Healing

The Fight of Your Life


I do not fight like a boxer who hits nothing but air.
(I Cor. 9:26)

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You are fighting a real opponent! It doesn’t matter if you are a teen or an adult! (In a sense, the battle starts in the womb and continues on until we become old and breathe our last breath!) Your opponent cares nothing about the fact that you may be weak, female, or elderly. Satan’s powers at work fight to destroy impoverished people as well as the rich. No one is exempt from fighting. If we don’t fight we become defeated! But, so many people are ill-prepared for spiritual war (Eph. 6:11-18)! They haven’t learned how to fight spiritually. They don’t have a working knowledge of the scriptures and they don’t have an intimate relationship with the Lord. Millions who do not pray are left defenseless! So many have not exercised themselves in spiritual warfare, and as a result, they are left vulnerable to an enemy who fights to destroy families, kill dreams, and suggests defeat, as well as suicide as a way of an escape.

We can use the apostle Paul as an example of overcoming and fighting until the end. Here are his words: “I have fought a good fight…I have kept the faith” (II Tim. 4:7).

The scriptures below can be used for spiritual warfare:

  1. “Submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” James 4:7
  2. “You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.” 1 John 4:4
  3. “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith.” 1 Pet. 5:8-9
  4. “No weapon that is formed against you will prosper; and every tongue that accuses you in judgment you will condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their vindication is from Me,” declares the Lord.” Is. 54:17
  5. “Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.  Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Eph. 6:11-17
  6. “In all these things, we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” Rom. 8:37
  7. So be careful. When you think you are standing firm, you might fall. You are tempted in the same way all other human beings are. God is faithful. He will not let you be tempted any more than you can take. But when you are tempted, God will give you a way out. Then you will be able to deal with it. I Cor. 10:12-13
  8. “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Cor. 15:57
  9. “But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one.” 2 Thess. 3:3
  10. “Do not be overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good.” Rom. 12:21
  11. “Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” 1 Tim. 6:12
  12. “,,,On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Matt. 16:18
  13. “But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” Is. 40:31
  14. “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?” Rom. 8:31
  15. “You are tempted in the same way all other human beings are. God is faithful. He will not let you be tempted any more than you can take. But when you are tempted, God will give you a way out. Then you will be able to deal with it. I Cor. 10:13.
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Stop Asking and Only Believe!


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Trust in the Lord with all your heart; and lean not unto
your own understanding. In all your ways
acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths
(Prov. 3:5)

Life can be puzzling and there are times when we are faced with the uncertain. These are times when we must trust that God has multiple ways of blessing us! He wants us to put it all in his hands! If we trust Him and give Him the glory, He will take the one or two options that we have and turn them into ten, or twenty — whatever He needs in order to bless us!

We often ask how, or when, or where. But, if we trust God, He will answer the questions and bring our blessings to pass! We ought to say, “Lord I don’t know how, or when, or where, but I believe you to bring it to pass, in Jesus’ name!”

Trust God and watch Him move!

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Tis the Season for Forgiving!


Then said Jesus, Father, forgive
them; for they know not what they do.
And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.
(Luke 23:34)

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Does the holidays have you stressed out because you don’t seem to have much to give?  Why don’t you give someone a wonderful gift this holiday season that may be valued more than money? Give forgiveness! This great gift that you have can, no doubt, bring joy to some troubled soul today. You may very well have the power to release someone of past offenses done to you or levelled at you. Release them and in turn, release yourself. You may find it to be the best gift you ever gave.

It is true that some people don’t accept gifts to well, but still give it in the spirit that Christ would (St. John 1:11). All of us have given quality gifts we thought people would like only to find it didn’t suit them, and that’s okay…but, give anyway!

There has never been a better time when Christmas and Easter come together so beautifully. We celebrate both Christ’s birth and resurrection as well as reflect on His death. His birth is a season for giving. His death is a time we reflect on Him giving himself for those who humiliated and wronged Him. They planned and schemed. They lied in wait for Him and finally, beat and put Him to death. Here is a quote from Luke 23;34, “Father forgive them; for they know not what they do.” In His humility, Christ was a VICTIM who became the world’s greatest OVERCOMER (Phil. 2:8-9)! He gave to those who hurt Him the most. His example is the true spirit of giving this holiday season!

Why don’t you, by the Spirit of the Lord, call someone and tell them you are sorry for what happened in the past and ask for forgiveness or maybe you need to tell them you forgive them. These make great gifts this time of year!

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An Imitation of Love!


Little children, we must stop expressing love merely by our words
and manner of speech; we must love also in action and in truth. 
(1 John 3:18)

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There is a movie titled: “The Imitation of Life”, that could have easily been named the Imitation of Love. The two main actors are a single black mother and her fair-skinned daughter, who conveniently passed as white. The daughter had struggles loving her mother because she wanted to “fit in” with white America during the 1950’s. The mother pursued the daughter with unconditional love. The daughter (suffering her own struggles with her skin color) rejected her mother’s love. She finally realized the depths of her love for her mother at the time of her mother’s death — which was too late. (This was a tragic story!) The movie should be seen by all people who have issues loving anyone because of internal and external pressures.

In many ways there are struggles we face with those who are considered different than who we have defined ourselves as. Many only want those type of people in their world. The church also struggles with loving certain members who are in the body. We all know that love can be expressed by words, but “I love you” means nothing if there are no actions that back up mere words. Take a moment and ask yourself how would you define love? What does it look like? Is it a nice feeling you have for someone and they, in-turn, have for you? How would you define it? Let’s go back to I Corinthians, chapter 13 and revisit the “love” chapter and see what love really is. Here is a good biblical definition of love, as well: For God so LOVED the world that He GAVE his only begotten son. The verse clearly suggests that love is a sacrifice. Forms of intense giving are expressions of love. Love means little to others if our flowery words are simply poured out on them. We must be careful because there is an imitation of love. It looks like love, and it often masquerades as love, but it can have its root in selfishness and indifference. True love cannot be imitated with just words of expressions.

God — help us to love — not just with words, but also in deeds! Amen!

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A Memorial. Your Memorial?


The Red Sea
When your children ask you, ‘What are these
stones to you?’ you’ll say, ‘The flow of the
Jordan was stopped in front of the Chest
of the Covenant of God as it crossed the
Jordan—stopped in its tracks. These stones are
a permanent memorial for the People of Israel.’”
(Joshua 4:6-7)

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The following is the thoughts of this author’s mental picture of Israel’s Red Sea deliverance based on the Bible along with comments about our memorial:

The Egyptian army pursued the children of Israel into the massive sea bed! Their purpose was to enslave them again or possibly kill scores of them there in a mass grave. God looked at this scene and overthrew Pharaoh’s great army of 600 elite chariots of soldiers, along with all of his other superior fighters on chariots. The one angel of God stood between the fleeing Israelites and the insane Egyptians. At one point…the Egyptian armies were thrown into confusion as a result of God’s presence. He caused their chariot wheels to bog down in miry surfaces of the sea as they retreated…finally realizing God was fighting for His people! Moses stretched his hand out over the sea and the raging sea collapsed over the escaping Egyptians, killing them all! The Israelites meanwhile, continued journeying the opposite route with a corridor of waters (mounted on their left and right) ushering them to the shore on the other side! After safely coming to the land, the Israelites saw the dead bodies of the Egyptians that were washed ashore!

Oh…the praises that must have erupted at one of the greatest deliverances recorded in history! The children of Israel’s praises were encapsulated in the following words from their song!: Exodus, chapter 15 – click here.

After coming forth from the bowels of the Jordan sea, the children of Israel were commanded to set up 12 massive stones (near Jordan’s banks) as a perpetual memorial and to remind future generations of the power of God’s deliverance. These succeeding generations would see the stones and ask what was their purpose. Thus, the traditions of the elders was verbally passed down as generation after generation came to realized the realness of Israel’s mighty God!

Your Memorial?

You should have a memorial…how our great God has delivered you from what would otherwise have been humanly impossible to be delivered from! This memorial should be a place in one’s heart and mind of the power of God. It is a memorial of the past that gives hope for the future!

Never forget where God has brought you from? How He has placed people in your life to change you for the better? Remember your elders and your instructors, those who made a difference during your seasons of unrest. Don’t forget men and women who have helped you. Be thankful!

God has lovingly held back and made many restrictions in our lives! He has also set us free from all kinds of bondages! Like the children of Israel, let’s stop and give memory to the wisdom of a loving God. Israel saw the death of the Egyptians and yet were delivered from death. Look around you and you too will witness violent and premature deaths, as well. But God has spared our lives another day, and so, every new day should be a memorial of the past day. Give thanks and be thankful for these types of memorials are good things!

 

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