Forgive Others, But Can You?

Posted on February 9, 2023 by Lisa Blair

Colossians 3:13 instructs us to bear with each other and forgive one another…forgive others as the Lord forgave you. I believe most of us know this scripture but practicing it is more difficult.

I know this feeling and have been plagued with unforgiveness for years, yet I repented and asked for forgiveness from God over and over again. I am certain He shakes His head and says, Lisa, Lisa, my child, you must forgive as I have forgiven you. Do not replay the situation or action that takes you back and negates your repentance.

How often have we vowed to others and ourselves that we have forgiven someone, yet the situation or act continues to arise and consume our thoughts? All too often we fall prey to the wiles of the evil one who ensures we cannot let the hate, anger, and fear go.

Satan knows that if he keeps us focused from truly forgiving, we are separated from the Lord. As long as we are separated from the Lord, we are under his realm of influence. We are operating in his sinful nature and not the Lord’s righteousness.

We cannot move forward if we cannot forgive. I do not mean life stands still, but our prospects are tainted by hate, anger, and uncertainty. We are not free to love as the Lord loves us, we are not able to receive the Lord’s forgiveness as we have not forgiven others. We are gripped in a vise.

Well, many years later, I think I am getting the message and when past experiences arise, I can honestly say, I have forgiven and will no longer focus on the past. I recite the last part of Colossians 3:13 and pray that I can release the thought for good, separating it as far as the east is from the west and placing it in the land of no return. Standing on the Word has lessened the attacks, weakened their venom, and provided a peace that once evaded me. I pray you will experience the same. Our Lord forgives us. He is our example of how to forgive. Christ cried on the cross, forgive them. We are equipped to do the same and forgive those who have harmed us. There is peace in forgiveness.

I am listing scriptures that focus on forgiveness that you can use as your sword against the evil one. Read these scriptures and use them to help you overcome unforgiveness.

Ephesians 4:32	Mark 11:25	Proverbs 17:9
Matthew 6:14	Psalm 32:1	Proverbs 10:12
Luke 6:37	Matthew 6:15	Psalm 103:12
Matthew 18:21-22	1 John 1:9	Daniel 9:9
Psalm 86:5	Hebrews 8:12	Isaiah 43:25
Hebrews 10:17	Psalm 130:3-4	Ephesians 1:7-8
Colossians 1:13-14	Colossians 3:13

Scriptures – 20 Hopeful Bible Verses About the Power of Forgiveness, by Ian Palmer, updated June 9, 2022. Countryliving.com

Images – Forgiveness, Gotquestions.com; Forgive and Move On, Scott Prichard.com

Note: Forgiveness does not mean you must stay in an unhealthy situation. You are forgiving so you can be forgiven and restored, you are forgiving because God has forgiven you.

Blocked by Fear. Brenda Walsh Ministries

Posted on February 4, 2023 by Lisa Blair

How often are we blocked by fear? As Christians fear is not a barricade to success or peace. Brenda Walsh explains our next step in overcoming fear. This is a reminder that God is always our ‘go-to’.

mailchi.mp/brendawalsh.com/blocked-by-fear23

We Are Victorous

Posted on January 17, 2023 by Lisa Blair

We all experience ups and downs, peaks and valleys, rest and challenges in our lives. This we must proclaim daily, I am a child of God who loves me unconditionally. He promises to care for me throughout my life and in him I rest all Hope. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

God Given Authority

Posted on January 12, 2023 by Lisa Blair

God gave us the authority to free ourselves from the shackles of the evil one. ~ Lisa Blair

Freedom is the response to faith and prayer. We pray and pray, but do we operate in God’s authority when we pray? As Christian’s we are seated with Christ in the heavenly place above all principalities and power. Paul pronounces this truth in Ephesians.

“And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,” Ephesians 2:6 NIV

We sit in a place of authority. When we recognize we have authority, then we should also recognize our prayers are powerful prayers, prayed by a person in authority – you. This power was bestowed upon us when we received Christ as our Lord and Savior. We are authorized to pray using the power bestowed upon us. In short, we all have the potential to be prayer warriors. Galatians explains that we are not weak, but strong. Paul tells us to be strong in the Lord. We are encouraged to pray with authority. We must learn to operate in God’s authority.

An article entitled What does Ephesians 2:6 mean? Knowing-Jesus.com explains it this way:

As believers we are united with Christ, and because the Lord Jesus broke the power of sin and death and hell when He rose from the dead, the strength of sin in our lives has also been broken and we have been raised up into newness of life, in Him.

But God did so much more for us when the Lord Jesus died and rose from the dead (and then ascended into heaven, to sit at the right hand of the Father in great glory and majesty), we discover that we have a new and eternal position, simply because we believe in Jesus. We have been positioned in Christ and exalted together with Him into heavenly places, IN HIM. We have been seated spiritually in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.

Source: https://dailyverse.knowing-jesus.com/ephesians-2-6

Further, Ephesians commands us to be strong…

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. Ephesians 6:10-18 NIV

John Eckhardt author of Routing Out Demons, explains that “we have the authority to tread on serpents and scorpions”, not because it’s is a mortal thought, but our responsibility as children of God. We are his ambassadors on earth. We are his workers. God gave us authority to overcome the evil ones’ intent to kill, steal and destroy. He empowered us with His Word with is our manual to operate while we live on this earth. The Bible is our shelter. His promises protect us. His commands empower us. I believe that anything that confronts us can be considered serpents and scorpions. We suffer the onslaughts because we fail to live in God’s authority. We do not pray in His power, or His hope for our futures. We do what many call, ‘hoping and a prayin’, as if we are reciting something outside of ourselves. When we treat this as an intellectual practice, we fail to operate un the authority bestowed upon us. We do not do this on our own accord, the Holy Spirit guides our prayers. His Word is nestled in us. His power and authority is in us. We must operate in His power and authority. Jesus shared with his disciples in Luke 6, “I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. We are the Lord’s present day disciples. Luke explains the same in Luke 10:19,21 NKJV. “Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.”

We have the authority given to us through the resurrection of Christ and at the direction of the Holy Spirit to loose ourselves and our loved one from illness, financial burden, loss and spiritual darkness. We have been empowered to pray in God’s Name through continuous and fervent prayer. We are to confess His Word and the promised outcomes for his people. This is not magic. It is not some self proclaimed power. It is a gift from God. His Will may not always align with ours. Our prayer may not be answered immediately. It may not fall in the scope of what God wants for us at a particular time. There will be times that the answer is ‘no’ or ‘not now’. But it is His desire for us to, in modern terminology, activate the promises He has given us. In the Book of Matthew, we read how Christ empowered His disciples with the authority to heal, spiritually and physically. We are His spiritual children and He has empowered us through the Word to do the same, use His authority in praying and confessing His promises when we pray other ourselves and others.

We can proclaim freedom from the shackles of the evil one, we can tread on serpents and scorpions through prayer with conviction.

Scriptures – Bible.com

What Does Agape Love Mean?

Posted on January 7, 2023 by Lisa Blair

Forest fires begin with a single spark. Our world can change with a single spark, the spark is agape love. Agape love is the love that God has for each of us. And, the love that we, Christians, should emulate and extend to everyone.

Is agape love easy to extend? As humans, we tend to offer love to those who are aligned with our belief systems. Agape love means, extending ourselves beyond loving those who think and live like us. Agape love is unconditional love. “Agape love is a sacrificial love that unites and heals.” Alyssa Roat published an article in Christianity.com entitled, What Does Agape Live Really Mean on the Bible. Alyssa described agape love as being the love of God, that we see through the cross of Jesus Christ. This love saves and restores humanity, in the face of sin and death.

When we practice agape love, we do so out of choice, not out of obligation or attraction, which is conditional. Conditional love chooses to love this group and not that group, this culture, and not that culture, this race, and not that race, this gender, and not that gender, this religious culture, and not that religious culture, those politically leaning in the same way I do, but not that other group. As mentioned earlier, agape love is unconditional, which means that we do not have the freedom to pick and choose.

It is difficult because we are a fallen people who look for satisfaction and things that make us feel good. If we extend agape love to the world in the same way that God sacrificed His only son to save us. It will become a difficult task because the effort does not seek a way to pacify ourselves to feel good, or be satisfied.

The challenge is to step out of our comfort zone and become a ray of love and light for ourselves and for the world to see and experience.

Loving does not necessarily mean that you must like the persons actions or behaviors. It does not mean that you condone those who are doing wrong. It is not a position of compromising truth for non-truth. Agape love focuses on the inner person, the child of God.

Some define agape love as charity. Charity is defined as tolerance, and choosing not to judge other. It means extending yourself beyond your current belief systems.

According to Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary, pages 381-382, agape love expresses itself first of all in implicit obedience to God‘s commands. Agape love is not an impulse from one’s feelings, it does not always run with one’s natural inclinations, nor does it spend itself only upon those whom some affinity is discovered. Agape love seeks the welfare of all. Agape love seeks opportunity to do good to all men. Agape love is a declaration that you are a child of God and reciprocate His love by loving others.

When we declare agape love, we step out of our comfort zone and obey God‘s commands. Our character steps back when we become more like Christ. At this point, we can begin to extend agape love, at which time agape love becomes the spark that changes the world.

One of the focal points for 2023 is entering the application season of agape love. When you put agape love first in your life, all things come together for your good and the good of the world.