 Do you realize that we are at war? The Apostle Paul tells us in Ephesians 6 that we do not struggle against flesh and blood, but against rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in heavenly realms. This is a real war that takes place every day, even though you don't see it with your natural eyes.
Paul instructs us to suit up each day in the armor of GOD to defend ourselves against these evil attacks from the enemy. GOD's armor is the best defense we could possibly have. We need to put on the helmet of salvation, the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of peace, and the shield of faith. However, it's much better to be in an offensive position, rather than a defensive one. So, how do we do that? How do we take the offense when we are battling against the devil and his demonic forces? You take the Sword of the Spirit and start wielding it! Put the Word of GOD in your heart and start speaking it out of your mouth. Live in the scriptures and hide GOD's Word in your heart. Then, put your trust and faith into His Word and stand on His Word. Believe in GOD and what He says. Then the Word of GOD is the Word of Faith. Faith comes by hearing and hearing the Word of GOD! So start speaking the Word of GOD out loud and by faith, stand on GOD's promises. This makes GOD's Word prophetic. When the Word of GOD and the prophetic come together, this allows you to grip the Sword of the Spirit and fight with it! The Word of Faith moves your heavenly army into action to fight satan and his demonic strongholds. When you speak GOD's Words out loud, you are activating your faith and releasing the host of heaven to act on your behalf. As a Child of GOD, we have the authority to command the host of heaven, just as GOD does! This is the double-edge sword that Paul tells us about in Hebrews. (For the word of GOD is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. - Hebrews 4: 12) So, start walking around and declaring and decreeing GOD's Word. People may think you are crazy, but so what? It's a great opportunity to share with them the good news of Jesus Christ! There is nothing satan or any of his demons can do to you when you stand on the Word of GOD - when you believe it, have faith in it and speak it aloud. No matter what happens in this world, always have some Bible verses in your mind and stand on them. I personally stand on Psalm 91. I read it out loud over my household every morning. We dwell in the secret place of the Most High and abide under the shadow of the Almighty. The Lord is our refuge and our fortress, our GOD, in Him do we trust. He covers us with His feathers and under His wings we find refuge. He saves us from the snare of the fowler and from the noisome pestilence. A thousand may fall at my side and ten thousand at my right hand, but it will not come near me. Read all of Psalm 91 here. To take it to the next level. add in the communion elements when you declare His victorious Words. There is nothing more powerful than the body and blood of Jesus! By doing this, you are swinging the Sword of the Spirit! Stand on the Word of GOD - have abundant faith and speak His words out of your mouth. This is how you fight with the Sword of the Spirit. GOD needs us to declare verbally what He wants to do-speak out loud what the Holy Spirit wants to do. The world was not "thought" into existence by GOD, it was framed by the Word of GOD. It was spoken into existence! Words are powerful things, most especially GOD's Words! When we come into agreement with GOD and speak out loud what GOD wants, we release His Spirit into the earth. When we loose the GODhead into the earth, there is nothing that can't be accomplished by His power. So be on the offensive and start welding GOD's Word -- His fighting Words today. (As a side note, perfect love casts out all fear. Jesus is that perfect love! There is no fear in love. Faith works by love and love destroys fear.)
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 Many people think that having the Lord in their lives means having to live by all these strict rules and regulations, but that is simply not true. Having the Lord in your life actually gives you freedom!
If you are not free, you are bound. And, most of us think about being chained up when we think of being bound. Isn't that a horrible thought? To be bound in chains? When we live our lives in sin, we are living our lives bound in chains. Sin is what binds us. So, what is true freedom? The Bible tells us in 2 Corinthians 3:17, "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." So, true freedom only comes from the Lord. The Bible also tells us in John 8:36, "So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." So, when you ask GOD into your heart and become a Christian, you are set free! We are joining ourselves with GOD, we are binding to Him, rather than to our sinful nature. Being "chained" to GOD is actually what sets you free! It's ironic, isn't it? Once you start spending time with our Father, you will see what a truly good and perfect Father He is. Keeping his laws becomes a by-product of simply wanting to spend time with Him, learn more about Him and His ways, and be like Him. And, once you understand His basic rules and apply them to your life, you are set free. You are set free from sin! Of course, this doesn't just happen overnight. And, we will never truly be completely free from our sins until we go to heaven. However, once you become saved, you are now on the right path to doing away with sinful things. It takes time, and that's ok! When the Apostle Paul talks about going from glory to glory (see 2 Corinthians 3:18), he is telling us that being a Christian is a journey. It is something we grow into and learn more about as time passes. We grow each day by spending time with the Lord. As we do this, our knowledge grows and in turn, how we live and act starts to change. We become more and more like GOD as time passes. Hence, we go from glory to glory.  From a Mustard Seed to a Mighty Tree The Bible tells us that faith is a gift from GOD. ( See Ephesians 2:8-9) And, as believers, it is vital to have faith in order to grow and become spiritually mature.
Romans 12:3 tells us that every born again Christian is given a measure of faith. I like to think of this "measure of faith" as a seed. As we grow in our walk and relationship with GOD, our faith grows as well. It can start out as small as a mustard seed, but it can and will grow into a gigantic, fruit-bearing tree, if we nurture it properly. So, what exactly is faith? Hebrews 11:1 defines it for us. Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. It is having belief in GOD and His abilities. Faith is our solid foundation and belief in the Lord. And, since we can't directly see GOD with our human eyes, we have to live by faith, not by sight. (See 2 Corinthians 5:7) So, how do we grow our faith? Good question. I grow my faith by remembering my past and all that the Lord has done for me. I think about all the times in my life that were turbulent, troublesome, worrisome, or just plain hard, and how He brought me through each and every one of them. That is always a great faith-filler for me. We need faith to please GOD. (See Hebrews 11:6) So, having faith helps bind us to Him. Plus, faith works by love--GOD's love for us and our love for Him! Faith casts out fear. 1 John 4:18 tells us that there is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. And, GOD is that perfect love! So, in turn, we should have no fear! Our love that we have for GOD casts out fear! How amazing and powerful is that?? We also need faith for our prayers. Our faith-filled prayers are what moves mountains. Faith is the currency of heaven and what heaven responds to. Feed your faith by remembering who GOD is--sovereign, just, righteous, mighty, loving, gracious, and merciful. Feed your faith by remembering who you are in Jesus--saved, blessed, upright, and covered. So, let us rise up in faith! Let us be faith people--not fear people!  Back a long time ago, people took each other for their word, or at their word. If you gave someone your word, it was a commitment that you would do what you said you would do.
Well, GOD's Word, the Bible, is GOD's Word, or commitment to us. I had this little revelation just a few days ago and I had to share it with you. I love to think and know that GOD's Word truly is His Word! The Bible is chock-full of the Lord's assurances for us. There is covenant after covenant in there. These are GOD's Word, His bond, with us. Hallelujah!! Have you ever thought about the fact that the Bible is GOD in written form? Well, it is! And, John 1: 14 tells us that The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. That is Jesus! Isn't this amazing and mind-blowing?? I think it is!! I am so grateful to Papa GOD for these little insights!  Blossoming almond trees in the mountains above Benifato in Spain. Thanks to some amazing Bible teachers, I have learned some pretty cool things lately. And, I thought I would share them with you. So, from time to time I will be posting these "little nuggets" as I am calling them. I hope you enjoy!
 Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, came to this earth to give us a relationship with Him and GOD the Father and Holy Spirit. He did NOT come to give us religion.
I have heard from multiple sources recently that we all need to take the Bible, GOD's Word, more literally. And, looking at words much more carefully and closely. With that in mind, I wanted to look at the word "religion" today. Then, I would like to compare it to "relationship". When you look at religion, what do you see? It's re-legion. Yes, it is written a little differently, but it is the same thing. And, guess what? Legion is many demons! In Mark 5;9, we read, "Then Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" "My name is Legion," he replied, "for we are many." In Luke 8:30 we read, "Jesus asked him, "what is your name?" "Legion," he replied, because many demons had gone into him. It tells us, plain and simple, Legion is many demonic spirits. Re-legion or religion is the demonic-infiltrated duplicate that lucifer has created to replace our relationship with GOD. Lucifer always creates a counterfeit for everything GOD has created. Actually, lucifer can't create at all. That is part of the reason he is so angry. Lucifer thinks that if he can replace in us a true relationship with GOD, with religion, and just going through the motions of outwardly being a "Christian" without any true depth or meaning--in other words "relationship" with GOD, that he has won by taking another person down the wrong path. Do NOT let him win! We think if we go to church once a week, we are being religious and doing good. We think that if we repeat some prayers we were taught in Sunday school, we are doing good and being religious. And, while I certainly don't condemn going to church and praying, in fact, I encourage it--but doing those things don't necessarily do anything for us in and of themselves. The key in doing these things is to have a real and authentic RELATIONSHIP with Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Being in an authentic relationship with someone means spending good, quality with them. This is true of your spouse or friends you care about, and it is most certainly true of being in relationship with GOD. And, guess what? Lucifer does not want you to learn about GOD and how much HE loves and cares for you, much less be in an honest relationship with HIM. This is why lucifer, satan the devil has replicated this relationship with religion for his own evil purposes. It is much the same as he has mirrored a political spirit in opposition to government. (Religion is to relationship as politics is to government. But, that is another topic for another day.) I hope that in reading this little post that you understand a bit better why it is so important to be in a right relationship with the Lord. Don't just be a "religious" person, be someone genuinely loves Jesus Christ and seeks to learn more and more about HIM every day!  I have been reading some powerful books written by Dr. Tim Sheets over the last few months. I just love them and him! I am learning so much about angel, angle armies, and most recently, how our words are seeds.
In his book Planting the Heavens, Dr. Tim teaches us that the words we speak in prayer are like spiritual seeds. In the same way that planting seeds in the ground produces a harvest, you can learn to pray in a way that plants the blessings of Heaven here on Earth. As GOD's children, we have been given His authority here on Earth. We must realize this awesome power and step into it and use it daily! Dr. Tim shows us how! I wanted to share this prayer with you from the book. Speak it out loud. That is the most powerful weapon we have at our disposal--speaking GOD's Word out loud! Decree this prayer: Lord, let Your surge begin on the earth. Let a functioning Kingdom aligned with You begin to move through this world. Come to us in greater manifestations of Your glory. Make Your stand with us as You promised. As kings in His lineage given authority, we declare there will now come a reversal of arteries that are all clogged up. Release thousands and thousands of angels to go into every country, every courthouse, every capital in every nation and rip off the Band-Aids. No more temporary fixes. No more covering it up. Cut it out. Do deep surgery on this nation, O GOD. Release them to help push back darkness so that light can shine. Do what is necessary to remove infection and poison that goes into the muscle of this nation. Shake this nation to its core. Shake it, Lord, to where there is no more covering up. Heal it. Do whatever it takes to heal it. No more Band-Aids. Let Your church awaken. Awaken Your people by the millions to make a stand right now to raise their voice and decree their authority, their faith, and their confidence in You. Cause a historic shift that will be written about in history--the time when You established this nation back to its covenant roots. In the name of our King Jesus, release the angles of Heaven under Holy Spirit anointing and leadership to destroy tactics of Haman in the media or government. Turn it back on them, what is meant for destruction. Hang them in their own vices. Hang them from gallows they meant for Your people. Cut off hell's attack. We forbid it in Jesus' name. We close the door to powers of darkness over Washington, D.C. We close the door to the powers of the demon princes of hell in the name of Jesus. We say that our angle princes that are mightier than you will go in and begin to remove the infection. We declare a reversal of the prescription of hell for this nation. The prescription of Haman for this nation. Expose the lies. Expose the liars. Expose the corruption. Expose the deceit. We declare America will return to You. We will return to our first love. Your people will return to their first love. People, Lord, all around this world will return to their first love. Those who have drifted from You--shake them up, do what- ever it requires. Quit allowing them to put a Band-Aid on the corruption of their heart. Expose attitudes and character. Expose lack of integrity. We declare the greatest days of resurrection power and healing are now being released. We declare a restoration of great hope is being infused in the church of Jesus Christ and into the people of GOD. We declare Your Kingdom is coming and coming and coming. Come with your angel armies and assist Your people in releasing revival in America and throughout the world. We rise to bind demon thrones, principalities, powers, demons of darkness, and spiritual wickedness in high places. You will not rule us. You are forbidden from ruling us. We will not permit it. Greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world. Come down from your iniquitous thrones. Demon princes, come down from your strongholds. Angel armies, attack them! Let the ruling Kingdom of GOD go forth to conquer. We choose to rule and reign. We will not be intimidated by any fear. We will not be intimidated by anyone. We will not be intimidated by Hamans in the media, the government, or anywhere else. We answer only to You, GOD. Strengthen us to be courageous and make our stand. Release Your Kingdom to reorder this nation back to its covenant roots in Jesus' name. |
WELCOMEI am so glad you are here! I am Erica Strickland, a girl who loves God. My goal here is to simply share His love and light. Categories
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