Do You Trust Me?

COMMENTS

I’ve been away from my computer for a while.  The last five days have been beautiful and distressing.  My son is getting married on Saturday to a wonderful girl that we love.  Beautiful.  But my grandson is seriously ill and hospitalized, suffering from complications of a recent surgery.  Distressing.  I’ve never had a situation where I had to deal with such contradictory emotions all at the same time.

NOTES

As I rejoice in my son’s wedding that’s just three days away, I feel so happy.  I want the week to hold nothing but joy for this incredible couple.  At the same time, my heart breaks for the wonderful boy that’s laying in that hospital bed in such pain.  This week has taught me that our God is truly amazing and that we, His creation, are amazing as well.  I never would have thought that such joy and sadness could coexist.  But they can.

As I lay in bed last night, I prayed for both.  It was easy to pray for my son, his fiancé, and the wedding.  That’s a happy occasion with a bright outlook for the future.  My struggle came as I prayed for my grandson.  What the future holds there is not clear at this point, and we have lots of questions and concerns.

As I prayed and prayed, I slowly realized that my struggle was a battle of wills—my will versus the Father’s will.  I have a predetermined outcome that is the only one acceptable to me:  complete healing for my grandson in a very short time frame.  I was stressed and anxious.  The Spirit’s voice came to me, quietly at first then louder.  He asked, “Do you trust Me enough to give this situation to Me?  Will you put him into My hands, not knowing what My will is for your grandson?”  To be honest, I didn’t want to do it.  I lay there knowing that in this circumstance I truly want my own way.  Typically, I want my own way; but this is different.  This is more than wanting some new toy or even an improved relationship with someone.  This is my grandson, a beautiful, lovable, gifted, God-fearing young man.  And I WANT MY WAY!

My Lord is patient and loving, kind and persistent.  He held me and gently reminded me that He loves CJ even more than I do, more than even his parents do.  He revealed that my insistence on my own way is actually rebellion against Him.  It’s sin.  How can longing for healing for one I love be sin?  It’s sin because I’m putting that healing above my desire for God’s will.

As I continued communing with my God, I finally surrendered to Him.  He knows my heart’s desire for CJ; and He’s pleased when I choose (by an act of my will) to give CJ to Him, trusting that He alone knows what’s best.  That’s when the anxiety left; and for the first time in days, I found peace.

Is that a one-time battle?  No, I have to make the choice to surrender several times every day.  But at least I now know what the real battle is.  Knowing that, I can stand against Satan and look to my Heavenly Father for the strength to do what He asks.  This is the prayer He has given me for those moments of struggle:

“Heavenly Father, give the doctors wisdom and discernment to know how to treat CJ, but help me not to rest in the wisdom of man.  Father, be with CJ and heal him completely and quickly; but help me not to give control to my flesh and its desires.  Lord, help me to trust you, the Good, Gracious, and Loving Creator, who loves each of us and knows what’s best for CJ, for his mom and dad, for me, and for all who love him.  This can only be accomplished by Your strength.  To You be all glory and honor and praise!  Amen.”

Love Note

COMMENTS

I’ve heard it said that the Bible is God’s love letter to us.  I truly believe that.  Sometimes, though, He sends me special little love notes.  I got one today ;-).

NOTES

As I was working in the kitchen today, I had the local cable company’s Contemporary Christian station playing.  I enjoy music a lot.  In fact, I used to sing solos in my church when I was a teenager.  My voice isn’t so much anymore, but I still love to sing and listen.  I especially love good Christian music because it’s uplifting and speaks so much of God’s truth into my life in a beautiful way.

Anyway, I was working and listening.  I wasn’t particularly “spiritual” at the moment, not focused on prayer or trying to get a message out of the music.  I was just listening to pretty sounds.  Suddenly, a song came on; and it was as if God tapped me on the shoulder and said, “Hey, this is how I feel about you.”  The song was Beautiful, sung by MercyMe.  You’ll note I’ve changed a couple of words to personalize it because that’s what He was saying and I was hearing.  (It messes with the rhyming, but who cares!)

You're beautiful
You're beautiful
You are made for so much more than all of this
You're beautiful
You're beautiful
You are treasured, you are sacred
You are [Mine]
You're beautiful

Before you ever took a breath
Long before the world began
Of all the wonders [I] possessed
There was one more precious
Of all the earth and skies above
You're the one [I] madly love
Enough to die

You're beautiful
You're beautiful
In [My] eyes

That’s the chorus and the last verse of the song.  The other verses are wonderful, too; and I recommend that you look at or listen to them.  They just don’t address where I am today and weren’t part of God’s note to me.

Has He sent you a love note recently?  Maybe He sent it, but you were busy with life and stuff and didn’t open it.  That happens to me sometimes.  But God’s message to me and you is ALWAYS one of love.  There’s nothing more secure than resting there.

Freedom in Christ: A Clarification

COMMENTS

Well, I mentally scratched the “Freedom in Christ” topic off my list and returned to 2 Peter.  I read the same passage for three days, but God didn’t speak.  At that point, I started to wonder if I was supposed to be doing something other than 2 Peter!  Then last night, He spoke.  We’re not yet finished with Freedom in Christ, after all.

NOTES

The Bible teaches us that when we accept Jesus Christ into our lives, we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  We are then God’s possession.  Therefore, with the Holy Spirit indwelling us, Satan can’t possess us because we belong to God.

In 2 Corinthians 5:17 God talks about what happens when we come to Christ:

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”

I love the exclamation point at the end of that promise ;-).  When we accept Christ and receive the Holy Spirit, we are no longer who we were before.  We’re new!  I witnessed that in an extraordinary way when my husband became a Christian at the age of 62.  He changed so dramatically that all of us who had known him for years were stunned.  A man doesn’t change that much that quickly unless God has touched his life.

I tell you that in order to make a point.  Sometimes, God works quickly; and a sin we have dealt with is just no longer a temptation to us.  God just removes it, with little or no struggle on our part.  It’s wonderful when God works that way.  However, in His divine wisdom, sometimes He allows us to fight a battle.  Maybe we need the confidence and strength that is developed only in combat with the enemy.  Maybe God has another purpose.  But I suspect that if we each take a close look at our lives, we’ll see that some victories come easily; and some are difficult.

If the battles you fight are just skirmishes, the Spirit has probably overcome your issues relatively easily.  However, sometimes we give Satan a “hold” on us in certain areas of our lives.  This is NOT Satanic possession, but it IS an area of particular weakness—a stronghold and a battleground.  When we face these situations, stronger action must be taken in order to obtain the victory.  This is when we pull out the “tools”, the weapons that we discussed in recent posts.

The important thing to remember is that our victory, whether won easily or with great struggle, is always in the power of our Lord Jesus Christ.  He deserves all the glory, all the honor, and all the praise.  It is through Him and in Him that we are truly free.

Freedom in Christ: The Victory!

COMMENTS

Victory.  That was the final word in my last posting.  I didn’t plan it that way; but apparently, the Lord did ;-).  Victory is our goal, and it’s the title God gave me for the last posting of our current topic.  Lord, we want to hear what you have to say….

NOTES

The dictionary defines “victory” as “a successful ending of a struggle or contest”.  That’s what I want:  a successful ending of my struggle against my own sinful nature and against Satan.  Fortunately, that’s what God wants for me, as well.  He provided a way for that victory in the death and resurrection of Jesus.  He speaks to me, and He longs for me to hear, obey, and walk triumphantly through this life and into Glory.

Two things interfere with my hearing God’s voice:  (1) me and (2) Satan.  Sometimes, when God speaks, my sinful nature gets in the way.  It’s as if I have my fingers in my ears and am saying “la, la, la, la, la” like a child who doesn’t want to hear his parent’s words.  Other times, Satan is the interference.  In that case, it’s more like Satan’s holding a sound barrier between me and God, making it difficult for me to hear God’s voice while, at the same time, Satan is yelling in my ears.  God is always there, always telling me how much He loves me and offering godly wisdom to help me walk in the elusive victory we’ve been talking about.  God is always speaking—I’m the one who’s not hearing.

One quick disclaimer:  Submitting to God and resisting Satan is not a guarantee of a worry-free life.  God has allowed Satan power in this world for a limited time.  Even if I am able to live a perfect life (which I’m not), wholly submitted to God and completely resisting Satan and my sinful nature, the other people who live here are making their own decisions; and those decisions affect me and my loved ones and my property, etc., etc.  And then there’s nature.  Remember, the tornado that hit us a month ago?  That tornado didn’t happen because one of my neighbors made a bad choice.  It happened because I live in a fallen world.  Bottom line:  Heaven is perfect, but this world isn’t.  That imperfection sometimes brings pain and suffering into my life, no matter how godly my life is.

So, as much as I am able with God’s help, I will submit to God and battle Satan.  God’s message to each of us is that we DON’T have to be beat up and defeated.  God has provided the path and the map for that “successful ending”. 

Finally, resisting is active.  It’s offense not defense.  I don’t have a naturally aggressive personality, so I’ve had to learn how to confidently assert the authority God has given me over the evil one.

Our God loves us completely and unconditionally.  He wants us to live lives that honor Him; and if we’re truly His, we want that, too.  Living in bondage doesn’t honor Him, but living in freedom does.  Fight the fight!  Accept the freedom He offers!  Live in Victory!

Freedom in Christ: The Tools (Part 2)

COMMENTS

As is my practice, I’m going to be honest with you—I’ve had some apprehension about these last two postings.  When I asked myself why, I realized that it’s because this is not something that’s usually taught in the mainstream churches I've attended.  It's a teaching the Lord brought into my life in a special way.  I sought the Lord and was convinced that He was the one leading me to do this.  As a confirmation, He sent me a message ;-).  I subscribe to a website that emails me a Bible verse every day.  Here’s today’s:

“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”  (1 Thessalonians 5:11)

My fear of rejection and my desire to please men as opposed to God had kicked in and were putting me in bondage.  I had to put this spiritual warfare we've been discussing into action and practice what I’ve been preaching ;-).  With God’s strength, I now proceed to cover Part 2 of Freedom in Christ:  The Tools.

NOTES

Before I go over the second battle plan, I need to make a couple of clarifications.  Satan, of course, is real; and his fallen angels (the Bible calls them evil spirits or demons) are also real.  Satan sends his evil spirits to attack us and tell us lies.  We are most effective in the fight when we address that spirit by name:  spirit of insecurity, spirit of unworthiness, spirit of fear, etc.  If you don’t know what name to use, use what you’re dealing with:  spirit that’s making me feel _____ (insecure, afraid, worthless, etc.).  These attacks can also be in areas we easily recognize as sin:  spirit of profanity, spirit of lust, spirit of anger, etc.  The blanks below are obviously there for you to insert your specific struggle.

BATTLE PLAN FOR TIMES WHEN YOU’VE GIVEN GROUND TO THE ENEMY

1. Prayer of Confession.  Pray the following prayer of confession:  “Father, I come to you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.  I have given place to spirits of ______.  They are not from you, and I do not want them in my life.  I confess the sin I have committed in this area of my life.  Forgive me for allowing these spirits to have control in my life.  Thank you for forgiving me in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.”  (Italicized words are critical!)
2. Declaration.  This is not a prayer.  Speak to the enemy in resistance and rebuke: “Spirits of ______ and all associated with you, I take authority over you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.  I have submitted myself to God and you cannot stay.  I command you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to leave me now.  You will not have my mind or my body.  I loose myself from all your bondage.  I rebuke you and command you to go to the pit of hell right now in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.”  (Italicized words are critical!)
3. Prayer of Consecration.  Invite the Holy Spirit to occupy all areas of your life, especially those just vacated by Satan:  “Heavenly Father, I ask you to fill and control all of these cleansed areas of my life with your Holy Spirit in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.”  (Italicized words are critical!)

This is not a magic formula.  These are only guidelines; and I’d encourage you not to be legalistic about it.  This will still work if you use your own words, as long as (1) you are faithful to the spirit of the process and (2) you’re sure to use that critical phrase, “in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ”.

Even though we live 2000 years later, Satan is still at work on this earth; and we still need to fight him!  Jesus Christ is the one who continues to give us the victory. 

Freedom in Christ: The Tools (Part 1)

COMMENTS

Okay.  We’ve learned about the lies.  We’ve learned about our authority.  How do we use the latter to combat the former?

NOTES

James 4:7 says, “Submit therefore to God.  Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”  That’s a command!  “Resist the devil.”  Many of us, including me, grew up knowing that we should resist him but were never given the training or the tools to know how to do it.  I thought that I just had to somehow drum up the will power to not do what Satan was tempting me to do.  When I try to do things on my own (in my own name), Satan is stronger than I am; and often, my will power isn’t strong enough to win the battle.

There are two different “battle plans” that, if followed, will enable you to submit to God and resist Satan.  I repeat:  the purpose here is to SUBMIT TO GOD and to RESIST SATAN.  We will cover the first one today and the second one in the next posting.  The first should be done every morning for your protection and for those over whom you have authority (like your kids or a parent under your care).  The second procedure is specifically for those times when you’re under attack.  This may seem new and, even, unorthodox to some of you; but you will find it to be very biblical.

DAILY BATTLE PLAN

1. Daily submit to God.  Pray the following prayer of submission:  “Heavenly Father, I give you control of my intellect, emotions, will, and body.  I invite you to be Lord of my life in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.”  (Italicized words are critical!)
2. Put on the armor of God.  Pray:  “Lord, I put on your provision of armor:  the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the preparation of the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit.” (Eph. 6:13-17)
3. Bind Satan.  This is not a prayer.  It is a statement to Satan.  Eyes should be open, and words should be spoken with authority:  “Satan, I bind you.  You will not have control of my intellect, emotions, will, or body.  I loose myself from every stronghold and all bondage in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.”  (Italicized words are critical!)

This is a good start.  Take some time to familiarize yourself with this and, hopefully, get comfortable with it if it’s is new to you.  If you’re uncomfortable, think about this:

1. In step one above, we submit to God.  Jesus submitted to the Father and told us to do the same.
2. In step two, we put on the whole armor of God.  God, through the apostle Paul, commanded us to do so.
3. In step three, we implement our God-given authority to resist the devil.  Jesus did that; He trained his early followers to do that; and in James 4:7 (quoted above) He instructed us to do that.

God has given us the tools to live in freedom and victory.  These are some of them—more next time.

Freedom in Christ: The Authority

COMMENTS

Last time, I promised that we’d start talking about how to use the truth to live in freedom.  The first step in that process is the critical one of recognizing our authority and determining its source.

NOTES

At this point, we’ve learned that Satan longs to keep us in bondage and that he tells us lies to accomplish that purpose.  We’ve also learned that our God longs for us to live free from those lies.  We know that He has all authority, even over the one who is fully evil; but what authority do we have to stand against Satan?

The Bible answers that question by giving numerous examples where Jesus gave authority over Satan to his followers.  Here are some examples:

Matthew 10:1 & Luke 9:1:  Both of these passages tell of the time Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and sent them out with the authority to drive out evil spirits (demons) and to heal the sick.

Luke 10:1-18:  That authority wasn’t given only to the twelve apostles.  Next, Jesus sent out seventy-two others and gave them power to heal the sick.  They “returned with joy and said, ‘Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.’”  Jesus’ reply was, “I have given you authority…to overcome all the power of the enemy…”

Matthew 16:15-19:  In response to Jesus’ question about His identity, Peter said that Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the living God.”  After that acknowledgment, Jesus stated:  “…I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.”

Please note several important points in these passages:

1.   The demons submitted when they were commanded “in [Jesus’] name”.  No other name will work.

2.   The authority they received was over all of Satan’s power?  All of it!  There’s nothing Satan can do that’s outside of Christ’s reach—or mine when I’m in His will.

3.   The church is not a building—we are Christ’s church!  And He says that Hell (Satan) won’t overcome His church.

Yes, Jesus had authority over Satan, but He also passed that authority on to his followers.  He clearly wants us to recognize that, once we have surrendered to Him, His authority is at work in us.  We no longer have to be subject to Satan’s attacks.  If we are, how are we different from unbelievers?

Recognition and acceptance of this authority is absolutely critical if you want to be victorious over Satan.  When Satan sends his messengers to tell you that you’re weak or ugly or unlovable or worthless or whatever he tells you, you have the power and authority in the name of Jesus Christ to send those liars away.