Spiritual Weapons For A Spiritual Devil

Satan wants to destroy your happiness and your hope. Don't allow him to do it! He will use every little thing that he can find. The big attacks are obvious. The little attacks are not. Recognize how much he hates you because you love God and have acknowledged and accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior. His commitment to devastate you never ends. He never rests in his malevolent goals.

It's not the people who are attacking you and making your life difficult. It's evil influence from the fallen Lucifer, who was once an angel in Our Father's kingdom. He is the father of lies who was cast out of Heaven with his fallen angels followers who kept not their first estate. You believe and want help from God's angels but you find it difficult to believe in a devil and demons? 

Our daily battles are not against flesh and blood, the people that we encounter. The battle is in the spiritual world. We are spiritual now, no longer choosing to live in the flesh, though we are still here in this world and in the flesh. Our Heavenly Father helps us in his spiritual ways. We are not alone. We are not without battle weapons but the weapons that we must use are not carnal through fleshly fighting. 

Our weapons are mighty to defeat the devil's plans, though it may seem like he wins at times. Our weapons of power are not of this physical world. They are Godly weapons that establish God's plans and purposes in our lives. It's not about stopping people and getting back at them. It's all about triumphing through God's good, expectable and perfect will.

Learn about the weapons of warfare that we can successfully use (Ephesians 6:10-18) against the very real principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this world and spiritual wickedness in high places. Every little evil thing matters to the very real devil. Every little holy and righteous thing should matter to us! Ask our Father to sharpen your spiritual eyes so that you can detect the wicked works of the devil against you. Ask him also to make the weapons of his warfare real and practical to you!

6 Powerful Spiritual Weapons Of Warfare

Our loins girded about with truth. 

Having on the breastplate of righteousness.

Having our feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. 

The shield of faith with which we can quench the enemy's fiery darts.

The helmet of salvation.

The sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God.

How To Resist The Devil

 

This Christian declaration was written by someone I know online. I told her that I would add the floral illustrations and the 2 font styles free of charge, because I was so blessed by it. If you want me to send you the file so that you can print it out, let me know.

Those who love God through his son Jesus Christ know that the devil and his evil workers can be resisted daily, hourly, minute by minute, and then they have to do what? FLEE!

God bless! Happy Thursday!

Make It Happen With The Help Of God

 

Don't just dream about it. Make it happen, with the help of the Lord. Receive God's ways of thinking. He's sharing them with you. 

You can't just spend the rest of your life wishing it could happen. Learn to see things God's way. He's showing you how.

Don't just keep thinking about it. You're either serious or you're not. Do what God is telling you to do.

You can't continue to just wonder about it. Accept the knowledge that God is constantly imparting unto you.

Don't just hope that it will come to pass. God is a do something God. You have to step out and do it. You know what to do. Faith and courage are being built up in you by Our Lord. You have been asking for it and he is faithful. God has been giving to you the building blocks of faith and courage. 

You can't continue to spend your life dreaming about it, wishing about it, thinking about it and wondering if it will ever happen. You have to take the risks necessary for God to bring to pass your most cherished dreams.

Some of God's most faithful servants from the Bible went out, went forward, moved on, sometimes not knowing how the gap between where they were and where they were going would be bridged.

They had ideas about how they needed to do it but they ultimately had to make their uncertain way, with God always before them. They had to go forward when things were not perfect or when there was opposition, when no one believed or supported them, when God did not tell them all of the facts.

They had to take steps, often with blind faith, to arrive where they wanted to be, where they should be and to where God promised them they could be. If they had kept waiting for things to be perfect or for situations to be the way that they thought they should be, they would never have went forward and obtained what God had already provided.   

Don't just dream about it. Make it happen, with the help of the Lord.

From Disappointment And Confusion To Triumph

In Psalm 44:1-26, we see that God's people endured disappointment and confusion just like we do, but they triumphed in God.

It's so important to read The Word everyday and not only start each day with prayer, but to talk to God throughout the day. Through these practices, we build strength to hold on and continue to believe through similar circumstances like what they endured. We should always stay close to God because nothing here in this earth is sure.

What we consider to be God's special blessings to us can turn at any time. What's here today can be changed or gone tomorrow. Does that mean it did not come from God? No.

I don't know about you, but I'm always thanking God for all good things. However, things change. God changes things at his will and he allows things to change. God is god of all and most of the time we are not able to understand why he allows or does certain things.

As David shared in the Psalms, one day we're on top and the next it seems like the whole world is against us. God allows things that are incomprehensible and mostly he doesn't tell us why. As we grow in him, we can sometimes discern a track that he has us on and that helps us to perceive that all is well.

Our job and best mental and emotional attitude is to cling to him, whether we are up or down, prosperous or lacking, successful or struggling. Whatever the circumstance, our faith is not to be placed in those day-to-day shiftings.

It is difficult sometimes, when we're struggling in various ways, but our hope and faith is to be in God himself. We can also ask him for relief at any point. David did that many times while professing his faith and devotion to Our Father.

No matter what he was suffering, mental or emotional anguish or physical attack, he took his disappointment and confusion to his God. In the end, he triumphed because he never gave up on Our Heavenly Father. He stayed with God.

How To Accept Jesus Christ As Your Savior

What Would We Do Without These Two?

I Am So Thankful For My Prayer And Bible Study Life!

How About You?  

It's how we get our strength to successfully endure unexpected daily challenges.

It's how we get the power to forgive and pray for enemies, real and perceived.

Through our prayer habits we become renewed each day.

Through Bible reading and study we learn the nature of The One True God.

We find ourselves becoming transformed into being more like Jesus Christ in attitude and commitment towards Our Father.

We grow in hope.

 

 

Trust: Psalms 40:4, 52:8

 

Because I have confidence in God's care for me, I am fortunate. I do not heed the ways of those who are conceited and vain, and who convey false information and deceit. (Psalm 40:4 Paraphrased)

I am filled with abundance and peace. I am purified by the Blood of Jesus. I am infused with God's wisdom. I possess the power of God's Holy Spirit. I am always flourishing, growing and hardy. I am beneficial at all times in God's kingdom. I have confidence always in God's mercy. My confidence in God never withers or dies. (Psalm 52:8 Paraphrased)

 

How To Easily Memorize Scriptures

 

It's important to memorize scriptures in order to hide God's word in our hearts. Being able to accurately recall his word gives us power to think like God and to resist the devil. With all of the unrest in the world, we can't be sure that the time will not come when we will be persecuted for reading and carrying Bibles. One day, if Jesus does not come back before, it could become a crime to possess a Bible. It's also a good feeling to be able to quote scriptures. The Word of God is alive and springs into action when we have it within us. 

If you abide in me and my words abide in you, you shall ask what you will and it will be done unto you. John 15:7 Abide means to live, stay or remain.

Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You! Psalm 119:11 In order for something to be hidden it has to be claimed, possessed and kept.

The Word that we read and hear has to be claimed, possessed and kept so that it will remain, stay and live within us.

The Word tells us about ourselves and what to feel and how to think. When we read or hear the Word, then walk away and forget that Word that we've heard, it's hard to walk in the light, be transformed and receive God's best. James 1:23-25 

Jesus did not hesitate in quoting God's word to Satan. He didn't fumble around, try to quote it or misquote it. He spoke it with confidence and power.

 "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." 

"It is written again, 'You shall not tempt the Lord your God."  

"Away with you, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve."  Matthew 4:4-10

The main way that I memorize scripture is to put notes or print-outs on my bathroom mirror or wall near the sink. I started with pieces of paper, then index cards, then I started designing printable graphics. This keeps the scripture that I want to memorize in front of me each morning or whenever I do my daily toiletries. Whenever we get up, we have to prepare for the day, so posting them in the bathroom is a good way to begin memorizing them.

When I want to learn a scripture passage (several scriptures in a book), I look at my note or graphic and start by reading the scripture reference. It's also important to know where the scripture is found. Then I look away and repeat it. I then read the first scripture or part of it if it's long, look away and repeat it.

I move to the second scripture, read it and then repeat it. I'm not trying to memorize the scriptures, I'm impressing them on my mind. Eventually, I can quote them without looking. It's really amazing. It doesn't matter to me how long it takes. I know that one day I will have committed the scriptures to memory. 

I always select scriptures that have special meaning to me or that help me with struggles and difficulties. If you do this, you will have a better incentive to do your reading and repeating exercise each morning.

Remember that God is always willing to help us. If you feel the importance of memorizing scriptures, it doesn't matter if you've always had a problem doing that. Just ask Our Father and he will help you through His Holy Spirit. Write out on a piece of paper or an index card, a scripture that means a lot to you, or print it from the internet. Start committing God's Holy scriptures to memory, or start again, and realize new power each day.

  

Bible Power Is Between The Lines

The Bible Can Be More Than Just An Icon To You

Without the Holy Spirit, the Bible is just a book with words on paper like any other book. God's Word is the spirit of what is being taught in between the lines of all of those scriptures.

The true meat is what we can only discern through the power of the Holy Spirit within us. This Power opens our spiritual eyes and gives us revelations, secrets and keys.

The True Bible Is The Spirit Between The Lines

What the Bible's words do in our spirits and in our hearts is the most important thing, not the Bible itself. That's why we should read it everyday and regularly memorize the scriptures.

If the time should ever come when Bibles are being confiscated and burned in the country where we live, we'll have much of it inside of us.

Memorize Scripture And No One Can Take The Bible Away From You

Quote scriptures and defeat spiritual enemies! Strike them down with the precise Words of God! Crush them in the many ways that the Sword of the Spirit provides for you to do it! Speak the Word with accuracy, confidence and power. 

Hide God's revelation Word in your heart so that no one can ever take it away from you! Be quick to draw the real Sword when needed!

If you haven't, start a scripture memory program today!

Guide your children in memorizing scriptures at a very young age! 

It is the very best weapon that you can give to them

to navigate this evil and wicked world!

Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You!

Psalm 119:11 

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.

Psalm 119:105

 

Dear Lord Help Us

A prayer and reminder for when you are feeling anxiety, distress, depression, hopelessness or unhappiness.

DEAR LORD:

Help us to keep our minds on you.

We thank you for the peace that passes all understanding and for joy unspeakable in the midst of struggle, fear and disappointment. We know that our joy in you is where our strength will always lie, and that YOU will keep us in perfect peace, because we choose to bring our minds back to you always.

AMEN.

You Are Here: Tired Of Praying & Weary II

Hope has fled, but we know that hope is our only hope.

I believe that most people are crying out for help, because they pray and pray and don't seem to get any relief about the most important things in their lives. I wrote the first You Are Here: Tired Of Praying & Weary from a heart of understanding, because this has happened to me for so long about many things. Though I can certainly see the hand of God in my everyday life, I am often just tired of various other things.

I know the feeling of not believing that you can go on praying another day. I know how it feels to not feel like praying, when deep inside you know that is your only hope. And what does that say? That hope has fled at that moment. That is when we are between a rock and a hard place. Hope has fled, but we know that hope is our only hope. Only the Spirit of God can untangle that heart condition and send what we already know, the repairing Blood of Jesus, flowing again through our paralyzed consciousness.

Only the Spirit of God can untangle the heart condition.

That is why we must rely on this Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit. It is the same Spirit that raised Jesus Christ of Nazareth from the dead. It is the same Spirit that resides inside everyone who has accepted Jesus as Savior.  It is the same Spirit that brings The Word, the Bible, to life within us, and brings about the changes that we need to live renewed lives. This is the Spirit that has promised to pray for us when we are just too tired and weary. So don't give up on your prayer life. You have a faithful Helper.

 

God bless you and your entire family today.

May He have mercy and save the souls of each and

every one who does not know Him.

Most of all, may he increase your faith in your prayers

and your desire to pray.

In Jesus' name and according to God's will I pray,

Amen.

You Are Here: Tired Of Praying & Weary

You Are Here: Tired Of Praying & Weary III

You Are Here: Tired Of Praying & Weary IV

You Are Here: Tired Of Praying & Weary V 

How Can I Forgive?

How to forgive when it is so hard.

Forgiveness is in the realm of your possibility.  Yes, you can forgive anyone and everyone by just speaking the words.

How to forgive when I don't feel like it.

You don't have to feel it or understand how you could ever possibly do it. All you have to do is make a decision to speak the words I forgive. Speak them to yourself and God.

How to forgive when I'm still angry or hurt.

Read the Word that says don't repay evil for evil, but overcome evil with good. Forgive those who despitefully use you. Pray for your enemies, and the Word will do the rest in you. 

Matthew 5:44

1 Peter 3:9

Romans 12:21

 

I Prayed And It's Getting Worse! Why?

Often, when we are believing God for big changes, and praying and standing on his promises, the opposite will seem to happen. When we think things should be getting better, some things may seem to get worse. Some areas in our lives may need to collapse, so that God can build upon a stronger foundation that which we desire.

This is not pertaining to the foundation of the life of a Christian, for that main foundation is already built upon the Rock of Jesus Christ. The foundations that I'm speaking about are the areas of our lives that are a hinderance to obtaining what we want. They are superflous things, people and circumstances that need to go, that usually were not introduced by God into our lives to remain in the first place.

Some definitions of superflous include unnecessary; uncalled-for; wasteful. The best definition, though, is obsolete, which means no longer produced or used; out of date. They may have been useful at the time, according to God's plan, but are no longer so. We don't realize that many advancements, relationships and situations that we encounter are not meant to continue along the road with us.

God rarely reveals to us that what is a blessing at one time will become dispensible at his appointed time. These invited-turned-uninvited blessings must be wrenched from our lives in ways that we don't expect, because we don't understand that we must let them go. While God is permanent, the circumstances that he allows or places in our lives are not always so.

How do we handle these potentially upsetting and distressing developments? We continue to stand on the original promise of God. While doing so, we also do what is best at any given time, facing the challenges that God places before us. We determine to continue to have faith in him, while doing our part to fearlessly manage our daily lives, fearing no thing.

We go with the flow and recommit to God daily, loving and praising him with every fiber in our being. The course may veer off along the path at times, but if we are sure of what God is doing in our lives, then the path is the same. It is time to move upwards and onwards to what we asked God for.

Definitions: dictionary.com , Google 
Image: pixabay.com

Where Is The Benefit In Feeling Beaten Down?

Sometimes we suffer and are sad because of circumstances that God allows upon our lives. Sometimes we don't feel that we can overcome the devastating feelings, which cause us to drag around listlessly doing our daily tasks. We know that we love God, and we still are able to make ourselves read the Bible and pray during these times, but we feel so beaten down by situations.

We know that God allows these things for our benefit, but where is the benefit in feeling beaten down? Well, we should remember that the beaten down feeling is not the goal of God. That feeling and the circumstance that brought it are being used to get our attention. There is something that he wants us to grasp that is above what the circumstance has caused us to feel. To have us look up to it, he had to spur us up. Like the pointy, sharp boot spurs that a cowboy presses into the sides of a horse to startle him with a little pain to get him moving, God spurs us to move our spirit and thoughts in a certain direction, away from and above the sorrow of what he has allowed.

So when we who are devoted to God enter into a period of trial and tribulation, we should not deny that we feel lost, hopeless and just plain tired. We want to benefit from the experience that God has chosen to use. We don't want to waste it, or have to take that lesson again, so we admit and accept how we are feeling. In the midst of it, we who trust God should then ask ourselves, What is it that would help me to feel better right now? For this exercise, the answer is not money, a vacation or anything outside of us. It is something within. It is thoughts or a way of thinking that will in turn control feelings. It is thoughts that go beyond what we could make up to feel better, because that is why we feel so depressed, because our own thoughts cannot handle it.

This is where being already built up in faith helps us tremendously. Reading the Bible and praying always, when things are going well and we feel great, builds up in us a strong storehouse of faith, hope and scripture references. So when we are suffering like this, if we can reach up and understand something that would make us feel better, a promise from God, a past answered prayer, a strong scripture passage that speaks especially to us, a revelation, a confirmation, that will be one of the things that God is trying to point us to, away from the actual crushing distress. This something that only we would know will pull us up inwardly (not by our own bootstraps which often break) to higher heights of strength, faith, victory and understanding of God. That is when we attain a new level in Christ, which was God's purpose all along.

Waiting On God? Or Just Indefinitely Waiting?

The path to success is not along a familiar route.

~S Holland~

 

If you are waiting on God, so that he can bring to you something familiar, so that your dreams will come true, you may be waiting 'till you die.

Your fondest dreams will not be brought about through a path you've already traveled, or else you'd already have them.

To have something you've never had, you've got to do something you've never done. God will show you what it is. He probably already has.

Don't keep waiting on the familiar, calling it waiting on God, and miss God.

 

Saved But Worried Or Afraid?

Every day of your life conceive of yourself as living in partnership and companionship with Jesus Christ. If He actually walked by your side, would you be worried or afraid? Well, then, say to yourself, "He is with me." Affirm aloud His promise, "I am with you always." Then change it to say, "He is with me now." Repeat the affirmation three times every day.

~ Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, The Power of Positive Thinking condensed edition, Chapt. 8, How To Break The Worry Habit, pg. 36. ©1987 & 2008 Peale Center for Positive Thinking. All rights reserved. Guideposts Outreach. GuidepostsFoundation.org ~

 

How To Store Up Faith

You will notice how much more satisfied you are with your responses to challenges, how much better you overcome obstacles.

It is important to store up faith everyday. Read some of the Word each day, according as your schedule allows. Do this as soon as possible when you get up each morning. If you can't do it first thing, be sure to do it later in the morning.

It's best, though, to get up a tad earlier if necessary to do it before you start anything else that day. It doesn't matter how much you read, but I would hope that you'll read more than "Jesus wept". Whenever you can, read more than you normally would.

Pray every morning, in fact, before you get out of bed. Say something to God when you first open your eyes each day. Speak a faith statement, or thank God for something. This is a type of prayer, just as thinking is also.

When you get up to start your day, pray first, just as you determine to read the Bible first. Pray before, or after you read, whatever helps you to feel most comfortable. This is your formal prayer, where you open yourself and your life to God's direction each day. This is when you arm yourself, and set your mind to receive the goodness of God.

Get in the habit of praying throughout the day. These are your informal prayers. They are no more than talking to God, conversing with him about anything and everything. This is praying without ceasing, as the Bible instructs us to do.

As you practice these heart-felt procedures, you will be storing up faith. Often you will not feel any different, though you may feel satisfied that you are doing a very good thing. You may not necessarily feel stronger, or feel the power of God working in you at those moments of study and meditation. You will, however, notice how much better you handle daily occurrences.

You will notice how much more satisfied you are with your responses to challenges, how much better you overcome obstacles. This is because faith is being stored up in you. You are becoming strong in the Lord and in the power of his might, though you may not feel it during your daily practices.  

This is where your own faith comes in, and where you do the work of looking into the perfect law of liberty, of ingesting the Word (James 1:25 NKJV). This is where you get set up to deal with your day in a way that pleases God, and that will ultimately richly bless you. Even when you don't feel like it, even when you're tired, or discouraged, or sad and depressed, make yourself open the Bible and read it, everyday. Don't wait to read it when you feel thrilled. If it seems dry, read it.

Pray, everyday. Get on your knees whenever you can, subject and submit yourself to God, first thing in the morning, and throughout the day, everyday, day in and day out. Be faithful and do it! When happy, when sad, eat and drink the Word of God, and talk to God, always, continuously, everyday, about everything.

You will be amazed at how your barely detected, dormant and stock-piled faith will spring up and conquer like a lion, when needed. 

Trust In God

How To Deal With Tests, Trials & Tribulations

Sometimes, we just want it to end; those difficult trials and testings...

~ I had a moment of weakness

when I spoke in spirit to my Heavenly Father ~

Sometimes, we just want it to end; those difficult trials and testings that we are suffering through. I had a moment of weakness when I spoke in spirit to my Heavenly Father, with very much heartfelt expression, I just wish it would end. He knew what I was thinking about. I did not need to spell it out or identify the issue. Then on the heels of that thought came the one that always brings me back to commitment.

I thought of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. He had endured so much harassment most of his 33 years. He had lived through his cousin, John the Baptist, being murdered. He had been hounded, shunned, consistently plotted against and betrayed. Though he knew these things would happen, they still happened to someone who could feel as we feel. He experienced the feelings, emotions and stress that we feel. He was very tired, I'm sure, by the time he made it to that garden. He felt fear and dread. What did he do?

~ The moment of terrifying weakness

turned into a moment of strength ~

In a moment of human weakness, he asked his Father, with so much  heartfelt expression that it seems some of his capillaries burst and oozed blood from his pores, Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me.  The moment of terrifying weakness turned into a moment of strength when he said, nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done. He chose to reestablish his determination to accept God's will. The flesh that he had taken on was fearful, but in his spirit was the strength to continue on. 

God expects us to determine to overcome our aversion and fear.

If Jesus had not recommitted himself, dug his heels in, and stayed the course, I would not be able to say today that I have a Heavenly Father. I would not be able to say that I have true help in a time of need, that he prepares a table before me in the presence of my enemies, or that he shows me how to overcome evil with good. I would not be able to say that he helps me to do all things, and to put on effective, spiritual armor. Most of all, I would not be able to say that my Eternity is set in Him.

When on the heels of that broken-down thought of supplication I remembered Jesus, and all that he had endured for me, I immediately said in my spirit to God, nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done. In some circumstances, no matter how much we plead and pray, the situation will not be changed. We sense this in our spirits, though we wish it was otherwise. God expects us to determine to overcome our aversion and fear, and submit to his care in these distressing times.

~ Even Jesus asked to be delivered ~

So, do not be afraid to say nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done. It is okay to ask if it can be done in some other way. Even Jesus asked to be delivered from something that we know today was necessary for our very Salvation. Our Father wants us to always be honest with him, to worship him in spirit and in truth, and to walk in the light before his face. How do we build faith in a time of suffering under adverse circumstances, frightening developments, and devastating trials?

...reliable faith is believing that you will be ok in whatever will happen...

The Lord showed me this week that faith is not grasping to believe that some undesirable situation will not happen. True, reliable faith is believing that you will be ok in whatever will happen, and that if you perceive that he has ordained it, he will see you through to some kind of victory, one way or another. 

Scripture: Luke 22:42 (NKJV) BibleStudyTools.com
Images: Pexels.com

Poetry ~ Lord How Sweet Is Your Word

Lord How Sweet Is Your Word

How sweet is your Word in suffering,
Though oft' the burden is great.
It feels unbearably frequent,
Such difficulty of late.

Your Word is a precious ointment,
Oft' applied in much duress.
Your Word is a pathway lamplight.
With your Word I make progress.

I read and feel much freedom.
A breath of joy I breathe.
I lose myself in scriptures.
Where found is sweet relief.

Your Word I'll never shun it,
Though hurting hinders me.
That two-edged sword of sweetness,
Is what I need from thee. 

---

If you are not delving into the Word daily, preferably in the morning, you are missing a treat. It is the necessary nourishment for us to learn more about God, and the gospel of His Son, and to be able to successfully walk in His ways. Many Christians practice what they know of the Bible, but without spiritual power.

It is the daily ingesting of His Word that spiritually transforms us over time, giving us the power to not be conformed to this word, to resist the devil, to take no thought for tomorrow, to fear not, to give thanks in everything, to bear fruit from the inside out, to not turn to the right hand or to the left, to pray for those who despitefully use us, and to increase in faith. It is this very Word that many try to do in the flesh, that when eaten and drunk every day, will give us the power to walk in the freedom where with Christ has made us free, and to not be entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

Lord How Sweet Is Your Word (c)2016 sjhollandwriting

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James McDonald On What Is Prayer

James McDonald Said:

Prayer is the process of getting spiritually ready to receive what God already wants to do.

Something to think about, huh? If you want to learn more about praying effectively and what it means to obtain what you want and need through God, listen to his message.

Some ministries of James McDonald:

Watch "Why Don't We Pray?" TV broadcast 

Walk In The Word With James McDonald website 

Harvest Bible Chapel 

Act Like Men Conference 

Harvest Christian Academy

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