Tag: Spiritual

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The Armor of God Pt. 2: The Sword of the Spirit

The Armor of God is one of the first things we learn about as believers. Your average Christian knows each piece of armor, from the Breastplate of Righteousness to the Sword of the Spirit. The only problem is that many don’t know what these pieces of armor really are, nor do they know how to use them. In fact, many who preach against things such as the Gifts of the Holy Spirit inadvertently also preach against the Sword of the Spirit without ever realizing it. If this is true, then that begs the question, What Exactly is the Sword of the Spirit? And more importantly, how do you use the Sword of the Spirit? Join ArieRashelle as she searches through Scripture for the answers to these questions and more in her video, The Armor of God Pt. 2: The Sword of the Spirit.

Acts 2:17-21
Ephesians 6:17-18a
John 1:14
Matthew 16:15-17
Matthew 28:18
Ephesians 6:18
1 Corinthians 14:14-15
Matthew 17:20
Mark 9:29
Romans 10:17
John 4:24
Matthew 26:41

The Sword of the Spirit

What is the Sword of the Spirit?

When we talk about the Sword of the Spirit, we’re referring to the last spiritual weapon given to us by God, through Paul, in the book of Ephesians.

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 6:17-18

How to activate the Sword of the Spirit?

You have to speak in tongues

To activate the Sword of the Spirit, you have to speak in tongues. This is different than the kind of speaking in tongues, which allows those who hear you speak, hear the words in their own language.

5 Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. 6 And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. 7 And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? 9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, 11 both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” 12 And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.”

Acts 2:5-13

This is also different than the kind of speaking in tongues that needs to be interpreted by you or another because it is a word from God.

4 The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself, but the one who prophesies builds up the church. 5 Now I want you all to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be built up.

1 Corinthians 14:14-15

This kind of speaking in tongues is a personal tongue that is specific to your spirit. See, in order to activate the Sword of the Spirit, you have to build up your spirit. If you don’t build up your spirit, your spirit will be to weak to pick up the Sword of the Spirit, let alone wield it with all of its power.

14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is unfruitful. 15 What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also; I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also.

1 Corinthians 14:14-15

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Watch Out For The Trap

13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 15 So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds. ~ 2 Corinthians 11:13-15

People often try to play around with the occult as if it’s nothing but fun and games. Even some Christians play around with tarot cards, ouija boards, horoscopes, and palm readings because they don’t believe that they’re anything more than just a bit of fun. But all of those things are of the occult. They aren’t games. They’re of the kingdom of darkness, and they have real power. They can truly entangle you in their chains, and the worst part is most don’t even know it.

The occult doesn’t always show up in dark gothic wear, holding a solid black skull enticing you to the dark side with blood, guts, and glory. No, instead, most of the time, the occult entices us dressed in regular clothing and holding a plate of cookies. And when we eat the cookies, we don’t even realize that the poison is slowly killing us. The worst part is that so many of us never wake up from that spiritual slumber, and that spiritual comma leads us to a spiritual death. How? Because the occult slowly convinces us that it’s not evil. That it’s light. That it’s good. That it can’t separate us from God because it isn’t bad at all. In fact, it may just even be a game.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Watch Out For The Trap.

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Guard Above All Else

23 Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. ~ Proverbs 4:23

All that you think. All that you say. All that you do comes from your heart. If that is the case, would you not agree then to guard your heart is the most important thing you can do? You have to make sure you guard your heart. You can’t let any and everything get stored in there. It is not a catch-all drawer or a junk drawer.

That’s why it is so important that you consider what you watch on tv or what you read in books. Or even what you talk about. It all gets stored in your heart, and guess what? The abundance in your heart comes out of your mouth.

You cannot misinterpret Scripture the way you want it to go or what you want it to say, just to suit you and your purpose. You have to properly or correctly decern the Scripture. You cannot come to Jesus on Sunday and then live any old way you want during the week. This is why you have to guard your heart. You have to read, study, and meditate on the Scripture. This is the only way you can truly change.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Guard Above All Else.

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Watch What You Think

20 My son, pay attention to what I say; turn your ear to my words. 21 Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; 22 for they are life to those who find them and health to one’s whole body. ~ Proverbs 4: 20-22

King Solomon admonishes his hearers/readers to pay close attention to what he is saying because they are not just mere words. He is not just trying to sound philosophical or wise, but what he is saying is very important.

How important? So important that he advises not to let them out of your sight. You know how folks say, “I’ll keep it on the back burner?” Well, King Solomon is saying do not do that, but rather keep this on the front burner. Keep this in your heart so that it is ever on your mind. Why? They are life to those who find them.

What you focus on will either make or break you. It’s your thoughts that will decide your actions. So, watch what you think about. Guard your mind. Focus your thoughts and time on God and His word so that you may be changed by the renewal of your mind. For what a person thinks, that is who they are.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Watch What You Think.

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Independence Day

31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed Him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” 33 They answered Him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?” ~ John 8:31–36

Did you notice their reply to Jesus’ statement about the truth setting them free?

We have never been enslaved to anyone.

John 8:33

I want to remind you that at the time of this saying, the Jews were under Roman occupation. They had a form of self-government, but they were not autonomous. Not only that but their ancestors were enslaved for 400 years in Egypt. The Assyrians had conquered and dispersed them out of the Northern Kingdom, and Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian army had conquered and dispersed the Southern Kingdom. They hadn’t had their own king for hundreds of years. Not only that but during the time of the judges, before Israel had a king, they were always being oppressed by some other country because of their idolatry.

But they did not let their past define who they were. They did not let circumstances dictate their self-worth or how they saw themselves. They were free men and had never been enslaved. It was not their past. They would not let it affect their future.

In his song Redemption Song, Bob Marley says:

Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery
None but ourselves can free our minds

Redemption Song

So, let us have this mindset about ourselves. We are children of the Most High God, and we have never been enslaved to anyone, not even the devil because once you accept Jesus, you are no longer the same; the old has passed away, and the new has come, and you are now a new creation in Christ.

Therefore, if the old has passed and the new has come, you are not a sinner saved by grace. You are now a saint of the LORD God Most High. You are a child of God. This is your Independence Day so live like it.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Live Free.

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Command The Workers

1 On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Jesus also was invited to the wedding with His disciples. 3 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.” 4 And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever He tells you.” ~ John 2:1-5

When Jesus was at a wedding in Cana, the wine ran out, so Mary, His mother, wanted Him to do something about it. Now, Jesus’ earthly ministry hadn’t started yet, but Mary didn’t wait. She didn’t even respond to Jesus when He asked her what the wine shortage had to do with Him. Instead, she simply told the workers to do whatever He (Jesus) said to do. Because of this, Jesus not only turned water into wine and prolonged the wedding feast, He gave them an even better wine than they originally had. So much so that the master of the feast spoke out about how great the wine was.

See, Mary could’ve taken what Jesus said as a no. Mary could’ve gotten discouraged and walked away. In fact, if she had let herself become discouraged, not only would she have missed out on an even greater wine than was previously served, but the entire wedding guests would have missed out along with her. Instead of Mary becoming discouraged and giving up, she spoke with authority and commanded the workers. Mary understood that the Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. Jesus didn’t tell Mary no; He left the door open for her to taste more than she was receiving. Mary understood her authority because she was the mother of Jesus, and He didn’t outrank her with a no; instead, He left the door open to the possibility.

Today we are in the same situation as Mary was 2,000 years ago. We no longer see the miraculous like they did in the time of Jesus or even the prophets of old. It’s as if the wine has run out. See, the wine in Scripture almost always represents the Spirit of God, and even though the LORD said He has poured out His Spirit on all flesh, it doesn’t seem to be much flowing of His Spirit today. We’re now at the point where we’re asking Jesus to do something, and He’s asking, “What do you expect me to do about it? I’m not on earth. What concern is it of mine?” Many of us get discouraged by this and give up, but don’t be discouraged. Jesus isn’t saying that He won’t help. Jesus isn’t saying no. Jesus is asking what concern of it is mine because I’ve given you authority in my name. Don’t ask to be healed; speak the healing. By His stripes, we have been healed. Don’t ask to be freed from the bondage of addiction, rejection, or any other spirit; command that spirit to leave in the name of Jesus. Where the Spirit of the LORD is, there is freedom. We’ve been given authority by God Himself, so why don’t we use it?

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Command The Workers.

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Resist The Siren’s Song

11 But you, Timothy, are a man of God; so run from all these evil things. Pursue righteousness and a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight for the true faith. Hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you, which you have declared so well before many witnesses. ~ 1 Timothy 6:11-12NLT

As we get closer to the return of Jesus, the world becomes more and more evil. As the world becomes more evil, the more it becomes enticing. As the world darkens, it will become harder to fight temptation unless we pursue righteousness from now. Unless we train our flesh and run from all manner of evil, the world will one day be able to suck us in.

It’ll become like a siren song that we can’t resist because we didn’t hold tightly to the hope of Eternal Life with God. And if we are drawn away by this siren song, it will only lead to death and destruction. We have to resist while there is time to resist. We have to seek God while He can still be found. We have to build our faith while it is still possible. We have to fight the good fight while we still can.

LORD, help us to fight the good fight and not be distracted by the things of this world. Help us to not take Your salvation and mercy for granted. Help us to spend time talking and listening to You, abiding in You and You in us, so that we can unashamedly proclaim Your goodness and great salvation to all people, in the name of Jesus, Amen.

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Don’t React Like Michal

16 But as the Ark of the Lord entered the City of David, Michal, the daughter of Saul, looked down from her window. When she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she was filled with contempt for him. 20 When David returned home to bless his own family, Michal, the daughter of Saul, came out to meet him. She said in disgust, “How distinguished the king of Israel looked today, shamelessly exposing himself to the servant girls like any vulgar person might do!” 23 So Michal, the daughter of Saul, remained childless throughout her entire life. ~ 2 Samuel 6:16, 20, 23NLT

David was dancing unashamedly before the Lord in worship, celebrating that the Lord’s presence would be dwelling in his place, in the city of David, yet Michal could not discern what David was doing and what was happening in the spiritual. She only saw through her eyes of jealousy and contempt that David was making a spectacle of himself before the servant girls; she was caught up with appearances before mankind.

It seems that, like her father Saul, the spirit of the Lord was not with her, and she had no discernment. She had never seen worship like that before and didn’t understand it, so she felt contempt for the man of God, and lack of spiritual discernment caused her to lose out on the blessing the Lord had for her that day. Instead of giving birth to something great, like a future king, she gave birth to nothing. We have to be careful what we say about the man of God or a move of the Holy Spirit; we need to pray for discernment so that we don’t miss out on our blessing.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Don’t React Like Michal.

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Follow The LORD With All Your Heart

30 Therefore the Lord, the God of Israel, declares: ‘I promised that your house and the house of your father should go in and out before me forever,’ but now the Lord declares: ‘Far be it from me, for those who honor me I will honor, and those who despise me shall be lightly esteemed.’ ~ 1 Samuel 2:30 ESV

God promised that the house of Eli would go in and out before Him forever, but because of their evil, it didn’t happen. In the same manner, God gave Hezekiah an extra 15 years after sending him a death sentence because Hezekiah pleaded with the LORD. This shows that we can change the mind of God by our actions and by our prayers. Our lives don’t have to be set in stone.

If we aren’t on the straight and narrow path that leads to everlasting life, then we can change our path by repenting and asking for God’s forgiveness. This can also be true if we have been given a promise and we refuse to follow the LORD and His instructions. If we remain idle and refuse to move forward and follow the LORD, then His promise that He gave to us will be given to another. Don’t allow yourself to miss out on all that God has in store for you.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Follow The LORD With All Your Heart.

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Hope in His Power

14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. 15 For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. 16 But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 17 ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams. 18 And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; And they shall prophesy. ~ Acts 2:14–18

The blessed Holy Spirit rushed upon all mankind when the Day of Pentecost came, yet there are people, pastors, and religious teachers who claim that the outpouring of the “Power Holy Spirit” was only for that time. Please take special notice of the time frame that Peter indicates:

In the last days.

If Peter was living in the last days, which he indicated that he was, then how much more are we who live in the 21st century, living in the last days? The power of God didn’t dwindle nor run cold. God still performs miracles, healings, signs, and wonders. There is still power in the name of Jesus. There is still freedom in His presence.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Hope in His Power.

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