Tag: Breaking Down Strongholds

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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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Shake Off The Past

10 And now, behold, the Lord has kept me alive, just as he said, these forty-five years since the time that the Lord spoke this word to Moses, while Israel walked in the wilderness. And now, behold, I am this day eighty-five years old. 11 I am still as strong today as I was in the day that Moses sent me; my strength now is as my strength was then, for war and for going and coming. 12 So now give me this hill country of which the Lord spoke on that day, for you heard on that day how the Anakim were there, with great fortified cities. It may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall drive them out just as the Lord said.” ~ Joshua 14:10-12

Manasseh, Reuben, and Gad had received their inheritance, and now Judah was ready to receive theirs. Caleb, as their spokesman, came to Joshua and reminded him that he didn’t lose faith the first time they scouted the land. And because of this Moses promised him and his people this inheritance.

See, Caleb never forgot his promise. He kept it in his heart for 45 years, waiting for the time to see it come to pass, and surely, it had come. And Joshua blessed him.

So, Caleb, at 85 years old, goes out to into the land God promised him and drives out the Anakim. The three sons of Anak from the land of Hebron. He saw his promise fulfilled because he had enough faith to hold on to it.

He didn’t allow the failure of the past keep him from claiming what God had promised him, because if he had not stood strong and kept his faith in God, God would have raised up another person to take the land of Hebron for the people of Judah, just as he raised up Aaron to fulfill Moses’ call that he refused to do.

Don’t let your past failures keep you from the future God has for you. We all have a past, but that past doesn’t have to dictate who we are or what we can accomplish. Our present, right now, is what matters.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Shake Off The Past.

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Ovid’s Hate

Matthew 23:13, 15

[13]  But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in. [15] Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves.

Luke 11:52

[52] Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering.

Myths, religions, beliefs, etc., all interest me. What people believe and why they believe it always piques my interest. One ancient story that I find interesting is the ancient Greek story of Medusa. Medusa was one of three monstrous sisters with wings, scaly bodies, fangs, and brass or bronze hands. Hideous and frightening to look at, whose gaze turned its victims to stone. And most notably, snakes for hair. In the original Greek myth, they were always monstrous beasts. Hideous. Ferocious. Terrifying. But 700-800 years later, a Roman author changed Medusa’s story.

Ovid, an ancient Roman poet, wrote in his Narrative Poem “Metamorphoses” that Medusa was once a beautiful woman desired even by the gods. One day, Poseidon (Neptune), the god of the sea, raped Medusa in the temple of Athena (Minerva). Instead of finding comfort, peace, or empathy from the goddess, being that it took place in her temple, Medusa was cursed by Athena (Minerva). She turned the locks of her hair into snakes and turned her gaze into a petrifying gaze that turned those who looked upon her into stone. So, why the change?

Ovid was exiled by Emperor Augustus around 8 AD. Because of this, he took gods who were originally just, wise, and trying to do good by the people, and turned them into the villains of the story. His anger and chip on his shoulder, stemming from his exile by the emperor, led him to distort the gods’ very depiction, character, and desires. His story is the one portrayed today, not the original. It’s the one used by women in the feminist movement. It’s the one society knows, yet it’s not the original. To this day, it is used to show why gods are all evil at their root and/or even the idea of a loving god is folly.

One man changed the legacy of the gods for millennias. Today, in the church, this happens as well. People who have been hurt push their ideologies into the Word of God. They distort characters, peoples, the gods of old, and the LORD God Himself. They allow their own thoughts, opinions, and feelings to influence their judgment. To influence their understanding. So, they lean not on God or His intention of His Word. They lean solely on their own understanding, desires, hurts, and hearts.

When we do this, we corrupt the Truth. We distort God’s Word for ourselves and others. We become a hindrance to those seeking the Truth and a pitfall to those who hate the same way.

Dear LORD, thank You that You are a forgiving and merciful God. A God that loves and gives Himself for His people. One of patience, mercy, and grace. Please forgive me for distorting Your Word. For allowing my feelings, pain, hurt, heart’s desires, and hate to confuse and distort my understanding of Your Word. Please forgive me. If I have led others away with any false belief, please forgive me and show them the Truth of Your Word. Teach me Your Truth and not my own. Hear my plea for understanding and wisdom, for You give to anyone who will ask and seek diligently. Teach me, oh LORD. Hear me from Heaven. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Pray For Your Persecutors

23  A prudent man conceals knowledge, but the heart of fools proclaims folly. ~ Proverbs 12:23

Posting videos online comes with people hating you for absolutely no reason other than they ultimately hate God but can’t get to Him, so you’re the next best thing. We recently got a span of sixteen hateful comments from two random people (hiding behind fake names) having a conversation about how much they hate “Christ-tards” and our God. One explained that God had to be evil to create something as cruel as winter because only the rich can enjoy it, and the poor homeless people suffer. The absurdity of the messages just kind of blew my mind. How silly they sounded while thinking they were wise and enlightened beyond their years. The other made claims of how evil God is and how God Himself claims to create evil in the Bible.

These kinds of comments no longer anger me but genuinely confuse me. If you hate a religion or group of people that much, why are you watching their videos and going out of your way to let them know you hate them and their God (which, by the way, they claim they don’t believe in)? It makes no sense. There’s no reasoning in it. But that’s what happens when you allow hatred and ignorance to consume you.

Hatred is blinding and numbing. It blinds you to the Truth so that you can dwell in the lies that stir and flame the hatred within you, so you never truly realize you are even ignorant in the first place. When hatred gets a hold of you, there’s little wisdom and understanding can do to help. Now, it’s up to the LORD to change your heart. It’s up to the LORD to soften your heart, but He’ll never do it against your will. He will never do it unless you want to know the Truth and not your own twisted version of it.

What a slippery slope hatred is. One that leads to death. One that few are able to return from. Debate and Truth cannot help alone, but coupled with prayer and faith, anything is possible. That is why we love those who hate us and pray for those who persecute us, and we bless those who curse us. We do not return railing for railing, but instead we turn the other cheek, and we love, even when it’s difficult and feels impossible, we love.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Pray For Your Persecutors.

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Prepare Today For Tomorrow

[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

When I was a child, one of my favorite movies was Matilda. As I get older, the more I liked the musical version of Matilda, as well. In it is a song called, “When I Grow up.” In the song, all the children sing about how easier life will be when they grow up.

They’ll be tall enough to reach the branches you can’t as children. Smart enough to answer questions you need to know the answers to before you’re grown up. Strong enough to carry all the heavy things. Brave enough to fight the creatures that you have to fight beneath the bed each night to be a grown up.

This to such a sad song when I think about it. The world only gets harder as time goes on, as you get older. There’s never a point in time that we suddenly have no more cares of worries in the world. These children’s outlook on adulthood is very much like One new Christian’s ideas of Christianity, like somehow being saved will stop and end all troubles. An unrealistic and unbiblical outlook of life.

Just like adulthood, a Christian, especially a seasoned Christian, faces challenges that are difficult. That don’t necessarily have a clear answer. That take a lot of hard work and effort. That you don’t just wake up and know one day. Challenges and obstacles that take practice and preparation, time and building in order to overcome.

You’ll never just wake up are day and be good enough. You have to work at it duly Grow Train up yourself. Prepare before the obstacle comes.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Prepare Today For Tomorrow.

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Let Pain Go

Luke 2:10-11

[10] And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. [11] For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”

Every year we watch “How The Grinch Stole Christmas” but my nieces prefer the newer animated Grinch, so that has been added to our yearly watch list. One thing I’ve noticed in the movie is a recurring theme, “rejection will consume and destroy you, if you let it.”

See, from childhood the Grinch was rejected and because of that he rejected others first in order to never be rejected again. And because he lived right outside of Whoville, he hated Christmas the most because that is when the whiskey came together as one people and celebrated what he never had, family and loved ones. The community coming together as one brought back all the pain from childhood, because he never let the wound heal.

If we allow pain to consume us, we will remain lonely and in pain. That will be our oppressor. A hard slave master. Christmas should be a time of joy, thanksgiving, and celebration. A time we forgive and let go the pain of the past, be thankful for the present, and look forward to the future.

Don’t be like the Grinch bottling up all the pain and closing yourself off to the world. Instead, open yourself up to hope. The hope of salvation that isn’t possible without the birth of Christ, the reason for the season.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Let Pain Go.

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Crucify The Flesh

24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other (Galatians 5:24–26).

Paul writes, “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” The word Paul uses for crucified literally means “they crucified”—an aorist active indicative verb. The aorist tense points to a decisive action completed in the past. Paul is not issuing a command here, but stating a fact: those who belong to Christ Jesus have already broken decisively with their old way of life.

If something has been put to death, it no longer has a rightful place among the living. So when any of the acts of the flesh listed in Galatians 5:19–21—or anything like them—try to rise up within you, you resist them as you would resist a clearly destructive impulse. When someone cuts you off in traffic, you do not give in to anger. When thoughts of sexual immorality attempt to enter your mind, you refuse them. They are not your thoughts, and you give them no room to grow. As you deny them nourishment, they weaken over time. Instead of feeding the impulses of the flesh, you feed the fruit of the Spirit—because whatever you feed becomes the stronger influence in your life.

But notice that Paul does not simply say we “put the flesh to death”; he says we have crucified it. Crucifixion is not instantaneous. It is slow, painful, and drawn out. Paul’s imagery reminds us that although the decisive break with the flesh has already occurred, the struggle between flesh and Spirit continues. Therefore, we do not take the flesh off the cross. We leave it there, giving it no leeway, no voice, and no authority. Anything that rises up against the Spirit is to be nailed back to the cross. Its influence diminishes over time, but we must remain watchful and Spirit-led.

So understand that Paul’s statement is both reassuring and sobering. It reassures us that the decisive work has already been done—we belong to Christ, and our old way of life has been nailed to the cross. And it soberly calls us to keep in step with the Spirit, refusing the works of the flesh: sexual immorality, impurity, debauchery, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and anything like them. As we walk by the Spirit, the life of Christ grows stronger within us.

Our Heavenly Father, we pray for strength to resist the devil so that he might flee, and for the will to do Your will and be obedient to Your commands. Grant us favor and prosperity in our Christian walk, in Jesus’ Name, I pray, amen.

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Live Your Unique Life

[20] And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. [21] For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, [22] coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. [23] All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.” ~ Mark 7:20-23

I recently had a conversation with someone who uses Revelation 2 & 3 to defend his belief that the Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews are not the true Jews/Israelites. After going back and forth for a bit, I asked him why he had no problem with the Mizrahi Jews but only with the Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews. His response? The Ashkenazi Jews go around claiming to be Jews wearing their yamakas and believe they are God’s chosen people. It finally made sense to me.

It wasn’t about race or who the true Jews are or anything like that. It was about the fact that they know who they are and are proud of it. Proud of their heritage, culture, religion, and history, whereas he is not.

So often, our hatred, skepticism, criticism, and accusations are rooted in one thing. Envy. Envy, unlike jealousy (in my opinion), is rooted in wanting what you don’t have and what does not belong to you. Jealousy, on the other hand, is seeing what is yours and what belongs to you being taken away by someone or something else. It’s the desire to keep what is yours yours. One is rooted in self-doubt and often times, self-hatred. The other is rooted in the love you have for another.

When you hate someone and speak all manner of evil about them, take a moment and ask yourself why. Why do you have such a strong distain for them? Is it because they are deserving of this distain (in man’s eyes) or is it because you envy the life they have? The life you desire for yourself?

Often times, our own hatred is a projection of how we feel about ourselves. God made each and every one of us unique with a special purpose. If we focus all of our energy on others, we’ll end up missing our own call. Our own path. Our own destiny. God is no respecter of persons. In other words, He has no favorites. He is only looking for one thing. A willing heart.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Live Your Unique Life.

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Watch Your Intellect

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths. 7 Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. 8 It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones. ~ Proverbs 3:5-8

Something I’ve noticed and been thinking more and more about recently, is that the more book smart someone is, the more they seem to struggle with understanding the Bible and who God is. I guess sometimes God doesn’t fit our logic. Well, I think a lot of the time, He doesn’t. God does things that we just don’t understand. He does things we disagree with. And what I’ve been really noticing is the smarter someone is, the harder it is for them to fully trust God at His Word, so they use their own logic and their own understanding.

Learning and growing intellectually is important but never let that get to your head. Never let it blind you from seeing the Truth of who God is. Never let it create your own truth. It’s very easy to put your own ideas in the Bible. Here’s what I mean. It’s very easy to twist Scripture to make it say what you want, especially when you are very smart. It’s also very easy to believe that what you have twisted and misinterpreted is correct and truth.

So, what should we do? Stop seeking intellectualism? No. We should always seek to become more knowledgeable, but we should always make sure that our source for understanding is God and not our own wisdom. For the foolishness of God is greater than the wisdom of man. So, don’t think more of yourself than you ought, always humble yourself before God seeking His Truth and not your own. Seeking His wisdom and not your own. That is the only way we can walk a straight path back to Him.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Watch Your Intellect.

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Check Your Heart’s Abundance

[23] Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. ~ Proverbs 4:23

So, there’s no secret I like movies and tv shows, and there’s also no secret that I see the bible in almost everything (if not everything) I watch. Now, one that I genuinely really enjoy is The Hobbit trilogy. Within The Hobbit is a main character named Thorin Oakenshield. Throughout the movies, Thorin is on a quest to return to and reclaim the Lonely Mountain, the home of his fathers.

Now, throughout the movies Thorin is loyal, honorable, and brave. BUT he is also angry, prideful, and worst of all unforgiving. He is haunted and bound by the pain and wrong doings of the past. Now, even though he faces obstacle after obstacle and is captured time after time, Thorin is able to fulfill his quest and reclaim the home of his fathers. Here’s the thing though, the sins of his fathers takes hold of him and ultimately proves to not only be his downfall but his complete and utter demise.

See, his grandfather lost the kingdom because of his love of gold and when Thorin inherited that same gold, he also inherited that same spirit of Mammon. This one fatal flaw of the love of money caused him to lose those three good traits he had previously. Why? Because when we try to focus all of our energy on the past, the past and all of its woes will consume us. Just as Thorin did, you’ll find yourself succumbing to generational curses that should have been broken, and your faint bit of light will found to be dwindling in the darkness as it consumes you.

What should have been a happy and victorious ending with great rejoicing turned to be a sad and disappointing end because one man refused to look forward allowing pride, anger, and unforgiveness consume him.

Our heart controls our actions. It’s the source of all we say and do. What is your heart full of? What It’s full of and what is focus is will be what your destiny is.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Check Your Heart’s Abundance. 

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