Remember those days as a child when you knew exactly what you wanted out of life? I often think back to when my daughter Keeley was little and she loved the color pink. She would tell people, "when I grow up, I am going to be a doctor and I am going to get married to a pink husband and live in a pink house with pink grass." When Drew was little he insisted on being called "Farmer Drool" and he used to tell people that he was going to live in a house that looked like a big red barn that had 37 bedrooms and he was going to have 14 wives and 117 children! Some pretty specific hopes.
The Bible says we are to become as little children. I think the lesson here is to know what you want and what you hope for. We lose ourselves through the pressures of life and we forget what it is we really want or we figure we can't have it anyway so, settle for a plan B, C, D or even F. I know I need more money but I don't know how much, I know I need a new car but I don't know what kind exactly. When I was a kid I could have told you make, model, year and color.
Faith is the substance of things hoped for..... faith brings into being the things we hope for but if our hope is not specific then is it really hope at all? How can you have faith for something vague and nebulous?
Make your list.... what is it that you are believing God for? Imagine yourself with it, see yourself with what you hope for.......hope, after all, is the first step.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Monday, September 21, 2009
Resisting the Devil
In Christian circles you often hear people quote James 4:7 "So place yourselves under God's authority. Resist the devil, and he will run away from you." It's a pretty awesome promise yet, why is it that it seems like he is always there niggling away at Christians instead of running away like the word says? Is there some kind of trick that makes it work?
I believe that where the problem lies is in resisting too late. Just like a weed growing in a garden.... when you pluck out the seedlings.... it's easy.... if you let the weed grow..... the bigger it gets.... the harder it is to pull. We spend our time resisting a headache when we have a brain tumor... we come against the symptom, rather than the root of the problem. The second issue is we stand against the devil without our armor and he comes prepared with his arsenal.
So, let's defeat the devil! Let's walk together through this process....
First, put on the whole armor of God. Don't think you are going to resist the devil without your armor.... you are setting yourself up for defeat. We find how to put on the whole armor of God in Epehesians 6:11-19 "Take up God's instruments of war, so that you may be able to keep your position against all the deceits of the Evil One. For our fight is not against flesh and blood, but against authorities and powers, against the world-rulers of this dark night, against the spirits of evil in the heavens. For this reason take up all the arms of God, so that you may be able to be strong in the evil day, and, having done all, to keep your place. Take your place, then, having your body clothed with the true word, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness; Be ready with the good news of peace as shoes on your feet; And most of all, using faith as a cover to keep off all the flaming arrows of the Evil One. And take salvation for your head-dress and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: With prayers and deep desires, making requests at all times in the Spirit, and keeping watch, with strong purpose, in prayer for all the saints"
Putting on part of the armor of God won't do... you must put on the whole armor. I could go on about how to saturate yourself in the Word, walk in righteousness, etc. But, in simple terms, putting on the whole armor of God is putting on God - period. Cover yourself in God. Fill your mind with God, speak the Word of God, listen to only those things that build up your spirit and give glory to God, look at only those things that build you up, etc. Immerse yourself in God and you have put on the whole armor of God. And by doing this you will be complying with Ephesians 4:27 which tells us to "never give the devil a foothold."
Second, be ever watchful. 1 Peter 5:8 tells us, "Keep your mind clear, and be alert. Your opponent the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion as he looks for someone to devour." We are commanded all through scriptures to be on guard. Mark 13:9 tells us to be on guard. We are told to guard ourselves from false teachings and Godless chatter in 1 Timothy 6:2. Proverbs 4:23 tells us we must guard our hearts. And I just love Nahum 2:1, "The one who will scatter you is coming to attack you. Guard your fortress! Keep a lookout on the road! Prepare for battle! Be very courageous!"
It is not often in battle that the opponent comes right up to you and presents you with the opportunity to steal yourself. In warfare, the attacks that do the most damage are the sneak attacks, those that the opponent is unprepared for. The devil will come against you subtlely tempting you in the little things, planting seeds of the weeds of sin. A simple thought that you let sneak in, a careless word, misplaced anger. As you stand on guard, it is the little things that sneak their way inside your armor that prepare the way for defeat.
Third, have faith. 1 Corinthians 16:13 says, "Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong." How do we stand firm in the faith? We build our faith through hearing the Word of God and we hear it by confessing it. Romans 10:17 "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Speak the word, speak the word, speak the word. And this brings us full circle back to putting on the whole armor of God.
I believe that where the problem lies is in resisting too late. Just like a weed growing in a garden.... when you pluck out the seedlings.... it's easy.... if you let the weed grow..... the bigger it gets.... the harder it is to pull. We spend our time resisting a headache when we have a brain tumor... we come against the symptom, rather than the root of the problem. The second issue is we stand against the devil without our armor and he comes prepared with his arsenal.
So, let's defeat the devil! Let's walk together through this process....
First, put on the whole armor of God. Don't think you are going to resist the devil without your armor.... you are setting yourself up for defeat. We find how to put on the whole armor of God in Epehesians 6:11-19 "Take up God's instruments of war, so that you may be able to keep your position against all the deceits of the Evil One. For our fight is not against flesh and blood, but against authorities and powers, against the world-rulers of this dark night, against the spirits of evil in the heavens. For this reason take up all the arms of God, so that you may be able to be strong in the evil day, and, having done all, to keep your place. Take your place, then, having your body clothed with the true word, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness; Be ready with the good news of peace as shoes on your feet; And most of all, using faith as a cover to keep off all the flaming arrows of the Evil One. And take salvation for your head-dress and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: With prayers and deep desires, making requests at all times in the Spirit, and keeping watch, with strong purpose, in prayer for all the saints"
Putting on part of the armor of God won't do... you must put on the whole armor. I could go on about how to saturate yourself in the Word, walk in righteousness, etc. But, in simple terms, putting on the whole armor of God is putting on God - period. Cover yourself in God. Fill your mind with God, speak the Word of God, listen to only those things that build up your spirit and give glory to God, look at only those things that build you up, etc. Immerse yourself in God and you have put on the whole armor of God. And by doing this you will be complying with Ephesians 4:27 which tells us to "never give the devil a foothold."
Second, be ever watchful. 1 Peter 5:8 tells us, "Keep your mind clear, and be alert. Your opponent the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion as he looks for someone to devour." We are commanded all through scriptures to be on guard. Mark 13:9 tells us to be on guard. We are told to guard ourselves from false teachings and Godless chatter in 1 Timothy 6:2. Proverbs 4:23 tells us we must guard our hearts. And I just love Nahum 2:1, "The one who will scatter you is coming to attack you. Guard your fortress! Keep a lookout on the road! Prepare for battle! Be very courageous!"
It is not often in battle that the opponent comes right up to you and presents you with the opportunity to steal yourself. In warfare, the attacks that do the most damage are the sneak attacks, those that the opponent is unprepared for. The devil will come against you subtlely tempting you in the little things, planting seeds of the weeds of sin. A simple thought that you let sneak in, a careless word, misplaced anger. As you stand on guard, it is the little things that sneak their way inside your armor that prepare the way for defeat.
Third, have faith. 1 Corinthians 16:13 says, "Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong." How do we stand firm in the faith? We build our faith through hearing the Word of God and we hear it by confessing it. Romans 10:17 "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Speak the word, speak the word, speak the word. And this brings us full circle back to putting on the whole armor of God.
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