Category Archives: Spiritual Warfare

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The ‘Worship’ Cocktail

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worshipPREFACE: In an earlier in post, I determined to share about different areas and seasons in our life that often need holy intoxication. When we allow ourselves to become inebriated with God’s Word and fully embrace it, we experience divine liberation.

I just read about a church in Atlanta, Georgia that is adding skimpily clad aerialists as part of their Sunday morning worship. Don’t bother checking Snopes, it’s true.

Satan is one smart cookie. In this last decade, his deceptive powers have increased a hundredfold. He knows the return of Christ is imminent. His purpose is to use current trend antics to erode the foundation of salvation with distractions that turn church services into a masquerade of worship.

Nowhere in scripture do I find Jesus using strobe lights, bump and grind music and digital sideshows to proclaim the gospel. But, it’s happening every day in churches worldwide. In an effort to draw in the masses, churches are resorting to making worship service a (all-in-the-name of Jesus) three ring circus act.

The applause that follows isn’t in tribute to our Lord; it’s a tribute to the entertainment provided by the master of ceremonies: Satan.

The Master said:
“These people make a big show of saying the right thing, but their hearts aren’t in it. Because they act like they’re worshiping me but don’t mean it, I’m going to step in and shock them awake, astonish them, stand them on their ears. The wise ones who had it all figured out will be exposed as fools. The smart people who thought they knew everything will turn out to know nothing.” Isiah 29:13

Christians, OPEN YOUR EYES to the cunning and deceptive methods Satan is using on the stages of today’s churches. It’s a debauchery to Jesus. The pastor at the Georgia church cites that God gifts us with talents and they should be used to praise and worship God. That is true, but not all talents are appropriate to showcase at a church service.

I just don’t see a silk rope draped around a scantily dressed woman, or a shirtless man in tight fitting stretch pants, as a ministry based talent. I know a talented tattoo artist…you see where I am going with this.

If is entertainment based and doesn’t incite heart-felt contemplation about the condition of our heart and need for salvation, it is deceptive and just plain WRONG.

This scripture sum up God’s idea of true worship before Him:

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:1-2  

There is a growing trend to make worship services entertainment based. Our focus of praising God for His mercy, forgiveness and redemption of our sin in an expression of reverence and thanksgiving to Him are lost in theatrics.

And then, there is the Beyonce Mass at a California church where hundreds gathered to worship God while listening to her songs.  Go ahead, shoot your arrows at me, but this is massnothing more than a Satan-ordained crusade to dilute the Gospel of Jesus and masquerade a pop star as an idol of God-ordained worship.

People of God, this is not of God. Let me put it another way: STOP embracing these popularized trends as a way to point generation X,Y and Z to Jesus.

The complacency within so many churches is grievous. Maybe it’s time to turn off all the microphones and silence the instruments and let God hear our imperfect voices lifted in praise to Him.

“Be still, and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world.” Psalms 46:10

Much to our chagrin, God doesn’t need us or our praise and worship. He doesn’t proof in worship of our talents and showmanship. Kick your pride to the sidelines. What God desires is a “eyes wide open” approach to worship.

Today’s Prayer:

Father God, cast out any ‘thinking outside the box’ views that are not in agreement with scripture. Remind me that the simple message of your grace and salvation doesn’t require theatrical displays or backdrops.

Open my eyes spiritual eyes to see that Satan stands ready to disguise the gospel of Christ with current trend antics that redirect focus from the life-saving power of the cross and the blood shed for our salvation.

Fine-tune my worship of you to align with God’s Word. Let your spirit reveal worship that is counterfeit and manufactured by the great deceiver, Satan.

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TWEETS FROM SATAN

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evil-twitter-bird-with-hornsI am not a person prone to depression, but this morning heaviness filled my heart. Loneliness and teary outbursts befriended me as the enemy taunted me with my shortcomings, failures and flaws. What was going on?

I had just experienced a weekend of spiritual renewal that left me feeling empowered to take bold risks in my Christian walk of faith. The movie ‘War Room’ further inspired me to make a greater commitment to my prayer time and the study of God’s Word.

My fiery aspirations were quickly dampened as the enemy began to infiltrate my thoughts with relentless tweets that focused on my inadequacies.

“Why would Jesus love or use someone like you.”
“You think you are helping people through your devotionals but no one reads them.”
“Don’t you know God gave up on you long ago? He isn’t listening anymore.”
“Do you really believe God has a calling on your life at this age? “

And then, Father God began to stir the embers of my downtrodden spirit. Flames of faith reached upward as He stoked the fire. When I called out to Jesus, my darkness was turned to joy. God’s altar of grace burns continuously and the enemy cannot extinguish it.

Our sacrifices of praise, the blood of Christ, God’s Word and prayers of believers will keep the fire burning until God’s appointed time.
As the spiritual veil of darkness lifted, the Holy Spirit directed my thoughts to this scripture:

“The fire must be kept burning on the altar continuously; it must not go out.”
Leviticus 6:13 (NIV)

I don’t know about you, but I sense an urgency to keep the fire burning continuously as we witness believers being mocked, persecuted and tortured daily for their faith in Jesus. Truly we are living in the end times where ungodliness is embraced by those in high places, acts of perverseness have no shock value and homage is paid to man’s ego and fame.

“But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.”
II Timothy 3:1-5 (NIV)

I encourage Christians everywhere to keep the fire burning upon the altar of God. We are at war against the enemy of this world, Satan and there is no middle ground in this battle. You are either for God, or against Him. Who is your master?

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COLORFUL PRAYERS

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IMG_3640There is so much going on in the world and with all the fast and furious news coverage, it can all be draining to the spirit. When the demonic savagery of this Godless world seeks to destroy my hope, I create something and I tend to hum quite obsessively in the process.

My soul is soothed as my hands and mind work in unison to create and re-purpose objects abandoned and deemed unworthy by others. As I work and hum, the light of my Savior’s hope and promises overpower the shadows of darkness this world casts upon me.

Today, as I paint and refurbish a piece of outcast furniture into a beautiful princess chair for my granddaughter, I will replace my obsessive humming with colorful prayers. The princess chair has six different colors and I will lift a prayer before the Throne of God for every color used.

Colorful Pryaers

  • Bright Pink:
    The Haiti Mission trip sponsored by The Rock Church in Fenton
  • White:
    There are plenty of white areas which allow ample prayer time for friends, family and community.
  • Turquoise:
    Our President, congress and senate
  • Apple Green:
    Our US troops and law enforcement officers
  • Light Pink:
    Friends and family of friends battling cancer
  • Silver:
    Praise and thanks for the mercies of God and the salvation gifted to the world through the death and resurrection of Jesus.

If you think you don’t have time to pray, think again. There are so many idle moments that fill our day; opportunities to speak our heart before God even if it’s just an inaudible or whispered prayer. Heartfelt colorful prayers are God’s specialty.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Philippians 4:6

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WT* IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE

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We are horrified and shocked by the beheading, crucifixions, executions and torture in the Middle East. It’s time we sit at the feet of our crucified Lord and intercede for the future of mankind.

Here is a recent post by Chicks on the Right about the beheading of James Foley to which I would like to reply. It’s a rather long post but I had much to say. You may not agree with my point of view and that’s OK. It’s my point of view and isn’t up for debate. If your point of view is in opposition to mine, write about it on your own blog.

WT* IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE! (Yes, it’s a strong language title, but worthy to this post.)

We have taken God out of everything and in doing so given an open invitation for the Prince of Darkness to become a ruling power on Earth. If there was ever a time to believe in Jesus, the Son of God, the Redeemer of this world, it is now.

“How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! There will be great distress in the land and wrath against this people. They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.” Luke 21:23-24
“And you will be objects of universal hatred because you are called by my name; but he who holds out to the End–he will be saved.” Matthew 10:22

I think we can all agree that the United States is faced with universal hatred and people are falling by the sword all around us. Wake up America, the Prince of Darkness is waging a battle for your soul; for our nation. Even if you don’t believe in God’s prophetic Word, Satan does. He knows the return of Jesus is very near and he roams the earth like a wild lion to claim souls for eternal destruction.

Whose side are you on? As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord!

The beheading of James Foley was a sickening and gruesome display of the pure evil of satanic forces that can inhabit the souls of mankind. In the simplest terms, I liken it to the good guy/bad guy war games played by my grandkids. There are the only two options. You either stand with God or with the enemy; there is no middle ground in spiritual warfare. The dividing line is made clear by scripture; you either believe Jesus died on the cross to redeem you from sin and accept His salvation, or you don’t. But Christians aren’t beheading, mutilating and killing people that do not believe in Jesus, the Son of God.

Muslin extremists don’t care if you are a Christian, atheist, Buddhist, Scientologist or any other known religion of the world. They have only one mission and that is for mankind to worship and submit to the laws of Allah. The words spoken by the executioner in the video of James Foley clearly stated that this execution was done on behalf of ALL Muslims, not just extremists.

The ISIS conversion fear campaign has become more widespread and now includes grotesque killings, mutilations, rape, crucifixions and living burials in the name of Allah. There are peace-loving Muslims living in my community, but as ISIS more aggressively infiltrates the Western World, and they will, that could change how we perceive Muslims within our communities.

If an extremist confronts my muslin neighbor with a sword and is told to kill a Christian or die, I’m fairly certain it would be my head on the chopping block. Think it will never come to that? Think again. Look no further than the mayhem in Ferguson to understand how quick a mob can increase in numbers when they believe they have a justified cause.

The catalytic reaction to exterminate Christians has been set in place; the only thing missing is the base and I believe muslin extremists are the base. Through fear tactics they will begin to fuel the acceptance of a ‘New World Order under Allah’; all in the name of worldwide peace, of course.

So to those who say the GOP should salute Obama’s handling of Iraq, I say this:
Obama is subject to God’s prophetic Word and it is Jehovah who will ultimately determine the outcome of the current situation in Iraq. I rest in the assurance that God is in control and the President and all other government officials are pawns on God’s playing board.

It is time for Christians in the Western world to cry out to in prayer on behalf of our country and also those Christians being persecuted for their faith. No one understands persecution, torture and death more than Jesus. If you are not sure how to prayer for our nation and the world situation, I offer this prayer:

And God said:
“If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14)

Almighty and Eternal Father, we thank you for the inspiration and courage you gave to the founding fathers of our nation to establish a land where your principles and laws would guide us. You have provided for this nation mightily with every good thing but we have squandered your gifts and turned away from your laws and principles. Forgive us Lord. We acknowledge we have sinned against you and one another in every conceivable way.  We deserve your just punishment but plead for your mercy. (Nehemiah1: 4-11)

Grant us, the people of our nation, the grace to turn from our sins and return to you that we might be healed.  We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, your Son and our Savior.
Amen

God is faithful to His Word and shall accomplish that which He has spoken.
(Isaiah 55:11)

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HOW TO OUTSMART A SQUIRREL

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peskysquirrelI jumped from my chair as I heard something crash to the ground outside my office window. My eyes followed a long strand of twine being dragged across the deck by a small squirrel. He had gnawed through the twine that held my wine bottle vases in place along the upper deck rails. The crashing sound was the bottle as it hit the concrete below.

I shouted out, “Get out of here and don’t you even think about coming back!” The critter scurried off and I resumed my office work. It wasn’t long before I heard another bottle drop from the deck and then another.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I muttered under my breath. This squirrel was on a mission of destruction and my decoupage wine vases were like soldiers under attack. I had spent countless hours decorating these bottles and this squirrel was showing total disrespect; and for what, a piece of gnarly twine?

The pesky little squirrel had declared war and I was not to be defeated. As he proudly perched next to his latest victory our eyes locked. “You are going down,” I said. With a ball of wadded twine in his mouth he made unidentifiable vocal noises and ran in a westward direction.

Squirrel was making a very comfortable, luxurious and rent free condo at my expense. A building permit or squatter rights had never been granted. This infringement had to be stopped and I had a hot game plan to make it happen.

I mixed my hot pepper concoction on the stove and put it into a spray bottle. “Taste this, you little squatter,” I said as I sprayed the twine with the fiery jalapeno mixture. Did it work? You bet. Squirrel discovered a whole new meaning to the term squatter rights.

You might be wondering what all this has to do with a devotional blog; let me share.

Every day our enemy, Satan, is on a mission to seek and destroy our life. He continually gnaws on the very thing that secures us to God; our faith and he makes every effort to claim squatter rights to our soul. He is determined to break the ties that bind us to God’s grace and finds great pleasure when we fall.

When the enemy starts to gnaws at your life, take action and apply God’s fiery concoction of His Holy Spirit peppered with the Word of God. Satan is defeated when you apply God’s Word to your heart and mind.

As for the pesky little squirrel, I haven’t seen him since he tasted my fiery concoction. I guess he decided to not come back for seconds.

“In your loving kindness scatter my enemies, and destroy all those that afflict my soul; for I am your servant.” Psalms 143:12

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THE DANCING DONUT BOX

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“Holy Shenickies, what the heck is going on”, I shouted as I walked into the kitchen. Everyone ran to see what the commotion was all about. They all stopped dead in their tracks as they watched the do-nut box dance across the counter and fall to the floor.

The box of partially eaten donuts had been left on the counter the night before with intentions of discarding the contents the following morning. We watched in disbelief as hundreds of black carpenter ants scurried across the kitchen floor. I have never seen anything like it to this day and pray I never experience an encore.

That chilling episode exposed a hidden enemy hibernating in the foundation of my home. The do-nut box with all its sweetness only served to draw out the army of ants silently destroying the wooden shell that supported the structure of my home. The dancing do-nut box had exposed the truth that would have eventually brought destruction.

We all face dancing do-nut boxes in our lifetime. They are filled with sugar-coated sweetness that attracts all kinds of predators who seek to destroy us. It may all appear good on the surface, but when we open the box, we discover the enemy that lies in wait; an enemy who seeks to devour our soul.

“Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” James 4:7 (NIV)

Like the ants in the do-nut box, our enemy, Satan, scatters in every direction when we open the cover of God’s Word. In truth it exposes the deception inside the dancing do-nut box moments of our life.

When was the last time you opened the cover to your Bible?

 

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LIFE AS A LEGO

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lifeAsALego2My ten-year old grandson sat next to me at the computer screen. We were on a Google search to find compatible body parts for his many Lego characters who had suffered serious war injuries. Some were missing heads; others had lost a limb or two, and still others had misplaced their weapons of defense. To find replacement parts wasn’t an easy task. Each Lego character was unique to my grandson (they looked the same to me) and just any arm, head or weapon wouldn’t do. He wanted every part to fit together perfectly so that the Lego warriors could be restored to their original state.

After several hours of online searching, my grandson and I admitted defeat. We couldn’t find the parts needed to resurrect the warriors, civilians and war orphans of his ongoing Lego battles. It was time to give the wounded Lego characters a decent burial. We coffined them in a plastic tub, sealed the lid and saluted them farewell as we lowered them into their crypt; the garbage dumpster.

As we left the burial site I turned to my grandson and said,

“I wouldn’t want to live my life as a Lego.” “What do you mean NeeNee?”  “It’s too easy to lose body parts,” I replied. “And you know what else, NeeNee?  I think a lot of those parts are sucked up by the vacuum.”

Legos tend to lose various parts, critical battle accessories and connector pieces that allow them to network with others Legos.

You can’t fight a battle if you lose your sword; you can’t put together a battle plan if you are headless. When Lego characters engage in warfare every interchangeable part is needed for a victorious battle plan. We are no different. God created us to fit together to fulfill his ultimate plan for mankind.

“He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow…” Ephesians 4:16

Unlike my search for Lego parts, my creator owns a heavenly warehouse stocked with a never-ending supply of parts that can resurrect, restore and replace any broken or missing piece.

When life’s battles undermine our ability to reason and we find ourselves without weapons, our Redeemer, Jesus, rushes to our aid. We only need to Google heaven with our prayer request and God will send the parts needed to repair and connect our broken pieces.

Are you missing vital parts as you engage in spiritual warfare? Sign on to heaven. The password is JESUS. Type in your request and let God search for the perfect part needed for victory.