Legally Speaking....

 

“Satan is very legalistic. Once you believe that Jesus is your Savior, Satan legally has ZERO authority over our lives, but if he can gain one little inch (through sin, curses, witchcraft, or unforgiveness) he will use that to his advantage every single time.” – Amy Wadlington, “Into the Deep”

Our enemy is legalistic because he must be, he’s bound by spiritual laws. He cannot cross the bloodline of Jesus Christ. Where have we let down our guard and how do we force him back once he’s found an inroad; a crack in our shield of faith? Where have we come into agreement with him without even realizing it?

I recently discovered that I had given something over to the enemy decades ago and have been living with a chain around me, holding me back from freedom God has for me. I’m praying for God to reveal any more chains disguised as mere words I haven’t considered harmful.

“I just meant……” Satan doesn’t care what you meant by your words. You spewed them out and he’ll run with them as far and as fast as he can. God teaches us how powerful our words are. “Death and life are in the power of the tongue…” – Proverbs 18:21a

In Amy Wadlington’s book “Into the Deep” she points out several (of many) things we might have said that Satan snatched up and ran with, compromising the abundant life God promised us here and in Heaven. I’ll suggest:

·      “No one could love me…”

·      “I’ll never get a good job…”

·      “Obesity runs in my family…”

·      “I’ll never live in a nice house…”

·      “I don’t deserve good things in my life…”

I could give you a long list of my own. If you hang out with me much, you might catch me criticizing and condemning myself in ridiculous ways, concluding that I may have a poor self-image. What lies have I locked myself into?

You may ask yourself the same question. The good news is that God will reveal them to us if we ask Him to, and He’ll walk with us through breaking them off and forcing them out of our lives. I’d love to quote this whole chapter from Amy’s book here, but I’d rather you buy the book and grow through every single chapter she shares with us. I can’t tell you how powerful it’s been in my life.

You may already recognize your own voice in your head, remembering negative things you’ve said about yourself or things others have said to you that you believed. They need to be dealt with. Satan doesn’t get to hold the upper hand. God has given us the keys to His kingdom and shares His glory with us. We are joint heirs with Jesus! Hallelujah!

Take a few minutes to ask God what you’ve said that lines up with what Satan wants you think – versus what God Himself wants you to know, His Truth – about you and about Him and everything else.

He’ll speak to your heart; He’ll reveal everything you need to know.

And as we heard in our childhood, “knowing is half the battle!”

As you pray, break off the chains those words created, let God (and the enemy) hear you declare out loud that you no longer agree with them. Let God show you a scripture that speaks His truth to the situation, agree with HIM and declare that!

Living in God’s freedom isn’t rocket science. But you need to be in His Word regularly to learn about your authority in the spirit realm.

“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” – Hosea 4:6a

Seriously – life is an open book test. There’s no need to flounder or fail.

 

How Sharp Are My Questions?

Are we working too hard because our axe is dull? If we have the understanding to sharpen our axe, our work is made easier. That is, of course, our work includes cutting down trees. My axe might be equated with my questions. I learn more and I’m able to apply what I learn, if I’m asking relevant questions.

If a scene plays out before us, but the lens of the camera is zoomed in too close we might see a tough-looking boy shove a pretty little girl down on harsh concrete and cause her to drop her ice cream or teddy bear; skin her knees and dirty her dress, perhaps even break her arm if he falls on top of her.

When we zoom back and see the scene unfold in context, we might see that he wasn’t being mean at all. Rather, he was shoving her out of the way of an oncoming truck she failed to pay attention to. In reality, what could have looked like he was being rough and mean to her, can actually be his attempt to save her life.

Without pulling back on the lens, we might become angry and unfairly accuse the boy of wrong doing or seek to punish him. Our anger or grief might blind us to the possibility that there was something else happening, that what we perceived as reality, though it was real, was not the complete picture.

Do you think perhaps we sometimes accuse God of dealing with us unfairly? Do we sometimes get angry at Him for allowing unnecessary roughness?

1 Corinthians 13:8-12 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

Ezer Part 11 - Questions and Answers

Hopefully you’re discovering some points to ponder as you read through these blog postings. If you have answers to some of the questions I’ve posed, please share them with us.

As I navigate through this walk of life I am constantly bombarded with questions. Perhaps it’s my personality type; I’m just curious by nature. But my need-to-know sometimes gets the better of me. I ask silly questions. I ask questions that none of us can really know the answers to until we can ask God Himself Face-to-face. To my human mind there are plenty of verses in the Bible that seem to conflict with each other – and for many people, that is enough for them to dismiss the idea of the Bible being accurate and directly from God. I’m a little more humble than that when I admit that my finite brain can’t yet boast to understand all of God’s thoughts and ways. I take God at His Word, even when I don’t completely understand what He’s saying. It’s not blind faith; it’s a faith that constantly asks God for more; more knowledge, more wisdom, more understanding, more grace, more compassion and more discernment. I want more of God Himself. There are plenty of things I know in my heart but can’t find words to express.

But honestly, I have more unanswered questions than I do answers. Most likely, because one good answer leads to dozens more questions. I’m okay with questions. To stop learning is to stop living. I’ve met people that don’t ask questions – maybe they’re afraid to ask or they’re afraid of the answer. Maybe they don’t even care enough about the answer to ask the question. Or maybe, just maybe – they need someone like me to ask the questions for them?