I want to remind us all of a truth we probably already know but often forget or, at least, don’t remain mindful of.  That truth is the enemy is always searching to find a legal basis in the spiritual realm to afflict, torment, or oppress God’s people.  He already has a legal right to do those things to the people who are citizens of the kingdom of darkness.  But he seeks to find a basis for attacks against God’s people. 

In Revelation we are told, “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God, day and night, has been hurled down” (Rev. 12:10).  Notice that Satan accuses (present tense) us before God without ceasing.  This verse and many others reference a courtroom scene where a prosecutor keeps constantly coming before the king with accusations that would allow him to arrest or punish the one he is accusing.  

If there is no cause for grievance, then the accuser is dismissed.  However, if cause is found, the judge, being just, must allow the accuser to have some access to the accused.  If you recall, Satan brought charges against Job and God, as the judge, set limits on the torment that the accuser could dispense.  In Zechariah, we find the enemy bringing charges against the High Priest. “Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right side to accuse him. The Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! Is not this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?” (Zech. 3:1-2). Jesus alluded to the same process when he said, ““Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers” (Lk. 21:31-32).

There are things in our lives that will not cost us our salvation but will grant the enemy some access to us because of laws established in the spiritual realm. All the way back in Deuteronomy 28, God established a system of blessings and curses.  If Israel was careful to keep God’s commandments, blessings would be poured out on them.  If, however, Israel ignored God’s commands…curses would be released over the nation.  I think the best way to understand that dynamic is that the disobedience of Israel would eventually give Satan a legal right to enforce a curse on the nation and bring torment and oppression. God would lift his hand of protection and let Satan have his way. The good news is that repentance and fruits of repentance brought forgiveness and once again closed the door on Satan. 

Persistent and unrepented disobedience will eventually give the enemy access to you and your family.  We tend to think that believers are not going to have that issue or open door in their lives.  But the one I see most often is unforgiveness toward someone who deeply hurt us or betrayed us.  Somehow the enemy convinces us that our grievance is the exception that permits unforgiveness…even for decades.  When we give in to his persuasion, Satan  eventually will gain access to us through that sin of unforgiveness.  Then there are past sins that we blamed others for or simply moved on and left those in our past.  Satan, however, is a great researcher and may find those past unrepented sins to use against us.

Another open door is the “sins of our fathers” that have not been dealt with and that give the enemy a right to afflict the children to the third and fourth generation (Ex. 20:5). It seems strange to us that we could be liable for the sins of our ancestors, but we are.  When we are aware of their sins, we need to repent on behalf of our bloodline and renounce the sins, pleading the blood of Jesus over those sins. We are not imparting salvation to our past relatives, but we are taking away Satan’s legal right to afflict us because of those sins.

Thirdly, spoken curses can give the enemy access…especially if spoken by ourselves or someone who had spiritual authority over us…a parent, a husband, or some religious leader.  Bad health, failing relationships, financial failure, etc. can be set in motion by their words…I wish you had never been born; You will never amount to anything; You’re such a loser; No one will ever love you; I wish you were dead; etc. If you are aware of words like that being spoken, then renounce them in the name of Jesus and cancel them by the power of his name after repenting of coming into agreement with those words.

All of these can create open doors for the enemy by giving him a legal right to afflict us.  You must perform an inventory of your life, your relationships, your family, and your words on a regular basis…confessing, repenting and renouncing the sins or words that have given Satan a right to attack you.  We may go through this process once, but then lay it aside forgetting that Satan is still researching, watching, and waiting for something he can take before the judge.  A regular Spiritual Spring Cleaning every six months would be a very good practice to keep the devil out of your house and out of your life.  If you have never taken that inventory or haven’t in a while, let me encourage you to do so right away!

God wants to bless people.  It is his nature.  Just as a good father always wants the best for his children, our Heavenly Father wants the best for those he loves.  What we forget at times is that we are often his chosen instruments for doing so.

God’s original intent was to rule the earth through his children as his representatives. As he gave Adam and Eve dominion over the earth, he gave them authority to rule. Their words carried authority just as the words of Jesus carried authority.  I believe Adam and Eve, before their sin, had the same authority we saw in Jesus as he walked the earth as a sinless man.  I believe they could quiet the storms, walk on water, curse a fig tree, or give life to something just as Jesus did.  Jesus came not only to obtain forgiveness for our sins, but also to show us what we lost through our rebellion and what we could regain through an intimate relationship with the Father.  As Adam and Eve were to use their dominion to spread the culture of heaven over the earth, we too are to carry that influence.

Authority was given up through rebellion, but regained in Christ.  As his sons and daughters now, he still wants to rule the earth through his children who can represent him well.  Jesus told us that he only did what he saw the father doing and only spoke what we heard the Father saying.  He told Philip those who had seen him (Jesus), had seen the Father.  That is perfect representation.  In the same way, we are to be Spirit-led and do or say what our Heavenly Father would do or say if he were physically present.  When we pray according to his will, it is done because God honors the authority to rule that he has given us through Christ.  Our spoken words carry the same authority.

One of the privileges we have as sons and daughters of the King is the privilege of blessing.  In the epistle of James, he rebukes Christians for speaking curses over others or even over circumstances and directs them to speak only life-giving words.  He uses the analogy of a spring.  When fresh water flows out (blessings and truth), life is released.  When salt water flows from the spring (curses), death is the result.  James tells us that we are to always be sources of fresh water because that represents the heart of God.

Of course, Proverbs 18:21 comes to mind where the writer says, “The tongue has the power of life and death.”  When we speak life, we impart life.  When we speak death, we impart death.  Why?  Because our words have authority. In Ephesians 4:29, Paul declares, “Let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouth, but only what is helpful for building others up.” Jesus goes further and instructs us to bless even those who would curse us because we represent a Father who sends rain and blessing on both the righteous and the wicked.  He also sends discipline and judgment, but that is his business.  Our business is to bless through our prayers and our words.  Satan imparts death.  Jesus imparts life.

One of the priestly functions of the children of God is to impart blessings.  In Numbers 6, Moses was told, “Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is how you are to bless the Israelites.  Say to them: The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you.  The Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.’  So, they will put my name on the Israelites and I will bless them.” Notice the Lord was willing and even desired to bless, but waited on the priests to declare the blessing before he acted.  We too are priests and God often waits on us to declare a blessing before he releases it. 

We are in a partnership with God for ruling the earth and dispensing blessings from heaven.  Blessings release good things on the earth.  The earth needs all the good things it can get…peace, health, provision, protection, justice, love, forgiveness, etc.  As we speak blessings, we impart life.  Paul tells us also that we reap what we sow.  We harvest what we plant and we plant by broadcasting seeds.  Blessings are seeds we are broadcasting and planting.  If we sow blessings, we eventually reap blessings. 

Now, I believe we are to be Spirit-led in our blessings.  Who are we to bless and how are we to bless them?  Blessings are valuable because they bear good fruit.  We should develop a habit of sensing who and how God wants us to bless. When Jesus sent out the seventy disciples to preach and perform miracles he said, “When you enter a house, first say ‘Peace to this house. If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them. If not, it will return to you.’” (LK. 10:5-6).  When in doubt, we still speak good things over people, but we tune in especially to those God puts on our hearts.

So today, be fresh water to those you encounter…not just those you know, but even strangers for they are not strangers to God.  Be sensitive to the Spirt and ask who he wants you to bless and what the blessing should be. Be a priest to those God puts in your path. Both you and the world will be better for it. May the Lord bless you today and meet your greatest need. 

Most of us are familiar with the account of Daniel in the lions’ den.  We know he wasTossed into the den for not worshiping King Darius. In the morning he was found to be unharmed because God had shut the mouths of the lions during the night.  This, of course, is a story of faith and obedience and God’s care for those who serve him faithfully.  However, there is another element of the story I want to focus on in this blog.

In Daniel 6, we discover that a number of King Darius’ officials were envious of Daniel because he had the king’s favor and was given a very high position in the kingdom.  These officials schemed against Daniel.  They knew they would never be able to find him negligent or guilty of any mishandling of the king’s business, but might be able to accuse him on the basis of his relationship with his God. Appealing to the king’s vanity, these officials encouraged him to make a decree that for the next 30 days, no one could pray to their God or another human other than Darius.  

These officials knew that Daniel would continue to pray to his God and so “catching him the act,” they reported him to Darius and reminded him of the decree he had issued.  The text says, “When the king heard this, he was greatly distressed; he was determined to rescue Daniel, and made every effort until sundown to save him” (Dan. 6:14).  

Darius was caught by his own words.  He had declared the edict without thinking through the possible ramifications.  Because he was king, his words had authority and once spoken, could not be revoked.  I assume that his “every effort” was a hasty search of Medo-Persian law to find some legal loophole that would allow Daniel to avoid the death penalty.  He could find none, however, and Daniel was tossed to the hungry carnivores.  

When Daniel survived the night, scripture says, “The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den.  And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him because he had trusted in the Lord. At the king’s command, the men who had falsely accused Daniel were brought in and thrown into the lions’ den” (Dan. 6:23-24). 

There are numerous lessons in this story, but my focus for the moment is the danger of declaring things we have not thought out when we are people of authority.  Once spoken, these words can become law and will be enforced whether we want them to or not.  Many of us, as we were growing up, may have ventured to talk back to our mothers.  If we did, we probably her tell us to “watch your mouth.”  That is a biblical concept.

In Matthew 12, we are told, “But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned” (Mt. 12:36-37).  We tend to discount our words and expect we will never be called to account for the things we say.  We declare that we didn’t mean what we said, we were taken out of context, we were misunderstood, we misspoke, etc. How many of our government officials have “plead the fifth” on words they have spoken as they deny what was even caught on video.

So, if we give little thought to our words and expect no real consequences for our verbal declarations, why is Jesus giving such a stern warning?  It is because, in the heavenly realm, our words as believers carry authority.  When we speak, spiritual beings may well act to enforce what we have declared over our families, our health, our finances, our marriage, our children, our nation, our church, etc.  We can plead we didn’t mean it, but if we didn’t mean it, like Darius, we should not have spoken it.

Our words often bring unintended consequences, but we spoke them just the same and we, as followers of Jesus, have authority. If we have the authority to command demons in an act of deliverance, then our other words can command them as well…even if we “didn’t mean it.” How often do we declare curses over ourselves and others because we have not thought through the ramifications of our words

Proverbs counsels us over and over to measure our words and to be thoughtful about everything we say for “the tongue has the power of life and death.”  The New Testament writers counsel (command) us to speak blessings rather than curses, even over our enemies.  Our words have power and authority. Too often we are like Darius who spoke something without considering the ripples his words would send out.  I know better, but I often become careless with my words and speak negatively over situations and outcomes.  I forget that I am speaking death rather than life and that Jesus warns me to measure every word.

May we pray for wisdom and the Holy Spirit to convict us of our words before they even leave our tongues when we begin to speak carelessly.  Our words have consequences for us, our families, our children, and our nation as we move into the days ahead.   We should submit to the spiritual discipline of measuring our words and always speaking life rather than death over any person of circumstance.  It is also true that so much of what we say is so automatic that we are not even conscious of words we say throughout the day as we “pop off” to others.  If we are wise, we may want to invite the people closest to us to remind us when we have been careless and thoughtless with our words so that we may repent and redirect our own tongues.  

We know the idea of curses in the 21^st century sounds like superstition or something belonging to the realm of fiction.  Most individuals don’t take the notion seriously, including most Christians.  I would venture that the great majority of pulpits in America have never issued a sermon on the topic and very few Christian counselors or healthcare providers would ever role that out as a possible source of a client’s torment, failures, or illness.

However, it is a very biblical topic and a serious reality that often needs to be addressed.  The first mention of a curse pops up only three chapters into Genesis.  When Adam and Eve sin, a curse is pronounced on the serpent, on the earth itself, on the man and on the woman.  The curse calls for supernatural power to produce and maintain some kind of negative consequence for those under the curse.  The serpent would crawl on his belly (he was apparently upright before the curse); the woman would experience great pain in child bearing (both in the birth process and in the raising of children), the earth would produce thorns and thistles and the man would have to scratch out a living on the face of an earth that would resist his touch rather than cooperating with it.

In Deuteronomy 28, God promised abundant blessings for obedience, but then offered half a chapter of curses for disobedience that would be released on Israel if they rejected God.  In numbers 22, we encounter a man named Balaam who was a sorcerer. The king of Moab went to Balaam and asked him to place a curse on Israel so that he might defeat them in battle.  His words were, “For I know that whoever you bless is blessed and whoever you curse is cursed” (Num. 22:6). The king had witnessed his work on numerous occasions and had seen the results.  God nearly killed him to prevent him from issuing the curse because Israel was blessed.  One lesson from the account is that God took a curse uttered by a sorcerer seriously. 

In essence, a curse is an authoritative word that directs spiritual forces to produce negative results in a person’s life…poverty, persistent illness, relationship failures, oppression, loss, untimely death, etc.  When a curse is operating it seems that nothing ever goes right, even when the people involved are doing the right things.  A curse may fall on a nation, a group, a generation, a family, or an individual. There may be numerous causes for a curse but I only want to focus on witchcraft in this blog.

We are in a season of highly increased witchcraft (sorcery) in America. Some research suggests there are more practicing witches in America now than members of some major denominations.   I regularly encounter people who seem to be operating under a curse.…undiagnosable illnesses, spirits in their home tormenting family members, financial stress, relationship issues flaring up suddenly, etc.  In many of these cases, I have asked if there was anyone they knew who might be holding a grudge against them and who also was involved in witchcraft. In many cases, they quickly identify who that person might be – ex-spouses, ex boy friends are girls friends, an irritated neighbor, an angry former mother-in-law, estranged family members, etc.  Some have previously been members of a witch’s coven and had left under threats.  

Suspecting that witchcraft might be operating against them, we then made sure the person we were ministering to had forgiven any of those who had hurt them in the past and even the one who might be cursing them in the present.  We made sure they repented of any known sins they had not submitted to the cross – past or present. In the name and authority of Jesus, we then canceled any curse that had been established against them and canceled any demonic assignment made on the basis of that curse.  We then commanded any demonic spirit involved to abandon its assignment, leave, and never return.  You may even send the spirit back to the person who pronounced the curse. Finally, we asked the Lord to assign angels to keep any other spirits at bay that might try to enforce the curse again and to even prevent the witch from issuing the curse again.  This has typically made a marked positive difference in their situation.   

One thirty-five year old woman, in particular, had a wasting disease that could not be diagnosed.  She was told by doctors that she would die within a few months of they could not find the cause.  As we talked and prayed, she identified her sister’s former lesbian partner who held a grudge because the woman who was ill encouraged the breakup. The lady had been involved in witchcraft and we believe the Holy Spirit revealed her as the source.  We prayed, broke the curse, and her health turned around in just a few days.

When dealing with curses we often look at unrepented sins, generational curses, word curses spoken by family members or the individual himself, or witchcraft that the person has been involved in (tarot cards, psychic readings, fortune-tellers horoscopes, etc.).  These are definitely the first places to look.  However, we sometimes forget to consider that witchcraft might be in play, actively directing spirits toward another person.  As you look for sources of a curse, keep witchcraft in mind and ask the person if they know anyone who has been practicing occult arts that may also be holding a grudge against them. I suspect you may discover that scenario more than you may anticipate. 

Last week I wrote a blog affirming that becoming a follower of Jesus does not mean life will be trouble free.  In fact, Jesus assured us that in this world we will have trouble.  In hostile environments such as China, Russia or the Middle East, that trouble could be for a life time as believers are targeted for persecution by the state.  And yet even in those environments, it seems that certain seasons produce more trouble than others.

In the west, Christians are not so blatantly targeted but may find more subtle persecution in certain environments such as in universities, the entertainment industry, some corporate environments, families, and so on.  If you live or work in a “Woke” community and verbalize biblical values, you will be opposed and probably censored.  There is a price to be paid for our faith in this world.  We need to be at peace with that reality.

After my last blog, someone asked if trouble was simply going to be their lot for a lifetime.  In the context, it was not trouble from persecution but simply from things in life never working out.  There are believers who seem to face a disproportionate amount of loss and failure which might include a number of deaths in a family in a relatively short time, financial stress even though they work hard, promotions going to less qualified people at the workplace, and constant vehicle breakdowns and expenses around the home that just always keep them under water.  Sometimes it is a disproportionate amount of sickness that makes life hard.  Perhaps, you have known those individuals or families.

I believe it is normal for all believers to have seasons of hardship, but not for that to be the standard of their entire life.  In cases like that, it seems that some kind of curse is operating that gives the devil a legal right to afflict or oppress an individual or family. The idea of curses seems very antiquated to most Americans, but it is a very biblical theme.  In fact, in Deuteronomy 28, God spends a great deal of time explaining to Israel that diligent obedience to the Lord would bring abundant blessings, but persistent disobedience without repentance would bring abundant curses that touched every part of life.  Abundant blessings include health, financial prosperity, fruitfulness from their efforts, blessed relationships, peace from their enemies, and even the promise of rain at the right times to bless their crops.  Curses would bring just the opposite…health problems, financial failure, broken relationships, war, natural disasters, and so forth.

There are several sections in scripture that picture Satan standing before the Lord bringing accusations against God’s people.  As he brought those accusations, he was looking for a legal precedent that would allow him to afflict those people on the basis of their sin or the sins of their fathers or on the basis of words they had spoken or oaths they had taken.  Those things may constitute a curse which the enemy can enforce as long as that curse remains.

When hardship, other than persecution persists, and is clearly over-proportionate to what most believers are dealing with, a curse may be operating.  An unrepented sin may clearly present itself as the probable cause of the curse.  Unforgiveness towards others who have wronged you would be the first thing to search for in your heart.  Other ongoing sins that you are excusing would be the next place to look…sexual sin, materialism, an immoral relationship, gossip, judging others, bigotry, discrimination (especially against Jews), ignoring the poor, idolatry, addictions, violence, abortions, etc. are things that need to be identified, acknowledged, repented of and renounced in order to take away the legal right of the enemy. 

Sins of the fathers (Ex. 20:5) is another thing you must consider.  It is not aways easy to know what our ancestors have done that may have opened the door to a generational curse that can be passed down from generation to generation. Violence, defrauding another, adultery, involvement in the occult in any form, molestations, antisemitism, participation in false religions, etc. can be found in most family lines.

You may research your family history for clues or spend a season in prayer asking the Holy Spirit to reveal the root of the curse operating in your life.  When you sense what it is, then confess it and repent of it on behalf of your bloodline. Then renounce the sin and cancel the curse in the name of Jesus.

Words spoken over us by those who have had spiritual authority over us can also establish a curse.  A parent telling us we will never amount to anything or that we will never be loved or announcing that they wish we had never been born can open the door to sickness, business and relationship failures, etc.  If we said those words over ourselves, they can also establish a curse.  If any words like that that have been spoken, they need to need to be renounced and repented of as well.

Ask the Holy Spirit to show you the root of any curse that may be operating.  It is God’s will to bless his people so if curses predominate instead of blessing, seek to know the root. Have those with prophetic gifts and gifts of discernment pray with you to see what they hear from the Lord as well. Trouble will come our way, but God is also a God of blessing who wants to bless his children even in the midst of trouble. Blessing should be the rule of our lives rather than the exception.  

Freemasonry has been around for centuries. Nearly every town in North America of any size has a Masonic Lodge.The same is true of Europe, Australia and New Zealand. To most people, the Masonic Lodge is a group of men who meet, perform crazy rituals for fun, and serve their communities. It’s like a post-college fraternity. It is amazing how many people who attend Free Indeed have fathers, grandfathers, great grandfathers, along with uncles, etc. who have been Masons and whose women have been part of Eastern Star…the female counterpart of Freemasonry.

Some were just initiates who never went far in Freemasonry or “the lodge,” while others were 32nd or 33rd degree Masons, the highest ranks in the organization. There are, of course, all kinds of conspiracy theories related to secret societies headed by Masons that are dominating the world. Most people give little credence to those stories. However, by design the Freemasons are a fraternity hidden in secrecy. If you ask a mason, he will probably tell you that the lodge is a Christian organization formed to serve people in need and to do good works. He may even believe that.

In the past few decades, some serious research has been done that exposes the secrets of Freemasonry. Many have been revealed by those who left the lodge after climbing to its highest ranks. If you are considering joining the Freemasons or have had relatives who were involved, you may want to pay attention to some of the following concerns that are well documented in many places.

First of all, Freemasonry is a secret society. Those who join, swear allegiance to the lodge and take blood oaths to never divulge its secrets. Jesus warned us about taking oaths and those who operated in the dark… in secrecy. Satan works in the dark. In the end, Jesus promised that those things that were hidden in darkness will be brought into the light. When accused by the Pharisees, Jesus declared that he had taught openly in the temple and the synagogues. He did not operate in secret.

Secondly, true secrets and “meanings” of the lodge are only revealed as men climb higher in rank and earn the right to this secret knowledge. In many cases, Christian language is used and scripture is quoted, but the meaning of those terms is different from the biblical meanings and that understanding is not released until you have climbed higher in the organization and taken more oaths. Those who initially join and swear allegiance to the organization are not aware of all the things they are agreeing to. It is like signing a contract when you have only been allowed to read the first page of thirty.

In addition, though the lodge declares that is it Christian, it gives equal standing to all religions and declare that we all worship the same God. Their God as revealed in the writings of the lodge is not the God of the Bible and Jesus is not recognized as the only way to salvation. In some masonic writings, the lodge itself is offered as a source of salvation.

As members rise higher in the ranks, they must take additional oaths and swear allegiance to spirits that are not the Holy Spirit. They are required to swear allegiance to a spirit that is demonic and dedicate themselves and their descendants to serve this “god” in perpetuity. Of even greater concern is they take oaths that invoke curse on themselves and their descendants if they ever divulge the secrets of the lodge or fail to serve it. In many cases, membership is motivated by a desire for power and wealth. Freemasons are well connected and put members of the lodge ahead of serving or helping anyone else. A desire for power and wealth is not what Jesus called us to.

They take an oath that if they ever divulge the secrets or fail to serve the lodge, their throat should be slit, their tongue should be torn out and their body should be buried in the rough sands of the sea until the tide engulfs them. The allegiance they give to the lodge establishes a covenant of dedication between them and the spirits behind the lodge. The curses they invoked are passed down to their descendants because by their oath, they have given Satan a legal right to fulfill thew curses.If their descendants are not serving the lodge, the curses can be activated.

In many cases, the descendants of freemasons experience these curses as poor health, premature death, emotional distress, business failure, and so forth. These conditions are not usually remedied by medicine or psychology because they are initiated and maintained by demons. There is much more, but these things should be enough to sound the alarm.

For those under a curse because of having been dedicated to the Freemasons and, thus, to these spirits, these curses must be repented of and renounced on behalf of a person’s bloodline in the name of Jesus. They must renounce all dedications, covenants and agreements with the spirits of Freemasonry, and the curses must be nullified by the blood of Jesus. Then the demons enforcing these curse must be commanded to leave.

These are serious matters in the spiritual realm and there is more to be said, but I wanted to alert anyone connected to Freemasonry of the spiritual dangers that they face. If you have that history and have seen patterns of illness and death, mental illness and failure, you may want to seek help in breaking the curses that may have come down to you. We can help and other Christian ministries can as well. Jesus has all authority in heaven and on earth, and by his name you can be set free from the bondage that can occur through Freemasonry. If you need help you can contact us at Mid-Cities Community Church in Midland, Texas.

Blessings in Him!

I ran across this quote that I thought was worth reposting today.

“If not dealt with through repentance and cleansing of generational blood , we walk around with generational voices , traumas, and inequities screaming in our DNA . They demand that we bend towards their command. They want us to pay rent to their altars . We walk around believing that what we consider as truth, is absolute truth! Lies masquerade as truth behind culture, tradition and whatever has been passed down through our ancestral lines. Repentance is an act of cutting  deep in ourselves until we see our own prejudices. 
It’s being willing to change our minds about certain races , tribes, people , nationalities and what we’ve considered as truth . Until we see what’s at work within us , we will never see a desperation for repentance no matter what it costs us. 

Bloodline Repentance sets me free from generational giants who had held my family in bondage , who have influenced the way I see things , the way I do life and the way I subconsciously operate. It sets me free from demonic cycles . Understand this my friend , we are deep beings (spirit , soul and body- and there are untouched layers within these layers. Never miss an opportunity of dealing with a layer of who you are through repentance.” Nonhlanhla Maseko-Gcabashe

I don’t know the author of the above quote, but the longer I minister in spiritual warfare, the more I believe we must pay attention to generational curses assigned to our bloodlines. Remember the principle that the sins of the fathers shall be passed down to the third and fourth generations (Ex. 20:5). As generations continue the sin that established that curse, the curse keeps being pushed forward and will remain until the blood of Christ breaks the curse through our confession and repentance on behalf of our bloodlines.

If you read through Daniel and Nehemiah, when praying for the nation of Israel, they confessed not only their own sins but also the sins and wickedness of their fathers as they plead for God’s mercy. We represent our own bloodlines and may need to confess, repent, and renounce any sins we are aware of that have been passed down through the generations. Sometimes we can identify that sin because we struggle with something we have also seen in our family line such as sexual sin, greed, fear, bitterness, violence, witchcraft, etc.

We may have also seen the consequences of that sin in multiple divorces, addictions, broken identities, poverty, suicides, violence, and generations of depression. What the author of the quote I began with did not clearly point out is that the voices screaming from our DNA are demonic. Not only do sins need to be confessed and renounced, but demons need to be dismissed. Sometimes parents forget that though they have broken a generational curse, demons can still be attached to them and their children until they are commanded to leave. Breaking the curse takes away the legal right of the demonic to remain, but they will still remain until forced to leave.

The challenge with generational curses is that many of us don’t know much about our family lines. It would not hurt to find out what we can…the good, the bad, and the ugly. We may also know if we have bloodlines that go back to ancestors who worshipped false gods, practiced human sacrifice, or that persecuted Jews. If so, we may need to repent of those things in the name of Jesus. We may also want to spend a season asking the Holy Spirit to reveal anything in our bloodlines that the enemy can use against us so that we can submit those things to the cross as well.

In the book of Revelation we are told, “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down” (Rev. 12:10).  Satan constantly appears before God accusing us of sin so that he might gain legal access to afflict us. Much of what he uses to gain that legal right is generational. If we can confess and renounces specific sins of our fathers, we should. But if not, we can follow the example of the prophets who simply confessed the wickedness and rebellion of their forefathers. If you have not spent anytime with the Lord dealing with these generational sins and curses, I encourage you to do so. They are very real and a real source of access to the enemy.

Blessings in Him.

Curses are a spiritual reality. Certainly, not everyone has a curse operating against them. In this life we all have tragedies, failures, and losses. It is the nature of living in a fallen world. But more of us than you think have curses operating in our lives and are unaware of it. The curse and the negative outcomes it produces will not go away on its own and has no shelf life. So…determining whether a curse may be operating so that we can nullify the curse is a prudent thing to do.

There are indicators that a curse is operating in the life of an in individual or family. Let me list some of those indicators briefly. You can find all of these in Deuteronomy 28-30.

• When a family or individual continually suffers business failures or financial lack, even though they are working hard and making reasonably good decisions, a curse may be operating. When you can never seem to get out of debt because another financial demand occurs each time you get close to your goals, you may be dealing with a curse. If you see the same pattern in your family line, it is a very strong indicator.
• If you experience patterns of chronic, lingering health issues that are difficult to diagnose, keep recurring, or that proven treatments don’t seem to manage, you may be looking at a curse. Again…if there is a history of such things in your bloodline, this can be a strong indicator.
• If you or your parents or grandparents struggle with depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, despair, confusion, etc. when you have prayed, counseled, and taken treatments, there may be demonic influences operating through a curse.
• When there is a history of an inability to get pregnant or multiple miscarriages, this may also indicate a curse.
• When you see patterns of victimization in your life or family where you have been defrauded, passed over for promotions, taken advantage of, harassed, and so forth when you have acted with integrity and done the right things, a curse may be operating.

In general, when you recognize a repeating history of negative outcomes in your life or family line, that are not clearly results of your bad decisions or rebellion, you may need to address the possibility of demonic activity enforcing a curse.

To break or nullify a curse requires a legal transaction in the spiritual realm. The cause of the curse must be removed and then the enemy must be commanded to discontinue the harassment or oppression in your life. Proverbs declares, “Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow, an undeserved curse does not come to rest” (Prov. 26:2). The cause of a curse can ultimately be nullified through the the blood of Christ. However, we have to take several steps before the blood can be applied.

The basis of any curse being established against us is sin…either our own or the sins of our fathers. That sin must be submitted to the blood of Christ to remove it, so that the enemy cannot use it against us. For sin to be forgiven, it must be recognized, acknowledged, confessed, repented of, and renounced.

I continue to be concerned about how many “believers” are ignorant of God’s word and so are ignorant of their sins. Many believers let culture determine what is right or wrong and simply assume that God will agree with cultural norms. I’m often surprised at how many young couples in church are unmarried, but living together and have no idea that God would have an issue with that. Many believing men think that indulging in porn is not an issue as long as they don’t “act on it.” Believers are prone to make promises or commitments and then ditch them at the last minute because they got a “better offer” and think that breaking commitments or promises is not an issue with the Lord. We make judgments against others and feel no conviction because we feel justified in what we said or thought. We believe the cultural lie that same sex marriage is moral because it is tolerant and so we go along with the moral trend.

I could go on, but we need to be more biblically informed and train our consciences around the word of God rather than cultural values. We may also need to ask the Holy Spirit to inform us of issues we don’t recognize that are giving Satan a legal right to afflict us. King David prayed, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psm. 139:23-24) We need to pray the same prayer on a regular basis. Even if we are unaware that we are sinning, the sin still gives Satan a right to oppress us.

Once we become aware of something in our lives that is not aligned with God’s will, we need to acknowledge that it is sin and that we are responsible for our choices. Too many of us seek to excuse or rationalize what we are doing or blame others rather than simply owning it and confessing it. Any attempt on our part have “our sin” excused, gives the enemy an open door to attack us.

In conjunction with owning the sin, we must confess it…to God and, sometimes to others. If we have wronged others, we may need to confess that to them and ask their forgiveness. The key is found in 1 John 1:9. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” The cleansing takes away the legal right of the enemy to attack us on the basis of that sin. However, unconfessed sin isa weapon the enemy will use against us.

There is also the heart-matter of repentance. Am I just saying the words or do I truly have godly sorrow for my failings and do I intend to do it God’s way from that point forward? Genuine repentance is required before forgiveness is released. In addition, Proverbs declares, “He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy” (Prov. 28:13).To renounce means to declare publicly that you no longer support, agree, or have a connection with something or someone…in this case, the sin and the one who promotes sin. Publicly does not typically mean that we must renounce it in front of the church, but I do need to declare it out loud to God and to the spiritual realm if to no one else.

Once we have recognized, acknowledged, confessed, repented, and renounced a sin in our life or in our bloodline, we can declare verbally that the curse is cancelled and nullified by the blood of Christ and by his authority. We can then cancel the assignment of any unclean spirit that has been afflicting us and command it to leave.

The question remains, what if I don’t know the specific sins of my “fathers” or may still be unaware of my own sin? When Nehemiah was informed of the state of Jerusalem during his exile, he prayed to God that he would be given favor to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the wall. He prayed, “I confess the sins we Israelites , including myself and my father’s family, have committed against you. We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees, and laws you gave your servant Moses…(Neh.1:6-7). He then went on to ask for forgiveness and favor in accomplishing God’s purposes for his people. Daniel also prayed this way regarding the sins of Israel. He said, “we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws…Lord, in keeping with your righteous acts turn away your anger and your wrath…hear the prayers and petitions of your servant” (Dan. 9:5,16,17).

If we specifically know our sin or the sins of our fathers, then confess them specifically. Repent on behalf of your bloodlines and renounce the sins. If not, pray as Nehemiah and Daniel prayed. They were essentially asking God to lift the curse that had been established against them for their sins and to bless Israel once again. We can pray in a similar way for ourselves, our family, and our nation.

In closing, we need to be aware of curses and take them seriously. The blood of Christ has more than enough power to nullify any curse. Indeed, Christ became a curse for us that we might be blessed. But curses aren’t dismissed automatically. We have our part to play through our own repentance and confession and even when the legal right of the enemy has been removed, you will still need to command these rebellious spirits to leave.

So there is the basic reality about curse and how to deal with them. Now that you know, get busy!

In my last blog, I discussed the reality of curses. Curses are a very biblical topic and play a significant role from Genesis to Revelation. The very first curse is established in Genesis 3:14-19 after Adam and Eve sinned. They are a critical part of God’s first covenant with Israel and reveal how he deals with men and nations. Many are spelled out in detail in Deuteronomy 28-30. If you have never read that section you should. In those chapters, God promises abundant blessings if Israel will follow him and abundant curses if they rebel. These curses were established to be spiritual consequences that function as a restraint against sin. From the very beginning, God established the law of sowing and reaping. Paul succinctly summarizes it in Galatians 6:7-8. He writes that a man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh will reap destruction (curses). Whoever sows to please the Spirit will reap life.

When we act in ways that violate God’s law and do so without confession or repentance, we open ourselves up to a curse. If our fathers sinned against God without repentance, those sins can also be used by Satan as legal grounds to afflict us (Ex. 20:5). That is the nature of generational sin and generational curses. If Satan discovers a cause against us – our sin, the sins of our fathers, to the sins of those are in ca covenant with – he can bring an accusation before the Father, and the Father will have to grant him permission to enforce a curse against us.

Satan is constantly looking for something in our lives or bloodline that gives him a legal right to establish and maintain a curse. With that in view, a curse can be defined as a supernatural assignment of the demonic against a person, family, place, organization, or nation that constantly brings about negative outcomes over a sustained period of time. God’s heart is to bless. Satan’s heart is to establish curses that steal, kill and destroy. God’s desire is that we never open ourselves up to the enemy, but justice in the spiritual realm allows Satan to afflict us if he can find a cause.

There are many believers today who are being oppressed or tormented by demonic spirits that have taken an assignment against them based on something that has given them a legal right to do so. Many times, deliverance ministries rush to cast out a demon only to find that it remains or leaves and then returns…because that unclean spirit still has legal grounds to oppress and torment. An essential step in casting out a demon or in breaking a curse is to take away the legal right of the enemy to be present. When that has been accomplished, then we can effectively command the spirit to leave and forbid it to return.

So, what are common open doors for curses in the lives of believers? The Bible lists many….

Idolatry or involvement in false religions. Idolatry is anything we bow down to in place of God. It can be an idol in the traditional sense, but can also be addictions, materialism, power, popularity, a sinful relationship, etc. Many of us have ancestors that did worship false gods, offer human sacrifices, bow down to idols, etc. and that idolatry can be a source of generational curses. (Dt. 5:8-10)

Dishonoring parents. (Dt. 27:16) This sin carried the death penalty under the Old Covenant. Under the New Covenant it can still give the devil a right to torment us.

Injustice and violence, including abortion that was not medically mandated.

Sexual immorality which includes pornography, sex outside the marriage covenant, homosexuality, molestation, incest, etc.

Robbing God of tithes and offerings. (Mal.3:8-9)

Anti-semitism or hatred of Jews. (Gen. 12:3) Individuals of German descent may be affected with generational curses due to the holocaust, etc.

Ignoring the poor. (Pr. 28:27)

Turning our heart away from God, which constitutes unbelief. (Jer.17:5)

Refusing to honor God. (Mal.2:2)

Unforgiveness towards others. (Matt.6:14-15)

Judging others with an attitude of condemnation and self-righteousness. (Matt.7:1-2).

Rebellion. Some sin is from from ignorance, some from weakness. Rebellion knows what God requires and chooses to reject it.

Occult involvement includes witchcraft, psychic readings, astrology, Ouija boards, white magic, black magic, Freemasonry, etc. If parents or grandparents dabbled in those things, their involvement may open the door to a generational curse.

Pride and arrogance. Pride is always an open door for the enemy because God humbles the proud.

There are other causes for curses as well, but these are the most apparent in scripture. We all sin, so are we all going to be cursed? Not necessarily. Sin becomes an open door when it is not quickly dealt with through confession and repentance. If we continue in a sin, fail to forgive, maintain a judgmental attitude toward others, rationalize our rebellion against God’s law, etc. we definitely become prime real estate for a curse. If, however, we quickly acknowledge those attitudes and behaviors as sin and bring those issues before the Lord to be submitted to the blood of Christ, the enemy will have no case against us.

If we are honest with ourselves, we can typically recognize the sin and issues in our own lives. We should deal with those quickly. Of course, we can be blind to some, so we need to ask the Holy Spirit to show us any sin in our lives that we do not recognize. You might even ask believers who know you well to share any thoughts they have about what they see. Some of the more challenging issues that can open the door to curses for us, are the sins of the fathers. Few of us know what our grandparents or great grandparents were involved in, and yet their sins need to be submitted to the blood of Christ as well.

In my next blog, I will talk about how we can determine whether a curse is operating in our lives or family and how to nullify generational curses that we may b e unaware of.

It’s been a while since I wrote about curses on this blog, but I think it is time to do so again. As a technological and “science-based” culture, most people give no credibility to the notion of curses. The idea of curses is typically relegated to fiction and fairy tales. However, it is a very biblical topic and a continuing reality unless you dismiss the reality of a spiritual realm. But even those who believe in a spiritual realm give little thought to curses.

In the church, I frequently see individuals and families who have suffered and failed and experienced loss to an unusual degree for extended periods of time…even for generations…without recognizing that a curse may be operating in their lives for family line. It is also human nature to forget that we collide with a highly active spiritual realm on a daily basis. Part of that realm is working on our behalf. Another part is working tirelessly to undermine our lives and the destiny God has for us as his children.

When the enemy has pushed back against our dreams, our families, our success, our health, or our destiny long enough, we may slip into a mindset that our inability to make headway or experience breakthrough is simply life on planet earth. Once we take on that worldview, we stop fighting and the enemy wins. He is then able to steal our future. As believers, we cannot forget Paul’s admonition to the church in Ephesus…

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. (Ephesians. 6:10-12)

For those who believe we should have no concern about Satan because he is defeated and Jesus protects us, this word from Paul dispels that notion. Certainly, he that is in us is greater than he that is in the world. Certainly Satan has been judged. But we are still involved in an ongoing war to enforce the victory Christ has won and we have a significant role to play in those battles. Otherwise, Paul would have had no reason to issue this warning and directive. Remember that when God brought the Hebrews out of Egypt to the land of Canaan, he did not suddenly eradicate the enemy tribes within the promised land. Instead, he required Israel to fight. The promise was that he would go before them and assure the victory, but they still had to face the enemy and take the land.

The word translated “schemes,” in the passage above, (methodeia) means a logical, systematic and deceptive strategy. The one who is orchestrating this strategy against you is the devil (diabolos), which means slanderer or accuser. The book of Revelation tells us that he (Satan) accuses the brothers and sisters day and night before our God (Rev. 12:10).

How are his accusations and his schemes connected? Through his accusations, Satan is seeking a legal right to afflict or oppress the children of God. The throne of God is established on righteousness and justice (Ps.89:14), which means that the kingdom of heaven operates on a system of divine law that even God submits to because he is submitting to himself and the laws he has established in his own righteousness.

The book of Job is instructive. It opens with Satan coming into the presence of God with accusations against Job. Picture a court room. Satan’s comes in as the accuser, the prosecuting attorney. His complaint was that God had placed a hedge of protection around Job so that Satan could not touch him. His strategy was to bring an accusation against Job, so that the charge would give him a legal right to torment the man. Apparently, the charge was that Job only worshipped God because of the blessings he received rather than because God was worthy of worship regardless of whether life was pleasant or a nightmare. The charge would stand until it was answered in the courts of heaven.

The charge gave Satan the right to change an environment of blessing into a cursed environment in which Job lost children, possessions, and finally his health. In the end, Job relinquished his pride and his sense of self-righteousness and declared God worthy of worship regardless of circumstances. When Job came to that place in his mind and heart, God was able to justify him and dismiss the accusation that Satan had levied against the man. After that, God was free to bless Job again…even more than he had in the beginning. It is always God’s heart to bless his people, but if an accusation stands in the courts of heaven, justice requires that he gives the enemy some access to the one accused.

Satan uses the same strategy against us. He brings accusation against each of us in the courts of heaven. If he can find a legal cause to enforce a curse against us, he will. For some of us, he doesn’t have to look very far. Secret sin, unconfessed sin, unforgiveness, arrogance, gossip, etc. can all give Satan access to us. Solomon said, “Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow, an undeserved curse does not come to rest (Pr. 26:2). Satan is constantly looking for a something in our lives on which a curse can come to rest. When he finds something, he can oppress and afflict us until the charge is dismissed. That ongoing affliction and oppression is the manifestation of curse that has landed in our lives.

Often, our part in the battle is to discover the issue that is giving the devil the legal right to hinder God’s destiny for our lives or the lives of those we love or care for. Sometimes the cause rests in us…our thoughts, our actions, or our carnal nature. Sometimes it rests in our bloodlines…the sins of the fathers that are passed down to the children to the third and fourth generations. If Satan can find a cause, he can bring the accusation before the Father and if it stands, he may gain legal access to us and our families, our business, our church, and even our community. We can command the enemy to cease his attack and take his hands off, but if he still has a legal right to afflict someone, our commands may go unheeded or the demons we have dismissed will return soon and take up their assignment once more.

I love deliverance, but our task before deliverance should be to determine the issue that is giving the enemy a legal right to afflict us or the one to whom we are ministering, and then to take the issue before the Lord so that he may submit it to the blood of Christ. Once the accusation is dismissed, we can command the enemy to leave and to never return. There are several steps we may need to take in order to have the accusation dismissed and the legal right of the enemy taken away. We will discuss those in next week’s blog.