the Father pours out rain and sends the sun to shine on both the righteous and the unrighteous (Matthew 5:45). Blessings from God don’t always reflect our standing with Him, but sometimes they are the fulfillment of prayers, promises, and gifts from the generations before us. Sometimes the LORD blesses us and elevates us, not because of us, but because of the prayers and faithfulness of our ancestors and the promises the LORD gave to them. And if we’re not careful, these generational blessings will lull us into a spiritual slumber because of the false safety they fill our hearts with. It lies to us, having us believe the darkness in us is actually light. If the light in you is actually darkness, how great is that darkness?

Even though we receive blessings from the LORD, we can still be outside of His covering blood. We can still be outside of His love and on our way to an eternity without Him. This is the importance of continually asking the LORD to search you. To bring anything that is unclean to the forefront that you might remove it from you and from your life all together. We will never reach perfection on this earth, but we never stop seeking it because if we aim for perfection but miss it, we will land among excellence.

Dear LORD, thank You for all the times You blessed me, and I didn’t deserve it. Thank You that no matter what I do, You always want me to come home to You. There’s never a time You abandon me or discard me as unimportant or undesirable. Please search me, and show me anything within me that must go. Please remove from me anything that isn’t of You. Please give me a Spirit of Discernment that I might rightly discern good and evil. That I might have a heart for the things of God and not the things of the world. Please awaken my spirit man within me that I might overcome the flesh. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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The Value Of A Kind Word

¹¹ A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver. ~ Proverbs 25:11

I’m sure if you’ve been around church for any amount of time, especially those of the Pentecostal or Charismatic movement, you’ve heard the phrase, a now word. It simply means either a prophecy about a specific thing or words related to what’s happening in a specific person’s life or a certain situation. Well, this is what Solomon pictured when he wrote this Proverb. He was encouraging the encourager to continue to encourage his or her fellow person, friend, or family member. It is important to encourage the brethren when you see them troubled or discouraged. To speak a word that is relevant to that person in that situation can almost be priceless.

I know that there are times when I feel like I’ve been pouring myself out, and now I’m feeling drained and maybe a little discouraged. Then, someone will send me a text, say something to me, or even leave a nice comment on one of our posts, and it means the world to us. That word that is aptly spoken is so fitting to the situation that it immediately brightens the day and serves as the fuel to continue to try even harder.

That is not just the encourager speaking, but the Holy Spirit speaking through the encourager. Because God knows the heart and soul of every man and woman, boy and girl, and He is concern about each and every one of us, and if we need encouraging, He will send it. So, don’t hold back a compliment or a word of encouragement from those you are in contact with.

I know that there were times when I saw someone wearing a really nice outfit or looking extra nice, and I paid that person a compliment, and it changed their whole attitude and their whole outlook on life that day. Now, this is not to say that you ought to be insincere; we must always be sincere when we give a compliment, or it will make matters worse, not better. Flattery, for flattery’s sake, is not good. It causes more harm than good. Just be sincere and say something nice to someone today. Just like apples of gold in settings of silver are very aesthetically pleasing to the eye, so are encouraging words aptly spoken extremely pleasing to the soul, and brings hope to the heart. So, then, let us make a special effort to encourage each other whenever we get the opportunity.

Heavenly Father, thank You for sending that someone who encouraged me in the past. Thank You for using me to encourage others. May we always look for opportunities to say something nice to someone else that will brighten their day and let them know that Jesus loves them, for it is in Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

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God Planned It For Good

²⁰ You planned evil against me; God planned it for good to bring about the present result — the survival of many people. ~ Genesis 50:20^CSB

Joseph’s brothers had sold him into slavery and then deceived his father and their father into believing that he was torn to bits and killed by some wild animal. They had no pity on him, even though he begged and pleaded with them for his life.

Can you imagine a more horrendous situation to be in? Not only did the ones who are supposed to love you and protect you betray you, but they sold you into slavery. That’s like, in our day, to sell your sister into the sex trade industry. The words that she would feel are indescribable. A wrong that is hard to make right. A sin that is hard to forgive. Yet Joseph said, you did it with evil intents, but God did it for God.

Imagine being that close to God that you can see the good in everything that happens, no matter how awful it really is. Even if it is the worst thing that could happen to you, understand that God never meant it for evil but for good for the majority. And then, depending on your reaction to the situation, will determine which seeds you will sow, whether good seed or bad seed, because the fruit depends on the seed. Bad seed, bad fruit. Good seed, good fruit.

The key is to determine beforehand how you will react to the situation that you are thrown into. Always know that it is never God’s intention to harm you or to make you suffer loss. We live in a broken world filled with evil men and women who have no regard for life or for the things of God, but know this: God is always looking out for your good.

Father, help me to look for the good in every situation. Help me to not hold wrongs against those who have done me wrong. Help me to sow good seed that I might reap good fruit. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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A Prayer

¹⁰⁵Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. ~ Psalms 119:105

What the Psalmist is saying is that God’s word is like a flashlight that is used in the darkest of nights to shine on an obscure path that is shrouded in shadows and gloom and is hard to see. But the light from the flashlight shines on the path and illuminates the way for his feet to safely tread on the way that he is traveling.

Have you ever had days that seem darkened by trouble or the past? Is your mind crowded with things that steal your peace? Maybe it is a project at work that you are responsible for, and it is not working out the way you need it to. The deadline is quickly approaching, and the boss is breathing down your neck for results. The pressure is on, and the time is short; your path looks dark. Maybe it is a monetary problem. Your bills are stacking up, and the bill collector is calling, and you got passed over for the promotion at work. The path looks dark ahead.

Or maybe there is a conflict at work or in your family. Words are said, accusations have flown, making things seem more difficult and more concealed than they really are. Remember that God’s Word is a lamp to your feet and a light to your path. Pick up His word and have a read. Read an encouraging devotional that will remind you of the Power and the grace of Almighty God. Nothing flusters Him. Nothing fazes Him. He is as consistent as His Word that will light up your path. So, do as the song writer said and have a little talk with Jesus and tell Him all about your troubles. He will hear your faintest cry, and He will answer by and by because you mean that much to Him. He loves you and cares about you. He died for you and took the chastisement that brought you peace. So, go to Him; He is waiting.

Father, Your promises give me hope in times of trouble, and your faithfulness keeps me when I’m weak. Who, then, is like You, oh LORD my God? Strong in battle and faithful in love. There is none that I can compare You to, none that is Your equal. Be with me and my family today; guide and lead us, I pray. Be with all those who read this prayer today, and harken unto their needs. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Devout

²¹ Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. ~ Matthew 7:21^CSB

Whenever you hear a celebrity is a “devout Christian” they use examples of going to church every Sunday, praying before each meal and before bed as reasons why they are so devout. Whenever I would hear this in the past, I felt annoyed. These aren’t even the minimum requirements of God, yet somehow the have the audacity to call themselves devout. Then it hit me, I’m no better than them.

When Christ asked Peter, James, and John to pray with Him and they all feel asleep, Jesus asked “could you not watch with me one hour?” Jesus did this twice. The third time, He left them sleeping. What a terrifying thought. The bare minimum Jesus asks for is one hour watching with Him, when the average Christian, including myself, struggles to pray for 10 minutes straight without your mind wandering off or getting distracted. What a sad state of the Church.

We can’t spend 10 minutes in prayer but wonder why God isn’t moving in our lives. We can’t spend 10 minutes reading our Bible but wonder why God isn’t showing us His glory. We’ve become a selfish Church. We want God to give us rewards for the least amount of effort.

Abraham stayed up all night protecting his sacrifice. Jacob wrestled with God all night. Daniel fasted for 21 days. Moses communed with God for 40 days. All of these men who received great blessings and were used greatly by God sacrificed their time for a chance to see the glory, blessings, and fulfilled promises of God.

Time is speeding up right before our eyes. There aren’t enough hours in the day to get everything done. So what are we to do? Prioritize the Kingdom and the rest so fall in place. We put our relationship with God above all else. We take a step closer to God every day. We strive to build the Temple of God, our spirit man, in order to give God more than the scraps off the table. We’ll never be able to give God all that He deserves, but it’s time we stop giving Him offerings that cost us absolutely nothing.

God already died for us and gave us everything we need for salvation, it’s now up to us to draw near to Him. He opened the door and split the curtain; now it’s time for us to run to Him.

Dear LORD, I’m sorry for all the times I put the things of this world above You. I’m sorry for not making You my main priority in life and not making You the center of my life. Kindle the flame in me that I might never take You for granted or offer You a worthless offering. Soften my heart and renew a right spirit in me, that my soul might pant for You as the deer pants for the water. Help me to crucify my flesh and build up my spirit man within me. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Cleanse Before Partaking

²⁰ But the one who eats meat from the Lord’s fellowship sacrifice while he is unclean, that person must be cut off from his people. ²¹ If someone touches anything unclean, whether human uncleanness, an unclean animal, or any unclean, abhorrent creature, and eats meat from the Lord’s fellowship sacrifice, that person is to be cut off from his people. ~ Leviticus 7:20-21^CSB

Both the author of the book of Hebrews and Paul explained that the Law was a shadow of good things to come. No longer do we give the LORD physical burnt offerings but spiritual burnt offerings. Paul warned that if we take Communion while we are dwelling in sin, then we are opening ourselves up for spiritual attack from the enemy and even could allow the Spirit of Death to take our soul before our time.

We take for granted having the privilege of entering the presence of the LORD, so we remain in our sin. We continue doing whatever we want, refusing to fully submit to the LORD because we don’t think God will punish us for our sin. We think the love of God will overlook sin, but from the very beginning sin cut us off from God. It separated us.

Adam and Eve had to leave the Garden of Eden. Cain and his wife had to leave the presence of the LORD. Those who sinned under the Law were cut off from the entire congregation of Israel. Today is no different. If we would just bow our knees before the LORD, we could see that, yes, Jesus loves us, but He won’t overlook our sin. Think of the price He paid for our sin. Why would He do that if our actions mean absolutely nothing and His love alone can save our soul?

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Cleanse Before Partaking.

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The World Deceiver

¹⁴ And no wonder! For Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. ~ 2 Corinthians 11:14^CSB

I’ve heard many say that the enemy’s greatest weapon is convincing people he doesn’t exist, but I have to disagree. I believe Satan’s biggest weapon is convincing people he isn’t evil but is good. In the Garden of Eden, Satan deceived Eve into thinking he was trying to help liberate her from the constraints around her mind that God had set. Today is no different.

Satan convinces people that what he did in the Garden was an act of love. That he tried to give knowledge to humanity instead of keeping them in the dark like God. People who don’t even believe he’s a real person follow his example and name their religions after him. Some even believe he and God are one.

The enemy doesn’t care if we believe he exists or not; he cares whether we believe his lies or not. This is why he is the Deceiver of The Whole World. He isn’t an angel of any kind. He’s a betrayer of mankind and an accuser of the Church. He isn’t for us but always against us.

Dear LORD, please help me to see the difference between good and evil. Help me to discern right from wrong. Fill me with the Spirit of Discernment that I might be able to see through the deception and lies of the enemy. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Prepare For Future Battles

²² You are to keep all my statutes and all my ordinances, and do them, so that the land where I am bringing you to live will not vomit you out. ²³ You must not follow the statutes of the nations I am driving out before you, for they did all these things, and I abhorred them. ²⁴ And I promised you: You will inherit their land, since I will give it to you to possess, a land flowing with milk and honey. I am the Lord your God who set you apart from the peoples. ~ Leviticus 20:22-24^CSB

When evil rises up, and the righteous cry out against it, God always raises up good to replace the evil. The problem is that once you’ve been raised up to that position, it doesn’t mean temptation ceases. In reality, temptation becomes more and more prevalent. Now, you not only face the temptations of your past but also the temptations of those who came before you that the LORD removed.

The people of Israel had to fight the temptations of the Egyptians of their past and the Canaanites of their future. Israel was to replace the Canaanites in the land because of their great wickedness, but Israel eventually fell prey to the very temptations that caused the Canaanites to be destroyed and removed from the land.

The LORD may be preparing you for a new position, but it’s on you whether you fall or succeed. You are the one who has to build up your spirit man, so that you don’t fall prey to your predecessors. You are the one who has to fight the good fight and finish the race to show yourself approved. The battle is in your hands.

So, what do we do when we see someone fall into temptation, are exposed, and removed? We pray for their redemption and humble ourselves before the LORD, lest we fall prey to the same stumbling block. The LORD will never elevate and use the proud, but instead, only those who humble themselves. Instead of rejoicing in the downfall of those before you, pray for their redemption and pray for your own protection from temptation.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Prepare For Future Battles.

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Who Is Abaddon? Pt. 5: A Star Fallen From Heaven With The Key To The Bottomless Pit

The fifth trumpet blast is one the most mysterious events recorded in the book of Revelation, from the identity of Abaddon, the angel of the bottomless pit, to the identity of the star fallen from heaven. Many believe that the star fallen from Heaven is Satan, but is that true? Is there evidence for the identity of the fallen star? Join ArieRashelle as she searches through Scripture for the answers in her video, Who Is Abaddon? Pt. 5: A Star Fallen From Heaven With The Key To The Bottomless Pit.

Revelation 9:1
Revelation 12:3-4
Revelation 8:12
Revelation 12:7-9
2 Peter 2:10-11
Jude 1:8-9
Daniel 8:9-12
1 John 2:18-22
1 John 4:2‐3
Matthew 24:29-31

Who Is Abaddon?

A Star Fallen From Heaven With The Key To The Bottomless Pit

¹²The fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of their light might be darkened, and a third of the day might be kept from shining, and likewise a third of the night. ¹³Then I looked, and I heard an eagle crying with a loud voice as it flew directly overhead, “Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, at the blasts of the other trumpets that the three angels are about to blow!”

Revelation 8:12-13

¹And the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star fallen from heaven to earth, and he was given the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit. ²He opened the shaft of the bottomless pit, and from the shaft rose smoke like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened with the smoke from the shaft. ³Then from the smoke came locusts on the earth, and they were given power like the power of scorpions of the earth. ⁴They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any green plant or any tree, but only those people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. ⁵They were allowed to torment them for five months, but not to kill them, and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings someone. ⁶And in those days people will seek death and will not find it. They will long to die, but death will flee from them.

Revelation 9:1-6

Is there a possibility that Satan is the star fallen from Heaven with the key to the Bottomless Pit (Abyss)?

¹ And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. ²She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth. ³And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems. ⁴His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it. ⁵She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne, ⁶and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for 1,260 days.

Revelation 12:1-6

Who Is Abaddon? Pt. 5: A Star Fallen From Heaven With The Key To The Bottomless Pit

Who Is Abaddon? Pt. 5: A Star Fallen From Heaven With The Key To The Bottomless Pit Notes

Who Is Abaddon? Pt. 5: A Star Fallen From Heaven With The Key To The Bottomless Pit Summary

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Don’t Sell

²⁹ If a man sells a residence in a walled city, his right of redemption will last until a year has passed after its sale; his right of redemption will last a year. ³⁰ If it is not redeemed by the end of a full year, then the house in the walled city is permanently transferred to its purchaser throughout his generations. It is not to be released on the Jubilee. ³¹ But houses in settlements that have no walls around them are to be classified as open fields. The right to redeem such houses stays in effect, and they are to be released at the Jubilee. ~ Leviticus 25:29-31^CSB

The Church is the redeemed body of Christ. We are the saved, sanctified, and protected of the world. When we are given something from the LORD, it is protected from the enemy unless we have an opened door. We are dwelling inside the wall of Christ.

Those who aren’t saved, redeemed, and following Christ are outside of His love. They are outside of His protection and, therefore, outside of His wall. When they sin, they sin according to their own nature. When they trade what they have for something else, it’s not a big deal because both things are of the world and are temporary. This isn’t so for the Christian.

When we become blood-bought, we are no longer living to ourselves. We now live to Christ. We are now the arms, legs, and entire body of Christ. So, when we give into our sin, we are going against the new nature that we have through the Holy Spirit.

Because of this, it is like we are selling the house God has redeemed for us. We’ve become the seller in the walled city. And unless we quickly repent, we’ll give into more and more sin until it completely consumes us, and we forfeit our salvation. Peter put it this way.

²⁰ For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. ²¹ For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. ²² What the true proverb says has happened to them: “The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.”

2 Peter 2:20-22

When we receive salvation, we accept God’s gift of grace. Then He sanctifies us by separating us from the open city (the world) and bringing us to the walled city (His Kingdom). If we continue in our sin, we are like those who sell their homes in a walled city. It’s only a matter of time before we forfeit our salvation forever.

Dear LORD, please help me not to become deceived or beguiled by this world and all the temporary trinkets it offers us. Help me to be Kingdom-Minded and not earthly-minded. Open my eyes to the schemes of the enemy so that I might not sell my eternal treasures for temporary treasures. Help me to run the race set before me with endurance and focus so that I might finish the race. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Tag: Spiritual

Blessed To Sleep

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