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.
“7 And David said to
Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, ‘Bring me the ephod.’ So Abiathar
brought the ephod to David. 8 And David inquired of the Lord, ‘Shall I pursue after this band? Shall I overtake them?’ He
answered him, ‘Pursue, for you shall surely overtake and shall surely rescue.’”
~ 1 Samuel 30:7-8
Everything that King David did, he first asked God if it was what He wanted. When his family was taken by the Amalekites, which included all of his wives and children, and he saw the entire city of Ziklag (where they were staying) burned to the ground, first, he encouraged himself in the LORD. Then he asked God if he could pursue the Amalekites.
The majority of us would think that that is a no brainer, of course, pursue. You’re a strong warrior of God. You’ve won many, many battles, go pursue the Amalekites and save your family and your men’s families, but King David knew God’s plan was best. King David knew what it was like to follow his own heart and his own desires. He knew what it was like to lose someone he loved because he followed his own desires instead of following God’s plan.
When it came to something that seemed right for King David to do, he still waited for God’s okay. King David wanted to build the Temple; the Prophet Nathan even told him it was a good idea.
1Now when David lived in his house, David said to Nathan the prophet, ‘Behold, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of the covenant of the Lord is under a tent.’ 2 And Nathan said to David, ‘Do all that is in your heart, for God is with you.’ 3 But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, 4 ‘Go and tell my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord: It is not you who will build me a house to dwell in.’
1 Chronicles 17:1-4
Imagine if King David began building the Temple after Nathan gave him the okay. He would have been outside of the will of God. But it seems as if he waited for a yes from God Himself because he didn’t go straight into building after Nathan’s yes. What would be the reason for that, other than waiting on God?
Things may seem like a given. Like God should want you
to do it, but it may not be for you. Building The Temple seemed like a good
idea, but it wasn’t for King David. It was for King Solomon. Saving his family
seemed like a given. Why even question it? Because King David knew what it was
like to be outside of The Will of God, and he didn’t want to feel that again. Things
aren’t always what they seem. The Bible says to test the Spirits, so test them
and see if your desires and new thoughts match the will of God.
“24 but let him who
boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the
earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.” ~ Jeremiah 9:24
I recall the time when I was in the army, and one of my fellow soldiers invited me to go to church with him. The car was packed with his church friends as they squeezed over to let us in. We hadn’t even cleared the parking lot when I felt attacked by these Bible-thumpers with the invasive questions. “Do you know Jesus?” “Do you know Jesus?”
Of course, I did. Rude. I went to Sunday School every Sunday morning as a child. I even received little paper awards for not missing a Sunday all month. I took part in the Christmas programs. I even went to an all-day meeting once; on my own accord, I might add. Of course, I know Jesus.
Well, if truth be told, I really didn’t know Him. I only knew about Him. And He didn’t know me. For the Scripture says that He will say to those on His left, depart from me, I never knew you. Knowing Jesus as your personal Savior is a whole lot different than knowing about Him. You may know who the President of the United States is, but you don’t know him in the sense of having a relationship with him. That’s how many of us are. We know of Jesus. We grew up in church. Sang in the choir, but we’re currently spiritually asleep, lacking a personal, intimate relationship with God. Leaving us with an impression of who we think He might be, who we want Him to be, or who the world tells us He is.
If you’re planning to spend eternity with someone, I suggest you get to know them, just as you would get to know your future spouse. Know their likes and dislikes. What makes them happy and what angers them. What they like to talk about and their favorite things. God is no different. He desires to be known by His people, and He will reveal Himself to those who diligently seek Him. But how do you seek? Read/study your Bible. Pray continually. Spend time in worship. Don’t just have an outward appearance of a relationship with God, only to have no connection to Him on the inside. Go for something more than an outward appearance. Go for a true relationship with Jesus.
“1 Behold, the Lord‘s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull,
that it cannot hear; 2 but your iniquities have made a
separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face
from you so that he does not hear.” ~ Isaiah 59:1-2
A lot of the time, we pray to God, but there’s no answer. We go to church religiously, but there’s no Spiritual renewal. And when trouble comes, and we can’t hold on, we blame God. Praying to God doesn’t make you saved; even Satan talks to God. Going to church doesn’t make you saved; even demons go to church. When we get saved but don’t hold to the commands of Jesus, we fall asleep Spiritually.
God didn’t turn away from us. His hand didn’t shorten. His ear didn’t go deaf. But our sin that we refused to give up separated us from God. When we pray with hearts filled with sin, it’s like talking to someone but covering your face with a pillow; they can’t hear you or understand you. We separate ourselves from God but keep up a religious front as if that will justify the sins we’ve grown accustomed to and can’t live without.
Going to church doesn’t save you, praying doesn’t save you either, but combining those things with righteousness and living your life as Christ lived His will. Look at your life; is it a religious front? Or is it Spirit-filled?
“13 As for you,
brothers, do not grow weary in doing good.” ~
2 Thessalonians 3:13
As Christians, we see the world and everything that we cannot do. Sometimes we look at them in envy. We look and see their grass, and we believe that it’s greener than ours. They seem to be more successful. Life seems easier. More tolerant. More likable. The grass isn’t always greener on the other side; sometimes, that’s the Devil tricking you. Playing on all your flesh desires. Whispering in your ear, showing you all that you don’t have and will never have.
As Christians, we are under constant
Spiritual Attack. Paul writes, “do not grow weary of doing good.” In other
words, don’t grow tired or bored of following Jesus. Of being the good Christian.
Of turning the other cheek. Of living a morally sound life. Don’t get tired of
it. They may seem like their enjoying life now, but this life is only
temporary. What they have now, they can’t take with them to Eternity. Look towards
eternity, for your reward is great. This life and its troubles won’t last
forever. Look towards eternity. Build up treasure for yourself in Heaven, for
where your treasure is, so your heart is also.
Peace. Love. Go Forth and Look Away From Their Grass.
“6 Seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near; 7 let
the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him
return to the Lord, that He may have compassion on him, and to our God, for He will
abundantly pardon.” ~ Isaiah 55:6-7
We often believe that God will forever show us grace. No matter what we do. No matter what we say, God will always be there, but is that true? Will God always be there? Isaiah tells us to seek the LORD while He may be found. We expect God to always be there, just waiting for us to give Him a little of our attention. But God says to seek Him while He can be found. Today is the day of salvation; tomorrow is promised to no man. Seek the LORD before it’s too late. Before time runs out and you can no longer find Him. Wake from your Spiritual Slumber.
“4 Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” ~ 1 John 4:4
John said we have overcome because we are from God, with the Spirit of God living inside of us, and there is no power on earth that can match. Do you need power to overcome? There is power in the blood. Once you accept Jesus Christ as your LORD and Savior, you are empowered with the Holy Spirit. No matter what obstacle stands in your way, or what sin is keeping you in chains, you can overcome with the help of God, for you are not alone. Jesus overcame so we shall overcome as well.
Our Father, help us to forsake the wrong and choose the right. Teach us how to connect with your power so that we can indeed overcome, for there is forgiveness, healing, peace, and joy in your presence. Help us to receive today. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.” ~ Matthew 7:7-8
Jesus is saying here that if you want something, you must pursue it. It does no good to say, “I want a good college education, but never study or do homework.” Or to say you want this or that but never fill out the application for it. Likewise, you can’t have the full blessing of God if you never seek the face of God. Let us determine this year to ask, seek, and knock.
Heavenly Father, please rebuke the spirit of procrastination and grant us the determination to ask, seek, and knock. So that our prayers and requests will be heard and answered. In Jesus name, amen.
The Belt of Truth; The Breastplate of Righteousness; The Gospel of Peace; The Shield of Faith; The Helmet of Salvation; The Sword of the Spirit. As Christians, one of the first things we learn is the Armor of God. Paul tells us to put on the Full Armor of God, but do we really understand what the Armor of God is? Do we know why we are to put on the Armor in that order? Was it random that God gave us the Belt of Truth first? Join ArieRashelle as she searches through Scripture to find answers to these questions and more in our latest video, The Armor of God Pt. 1: What Is It?
Ephesians 6:10-18 Romans 10:9 Ephesians 4:30 John 16:13 John 8:31-32 Leviticus 20:5-6 Ezekiel 6:9 Ezekiel 20:30 Ephesians 5:25-27 Titus 3:4-7 Jeremiah 17:9-10 Matthew 15:18-20 Galatians 5:22-23 John 14:26-27 Matthew 14:28-33 Luke 10:17-19 Hebrews 11:6 Ephesians 2:8 Hebrews 11:1 Luke 8:11-15 2 Corinthians 10:3-6 1 Peter 5:8 Revelation 1:16 John 4:25 Hebrews 4:12 Ephesians 6:12
What is the Armor of God?
Prayers To Put on The Armor of God
The Armor of God is compiled of six different pieces of armor: The Belt of Truth; The Breastplate of Righteousness; The Gospel of Peace; The Shield of Faith; The Helmet of Salvation; The Sword of the Spirit.
A.G.: The Belt of Truth
16 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him. 18 Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
John 3:16-18
13 When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth, for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak, and He will declare to you the things that are to come.
John 16:13
A.G.: Breastplate of Righteousness
1 My son, keep my words and treasure up my commandments with you; 2 keep my commandments and live; keep my teaching as the apple of your eye; 3 bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart.
Proverbs 7:1-3
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
Psalms 51:10
A.G.: The Shoes of The Gospel of Peace
26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. 28 You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.
John 14:26-28
33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.
John 16:33
A.G.: The Shield of Faith
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
Ephesians 2:8
17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
Romans 10:17
A.G.: The Helmet of Salvation
9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
Romans 10:9
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Ephesians 2:8-9
A.G.: The Sword of the Spirit
24 God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in Spirit and Truth.
John 4:25
12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
Ephesians 6:12
12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
“10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.
14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,” ~ Ephesians 6:10-18
Since the war we are fighting is a spiritual one, let us get
spiritually ready with our spiritual armor on and march boldly into the enemy’s
camp and take back that which he has stolen from us. Let’s take back our
families, our children, our peace, our joy, and our happiness. Let’s take back
our finances, our health, our creativity. We are children of the Most High God.
Therefore we are more than conquerors! We are mighty upon the earth! We are
victorious!
Our Heavenly Father, I come to you this morning on behalf of the saints, which are Your people. I pray for spiritual and financial breakthroughs today, for victories, and for the unity of families. Give back to Your people what the devil has stolen from them, O’ our God, and place them in positions of authority that they may take their rightful stand and bring You glory.
