Spiritual Archives

July 6, 2023July 5, 2023

Dwelling in The Shadow of The Almighty

¹ He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. ~ Psalms 91:1

The word dwell means: To make one’s home; reside; live. And the word shelter means: Something that covers or protects; protection, or place affording protection, as from the elements or danger. Then lastly, the word abide means: to stand fast; remain; go on being.

Therefore, what this Scripture is saying is that the one who makes his or her home in the covering protection of The Most High will stand fast and remain in the shadow of the Almighty. Now this phrase to abide in the shadow of someone is an undesirable place to be. Why?

Because if you “live in someone’s shadow,” you will feel hidden, cut off from your own substance. You will feel as if nobody notices you and like you can never measure up. Well, when you’re talking about mere people, it is an undesirable place to be, but with God, it is the only place to be. For no one can pluck you out of His hands. No one can harm you, and no enemy can attack you when you are dwelling in the shadow of the Almighty.

There is no place you would rather be but in the great protection of the Almighty. But in order to live constantly in His protection you must first dwell in His shelter by being obedient to His word and to His commands. So, do not let the devil fool you into thinking or believing that the shadow of the Almighty is a belittling place to be. Like a place to avoid at all costs. Because every Christian, indeed, every soul on earth, should be straining toward that goal. That is our primary goal while here on this earth.

Father, please help me to dwell in Your shelter so that I can live in Your place of protection, so that old Satan cannot touch me or harm me without Your permission. Thank You for giving me the opportunity to live in Your presence. I love You, LORD. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Use Your Citizenship

²⁵When they tied Paul down to lash him, Paul said to the officer standing there, “Is it legal for you to whip a Roman citizen who hasn’t even been tried?” ²⁶When the officer heard this, he went to the commander and asked, “What are you doing? This man is a Roman citizen!” ²⁷So the commander went over and asked Paul, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” “Yes, I certainly am,” Paul replied. ²⁸“I am, too,” the commander muttered, “and it cost me plenty!” Paul answered, “But I am a citizen by birth!” ²⁹The soldiers who were about to interrogate Paul quickly withdrew when they heard he was a Roman citizen, and the commander was frightened because he had ordered him bound and whipped. ~ Acts of the Apostles 22:25-29 NLT

Paul remained silent as they beat him, but after, he revealed his identity when the opportunity presented itself. Paul knew the laws of the Romans and used them to his own advantage. They were terrified when they found out Paul was a Roman citizen after all they’d done to him. This should be us today.

We have a much greater citizenship than Roman. Our citizenship is in heaven. We’ve been given the Holy Spirit as a seal as we wait for our full adoption as sons and daughters of the Most High to gather us to Him and give us new, perfect, immortal bodies. While on this earth, He’s given us His name to use and His Holy Spirit as proof of our citizenship. So why don’t we use it?

When we’re under spiritual attack, why don’t we use the name above all names to push back the darkness? When we’re depressed, why don’t we put on the garment of praise to encourage our souls and lift our spirits? Why are we so stubborn? The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. We want to do these things, but our flesh is weak. It’s ridden with sin, unbelief, roots of anger, bitterness, envy, hurt, and pain. So what are we to do? Take it one step at a time. We fail forward. We keep track of the flaws that plague us and take them down one step at a time. We crucify the flesh, and we build up the spirit so that we might be strong enough to use our citizenship to our advantage, just as Paul used his.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Use Your Citizenship.

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Throw Away Your Bandaids

¹ Peter and John went to the Temple one afternoon to take part in the three o’clock prayer service. ²As they approached the Temple, a man lame from birth was being carried in. Each day he was put beside the Temple gate, the one called the Beautiful Gate, so he could beg from the people going into the Temple. ³When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for some money. ⁴Peter and John looked at him intently, and Peter said, “Look at us!” ⁵The lame man looked at them eagerly, expecting some money. ⁶But Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!” ~ Acts of the Apostles 3:1-6^NLT

The crippled man didn’t ask for a healing. He asked for a bandaid. The man asked for something to temporarily help him. He asked for money. That money would help him get food for the day, but it wouldn’t help him in the long run. The man has a giant wound that is causing him to bleed out, but he only asks for a bandaid. He never asks to get the wound healed. That’s how many of us are today.

We have so many deep seeded wounds, but we only want to put a bandaid on it instead of dealing with the root. This holds so many of us back. If Peter and John hadn’t had their spiritual eyes open, this man would’ve never gotten rid of the root. We, as Christians, disciples of Christ, have to look deeper than just the surface; we have to look at the root causing the surface wound. We have to get rid of the stronghold that’s causing the problem in order to move forward. We can’t free or help others if we, ourselves, are bound up by strongholds that keep us paralyzed and unable to move forward.

Dear LORD, please open my spiritual eyes to the spiritual strongholds holding me back. Help me to uproot every evil and wicked root within, allowing the Devil to have a foothold in my life. Give me the strength to overcome and move forward. Help me to let go of past hurt, pain, rejection, anger, and all negative feelings that keep me bound. Help me to forgive those who have hurt me and also myself for all of my past regrets. Please help me to close every door that I forcefully opened that took me out of Your perfect and good will for my life. Guide me in my journey on this earth, and please teach me to be an overcomer through You. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Open Your Spiritual Eyes

³³Once when He was in the synagogue, a man possessed by a demon—an evil spirit—cried out, shouting, ³⁴“Go away! Why are you interfering with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!” ~ Luke 4:33-34 NLT

There was never a time when Jesus casted out a demon or unclean spirit, and the unclean spirit didn’t recognize Him. As soon as they saw Him, they knew who He was. Not only did they recognize Him, they could do nothing but proclaim who He was. They saw into the spiritual because though they didn’t follow the LORD, they wholeheartedly believed in who He was. They could see it. Their spiritual eyes were wide open.

Today, the spiritual eyes of the Church are mostly shut. I didn’t realize that so many self-proclaiming Christians argued over right and wrong that are plainly and blatantly pointed out in Scripture, let alone argued about the Divinity of Jesus, calling it Catholic propaganda. The spiritual eyes of the Church are closing shut. We’re falling into a deep spiritual sleep that will only end with our own downfall and demise.

LORD God, please awaken Your Church, starting with me. Open my spiritual eyes that I might see clearly. That I might accurately discern between Truth and Error. That I might be the change I want to see in the world by being a light in this dark world. Help me to see You for who You are and not for what I or society or culture or deceived men and women see You for. Help me to follow You with all that is within me. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Fill Me With Authority

³⁶ Amazed, the people exclaimed, “What authority and power this man’s words possess! Even evil spirits obey him, and they flee at his command!” ~ Luke 4:36^NLT

Jesus did many things that amazed the people because of His great authority. One of the first was casting out demons and evil spirits. Why? Because the people of Jesus’ day weren’t as spiritually blind and ignorant as we are today.

They knew the difference, most of the time, between a sickness and a demon or unclean spirit. They didn’t get offended when someone suggested they had an unclean or demonic spirit. No, they threw themselves at the feet of Jesus, asking for help.

If the Church wants to get their God-given authority back, then we need to start differentiating between the spiritual and the physical. So that we can begin to cast out demons once again, it shouldn’t take us hours upon hours to cast out demons. The early Church didn’t even have to speak or be present to cast out unclean spirits. All it took was a piece of cloth touching Paul to cast out the demonic spirits. This is great authority. This is the authority God intended for His Church, regardless of the generation we are in. We aren’t to be weak and powerless but filled with power and authority, all fueled by one thing, love.

Dear LORD, please teach me to love more. Soften my heart from a heart of stone to a heart of flesh. Write your Word on my heart that I might not sin against You. Show me the way to correctly love people. As You fill me with Your perfect love, fill me with Your power and authority that You promised from the days of the prophets of old. Fill me with love and power from on High so that I might show Your glory to the dying world around me. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Fight For Your Family

¹⁴And I looked and arose and said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.” ~ Nehemiah 4:14

I’m encouraging you today, dads, fight for your sons and fight for your daughters, fight for your wives and fight for your homes. This is your family we are talking about here, so take an interest and fight for them. What do I mean? Get on your knees and pray that the LORD will have mercy on them. That the LORD might intervene on their behalf. That the LORD might save them from their wicked ways and turn them towards Him. Fathers, you have a spiritual battle that you have to fight, not just for you, but for your wives and your children. Now is the time to stand up and fight for all that God has given you.

Peace. Love. Go forth and Fight For Your Family.

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Not Given A Spirit of Fear

⁷ for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. ~ 2 Timothy 1:7

Anxiety is a crippling disease. It claims you from the inside out. It demands full and complete control over you, your life, and all of your actions. They say the average teenage/young adult has the anxiety levels of a psychiatric patient in the 1950s. Why? What happened in our society that has brought this amount of anxiety upon our young people? I believe it can be summed up in a single word, fear.

The Spirit of Fear has been unleashed upon our generation. Fear of failure, inferiority, rejection, imperfection. Fear is running rampant. Why? Because the love has dwindled. James tells us that the only thing that overcomes fear isn’t faith, it isn’t pride, it isn’t courage, it’s love. Perfect love casts out all fear. The love of God has left our societies.

I don’t mean that God has stopped loving us. This issue isn’t a problem on His end. It’s a problem on our end. Our love for Him has grown cold. Our hearts seek after and desire anything and everything except for Him. We refuse to remain in Him. Why? Because of distractions. Laziness. Rebellion. And apathy. We don’t care because it doesn’t seem that important. Anything and everything is more important than spending time with the LORD. Now is the time to live; tomorrow, we’ll get saved. No. Today is the day of Salvation; tomorrow is promised to no one.

If anxiety is crippling you, you lack the love of God. Your love for Him is being overrun and overpowered by fear. The only way to overcome fear is to face it. Face it with the Word of God. Speak verses that remind you of God’s love for you. Verses that remind you of His goodness. Spend time daily in prayer about your fear. Place it on the altar at His feet and ask Him to intervene. Speak boldly and with all confidence in the power of the Holy Spirit within you to the Spirit of Fear and cast him out. Fear is NOT a feeling. Fear is a person. A person that is no longer welcome in our lives, homes, societies, and nations.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Do Not Adhere To The Spirit of Fear.

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The Armor of God Pt. 4: What is Supplication?

Paul tells us to wield the Sword of the Spirit with all prayer and supplication, but what’s the difference? Does it matter if we know the difference between prayer and supplication? If prayer is asking or petitioning God, then is supplication asking God on behalf of other people? Join ArieRashelle as she searches through Scripture in order to fully understand the difference between prayer and supplication in her video, The Armor of God Pt. 4: What is Supplication?

Ephesians 6:17-20
Luke 22:39-44
Daniel 9
Numbers 23:19
Psalms 62:2
Psalms 94:22
Exodus 32:9-14
Genesis 6:6-8
1 Chronicles 21:13-17
Matthew 26:50-54
Genesis 41:32
Revelation 3:10
Revelation 3:15-16
James 4:4-8
James 5:16 (KJV)
Proverbs 27:17
Ecclesiastes 4:12
Matthew 17:1
Matthew 26:37
Matthew 6:12
1 Peter 2:24
John 14:27
Matthew 6:11
Matthew 6:25-34
James 1:5
Isaiah 40:29-31

The Armor of God

What is Supplication?

¹⁰Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. ¹¹Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. ¹²For 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.
¹³Therefore 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. ¹⁴Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. ¹⁶In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; ¹⁷and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, ¹⁸praying 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, ¹⁹and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, ²⁰for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.

Ephesians 6:10-20

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Do You Regard The LORD’s Anointed?

³⁷In the morning, when the wine had gone out of Nabal, his wife told him these things, and his heart died within him, and he became as a stone. ³⁸And about ten days later the Lord struck Nabal, and he died. ~ 1 Samuel 25:37-38

David was in the land of Carmel. It was a feast day, so he reached out to a rich man in the land with whom he and his men had interactions with the rich man’s shepherds. So, David sent some of his men to ask Nabal for anything he could spare, but Nabal had no regard for the LORD’s anointed. In fact, he even disrespected the LORD’s anointed saying,

“Who is David? Who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants these days who are breaking away from their masters. ¹¹Shall I take my bread and my water and my meat that I have killed for my shearers and give it to men who come from I do not know where?”

1 Samuel 25:10-11

Nabal had no regard for the LORD’s anointed, so David was going to take his men to attack, but Nabal’s wife pleaded with David. So, David steadied his hand, but the LORD took aim Himself when Nabal had sobered up to fully grasp and understand what was happening. The LORD came to fight on His anointed’s behalf. Nabal’s response and mistreatment of David, the LORD’s anointed, caused His heart to die within him, and he became like a stone. The LORD didn’t kill him just yet, though, God gave him 10 days. He gave him a set amount of days to repent, or at the very least, have a repentive heart. But when he didn’t, the LORD struck him down.

Today, many of our attitudes and actions have caused our hearts to die within us so that we become like stone. We stop feeling things. Our hearts stop breaking for what breaks the heart of God. Our souls stop yearning for God and His righteousness. We become spiritually paralyzed, but the LORD gives us a period of time to cry out to Him. To repent. To let our hearts beat again before we spiritually die. This is His promise to us in Ezekiel.

²⁶And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

Ezekiel 36:26

Dear LORD, please forgive me of all of my sins. Forgive me of all of my trespasses against You. Help me to notice Your anointed and have regard for them. Help to not be like Nabal or Pharaoh. Help me to have regard for You, Your people, Your teaching, and Your ways. Help me to be hospitable and loving, filled with a Spirit of Discernment that I might not sin against You. Please replace my heart of stone with a heart of flesh that I might love You and follow You the way You deserve. Thank You for all that You’ve done for me, are doing for me, and will do for me. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Run to God

²⁴And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, ²⁵who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit, “‘Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples plot in vain? ²⁶The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against His Anointed’—²⁷for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, ²⁸to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. ²⁹And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, ³⁰while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” ³¹And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness. ~ Acts 4:23-31

The chief priests and elders had just threatened Peter and John for preaching in the name of Jesus after they had healed the lame man by Gate Beautiful. After they were released, they reported all that was said to their friends. And when they heard it. When their friends heard all the threats that were made by their chief priests and elders, they went straight to God in prayer.

When you receive bad news or when you receive threats, do you go immediately to God in prayer? Or do you try everything else, and finally, after everything has escalated, you say, there is nothing else for me to do but pray?

Prayer is not a last resort. Prayer is the first and foremost thing on our list. When the trials of life come against us, when things are not going as we plan, the first thing we must do is to get on our knees and pray. Seek the face of God, call upon His name, for He will hear, and if He hears, He will answer.

Look at the believers’ prayer. “Look upon their threats…” In other words, listen to what they have said and take note, oh, LORD. Then they ask that they be granted boldness to continue to speak the word of God so that their mission is not thwarted by government threats of punishment and imprisonment.

Our whole mission is to bring, take, and carry the good news of Jesus Christ to all people and all nations with boldness and accuracy. But they did not leave it there. They asked for more. In other words, they said, give us boldness to do our part, and You, Oh God, do Your part by stretching out Your mighty hand to heal the sick and to perform signs and wonders in the Name of Jesus Christ so that His name be lifted up, and glorified. And you know what happened? Their prayer was answered.

Oh, that we would run to God with our burdens and our cares. To seek wisdom and boldness to do what He has called us to do, and that healing, along with signs and wonders, would be a staple in our services and daily lives. So that Jesus is magnified and glorified.

Heavenly Father, grant us boldness to preach Your word. Grant us understanding to discern the times and wisdom to know what to do. Stretch out Your hand to heal the sick and to perform signs and wonders and all sorts of miracles in the name of Jesus. For it is in His name, we ask it all, amen.

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