Who Are You?

The Bible says that we are created in the image of God yet most of us live our lives trying to measure up to the standards of man. We were all created for a higher purpose but so many of us believe the lie of the enemy and don’t realize that there is more to each of us than what can be seen with the physical eye.

Often times the enemy will come up with a lie for you to believe. He will tell you lies about who you are but more significantly he will tell you lies about who God is. If the Lord put His breath of life in us and said that He would make us in His own image then we should rejoice that we are God’s very own creation.

So to understand who you are, you must know what God’s word says about you.

Genesis 1:26: And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

We are made in the image and likeness of God. God molded us after His likeness. How awesome is that! In the creation account in the Bible, no other creature was made after the Lord’s image. God told the waters to bring forth aquatic creatures; God told the air to bring forth birds and likewise told the earth to bring forth animals and creeping things. However when it comes to man, God spoke to Himself and in a way told Himself to bring forth man in His own image. We are a reflection of God, which is also why the enemy is afraid of us and wants to diminish the image of God. If the enemy can get us to believe that we are less than who God says we are, he is also diminishing the image of God. It’s a twofold plan. Convince man that he is worth nothing and simultaneously diminish God’s image. If you start believing that you are less than who God says you are then you are also saying God is less than who He is. We need to stand firm on what the Lord has told us.

Psalm 139:14: I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.

The psalmist states that he is fearfully and wonderfully made. Often times the enemy will sow a seed of doubt in our hearts that we are not good enough, that we are not worthy enough that there is something wrong with us. But the psalmist knows that it is a lie. Why would God create anything that is not beautiful and wonderful? Why would he create something that is not worthy of love or blessings. Don’t let the enemy lie to you about who you are. The psalmist in the same verse says, marvelous are thy works. We are a work of God and that makes us and the things that the Lord does in our lives marvelous. We are unique and special in the sight of God.

Matthew 5:14: You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.

We are a light to this world. The world is a dark place. Everything around us is a breeding ground for sin. Many of the movies, ads and music that we are subjected to are provoking us to be apart of the darkness. It lures us into a world that feeds our flesh and lustful desires. Yet, God says that we are a light unto the world. Don’t let the devil convince you that the darkness is fun that it is attractive. You are a light in the world. You are an example of the truth of God and the mercy and grace of Jesus Christ.

1 John 3:1: Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!

John writes that we are loved by God. One translation uses the word lavish, that He lavishes us with love. A big lie of the enemy is that we are not loved. When we believe this lie, so many of us start looking for love in all the wrong places. We start looking for love in other people, sex, drugs, money and so much more. We try to find live and acceptance wherever we can get it instead of knowing that God loves us above everything else. He loves us. He loved us so much that He gave His only Son for our salvation. That’s a pretty big deal. That God himself would come through space and time to take on human flesh and dwell among us and die for us. The Bible says that there is no greater love than a man lay his life down for another and that is what God did. He died so we could be free from sin and shame. He loves us so much. John goes on to say that this love was so great that he has called us his children. We are the children of God. You are a child of God. He is your Father and would do anything for you, even die for you. How great is our God!

The first lie the devil ever told was that God was a liar. Genesis 3:1-5 says:

¹ Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”

² And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; ³ but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’”
⁴ Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. ⁵ For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Notice that the serpent says, you will not surely die, which contradicts what God said, therefore the serpent is trying to convince Eve that God lied to her. If the devil can convince you that God is a liar then he can coerce you into voiding every promise, every truth, and the knowledge of God. He wants to defile not only your image but the image of God in you. You cannot allow the devil to do this to you. You have to know what God says about you. How he loves you and wants you to know Him, because the more you know God the more you learn about yourself. The enemy will try to hurt you with fiery darts (lies) and cripple you, but if you know that you are a victor and not a victim you can serve the enemy notice that all his lies will never be greater than the truth of God which resides in you, Christ Jesus. Don’t allow depression, low self-esteem, the nasty things people say and the like take root in your life. God wants to show you who you are to make you strong in Him. If you are saying to yourself, I don’t know if this is true, then I would strongly recommend you ask God. Ask God who you are and He will show you. He will show you that you are loved, fearfully and wonderfully made, His child, a light unto the world, marvelous! Let God show you who you are. Take hold of it and believe it, because this truth is the door to your freedom.

The 8 Prayer Watches: The 1st Watch

At the beginning of the year I wrote a post called The Revelations of Matthew 14: 22-33: The 8 Prayer Watches, that mentioned the 8 prayer watches. Since this month is about defeating the enemy, this will aid you into knowing what to pray for when you are being attacked. For the next 8 weeks I will briefly touch on each prayer watch. This will give you some guidance to grow and be impact full in your prayer life

1st Watch: 6pm -9pm The First Watch of the Night (The Evening Watch):

• During these hours, we regroup from the days activities like work, school and etc. This is the time to be still in front of the Lord, away from the world. In Psalms 46:10 it reads "Be still, and know that I am God;...."


• Mediate and release your anxieties to the Lord in prayer. Issac went out to the field in the evening to mediate. (Gen 24:63 "And Isaac went out to meditate in the field in the evening; ...")
  
• This is the time to focus, The Lord uses the evening to purge your fears and anxieties that would keep you from advancing in His perfect plan.


• This is also the time to pray and silence all the voices (curses) of the enemies on your life, family, church, city and nation. Read Psalms 59 During this time the enemy returns to steal your blessings and take hold of the gates of the day. Psalms 59:6 reads, " At evening they return, They growl like a dog, And go all around the city."


• Isaiah 17:12-14 tells us we have the evening tide and it is time to pray that the Lord pass judgement on the wicked and those you would harm our family, community, church and nation.


• Pray for the re newel of the Covenant with God. This is the time when Jesus broke bread between God and Israel (us). Appropriate the provisions in the Blood Covenant and that every covenant you have with God is renewed at this time.
  

I pray that this was helpful and gives you more insight of what to pray for at this time. To learn more about the 1st watch visit the website The National Prayer Watch.

Who Is The Enemy? (Part 1)

Do you know who your enemy is? Often times we assume that the devil is our only enemy and that is partly accurate but, we have two additional enemies, the world and our flesh. We know more about the additional enemies because essentially, we live in the world and we know ourselves. We know and understand our fleshly desires and the lure of the world and we overcome with coming to Christ.
2 Corinthians 5:17 (New King James Version)17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
God has told us that if we surrender our flesh and will to Him, that He will make the changes in our life. He will take away sinful desires and will give us His heart. Our flesh enemy can be brought under submission everyday by waking up in the morning and telling God that you surrender your flesh and will to Him and that you are putting them into submission to Him. If we focus on the cross daily and continue to “press onward toward the mark of the high calling” as Paul wrote, we can leave the world behind us.

But what about our other enemy? Do you really know our other enemy? The Bible is filled with descriptions and names of our enemy. In part one we will look at the physical and mental state of our enemy. In part two, we will explore his names and what they reveal to us.

So what does the enemy look like?
Read Ezekiel 28:12-19 (New King James Version) [excerpt v12-17]
12 “You were the seal of perfection, Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. 13 You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering: The sardius, topaz, and diamond, Beryl, onyx, and jasper, Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes was prepared for you on the day you were created. 14 “You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; you were on the holy mountain of God; you walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. 15 You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was found in you. 16 “ By the abundance of your trading you became filled with violence within, And you sinned; Therefore I cast you as a profane thing Out of the mountain of God; And I destroyed you, O covering cherub, From the midst of the fiery stones. 17 “Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor;I cast you to the ground, I laid you before kings, that they might gaze at you.

In the beginning, our enemy was very special to God. God made him so beautiful and with a great purpose. He was a musical creation (v13 explains, timbrels and pipes), it is said that Lucifer led God’s worship in Heaven; this made him very unique. It also said that he was an “anointed cherub who covers” (v14); he was a great creation, far from the guy in the red suit and pitch fork that many would have you believe. God makes everything beautiful!

So we know what he looks like physically, but let’s face it, we don’t see him with our natural eyes! So it’s not like we would know him if we saw him, that is why God has given us tools, such as the Spirit of discernment. God’s Spirit of discernment helps us to know by spirit if something is of God. Remember we don’t battle that which is seen we battle that which is unseen. Consider a blind person, their 4 other senses are heightened because one is lacking. Because we lack spiritual eyes, God gives us His spirit so that we may know that which is of Him and that which is not of Him. God also, mentions that Lucifer was very wise, which surely comes in handy now for his tricky ways. But for all his wisdom and beauty, Lucifer was proud and truly he was insecure.

Let’s look at his state of mind which brings about his fall.
Isaiah 14:12-15 (New King James Version) The Fall of Lucifer
12 “ How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer,[a] son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations! 13For you have said in your heart: ‘ I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’15 Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, To the lowest depths of the Pit.

If you are already highly favored, loved, created with care, beautiful and wise, why then would you need to be puffed up? Should you not feel satisfied with all that you have and have been given? The very heart of Lucifer is what gives the devil his characteristics and consequently he tries to sell you the same ideology. How often do you tell yourself “what I have isn’t enough”, “can’t I have more”? That is what he sold to Eve. They [Adam and Eve] could have anything and everything in the Garden, but the one thing they couldn’t have the devil tried to make them focus on. Kind of like, the one thing the devil could not have, God’s throne, though he had access to everything else, that’s what he wanted. He convinced Eve of the same. You have everything you could ever want but why not more? If you read both the passage in Isaiah and Ezekiel, you will see that once he fell, nothing changed about him. Not his thoughts, will, or looks. And what truly makes the devil mad is knowing that the one thing he wanted, has beeng iven to another, Jesus Christ! Who has been given the name above every name, who sits at the right hand of God till judgment, where he will reign forever and ever!

The passage in Isaiah and Ezekiel explain Lucifer’s defeat. God has already had the victory over the devil. The Devil has waged war against us because God Love’s us. He already knows his end. The devil knows the Word of God, he even quotes it (mostly misquotes, but that’s his way of twisting God’s Words), he knows he can’t win, so his goal is to take as many of us with him as possible. It is written in the bible that the pit was made for the devil and his minions, it never said that it was meant for human beings, yet when satan gets a hold of us we end up with him. God would have it so that none of us would suffer; hence the reason He sent Jesus to pay the penalty for us, and conquer sin and shame!

I hope that this post gave you a little more insight into our enemy. As stated before the next part will take a look into his names, which ultimately reveals more about his character and schemes to corrupt the nations. Let us remember, that while it is smart for us to know who our enemy is, it is much better to know who our Savior is. We must learn to focus on the cross and through that we have begun to defeat the enemy. Part 2 is coming soon!