Once upon a time, a man named Goliath was sent to intimidate an army. This giant of a man and all others who rallied behind him occupied land, but what crept into their hearts? All these soldiers were born into a keenly crafted culture of hate. The leader of this land had been persuaded that what he possessed was not enough. Evil brewed in his heart as he looked out into the desert. His jealous envy turned into hate, then murder. Today we hear the same war cry “Death to the Jews!” What possesses those who chant another horrific genocide?
2 Cor 10:4 “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds.” To pull down the evil habits of programmed thinking, and to cancel Satan’s grip, we must choose words of FAITH. Like David, we BELIEVE our God is Mighty to save. Choose to TRUST your God given authority in the blood of Christ. Ephesians chapter 6. Put on your armor and do NOT take it off.
Why does our Father instruct “Capture every thought?” Examine the thoughts that result from tuning into the prince of the air. Capture and cancel each thought that was based on condemnation or envy. Do your thoughts intend to encourage or slander? Love, forgive or hate? Our unspoken words of pride, envy, or hate are what defile us. Therefore, we choose to come clean and humbly repent.
What kingdom does hate serve? God or Satan? This is a spiritual war, and the end is recounted in the book of Revelation. Our enemy provokes us to be jealous, to be bitter and resent others to the point of murder. People first get offended, and then they defend their indignation against God, others and our Father’s way.
Dear Heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus, we give You permission to examine our hearts for any buried resentment, unforgiveness, envy, anger, self-pity, self-condemnation or bitterness. As the Spirit brings to mind ANYTHING that does not represent God’s kingdom thinking, we agree today to pray through those memories with forgiveness and personal repentance. We purpose and choose to set aside this time to honor God and we ask that the Holy Spirit be in charge of our time in prayer. In the name of Jesus, we bind all evil, tormenting spirits and command them to NOT interfere. AMEN
Denial keeps us from seeing envy, so we study our Enemy to help us avoid his traps. Satan accuses us, he tempts us; he distracts us from every side to confuse us, and destroy our faith in God’s finished work on the cross. Our enemy is crafty and the battlefield is complex at times. It is important that we surrender to the Holy Spirit so we can rightly discern and decide NOT to succumb to the pressure and emotions that are not of God. TRUTH is we must: “die to our flesh daily”. All it takes is one second to get offended, bitter, angry, or envious. This gets us into resentment; comparison, doubt, and fear…and we allow our ENEMY to takeover territory in our hearts and minds!
He seeks to kill and destroy our faith in God. A sly devil distracts us with the temptation to justify our feelings. We are to HATE THE DEVIL and love the people. Our Father always meets us when we invite the Holy Spirit to speak to our hearts. He inhabits our praises and yearns for us to seek Him. He gave us ears to hear what the Spirit is saying. God gave us eyes to LOOK, to WATCH and to SEE what God is doing.
Choose this day who you will serve. Resist the devil and he will flee. Use your authority to cancel evil’s plot. Since the beginning, our Father keeps His eye on you. Trust Him, ask for wisdom. Choose NOT to perish for lack of knowledge. Understand the Enemy and stand!
Ephesians 6:7 “Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people, because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do, whether they are slave or free….Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 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.” Think on these things; whatever is true, lovely and praiseworthy. His plan.
A wide road leads us into eternal damnation. The Old Gate
Living Abroad 
Being obedient requires that we speak the truth in love, which means we must be salt and light. Out of love, we tell the hard truth about dying to self, to serve God. To suffer for Christ’s sake, we will NOT be liked by all. We care about His will being done through us, on earth as it in heaven. Jesus said hard things, lost followers, was hated, agonized for hours, bleeding …for us. In his hometown those convinced they were not prisoners of sin, sought to throw the Savior of the world off a cliff. Today we celebrate our freedom to speak the name of Jesus. In the near future, that freedom will also be removed. Eternity awaits, our rewards for speaking truth will be amazing. Consider His reputation NOT self. Love Him, and represent Him well by using your contribution to the body of Christ. Do not compare yourself to others, compare yourself to Jesus. Work for His glory, not yours. AMEN
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Today science, new technology and humanism has threatened this generations faith in God. BUT GOD, and His living and active Word is a word for every generation. The gospel is God’s answer to all that is corrupt. By His grace we all adapt to that which is new, but we hold fast to that which is timeless. Like a rock, we stand firm. “Unless the Lord builds the house, those that labour build it in vain.” Psalm 127:1
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Amen this is our mission: “Our business in this world is to conquer it for Jesus. We are not to make compromises but to exterminate evils. We are not to seek popularity but to wage unceasing war with iniquity. Infidelity, poverty, drink, impurity, oppression, hate, envy, worldliness. These are all to be put out of us.” CH Spurgeon
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