Tag: Jesus

Let’s Use Our Weapons

Posted on by Mabel

The weapons we fight with may not be physical guns, swords, or bombs, but through the mighty power of God, they are Weapons of Mass Destruction and Deliverance. 

The Word of God is our Spiritual sword in Ephesians 6:17. It is quick, powerful, and sharper than any other sword. God’s Word can be life and healing to you or destruction to every demonic power that resists you. 

Prayer is your command station. Its where you receive Heaven’s agenda and instruction. God wants to reveal secrets and strategies that are vital to you experiencing victory. However, how can you receive them if you are not in communication with him? When you pray, God can send reinforcements. Elisha prayed in 2 Kings 6:18 and God struck an entire army with physical blindness. What will God not do for you when you pray?

Praise might be sweet sound that pleases the ears of our God, but it is also the battle cry that sends fear and confusion to our enemies. King Jehoshaphat appointed singers to go before his army into battle in 2 Chronicles 20. By the time they got to the battle ground, all of their enemies had turned on each other and not one was left alive. When we focus our attention of the goodness of God like Jehoshaphat’s army, and recognize that He is so merciful and loving to us, we leave room for God to work wonders and miracles on our behalf. Just imagine what God what do for you if you spent more time praising instead of panicking.

Worship is the discipline that develops our strength. It is complete submission to the supreme and sovereign command of our God and King. The more we surrender our will to His in our daily living, the more He will publicly reward and award us with the treasures of His heart.

Thanksgiving affects both our relationship with God and the relationships with one another. When we give thanks to each other, it motivates us to do more for one another. The more you Thank God, the more joy and contentment fills your heart, as anxiety leaves! The more you magnify God with thanks and gratitude, the more He favor He bestows!

The Blood of Jesus has purchased our victory and guaranteed God’s protection. It is the seal of God’s peace treaty and alliance with you and I. Hallelujah! It is the Banner of Righteousness that should go before us into every battle. It lifts the hand of death and destruction from our families. O how your enemies tremble at the name of Jesus! Much more, when they see that bloody seal, they know that their attacks and their weapons cannot prosper! To fight against the blood of Jesus is a senseless, foolish mission of the Enemy. 

LET’S USE OUR WEAPONS!

Fruits of the Spirit In-depth Study and Application “Joy”

Posted on by Mabel

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” ~Galatians 5:22-23 

O to have the joy of the Lord! The prophet Nehemiah declared the Joy of the Lord is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10). The word for joy here in Hebrew is “chedvah”( Lexicon :: Strong’s H2304), which also means gladness or rejoicing. In other words, the fruit of being connected and in constant communion with Christ, is having gladness. Being connected to Jesus is in itself reason enough to rejoice and be glad. 

The apostle Paul concludes that knowing Jesus is the very root of Joy in Philippians 3:7-9. Why? Consider what Jesus did for us. According to Ephesians, Chapter 2:4-9, God has: 

● Made us alive in Christ to sit in heavenly places 

● Given us access to immeasurable riches and kindness 

● Gifted us with salvation knowing that we could not earn or repay Him.

On top of that,verses 13-21 tell us that through the blood of Jesus: 

● We are in close fellowship with our Heavenly Father 

● We are made whole and reconciled to God 

● We are built together into a new family–the Household of God. Does this not make you want to rejoice? To make it simple, the fruit of Joy is birthed in our constant awareness of God’s love and Jesus’s sacrifice for us. How can one not rejoice in knowing that Jesus sacrificed his life not only for their sins but also for their right to an abundant life according to John 10:10? Even when facing grim circumstances, can you rejoice believing that the end result and outcome will be for your benefit and promotion? When you are connected to the true vine, Jesus Christ, this is your reality. Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice (Philippians 4:4)!

Lets pray! Father, thank You for Your love. Thank you for accepting me into your family. I rejoice in you! I declare, in the name of Jesus, that I receive your joy unspeakable and full of glory according to 1 Peter 1:8. I declare my joy and gladness tank is full according to John 15:11. Thank you Lord for you Goodness and mercy always following me. I evict anxiety, sorrow, depression and fear from my life and I put a bloodline of Jesus between me and them. Replace them with the gifts and benefits of a child of God! Hallelujah! Thank you Jesus! I declare it is done in Jesus name! 

Why Do We Praise & Worship?

Posted on by Mabel

Psalm 150: 1-6
Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise Him in his mighty heavens! Praise Him for His mighty deeds; praise Him according to His excellent greatness! Praise Him with trumpet sound; praise Him with lute and harp! Praise Him with tambourine and dance; praise Him with strings and pipe! Praise Him with sounding cymbals; praise Him with loud clashing cymbals!

Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness; tremble before Him, all the earth! Psalm 96:9

The Bible is filled with accounts of persons magnifying the Lord, offering heartful praise and worship in response to His unequaled love, faithfulness and sovereignty! One of the most notable worshippers was David, who wrote most of the book of Psalms. He played the harp and was recognized as a man after God’s own heart!

With much thanksgiving and exhilaration, praise is usually expressed through singing, shouting, standing, the lifting of hands, clapping and dancing. It is an external form of adoration to God, declaring his Word, worthiness, and joyfully recounting and remembering His work in our lives. Praise is also a mighty weapon in spiritual warfare! The enemy is confused whenever we can still acknowledge God’s goodness in the midst of attack and circumstance! When Paul and Silas were falsely accused and imprisoned, instead of giving into despair, they praised God and experienced a remarkable miracle! Acts 16:26

Worship can have characteristics of praise, but in general, this is a time of deeper, more intimate fellowship and connection with the Lord. In the quieting of the mind and heart, we are met by the Holy Spirit who speaks to, comforts and convicts us. During this time, we may find ourselves kneeling or bowing down as a show of complete surrender and humility, inescapably aware of the Lord’s presence and glory!

Be encouraged to give your whole heart, mind, body and soul in reverence to God, knowing that He loves and delights in you! Even in the times where you may not feel like praising or worshipping, I pray that you would sacrificially do so, holding onto His Word and promises! We join in with all of heaven and confess: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come!” Revelation 4:8

Why the Enemy Will Lose with God on Your Side

Posted on by Mallory

Why the Enemy Will Lose with God on Your Side

 
 

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Through Him we are made CHAMPIONS! Jesus is a champion, a conqueror. He has victory over sin, He conquered death, hell and the grave. He is a champion for our salvation.

The enemy targets you in the areas you have the most calling! As a champion through Christ you can prevail in these areas and start walking in your destiny. God empowers us everyday to even greater victories because He gave us the heart of a champion. “For the spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love, and self-discipline.” 2 Timothy 1:7

With the heart of a champion we are called to rise above. Our confidence is born in faith; there is no longer room for fear. We have to confront our fears and seek freedom. By renewing your mind, you are given insight into right and wrong, given a deeper meaning of God’s character and how He operates, and given strength to become more like Him even when faced with great adversity.

It takes great humility to be a champion! You have to die to self daily. We have to take up our cross, deny our former ways, and walk in newness of life through Christ who lives in us. Surrendered to Him with His Champion Heart, we are infused with the strength, discipline, resilience, determination and commitment needed to have victory over the enemy!

“But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.” Romans 6:17-18

“When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:20-23 

Pray this prayer today: Dear Father, I thank You for the sacrifice you made for me and for conquering death, hell, and the grave.  Thank you for empowering me by placing Your champion heart and spirit within me.  Help me to walk in my full potential in You to have victory over the enemy that wants to steal my destiny.  Help me to rise above in confidence born in faith and grant me humility to take up my cross and walk in newness of life surrendered completely to You.  Amen.

Resurgence

Posted on by Wes Shinn

Resurgence

 
 

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All who followed Him were healed. Matt. 12:15

It has been insightfully said: “What you do only proves what you believe in.” I encourage you to go ahead and read that sentence again until it speaks to you. Action makes the stuff of faith a reality. If I truly believe God to be good, then I will actively choose to see the goodness of the Lord in every area of my life. There’s an added benefit in this act of worship for when I do this, I become more aware of the things still left for the Lord to repair, uproot, build, reconcile, etc. It’s not a burdensome consequence that stems from choosing to see the good hand of the Lord but rather a motivator to keep pressing on in faith to see greater victories. If God has done such a great work in one particular area of your life then clearly He will continue the good work in you and bring revelation about how to attain the breakthrough in the other domains of your life.

Faith without action is dead. Action without faith is just optimism at work… A type of work that is mechanical, superficial, and short-lived. The enemy will continue to have his way with you without you even being consciously aware of it. Faith birthed by the Spirit is eternal and substantial because it carries the breath and life of Jesus. To allow faith to breathe and grow means you believe that the health of your faith is your main priority. Your faith is living, it’s active, and alive in you. Jesus’ ministry on earth was substantial because it came from the Father. He believed in His Father so much so that He only did that which His Father does… Jesus Christ could only do what He saw His Father doing. The two were One. Jesus’ faith while on earth was completely and utterly rooted in the love of the Father. His faith was alive, living through every Word of God and by the Spirit that energizes the very fabric of life into being.

The faith that Jesus imparts is a faith that brings us from death to life. The faith of Christ draws us into a new way of life. What was once impossible is no longer impossible. For with Christ all things are possible for those who believe. The more we press our faith into motion, the more we will discover the depth, the height, the width, and the length of God’s great love for us. The truest form of worshipping God is by walking out a life of faith in Him. He calls us out of the boat and unto the waters, He calls us to give Him the little it may seem we have while assuring us abundance in provision in all aspects of our lives. The key to abundant living is rooted in compassion and generosity just as Jesus taught His disciples to give and to nourish others even with limited means. In their act of surrender, Jesus literally fed thousands through the disciples’ offering of two small fish and a few loaves of bread.

Faith is activated and mobilized into tangible results when we actually do what we believe in. Let us humble our hearts and begin to see a new side of ourselves. Walk in love and impart your faith unto your beloved, your friends, those in authority over you, and your enemies for the Word of the Lord says:

“Truly, truly, I say to you, the one believing in Me, the works that I do, also he will do. And he will do greater thanthese, because I am going to the Father.” John 14:12

The quality of our faith is determined by our ability to surrender our character, personality, and even our temperament. We are to let go of our faulty thinking and ask God to deliver us from both the pride and the shame that holds us back from receiving every good gift from our Father. There is now no condemnation for those who are in a Christ Jesus. We have been set free from the power of sin and the bondage of the sin-legacy from past generations. We are a new creation that is now able to freely follow Jesus, able to follow Him well because we have our Father on our side. He has called us by name.

We are  God’s forever family and we have access to a faith that is living and breathing inside of us waiting to be unleashed so that we may live out the type of life only the Good Father can give. It’s a life worth living for and it’s a life worth dying for. Step out of the boat, out of your comfort zone, take your name off of the platform of your life, work, ministry, etc. and let the light of His Glory overtake your identity! For it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” Romans 1:17

All who are continually pursuing and following after Jesus are made whole because Jesus heals holistically, it’s a completed work. Receive all the benefits from the Cross. Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Yearn for His will to be your faith walk today and everyday. Then you can test for yourself and prove that His will is and forever will be better than yours… And all of God’s people say: Amen!

Additional Verses: Philippians 4:8; Philippians 1:6; James 2: 14-17; John 5:19; Matthew 19:26; Ephesians 3:18; Matthew 14: 13-21; Romans 8:1; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Romans 12:2

A Different (and hope-full) Take on Life’s Difficult Seasons

Posted on by Mallory

A Different (and hope-full) Take on Life’s Difficult Seasons

 
 

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We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.

2 Corinthians 4:8-10

The Christian faith walk can be likened to the life of a grape. Let me explain. I once heard a pastor begin her sermon with this statement: “We are all grapes”. Her words seemed a bit comical but little did I know that I was about to hear one of the most profound sermons in what was one of my most pressing seasons. The Holy Spirit began to pierce my heart with truth and revelation, and that is my prayer for you today.

Grapes and wine are referenced several times throughout scripture, and Jesus himself used this staple of Jewish life and tradition to illustrate who he was and who we are. Once the grapes are ready on the vine, they are picked and piled into a large winepress. In ancient times this was done with their feet in shallow limestone presses. The moment the juices touch the skin of the grapes, fermentation begins. Often the presses were on a hill and the fermentation pit would be at the bottom, so all the juices would run down, where they would bubble and ferment. Let me stop and say that fermenting smells really bad.

Have you ever experienced a “crushing” in your life? A time when you felt persecution, alienation or inadequacy? Nobody likes to feel that way but the Bible says that what the enemy meant for evil, God turns it for good (Gen 50:20). In Psalm 37:25, it says that the righteous have never been abandoned nor their children begging for bread. No matter what life is throwing at you, God sees you and he WILL turn it around. Just cling to him.

Continuing, a separation of the sediments and the wine take place and then the wine would be poured into clay jars or into wineskins and would be set out of the sun for several days. Even in winemaking today, its best when the wine is placed in a sealed container in a dark room without light because of the lactic-acid bacteria, which flourishes in the dark. This can affect flavor of the wine too. In some cases, the longer the wine is stored in the dark on a shelf the better it becomes.

There have been really long seasons in my life where I was that wine and let me just say that lactic acid bacteria was flourishing hundred-fold. I felt so alone, so forgotten, so abandoned, so overlooked. It was extremely painful but by the grace of God and a community that prayed for me, I persevered and the Lord brought me out of that seven-year season. Maybe you are walking in that wilderness, maybe you sense God bringing you out of that time, or maybe you’ve never experienced a season like this before- at some point we will all experience a wilderness season BUT being on the other side of it, I would say don’t waste it. I had some profound cherished moments with the Lord in the wilderness. I wouldn’t ever want to repeat it but I know that if God so leads me, he’ll be with me.

Jesus bring new wine out of me.

In light of the wine-making process, the request for Jesus to bring new wine out of us seems a whole lot less appealing. You see part of being a disciple of Jesus is becoming like Jesus, it is picking up our cross and following after him in every area of our lives.

Being a disciple of Jesus is about loving the Lord, seeking first his Kingdom, loving our neighbor, making disciples AND as we do all these things, God, through the power of the Holy Spirit is working on making us righteous; he’s refining us. Our mindsets change, our behaviors change, our speech changes; we begin to transform from the inside out!

Maybe you are going through a hard time in this season. You’re facing some big challenges, you have some giants ahead of you, some mountains that you seem to circle, and you’re feeling like that crushed grape; you’re feeling alone and in darkness, but be encouraged. The Lord’s presence is not determined by your feelings or your ability to sense him. God is omnipresent and he is with you, you just have to call out to him. He will not turn his eyes from you, for those who are seeking him or who need him will find him.

Please don’t give up. I’ve been there before; I’ve had the mental and emotional breakdown and I know you may feel like you’re losing yourself. Seek counsel if you need to AND know that God is for you no matter what anybody says or thinks-including what you say and think over yourself.

God is at work in your life. Real change is the transformational power of his love and presence. What a witness to the world of the power of the Lord!

Jesus bring new wine out of us!

 

Father God,

Thank you for your loving kindness towards me. Before the formation of the earth, you were thinking of me. Lord, you know my thoughts, you know my desires; I choose to fix my eyes on you alone.

As difficult as it may be, I will choose to walk with you because your word says that even when I walk through the waters, you will be with me. You will make a way where there is no way, and you will deliver me. My inheritance is secure, I need not worry because I am your child, a co-heir with Christ.

Jesus would you teach me how to live like you did. Would you teach me how to walk through the wilderness? No matter the cost, I want to be so rooted in the truth of your word that I will not be shaken by the things of this world. Refine me. Transform me. I will not be crushed because you are standing at my side. The victory has been won; I need only stand and endure.

Today, I dispel the lies of the enemy and the temptation to take the easy way back to comfort that is not of God. I will not give up on you Lord because you have not given up on me. I will finish the race set before me.  I adorn my head with the helmet of salvation, and take on the mind of Christ as a son/daughter who is being sanctified daily for the glory of the Lord.

 I pray this in the mighty name of Jesus Christ! AMEN