Spiritual Weapons Aren't Just Decorations

(Rick Renner, photo courtesy of amazon.com)

It’s easy to believe a lie, and to allow that lie to become a stronghold in our mind.

Sunday morning in church, the incredibly anointed man of God, Rick Renner taught about the battle that goes on in our minds every day, giving precious examples. It’s not a new subject, by any means. But, when you’re ready to hear a message it becomes tangible to you; the light bulb goes on in your mind and things begin to make sense; the lens through which we look at life seems to become a little more finely tuned and we see more clearly.

I bought a book Mr. Renner wrote on spiritual warfare. It’s a condensed version of his book, Dressed to Kill, called Spiritual Weapons to Defeat the Enemy. (If you click on any titles a link will take you to the book on Amazon.) I read the book this afternoon, it’s short, to the point and easy to read and understand. Understanding the Greek behind certain words in the New Testament sheds new light on what a passage actually means. In this book, he takes a deeper look at the meaning of the words devil, wiles, strongholds, devices, deception and several others. “Devil” is Satan’s job description, not his name. In short, he uses few weapons against us, but he uses them repeatedly, like banging a rock against our mind until he penetrates it and creates strongholds there with deceptive thoughts that we grab onto and accept.

Mr. Renner teaches us how to win the battle in our mind. In this little book, he doesn’t beat around the bush or use concepts that only a scholar could grasp, he speaks to us in terms we can understand and shows us how to use the whole armor of God to overcome and defeat the enemy. I highly recommend the book. I paid only $5 for the book and now have teaching I can look back to time and time again as I need to. Implementing his teaching will take a conscious decision on our part, because it’s not the way most of us have been living, though it’s clearly laid out for us in God’s Word.

Tomorrow I plan to read the other book I bought today, You Can Get Over It; How toConfront, Forgive and Move On.

Who Are We Wrestling With?

While praying the other day a point came to mind and of course I pondered it. Sometimes when we pray, we feel futility come in and try to distract us, or even compel us to give up praying for certain people or situations. It can be trying on our patience and a test of our faith to continue to pray even when we cannot see things change.

Sometimes we pray because we don’t know what else to do. Sometimes we pray because we know it’s the best thing to do.

But when we pray because we know it’s the best thing we can do – and we feel like our prayers are bouncing off the ceiling and no changes surface in the ordeal we’re facing, then what?

Most of us humans aren’t all that good at waiting, especially here in America where our culture promises everything from a microwave. If we’re in a drive-thru for more than a few minutes, we’ll mutter, “And they call this FAST food?”

I don’t claim to know the secrets to living a life of patience, quite frankly, if I couldn’t find folks to chat with while waiting in line I’d consider them a form of purgatory.

But I discovered a little nugget the other day that has changed and invigorated the way I pray for people and certain situations. I may not have authority over their minds, BUT – I can have spiritual authority over the evil influences that overwhelm them.

When God bestowed upon us the gift of freedom to choose, He didn’t intend for any of us to wrestle that freedom away from others, even when we think we know better than they do. You may not be able to force someone to see things your way – or God’s way, but you can take authority over the forces that want to see destruction throughout mankind.

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” – Ephesians 6:12 (KJV)

(The photo is Australian actor/wrestler Nathan Jones.)

Ezer Standing V

Again, Sun Tzu said, ‘One may know how to conquer without being able to do it.’

Through the reading of God’s Word we gain insight to His ways and His will. We learn how He does things. We learn about His heart. Through spending the time it takes to prayerfully hear what He’s saying to us through His Word, we gain the faith, wisdom and strength to perform what He requires of us. (Faith comes by hearing, hearing by the Word of God.)

Many scholars read the Bible and walk away unchanged. Simpler minds can read God’s Word and come away a new man. Some can read it believing they’re objective or even on a fault-finding mission, and discover themselves on the pages. How can one man walk away changed and another leave it still hungry for what it contains?

Heart change – once the heart receives from God, the mind can believe. Is your heart teachable? Is it reachable? Are you prepared to give it away? Only when you let go can God change it and create in you a new heart, one like His. (Create in me a new heart, oh God, and renew a right spirit within me.)

Learning God’s Word, we’re more than a soldier reading through an instruction manual. We are being empowered to truly love and receive love, we’re being transformed. He who fights greatly has the heart for the battle. I would not be your first choice to be the poster child for being a vegetarian – I love meat. I would not be the woman to look to for pro-choice matters – I hate abortion. But I want to know that God can depend on me to declare His Word and live it to the best of my ability – to the best of the ability He’s placed within me – which is far greater than I know!

Though not a typical Thanksgiving's Day blog - I am thankful most for the God that loves me -no matter what!

Ezer Standing IV - Afraid to Fight

‘All warfare is based on deception.’ ~Sun Tzu

I hate that line! We all hate the idea of being deceived. It’s happened to all of us. Whether you’re a jilted lover, a shocked parent or a businessman that’s just been swindled – the deception causes hurt and shame. But this is how our enemy battles, and these are the wages of his war, to envelop us with guilt, shame, hurt, pain, anguish, failure, fear, sickness and death.

The other day we celebrated Veterans Day. Thank you to our veterans! But as I noticed on line the many notes of thanks, I also noticed the notes of a few that were bold enough to say: Thank you for doing what the rest of us are afraid to do. And that’s just it. We’re afraid to fight.

‘One may know how to conquer without being able to do it.’ ~again from Sun Tzu

We’re afraid to fight even for what matters. Around me I see those afraid to fight daily battles, for the rights of their children, afraid to fight for the defense of unborn children, afraid to fight for their personal convictions. We’ve become accustomed to the idea of being ‘politically correct’ or to the idea that we’re not ‘giving up’ – we’re just ‘moving on.’ I want to make note here that I am not aiming this at anyone! As in every battle – there are times to retreat and regroup or cut your losses. As long as you’re submitting to what God requires of you – I applaud you! The whole point of a battle is submitting to your commander – so that you can win His way. The ways that seem right to a man, in the end lead to destruction. The bottom line is to do things God’s way – and that’s why it’s so important to be in His Word – so that we know His ways, and submit to them.

Ezer Standing II

‘Security against defeat implies defensive tactics; ability to defeat the enemy means taking the offensive.’ ~Sun Tzu, The Art of War

Spiritual battles have the most at stake. If we don’t understand the strategies of war our enemies employ – they may win.

God is a god of peace and love – but He’s also a jealous god, a god of war. Only when you stand with Him, can you win.

To those who will not fight, I quote:
‘War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself.’ –John Stuart Mill, 1806-1872

When I watch Revolutionary War movies, I can’t see the honorable or the advantage of fighting the way the British fought – standing in lines in clear view of the enemy, waiting for enemy fire. Why would you sacrifice your soldiers this way?

In the battles between good and evil - life and death, there are many unnecessary casualties – warriors not prepared for war, that don’t know how to use their weapons, that don’t understand the strategies and sacrifices to be made, that don’t wear the proper protection or that stand out in front of the enemy thinking he won’t dare fire upon an innocent, unarmed player.

‘Hence the saying: If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself, but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.’ ~Sun Tzu

Ezer Standing

We’re not sitting ducks.

We face a barrage of attacks from Satan and his minions every time we try to step up to do something for God. Once we’ve established daily time in the Word, we gain the footing we need to stand against the enemy.

Pastor Mark Cowart has given us a list of seven strategies of opposition which include: ridicule, discouragement, your past, the threat of attack, internal conflict, false accusations and false prophecy. He’s taken a look at each of them – and the study is phenomenal. I wish you could all be here in Colorado Springs at Church For All Nations so you could hear it for yourself. He’s an amazing teacher with an incredible anointing. He’s also given us an acronym for getting out from underneath the attacks of the wicked one. W-O-R-D: be in the Word; be on the Offense; Replace the lies with God’s truth; and Dream again – with determination. Pretty powerful stuff!

I cannot exaggerate the importance of consistently being in God’s Word. It’s our instruction manual for life on Earth.

But we need to be on the offense, as well. It would be detrimental to sit around just waiting for the enemy’s attacks or worse yet – to believe those attacks won’t come. What enemy doesn’t just love a sitting duck?

In Ephesians 6 we find the armor God has given us for protection in battle. Sadly, too many of us try to walk into battle without protection and weaponry, and even scarier, too many of us don’t acknowledge the battle!

Dig into Ephesians chapter 6 – read it, study it and apply it! There are Bible studies available – in Christian book stores, thrift shops and even here on line. We have no excuse to walk naked into battle. We’re warriors, poised for war! Take up the offensive positions!

Ephesians 6:10-18 (NKJV) Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—

Ezer Rising VII

As the ezer rises, the only place found to stand is upon the Word of God. You cannot find sure footing in the sand, only on the Rock. Jesus is our Rock.

Exodus 33:21 (KJV) And the LORD said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock

Deuteronomy 32:4 (KJV) He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he

Deuteronomy 32:18 (KJV) Of the Rock that begat thee thou art unmindful, and hast forgotten God that formed thee.

Always, consistently – stay in God’s Word. Stand on His Word. There’s safety there. God’s perfect will and love will fill you and empower you – through His Word.

This morning I challenged fear, again.

Does my drinking glass fear that each time I drink from it that it will somehow fail me? Besides the obvious, that an inanimate object cannot know fear, no. If my glass falls to the floor and breaks, I dropped it. If my drink dribbles onto my blouse, I’m the one that began pouring before it reached my lips. I control my drinking glass – the vessel I purchased to use as I please. I have my favorite coffee mugs, my favorite tall glass, my favorite soup mugs – I seldom pour cola into my soup mug, but I can if I choose to – because they all belong to me.

I’m God’s vessel. He purchased me for His own good pleasure. He paid the price so that I could be useful, used by Him. I willingly yield to His control.

From an old poem of mine:

Oh, dear Lord, let me be Your pen, every now and then, write with me.
Oh, Lord, just now I pray, that You would choose today-
to speak through me again.

The power of the pen is not in the ink, but in the commitment to the paper. Until the pen is put to paper – it’s powerless.

Ezer Rising VI

So we’ve got it! We need to be in the Word every single day. If we’re a Christian, that’s our first essential. It teaches and equips us to do everything else we need to do. If you’re not a Christian, you’re fighting a losing battle. You cannot fight your way into heaven. Your name is either in the Lamb’s Book of Life, or it isn’t. That’s the easy part. Message me if you need to know more.

Now that we understand we need God’s Word daily, prepare yourself for the fact that Satan isn’t going to let that go uncontested. Whether he’s whispering in your ear about the million other things you need to do today, or your Bible is ‘conveniently’ out in the car because you took it to church last night, stand your ground. Lines like ‘I’m too sleepy’ or ‘I don’t understand what I read anyway’ are lies you’ve fallen for before that the enemy will keep using until they stop working.

Simply reading God’s Word – and allowing God to speak to you through it may be enough to get you on your feet and well on your way past discouragement. That’s not okay with Satan, either. He’s not going to give up. He wants you discouraged. He wants you doubting yourself, your salvation and your abilities to do anything for God. Without the reassurance you need from God Himself, it’s easy for Satan to lie to you and get away with it.

When are you going to stop harping on this, Helen? Well, most likely, never. Throughout our Christian walk, the temptation to make God wait on us may always be there in the backgrounds of our mind – or it may just pop up to try to sabotage us from time to time. Always, get back to the Word. If you’ve neglected it for a while now, begin again. God is the God of new beginnings.

What next? Come back for part VII….

Ezer Rising V

Okay, so some of you didn’t find yourself in the last post. You read your Bibles every single day. The angels are celebrating your commitment. I rejoice with them. What a way to seek after the heart of our Father!

This post isn’t aimed at everyone either, but to those who read the Word out of habit, like they take their vitamins every morning. I think some people even read their Bibles out of the superstitious feeling that if they don’t something will go wrong that day. So is it a good-luck charm?

Today I want to challenge you to examine your motives when you read God’s Word. Are you looking for something? That’s okay. But be ready to receive what God’s desiring to pour into you, as well. If you’re looking for a ‘word in due season’ – something to provide encouragement for your day or the answer to a question, great. But be open to the idea that God may be pointing you toward something you didn’t go there for.

When you’re looking for something you’ve misplaced, isn’t it great to find something else you thought you’d lost forever, or discover something you didn’t realize you had in the first place? God has nourishment and blessings and instructions and commands and even correction for us that we might not have been looking for when we opened our Bible covers. I love digging a purse out of the closet to discover there’s money in it I’d forgotten about. I love finding a note I’d written to myself with a nugget God gave me, refreshing me once again. But I love it best when I’m reading God’s Word and I find that He’s talking about me, that He’s written something there just for me, that I need right now. He knew I’d need it today since before I drew breath!

He’s good like that!

Look at your routine. Is it just a routine? If it is, you’re missing a lot.

Ezer Rising IV

And again, I’m reminded of the saying we hear most from Pastor Mark, ‘Satan hates it when you get into the Word, but he trembles when the Word gets into you.’ This quote made its way around our favorite network system the other day – ‘You know that when you carry the Bible, Satan gets a headache. When you open it, he collapses. When he sees you reading it he faints, and when you are about to repost this message, he will try and discourage you! One of his greatest tactics is simple discouragement!’
Surely the point is getting out; Satan does not want you reading your Bible. And on most days, if you’re honest with yourself, do you feel like you want to? Let’s examine that for a minute or two.

If you find that looking over the last week or so, you’ve missed out on reading the Word more days than you managed to make time for it, ask yourself why? Most of us know by now that we need to read it – that our spirit needs the Word like our flesh needs food. How often do we forget to eat? Yeah, we’ve all got our priorities. It might be about rearranging them.

What’s inside our heads that says it’s okay to put off reading the Bible until later, when we have more time, or convinces us that we won’t have time at all today, but that’s okay, God will understand?

Yes, God understands our busyness – and He’s not impressed with it at all.

Has Satan got us so deceived that we think its okay to go indefinitely without reading God’s Word? It’s where our spirit gets its strength to do the things God has destined us to do. So though our bodies may be (or need to be) on a diet, our spirit needs to be gorged, everyday. Without this nourishment, we’re too weak to use the other weapons in our arsenal.

Be accountable, put it in writing. Why didn’t I read my Bible yesterday?

Ezer Rising III

Discipline. Kind of sounds like a cuss word to the lazy person.

I bought the book The Art of War by Sun Tzu, a Chinese military general that lived at least 500 years before Jesus clothed Himself in flesh. In it he reveals his mind set for war. A lot of Christians don’t see the warfare we’re involved in, and most of those that do are still learning this mind set. Amidst his warfare strategies, General Tzu says: All war is deception. We need to see that spiritual warfare in particular, is built upon deception. Of all the things Pastor Mark has been teaching us lately, this resounds in my mind.

The discouragement the enemy rolls out before us like a red carpet, compelling us to ‘walk this way’ is based on deception. The ridicule he throws at us, intentionally, is steeped in deception. Every lie we fall for is intended to deceive us into thinking about our lives from any viewpoint that doesn’t line up with God’s. This is why it’s so important to investigate and search out what God says about everything. The enemy of our soul doesn’t want us to know God’s point of view, because there we will find truth; absolute truth.

You’ve heard it said: fact is stranger than fiction. Well, lies can be easier to swallow than a truth pill. If I’m sly and cunning and have access to your unguarded mind, I can hide the truth from you. And Satan has had eons of time to practice the art of deception; he’s watched and learned the vulnerable, soft spots in the human mind. He notices when we drop our guard and sees when we’ve not been taught how to guard our minds in the first place. He is merciless and is out to steal, kill and destroy – his purpose, in a nutshell.

John 10:10 (NKJV) The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I [Jesus] have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

Come back for more………………

Ezer Rising

Pastor is teaching us how to rebuild the broken places in our lives, our community and our nation.

‘Discouragement is the attempt to prevent you from doing something by raising arguments, objections or some type of expression of disapproval. That doesn’t even have to be a word, it can be a look it can be a glance, it can be a snicker, it can be a smirk.’ - Pastor Mark Cowart (Church For All Nations, Colorado Springs, Colorado)

Is this how easily we’re set back? Is this how easily the enemy can snatch our destiny from us? This is the simple ploy we don’t even recognize enough to consciously put a stop to.

It may seem petty, but it’s powerful – especially against unwary Christians who don’t recognize we’re in a battle. Pastor Mark even calls discouragement ‘the choice weapon of darkness’.

When you purpose in your heart to do things God’s way – Satan is ready to send discouragement your way. He taunts us and harasses us with snide remarks or challenges us with arguments that somehow seem plausible at the time.
In my own life, even when I’m trying to do something good for myself, not even a grand notion to advance the kingdom of God, I hear objections to overrule my plans. You want to lose how many pounds? - Ha-ha, you seriously think you’re going to exercise every day? - You know you can’t resist those Mocha Frappes.

Worse yet when I argue the case against myself! I haven’t eaten all day, one mocha won’t kill me. - I’m not failing, I’ll just get back on track tomorrow. - Well, at least I’m not as heavy as the lady in front of me.
And as if that’s not bad enough, discouragement can come in just because something doesn’t go my way. (As if the world revolves around me.)

Bells should go off when I’m siding with the enemy! When I battle in my mind over little things, certainly the devil is convinced he’s got me under his feet when I try to do something for God.

But no more! This will require biblical tactics and discipline. See you back here in a day or two…..

Wounded Ezers

Our pastor has been teaching on the Seven Strategies of Opposition, drawing from the book of Nehemiah. I certainly think he’s stepping on a lot of toes – unless people are sitting on their feet. I find myself exposed by every strategy of the enemy he brings up. The first was that of ridicule, then that of discouragement. I transcribe his sermons because we’re (as a church) intending to produce a workbook of some sort on this series. Since I’m listening to his sermons repeatedly and intently to transcribe word-for-word, I hear what he’s saying and it’s being hammered into my heart to the point of my rescue! He truly shares far more than most of us can possibly retain, whether we’re taking notes or not. There’s so much to be learned. After recognizing the ridicule (at least some of it) that the enemy throws my way, and after uncovering the discouragement he’s no doubt entertained by watching me squirm beneath, I’ve turned my focus on how to get myself out from under the captivating spell of his tactics. Pastor Mark (Cowart) has emphasized that Satan’s warring against us is all from deception. If he could just wipe us out, he wouldn’t bother with his attempts to deceive us. He’s not nearly as powerful as we give him credit for. And he certainly knows the power and potential that’s wrapped up inside of us more than we do, or we would be of no threat to him – and he wouldn’t be so focused on taking us down.

Besides ridicule and discouragement – the next thing pastor exposed is how Satan will try to use our past against us. He pointed out that the Apostle Peter himself denied Jesus – yet felt no condemnation as he showed the masses he preached to how they themselves denied Christ and His authority. For many years I’ve sung the chorus from Romans 8:1-2 – but Peter exercised it in his life!

There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:1-2 KJV)

Does any of this sound like something going on in your life? There is a way out!

More coming later this week……