Tag: Breaking Down Strongholds

¹⁸ And the Lord sent you on a mission and said, ‘Go, devote to destruction the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.’ ¹⁹ Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? Why did you pounce on the spoil and do what was evil in the sight of the Lord?” ²⁰ And Saul said to Samuel, “I have obeyed the voice of the Lord. I have gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me. I have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and I have devoted the Amalekites to destruction. ~ 1 Samuel 15:18-21

Saul was a people pleaser more than a God pleaser. He always seemed to believe that sacrifice was more important than obedience. He didn’t learn from the last time he sacrificed instead of obeying. It’s like he just didn’t get that God wanted obedience. His need to please the people was stronger than his need to please God. It’s almost like us today when we say God understands.

This is just like Saul when he says, God understands those animals weren’t taken for us, but to offer a sacrifice to Him, so God should be pleased. Like us, Saul tried to justify his disobedience, although he should have known better after all those years of being guided/mentored by Samuel and hearing from God Himself.

Today we have the word of God and the Holy Spirit to guide us, but more often than not, we do everything based on our feelings versus what God says because God understands that we’re mere men and made from dust. These are the lies of the enemy that we believe. These are the lies that keep us in bondage.

LORD, help us to stop making excuses for our disobedience and ask for forgiveness. Help us to lay it on the altar, draw close to You, and put up a fight against our flesh. Encourage us as our flesh weakens the more we walk in obedience to You. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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³³ And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on His right and one on His left. ³⁴ And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide His garments. ³⁵ And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at Him, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself, if He is the Christ of God, His Chosen One!” ~ Luke 23:33-35

2,000 years ago, Jesus was beaten, unrecognizable, mocked, and ridiculed, a crown of thorns was dug into His head, and then finally, He was crucified. Jesus could’ve easily called for ten legions of angels to come to His rescue. He could have easily slaughtered His enemies where they lie, but He didn’t. Why? Jesus saw the worth where there was none.

We’re just clay. We aren’t gods, or angels, or even demons. We’re low on the totem pole, only above animals, yet the God of gods stepped off of His throne and endured the cross to save us. He didn’t have to die. Jesus could’ve easily said, ‘You made your bed; now lie in it,’ but instead of bringing down judgment, Jesus showed mercy out of His abundant love.

The Church’s love for the souls of this world is draining quicker and quicker. As the world becomes more and more evil, we become less and less loving because revenge and vengeance begin to take root in us. Pride and anger begin to stir in our midst. And as these strongholds begin to take root and grow, we forget that Jesus’ sacrifice was for us as well because we were once sinners who reviled against Him. We were once enemies of God, but we have now been saved by grace through faith in the LORD Jesus Christ, who could have easily brought judgment but chose to show love. If Jesus could forgive those who beat, ridiculed, tormented, mocked and crucified Him, why can’t we?

This Good Friday, don’t just remember what Jesus did. Instead, let’s learn from it and put it into action in our own lives.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Show Love.

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⁵ Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’ ~ Matthew 21:5

Our Savior came in the most humble way possible. Jesus could’ve easily come riding on His white horse, breaking the Eastern sky filled with glory. Instead, He set off His own glory and took the form of a servant. He did that for us. He didn’t have to. He was (is and always will be) already God, but when He looked on His creation and how far we had fallen, He saw His child filthy and alone. So, He took the form of a servant to save us. He understood what was ahead of us. He didn’t allow pride to keep us from Eternal Salvation because of His love for us.

That’s what the Church is missing today, love. We don’t witness to people because we’re afraid to offend them or others. We don’t help others who have offended or hurt our pride in some way. The Church has lost our love. And without love, how can we be anything like Christ? Love is what differentiates us from the world. Love is what holds us together as the body of Christ.

It’s time the body of Christ sets aside the strongholds of pride and fear and take up love as we ride our donkey into the city to preach the good news. We are all called to tell others of the gospel! We don’t have to be theologians; we just need our testimony. That’s it.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Share The Good News.

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¹⁸ Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. ~ Isaiah 1:18 ESV

As the Jews waited for their Messiah to come, they went from oppression under Egypt to oppression under Assyria to oppression under Babylon to oppression under the Medes and the Persians to oppression under the Greeks to oppression under the Romans. Throughout each oppressed generation, the love of the people of Israel grew colder and colder. They forgot the days of Ezra and Nehemiah when they mourned after hearing the Law for the first time in many years. They forgot how they mourned because they had fallen so far astray that it felt as if they could never receive the forgiveness of God. They forgot the 400 years of silence when they heard no Word from God. They forgot love.

So, by the time Jesus came, they were no longer looking for a Messiah to forgive sins, heal the sick, and comfort the widow and the orphan. No, instead, they were now looking for a Messiah who would wipe out their oppressors before them. They weren’t looking for miracles of love; they were looking for the vengeance and judgment of God. They sought judgment so much that they missed the salvation and forgiveness of God for themselves and instead brought judgment upon their own heads.

This is how we are today. We get so caught up in what has been done wrong to us that we forget that Jesus came not to condemn the world but to save the world through His redeeming blood. When we desire the judgment of our enemies over their salvation, we become like the Pharisees and miss salvation for ourselves. From the days of Ezekiel, God asked, “Do I take pleasure in the death of the wicked?” God doesn’t hate the wicked as we believe He does; He loves them, but they refuse to abide in His love; therefore, they fall into His hands as He brings forth righteous judgment. The Potter loves His clay, and when His clay is chipped, He remolds it into a new creation that it might be used.

God desires that none of His creation be destroyed, but all come to repentance and receive eternal life. That’s why Jesus came; to restore the broken and chipped clay. Never forget the heart of God, that you may never miss who He is and how He is working in your life. It’s been 2000 years since our Messiah set foot on this earth and walked among us; how will you live the rest of your life waiting for His return? Will you seek His judgment and wrath or His forgiveness and mercy?

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Seek His Love.

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¹² And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. ¹³ He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.” ¹⁴ And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. ~ Matthew 21:12-14

Notice what Jesus did before He healed anybody? He cleaned out all the filth. He got rid of all that was polluting the temple before He could heal the people around the temple. Jesus had to get to the root of the problem first.

So many of us have a root problem that we’re not addressing in our lives that is keeping us from getting our healing. Maybe it’s a childhood wound that we’ve put a Band-Aid on and never thought about again. Maybe it’s a relationship that hurt you or caused you to change for the worst. Maybe it’s something you did that you can’t forgive yourself for. Whatever it may be, we have to take it to God first so that He can clean it.

If it was important for Jesus to cleanse the physical temple before He healed anyone, how much more important is it for Him to cleanse the spiritual temple before He heals anyone? Think about it like this, when we were kids, if we got hurt, we ran to our parents because we knew they could make it better. We are now the children of God, and we have to run to our Heavenly Father so that He can fix it. There’s no wound too deep or shame too strong for God to heal.

LORD Jesus, I know that You have taken all my pain, suffering, sin, shame, and regret upon Yourself. I know that You can heal any wound, but help me to believe it with everything inside of me. Help me to not just know the Scripture but to believe them and put them into action. Clean out the root pain in me that has kept me in bondage for too long. Prepare me, Oh LORD, to be healed and set free. Help me to accept Your love, grace, forgiveness, and healing. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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⁸ And Judah said to Israel his father, “Send the boy with me, and we will arise and go, that we may live and not die, both we and you and also our little ones. ⁹ I will be a pledge of his safety. From my hand you shall require him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever.” ~ Genesis 43:8-9^ESV

Sometimes it feels like we’ll never be able to make up for the wrong that we’ve done, but God always makes a way for us. Reuben (the eldest) was the firstborn and the first to offer to take Benjamin (the youngest) to Egypt under his watch, but Jacob (their father) told him no. It wasn’t until Judah promised to watch him that Jacob agreed to allow Benjamin to go to Egypt so that they could buy grain. Why is that so significant?

It was Judah’s idea to sell Joseph into slavery. If Judah had never come up with the idea to sell Joseph, then they probably would’ve just left him in the pit, and Reuben would’ve been able to save him and bring him back to their father. Judah’s hatred for his brother was his downfall, but it wasn’t his destruction. We all make mistakes. All of us have regrets, but if we repent and can learn from them and grow, God will give us a way to redeem ourselves. Whether it’s helping someone going through the same thing or in another way, God always gives us the opportunity.

Judah not only was able to take Benjamin safely to Egypt, but when Joseph tested him, unknowingly, he was willing to take Benjamin’s place and punishment. He had learned from his past actions and had overcome that root of rejection and envy that had a hold on him. That caused him to betray his baby brother and his father.

Think about a regret you have in your life, dig until you find the root, and then set it before the LORD. He already paid your debt; He’s just waiting for you to come to Him with your burden. Then once you have repented and have given Him your burden, learn and help someone else.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Repent, Learn, and Help.

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² A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion. ~ Proverbs 18:2

In the Church today, one of our biggest strongholds is pride. We value our own thoughts and opinions over the Truth and Wisdom of God. So, when we are corrected, we feel personally attacked by the correction. This is because we’ve made it about us and what we think is right, instead of about God and what He knows is right. When we do this become like fools because our own understanding and wisdom could never even compete with the ‘foolishness’ of God.

God doesn’t always speak to us directly; He uses us to teach each other. When you’re corrected by God, it’s most likely not going to be face to face on a mountain like Moses or with a sword blocking the path as He did to Balaam. God will most likely use a fellow Christian to correct you. Why? Because iron sharpens iron. We help each other grow in the Spirit. If one person knew and understood everything, then we wouldn’t be the body of Christ. A body cannot function with just one body part. It needs the full system to function properly and accurately.

So, the next time you’re corrected, don’t feel attacked. Don’t get upset and offended. Instead, seek the wisdom of God and search through Scripture to make sure that they are speaking the Truth. Don’t let pride keep you from growing in Christ Jesus.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Grow in Christ Jesus.

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⁹ Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning. ~ Proverbs 9:9

In our society today, we take correction personally. It’s almost as if the person correcting us is coming after us directly instead of trying to help us grow in Christ. The reason we’re offended by correction is because of one of the strongest strongholds, pride. Pride blinds us to the truth of situations and keeps us stuck where we are never able to move forward.

Jesus said, ‘Blessed is he who isn’t offended by me.’ Jesus was the ultimate corrector. It wasn’t because He wanted to call people out on their ignorance; it was because He wanted and still wants us to continue to grow in wisdom and understanding. He wants us to go from glory to glory.

Look at what the verse says again, The wise man who receives instruction becomes more wise. Just because the wise man received instruction, it didn’t mean he was no longer wise; in fact, it made him the more wiser. The wise man was wise not because he knew and understood much but because he could take instruction and continue to grow. So, when someone gives you instruction or correction, accept it and grow. Don’t allow pride to keep you from the next level of glory God has in store for you.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Accept Instruction.

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