Wonderful Jesus!

God Our Strength!

Psalm 46:1 – “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” KJV

In my previous post, I wrote about God as our refuge. In this blog, I want to talk about God, our strength!

The stories I can tell about God being my strength! I have discovered that not only does God provide us with His strength, but He is our strength. In the book of 1 Samuel, He is called the Strength of Israel. When the nations around Israel looked at the Israelites and saw strength, it was God’s strength that they really saw. When people see us, the children of God, during these difficult days, they should see God’s strength radiating through us, because He is our strength!

David knew his strength was God, not just in God, but God. God delivered David from the hand of Saul and his enemies, causing David to say, “God is my strength and power: and He makes my way perfect.” We all know that David didn’t have a perfect life, nor did he have an easy life, but he knew that God had been his strength during his life, enabling him to rise above incredible obstacles.

David was ignored by his family and given the job of shepherding the family’s sheep, but God was His strength during that time. David killed the lion and the bear, and was confident enough to take out Goliath, because God was his strength. David’s men wanted to stone him after their families were taken at Ziklag, but David went off by himself and communed with God, his strength! The Bible tells us that he encouraged himself in the Lord! There he got the answers and the strength he needed, to go and recover all!

David was hunted by Saul, simply because of Saul’s jealousy towards him; but when given the opportunity to hurt Saul, his Strength would not allow him to do it. David’s mighty men didn’t go to him as warriors, but as men in distress, with debt and discontent as their description, and because God was David’s strength, he helped them to embrace God as their strength.

As I was meditating on the truth that God is our strength, God brought the church to my mind. I thought about the pastors who are preaching to empty chairs in an empty sanctuary. It was hard at the beginning of the virus, but it’s even harder now. One well known pastor struggled so in the beginning, that his thoughts were jumbled and his movements were disjointed. What started out as a possible few weeks of interruption has become months of uncertainties. Not only is the church faced with empty sanctuaries, but they also have to deal with loss of income that support the ministry and pay the bills.

While it is understandable that there is a great concern about the finances, pastors also have a great concern about the people God has given them to watch over. One woman in ministry was sharing with me her concerns for the flock. She said she couldn’t understand how you can have a membership of 100 people and only 12 of them join you online for services. Her concern was real, as she wanted to know if the people really had a relationship with God, where were they at?

I like the words that Isaiah wrote:

Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation. Isaiah 12:2

Isaiah found God to be his strength, just as David had; but, it came out of a deep, abiding trust in God. Isaiah said, “I will trust, and I will not be afraid!” That’s the answer to every hurting pastor and leader in the Body of Christ. As ministers, the worldwide, have encouraged their people to trust in God in the darkest hour, God is saying to them, “I am your strength, trust Me!”

Habakkuk also wrote about God as his strength:

The Lord God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds’ feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. Habakkuk 3:19

Habakkuk let it be known that God was his strength and his feet were sure, as he walked before God and stood on His promises! Pastors and ministers are quitting because things have gotten tough. Maybe this was their testing ground to see if they were sent or if they just went! Jesus said the shepherd doesn’t run from the trouble, but he runs to the trouble, as David did. David’s confidence when he faced the lion, the bear, Goliath, and the Philistines wasn’t in him; but in the God who had become his strength and his song!

I’ve been blogging since February of 2018. God told me to blog. In this first year I had 457 views. I thought I was doing something, impacting people around the world with my blog. Today my numbers are much greater, but my attitude is the same. I am doing something, and I am impacting people around the world through this blog, with the gospel of Jesus Christ! Some days my stats show that I have had 2 views, and other days it might show more than 75. I know that if my focus is on the stats, I will not be able to do the assignment that God gave me. Three days a week, I sit and write my blog. Most times I can do it in a couple hours, but sometimes it takes days. Whether one person view a blog, or 500, I have to stay the course!

However, God has placed a different ministry in my heart and soul. He called me to preach and to teach the gospel. I have seen myself, in dreams, preaching to crowds of people, laying hands on the sick and seeing creative miracles, impacting lives for the glory of God. I have seen visions of the power of God flowing from heaven into my earthly body, and flowing out of my body into His people with miracles following. I never saw me blogging! And if the truth be told, I am further away from my dream today than I have ever been. But I am strong in the Lord, for He is my strength. I can’t see anything happening to bring me to my dream when churches are so empty and the future of how we do church is weighing in the balance, but I will trust God my strength with it all!

That’s not all I can do! That’s not all any of us can do! That’s what we should be doing at this time, placing our unwavering trust in God as our strength! He will get you up out of the bed when you don’t feel like you have anymore reasons left to get up! He will give you the greatest message to preach when you have no more inspiration left on the inside of you! He will be your strength as you raise your children, work at that job you don’t like, or sit at home when you would rather be outside! He will be your strength and give you strength, when your trust is in Him!

Being a child of God isn’t for the faint of heart! There are not a lot of tulips to tip toe through! But trusting God as your refuge and strength during times of trouble, will bring you out on the other side with great victory and strength! The devil hasn’t forged a weapon, greater than our God! Decide today, that as He is referred to as the Strength of Israel, He can also be referred to as the Strength of… (whatever your name is)! Wonderful Jesus!

God Our Refuge!

Psalm 46:1 – “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” KJV

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The image you are looking at is the Castillo de San Marcos, in St. Augustine, Florida. It is the oldest masonry fort in the United States. Spain built it in the late 1600s, to protect and defend the possessions, people, and city of St. Augustine. This fort was impenetrable because of the materials used to build the walls and it’s architectural layout. The soft limestone, called coquina, was composed of broken shells. It is said that this material absorbed or deflected the enemy attacks every time. The United States eventually purchased the fort from Spain, using it until the 1900s. If you visit St. Augustine, Florida, you can take some time to tour it and learn more of its history.

The Bible tells us that God is our refuge! He is the protection of our lives, our possessions, our health, and everything that concerns us. His protection is impenetrable by the enemy when we understand that truth and allow it to give us peace in the midst of a storm. The Hebrew word for refuge is, “machăçeh”, and it means a shelter (literally or figuratively), a place of refuge, a place of hope. Throughout my life I have experienced this truth on many occasions. He is truly my refuge! Today, we the people of God, need to understand, like never before, that God is our refuge.

The coronavirus hasn’t diminished it’s attacks on the world. The effects of the virus are worldwide and has left many grieving over the loss of loved ones, jobs, shelter, peace, and hope. Not only that, we have to still be concerned about tornadoes, earthquakes, violence, and a host of other things thrown at us in the course of living. If we are not careful, we, the Body of Christ, will find ourselves disillusioned, disappointed, and fainting, as if we don’t truly believe that God is our refuge.

What the psalmist is really saying about God is that He is our only real security in this life, not our job, not our bank account, not our family tree, not our connections! Only God!

I’m an educator. I haven’t been thrilled in my position for a lot of reasons, but one of the things that colored my view of education was the lack of job security. Every single year for the first four or five years, I had to find another job because my position was cut. This was very frustrating. Then I begin teaching at a school where I was able to put down some roots and feel a part of the school community. After six years, I lost my position again. This could have been another time of frustration for me had not God forewarned me of the fact, and then reassured me that He had me. He was my refuge at that time, as He has been at so many other times in my life!

The psalmist went on to say that because God is our refuge, we will not fear! The psalm continues in this light:

Though the world is falling apart all around us, we will not be afraid!
Though the mountains crumble and fall into the sea, we will not be afraid!
Though the waters roar and rage and tsunamis are coming at us, we will not be afraid!
Though the mountains shake, and there are earthquakes all over, we will not be afraid!

It’s an attitude of trust that knows the God, who is a refuge, is there for us and is with us, no matter what comes our way!

There are many places in the Bible where God, as our refuge, is mentioned:

Psalm 9:9- God will be a refuge for the oppressed. Is there any amongst us who are oppressed today? God is our refuge!
Psalm 14:6-God is a refuge for the poor! Is there any amongst us who are poor? God is our refuge!
Psalm 59:16-God is a refuge in the day of trouble! Is there any amongst us who are having trouble? God is our refuge!
Isaiah 25:4-God is a refuge from the storm! Again, I say, is there any amongst us who are in the midst of a storm? God is our refuge!
Jeremiah 16:19-God is a refuge in the day of affliction? Is there any amongst us who are afflicted? God is our refuge!

Here are some things that will give you confidence in God as your refuge:

Psalm 46:7- He is the God of the angel armies and He is with us!
Psalm 91:9- When we make Him our dwelling place, our shelter, He will be our refuge!
Psalm 14:26- As we fear Him, (reverence Him), we have a strong confidence in Him as our refuge!

David wrote in Psalm 91,

“He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.” KJV

David continues this psalm by giving us an entire list of situations he found shelter from in God. It’s a great psalm to commit to memory and to meditate on in this time of so much uncertainty. What is certain, is that God is our refuge and He is with us! Wonderful Jesus!

There is No Other God!

Isaiah 45:18 – “For thus says the Lord, Who created the heavens, Who is God, Who formed the earth and made it, Who has established it, Who did not create it in vain, Who formed it to be inhabited: “I am the Lord , and there is no other.” NKJV

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If I could do a blog in pictures, showing the beauty of the earth, there would be no country, no place, left out. The world is absolutely beautiful because of the God who created it. Every corner of the Earth declares His glory as the Creator and as God.

As I was in prayer today, I felt impressed upon, by the Holy Spirit to blog about God. I immediately thought about the truth that the Old Testament, to me, is the revealing of God, to humanity. Since 66 books can’t do Him justice, I know one blog entry can’t touch Him, but I will try!

In Genesis, we see God as our Creator. He created the world in which we live, in six days. As Creator God, we see His love for color in the greens of the forests, the blues of the waters and the skies, the grays and browns and purples of the mountains, the browns and black in the hills, the multiple colors of the soils of the Earth. We see His diversity and creativity in the mountain peaks, the valleys, the deserts, the volcanoes, the caves, the rivers and oceans, the waterfalls, and so much more! He didn’t make everything flat, or everything hilly, or everything the same. He made different landscapes and regions for the multi-faceted race of people He had in mind.

This place called Earth was made by God, for us! Genesis doesn’t tell us when He created the Earth, just that He did, fashioning it with all that was needed for mankind to live. The perfect amount of oxygen for sustaining us, the perfect balance in the atmosphere so that we can walk on land and not float around it. Natural resources around the world, to provide food, lodging, recreation, and livelihoods. He thought of it all, because He is God. It is a stable place to live on with so much to offer us!

He established the Earth! He’s the Founder! It wasn’t man’s idea to form the Earth, but God’s, and yet we live as if there is no need for Him. Many founders are forgotten because they pass away and become a memory. But not God! He is always and forever! When He is forgotten, it is because man has chosen to ignore Him and all that He has done. But the Earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof.

Paul penned this concept of creation in Romans 1:

“For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,” NKJV

The beauty of nature, the majesty of the landforms, the very air that we breathe, all declare the glory of our God! We are all without excuse when we fail to acknowledge the truth that He is God and there is none beside Him!

Isaiah pointed out that God didn’t create the earth in vain. He used the word “tohuw” which also means “without form”. In other words, God didn’t make the earth without form, He made it perfect. Yet, in Genesis, the Earth is without form and void, same word. It is empty, desolate, and unstable. There is no life and there is no light to be found. Something happened to make it that way, because that was not how God created it.

Some theologians believe that it was the falling of Satan from heaven that made the Earth this way. They say the place that God had created with such love and beauty was not “tohuw”, or “without form and void”. Some say, that when Satan fell to Earth, everything was destroyed, including the dinosaurs! Science isn’t my thing, so I can’t say for certain! But I understand that the Earth was beautiful, then it wasn’t, and then it was again. God recreated the beauty of the Earth and He did it for us to inhabit.

Creation itself speaks of the truth that God is God and besides Him there is no other! We are to go into the world to proclaim the gospel, but wherever we go, and whenever we arrive, know that creation has already spoken to the hearts and soul of mankind everywhere that there is a God. They may not know who He is, so it is our responsibility to tell them of the One true God! He’s worth knowing, worth loving, worth living for, and if need be, worth dying for. Everything He has done, He has done with us in mind. Our well-being is uppermost in His heart.

No wonder Jesus said, “Consider the lilies!” If God took such special care in adorning nature, He will take even greater care in providing for us! He’s already demonstrated that with His creation of the world! There’s nothing too big or too small for our God. This is He, who created the chicken without an egg! This is He, who made a man without him first being an infant! This is He, who made mountains that are yet standing! And this is He, who loved the world so much that He sent Jesus to die on the cross for us! What an amazing God He is! And there is none other like Him! Wonderful Jesus!

Consider Job’s Wife-Part 2

Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!” But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.-Job 2:9-10-NKJV

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In my previous post, “Consider Job’s Wife” I wrote about all the adversities that Job and his wife shared at the hands of Satan. I ended with her comment in verse 9- “Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!”

Today, I want to pick up at this verse. I believe this statement was the statement of a woman in deep pain. As I mentioned before, she lost everything: children, beloved servants, finances, property, status in the community, all in one day. And when Job got attacked in his physical body, I believe she was making a “God, I can’t take anymore statement!” And not a ,”God is not really God,” statement.

Job responded to her statement, “But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.”

I believe that this is definitely a statement of correction to Job’s wife, but not a statement of judgment. Foolish women are women who do not believe in God, nor trust Him for their welfare. Job was telling his wife, that she sounded as one who didn’t know and trust God. He understood that he was married to a woman of high moral character and she was hurting. So when he told her how she sounded, he was basically saying, “That’s how a woman who doesn’t know God would talk. God has blessed us and now we’re having some hard times, should we reject Him because of that?”

Now you might think I’m stretching here in my thinking. But let’s look at another key verse in this account of what happened to them. “Now the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; for he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thousand yoke of oxen, and one thousand female donkeys. He also had seven sons and three daughters.-Job 42:12-13

Look carefully at this verse. The passage tells us that God blessed Job with cattle and with 10 more children. But it doesn’t tell us that God gave him another wife. I believe Job still had the same wife. The wife Job lovingly encouraged during their hard times. Had the Lord been displeased with Job’s wife, He would have given this godly man a more godly woman. Had Job been displeased, he would have put her away. But it doesn’t tell us that. Therefore, we can infer that Job, and the same wife he had at the beginning of this trial, were blessed together, by God, at the end of it.

I have read this book on several occasions and have not seen anywhere in this account of all that happened to Job, the mention of a new wife. But he most certainly did have to have a wife in order to have 10 more kids!

What am I saying? We have made snap judgments about his wife being cruel, insensitive, ungodly, and critical, to name a few. But instead, she was just a wife who was hurting because of so many great losses at one time. And in a moment of weakness, she opened her mouth and made a dumb statement. But Job lovingly, helped his wife get the right perspective on what it meant to trust God.

Trust isn’t just trusting God in the good times, but it is trusting Him in the difficult times. Any person can render trust to another or even to God, when things are going well. But when it looks as if you have been forsaken, as if you have been forgotten, or even as if you have been betrayed, and you still trust-well, that’s genuine trust! And that’s what I believe Job very effectively helped his wife to see; and when she saw it, she was strengthened. There is so much more I can share, about going through difficult times, the husband/wife relationship, being rash with our words, or raising children, but time and space is against me.

Let me leave you with this thought: God is and always has been a good God. He didn’t set Job and his wife up to fail, but to be successful! And they succeeded. The next time you are hit with a trial, realize the devil is behind it, and if you will trust God, you too will succeed. Sickness and disease, loss of job and income, loss of loved ones, loss of all that you hold dear are painful situations in this life. Most of them are not at the hand of God showing the devil how great your love and trust for Him is. Most are simple a result of us living in a fallen world of sin, and having to navigate the life we live, by faith, in the God we trust! I trust we will never experience pain and difficulty to the level that Job and his wife did, but if we do, we already know that we can win it and receive double for our trouble! Wonderful Jesus!

Consider Job’s Wife

Job 1:1-3 – “There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil. And seven sons and three daughters were born to him. Also, his possessions were seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred female donkeys, and a very large household, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the East.”

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A couple years ago I was asked to speak at a women’s fellowship and to share on the topic of difficult times. As I sought the Lord for a direction, He led me to Job’s wife. Today’s post will be a snippet of that message.

In the text, we see that Job was a very wealthy man. He had 10 children, 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen (1,000), 500 female donkeys, and a whole lot of servants. And of course, since Job had all of this, so did his wife. The Bible tells us that Job was a man who feared God and shunned evil, a man who was blameless and upright; and I am willing to bet that his wife had the same testimony.

But in one day, Job lost all of his possessions, most of his servants, and all of his children. But so did his wife. Everything and everyone she held dear, except her husband, was gone in a single day. The Bible tells us that Job bowed and worshipped the Lord, but I believe that here is where they differed. In his difficult time he turned to the Lord, but in her difficult time, she embraced her grief and sorrow. And before we start judging her, let’s be honest and say that most of us would have followed her example and not his.

The devil attacks Job’s body, after all of these other things, and now his wife is angry and becoming bitter. “Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!”-Job 2:9

It is at this point that I believe that many people give his wife a bad rap. I am not excusing her words, nor condoning them as the proper response for difficult times, for they are not. But I also don’t believe that these are words that sum up her whole life before God. They are words spoken in the midst of grief and heartache. An extremely devastating time for her, for anyone!

I have seen wonderful men and women who love God have difficult experiences with the Lord. I have heard them make stupid remarks that was nothing more than their grief and flesh talking. I have heard care givers speak words about their loved ones and vice versa that was nothing more than fatigue and weariness expressing itself. And I sincerely believe that was the case with Job’s wife.

And allow me to give her one more benefit of the doubt: She was not born again and she certainly didn’t have a Bible to comfort her during her hardship. She was serving God to the best of her knowledge, but when this tsunami of difficulties flooded her life, she had nothing to lean on except Job. And where was Job? He was outside dealing with his pain and sorrow the best way he knew how, while listening to well meaning friends who were “most miserable comforters”.

Loss of children, extreme poverty after great wealth, loss of many servants (all who were a part of her household and probably her heart) loneliness, despair, a very sick husband, and a withering faith in God: this was Job’s wife. When God asked Satan if he had considered His servant Job, I believe He was including Job’s wife. And I believe that just as He knew that Job would pass the test, He knew Job’s wife would.

So the next time you see someone going through, and they are not behaving like you think they should, pray for them! Your prayers can be used to bring about their deliverance. This is a repost, but I couldn’t help but think that in the midst of this coronavirus, it would be timely. People are losing loved ones, finances, businesses, dreams, and hope. It is easy to judge them, but it’s harder to walk in their shoes. Let’s remember what the word teaches us about bearing one another’s burdens and ask the Lord how can we help during this time! More on Job’s wife next time. Wonderful Jesus!!

Are You Offended With Jesus!

Matthew 11:2-3 -Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?

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This morning I was reminded of a passage in the Bible and I decided to blog about it. Generally speaking, I don’t blog until I feel I have something to say. And this morning I do!

In the Scriptural text, John sends two of his disciples to Jesus to ask Him, “Are you the One, or look we for another?” There are some interesting dynamics going on here, but the major thing is that John is offended with Jesus!

The word offense means “to have an annoyance or resentment brought about by a perceived insult to or disregard for oneself or one’s standards or principles.” I believe that John was clearly offended with Jesus. The Bible doesn’t explicitly tell us the why of everything but there are some things we can infer.

Why would John be asking Jesus is He the One? Was it not John who declared, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:36)?” And was it not John who declared, “ I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost?” (Mark 1:8) Yes, it is he!

John said of himself that he was “the voice of one crying in the wilderness to prepare the way of the Lord” and that Jesus came after him but was preferred before him. And the greatest statement John made about Jesus was, “And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God!” (John 1:34)

So I return to my original statement that John was offended with Jesus because he went from “Behold the Lamb of God”….to “are you the One?” Only offense will cause us to question our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ!

Let’s return to Matthew 11, where Jesus responds to John’s disciples. He tells them to report back to John what they heard and saw, but then He makes this statement in verse 6, “And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.” Why would Jesus add this to what He wanted the disciples to tell John? Obviously, John was offended!

Why was John offended? I don’t know for sure, but scripture let’s know that John is in prison and he is about to die, so offense has come in. He had a perceived notion that he would be protected from the devil because of his service to God. He has spent his entire life preparing the way for Jesus, getting people ready to hear the Messiah and the thanks he is getting is a beheading. What’s wrong with this picture?

You see, John had the same adversary that we have. While we are living this life in Christ, things are going to happen and the adversary will forever be there to accuse God to us! After all, he is an accuser. He accuses us to God and God to us! And so I am sure that while John was in prison, the devil was in his ear: You spent all that time working for God and now you are going to die! You thought Jesus was the Lamb of God, but if He is, then why are you in prison? Why hasn’t He delivered you! Your life has been a sham, a lie, a joke! He is not the Son of God! Admit it! Your life and ministry has been in vain!

And so John, in desperation, frustration, aggravation, and offense, sends a message to Jesus. And Jesus, in the way only He can do, sends a message back to John that will settle things for him and bring him peace… “the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised and the poor have the gospel preached to them…and oh yes, blessed is he, who shall not be offended in me!”

This is one of the biggest problems in the church! Offense with Jesus! Yes, we have a problem being offended with others, but the biggest problem is offense with Jesus! We get offended when He doesn’t answer our prayers the way we want Him to, or in a timely manner. We get offended when our loved ones die. We get offended when we are not healed miraculously. We get offended when our spouses desert us or our children go the way of the world. We get offended when our ministries don’t take off and we get offended when we can’t find a husband. And the list goes on and on and on. And once we get offended, we have a problem with Jesus, and if He is truly who He said He is, and can we trust Him to do what He said He would do!

Well, I am writing today to declare to you, that He is who He says He is, and He does what He said He will do!! He has given us exceeding precious promises and will fulfill all that we can believe Him for! But in the case of John, John knew that Jesus must increase and he must decrease. We use that saying to show our humbleness, but John said it because he had already been told that he and Jesus would not share the same stage. He really had to leave this earth. It was part of his assignment!

Jesus loved John! John was his cousin by birth, but John was truly His forerunner. Jesus eulogized John by saying that he was a prophet and more than a prophet. And Jesus validates John’s mission in life to prepare the way. Jesus was not uncaring about John, but Jesus understood that something greater was in the making! There was a bigger picture!

Recently a church member passed. We were believing God for her miraculous healing. But she didn’t get it on this side of heaven. Generally when people I have prayed for and with pass on, I have to fight against the lies and accusations of the devil. But I just made up my mind that I wouldn’t have to this time, because I wouldn’t participate with the lies of the devil. God is a good God! Nope, He is better than good, He is great! And when we get the right heart and mind regarding Him, the devil will not be able to lead us into offense against our Saviour!

I hadn’t realized that I had written so much, so I will end it here. If God tugged at your heart strings while you were reading this because you have become offended with Him, fix it now! Don’t let another moment go by with you being offended at the Lord! Repent and get your peace back! John did! And he died knowing that he had fulfilled all the plans and purposes of the Lord! And you can, too! Wonderful Jesus!

Yielding the Sword!

Ephesians 6:17 – “And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;” NKJV

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I trust you are getting encouraged in your walk with the Lord! The Word of God says that we are more than conquerors; therefore, the weapons against our adversary are fail proof when used in faith! Have you ever watched someone play a video game, or maybe you have played, and the battle called for warriors to use different weapons at different phases of the game? Or maybe you have no knowledge of video games, but understand real warfare. You understand that there are foot soldiers with guns, snipers with rifles, tanks with artillery, planes with bombs, all headed for the enemy to engage him in different ways. All important, all strategic, all deadly, but in different ways! That’s how our spiritual weapons are used; in different phases of the battle, for different attacks, but all are lethal against the adversary! I wrote a blog, this year, “Talk Back to the Enemy” that is a companion blog to today’s entry.

Paul is writing about the full armor of God in this passage. I won’t address the armor in this blog, but I do want to address the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Typically speaking, a sword is a weapon of defense and the Word is definitely great for defending ourselves against the enemy; but it can also be an offensive weapon used to attack an opponent. Which ever position you find yourself in, even at this moment, the word will work!

In Matthew, chapter 4, we find Jesus is being led into the wilderness. After forty days and nights of fasting, the devil comes for a visit. He didn’t send a demon this time. This was an assignment he took up.

The first temptation was at Jesus’ physical need of food. He said to Jesus, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” This was a real temptation because Jesus was hungry. It was also an attack on Jesus’ identity as the Son of God. Jesus didn’t get into a long discourse with the devil. He simply replied, “It is written, ‘Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'” Jesus’ weapon against the devil’s attempt to pull Him into the flesh after a forty day fast was countered with the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God!

Then we see that the devil took him up into the holy city, and said, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you.'” We can see that Satan came with a counterattack at Jesus, using the Word against Him. That was pretty dumb to use the Word against the Living Word, but he did it. Jesus of course responded with a greater truth, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.'” In other words, it is very true that angels would come to His rescue, but He knew it would be silly to test God’s faithfulness on a challenge from Satan.

Lastly, Satan takes Jesus on an exceedingly high mountain and shows Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. Now he is trying to impress Jesus with his goods. He say to Jesus “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.” Jesus rebukes Satan by saying, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.'”

After these words of rebuke, the devil leaves, and angels came and ministered to Him. He whipped the devil with the Word and was victorious, not because He was the Son, but because of the effectiveness of the sword of the Spirit! It worked for Jesus, and it will work for us!

I want to address something that was going on. During this time of temptation, Satan was trying to get Jesus to sin against God. The temptation wasn’t a sin, but had Jesus done either of these things, He would have sinned. When we are tempted, they are just temptations, but when we give in and do a thing, it becomes a sin. Learning to cut the devil off before he has a chance to get us to thinking about his proposal is key in maintaining our victory. The immediate weapon to use against a suggestion to sin, is the Word of God!

Consider an individual who is dating. The enemy tells that person some tired lies that he have used throughout the centuries with others. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t, but he’s had enough success that he still uses it. Recently my daughter told me this one that a young person shared with her, “Girl, you have to try it before you buy it!” How many times did my “girlfriends” tell me the same thing, decades ago. The only thing you get to try before you buy it is a car. Are we reducing our bodies to that of an automobile? You buy a house, you buy it first, then you move in; unless you rent to own. See the lie for what it is then use the word against sexual sin.
- It is written, “Flee sexual immorality! And again it says “that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit and I am not my own. Or have you not heard how Joseph, when approached by Potiphar’s wife refused her saying that he would not sin against God?” No devil, I will not do this thing for it is written, “You shall not commit adultery or fornication. So get out of here with your lies!”

Consider an individual who is struggling to make ends meet. The enemy tells that person, you should not be giving the church all of their money. You have been tithing (for all of two months) and things are worst. You have been giving to support the teens ministry, VBS, or pastoral support, but who is helping you?
- It is written, “Bring the tithe in the storehouse…and I will open the window of heaven and pour you out a blessing you will not have room to receive. It is also written, “Give and it shall be given to you!” There is no way that I will stop being a financial blessing to my church for God has promised in His word, that the righteous are not forsaken and His seed is not begging for bread!” Now leave me alone!

These are just examples that are common in the church. And they are lies that I have heard hundreds of times over the years that I have living for the Lord. Lies you have heard personally, or know others who have heard them. The Bible is filled with examples of people who have gone both ways: Eve, Samson and Judas believed the lies, Abraham, Noah, and Joseph did not! You don’t have to give in to the lies of the devil, just yield the sword of the Spirit at him and watch him hightail it out of your presence! Once you see it work, it may very well become your preferred weapon of attack!

I believe I am finished with the weapons of our warfare blogs. I trust you have enjoyed reading them as much as I have enjoyed writing them. On wonderfuljesus.blog, it is my hope that you will always find encouraging, practical topics to keep you living a victorious life and falling in love with Jesus, over and over again! Wonderful Jesus!

At That Name!

Philippians 2:9-11 – “Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” NKJV

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I am still blogging about our weapons against the devil. There is no way I can end my “series” without mentioning the Name of Jesus! I’ve written about our salvation, as our first line of defense against the devil. I’ve written about the truth that we can use the Blood of Jesus against the enemy. I’ve mentioned that praise silences the enemy; and I’ve even blogged about our lifestyle as a testimony against the enemy. There are other weapons we’ve been given, the armor of God, the word of God, and fasting and praying are in the line up. They are all powerful, but I’m not sure that I will address them all. However, I simply must talk about the Name of Jesus!

This particular text is packed with nuggets about Jesus, but I am only zeroing in on the the Name of Jesus against the enemy. Paul wrote that God had given Jesus the Name. Using the article “the” we can determine that His name is not just any name, but the specific Name that has been given to Him by God, which is above every name! By every name, Paul intended us to understand that he meant every name.

But just in case we didn’t get that, or understand that to be true, he further elaborated that Jesus’ name is above every name in heaven, above every name on earth, and above every name under the earth! That’s the part I am getting at with this blog, that Jesus’ name is above every name under the earth. What do we think of when we think of who lives under the earth? We think of the devil and his demonic kingdom as being under the earth! But just in case you want to say they are anywhere else, well, that’s covered also!

What happens at that name? Every knee must bow! All inhabitants must bow at His Name! And because of this truth, we have the authority to use His name to command demons to bow! I was reading in one of my books about Smith Wigglesworth, where I came across a testimony that illustrates this point, beautifully. A group of men went to pray for someone who was sick. They went into the sick room and they prayed every thing and every way that they knew how to pray; and nothing happened. They left the room feeling discouraged. As they were outside talking about what “didn’t happen” and how they had tried “everything”, one of them spoke up and said, they hadn’t tried the Name of Jesus. So they went back into the room, and started saying the name of Jesus, very softly. But then they continued saying that Name until fervor and passion overtook them and they were shouting the Name, “Jesus! Jesus! Jesus!” Something happens at the name of Jesus! That sick person rose up completely healed because of the Name! That sickness that was draining him of his life, bowed to the Name that is above every name! Jesus!

Another testimony of the power of the Name over demonic activity was shared in Wigglesworth book, Faith That Prevails. He was preaching in Toronto. After one of the services, a man met him at the place where he was staying. He told Wigglesworth that three years prior his nerves were shattered and he couldn’t sleep and his life was miserable. Wigglesworth told him to go home and sleep in the name of Jesus. The man slept all night and was completely healed! There is still power in that name!

There have been times in my own life that I have used the name of Jesus and seen sickness bow to that Name! I was ministering to a lady who was in great pain. In the Name of Jesus, I commanded that pain to bow and to leave her body, and that pain left her body! It was if I just saw that pain bowing before Jesus as if to say, “You’re the Boss!” This has happened on more than one occasion . I know that faith is a huge part of it, but we have been given authority to use His name, and I am learning how to do just that! One commentator says that the words used in this verse depicts everything paying homage to Jesus! Can’t you see it?

In Acts 3, Peter and John used the name of Jesus to heal the lame man. “Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.” When everyone was looking at Peter and John as if they did something wonderful, Peter said, “And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know”. I can’t explain how it happens, I just know that it does.

But it’s not just demons of sickness and physical disabilities that the Name of Jesus has dominion over; it’s any demonic activity! In Mark, Jesus Himself stated that in His name we would cast out devils! I’ve only personally experienced this a few times, but there are countless testimonies to people casting out demons in His Name!

Kenneth Hagin, who is with the Lord, shared a story about using the name of Jesus. He said the Lord came to him and was trying to share something with him, but a demon showed up and kept jumping around distracting him. Finally, he got irritated enough that he commanded the demon to leave in the name of Jesus, and the demon left. He was waiting on God and God was waiting on him! We are responsible for dealing with the devil, his demons, and all their activity! Not God!

This teaching is so vitally important for the Body. I trust that you are growing hungry to know more about how to withstand the attacks of the devil. I encourage you to read some books or listen to teachings that give more insight into these powerful weapons of warfare. Personally, some crazy things have been happening to let me know that someone must be getting blessed! I’ll stay on my assignment and I trust that together we will all begin to stand like never before against our enemy. Wonderful Jesus!

Can I Get a Witness!

Revelation 12:11 -They gained the victory over him on account of the blood of the Lamb and the word of their witness. Love for their own lives didn’t make them afraid to die. CEB

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I’ve been blogging on the spiritual weapons given to us to overcome the devil. This week will be my last week dealing with the subject. What I am realizing is that Jesus gave us so many ways to be victorious, that to live a life of defeat would be a slap in His face!

Today I want to look at the phrase, “the word of their witness” as our spiritual weapon against the enemy. When I think about this phrase, it brings to mind, “what are we saying about Jesus?” Have you thought about the fact that what you say about Jesus can cause you to be either victorious or defeated?

John wrote that they overcame the devil by the word of their testimony, or in this version, by the word of their witness. One commentator wrote that every single time we say no to sin, to temptations, to the lies of the devil, we are overcoming him! That’s what the end of this verse is reflective of when it says we overcome by the word of our testimony.

The way we live as Christians, going back to holiness, will determine how adept we are at overcoming the devil. In the Bible we have two great men of God, who were totally different in their walk with the Lord, yet alike! Peter and Paul!

Paul is one of my favorite people in the Bible, outside of Jesus! His life, speaks to me. He was a persecutor of the disciples of Jesus, arresting them and consenting to their deaths. Paul was zealous for the Law he had given his life to learn about, but ignorant of the God who sent His Son to die for him. I believe that every time he arrested one of the disciples their lives were a witness to him. He just couldn’t understand why they were so passionate, and some times, so willing to die for this Jesus! After watching Stephen die, I believe his life was changed. This young man had just used the very Law Paul had studied to explain his devotion to Jesus, and as Stephen dies, he cries “Lord, forgive them!” This was on his mind as he traveled on the road to Damascus. Now he was ready to encounter Jesus, and when he did, Paul recognized Him and called Him Lord. The same energy that Paul used to persecute the believers, was the same energy that he used to serve the Lord. He was strong in faith, strong in power, and strong in his teachings. There is no record of him ever straying from Jesus. He was passionate about his faith in Jesus, and he loved not his life, even to the death. Paul’s witness is an encouragement to me to live for Jesus. His life demonstrates that we can live a devoted, separated, victorious life with the Messiah.

Peter was so enthusiastic in his service for Jesus that he sometimes got ahead of himself! When Jesus asked His disciples what were they saying about who He was, Peter spoke up, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God!” Yet, Jesus rebuked Peter on several occasions, and Peter denied knowing Jesus three times. But Jesus saw Peter’s heart, and restored him, and Peter went on to be used mightily of God. Peter then stumbled in his relationship with the Gentiles, not wanting to eat with them when the Jews were around. It wasn’t that he was a flaky Christian, he just showed a more human side, a fear for what people thought of him. His enthusiasm and passion, sometimes got the best of him, trying to block out his godliness. Yet he still remains a powerful witness that we can all look up to! God knows we aren’t perfect, that we will stumble, and through Peter’s life we have a witness that we can overcome, even when we don’t always get it right!

Can you imagine the impact these men lives had on the people they came into contact with? By his witness, Paul overcame the devil, and God used him to write most of the New Testament and to take the gospel to the Gentiles! By his witness, Peter impacted the Jewish community for Jesus every time he preached, winning thousands of souls to Jesus at a time. Their witness, in their life, and with their words, caused them to overcome the devil, time and time again!

I think of the Voice of the Martyrs magazine at this time. The powerful testimonies I have read over the years of these same type of Christians who, in spite of intense persecution, continue, even in the midst of trials to deepen their relationship with Jesus. One such man comes to mind that I read about. I don’t remember his name, but I remember his witness. He was arrested for his faith in the Lord Jesus while living under a communist regime. During his arrest he would witness to the prisoners. One day, the guards took him outside in the wintry weather, naked, as a means of torturing him. However, each time he was brought back inside, he was without sickness, frost bite, or even pain. I believe I also read that the Lord clothed him in warmth while he was outside. His witness was even stronger after the intense persecution and he led many to Christ. I don’t remember the end of his life, but he overcame the devil and his attacks, with his witness!

We won’t all be a Peter or a Paul, but we can all be a witness. The devil will constantly do things to try and tempt us from our faith in Christ Jesus, but we must be determined that nothing will separate us from God. He will lie to us about God’s character, but we must be diligent in letting our words speak of God’s faithfulness, His goodness, His mercy, and His love. Even in these challenging times with the coronavirus, we must remain true to Him, remembering always, that people are listening to our words and watching our lives.

We overcome the devil! Jesus made it clear that we do so! He gave His Blood as an overcoming weapon. We have praise to silence the enemy. We have the word of our testimony to testify that God is good and the devil is a liar! We have our holy, consecrated lives that give no place to him. We must live free of any fear of the devil! And now, we just have to live like we know these truths, believe these truths, and operate in these truths. Can I get a witness? Wonderful Jesus!

The Weapon of Praise!

Psalm 8:2 – Through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger. NIV

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I’ve been blogging about weapons that are effective in stopping the enemy! I have blogged about the weapon of our salvation, the weapon of the Blood of Jesus, and the weapon of holiness. In this blog, I want to talk about the weapon of praise!

The psalmist, David, stated that praise establishes a stronghold (a tower) against our enemies. Can you imagine yourself building a tower, with your praise, that the enemy cannot get over? Hopefully, when you finish reading this blog, you will do just that! In the KJV of the Bible the translators used the word “strength” and not “praise” in this verse. However, to be clear that the psalmist is referring to praise, in this verse, let’s look at how Jesus quoted it in the book of Matthew. In Matthew 21:16 – “And (the Pharisees)said to Him, “Do You hear what these are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes. Have you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise’?” NKJV

When I think of both of these words, (praise and strength) it causes me to draw the conclusion that our strength against the enemy lies in our praise! Get this picture in your mind: The enemy is on the attack, in some form or fashion, then you begin to praise God, and you start constructing a tower with your praise! The longer you praise, the higher the tower, the higher the tower, the harder it is for the enemy to access you! I like that picture!!

The word praise is sometimes translated as “boast” meaning to boast in the Lord and what He has done, and to boast in who He is! Praise can be carried out in a number of ways:

We can praise Him in the dance!
We call praise Him with song!
We can just walk around and praise Him for who He is
We can sit and praise Him for what He has done in our lives
We can bow before Him and give Him praise just because we feel like it
We can praise Him at church or at home
We can praise Him with or without music
We can praise Him in the Spirit

Choose one! Better yet, try them all! The next time the enemy goes on a rampage, praise God like never before!

The Old Testament reference that comes to mind involves Jehoshaphat! There was an army of people who came up against the king and the people of Judah. When the king heard, he called a fast and prayed. The Lord gave the king a promise, a prophetic word, that he would not have to fight in the battle, and Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah, gave Him praise. The next morning, when they got up, Jehoshaphat called for another time of praise. Here’s what verse 22 states: “Now when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated!” Now how powerful of an example is that? Yes, they had fasted and prayed, and that caused them to hear from God! But when they began to praise Him, God defeated their enemies!

Now, if you have been following me, you know I have to give you at least one more scriptural proof of praise silencing the enemy!

The verse that keeps resonating in my heart and spirit is found in Isaiah 61. Although these are the words that Jesus said He fulfilled in Luke 4, there is a part that illustrates the victory through praise. Isaiah wrote, “put on the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness”. What is the spirit of heaviness but an oppressive spirit from the devil? Isaiah said, when it comes, clothe yourself in praise! Get up from your place of “woe is me” and get in a position of “Lord, You are good! You’ve been better than good!” Hallelujah!

Everyone may not be able to “apply the Blood of Jesus” in faith as soon as you learn about it, but you can start praising Him right now and be extremely effective against the attacks of your enemy!

In Psalm 30:12, the psalmist wrote, “You have turned for me mourning into dancing; you have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, to the end that my glory may sing praise to you and not be silent. O lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!” What was David mourning over? Why was he in sackcloth? Who knows? Much had happened in his life before this point. It could have simply been that God had denied him the honor of building His temple because he had so much blood on his hands. Yet, when David was dedicating his home to the Lord, he began to give God praise and said, “you have turned my mourning into dancing”.

My sister died many years ago. I hadn’t seen her in decades. One day I was just talking to the Lord when I said, “Father, I don’t want the next time I see Jeannie to be at her funeral.” That’s it! That’s all I said. Not long after that, Jeannie contacted me, came and spent a couple weeks with my family and I, and went back to California. She died shortly after. As I was beginning to allow grief to set in, God reminded me of what He had just done for me. I want you to know, I had such a spirit of praise in my heart at the funeral, it was almost embarrassing. However, I shared with my family that day about why my heart was not heavy, and I had to leave it there! He turned my mourning into dancing!

I can give you example after example of the power of praise over the enemy. When we are praising God, the enemy runs away, because he can’t stand to be in a place where praise to God is going on. Also, when you praise God, you don’t have time to think about what the enemy is saying and doing, thereby, silencing him! And don’t forget that tower that is built when you give God praise! It’s blocks the enemy’s access to you!

Let’s say that you are not in a place to even give Him praise right now. It happens! At this time, you just put on some praise music, and just be in the atmosphere of praise. It worked for Saul. When the evil spirit came upon him, David was called in to play some music for him. It was probably one of David’s psalms that he played for Saul, because the enemy left. He didn’t want to hear it. Not even in instrumental form!

David wrote, “Let the poor and needy praise your name,” in Psalm 74. There is no state, no condition, in which we cannot give God praise. The best praise will come from your lips. Sometimes, it will have to be a sacrifice of praise more than a praise party. However it starts out, know that your praise is a powerful weapon against the enemy! Wonderful Jesus!