Tag Archives: God’s Word Has Power

We Have Divine Power To Demolish Strongholds

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We are empowered to demolish Strongholds! Take action and create the change we want to see through prayer.

~ LISA BLAIR

2 Corinthians 10:4-5 sounds as if it was written for times such as this, and why not, it is a living document and is always relevant. It is timeless and is not bound by Greenwich Mean Time. Our battle is ongoing and will end when Christ returns, until that time we must fight.

4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 2 Cor 10:4-5 NIV

Sam Storms (Commentary, Taking Everything Thought Captive For Christ, 2 Cor. 10:4-6) opens, “We live in an age of angry atheism; not simply a casual and indifferent disregard for the existence of God but a militant opposition to all things religious.”

These scriptural verses are packed with power. The key words of this study are ‘divine’ and ‘demolish.’

God gave us the power to demolish strongholds. This harkens back to Ephesians warning that we are in battle as long as we live on earth. Paul explained the battle in military terms identifying our power in terms of armor. We should not take this lightly. The novel, Tale of Cities expresses this as living in the best of times and the worst of times. Today, the best of times is governed by our advancements in technology, ecology, and medicine. The worst of times is governed by Satan’s stronghold on all things earthly, twisting truth, and redefining humanity to destroy the earth.

We are in the worst of times because there is militant opposition to all things religious, and the best of times because there is an increasing number of people becoming Christians. We, Christians, have been given the responsibility to militarize ourselves, to put on the armor and demolish the strongholds of the evil one. God has given us the power to DEMOLISH STRONGHOLDS.  We have DIVINE POWER. My question is why are we not using the power God has given us? I belong to a global organization, Bible Study Fellowship (BSF). Every member throughout the world collectively studies the same lesson, gaining understanding, wisdom, and knowledge about the Books of the Bible. It is important to mention here because it demonstrates that we can come into one accord if we choose. Just imagine if all Christians throughout the world held a common prayer vigil until we broke the spine of the evil one. We have the one tool that can change the tide of destruction but cannot come into one accord to accomplish this mission, God’s work.

Today, let us engage people in our sphere of influence to pick up the Sword of the Spirit and go to work. Change begins with one person. If each of us asks one other person to pray for peace and the strength to stand against the winds of political upheaval, social media, and inhumanity, we can begin to affect the change. We can use our divine power to counter the militant opposition to all things religious and demolish their strongholds on our global society.

Previous Posts on Similar Topics, this site and YoungChristianWarriors.com:

  • Be Strong in the Lord, 9/19/17
  • Fear Cannot Overwhelm Us, 3/21/19
  • 2.2. Billion Christians Strong, 1/14/19
  • Demolishing Strongholds, 9/28/18
  • Greater than Kryptonite, 2/13/18
  • Liberation through Action, 4/17/18
  • Looking Back, Satan’s Web of Deception, Self Abuse, 8/29/18
  • Satan’s Cycles Our Experiences, 9/7/18
  • The Dark Times, 4/27/18
  • Today We Proclaim Change, /29/18
  • Prayers Break Through the Second Heaven, 9/4/18

Images – YouVersion. Bible.com. Roger Cole; Google.com

Scriptures – Biblegateway.com

Resources – Sam Storms Enjoying God. Samstorms.com; Biblegateway.com

Put On The Armor

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I am reposting this message as a reminder that God has provided the armor to protect us against the wiles of the enemy, as we march forward spreading His Word through our actions and deeds. It is time to ‘armor up’!

~ Lisa Blair

The Bible offers everything we need to be active Christian Warriors. It gives us spiritual authority and is our manual for living a Godly life. While in prayer this morning, something came to light. Many of us may read parts of the Bible from time to time, but we do not study what we have read. We understand what we read intellectually, but there is so much more. To understand the spiritual intent, we have to study what was read. When reading Ephesians 6:10-18, we understand we should clothe ourselves in the armor, but do not necessarily understand why we should do so, or what each piece represents. This Post will explain the what and the why. The most important point is that we are naked and vulnerable without the armor. As the adage says, ‘don’t leave home without it.’

In reading the Book of Ephesians, particularly chapter 6, we see Paul wrote to Ephesus alerting them that the enemy is always near and ready to attack. In Ephesians 6: 12, 13 NASB, he warned:

“our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.” 

There is no question that our struggle continues to be a war against the rulers of darkness. We can see it in our daily lives, on the news, and social media. The evil forces are in play, we see violence and hate in every aspect of life. We are in the midst of an invisible war, one that works through people. We struggle with uncertainty, fears, and doubts. Scripture makes it clear that much of our self-doubt, our difficulty in keeping healthy relationships, and many of our fears are rooted in the efforts of those same ‘spiritual forces of evil’ that plagued the Ephesians. Paul warned that we cannot be passive Christians. We cannot use the term ‘Christians’ without acting Christ-like. Christians have to exude Christ-like behavior through our actions. We must actively change our position and become Christian Warriors because we live in a time of full engagement against the evil forces of darkness. The evil one is present and works through people, he will not back down and neither can we. We are in the war, like it or not, there are no deferments. God calls for peace, and the evil one calls for chaos in all that we do. We cannot go quietly in the night, we have to rage against the evil forces that try to debilitate, paralyze and destroy us.

‘The evil one continually tries to infect us through our wounds inflicted by sinful words and actions that warp and twist our self-image’. He tells us we are unlovable, useless, hopeless, frail, weak, not good enough, and failures. He intentionally places difficulties, trouble, and chaos in our paths. He tries to destroy our inner peace and distort our harmony that should exist in our relationships with others and our surroundings.

Always be alert. It is important to recognize that we are prey to the evil forces of darkness and as in other parts of our daily living, must protect ourselves, and put on the Amor of God. The Armor of God is our invisible clothing Each morning when dressing for the day, putting on our visible clothing, is the perfect time to also put on our invisible clothing. In fact, we should begin the day with prayer and put on the Armor before getting out of bed.

The Armor

The Helmet of Salvation covers your head, mind, and eyes.

The helmet is our invisible filter and keeps evil out of our mind. It helps our focus on the Lords will and not on sin. It helps ward off and reject harmful words and actions directed at us by others. It protects us from evil. It deflects hurtful things people say and do to us. It protects us while we live out our ‘true identity in Christ’.

The Breastplate of Righteousness protects your heart.

Righteousness is the quiet voice of the Holy Spirit that lives in us; it is a gift from God, and cannot be earned. Righteousness is much like a filter that strains out unGodly things and reinforces our desire to be honest, trustworthy, kind, good-hearted, loving, and joyful. (Fruit of the Spirit – Galatians 5:22-23). It guards our mind and emotions.

The Belt of Truth holds us together. 

It keeps all the armor in place. It is like a belt or a girdle-like support strap. It supports our core. It helps keep our heart and mind focused on Christ. Without the belt of truth, we are not prepared to stand and fight. The belt represents living a life of honesty and integrity. It supports our total commitment and devotion to God Almighty.

The Sandals of the Gospel of Peace (the Good News) weaponry covers our feet.

Everywhere we walk, we walk in peace. Our footwear keeps us from hurting our feet. The gospel of peace is the Word of God that we share with others as we walk in His Word. Without the Gospel of Peace, we are barefoot and cannot walk without fear. The footwear brings ‘inner and interpersonal peace when we commit to living by God’s Word, which means forgiving those who may have harmed us.

The Shield of Faith protects us from the weaponry of the enemy.

God gave is faith to protect ourselves from the things we cannot see and may not understand. It enables us to advance, despite adverse circumstance.

The Sword of the Spirit is the Word of God.

Gives us boldness to reject and attack misinformation. We can use it to defend ourselves from things we may or may not know are wrong. The sword cuts through everything the enemy can send our way. It is the only defensive weapon we have. Everything else wards off the offensives of the evil one. The sword is the way, the truth, and the light. It is the Word of God. This sword is able to cut through every defense our enemy can raise. When wielded by us, nothing can withstand its ability to cut straight to the core and uncover the truth.

We are naked when we do not wear the Armor of God. Never go out without it. We put on a coat to protect us from the cold and our armor to protect us from the evil one.

Faith, Hope, Love, Dependency, and Obedience Synopsis

Finally, our March theme is affirmed by this Post. To be Christian Warriors we must have faith, hope, and love. When we are in a relationship with a loved one, we have faith in them, love them, are in a dependent relationship with them and are obedient to the values and intent of the relationship. Putting on the Armor of God is a faith move by which we are dependent upon the fact that it works to protect us. We are obedient in that we put the Armor on every day. We have hope that our armor will hold up and invite others to live as Christian Warriors, and for non-Christians, to receive the Lord’s salvation and join our family. Love, the most important of these, operates in faith and dependence upon the Word of God and his relationship with us.

Sources

Books:
The Full Armor of God, Larry Richards
Waging Prophetic War, Jennifer Claire

Websites:
The Belt of Truth and the Breastplate of Righteousness. Bible.org, Mar. 3, 2018
The Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God. Freebiblestudyguides.org, Mar. 3, 2018
Helping Children Put On Their Armor Through Prayer, Lisa Blair, Youngchristianwarriors.com

Images – Google Images
Scripture-Biblegateway.com

Thank you for spending time on my sites, if you like what you are reading, follow me, lisasdailyinspirations.wordpress.com and receive the daily inspirations in your inbox, or visit my other site, youngchristianwarriors.com and subscribe.

Why We Should Anoint Ourselves, Family, Homes, and Workplace

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There are many doctrines that interpret the Bible to authenticate their belief structures. Therefore, there are different beliefs about spiritual welfare and anointing yourself, your family and your home. I believe God gave us the authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions. Luke wrote in 10:19,

“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 to overcome our enemies.

Paul wrote in Ephesians 6:12,

“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.”

Paul clearly stated that there are rulers of darkness that fight to keep us in darkness, harms way, and confusion.

David wrote in Psalm 34:7,

“The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him and delivers them.”

David said that the Lord encamps around us. His angels surround us and protect us. We are delivered from the forces of evil.

In Ephesians 6:10-18, we are told to put on all the Armor of God to protect our spirit from attacks of the evil one and his demons. We have the power to cover ourselves, our children, our family and our homes through the Word of God.

If we submit ourselves to God’s Word, we can resist the devil. We can command him to flee or depart from us, our family members, and our home. James wrote in 4:7,

“Submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

According to Strong’s Complete Expository Bible, to anoint in this instance means, to symbolically use the power of the Holy Spirit through the Word and the use of oil. I have witnessed and anointed my home and place of work, and family by touching them and the premises with oil and praying out loud. The Word of God is no match for evil spirits. They flee when they know you are a believer and will use the Word to ward them off. The Word gives us power. Declaring the Word of God, in prayer, is our weapon.

There was a time in my life when I did not believe in anointing as a method of protection against the evil one. I was skeptical of the power (Word) of God changing the atmosphere. But, as I studied, I began to understand what the term atmosphere means in the Bible. There are spiritual battles that take place in two atmospheres. One is physical, we can see, smell, hear, touch and taste. The other is spiritual. We cannot see it in the natural, we can not experience it with our natural senses. Ephesians  6:12 says, we do not wrestle with flesh and blood, but against principalities, powers, rulers of darkness, spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly places.

The atmosphere of holiness, purity, praise, worship, prayer, love, and unity attract the Holy Spirit – just as an atmosphere of lust, drunkenness, anger, and hatred attracts demonic spirits. (Monticello.com)

When I began to anoint my place of work, I could immediately see the atmosphere from one of tension to one of kindness. The same is true at home. If differing opinions created heated tempers, anointing the home would change the atmosphere. When attacks on a loved one occurred, anointing them provided a protective shield and the attacks no longer had power. This is especially important for children who are bullied and treated poorly by schoolmates.

It is important to choose when to anoint to cover long periods of time and when to pray out loud to immediately extinguish the evil surrounding you, your family, place of work or home. Praying out loud does not mean that you must yell, others do not need to know what you are doing. The same is true of anointing. You can pray in a quiet, whisper. You can anoint yourself and then place your hands on your cubical, office and halls while praying in a very non-obvious manner.

The important thing is to remember that you have power. The Word is your power and using it to ward off evil spirits is God’s promise to give us the authority to overcome evil. It is equally important to understand that when we pray the Word we to overcome the spiritual resistance that is desired to derail the plan that God has for our lives.

The battlefield exists in both atmospheres, we must always be aware and diligent to protect ourselves and others using prayer. “The danger on the battlefield is that we do not take the enemy seriously and therefore fail to put on all the Armor of God before we take another step. We should put on the armor before we anoint anyone or thing because at this point we have entered spiritual warfare. By faith, we put on the armor through prayer, which must be done at the beginning of each day. We can never underestimate the strategy and strength of the devil. ( Wiersbe, pp. 776.)

We must believe that evil exists, the devil (evil) lives in darkness, wherever there is spiritual darkness, there is evil operating through people. Satan’s sole purpose is to destroy our relationship with the Lord and doom us to hell. Through faith we are overcomers. Through faith, our prayers and symbolic oil, have the power to anoint our family, self, home, and place of work to change the atmosphere and ward off the evil of the day that affects us in the most uncanny ways.

How to Anoint Self:

Pray over your olive oil. Touch your fingertips to your head, mouth, eyes, nose, ears, hands and feet. Pray that you will be cleansed, and renew your commitment to God. If you are anointing yourself for a special occasion, reflect on the occasion and pray.

Prayer:

I anoint myself in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. As I anoint myself with this oil, so too anoint my body, soul, spirit, and mind
with your grace, mercy, forgiveness, power, strength, wisdom, patience, authority, and light. Thank you, Father, for covering me in the Blood. Thank you for protecting me against the evil one as I pray and anoint say the person’s name, or place e.g., living room, kitchen, home, or office. In Jesus’ Name, I praise your Holy Name. Amen

How to Anoint Home:

How To Do A Prayer Walk Through Your Home. Faithfullycommitted.com, 04/12/2017 How to Anoint Your Home With Oil. kcm.org

aerial photography of buildings

Photo by Essow Kedelina on Pexels.com

Images – Google Images

Scriptures – Biblegateway.com, all scriptures in the Post are taken from the New King James Version (NKJV)

Resource/References – Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary; Prayers that Rout Demons, by John Eckhardt; Nelson’s Quick Reference by Warren Wiersbe; Monticelloyouth.com

Visit my Young Christian Warriors site. The earliest Posts were written to help parents guide and train their children to access the Word of God to direct their steps. Later Posts were written for everyone, though I believe the Posts to parents can serve as reminders for all ages.

Thank you for spending time on my sites, if you like what you are reading, follow me, dailyinspiration-lisasthoughts.com and receive the daily inspirations in your inbox, or visit my other site, youngchristianwarriors.com and subscribe.