31 Day Prayer Challenge

Hey Everyone!

I want to issue an end of year challenge! God's Word says, 20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 21 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21).

There are 31 days in December and I want you to ask and think big! God says that He can do exceedingly abundantly above all we ask or think! So that means that your "big" is actually small in the sight of God. So go ahead and pray 31 big, humanly impossible, mind blowing prayers! One prayer for each day of December and watch God work! Go ahead and pray for that family member who you think is too far gone, pray for a child, pray for a husband or wife, pray for a job, pray for a means of funding your education, pray for funds to go on that mission trip you have been wanting to go on, pray for open doors in your life and the life of those you love, pray for deliverance! Pray big! Pray specific and more importantly pray in POWER! The verse says according to the power that works in us! That POWER is the HOLY SPIRIT! Pray away folks and I pray that God blows your mind! Also don't forget to write down your prayers so you remember what you asked for, so that God may get the GLORY! Remember the verse says to Him be glory!

Go ahead and pray and watch God work! I am praying with you! I can't wait to see and hear what God does!

No Need to Fear

Psalm 27: 1 The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?

Fear is defined as an emotional response to a perceived threat. We often fear physical things, such as heights, snakes, spiders and the like. But for many Christians we tend to sometimes fear that which is unseen. We fear the very things that our faith instructs us not to fear, mainly, the devil. We fear him because we can’t see him and often times we are afraid that he is doing everything in his power to ruin our walk with God. I am writing to remind you that there is no fear with God. Because Jesus Christ has conquered death and shame on the cross and defeated the devil we are now victorious. We have been set free from the fear of the enemy. If Jesus resides in our hearts and in our lives then His very existence in us causes us to be victorious. We are no longer slaves to fear, sin and shame; we have been made whole and victorious by the Blood of Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:57 says; “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

In His name there is victory, in His blood and in His presence there is victory. I remember as a child, when I would have a bad dream, my mother would tell me, that if I ever got scared in my dream that I should say out loud, “In the name of Jesus, all bad dreams go away.” As a child I started to understand the awesome power that is found in saying the name of Jesus. He is mighty to deliver us from all fear and restore us to a right frame of mind. 2 Timothy 1:7 states, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” We have power through Jesus residing in our hearts, the love of God in our life and a sound mind that rests on our firm foundation which is our faith. God has given us that which we need to combat fear.

· Power

· Love

· Sound mind

All of the above mentioned things are found in Jesus Christ. So if we have Jesus we can and should be fearless.

1 John 5:4 says, “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.” Through our faith we are victorious and we need not fear, fret nor worry. God is our light and our salvation whom shall we fear? He is our light in the darkness. While we were still in the dark wallowing in our sin, He was the Light in the world that brought us salvation that we did not deserve. If God was and is the Light that conquered our sin He was and is the light that pierces through our fears and delivers us from the “terror of night” (Psalm 91:5).

He is the strength of our life, whom shall we fear? We should never forget what a mighty God we serve. If we believe that we serve the one true living God; the God that:

· Stood in the fire with the 3 Hebrew boys and saved them from the furnace

· Delivered Jericho into the hands of the Israelites without weapons

· Parted the Red Sea for the Israelites to cross over while Pharaoh was behind them

· Defeated death and sin by nailing His only Son to the a cross

· Slayed a giant by using a young Sheppard boy

· Opening jail cells for Peter

· Shut the mouth of the lions for Daniel as he sat in a den of lions

What then do we ever need to be afraid of? The aforementioned examples aren’t even the half of what God has done, but serve as a testament to what He is doing and will do in times to come. Our God is strong beyond measure. He is awesome and the scriptures say, “If God is for us, who canbe against us? (Romans 8:31) What should we ever fear? Our God is our strength. When we are weak, He lifts our head, He sustains us and fights our battles for us. He is matchless in all His ways.

I hope that this encourages you. Put all fear where it belongs, under the nail pierced feet of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. There is no need to fear, for God is on our side. He is mighty to save us from any form of attack. Walk in victory always and don’t fall victim to fear. Remember, through His blood, we are no longer victims but victors! Lay claim to this truth and watch your heart and mind transform as you release fear and embrace the freedom of God.

Share and Give Thanks

Thanksgiving is tomorrow and this is one of my favorite times of the year. Getting together with family and close friends, eating good food, eating more good food and did I mention eating more good food. Thanksgiving always makes me happy and besides New Years, this is one of the times I really sit down and think about all the blessings that God has given me and my love ones.
I know it is very cliche to say it is the time to give thanks but it is so true. I thank God everyday for the life that He has given me and the love that He showers upon me. He is so good and He does not know how to be anything else nut to be good. God is Good and enjoys blessing his children.

Let them shout for joy and be glad,
Who favor my righteous cause;
And let them say continually,
“Let the LORD be magnified,
Who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant.” Psalm 35:27

Thanksgiving is the best time to see what God is doing in the lives of those you care about. This is the best time to encourage one another and praise the Lord for giving you life. Not just physical but spiritual life that will never die. This is also a opportunity to share with friends and family who are not saved how accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior has impacted your life. Your testimony is a powerful way to evangelize to non-believers.
So when you are around that table getting ready to tear up that turkey, mac &c cheese, baked ham, candy yams and whatever you find delicious, remember who made it all possible for you to enjoy a day like this. Also everyday is a day of thanksgiving.

Psalm 100

A Psalm of Thanksgiving.

¹ Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands!
² Serve the LORD with gladness;
Come before His presence with singing.
³ Know that the LORD, He is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

⁴ Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
And into His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.
⁵ For the LORD is good;
His mercy is everlasting,
And His truth endures to all generations

Happy Thanksgiving and Many Blessings to you and yours.

Who Is The Enemy? - Part 3 & 4: His Devices and Our Weapons

(*Note - Originally, this was meant to be two separate posts, but I think they are stronger together)

11Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices. (2 Corinthians 2:11 - KJVersion)

We’ve explored the enemy and his names; now let’s look at some of the devices he uses to attack us and the weapons that God has given us to triumph over them. To be honest, the devil is a one trick pony. He really only has one weapon but that weapon can take various forms. At the end of the day, the devil only has his lies (wiles). It was his 1st weapon and its his last weapon until the Lord comes! One weapon! That’s all! But for one weapon, God gives us many spiritual weapons to combat it.

Wiles = Lies, tricks, deception, lies, temptation, fiery darts (false accusations about us), snare, traps, strongholds (fortress of lies built up around the existence of the enemy in a person’s life).

We should know that these are the usual weapons he uses. You can see this throughout the bible. Wiles can be combated in many ways, scripture says:

Ephesians 6:10-18 (King James Version)
10Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
11Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
13Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14Stand therefore, having your loins gird about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
15And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
17And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
18Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

There is a great website that gives illustrations of the armor that God has given us. Check out: http://www.christianarsenal.com/FullArmour.htm

God has fully equipped us. Let’s look a little closer.

Fiery Darts (v.16) are a major weapon that the devil chooses to use against God’s people. Fiery darts are filled with accusations about us. A lot of these accusations are not directed to God about us, because there is nothing that the enemy can tell God about His children. Instead, these accusations (darts) are directed at us. They are meant to stir up feelings in us that cause us to feel guilty about the things that we have done in the past. Many of the very same things God has already forgiven us about. He, the enemy, loves to bring back feeling of worthlessness, filthiness, helplessness and unforgiveness which work to make us want to withdraw from the Lord or think that we are not useful in God’s kingdom. They also attack our self –esteem, pointing out who we used to be to make us feel worthless. These feelings are extremely detrimental to the walk of a Christian. In order to combat these feelings, we have to look to God’s word for what he says about us.
The 1st and most important thing to know is, you are not who you used to be. II Corinthians 5: 17 states; 17Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. Don’t allow this dart to penetrate you. Remember how you are in Christ. God also says in Psalm 139:14 14I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. God knows you and loves you. He knows you have failed in areas in your life, but you came to Him to be set free and changed. Allow God to do a perfect work in your life and don’t allow the devil to discourage you. Keep “pressing towards the mark of the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:14).
*Direct Scripture: Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked" (Ephesians 6:16). You must have faith that God has changed you and is working in you. Never loose your faith!
*Prayer Tip: When you pray, especially in the morning, declare in the name of Jesus Christ, the name that is above every name, that all fiery darts from the enemy will fall short and that by the power of the Almighty God, they will be trampled under your feet.

A Stronghold is a fortress of lies built up around the existence of the enemy in a person’s life. Usually a stronghold can be built by not combating fiery darts. Accumulated fiery darts can and will produce strongholds. In order to combat strongholds you need to know the Truth, which is Christ Jesus. You need to understand what His blood did for you on Calvary. How it cleansed you and set you free. Often times, strongholds cause God’s people to become depressed. When one is depressed they begin to withdraw. Christians going through depression start withdraw from fellowship with the body of Christ, ministry, God etc. In order to combat this you need to confuse the enemy. Start praising God! There is nothing more confusing to the devil than when you are going through tough times or depression than to praise God. In his mind, there is nothing to be happy about. But for Christian we know that we can be happy because deliverance is near. Praise Him when you wake up! Thank Him for life and ask him for deliverance from the strongholds! He will do it, just believe and have faith!

Temptation is one devise that we should all be familiar with. The number one tool God has given us to overcome temptation is prayer. Jesus said to His disciples in Mark 14:38, “Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak”. Pray always; if we are in constant communication with God then we can not be tempted for there is no temptation when you are in His presence. Even when you feel temptation coming, call upon the name of the Lord and believe and He will deliver you. When Jesus taught the disciples to pray, He said to pray, “lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from all evil” (Mathew 6:13). We can overcome temptation with the Word of the Lord just as Christ did when he was being tempted (read Luke 4:1-13). You can defeat the devil with the Word of the Lord. If that tool was good enough for Jesus, imagine what it will do for us.

Truly, the only way we can defeat the enemy is by getting into the Word of God, having faith and seeing with spiritual eyes. God has given us a bevy of tools. Also, be diligent in asking the Lord for the Spirit of Discernment which will help you to overcome the devil and know him when he approaches. God will equip us, He has promised to and He has shown us how to. And when you are under attack and feel so helpless and don’t know what to do, simply call on the name of Jesus. Scripture says, “Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place”. (II Corinthian 2:14) Claim it and claim the victory! Remember the battle is already won, so stand in the knowledge of our Lord and resist the devil!

We hope that this series has truly helped you understand how to defeat the enemy. We pray that you will always walk in victory!