The Power of Christ Will Soon Crush Satan

As I settle in to write tonight, I kind of feel…restless. I’ve been searching through the next few verses that mention “mother” but nothing is standing out to me to share! I’ve been praying all day for ideas from the Lord, but haven’t gotten much. I do know, however, that sometimes the Lord likes to make me wait until the last minute so I will keep asking, keep seeking and keep knocking. I’m going to just start writing and see what happens here tonight.

Genesis 3:20
“The man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.”

My very incomplete thoughts and questions on this verse (ha!):

• Eve had no name except “woman” until after sin entered and the humans were expelled from the Garden of Eden
• Eve was the “mother of all living”. Does this mean no man or woman had origins elsewhere, besides Adam?
• “mother of all living” – a sign of being nurturing to plants and animals in addition to people?

Being at the end of my own ideas, I’ve looked to Guzik’s Bible commentary on Genesis 3:20. He points out that as of this naming, Eve had no children.

Bam! There it is! (Thank You, Lord!)

‘Woman’ had yet no children, BUT her identity — her very name came from the fact that she was created to be a mother — mother of all living. God declared that she would have children and then Adam named her for that very role. God also spoke that her offspring would have purpose in the world – to  defeat the devil!

Genesis 3:15 (God speaks to the snake)
“I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her offspring;
he shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise his heel.”

What a promise – and what grace — although she had greatly sinned against God, He now promises that He will use Eve’s offspring to eventually crush the snake’s head!

Of course, Eve’s offspring that God was referring to was Jesus here, but isn’t it delightful when we read Romans 16:20 and realize that every mother’s child also has the chance to take part in this prophetic declaration?

“The power of Christ will soon crush satan underneath YOUR feet!”

Our children can also be part of the promise God gave to the first mother!

Oh Lord, thank You for the privilege mothers have in birthing children to be part of Your Kingdom – that we can partner with You in crushing the enemy’s head – both under our own feet and under our children’s! Hallelujah!

 

Stay in the Stillness

Last night I was at a Bible study. I love that this particular Bible study has a time slot of silence where we can sit with the Lord and pray and ask Him to speak. Last night during the quiet I asked the Lord to speak.

He gave me a vision of a tornado, with me in the center, in the quiet stillness, the “eye” of the storm.

I heard Him say, “Peace, peace, daughter. As the storm whirls, stay still, right in the middle of it.” 

That hit me between the eyes. During the weekend, my husband and I had spat after spat after spat. If you’re married, I’m sure you might  had this happen once or twice (wink… ) It happened simply because he was very stressed out over a lot of work and deadlines, and he was sick. Instead of taking the understanding and compassionate route, I would respond to his irritation and accusations with my own anger and frustration, which would only escalate the problem.

So when the Lord spoke the above, I knew he was referring to the arguments we had had. Then I was reminded of Isaiah 43:2– 

““When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flame will not consume you.” 

 God is saying that no, He will protect us, protect our hearts and help us keep the peace that He promised us (John 14:27). We must put our hope in Him alone–and not in our own ability to “handle” a fight or a situation we don’t especially like by “stepping out of the stillness” and right into the storm in order to defend ourselves.  How often do we become “swept up” into an argument because of someone else’s attitude? 

Being offended or insulted always tempts me to walk into someone else’s storm. Through the vision, God was saying, “Stay in the stillness, where it is safe. Don’t add your anger to their storm.”

Romans 12:18
“As much as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.”

Ephesians 4:26
“Be angry, but do not sin.” 

Ephesians 4:3
“Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace.” 

Exodus 14:14
“The Lord will fight for you while you keep silent.” 

—————————–

Lord, help us stay in the middle where it’s safe, in Your sanctuary, in Your high tower, in Your name. May we not run off with our mouths, but stay still, stay silent, stay calm with Your peace. I pray we will make every effort to keep ourselves united in peace, trusting that this flame will not consume us, and You will fight for us. Thank You Jesus for making this way possible, just as You did not revile when you were reviled against.

1 Peter 2:23
“He did not retaliate when He was insulted,
    nor threaten revenge when He suffered.
He left his case in the hands of God,
    who always judges fairly.“

————————————-
(*Note: I am not talking about enduring physical abuse in silence. Please, if you or anyone you know is dealing with abuse of any kind, please talk about it and get help. I believe the Lord is referring how we respond to that person- in peace or in our own anger. Be angry, but do not sin.) 

Goooood morning!

I flipped to Proverbs this morning and saw this verse:

Proverbs 29:18b
“But wise men turn away anger.” (NASB)

Have you ever considered that you can turn away anger? I can choose whether I’m going to say yes or no to being angry! By God’s grace, I will choose to forgive and turn away anger.

I have this little image in my mind after reading this verse. Anger is ringing my doorbell. I get to the door and see that it’s him, and I just say, “Oh, you again.” And I wave him on, not even opening the door! I can either let him in, entertain him for a while, and try to make him leave, or I could just turn him away at first sight.

Praise God! He has given us the choice. Will we forgive? Or will we remain angry? Thank You Lord Jesus, for the strength and the grace to turn away anger. Give us Your will and enable us to do all that You call us to. In Jesus’ Name, Amen!

Glory to God. Be blessed today! With love.

Thoughts on Faith part 2!

Faith is evidence that what you believe will happen.

Whoa. “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” NASB Hebrews 11:1

“Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.” NLT Hebrews 11:1

Faith assures us, it’s like proof that what we don’t see is real/will happen. Like a special knowledge paired with belief.

Hebrews 4:2 “For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard.”

“The word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard.”

Faith completes the word of God. Phew. Faith completes the word of God. Faith completes the word God speaks to me about my life. About others. Faith completes the word of God.

Faith gives life to God’s word in your heart.

Faith is proof. Wow.

The world/many of us Christians see faith as hope or belief in God. But this is way bigger. Faith is the proof of what you believe. How can I wrap my head around this??

1 Peter 1:5

“And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see.”

Well faith is also those things too—belief in God, trust in God, belief that He will do what He set out to do, but when we have faith– the spirit filled faith– that’s the proof we need in order to believe that something will happen—the proof that what He said is going to happen is going to happen.

Like when I was praying about going to India. I wasn’t really sure, I didn’t have the faith that God was calling me to go, so I kept entrusting it to Him, that He would tell me. He told me by giving me an extra “measure of faith” –

Romans 12:3 “God has allotted to each a measure of faith.”

And that was the proof in my heart that God had certainly called me to go!! I had lots and lots faith.

Faith Grows: “as your faith grows” 2 Corinthians 10:15

Faith can also run dry. We need God to give us more and more faith –as the proof that He is working, He is answering our prayers. We need conviction that what we have prayed for is going to happen. We need proof, Lord!

2 Corinthians 10:17 “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.”

So what builds up my faith? HEARING THE WORD OF CHRIST.

And when I hear His word, I receive faith to believe it…and faith united with the word brings profit (the promise into fulfillment)!! (see Hebrews 4:2 – “but the word they heard did not profit them because it was not united by faith in those who heard.”)

Let us be faithful to ask God for more faith!!

Luke 17:5 “The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!””

Luke 17:5 NLT The apostles said to the Lord, “Show us how to increase our faith.”

So who is responsible for increasing our faith??

AMP–

“The apostles said to the Lord, Increase our faith (that trust and confidence that spring from our belief in God).”

Oooo I like that definition of faith: “trust and confidence that spring from our belief in God.”

The Lord also stirs up faith, He did to me last week when I was pondering something I love to do and wondering if I’ll ever have the chance to do it again. I was filled with joy and faith that no matter what happens on earth (whether I have the chance here to do it again or not) I will be able to sing harmoniously and make beautiful, breathtaking music with a beautiful choir in heaven because He has given me that gift of song!! Oh, I can’t wait! And now I feel like I may have the opportunity again while on the earth, too. Thank You for fresh faith, Lord!

I can’t make myself have faith. The word of God brings faith. That’s a powerful word right there.

But, although I can’t make myself have faith, I can certainly make myself hear the word of God!! lol! Especially if we have it memorized and we quote it! Then our hearts and minds “hear” the word of God, and come into alignment with it, uniting the word with FAITH! 

Rambling Thoughts on Faith part 1

Wow! God has been sparking me into new faith! I’ve been going to Bible study and hearing from Joyce Meyer on her Battlefield of the Mind series and it’s fantastic!! God is really giving me new faith concerning His word. The Lord has been prompting me to write a second book but I have been very “faithless” about it and not acting as though I believe His word concerning me about writing this next book. The topic of the book is faith, ironically, so I know He must be teaching me about faith in even this circumstance.

I’ve been trying to pay more attention to my thoughts (something Joyce really encourages that we may have our minds renewed into the image of Christ–see Romans 12:2). Today I was pondering my book and then my mind went off in the direction it typically does when the topic comes up– “oh…no I don’t have any idea what to write…it’s overwhelming…I just can’t do it right now…I’m confused about it, there’s so much…” etc etc. Then BAM I suddenly realized, “No! These are not the thoughts I need to be thinking!”  So instead, I began declaring out loud, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Phil 4:13.) God is not a god of chaos, but a God of peace! (1 Corinthians 14:33). God will not overwhelm me–He leads me and guides me where I should go (Psalm 32:8).” Then I had such a different out look! Awesome, praise God! Did you know that that’s how Jesus fought off satan’s temptations? He quoted Scripture!! We have that same power and privilege.

Tomorrow I’ll give you some of today’s thoughts that I wrote about faith. Praise God!! Ask Him for more faith today. What He’s saying is pow-er-ful. 🙂

He is near

I felt drawn to Deuteronomy 4 this morning. The Lord spoke at least three different times to me, highlighting certain things, even a confirmation for Saturday’s post about not being deceived by removing things from the Scriptures! My favorite verse in Deuteronomy chapter 4 was quickened to my heart this morning too:

“For what great nation has a god as near to them as the LORD our God is near to us whenever we call on Him?”

The Lord is so near to you whenever you call upon His name! The nation referred to here is not the same anymore–instead, as it says in 1 Peter 2:9–

“… You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.”

–now YOU and ME and all believers are the holy nation whose God is near to us whenever we call on Him! Praise the Lord. After I read that and posted it as my Facebook status, I went downstairs to do some laundry. As I was down there, a song popped into my head, and I quickly realized God was continuing to speak! Here are the song lyrics:

“And I’ll be by your side
Whenever you fall
In the dead of night
Whenever you call.”

-Tenth Avenue North ‘By Your Side’

Thank You Jesus! He is by your side whenever you fall, and absolutely whenever you call on Him!
Romans 10:13 “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED“

Call on His name, He will come running. He is your Shepherd and He will lead and guide you! God bless you!

(PS I guess today’s tip is that God speaks to you when you get a song randomly in your head! Pay attention to what is going on in your mind, so often He speaks there–we have the mind of Christ! (1 Corinthians 2:16))

Do not be misled.

Hi everybody 🙂 I come to you today with what I believe is an important message from the Lord!

First of all I have to mention how seriously BIG and STRONG His love is for you. He is all encompassing. He doesn’t miss a thing about you, you are open and laid bare before Him. In His greatness He sees you as you are, and He knows your sensitivities and what makes you smile and what makes your heart leap or pound with anxiety. He is the answer to all of your problems. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. He is the one who knows your heart’s deepest longings. He is so awesome!

🙂 🙂 🙂

After that beautiful exhortation (which I feel very refreshed now after writing!! Thank You Lord You are so good, Your truth is amazing!) I go on to another!

I was at a Beth Moore Bible study last week, and she was talking about knowledge and what God shows us in His Word and how important it is to know it. There is so much information that the Father wants to impart to us. Much of it (I think it’s safe to say all of it) is already in His word, ready for us to read, ready for us to read & receive revelation on.

Since we have this wonderful tool, —whoa I am coming to another understanding, praise God! Okay! So, (lol, hope I haven’t lost you yet!) —God has been teaching me this past year about how to use the Bible as a “sword”.

For example:

Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

&

Ephesians 6:17
“…the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. “

So the Bible is our sword. Earlier this year I asked God what that means. Here I see He is giving me another answer!

So look at these verses about the end times: “Jesus answered and said to them, ‘See to it that no one misleads you.” Matthew 24:4
2 Timothy 3:13 “But evil men & imposters will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.”
Luke 21:8 “See to it that you are not misled“!!!

With warnings like these, it’s clear that Jesus must have made it possible for us to not be misled. “See to it” that you are not deceived. “See to it” that you not misled. It’s our responsibility to make sure that we know the truth so that we may not be led astray! Wow. And one of the signs of evil men and impostors is that they will go from “bad to worse” “being deceived”. Whoa! I was surprised to see here that being deceived is the mark of an evil man or an impostor. It’s not just deceiving, but by being deceived you are taking part in evil.

Surely, we must “know the truth and the truth will make [us] free.”

The Lord has given us His word to guard us from falsehood, to protect us from being deceived. We have to use it as a sword to cut through any lies that we hear or see. We have to start believing that God still does miracles, the gifts of the Spirit are true, prophecy is real and God still physically heals! Our churches must walk in understanding, wisdom, and knowledge of the Scriptures while we also walk in the Spirit! We must not be deceived! We must know & understand that there is a lot we do not currently understand, but Jesus says that we are able to make sure that we are not deceived, so let’s do it, with His help.

Father, I bless the Church! I pray for Your power and Your word and Your love to be known among Your peoples. May we not be deceived, in Jesus’ Name! There are so many heresies to watch out for–both when people add to Your word and when people take away from Your word and say that something isn’t true. Father I pray You will give us Your spirit of wisdom and understanding so that we know the truth and spot lies! I pray for Your protection to be on and around us. Give us eyes to see and ears to hear that we may walk in the truth, without adding to it or taking away from it! Thank You Jesus that You said we can prevent ourselves from being misled. May we know the truth and may it set us free!! Thank You! In Jesus’ name, Amen!

Be yourself.

[I feel like I titled a post the same title a while ago! haha, I did! It’s here. This is definitely something God is highlighting to me in this season of my life. Being real.]

This morning I read a blog that challenged me to read Matthew 5,6,7 every day during the month of October. While I can’t promise that I’ll do that, (remember, I’m freeing myself from man-made rules that block me in–see this post and remember Galatians 5:1 “It was for freedom that Christ set us free, therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery“) I did decide to read it today. But I only got to verses 14, 15, and 16…

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see our good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” 

In the past I have read this simply as showing everyone that you are a Christian, however that might look. Today the Holy Spirit spoke differently.

Today here is how I understood what Jesus was saying.

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand.”

I am the light of the world. I am a city on a hill. I am a lamp.
I can’t be hidden. But I try to hide myself.  I should not be put under a basket. But I try to anyway. I hide my feelings, because I’m scared of what others will think of them. Or because I know I shouldn’t feel them. I try to hide from God. But I’m finding that the more I reveal myself, the more I feel known.

Father, help me to let my light shine before men in such a way that they may glorify You. Lord I’m tired of trying to hide. It creates more problems. I know that “there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known” (Matthew 10:26). Make me open, see-through and vulnerable. May I let my light shine! I want to be known as You know me, I want to know myself and recognize my own faults, mistakes and talents and gifts! Make me quick to repent and make it easy for me to say exactly what I’m feeling without fear of judgment from You or from others. May I be confident and let that light shine so others may glorify You! I am open and laid bare before You. Be glorified God, make me honest about all I fear and all I feel. Thank You Jesus for tearing the veil between the Father and us. Tear down the walls that separate me from others, too! Thank You Lord! In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Psalm 38:9
“Lord, all my desire is before You; And my sighing is not hidden from You.”

Hebrews 4:13
“And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.”

Psalm 69:5
“O God, it is You who knows my folly, And my wrongs are not hidden from You.”

Luke 12:3
“Accordingly, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in the inner rooms will be proclaimed upon the housetops.”

Hallelujah. I am free to be me!

As I was reading through my Bible study this morning, I read this Scripture:

1 Corinthians 2:10-12 woo!
“For to us God revealed them through the Spirit for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the Spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of this world, but the Spirit who is from God, so tat we may know the things freely given to us by God….”

READ IT AGAIN!!! 🙂 God tells us His thoughts through the Holy Spirit!! Do you see it? Praise God.

The Holy Spirit reveals to us the depths of God. I am overcome by this thought. Can you imagine the “depths of God”.

The Lord is bringing to mind this Scripture:

• Romans 11:33 “Oh the depths of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!“

Praise You Jesus!! He is unsearchable and unfathomable…yet God has given us His Spirit to have access to search His depths!!! Just pause for a moment to consider the depths of His riches. Unfathomable! Glory to God.

Be yourself…please!

I realized a few days ago that I have wasted a lot of time trying to be “right” in prayer.

More specifically, I try to be “right” and say “the right words” in prayer! I was always second guessing myself, and trying not to sound like “everybody else.”

I know it’s weird, but now I’m trying to bypass all the theological silliness and worry about being “accurate” and “correct” in praying about things and instead trade that in for JOY in prayer, praying the natural way, praying what comes to mind, praying without thinking beforehand about how I will sound to God.

In other words…childlike praying!!

Mark 10:14- 16
“When Jesus saw what was happening, he was angry with his disciples. He said to them, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.” Then he took the children in his arms and placed his hands on their heads and blessed them.”

It’s true, “knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.” (1 Corinthians 8:1)

Children…which one of them thinks before he speaks? Considers whether what he or she is about to say is “right”? Yeah…none of them!

Since I realized that I had been trying so hard to pray right or to pray “creatively” I have felt so free and joyful in prayer. What a relief! I won’t look silly before God, no matter what I think I know or do not know! Oh Lord, heal us from all insecurities!! In Jesus’ Name! Thank You!

It’s amazing how He accepts us. It’s also amazing how I didn’t realize this for such a long time. It’s a hurdle to get over too. It’s a prideful hurdle, like “Well, thank You God that I am not like other men!” ( like the prideful man in Luke 18:11)

Whoa..I didn’t realize that that is how I sounded. I didn’t actually thank Him for me not being like other men…instead it was me trying to pray creatively, unlike everyone else. Which is just as prideful. God forgive me. He’s so gracious, really. He reveals our problems so graciously! I mean, He didn’t berate me for this. Instead He just showed me the way…and this way builds so much intimacy. Because who wants to put an act on for their spouse? Or their best friend?

I feel kind of silly admitting all of this. Embarrassed. But the word says to confess our sins to one another, so I hope this confession blesses you and helps at least one other person out!

I’ve always believed that it’s really important to be “real” with God. But it turns out that I wasn’t being much more “real.” Thank You, Jesus, for Your great grace. I am being purified by Your blood all the time! Cleanse me continually in You! Thank You, really, I’m so grateful! Father I pray that we all become more intimate with You. That we put ourselves out there for You. That we are really ourselves in prayer! Help us get to know ourselves through our relationship with You. I pray that we will all become exactly who You made us to be! In Jesus’ Name, amen!!

God bless you!