Alignment with God is the key to healing, the key to freedom, and the key to ministering in power through the gifts of the Spirit.  These gifts are treasures entrusted to us by our heavenly Father to be enjoyed and used for the sake of others. Numerous teachings in the New Testament alert us to the principle that we must prove to be faithful stewards of the small things before the Master will entrust larger things to us.  Faithful stewardship implies that we manage what has been entrusted to us in the same way the Master would if he were present.  The best way to insure the alignment between the Master and the steward is for them to have the same values, vision, and goals.

Another way to speak about that alignment is to say that their hearts are aligned.  God delighted in David because he was a “man after God’s own heart.”  David loved the things God loved and hated the things God hated. The greater the Old Testament prophet, the more his heart was aligned with the Father’s.  God used prophets whose hearts were not aligned with his (Jonah for instance) but certainly not in the same ways he used Elijah, Elisha, Ezekiel, Daniel, Moses, etc.  God accomplished earth-shaking things through these men because he was willing to entrust the power and the prophecy of heaven to them.  He did so because their hearts were aligned with his.

Jesus said a great deal about the heart. Just a few quotes are:

Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God.  (Matt. 5:8).

For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them. (Matt. 13:15)

For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what make a man ‘unclean’; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him ‘unclean.’ (Matt.15:19-20)

 For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.  (Matt. 12:34)

This last scripture is most enlightening.  We all want to believe that our hearts are aligned with God’s heart. When we are in church and while we are hanging out with leaders in our churches we typically guard our words and say all the right things. Our words in those settings reflect the values, the perspectives, and the heart of Jesus.  But what about in other settings?

It’s amazing how often married couples come to me with detailed reports of what has been going on behind closed doors at home. These are usually long-time believers who have been serving faithfully in the church and who are well thought of.  But at home, behind closed doors when their words are not guarded, incredibly hurtful and nearly pornographic language pours out in the midst of their fights.  When it’s over they want to blame each other for making them so angry or they want to play the “I didn’t really mean it” card.  I know that we all say and do things that we regret later, but Jesus challenges us with the idea that our unguarded words reveal things that are in our hearts.  Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. If our hearts are full of love, mercy, compassion, faith, etc., words come out that reflect those qualities-even in unguarded moments.  If our heart is full of pain, resentment, distrust, lust, unbelief, or lies then those qualities show up as well.

The words we speak are interesting, however, because not only do our hearts influence our words but out words influence our hearts. The words we choose to say in every circumstance can train our hearts.  Paul tells us that if we confess with our mouths that Jesus in Lord and believe in our hearts that God raised him from the dead we will be saved. (See Rom.10:9). In the Hebrew mind there is often a causative connection between two things joined by the conjunction “and.”  We recognize the same principle.  For instance, we might say that we went to the beach and got sunburned.  Although those are two different things, the first contributed directly to the second.  With that in mind, confessing with our mouths can deepen the belief in our hearts. In other words, the words we speak come from the heart but words spoken consistently can also train the heart.

In his book, Approaching the Heart of Prophecy, Graham Cooke said something I really liked.  The gift of prophecy under the new covenant is intended to comfort, strengthen and encourage people – always.  However, some with the gift do not always comfort or encourage.  In that context, Cooke says, “In tough situations we must ask God what the need is.  Do we need something? Does the other person need something?  Instead of speaking out the first nasty thing that comes to mind, we must settle into the Spirit of God and speak a word of edification. If we can get into a lifestyle of gracious speaking in our everyday conversations, our prophetic ability will grow in leaps and bounds. The heartbeat of God will become clearer and clearer to us” (page 17).

In other words, when God can trust us to speak comfort, encouragement, and strength to others then he will entrust us with greater gifts to steward because our hearts are aligned with his.  Our words will be evidence of that.  I’m not talking about our public words but our private words.  Those are the real indicators of what is in our hearts.

If we want to receive healing, freedom, ministry, and powerful gifts of the Spirit then we should become students of our own words.  They will point us to areas of brokenness in our hearts, areas where healing is needed, or repentance and will show us where our perspective are skewed.  Then we can submit those issues to the cross and the Spirit for correction.  We must also begin to speak as God would speak in every situation. When we misspeak we shouldn’t excuse it or blame others but learn from it. Relive the moment. Ask the Spirit how he would have had you speak in that situation.  Rehearse that in your mind and ask the Spirit to give you that response next time.  In doing so you will be training your heart while your heart is being healed.

All spiritual gifts are expressions of God’s grace that he wants us to administer to others (See 1 Pet.4:10).  As our hearts and words become more gracious, he can entrust more to us. Even anger doesn’t excuse ungracious words.  Paul told us to be angry and sin not.  Instead, we should remember, “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone” (Col.4:6). This is one more key to freedom and power in the kingdom of God.  Today be blessed and be a blessing to others with your words.

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ.  But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!     As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned! (Gal. 1:6-9).

Occasionally in his New Testament letters, the apostle Paul went “completely Billy Jack” on certain groups who were trying to influence the church. If you aren’t a baby boomer who watched a lot of movies in the 60’s you may have to do some research on that expression.  In his letter to the church at Galatia, Paul runs quickly through a curt greeting and then assaults a group who had come to Galatia soon after Paul had departed.  This was a group who had come to present a “different gospel” from the one Paul had presented.  It was, in fact, so different that Paul judged it to be no gospel at all and declared a curse over those who had brought the teaching.  The curse was for them to be eternally damned. He was so serious about it that he spoke the curse twice.

What in the world would get Paul stirred up so much that if he had been present I’m certain he would have gotten physical with these “teachers?”   In a nutshell, Paul preached a gospel of grace through which salvation comes by faith not by the stringent keeping of laws and rituals through which a man earns his salvation.  Those who came after Paul were Jews who believed that Jesus was the Messiah but that keeping the Law of Moses faithfully was still a condition of salvation.  Their formula would have been “Jesus + good works + faithful obedience to the Law of Moses = salvation.  Pauls’ formula simply read “Jesus + faith = salvation.”  To add more to the gospel condemns man to a slavery under law.  That’s why Paul felt so strongly about it.  As a former Pharisee he knew how spiritually debilitating living under a religious system could be.

For those of us who have never lived under the Law, that might not seem like such a big deal.  After all, aren’t we as Christians supposed to do good works and keep the commandments of Christ anyway?  Yes, but we do those things as a response to the grace of God that gifted salvation to us rather than as a means to earn our salvation. The difference is worlds apart.

Under any system of religious law we are left to earn our salvation on the basis of faithfulness and good works as defined by the religion.  The problem is that you never really know where you stand.  Somehow I lost my catalogue that tells he how many salvation points are required to get into heaven, how much each good work is worth and how much is subtracted from my total score on the basis of sins and bad attitudes. I also have no way of assessing how much faith is enough faith, how much love is enough love, or how much godly sorrow is required before it counts.  Do Wednesday nights count more than Sunday mornings and do I get bonus points if I drove to church on slick roads? I’m also left to wonder if there are penalties and interest that accrue if sins go unrepented for significant periods of time.

In short, a person can never be sure of his or her salvation if we must earn it or merit it somehow. Islam is a great illustration.  Because it is a religion of works and judgment, a Muslim can never know with certainty whether he will be given access to paradise or not – unless he or she dies in defense of Islam.  Suicide bombers then have the only real assurance of salvation but even then entry is not guaranteed but only highly probable.  But the uncertainty is enough to drive many to blow themselves up along with the infidels in order to get a good shot at salvation.

Whenever Satan wants to derail faithful believers in the kingdom of heaven, he simply introduces an element of legalism into the faith.  He introduces a different gospel.  Ask any pastor who does much counseling in his congregation and he will tell you how many believers stumble through life under the weight of guilt from past sins. He will tell you how many still operate under the unspoken assumption that God’s love is conditional and based on their own goodness or religious performance.  They carry a profound sense of unworthiness that steals their faith in the promises of God.  They don’t feel worthy to ask God for big things and if they do they have no real expectation of having their prayers answered because they are too insignificant or sinful for God to say yes to them.

Multitudes of Christians live with the assumption that continued salvation and the promises of God all depend on them – their goodness, their perfection, and their performance. That is a form of legalism that cripples the church.  Notice how that kind of religious system affected the Pharisees.  If you assume that people earn their way to heaven and you know that not everyone gets in, then you must make assumptions about percentages.  Does the 50^th percentile get a passing grade or must you be in the 70^th or 90^th percentile? If only so many get in, then you are not only invested in doing better but you must also be invested in others doing worse.  The result is that you must tout your own righteousness while pointing out every other person’s failings.  In fact, you might even be invested in helping them fail. Jesus often confronted the Pharisees about their self-righteousness, their willingness to throw stones at others, and their willingness to pile religious demands on the multitudes while not lifting a finger to help them meet those demands. Rules and ritual become the test of faith because only those can be measured.

As believers, we don’t have to have a well-developed religious system like the Pharisees to fall prey to legalism.  Satan will simply point out a few attitudes or weaknesses or past sins that he will highlight as the very things that make us unworthy and unacceptable to our Father.  He gets us to focus on our self and our sin rather than the all-encompassing sacrifice of Jesus so that we feel the pressure to be perfect, to deny our own sin, or to blame others for our shortcomings because we are participating in some kind of vague score keeping.  If we don’t blame others we still always feel unqualified to share our faith, walk in the power of the Spirit, lead in our churches, or ask God to do great things using us.

As I have said before, God isn’t hung up on our imperfections, we are and Satan delights in whispering a gospel to us different from the one we first received.  We were saved by grace and continue by grace.  We serve, we make mistakes, we get up, we dust ourselves off and keep going by grace.  God’s mercies are new every morning and so we are able to put yesterday’s mistakes under the blood of Christ every evening and rise the next morning fresh in the Lord.  We are able to rise ready to serve him and love him in better ways today than we did yesterday – not in order to be saved but because we are saved.

Paul said that it is for freedom that Christ has set us free – freedom to live each day new in the Lord and freedom to know that perfection is not a requirement for salvation.  The faith that we have is enough for today and God will give us more for tomorrow.  Our part?  Refuse to accept a different gospel from the enemy or people who don’t know any better because a different gospel is no gospel at all.  Feel free to be imperfect today in Jesus and love him all the more because you can.  Be blessed in Him.

For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints,       I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. (Ephesians 1:15-20)

This is a text that I often go to when ministering freedom and healing to broken and oppressed believers. Most of us continue to live with our brokenness because we don’t truly understand who God is, what he has provided for us, or who we are in Christ.  Through the years you have probably known someone that continued to live in a hurtful, abusive situation year after year. Perhaps they were in an abusive relationship or a job where they were underpaid, overworked and never appreciated.  They clearly hated their situation and it was clear that it was taking a toll on them emotionally, physically, and spiritually.  And yet, they would not take steps to free themselves from the relationship or to seek different employment.

I have visited with a number of individuals in those situations.  Some finally made the break after they became absolutely desperate.   I asked them why they had stayed in those hurtful situations so long when everyone they knew encouraged them to get out.  Inevitably the same reasons always surface.  One reason was fear of the unknown.  As bad as their situation was, they knew what they had and feared having nothing at all if they left the relationship or the job.  Most of us would believe that nothing was better than what they had, but fear that the future might hold something even worse kept them where they were.

Others viewed themselves in such a way that they truly believed they didn’t deserve anything better.  The messages from their past had convinced them that they were worthless, low achievers whom no one would ever love or value.  Their abusers or unappreciative employers reinforced those beliefs so they thought life would never offer more because they didn’t deserve anymore.  So … they stayed.

The third reason was that their mothers or fathers had modeled that life for them by continuing in abusive relationships or staying in dead end jobs with a sense of resignation that the world would offer them nothing more. These abused and oppressed people in some way believed that what they were experiencing was “the norm” because they had watched their parents endure it all the years they were growing up.  In some subconscious way they probably sought out what their parents had modeled because that was familiar.

Our spiritual lives can be the same.  Many believers continue to live with a sense of insignificance, a painfully negative view of themselves, oppressive thoughts, addictions, and general sadness because they believe there are no real alternatives for them or because they simply don’t deserve more in this world.  Some even believe that God has visited their misery on them so that continuing in their pain is a way of “paying for their sins” even though Jesus had already paid for every sin.  Many have simply taken on an identity of pain, rejection, and failure.  They can’t imagine being anything or anyone else and so they stay in that place for decades.

In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul affirms their faith and love and his excitement about their newly found life in Christ. He then lets them know that he has been constantly praying for them and asking God to give them the Spirit of wisdom and revelation. He says that he is praying for the Spirit to give these believers both of those gifts so that they might know God better.

We can come to know God through study, teaching, conversations, etc. to an extent.  But if our faith and understanding of God stay at an intellectual level then God remains a concept more than a person. We tend to know about God rather than knowing God.  Revelation deposits truth in our hearts – in our core being – and that is where profound change and healing occur.  Wisdom is knowing how God perceives people and situations and acting in accord with God’s view of things.  To know how God thinks is a huge step toward knowing God. To know how he feels about people, especially ourselves, is also a huge step toward knowing him.   Paul is really asking God to reveal both his mind and heart to the believers at Ephesus so that they might truly get to know him.  And as they say, “To know him is to love him.”  To know his love for us is also the most healing thing in the universe.

Paul goes on to say that he has asked the Father to enlighten the eyes of their hearts that they might also perceive what they have in Jesus.  In short, Paul declares that they have hope, riches, and power in Jesus.  They have hope because God has a future for them that is full of life and blessing if they will trust him enough to receive it.  They have the riches of heaven available to them if they will receive his promises by faith.  They also have the same power that raised Jesus from the dead and that created the universe working on their behalf. Most of us have read those truths and promises in scripture and would say we believe them.  But for many of us, the belief is an intellectual position rather than something we have “written on our hearts.”

The work of the Spirit is revelation and revelation writes truth on our heart.  When we get the truth in our hearts it changes things.  Believers who stay in their brokenness and oppression don’t know God, who they are in Christ, or the riches that are theirs if they will pursue them.  They hear these truths but haven’t received them in their hearts.  They need revelation.  They need an experience with God, a fresh and personal word from God, or a teaching to explode in their hearts.  They need the Holy Spirit to give them wisdom and understanding to know what God has just done in their lives and to receive it as a gift from him.

I believe that we need to pray Paul’s prayer constantly for ourselves and for those who are struggling in their faith. We desperately need divine wisdom, the revelation of God’s truth, and for the “eyes of our heart” to be opened so that we might fully understand everything that is ours in Jesus as well as the power our Father is willing to wield on our behalf. When we grasp those things we can let go of the present and step into the future. We can exchange the devil’s view of who we are for the Father’s view of who we are. We can lay fear about the unknown aside and trust that God already has it worked out in marvelous ways.

Today I pray that God will give you the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation that you may know him better and that he will open the eyes of your heart so that you may know the hope, the riches, and the power that are yours in Jesus Christ.  I hope you’ll pray the same for me.  Be blessed.

I keep being reminded that our view of God and our view of how God views us (say that three times as fast as you can) is essential to moving in the power of God. To a great extent the power of God in our lives will be expressed through the gifts of the Spirit. The gifts, of course, are given rather than earned.  Many of us fail to receive the gifts we desire because we somehow believe that God does not esteem us enough to entrust those gifts to us.  Many of us still see God as an all-powerful, all-knowing deity who is first and foremost in the judgment business. We cast ourselves in the role of Belshazzar who was told by God that he had been “weighed in the balance and found lacking” (Dan.5:27).

However, judgment is not God’s primary business because judgment is not primary in God’s heart.  When God gave Moses instructions for building the tabernacle he was very specific and he told Moses to make everything exactly according to the plan or blueprint he would be given. Everything in the tabernacle was specifically ordained because the tabernacle was designed to reveal God’s nature to his people.  At the very core of the tabernacle was the Holy of Holies and in that room sat the Ark of the Covenant. Moses was given very specific instructions about the ark.

They shall construct an ark of acacia wood two and a half cubits long, and one and a half cubits wide, and one and a half cubits high. “You shall overlay it with pure gold, inside and out you shall overlay it, and you shall make a gold molding around it. …“You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold, two and a half cubits long and one and a half cubits wide. “You shall make two cherubim of gold, make them of hammered work at the two ends of the mercy seat. “Make one cherub at one end and one cherub at the other end; you shall make the cherubim of one piece with the mercy seat at its two ends. “The cherubim shall have their wings spread upward, covering the mercy seat with their wings and facing one another; the faces of the cherubim are to be turned toward the mercy seat. “You shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the testimony which I will give to you. “There I will meet with you; and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, I will speak to you about all that I will give you in commandment for the sons of Israel. (Ex.25:17-22)

The ark was essentially a wooden box covered with gold in which the tablets of stone that had been given to Moses would be stored and carried as the Hebrews moved from place to place in the wilderness. The Holy Place (the room outside the Holy of Holies) and the Holy of Holies were to represent the throne room of God in heaven and the ark was to represent his throne. In Isaiah 6, we get a vision of God’s throne room in heaven and around the throne the Seraphim are crying “Holy. Holy. Holy.”  If you want an earthly analogy for the seraphim it would be the royal chorus who sing praises in the presence of the king.  Other angelic beings associated with the throne of God are the cherubim.  These angels might be compared to the palace guard.  In the first chapter of Ezekiel the prophet sees a terrible storm coming toward Israel and a vision of God coming in judgment upon the nation.  In chapters 9 and 10 he tells us that the creatures he saw in his vision were the cherubim who were carrying God on his throne, as if it were a war chariot, as he came in judgment in chapter one.  We first discover cherubim guarding the entrance to the Garden of Eden with a flaming sword after Adam and Eve were forced to leave.  Their purpose was to let no sinful man enter the Garden or the presence of God. In the making of the ark, cherubim were to be cast in gold and placed on both ends of the cover of the ark in which the Law of Moses was placed. So far, the image seems ominous.  But between the cherubim, the guardians of God’s holiness, Moses was to construct a mercy seat that was to represent God’s throne.

It would have been easy to assume that God would instruct Moses to construct a judgment seat on top of the ark.  After all, the Law was deposited in the ark and that law would reveal our sinfulness. The cherubim surrounded the throne and they were the guardians of God’s holiness.  And yet, in the midst of that, God’s emphasis was mercy rather than judgment. We discover through those images that the purpose of God constructing the tabernacle was not to sit in judgment on his people but to dispense mercy.  God’s heart for us is always mercy and James, the brother of Jesus, tell us that mercy always triumphs over judgment (See James 2:13).

It’s not that God won’t judge sin or wickedness but it is always his last choice. Even Ezekiel’s vision of impending judgment was to bring a rebellious nation to repentance so that God would not have to judge. Many of us live and view God as if judgment and the rejection that goes with it are always God’s first choice.  The truth is that God is merciful first.  After David’s sin with Bathsheba, he wrote Psalm 51 and began his psalm of repentance by saying, “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love.” David’s view of God was a God who would forgive even adultery and murder because he was first of all merciful and loving.

On the Day of Atonement, the high priest would enter the Holy of Holies and sprinkle blood on the mercy seat.  They symbolism was that the blood covered the Law that was in the ark so that the cherubim guarding the throne could no longer see the Law. Without the law there is no sin and so because the blood of an innocent covered the law, we could enter into the presence of God. Under the Old Covenant only the high priest who represented the people could enter into God’s presence but at the death of Jesus, the veil that separated God from man was torn in two.  The mercy of God triumphed over judgment and we have been given free access to the Father through Jesus.

Such a God does not take account of every failing and measure his blessings out according to our performance. He gives willingly and freely to all who have been declared innocent of sin by the blood of Christ. He rejoices to give his children gifts and especially spiritual gifts for the work of the kingdom.

We are the ones hung up on ours sins – not God.  We are the ones who fail to ask because we keep declaring our unworthiness – not God. We are the ones who run first to judgment, especially to judge ourselves – not God.  God views us through the filter of grace, mercy, and the cleansing blood of his Son.  He gives blessing and gifts from the place of mercy rather than judgment. When we can finally understand in our hearts who our Father is, then we will rejoice to ask and have faith that we will receive. Then we will expect God to grant us gifts of healing, prophecy, wisdom, knowledge, etc. and the church will begin to minister in power. We will expect God to give us those gifts because he rejoices in doing so – even to imperfect people like us.

Remember today that God’s first choice is always mercy.  His last choice is judgment. Expect very good things today from a very good Father and be blessed.

“In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an evil spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice,       “Ha! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!” “Be quiet!” Jesus said sternly. “Come out of him!” Then the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring him. All the people were amazed and said to each other, “What is this teaching? With authority and power he gives orders to evil spirits and they come out!” (Luke 4:34-36).

This account of Jesus ministering deliverance to a person has several common elements with many other “deliverance” accounts in the gospels. First of all, we notice that demons often attend church with those they are oppressing. Most demonic oppression does not entirely control a person but rather influences them. These individuals will function normally most of the time and in most areas of their lives.  They will go to work, go home, play with their kids, have friends, and go to church. However, there will be a small but significant part of their life over which they feel little to no control.

This demonic influence will manifest as moments of rage that are always blamed on other people, hidden pornography addictions, persistent and powerful feelings of rejection, jealousy, bitterness, envy or self-loathing.  They may be experienced as fear, anxiety, or bouts of depression and illness.  Most demonic affliction does not look like the Gadarene demoniac who lived among the tombs, cutting himself and crying out. Most demonic manifestations mimic emotional brokenness and illness that occurs in the natural realm and so we seek treatment from the natural realm. Since there is a spiritual force fueling these issues in a person’s life, therapies offered by the world will not solve the issue.  At best a person may learn to manage his rage, his anxiety, his depression or his addictions but will never feel totally free of them.

Many of us who are afflicted by demons have experienced that affliction so long that we think every human being must be dealing with the same issues and so we try out best to manage our feelings and dark thoughts and believe it is just our lot in life to do so. Our secret hope is that those thoughts and feelings we try so hard to repress will never get out of hand.  However, the enemy wears us down and sets us up and those thoughts and feeling so get out of hand usually with very hurtful consequences.

The second thing we notice in this account that is common to other accounts of deliverance is that demonic spirits know exactly who Jesus is and recognize his authority over them. They often cry out in despair and fear and ask if he is going to destroy them or send them to the Abyss (See Luke 8:31).  I’ve always found it interesting that Jesus didn’t destroy them or send them to the pit of hell but cast them out of a person with the possibility that they would simply go and afflict others.  The primary point however is that demons were subject to the authority of Christ even before the cross.  How much more are they subject now after he has been given all authority in heaven and on earth?  I also know that demons become very uncomfortable in the presence of God. Those who are demonized and make it to church will often feel agitated or fearful in worship or as people pray over them.  They are not feeling their own agitation, fear or even hate but they are experiencing what the demons are feeling.  Unfortunately, there are times and places where the presence of God is hardly evident in church services so that demons will be quite comfortable in those places.  We also know that Satan loves to steal the word of God from a heart before it can take root and so the demonic is often present in church services doing just that. How often are we distracted during worship or a sermon or have random thoughts of envy or lust or judgment toward someone we notice in the crowd or on the platform?  The enemy is stealing the word.

Finally we notice that it requires power and authority to cast out the enemy.  Power is defined as the force with which one can impose his will on another.  When Michael warred against Satan and his angels in the rebellion, Satan and those who had joined him were cast down to the earth.  That demonstrated that the power of heaven is superior to that of hell.  Jesus walked the earth with power and authority over the demonic, disease, and even death.  He had power because the power of heaven backed up his commands. Jesus said that the Father had put more than twelve legions of angels at his disposal (See Mt.26:53). Authority is not power but is what directs power.  When an artillery officer gives the command to fire, his words don’t have the ability to destroy the target but his word’s have authority to direct and release the power that can destroy the enemy. Jesus carried the authority of heaven with him and his commands directed the power of heaven.  It takes both to cast out the enemy, heal the sick. or raise the dead.

In Luke 9:1, we are told that Jesus gave that same power and authority to the twelve. They immediately went out to preach the gospel and as they went they healed and cast out demons. In Luke 10, Jesus sent out seventy-two others with the same power and authority.  The effects were stunning. “The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name!”  My guess is that the first time they healed or cast out a demon they were just as surprised as the crowds were who witnessed it.  We struggle to believe the same thing.  We have no doubts that Jesus can heal or deliver or that heaven is more powerful than hell.  What we struggle to believe is that Jesus has delegated his authority to us and that our commands will actually direct the power of heaven into a certain situation. But Jesus promised that those who believed in him would do even greater things than he did when he walked the earth.

We’re told by the writer of Hebrews, “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word” (Heb.1:3).  Jesus is the exact representation of the Father.  In other words, Jesus re-presents the Father. He does exactly what the Father does in exactly the same ways the Father does it.  We are the body of Christ and his ambassadors on the earth.  We are called to re-present Jesus just as Jesus represents the Father – not just in actions but also in character. Character comes through the Spirit but action comes by faith.  In the context of healing and deliverance, faith believes that Jesus will honor our prayers and commands in his name and back them up with the power of heaven because we act in his authority.  The demons know his authority over them. We are the ones who sometimes doubt it.

If the enemy cannot blind us to the authority of Christ working through his church today, his fallback position is to convince us that only a few select people in the church can command demons.  Then we all wait around hoping one of those guys shows up.  Every believer is an ambassador of Christ and walks in his authority. I believe Jesus sent out the seventy-two so that we would know his authority was not going to be given to just a select circle of men but to all who follow him.  My hope is that we will all walk in that authority today believing that when we pray or command with the authority of Christ, heaven will train its gun on the target we have selected.  Be blessed.

Lies are a great strategy of the enemy to take us out of the game.  It’s simple.  If you hear a lie often enough you come to believe that it is true.  Once you believe that it is true, you will act in ways that seem to confirm the truth of the lie you have believed. Satan is a master at orchestrating such deceptions.

Let me give you a simple illustration.  A young woman is brought up in a home where she experiences a great deal of criticism and rejection.  On occasion she is told that she is worthless and that no one will ever want her.  She stores that lie up in her heart and comes to believe that she is unworthy of love and friendship.  She comes to believe that if anyone ever truly got to know her they would reject her. To avoid inevitable rejection she avoids relationships.   On the first day of school she arrives early and sits in the back where she won’t have to risk much interaction with others students who she believes will reject her just as her parents said. When students come in, she avoids eye contact and appears sullen. If they speak to her she makes little response. Her body language announces that she is not interested in striking up a conversation and so the new students honor her non-verbal sign that cries “Stay Away.”  At the end of the day no one has spoken to her and in some classes no one even sat next to her.  She leaves that day with her belief that she is unlovable and unworthy of friendship reinforced.  The lie she believed about her lack of worth and significance produced behaviors that reinforced the belief.  All she had to do was smile and be friendly to have a totally different experience.

Some lies are planted in our homes behind closed doors while others are planted by our culture through the media and our education system. Several years ago I had a young man whom I had never met come into my office.  I’ll call him Todd (not his name). He was the grown son of some members of the church where I was serving.  He introduced himself and quickly and got to the point.  He simply and bluntly asked me what the Bible had to say about homosexuality.  I read several passages to him from both the Old and New Testaments that clearly stated that a homosexual lifestyle was sin.  He looked devastated as I finished reading the passages.  I asked him why he came in.  He told me his story.  When he was eighteen he went off to college and shared a dorm room with another young man he had never met.  However, they soon became close friends and in their sophomore year left the dorm and shared an apartment.  Todd then told me how emotionally attached they became to one.  It was then than both of them gave into their feelings and began a homosexual relationship.  He felt a great deal of shame about it but couldn’t bring himself to break off the relationship.

As we visited, I asked him if he and his friend had been sexually attracted to one another in the early stages of the relationship.  Todd seemed to be shocked that I had even asked the question.  His answer was revealing.  “No! The thought of it was repulsive but because we felt so strongly about one another we knew we must be gay and so the sex just naturally followed.”  We continued to talk about the possibility that men and women could have deep friendships and emotional bonding without a sexual component to the relationship.  Scripture says that David and Jonathan had such a deep emotional bond that their “souls were knot together.”  Solomon said. “There is a friend who is closer than a brother.”  There is no suggestion that there was any sexual component to these friendships.  They were just best friends.

The cultural lie that Todd had bought into was that love and sex are equivalent.  Somehow we have lost the ability to separate the two – even among friends.  Fifty years ago boys had best friends with whom they shared their deepest fears and greatest hopes. Young girls did the same and even walked around in public places holding hands.  There was nothing sexual about the relationships.  The all grew up, got married, raised children and continued to stay in touch with best friends.  Now the lie is that if you feel emotionally drawn to anyone of the same sex you by definition are gay.  If you are gay then the relationship must become sexual.  That is simply a lie and our media and education system reinforce the lie.

We speak of homosexuality as if it is another gender – male / female / homosexual.  God did not create that category.  He simply made them male and female. I’m not saying that all homosexual relationships are friendships distorted by deception. There are other factors as work in many of those relationships. But I know many are deep friendships that have been redefined and distorted by our culture. Deep same-sex friendships without lust are very biblical and healthy.  Our cultural preoccupation with sex has all but stolen these godly friendships from us.  Those who are caught up in the gay lifestyle are afraid to walk away from it because they fear they are doomed to never have love in their lives.  But love and deep friendship can exist without lust and sex.  Deep emotional connection can occur between friends just as it can with family members.  This cultural lie has cost us on many fronts

Todd was astonished to discover that his relationship with his partner could have remained a “best friends” relationship without sex and without shame.  In that moment he realized that perhaps he wasn’t born with a genetic mandate to be gay. He thanked me for my time and walked out the door.  Two years later I was sitting alone at an airport in L.A. waiting on a connecting flight.  Out of the crowd Todd walked up to me with a young lady next to him.  He introduced me to his wife.  He said she knew everything about his past and that he still had some struggles related to his past  but they were working through all that.

Jesus said, “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” If truth sets us free then lies keep us in bondage.  Satan is the master of lies so we must be masters of truth. Scripture is our foundation and if anything is true, then it is God’s truth – whether it comes by scientific discovery or revelation.  It is all God’s truth and will not contradict God’s word.  Whether a lie is planted in our hearts by hurtful families or by cultural propaganda, it blinds us to who we are in Christ and the destiny and glory he has for each of us.  Paul told Timothy not to lay hands on any man quickly.  He meant that Timothy should not be too quick to give authority to a man he had not proven.  The same is true for cultural beliefs and assertions. Don’t be too quick to agree just because you keep hearing it stated over and over.  Weigh it against God’s word.  Do your homework.  Know the truth because knowing it will keep you free.  Be blessed today in God’s truth.

Some of the best rebukes or reminders I receive come from books.  Sometimes the rebukes are just easier to receive because no one sees you wince and there is no alter call – just a lingering conviction that you have begun to forget the most important things.  Its easy to be busy doing good things but not the most important things. The most critical thing in good relationships is communication.  Our relationship with God is no different. The people I know who spend the most time in intimate prayer are also the ones who hear God most clearly and who are anointed with the most power.  Have you noticed that most of the great intercessors you know are probably women?  I think it is because women are more relational by nature than men,  Thy know the value of communication.  It’s harder for men.  When it comes to Christian men, God probably feels like a frustrated wife wanting her husband to talk to her rather than working on projects or watching football. Men love to work for God but it’s harder for them to spend extended time in prayer with him.  Jesus was a man but he spent hours in prayer on many occasions.  It made all the difference for him and it can make all the difference for us.

In speaking about Jesus and the “money changers” in the temple, Jim Cymbala writes, “The first century money-changers were in the temple, but they didn’t have the spirit of the temple. They may have played a legitimate role in assisting people to worship, but they were out of sync with the whole purpose of the Lord’s house. ‘The atmosphere of my Father’s house,’ Jesus seemed to say, ‘is to be prayer.  The aroma around my Father must be that of people opening their hearts in worship and supplication.  This is not just to make a buck.  This is a house for calling on the Lord.’… The feature that is supposed to distinguish Christian churches, Christian people, and Christian gatherings is the aroma of prayer. It doesn’t matter what your tradition of my tradition is.  The house is not ours anyway; it is the Father’s.  Does the Bible ever say anywhere…’My house shall be called a house of preaching? Does it ever say, ‘My house shall be called a house of music?’ Of course not. The Bible does say, ‘My house shall be called a house of pray for all nations.’  These things (preaching and music) are fine … but they must never override prayer as the defining mark of God’s dwelling. The honest truth is that I have seen God do more in people’s lives during ten minutes of real prayer than in ten of my sermons” (Jim Cymbala, Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire, p.71).

It’s true.  The Biblical record is that Pentecost was launched by a prayer meeting. Jesus walked on water after a night alone speaking to the Father. When his disciples failed at casting out a demon, Jesus told them that prayer and fasting were necessary to cast out that kind of spirit.  Paul calls on us to pray without ceasing. When Paul tried to preach without ceasing a young man fell out of an upper story window and had to be brought back to life by prayer. Peter received a vision that opened up the gospel to the Gentiles when he was on a roof praying. When believers gathered to pray in Acts 4, the place where they were meeting was shaken, they were filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word boldly.

Biblically, prayer moves heaven not great sermons or wonderful worship unless the worship is lifted up as prayer. All of those are essential to the life of the church put to be anointed with life changing power; they must be bathed in prayer.  Very few churches truly have prayer meetings any more.  We have conferences, worship nights, sports ministries, support groups, and even community service events but rarely do we gather to pray fervently. Perhaps, that is the primary reason we lack power in the American church and even in our individual lives.  “My house shall be called a house of prayer!”  How amazing would it be if every believer could say that about their own home as well as their church. Just a reminder from pastor Cymbala, but a very important one. May we ramp up our prayer life today and be blessed.

In his classic book, Mere Christianity, the British author C.S. Lewis (Chronicles of Narnia) tells the story of an “old, hard-bitten officer” in the Royal Air Force who stood up at a lecture Lewis was giving about Christian doctrines and said, ”I’ve no use for all that stuff.  But mind you I’m a religious man too.  I know there’s a God. I’ve felt him; out alone in the desert at night; the tremendous mystery.  And that’s why I just don’t believe your little dogmas and formulas about him. To anyone who’s met the real thing they all seem so petty, so pedantic, and unreal!” Here was a man who had experienced God in a profound way and who felt that studying the word and understanding doctrines about God was unnecessary and, perhaps, boring.  Whenever he wanted to connect with God he could just go to the desert.  That was enough.

If you have read this blog very long you know that I believe God wants us to experience him – not just read about him.  But there is a danger in basing your understanding of God primarily on experiences rather than the word and diligent study.  It takes both. I like Lewis’ analogy to explain the need for both experience and study.

“If a man has once looked at the Atlantic from a beach, and then goes and looks at a map of the Atlantic, he also will be turning from something real to something less real: turning from real waves to a bit of colored paper.  But here comes the point. The map is admittedly only colored paper, but there are two things you have to remember about it.  In the first place, it is based on what hundreds and thousands of people have found out by sailing the real Atlantic.  In that way it has behind it masses of experience just as real as the one you could have from the beach; only, while yours would be a single isolated glimpse, the map fits all those experiences together.  In the second place, it you want to go anywhere, the map is absolutely necessary. As long as you are content with walks on the beach, your own glimpses are far more fun than looking at a map.  But the map is going to be more use than walks on the beach if you want to get to America.  Now, theology is like the map.  Merely learning and thinking about the Christian doctrines, if you stop there, is less real and less exciting than the sort of thing my friend got in the desert. Doctrines are not God: they are only a kind of map. But that map is based on the experiences of hundreds of people who really were in touch with God…And secondly, if you want to get any further, you must use the map. You see what happened to that man in the desert may have been real, and was certainly exciting, but nothing comes of it.  It leads nowhere.” (C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, p. 135-136)

Lewis goes on to make the point that if all you ever do is look at the map without going to sea, then the map is useless.  However, if you go to sea without the map, you are in dangerous waters indeed.  I think that is especially true for the deep waters of experiencing God.  Many believers have simply studied the map (the Bible) for years without going out on the waters of risk and the miraculous.  Others however have plunged into the exciting waters of miracles and experiences with God without a map.

I was frustrated and disappointed this past year while attending a conference on healing that was hosted by a church I highly respect.  One of the speakers was teaching a session on healing and in a sentence or two made fun of people who thought you needed to anoint someone with oil before healing.  His attitude seemed to be that his experiences with God had taken him beyond all that.  Well, I believe people can be healed without anointing.  Most of us have seen that happen.  On the other hand, anointing with oil is a clear biblical teaching that should not be dismissed out of hand or treated as if only the immature would still use such archaic approaches to healing.  If it’s on the map there is a reason and we should not begin to assume we know more than the mapmaker.  John tells us that we must always test the spirits to see if they are from God. The first test is whether their directions line up with what’s on the map.

We are moving into a season where the Holy Spirit will not be the only spirit producing miracles and amazing spiritual experiences even in our churches.  If we have not studied the “map” diligently, we may be led off the map into dangerous waters.  Some of the old sailing maps would simply have a warning along the edge of unexplored territories that simply said, “There be monsters here.”  I’m not saying that God will not manifest in ways he has never done before. I think he may expand our understanding of the map so that it feels like new, unexplored territory.  But it will still be consistent with his ways, his character, and his Word.  An experienced sailor who has studied and trusted the “map” for years will know when new directions make absolutely no sense. At least he will sail with caution while keeping his eye on true north.

My encouragement today for those of us who love to experience God is that we also need to become serious students of the Word.  The psalmist declared, “I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every wrong path. Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path” (Ps.119:104-105).  Understanding gained from diligent study keeps us from taking wrong paths and ending up in waters where “there be monsters.” The light or understanding we gain from God’s word gives us light for the path ahead but also instructs us in our walk for immediate circumstances. His light not only keeps us on track but also keeps us from stumbling while on that track.

Without experiencing God we will not truly know him but without the map we won’t be sure that we have truly found him.  If you sail for America but end up in Calcutta, you have not had a successful journey regardless of the adventures you had along the way.  It was exciting, but you are still lost. As we begin this new year, most of us have probably determined to read more scripture.  That’s good.  But let me encourage you not just to read but to study and to meditate on what you are reading. Reading through the Bible in a year is praiseworthy, however, many of us read through materials in school just before a test but still failed the test.  Reading over something is not the same as study. To study is to read, consider, process, share the concepts with others and then test what we have learned.  Please add that to experiencing God this year and we will not only sail but arrive at our intended destination.  Be blessed!

Prophets Without Honor

When Jesus had finished these parables, he moved on from there. Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?” they asked.  “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? Aren’t all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “Only in his hometown and in his own house is a prophet without honor.” And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith. (Matt/13:53-57)

There is nothing more discouraging than trying to share your faith or your understanding of scripture with people who have known you in the past and discovering that you have little to no credibility with them. Sometimes it’s people who knew you before you encountered Christ.  Sometimes it is family members.  I’m not saying that you can never lead old friends, acquaintances, and family members to the Lord.  You can and many do, but on occasion you get no audience.

Jesus experienced the same thing.  In Matthew 13, Jesus revisited his hometown – Nazareth.  He began teaching in the synagogue and, at first, people were amazed and impressed. Matthew says, “They were amazed. Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?’ they asked.”  But their amazement soon turned to resentment and rejection.  These were people who had known Jesus and his family before he left to begin a public ministry and declare that he was the Messiah.  Some of them remembered the scandal of Mary’s pregnancy.  Others remembered him working on their homes or building basic furniture for them.  They remembered Mary and Joseph and their children coming to synagogue and being taught. They may have even remembered Jesus playing practical jokes on friends or always having a runny nose as a kid.

Apparently they had heard great stories about miracles he was performing and witnessed his anointed teaching themselves.  But anointed teaching often challenges dearly held perspectives and “settled theology.” Remember the “Sermon on the Mount” in Matthew 5-7.  Jesus said in several places, “You have heard that is was said…but I say unto you.”  Many of the Jews had grown comfortable with their understanding of God and their view of the world.  The teachings of Jesus implied that there was something lacking in their view of God and how to have a relationship with him.  I’m certain that they at first began to feel uncomfortable with his teachings and then angry as his teaching challenged them.

The first response of the flesh and a religious spirit when anyone suggests that a person’s approach to God or their understanding of his word has been lacking is to take offense and to accuse the teacher of self-righteousness and a “holier than thou” attitude.  That is exactly what happened to Jesus. Suddenly his teaching raised questions about the adequacy of their faith their understanding of the Torah.  It wasn’t long before some began whispering, “Who does he think he is?”  In their own minds, they rushed to discredit his teaching and even his miracles by discrediting him.  They simply recast him in the role of the boy who grew up in a home on the wrong side of the tracks in an ordinary working class family.  In that moment, they refused to see him as he was in the synagogue – the Anointed One of God – but would only see him as the person he used to be.  Few miracles were done that day because of their unbelief. We are also told that even his own brothers refused to believe who he was until after the resurrection.

There are a several lessons to be learned from this account.

1. Sometimes, we are not the one who should be talking to certain friends or family members about our faith or life changes they need to make – sinful lifestyles they need to abandon.  For whatever reason we are so familiar to them that our words carry little weight.  That is especially true when adult children try to speak into their parents’ lives. When the gospel is declared or when we call people to repentance the word carries authority – no matter how gently we say it.  Many parents can never give up their role of authority over children – even grown children – so they can’t receive anything from one of their children that has authority attached to it.  Close friends and siblings are often the same.  In those cases we need to simply ask God to influence them through other people.  Love them.  Pray for them.  Realize you may not be the one to speak to them about their lives.

2.  Sometimes we believe that if God would just do a miracle for our unbelieving friends or family members, they would immediately come to faith and give their lives to Jesus.  Sometimes a miracle and the kindness of God expressed through that miracle does create faith, but not always.  The Pharisees witnessed numerous astounding miracles but never came to faith.  The people of Nazareth heard of many of his miracles and saw a few, but took offense at Jesus rather than believing on him.  I love miracles and believe we should ask God for them everyday.  I’m just saying that miracles do not always open the door to faith. God knows what the key is to every person’s heart and we need to pray for that revelation when trying to reach any person for Jesus.

3.  We need to watch our own hearts when people come to us with a teaching, an insight or even a rebuke that doesn’t line up with what we have always believed.  Sometimes, when people challenge my theology or my motives, I can feel offense begin to rise up in me and something wants to dismiss immediately anything they have to say.  But God calls us to maintain a humble spirit, to be teachable, and to always seek truth.  Proverbs tells us that a wise man receives correction and is thankful for it.

How can we do less and how can we judge whom God will use to sharpen our understanding of his word and his ways or to call us to a heart correction?  Many in Nazareth missed the Son of God because they judged God’s messenger.  I’m certainly not saying to receive every new teaching or even every rebuke.  But consider them, pray about them, and be humble enough to receive those things from people you disapproved of in the past, from those who don’t have your education or income, or even those who seen a bit eccentric.  Remember John the Baptist – camel skin clothes, long hair, and a diet of locusts and honey.  Eccentric!  Be blessed today and be open to hearing from God from all kinds of people in your present or even from your past.

I am very concerned about our nation. I’m sure you are as well.  I’m not just concerned about the teetering economy, the decline in morality, or the continuing holocaust of abortions in America. I’m not just concerned about God being pushed out of our schools or a culture that is calling evil good and good evil. I’m not just concerned about the blatant corruption in government and lack of truth telling at all levels. If we had to live in the midst of that it would be difficult enough.  What I am most concerned about are the curses that these behaviors and attitudes are about to unleash on America.

A strong thread runs through scripture that is summarized in Paul’s letter to the church in Galatia.  “Do not be deceived.  God cannot be mocked.  A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction. The one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life” (Gal.6:7-8).  In the Old Testament there are huge sections on “blessing and cursing.”  In Deuteronomy 28, God gives an extensive list of blessings that will come upon Israel if they faithfully serve God and an extensive list of curses that will be released if they reject God.  Nations reap what they sow as well as individuals.

Those curses listed in Deuteronomy include economic disaster, sickly children and blighted crops. They include failure in everything they attempt, diseases that ravage the nation, drought or destructive weather patterns, defeat from enemies, confusion, a man’s hard work being harvested by strangers, oppression of all kinds, and aliens in the land rising up and ruling over native born citizens. These curses sound like the six o’clock news.

In the book of Job, Satan complained to God that he had put a hedge around Job so that Satan could not get at him (Job 1:9). What we see in that chapter is Satan wanting to destroy Job and his family.  God, however, in his goodness and mercy had been restraining the devil because Job was faithful.  When men or nations sow to the flesh long enough, God is compelled by his holiness and our free will (which also chooses our consequences) to turn these men or nations over to their own choices.  When that point is reached, God lifts the restraints and Satan has access to individuals or nations because they have aligned themselves with the enemy.

When curses flood into a person’s life or over a nation, these curses are not something God has conjured up but they are simply what Satan has been wanting to release on that nation, family, or person all along.  Because of God’s love for all men, he restrains the enemy and these disasters until man has sown so much destruction that it must be harvested.  The law of sowing and reaping then kicks in. Here is the sobering part.  The harvest is always greater than the planting.  An acorn produces much more than itself.  A kernel of corn produces dozens of ears of corn.  A man gets back even more than he put in.

That’s good news if you are sowing to the Spirit for God will give you more good things than you sowed.  But if you have been sowing to the flesh, the destruction will far outweigh the evil you have planted.  Many times the destructive results will affect generations.  Children will reap what their fathers sowed. The biblical principle is that the consequences of the sins of the fathers will be passed down to the third and fourth generations of children (Ex. 20:5).

Our nation is mocking God and sowing to the flesh in abundance.  Jesus said, “To whom much is given much is required” (Luke 12:48).  God has given much to America over the last 300 years.  America has not been ignorant of God, his Word, and his ways.  He has blessed us abundantly in our faithfulness but will discipline us abundantly in our rejection of him, his Word, and his ways.

Our hope is in the grace of God and his willingness to forgive and restore when godly sorrow and sincere repentance come from the heart of a man or a nation. But rather than righteousness and repentance flowing out of the church in America I am seeing compromise, going along to get along, a desire to be more acceptable to man in a perverse culture than to God in his holiness.  A few are declaring God’s truth and absorbing the ridicule and accusations of culture but more are being silent.

God’s judgment, which is the release of the enemy to have his way with men who have partnered with Satan, usually comes first in a slow stream giving men the opportunity to recognize what is happening and turn again to God.  Then the stream widens – disasters are greater and more frequent, and then if no repentance comes, God is forced by our own decisions to open the floodgate and let the enemy come in without restraint.  History is full of such lessons.  Curses are not vicious acts by a vengeful God, but rather the harvest of what we have insisted on planting year after year. God takes no pleasure in judging nations or men. His heart for us is to repent so that he can bless us again.  But it is still our choice.

Our sincere and constant intercession for our nation, its leaders, its people, and the church is still our hope and can be a powerful weapon to push back the enemy.  The authority of believers needs to be exercised on behalf of a nation and our nation evangelized by the love and power of God once again.   Even this struggle is not against flesh and blood but spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. We are in a state of war and we have been promised the victory – but only if we stand, only if we fight. My prayer is that more than ever before believers in America will rise and fight against the enemy and drive him out of this nation so that the goodness and blessing of God can flourish here again. I hope you will make a decision to go to war today against the dominion of darkness and not stop until the victory is secure. Be blessed today knowing that God goes before those who go in his name.