The Number One Enemy

Enemy number one can by our own mouth. It’s not what goes into the mouth that defines a man, but what comes out of the mouth that defiles a man. Do we still not understand that enters our mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated? But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. For out of the heart proceeds evil thoughts, murder, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemous. (Matthew 15:11, 17-29)

It matters what we say. The biggest part of us that we share with others is our words. They will hear what we say and how we say it. Our children and our grandchildren will hear it in their homes. Our neighbors will most assuredly overhear our conversations. People in our workplace will hear how we communicate with others, the stories we tell, the jokes we tell. Or join in laughing about.

How we speak in stores. I’ve heard some foodies in the grocery stores as people talk on their cell phones.

The truth of the matter is we will never control our speech until Jesus controls our heart. He is the purifying source, the one who has living water that will flow us out of us cleansing everything from within. Go to Him daily, in prayer ask for a refilling. Ask Him to guard your heart and your mouth. Ask Him to be able to walk in His ways and speak in a way that we would find pleasure in. I’ve been walking with God for 15 years now and I can tell you that it is a daily battle and I need to go to Jesus daily.

The Battle For Your Soul

If you are a Christian then Satan hates you. You may wonder, “ why? I’ve never done anything to him.” it doesn’t matter whether you have or not. furthermore, do not diminish the meaning of the word “hate” at all in this context. Satan hates you just because you believe in Jesus and you are trying to follow Him as a dedicated disciple. Satan wants to do you harm, especially in causing you to lose your soul. Satan is not powerful enough to hurt God but he is powerful enough to hurt God’s children. “if anyone hurts my children, it hurts me.” if Satan can hurt God’s children then it seems reasonable to think that it hurts God as well.

Just in case you have any doubt that you’d a Christian are in a battle for your spiritual life. Here’s a central text from Ephesians 6:10-20.

Finally, be strong in the Lord and the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the scheme of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but the rulers, against the authorities, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done it all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one: And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am a ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I out to speak.

Ephesians 6:10-20

It is not surprising that being a faithful Christian is not an easy experience. We have to deal with all of the usual challenges and difficulties of human life that everyone had to fac. We have to deal with the times others look down on us, criticize us, or ridicule us for being members of the Lord’s church. On too of all that we have to deal with the spiritual forces of wickedness that seek to take our gift of salvation,

Personally I have decided I am not going to let Satan take my soul.

Voices

When you hear that voice inside your head, who’s behind it! Are you being guided by the voice of your intuition, present and purposeful in the decisions that change the course of your life? Or are you still living out of patterns and beliefs that are playing beneath the surface?

Most of us are in between

But as we become more aware of how living our lives on autopilot is interfering with our ability to create change and step into our potential, we all have the power to stop going through the motions and choose how we experience our lives.

We have the ability to master our minds and find the answers were looking for. We have an almost superpower to help us navigate our way through life. In we turn inwards it will guide us into an aligned effective action and embody the life we want to be living. Emotions, gut feelings, thoughts curiosity, sensations…these are all expressions of our inner knowing. It is our internal compass in action.

The Truth About Lying

What does the Bible say about lying? The Bible makes it very clear that God hates lying and that He expects us to be truthful people. One of the original 10 commandments of the Old Testament Law is devoted to truth telling. Commandment #9 is: You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. (Exodus 20:16). Two forms of lying are included in Proverbs 6.: 16-19.

There are 6 things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to Him:

  • Haughty eyes
  • A lying tongue
  • Hands that shed innocent blood
  • A heart that devises wicked schemes
  • Feet that are quick to rush into evil
  • A false witness who pours out lies
  • A Person that stirs up dissension among brothers.

When describing those who will judge in the lake of fire, God includes liars (Revelation 21:8).

“But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all the liars -their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.” (Revelation 21:8)

Psalm 51:6 says: Surely you desire truth in the inner parts…

But we might wonder why truth is so important to God.

For starters, God’s intense concern for truthfulness centers in God’s very nature. The Bible tells us that God is a “God of truth” (Psalm 31:5). The Bible tells us God cannot lie. (Titus 1:2). Jesus is “full of grace and truth. (John 1:14). The Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit is the “Spirit of Truth.” and that His mission is to guide us to all truth (John 16:13).

Psalm 33:4 says: For the word of the Lord is right and true; He is faithful in all He does. And Jesus tells us that truth is key to our worship of God. “God is Spirit,” and His worshippers must worship in spirit and truth.” ( John 4:24).

Therefore, our commitment to truth aligns us with God, both in God’s nature and in God’s mode of operating.

And since our very purpose in existing as God’s children is to be confirmed to the image of God (Romans 8:29), then we must not participate in falsehood, for that would tarnish the reflection of God’s glory to us. In other words, if God is truth. Then we too must portray truth to accurately reflect God’s image in our lives.

Truth lies in character. Christ did not simply speak the truth, He was truth – truth through and through, for truth is a thing not of words but a life and being.

Frederick William Robertson

Therefore, as children of God, we must not only speak the truth in words, but we must be truth through and through. Truth must permeate our entire lives and being.

Another important reason why we should be people who speak the truth – it is a matter of submission and obedience to God, God’s word commands us to speak the truth.

Proverbs 13:5 says: The righteous hate what is false.

Arrows In The Hand Of A Warrior

“Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one’s youth.” (Psalms 127:4)

We are at war with the fallen values in our culture. Things like alcohol drugs,violence, pornography, immortality, and rebellion threaten to completely undermine the foundation of society. The key to change is found in our children. Children will become what we fashion them to be.

In the Bible, Solomon compares children to weapons – specifically arrows. Parents are to carefully form their children even as a warrior would construct fearsome “arrows.” A warrior’s future may depend upon the Accuracy and strength of each arrow. Arrows have three basic parts: the arrowhead, the shaft, and fletched (usually made of feathers). The arrowhead represents the child’s education, skills, and gifting. As parents we should insure that our children receive the best in their education opportunities. The shaft represents the child’s character. A good arrow’s shaft must be straight. No matter how Sharp the arrowhead, if the shaft is crooked, the arrow will always miss its mark. Even an inferior arrowhead on a straight shaft is better that a sharp arrowhead on a crooked shaft. The fletcher represent the stabilizing aspect of the arrow as it soars through the air. Without fletches, the arrow can twist, turn, or flip. Children need stability in their lives. That stability comes from a relationship with God. Most arrows contain three fletches that represents a relationship with the Father, with the Son, and with the Holy Spirit.

Inevitably, children will face situations in their lives that can throw them into a tailspin. Once a child leaves home the only solid relationship is with God that can give them stability in the tough times in their lives. An arrow is shot from a bow. The bow represents the direction, guidance, encouragement and blessing given to the child. Parents need to instill a sense of destiny into the heart of their children. Don’t point then toward a worldly goal. They need to be pointed toward the bulls-eye of God’s will for their lives. Parents are the warriors fighting for the next generation. Our children are our arrows. Don’t ignore the battle. We must do what it takes to fashion our children into arrows that will hit the Mark in their generation for God’s glory.

The Power Of A Single Prayer

Almost on a daily basis, we open the door of our hearts wide enough to be susceptible for anxiety and fear to walk in. It causes us to become stressed, distracted and focused on the wrong things in our lives.

Yet, it doesn’t have to be this way. The apostle Paul calls us to live in a very different way. He calls us not to be anxious for anything. In the original languages the Bible (Hebrew), the word for anxious translates to distracted further illustrating the power of anxious thoughts. Anxiety magnifies our problems and minimizes our focus on God. It prevents us from seeing God’s power and sovereignty in the midst of our circumstances.

Paul, who had many things to be anxious about, was essentially waving a caution flag because he knew anxiety could take us down a dangerous path leading to fear, doubt and despair. When we are anxious, our minds are monopolized with worry, instead of consumed with God’s power and what He is able to do.

Paul tells us that the way to combat anxiety is a simple prayer first and make a conscious choice not to be anxious. It requires us to face every uncontrollable circumstance and possible outcome with confidence the God has the power to change things. We are encouraged to anchor ourselves to this truth. We have a choice to believe God is all powerful and always has a plan, even if the outcome is not what we desire.

Paul calls us to prayer, petition, and thanksgiving. These are fruitful ways to use our time, and when we choose to do this, we can experience the peace Paul describes. In short, we’re called to focus on a dependable God rather than worry about an unknown future. So open your heart and open your mouth today in prayer and let the peace of His power come.

Philippians 4:4-7

Unlocking The Power Of Choice

All day, every day, you are interacting with the world around you. Other people, p,aces, things, ideas, you internal monologue, and so forth. Everything that happens to you, you have a choice in how yo respond. But,nits unlocking the power of choice in life’s most crucial moments that can truly make a difference between success and failure, passion or indifference, and optimism or pessimism.

Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.

Victor Flankl

Most of the decisions we make daily are thoughtless and automatic. Our lives tend to become so habitualized that we stop consciously thinking about many of the choices that we face. Unfortunately, we become so used to this mindless way of making decisions that any of us miss out on opportunities because we fail to act.

So often, to often many of us choose to be in things such as an unfulfilled job, an unhappy relationship, where you may love the person, but you know it’s not the right thing for you. Or we may have trauma in our life. And instead of making the decision to face that trauma and do something about it, we choose to ignore it. Or it could be a drinking problem where you know, you could choose differently; but continue to stay on that path. And it could go on and on.

To progress in our lives, we need to become mindful of our decisions and unlocking the power of choice when it matters the most.