Wonderful Jesus!

Tag: the enemy

• God Our Refuge!

  Posted at 4:28 am by wonderfuljesus8, on August 20, 2020

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

  

  god-our-refuge_.mp3

  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!

  Posted in God, hard times, Refuge, trust in God | 2 Comments | Tagged attacks, Attitude, Castillo de San Marcos, coquina, coronavirus, fort, God, Healing, protection, provision, Refuge, shelter, the enemy, trust in God

• At That Name!

  Posted at 10:00 am by wonderfuljesus8, on August 6, 2020

  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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  prayer-for-salvation.m4a

  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!

  Posted in Jesus, Spiritual warfare, the devil, the Name of Jesus, weapons of warfare | 2 Comments | Tagged casting out demons, Deliverance, encouragement, Healing, Jesus, miracles of healing, miraculous, Satan, Smith Wigglesworth, Spiritual warfare, the devil, the enemy, the Name of Jesus

• The Weapon of Praise!

  Posted at 4:33 pm by wonderfuljesus8, on August 1, 2020

  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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  prayer-for-salvation-2.m4a

  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!

  Posted in Deliverance, praise, the devil, weapons of warfare | 0 Comments | Tagged attacks, David, Deliverance, encouragement, hard times, Jehoshaphat, Jesus, praise, Spiritual warfare, the devil, the enemy, victory, worship

• Your Adversary, the Devil!

  Posted at 1:54 pm by wonderfuljesus8, on July 11, 2020

  1 Peter 5:8-9 – Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. NKJV

  

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  It is necessary to look at the devil, at times, to remind ourselves that we have an adversary. Peter makes no mistake, when he refers to the devil as our adversary. I am disheartened when I hear misguided individuals attribute the pain in their lives, or the lives of others, to our loving Savior and Lord, while ignoring the evil intents of the devil!

  In the Vine’s dictionary, adversary is defined as, “an opponent in a lawsuit”, “an enemy”. Both of these meanings give us clear insight into the role of the devil against every believer. In Revelation, he is described as the “accuser of the brethren,” and in our text, he is described as our enemy. He is not only our enemy, but He is also the enemy of God. Most people are not ignorant of Satan, or his devices, but there are some things that we might need to be reminded of.

  Here’s a simple, yet profound way I think of the devil: if it’s good, in every respect, it’s God, and if it’s bad in any respect, it’s the devil. That means it is not only good to me, but good for me, spiritually, emotionally, etc. And bad can go into a whole array of things!

  Critical to understanding your enemy: there is only one devil! And since there is only one devil, he is not omnipresent. He was created by God, for God, and he cannot be all over the world simultaneously. That means that the devil isn’t messing with me and you at the same time. I would venture to say that most of the time that we hear or say, “That’s the devil,” we are inaccurate. While it may be his influence, his demons, it is not him. He is only one supernatural being, and has no ability to be everywhere, all the time. Indirectly, he is at the root cause of evil, but he doesn’t always personally see to the evil.

  His modus operandi, “a particular way or method of doing something; especially one that is characteristic or well established, is to use his demonic force against us. Whether the tactic is through deceit, temptation, testing, accusations, or any other negative influence, it’s usually the work of demons. They are plentiful enough to be in a lot of different places, messing with a whole lot of people, at the same time, giving the illusion that the devil is everywhere. But it is only an illusion!

  As our enemy, his aim is to get us to do the same thing that Adam and Eve did: to betray God. Yes, they ate the forbidden fruit, but behind that, was the truth that they placed their trust in someone else’s word over God’s word. That someone else was Satan. They decided in that instant that God wasn’t totally honest with them and was trying to keep something from them, so they took the fruit and ate it. That was betrayal towards God. The devil used it then and he still uses it!

  Satan is not your friend! He is incapable of being your friend. He is your enemy! And as such, he hates you as passionately, as God loves you. Your pain, your heartaches, your losses, your defeats, your demise, your destruction, brings him great joy. Whether you have been a Christian for 5 minutes or for 50 years, he is not for you, and neither are you being ignored by him.

  A couple shared this testimony in a Christian publication: One day the couple had a conversation about the enemy. The husband felt that he was irrelevant to the devil because the devil had “bigger fish to fry”. Later that evening, following a phone call, he slumped over and died. The wife called 911, and there just happened to be paramedics on her street, visiting friends. They performed CPR until the ambulance arrived. He coded several times over the next few hours. But here’s the beautiful thing, God brought him back to life! Two weeks after dying in his home, he was completely whole, and a totally different person for God. His attitude about “bigger fish” had totally changed, and he understood that the forces of darkness knew no bounds. The devil tried to take his life, but God turned that situation around and He gets the glory! That’s the extremely shortened version!

  Just as God has plans for your life, your well-being, your fruitfulness, the devil also has plans! In Jeremiah 29:11, it is written: “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Using Jeremiah’s words, we could easily say this, “For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, says the devil, thoughts of chaos and filled with evil, to destroy your future and to rob you of your hope.” That’s a scary thought, but the truth is, he is determined to undo or to stop whatever God has in mind for you!

  Now, I have not said this to make you afraid of the devil, but to make you aware of the devil. He is your number one enemy, and as such, you should know about him, his demonic kingdom, and how he operates it against you. I am going to tell you this now, and later expand upon it, you don’t have to be afraid of the devil or his demons. Not in Christ Jesus! In Jesus, you have been given authority over all the works of the devil and over the next few blogs, I want to share some things that will help you identify him, and stop his work in your life. I won’t cover it all, but hopefully it will get you motivated to be watchful and to be sober, where he is concerned. Keep reading! Wonderful Jesus!

  Posted in demonic activity, Satan, the devil | 2 Comments | Tagged attacks, Deliverance, demonic activity, Satan, testimony, the devil, the enemy, victory in Jesus

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