17 posts categorized "Under The Umbrella - Spiritual Warfare"

The Sword Of The Spirit

image from www.spirituallyunequalmarriage.comGang,

Can you believe it? Today, is my last post in my Spiritual Warfare series. I truly hope that you were empowered and found yourself with more armor, more protection and greater understanding of the real battle that is at hand every day and every moment of our life.

We have talked about the Word of God, or the Sword, as our truth and it ties into all the other pieces of armament in Ephesians chapter six. My friends, the Word is our offensive weapon. It is double edged, in that when we swing it, speak it, read it, love it, believe it, follow it. Two things happen. It slices one way, upward, as it pierces into the heavenly realms to open up more of God’s favor and revelation. (Faith and belief comes by hearing the Word of God) and it also slices downward at the same time, cutting off the attacks of the dark kingdom.

And you will need the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit—which is the Word of God. —Ephesians 6:17

In the last month I’ve come to understand the Word of God in an expanding knowledge.

The WORD:

Graphe (Greek) means: Writtings. 66 books that compose the cannon of scripture.

Logos (Greek) means: The Message of the writings. When you read a passage and you understand it, you have just experienced the Logos, the message.

Rhema (Greek) means: Utterance. The spoken or declared Word of God. The spokeness of the logos (message) that you received from the graphe.

The rhema is the spirit and the power of God’s presence with you!

So what does this look like practically?

Jesus used the Word to defeat Satan during His 40 days of fasting in the wilderness – where he went to be tempted by the devil.

Devil: If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.

Jesus: It is written: Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.

In Matthew chapter four, Jesus uses scripture to defeat satan twice. The above passage was in Deuteronomy chapter eight. And the second passage I find interesting is that the devil quotes God’s word to Jesus from Psalm 91. The devil knows scripture. Thus he clearly understands our authority as well as our lack of knowledge, that gives him power in our lives by default.

Devil: He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

Jesus: It is also written: Do no put the Lord your God to the test.

Followed by Jesus telling the devil: Away from me, Satan! For it is written: Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.

Guess what happened? The devil left him.

Gang, if Jesus is quoting the Word of God to the devil, I think that it would be a very good idea for us to do the same. And we need to say more often and OUT LOUD: Away from me satan!

The devil will always tempt us with a legitimate need, just as he did in this passage with Jesus. But our defense and our offensive weapons are so powerful that we need only speak the Word to the situation and then watch as satan must flee and our Lord will take over and provide.

After this encounter angels came and attended him (Matthew 4:11) My friends, I could stand to use a few angels attending me. How about you?

I want to share a personal observation with you now. This is from my heart and from my experience in these many years of walking with God. So often, the Lord is looking for us to just take a tiny step of faith. He is watching the entire human race to see who will believe Him. He waits on the edge of His seat to see how we will respond to promptings of the Rhema as it moves in our life. His watchful eye is upon us to see if we will take one step out in courage to pray for a stranger, to share our faith with our spouse, to give to someone in need without anyone else’s knowledge, to show ourselves vulnerable but in absolute trust that God has got our back.

When I have followed God’s suggestions to go pray for a stranger or to give them the words I am hearing from the Holy Spirit, NEVER have I been left hanging in embarrassment. It IS a RISK to follow the Rhema and the prompting of the Spirit but each time that I choose to trust, I’m overwhelmed with the love of God. The great privilege is watching the love of Jesus flow into a heart and free them from fear. To be present as the Holy Spirit gently pours peace upon them and to see their countenance change. Even the shape of their face can change when they become free of the chains of fear and oppression.

THAT my friends, is worth any chance of being embarrassed. For me, I will risk it. I choose to RISK for the Kingdom because I have picked up the Rhema, the living Word, and have “experienced” Him.

John 1:1 New International Version (NIV)
The Word Became Flesh
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

God has given us everything we need to THRIVE in life. His blueprint for victorious living is in our hands. The Word, Christ Jesus and His shed blood. The living Word that heals, saves, elevates, and restores. Reading His Word is the gateway to the most glorious, fun-filled, adventurous, and triumphant life. Today, fall in love with the Word of God. Read it every day and ask God to open up the truths it holds because only good can come from its pages.

I know we could spend years in this lane of study of spiritual warfare, but for now, we have finished our tour of Ephesians chapter six. As we enter into the late fall season with Thanksgiving near and Christmas around the corner, I want us to reflect on our blessings. And we are indeed, rich!

Dineen and I have been thinking about a new series that you will love, beginning in January after our week of fasting. Until that time, we are going to be sharing what the Spirit of God leads through the holiday season.

I would love to hear any suggestions of areas in your marriage, faith-walk, raising kids, etc that you would like us to address. Leave a note in the comments.

I know that many of you have found freedom though this series. If you would, please share with me what you learned and how it’s encouraged you, healed you or how you grew in faith with me in the comments.

I love you deeply. Hugs, Lynn

image from www.spirituallyunequalmarriage.com


The Helmet of Salvation Defeats The Religious Spirit

image from www.spirituallyunequalmarriage.comWhat is salvation? I can bet you know the answer but the answer is so much bigger than you know.

Can I ask you a few questions? 

Do you serve in church? Attend Bible study? Watch the babies during first service? Organize the potluck? Work tirelessly to organize the Christmas event? Do you feel like you have worked yourself to exhaustion and your kids miss their mother? And let’s not mention our spouse and how he feels. Yikes!

I ask these questions, NOT to cast condemnation. I’ve done all of the things above. But what I see often in these scenarios is the Religious Spirit.

—Religion tries to tell you that if you do more, God will give you more grace. So you do more and become a tired Christian trying to earn God’s love and grace. Religion will kill you because you are trying to earn what has already been given to you. — Tony Evans, Victory In Spiritual Warfare

My friends, salvation is SO MUCH MORE than our ticket to heaven. It’s a promise and a protection and our salvation is the access to the power already provided. How cool is that?

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. —Ephesians 2:8-10

Grace, through faith unto good works!

Our Helmet of salvation is our supernatural protection of our mind. It’s out of our mind that come every thought that turns into actions. The devil will go to great lengths to place lying thoughts into our mind. But when we are covered by our Helmet of Salvation, we can take those thoughts captive to Christ.

I want to share a quick video of how to take thoughts captive to Christ. I practiced this for months. As a thought entered my mind, I would do this: 

My friends, our salvation is access NOW to the Mercy Seat of Grace and to all that God has for our life on earth. We can’t earn what is already ours. God can’t love you more. He killed Jesus for you!

Wear the Helmet with new truth. You are protected and empowered to defeat the consequences of sin and change your circumstances to align with the Kingdom of God.

Now…… THAT’S SALVATION!!!!! Let’s dawn that Helmet and take every thought captive!

image from www.spirituallyunequalmarriage.com


The MIGHTY Shield Of Faith

 

image from www.spirituallyunequalmarriage.comPick up the Shield of Faith

  • Raise the shield when our marriage is hanging by a thread.
  • Raise the shield when the bottom of our finances drop out.
  • Raise the shield when that prodigal child goes from bad to worse.
  • Raise the shield when you’ve said to yourself, I can’t take one more thing.
  • Raise the shield when life doesn’t make sense
  • Raise the shield even when you don’t feel like it.

SUMers, up until now the garments of Ephesians 6 are the armor pieces that every believer dawns and wears every day. But the next few portions of this armament, they are to be picked up as life circumstances demand.

In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. —Ephesians 6:16

When all hell breaks loose in your life, it is the day of evil and we can surely count on the arrows flying our direction and toward those whom we love. So we step into faith. But let me ask you this. Do you know what faith really is?

I’m convinced it is two things. First, belief. We believe what God is saying is truth. Even when it appears to be otherwise in our circumstances. We believe even when we don’t feel like it.

At some place in our faith walk we will come to a very interesting juncture. This place on our faith journey will come at different times in a person’s journey and sometimes more than once. But one day, you will ask yourself this question: Do I believe the Bible is true? And at some point in your growing faith, you will be able to answer something like this:

I don’t understand everything in the Word. At times there seems to be uncertainties and passages that are unexplainable and some that simply don’t makes sense. But today, I’m crossing that line and I choose to believe that God’s Word, is in fact, true. I will trust God to explain what I need as time goes by and trust that His Word is all that it says it is. I will believe it and my life will reflect this belief.

Secondly, faith is also a risk. Once we believe that God’s Word is true, you can bet that the Lord will orchestrate opportunities to prove it…. (not Him) but to yourself. God will set up circumstances where you will be required to take a risk, to step out in faith and believe for the promised outcome of His Word.

Faith is activated by a step of action, often a risk.

Read Hebrews 11 for the “actions” of faith. These men of old picked up the shield of faith and believed.

They acted on truth regardless of their circumstances or feelings. Wow!!! And guess what happened. God moved!

The enemy has an arsenal of arrows of lies. These missiles are strategic and pinpointed to our weakest areas of life. This is our spiritual warfare. But our faith, our alignment with the teaching of the Word, will protect us from great harm and eventually the devils get weary because they know they can’t get past our shield of faith.

My friends, the demons love it when we get our truth and faith from any place other than God. They love it when we tune into Oprah to hear what she has to say about a matter. They dance with glee when we say, well that’s not how my mama raised me. The demons wickedly laugh when we ask our friends for marriage advice or tune into the latest Today show or talk show host. They have nothing to fear because they know we will remain defenseless and they can shoot the arrows all. day. Long.

But when we are tuned in, dialed up, Bible reading, fire breathing scripture quoting people of God, they shiver in terror and run for cover.

For some of you, today may be your point of no return. You are standing at the juncture of faith and you realize there is a cost. You are trying to decide if you truly want this kind of belief. But you wonder what your husband will do. You worry what people might think, if you become a Jesus freak. You know that others will judge you because you are crazy for God. You dread someone naming you as a zealot, Bible thumper, crazy Christian.

But, I ask you this. Aren’t you tired of fighting the battles and losing? Aren’t you weary of the worry, anxiety and fear? Are you done with powerless faith?

If you are, then today is one of the greatest days of your life.

You are going to step out on the path of real faith and never look back. You are going to join the “crazies,” that would be Dineen and I, and many other SUMites who have discovered that living for Jesus is the best thing that will ever happened to us.

Is Jesus calling you to deeper faith this minute? Step over the line. There’s no going back but the rewards are…… OUT OF THIS WORLD!

image from www.spirituallyunequalmarriage.com


HALLOWEEN

Halloween banner 2015

Yep, it’s that time of year.

This “holiday” is a difficult thing to write about because Christians have very different views about what to do with it. But today, in my quiet time, I was led by the Holy Spirit to share a few things that I believe we must consider in light of our Spiritual Warfare Series – Under The Umbrella.

This month there is always an increase in witchcraft. Some of you may be feeling the attacks of the enemy through oppression and opposition. Conflict in relationships, headaches, fatigue and other weird and unexpected issues in our lives. This is a season when wearing our Spiritual Armor is imperative. Also awareness of what is happening in the spiritual realm, helps us to pray and defeat any weapon formed against us because we know it cannot prosper. (Isaiah 54:7)

So here are a few thoughts I’m compelled to share. I want NO confusion in the House of SUM.

Witchcraft is real and there is no such thing as a good witch. Witchcraft, at the core, is calling upon a power other than God. Period the end. And there is only one other power and it’s the kingdom of darkness. God is clear in His word about witchcraft. (Galatians 5:9-21)

If you are currently dabbling in the following, my friends, confess and repent and remove these demonic open doors from your life. I will help you with a prayer to do this later in this post.

  • Witchcraft
  • Tarot Cards
  • Palm Reading
  • Ouija Board
  • Astrology
  • Séance
  • Rikki
  • Healing Hands
  • (These are only the few that came to mind but there is a lot more)

I recognize that in our culture these things are considered harmless and entertainment. Exactly what the demons want you to believe. Messing around with the world of the Occult releases a spirit of divination, spirit of fear and opens the door to an entire Kingdom of darkness to walk into your life.

Get these things, books, cards, candles, game boards OUT OF YOUR HOUSE. Destroy them and never allow them to return. And more difficult, remove friendship, acquaintances, and forbid family member to even talk to you about this stuff. These people are not friends of God and until you are spiritually strong, you need to remove these people from your life.

These things block the voice of God and the power of the Holy Spirit in your life and prohibits His intervention, protection, provision and purposes. Don’t listen to these voices. Don’t even give them thought.

I don’t want to shame anyone because so many people truly don’t know the evil these activities invite. But now you can KNOW clearly and become free. If you are dealing in these areas you can expect pushback. Get prayer support. Get a prayer shield around you and be determined – fully committed- to walking in the Kingdom of God.

Prayer of repentance (Say aloud): Lord, in the name of Jesus, I repent for participating in ______________. I know that I have sinned and now I fully repent and turn from all this activity and false belief that these things could somehow help me. I turn fully to You to help and protect me.

I renounce and break any spoken or unspoken covenant that I entered into because of _______________. It is now powerless and must leave my life, heart, soul, mind and body. In the name of Jesus. I cast all of it into the pit and it cannot return. In Jesus name. I declare that nothing that I invited in has power over me or my family. I declare these demonic voices cannot go to my children or family. In Jesus name.

I declare that today, me and my family, are fully covered by the Blood of Jesus. I plead the Blood of Jesus over my life, my heart, soul and my family. The power of the Blood sanctifies us and sets us free of demonic strongholds. In Jesus name.

I thank you for your redemption and for the abundant life I have in Jesus. I pledge now to rescue others from these traps of the devil and will walk in victory that was given to me at the Cross. In Jesus name. AMEN

On Monday I will share my annual Halloween post and it might surprise you.  image from www.spirituallyunequalmarriage.com


The Shoes of the Gospel of Peace

image from www.spirituallyunequalmarriage.comHello SUMites,

My friends, fall is in the air and in some places it’s already winter! Wacky weather! But I LOVE this time of year and I am especially fond of my pumpkin flavored coffee. Yum and eee!

Weather is a perfect metaphor of our lives. Our circumstances will and often change drastically, unexpectedly and even violently.

Loss of a job.
Divorce.
Wayward children.
Financial crisis.
Health.
Weather disasters too.

How do we walk through these life events that are often unchangeable? How do we keep ourselves from crippling fear? How do we handle life’s great challenges as believers?

SUMite Nation, we put on the SHOES!

Kingdom Shoes. We shod our feet with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace! (Ephesians 6:15)

What does this mean? How do we do this and how does this part of our armor serve in spiritual warfare?

The shoes are our steadiness for standing against the schemes of the devil. The ability to stand in what most people would consider fearful circumstances comes down to our maturity. And our maturity comes from time with God, knowing His Word and TRUSTING in Him!

And out of trust in the Lord, our peace is born. Shalom – which is completeness, wholeness and inner resting of the soul that does not fluctuate because of outside circumstances.

Let me tell you how I experienced this first hand.

Some of you may remember that my husband lost his job in January of 2009. Along with millions of others, he began to hit the employment boards, complete applications and look for work. Of course, this was a shock to us at first but I can tell you that I walked in a supernatural peace.

I prayed with conviction and earnestness, asking the Lord to give my husband a job. I considered returning to Corporate America to support our family. During this early prayer season, the Lord arranged a phone call. I received a call from a former business collogue and was offered a job over the phone. Now you would think that I would have jumped at this opportunity – out of fear. But through my prayer time, the Lord said to me, “Lynn, I can get you a job anytime. Thus the offer. I just wanted to show you that I could. Do not return to work. Let me walk this out with Mike.”

SO I TRUSTED! Even when it didn’t make sense. AND I had peace. I knew, that I knew, that I knew, in my knower that God truly had our financial situation in His hands.

I prayed.

Mike thought it would be easy to get another job as he is highly qualified, yet after six months – nothing.

I prayed.
I trusted.

Mike worried. He was completely rocked because he remained unemployed going into month nine.

I will admit in late October I was a little nervous but I remained prayerful.

Finally, almost a year later, my husband was offered a new job.

Through this experience I found I was living out this scripture: And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. —Philippians 4:7

What I can’t explain is that our year of unemployment didn’t impact our financial condition. Somehow we paid off the credit card we were using within the year. Never had to touch our 401K. And I didn’t return to work.

Honestly, I cannot explain how this happened. I have vague recollections of checks arriving and there always seemed to be provision for what we needed. I learned to budget extremely well and shop frugally, which I still do today. My daughter learned to buy her own school clothes. We became an aware family of our waste, the needs of others, and thankfulness became profoundly significant in my life.

This was the year I learned to walk in trust and peace through thankfulness. And SUMites, when you wear the shoes of the readiness of the Gospel (peace & trust in Jesus), you are no longer on the defensive but on the offensive in the spirit realm.

Ephesians 6 15The shoes of peace are our stability that even Satan can’t undo!

Peace can’t be separate from trust in God. I believed God for my circumstance and I trusted Him, every day and at times every hour. I chose to believe God rather than my changing circumstances.

Meditate of the Word. KNOW God’s heart for you. Really come to believe that our Papa, God is good. All the time, good and has good gifts for us, His children. And remember it’s the devil that comes to steal, kill and destroy but Jesus came to give us the abundant life (John 10:10).

Don’t step out from under His umbrella. Trust and peace are His gifts in the midst of any scary season of life.

Quiet Time Study: (Take these questions to the Lord in your quiet time. Then listen.)

  • What are the situations that are sealing your peace?
  • Ask the Lord for His supernatural peace.
  • Pray: I say to these troubled waters of _________________. Peace be still. 

Jesus still can part the sea, calm the wind and waves and set us on a firm foundation. Let’s wear the shoes of heaven my friends because it’s the Lord’s will that we live in peace that surpasses all understanding. 

  • Community Questions (answer in the comments):
  • Can you share a moment where you experienced the supernatural peace of Christ in crazy circumstances? I know your story will encourage someone else who is struggling right now.

I love you SUMites. We are nearing the end of our wardrobe restyle. A few more items remain and then we will be released to be Holy Spirit-filled-terrorists that decimate the darkness. Hallelujah! Amen!

image from www.spirituallyunequalmarriage.com


Your Mismatched Marriage Isn’t a “But” (part 2)

6a00d83451ee9f69e201b8d16111a0970c-320wiMy friends, on Tuesday we started talking about seeing our marriages instead of a but, to see them as a "But God..." My heart is to encourage you to walk in God's truths and to be all that His heart and love have declared and planned for you to be. The more I work in our healing rooms here, the more I understand that God has asked me to partner with Him to help people do this, to realize their divine destiny and walk in it. And this calling He's placed on my heart is not limited to healing rooms. He puts me into action all over the place. What an adventure!

And I love, love, love that I can bring that to our SUM nation. Dear friends, Lynn and I love you so much! We are passionate for you to walk in freedom, in the truths that Jesus came and died for us to believe and live in, and experience all the fullness of a life with God. Our abundant life isn't waiting in heaven. It's starts here on earth the moment we say yes to Jesus.

The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. — John 10:10

Jesus does not put any qualifiers on this, my friends. No ifs or buts! We started with the truth that God is unchanged, unaffected and unmoved by our pre-believers lack of faith and neither are His plans and purposes for us. 

Now I want to look at what Jesus did for us, because I love these truths. They have given me freedom from the enemy’s lies that his influence is greater than God’s.

In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross. — Col 2:15 (NLT)

The NIV translation says “he made a public spectacle of them.” God not only defeated satan, He shamed him and made a public spectacle of him. My friends, the enemy wants to transfer that shame on us because he hates it. But remember, there is no condemnation (shame) in Jesus (Romans 8:1). That’s our truth! Wow!

Therefore…

You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the spiritual powers of this world. So why do you keep on following the rules of the world, such as, “Don’t handle! Don’t taste! Don’t touch!”? Such rules are mere human teachings about things that deteriorate as we use them. — Col 2:20

We have been set free of the enemy’s power. The only way he can influence us is if we let him, if we give him our authority. Lynn will be teaching more on that.

I want to finish with a few more powerful truths from Colossians:

For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. — Col 3:3

In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free (or spiritually mismatched). Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us. — Col 3:11 (with my parenthetical addition)

My friends, Christ is all that matters. He’s the “but” in our  marriages because all things are possible with Him. Lynn and I are living proof that we can walk in the fullness of our spiritual identity and callings regardless of our mismatched marriages. And I will tell you that I used to think my marriage—my husband’s unbelief—would limit what God had for me, would basically preclude me from being and doing all that God has for me, but that was another lie of the enemy that has been publicly shamed (by this ministry) and proven untrue.

At the end of Colossians, Paul says something that has had me pondering:

“Remember my chains.”

I wondered at first if this was his way of asking for prayer and perhaps it was, but I think it goes beyond that. I’ve studied Paul’s letters though the years not just for the truths he shares but to understand the man he was. I believe Paul was encouraging believers to see that despite his chains, God was still working in and through Paul to accomplish all that God had predestined (planed in advance) for this man to do (Eph 2:10).

SUMites, I’m not saying our pre-believers are our “chains,” though some days, I dare to say, many of you may feel this way. And I say that with humor! What I am encouraging you to embrace is that if we are to stand in the truth of God’s Word, which tells us that ALL things are possible with God, then let’s believe and live it right in our marriages. 

We are not defeated, and we are by no means limited as long as we believe God, believe what He has told and promised us. Let’s do as Paul tells us, to believe this truth and stand firmly in it.

In the mighty name of Jesus, amen!

Quiet Time Study: (Take these questions to the Lord in your quiet time. Then listen.)

Continue to seek God for His plans and purposes for you. Write down whatever He tells you and then start seeking Him for each step of this journey. He may start you big or He more than likely will start you with small steps, my friends. God’s great “divine plan” for us is to know Him. To just be His kid. If that’s what He’s calling you to do right now, that means He wants to take you deeper first to know Him, love Him, trust Him, so that He can move you into bigger places. 

Community Questions (answer in the comments):

No questions today, my friends. Simply share whatever is on your heart. If you want to share what God is showing you, please do! Let’s encourage and celebrate each other in whatever God is doing in each of our lives. And I want to pray over and bless each of you for whatever Papa God is revealing to you. If you don’t feel comfortable doing that, feel free to email me. 

I love you, SUMites! I’m praying for you and celebrating with you, for all that God has for you. Next week, I want to share with you three keys to walking in the fullness of faith and victory. The Holy Spirit has started a new dialogue about these. I’m listening to hear more and look forward to sharing them with you. Have an amazing weekend!
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Your Mismatched Marriage Isn’t a “But” (part 1)

6a00d83451ee9f69e201b8d16111a0970c-320wiMy friends, I want to touch on an area that I feel the Holy Spirit has placed on my heart. I sense there are some of you out there who are reading this spiritual warfare series and seeing your marriages (regardless of how you got there) as blocks to all that God has for you. As a “but.”

Instead, I want to encourage you to think of your marriage not as a “But God…”

We’ve talked about sanctification before so I encourage you to go read this post on that subject and study and seek God for more truth and understanding of 1 Cor 7:14. That is a powerful foundational truth to understanding the influence your faith has on your marriage, your pre-believer and your children.

But today I want to talk about our places in these marriages, the truths that protect us and how this relates to spiritual warfare. First, we need to understand that our pre-believers choices and criticisms against our faith do not change these truths:

  • God is good, is good to you, and is working for your good—always (Rom 8:28). (You could say your pre-believer is the beneficiary!) 
  • God’s love for us is unchanged and unaffected by your pre-believers choices or criticisms (Rom 8:38-39).
  • God’s plans for you stand regardless of the choices and decisions of your pre-believer (Jer 33:11).
  • Just as God loves and desires to bless and delight in you, He also holds this same love and desire for your pre-believer (2 Peter 3:9 & 15).

This may seem simplistic in some ways, but I find this truth as powerful as the truth of God’s love for us. God is unchanged, unaffected and unmoved by our pre-believers lack of faith. Period. God will always pursue our pre-believers in His relentless love for all to repent and know Jesus, but this does not stop His plans, purposes and blessings for us. 

Salvation is an individual choice. In other words, our salvation and standing as a child of God with all the benefits, inheritance and blessings is in no way dependent upon any other person except for Jesus. And He already did the work. It’s done.

So, let’s talk spiritual warfare in our marriages. Yes, we may face more warfare because we are on the front lines contending for our pre-believer’s salvation, but we also are way more aware of this warfare than a lot of believing couples, SUMites. We know the enemy’s plan is to destroy marriages. We are on guard and praying against his tactics. We have skills!

Let’s start with an awesome Scripture Lynn quoted last week from Colossians and look at some others from this powerful book about our standing with God and the enemy.

May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. — Col. 1:11-14 (ESV)

Our reality is that we have been delivered from the domain of darkness and transferred into the Kingdom of Jesus. Paul continues to expound upon this truth in verse 22 with a word of caution:

Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.

But you must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News. The Good News has been preached all over the world, and I, Paul, have been appointed as God’s servant to proclaim it. — Col. 1:22-23 (NLT)

Paul is admonishing us to believe and stand in the truth of our salvation, which again is true regardless of what the world says about our faith, what our pre-believers think of our faith, or even what we may mistakenly believe about ourselves. Jesus has made us holy and blameless before Him without a single fault.

My friends, I'm going to stop here for now, but come back Thursday, because I have more to share with you on the spiritual warfare side of this. 

Quiet Time Study: (Take these questions to the Lord in your quiet time. Then listen.)

  • Sit down with God and ask Him how or where you have limited Him working in you or your marriage because you believed the enemy's lie that mismatched marriage disqualified you. SUMites, we serve a gentle God who adores us. He will not condemn you. He will lovingly reveal truth to you, so don't be afraid of this.

Community Questions (answer in the comments):

  • If you are comfortable sharing, what lie has the enemy led you believe regarding God's plans and purposes for you?
  • How has the Holy Spirit helped you overcome this lie or any other lie that once held you back from walking in your callings and purposes in God (divine destiny)?

I love you, my friends. I'm excite to share the rest of these truths with you and I pray they revolutionize your thinking in some way that frees you to walk in the fullness of your faith. In the name of Jesus, amen!
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Authority - The Believer's Responsibility

image from www.spirituallyunequalmarriage.comLast Monday we took a look at authority. The central message of this post is to clearly establish through scripture that Jesus passed His authority to His disciples, including modern day disciples. That would be us. We are commanded to follow in His teachings and to fulfil the purposes of the Kingdom of God. The Great Commission, healing, deliverance, support the poor, etc. (Luke 9:1&2)

Also we reviewed the power of our spoken words and the supporting scriptures. What I didn’t have time to share was that authority and power that the Lord shares with His people on earth can vary. And there are limitations, significant responsibilities and great expectations God places on His people with regard to authority. So let’s take a quick look at what these are.

Prayer Life/Intimacy: Nothing is available from the Heavenly Kingdom without a personal relationship with the Lord. Intimacy and prayer are central to walking in authority. In our war rooms (prayer rooms) is where we learn to discern the promptings of the Spirit. We often are led in specifics on how and whom we are to pray. And then during our prayers, we release the power of God into lives and circumstances.

We have the ability to pray and challenge the demonic in Jesus name through His resurrection. That becomes our legal right.

Authority Is Gods to share: We must steward all gifts from our Father well. Especially authority in the spiritual realm. It should never be thought of a way to manipulate or command something that is not specifically spoken to us by God and confirmed in scriptures. We must use it for the purpose that it was given.

We must remain always aware that God can give authority and remove it and that we only possess His authority because we are walking in intimacy with Christ. We cannot become prideful because we received spiritual gifts.

We are accountable to God and to others for the word we speak. And EVERYTHING we do within our spiritual warfare is to be drenched in love. And our accountability can be measured through the fruit our ministry produces.

Fear God: Great reverence for His purposes and will in our lives as we speak words to one another.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.
—Proverbs 9:10 KJV

Our authority in Christ grows over time as we grow in our love for God and people. Also when our compassion for others expands as does our understanding of the Word of God, our anointing and gifts expand. It’s true in many areas of our life as we grow in our understanding of God’s will, we grow in our freedom, joy, peace and all the gifts of the spirit.

Understanding our inheritance as a child of God in the area of authority is crucial because next week we are going to look how the devil deceives us. He will come in like the rats with the trash and set up house. He walks in through open doors. So we will take a look next Monday at the gates the enemy uses to have access to our lives.  

Quiet Time Study: (Take these questions to the Lord in your quiet time. Then listen.)

  • This week I want you to take spiritual authority over your home. Walk through the house and bless the rooms and speak words of prayer for the people who inhabit the rooms. Command any unclean spirit to leave and go to Jesus, never to return or retaliate. (Name it if the Lord brings it to mind. Such as a spirit of hate, violence, pornography, addiction, perversion, etc.) Release a blessing of love, peace, joy and hope in Jesus. Change the atmosphere of your home. People will notice. I know this is true. Within the last week I’ve had a guest in my house. This young woman commented, “I love your house. There is something warm about it.” Others have said, “It’s so peaceful here.”

Community Questions (answer in the comments):

  • Can anyone share with me any changes in their lives and in the spiritual realm of your warfare? Be bold because someone out there needs to know that he/she can truly walk in the authority of Christ. They need to know that cleaning out the demonic is possible.

Love you my friends. I will be traveling to the Open Heavens Conference this week. I hope to bring back another astonishing set of encounters to share.

Hugs, Lynn


Let's Talk Trash!

Under The Umbrella Series IIThe Shield of Righteousness

Hello Nation of Amazing Believers!

You are conquerors. Overcomers, sealed by the blood of Jesus. You are destined for GREATNESS. You are filled with the love our Sovereign God and blessed with the power of the Holy Spirit. You are people who live in a standard of truth and righteousness. You are victorious in battle. You bring holiness into your home and sanctify your spouse and children. The promises of God are for you. Our Lord is our shield and our strong tower. AND NO WEAPON FORMED AGAINST US WILL PROSPER!!

Woo Hoo! Hallelujah! AMEN!

These are the promises of God which you claimed on Monday. Lord, open up the floodgates and teach us to walk fully in all of these truths and promises. In Jesus name. Amen

Gang,

We are going to dawn a new part of our wardrobe today. The Breastplate of Righteousness. Before we get started I want to let you know that I will have a few more words about our authority in Christ on Monday. Continue to speak scriptures over your life and words of hope and promise in Jesus. I’ve already heard from some of you via email about what God is already accomplishing in your life. It’s astonishing, liberating and FREEDOM. Dineen and I are humbled that you choose to share your victories with us. We praise God for every…. single…. one. AMEN

Okay, let’s talk trash!   *grin*

Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. —Proverbs 4:23

This is what it’s all about. Our heart. The heart is a physical truth and a spiritual truth. From out of our heart pumps life-blood to nourish and sustain our physical body. Also from our soul, our spiritual heart, pumps what it contains into our spirit as well as our body. Our heart is the core of our being and thus must be protected by the shield, the breastplate of righteousness.

What is righteousness? The best way I remember the definition is to think of it as: right living. And that right living is defined by God’s truth. Last week we dawned the belt of truth. Truth is the Word, it is a person Jesus and it is our identity in Him.

Righteousness is a standard. The application of God’s truth in my life. This appears fairly simple. However, in reality many of us continue to struggle with doubt, insecurity, worry and fear.

Well that’s where the trash resides.

Each summer in hot southern California I will go to the curb to retrieve my garbage cans and return them to the backyard after they are emptied. And it never fails that as I look into the black bin which held the stinky garbage, I will spot movement. Yep, maggots. Squirming by the thousands all over the inside of the can. After a shriek loud enough to wake the dead, my heart calms down and I begin the disgusting task of washing those repulsive critters from the can with the hose. Yep, summer fun at the Donovan house!

Trash attracts the maggots, the rats and the roaches. It’s the trash in our lives/hearts that attracts the demonic. For many Christians we know this is true, yet purging ourselves of the trash is difficult and we don’t know how to go about the disposal. And that’s when we move into trash management. It’s a form of godliness, but having denied the power. —2 Timothy 3:5

We sweep our stuff into a closet so when the women’s Bible study meets so they won’t see it. We hide trash in the dark and pretend it isn’t back there calling to us. And it resides in our heart at times and continues to pollute our heart which pumps it throughout our body and into our life. Yikes.

BUT my friends, here is the remedy. We take that Belt of Truth and gird our loins. We speak it over us. We meditate on the Word of God. We memorize truths and pray them back to God in our prayer time. We rehearse the truth, the unchanging & powerful truth of God into our heart/soul….. And that practice replaces worry. Worry and sin is the trash that is replaced by truth and we become transformed.

Transformation occurs when the truth of God is meditated on and righteousness is released into our spirit, our heart.

Transformation is our release of trash and washing away the maggots. Hallelujah…

The result… FREEDOM.

Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. —John 8:32

Ephesians 6:14  —Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place.

Let’s take out the trash and shut the open doors to the demonic. Dawn the belt of truth and shield your heart with right living. And then look out world because God will use an ordinary believer who is walking in his/her Godly wardroom to do GREAT things!

Quiet Time Study: (Take these questions to the Lord in your quiet time. Then listen.)

  • I want you to consider three issues in life and ask yourself is there trash here that God is asking you to dispose? If there is, pray and ask for His Holy Spirit power for transformation for victory.
    • Food
    • Finances
    • Sex

Community Questions (answer in the comments):

My friends, this post is not intended to cast condemnation but bring freedom. And so I’m not going to post a community question. Just pray and continue to press into truth and through your journey you will find that it becomes easier and easier to pitch the trash and then finally, the day will dawn where you are forever free from it. In Jesus name. AMEN.

I do have a fun and silly question for you. What is a funny even icky trash story from your life? Now don’t get too gross on me. But a little levity in our community today seemed like a good idea. Okay, share away? Anyone have skunks in their trash? Or has your dog eaten the trash? Other surprises in your trash cans? I CAN’T wait to hear your story? Love you a ton. Lynn

image from www.spirituallyunequalmarriage.com


Wearing Our Armor—God’s Word

6a00d83451ee9f69e201b8d15b17ab970c-320wiMy friends, I want to share with you today how I “pray on” my armor. And I do this out loud whenever possible. I know that can be awkward at times in our spiritually mismatched places, but I find bathrooms, closets and cars to be good places when needed!

Lord, today I am putting on my armor. 

My belt of truth, which is You, Lord Jesus. You are my way, my truth and my life. In You I live, move and have my being. (John 14:6, Acts 17:28).

My breastplate of righteousness, because I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus (2 Cor. 5:21).

My shield of faith for the righteous live by faith and You, Jesus, are the author and perfector of my faith. My shield is strengthened and empowered by the truth of Jesus to deflect the barbs of the enemy. (Rom. 1:17, Heb. 12:2)

My sword of the Spirit, the very word of God that is alive and powerful. Lord, Your promises are my armor and protection (Heb. 4:12, Ps. 91:4).

My helmut of salvation for I am saved and made holy by the blood of Jesus through His salvation (Heb. 9:12-14, Heb. 10:10).

My feet shot in the gospel of peace, because I stand on the Truth of Jesus and He is my foundation (Matt. 7:24-25).

And the glory of the Lord is my rear guard (Isa. 58:11).

In the name of Jesus, amen!

The reason I say to pray this out loud is so that you hear these truths over and over again. Not only are you putting your armor on, you are declaring who you are in Jesus, your identity. And that makes the enemy lose all power over you, my friends. You are literally changing your thinking—transforming your mind with God’s truth (Rom. 12:2)—and building your faith.

Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ. — Romans 10:17

These are just the Scriptures I use. Study your Bible and as you find certain Scriptures capture your heart and connect to your identity (and you will, I’m certain of of it), personalize your armor. This isn’t a one size fits all suit, yet then again it is. That is the mystery and fun here, SUMites. We get to take it and personalize it.

I have just one more crazy wild truth to share with you regarding God’s Word. Take a trip with me to Mark 4. Jesus has told the parable of the farmer scattering seed, and it’s the very first parable that Jesus shares, at least according to Mark’s account. 

The disciples ask Jesus what it means. Here’s the beginning of his answer:

Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? The farmer sows the word.” — Mark 4:13-14

This is astounding to me, my friends. This parable about God’s Word is foundational to understanding all the other parables that Jesus shares. He wants the disciples, and us, to understand the importance of not only growing in God’s Word but the importance of sharing it. As believers in Jesus Christ, everything we are and do starts in God’s Word, because He IS the Word.

We are His farmers! And we are to sow the Word of God into others. Not beat people over the head with it, but pray it over them like we do our pre-believers, live it out in our lives in front of others, and share it when we are led to or see the moment of need. 

And we are to speak the truth in love. 

Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. — Eph. 4:15

Quiet Time Study:

Take the armor prayer I shared and make it uniquely yours, one you can remember no matter where you are or what you may be doing. 

Community Question:

What kind of farmer is God calling you to be and where is He asking you to “sow” His word?

I love you, SUMites, so so much. My heart is for us all to walk in these truths and our families too. As I finished writing this post, my oldest daughter called, upset over a situation she had no control over. I was able to pray with her, speak words of truth for her heart and spirit to hear, and encourage her to study her Bible so that next time she will already know these truths and can speak them out in prayer over herself. My testimony to her was based upon my firm belief that God’s Word is what delivered me from fear, anxiety and depression, because I knew what to pray—God’s truth!

Walking with you in faith, my friends! I can’t wait to hear YOUR testimony.
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Under the Umbrella of Our Amor and Identity

6a00d83451ee9f69e201b8d15b17ab970c-320wiMy friends, forgive me if my last post confused you but I promise that as I wrap this up it will all make sense. As the Holy Spirit has revealed more and more of the importance and power God’s Word plays in our lives, I am undone by it. And my prayer is that by the end of this series, you will be too. 

The Full Armor of God is representative of our identity of Christ. We’ve covered the belt (truth), the breastplate (righteousness) and the shield (faith). Let’s move on to the rest.

Our feet are to be “fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace” (Eph. 6:16). This too is built upon all the other pieces of our armor and identity. We are grounded to stand (Paul repeats this word many times in Eph. 6:10-17) in truth, righteousness and faith.

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.” — Matt. 7:24-25

The Greek word for fall, piptō, has enough meanings to make an entire post of its own here. It covers the literal meaning of to physically fall down but also encompasses our salvation (judgement), to be overcome by terror or under attack by evil, to worship and more. This word covers literally and figuratively all ways we could “fall.”

Yet these verses tell us we won’t fall if our foundation is built upon Jesus’ words. He is Truth. He IS the Word—we’ll come back to this shortly, so hang with with me a little longer. And His peace guards our heart and our minds (Phil. 4:7). 

Our helmut of salvation is the covering of our mind. Salvation came through the sacrificial blood of Jesus, so therefore our helmut is that blood covering, cleansing and identification as a Christian. It is through His salvation that we receive His righteousness and become the righteousness of God. See how these truths continue to come full circle? 

But wait…it gets even better. The sword of the Spirit is the only only piece of armor that Paul clearly defines (Eph. 6:17). And he tells us to pray in the Spirit, which many believe has to do with praying in tongues, but I also believe it means we are to pray the Word—speak it out loud in our prayers, back to God. It is His living and breathing Word of God. And hearing it builds our faith.

Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ. — Romans 10:17

John 1:1-14 also defines Jesus as the Word and that the Word became flesh.

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. — John 1:14

by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; — 2 Cor. 6:7

If the sword of Spirit is the Word of God and Jesus is that Word, then as we stand on the Word, speak and pray the Word, believe the Word and share the Word, we are living, breathing and being as Jesus. He is in us and we are in Him (1 John 4:13). He is not only our Truth, our Righteousness, our Faith and our Salvation, He has also given us His Spirit. We are inseparable. 

The full armor of God defends and protects us, because it is who we are and reflects Whose we are. This truth comes full circle and keeps going: The Armor of God is our identity which is our armor.

He will cover you with his feathers. He will shelter you with his wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection. — Psalm 91:4

My friends, I am convinced the first and most important battle we will ever fight against the enemy will be to make time to read God’s Word, because he knows that when we do, we learn who we really are and are set free from his lies. The truth, THE Truth, sets us free (Gal. 5:1). It is our greatest weapon against him. And when we learn the truth, we stay free.

SUMites, the Word of God is the answer to everything we need. It’s not just words on a page. It’s truth. It’s Jesus. It’s the key to being everything we have been created to be and to do. The Word of God will save you, heal you, release you, anoint you, empower you and love you. It will reveal who you are and who you are meant to be—your purpose and calling, divine destiny. 

How is all that possible? Because it’s alive and powerful.

For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. — Hebrews 4:12

The Bible is not just a book. It is a dialogue with the God who created you. This is part of the mystery of God, of how His Holy Spirit in us creates the bond and connection to the Father’s heart to know Him, to love Him, to hear Him. All through Jesus, the Word become flesh, the Truth.

Quiet Time Study:

My friends, my prayer right now is that this truth I’ve shared with you today will spark a hunger for God’s Word like never before. If you don’t have a time each day to sit and read your Bible, ask God right now to help you make that time. Tell Him you want to go deeper with Him in His Word. I promise you, He will rush in and answer this prayer if you are willing to do what He asks or shows you. 

Community Question:

Share a moment the Holy Spirit spoke to you directly through God’s Word.

As I said, I believe this is our greatest battle, to make daily time with God reading His Word, but once you “win” this one, SUMites, you will be empowered to win the rest. And as your identity becomes clearer, your armor is stronger. Pretty amazing, huh? On Thursday I will share how I pray my armor on with these truths. There’s a benefit to doing this that I don’t think we don’t realize…

Lord, my prayer today is for every SUMite who reads this to have a greater hunger for Your Word. That You would move time into alignment and opposition out of the way for each one of them to spend time reading their Bible every day. Lord Jesus, You are the Word and You are our Truth and our reality. Meet them on the pages of their Bible and show each one of them a specific truth this week that is from Your heart to theirs. In the name of Jesus, I pray, amen! 

Love you, SUMites!
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P.S. Check out this awesome worship song about who we are!


They Are ALWAYS Listening. Our Authority

image from www.spirituallyunequalmarriage.comThis is one of the most important post to read. Please take the time to make it to the bottom. Hugs, Lynn

SUMites, after writing the post, Legal Permissions, that I was originally intended to post today, the Holy Spirit strongly impressed upon me that we need to first consider our authority in Jesus. That post will be shared later in this series.

In the past couple of weeks, Dineen and I have been hitting hard on our identity in Christ. Because it’s out of knowing who we are and whose we are that we then begin to exercise the authority we have been given through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

So let’s look at authority. Turn in your Bible to, Luke 9. If you have been a reader here for a number of years, you may remember that I shared an encounter with a woman I met at a conference named Maria. She said to me, “Lynn, read Luke 9:1&2. That passage is for you.” Those verses change my life, my prayer time, my authority when I pray over others became real. If you want to hear me pray in this context, listen to the short video in the sidebar titled: Praying with the power and authority of Christ….

The Belt of Truth is what girds our loins with power. The truth is this, Jesus gave His disciples power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.  Luke 9:1&2. This authority is also for us and this is how I know. Turn to Matthew 28:20…. teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. See the word everything? That includes passages addressed to the Disciples.

For many years I didn’t understand that when Jesus was speaking to His disciples, that included me, a modern day believer. When I rejected that lie, immediately my prayers began impacting others because I prayed under the direction (intimacy & Holy Spirit) and authority of Christ (Word of God).  I’ve been privileged to pray with many of you over the phone. And even through phone calls, the Lord Jesus shows up and moves with love and power. Can I get an amen?

Okay, are you tracking with me? Truth (Word of God), replaces lies which leads to intimacy and through our intimacy and the Holy Spirit we hear the Lord’s will for our prayer life and receive the authority of Jesus to further His Kingdome here on earth.

Yep, MIND BLOW!

The best way I’ve heard this explained is this way. My daughter went off to college. She was given the privilege to be added to our credit card and received a card in her name. With that privilege came the full credit worthiness and power behind her father and me. We vouch for her and we also take a risk in that she could use this card irresponsibly. However, she retains intimacy and trust with us and always asks if she needs to use it. So when she makes a purchase, we honor her request and she leans on her father and me for the credit authority to use the card. Are you tracking? *

It’s a beautiful Kingdom principle. The Lord trusts us to ask in His authority as His children and within His will and then the spiritual realm must submit! DOUBLE MIND BLOW.

What does it mean to have this kind of authority…. Luke 9:1&2 Baby!!!!!

This scripture (and others) is our authority and it’s also our mandate for life. Our divine calling… To drive out demons, cure diseases, peach the good news and heal the sick! Astonishing isn’t it?

So how do we use our authority? We listen to the Holy Spirit and then we speak. Our WORDS bear great, GREAT power. Proverbs 18:21 “Death and life are in the power of the tongue…. Jesus spent a great amount of time in prayer but when he came face-to-face with the demonic, He didn’t stop to pray. He commanded. He used His Words to speak and command the demonic to leave. (Look up the story of Legion)

The spirit realm is always listening and responds to our words, good or evil.

The Spirit world cannot turn a deaf ear to the commands of God’s servants*. Hallelujah!

Matthew 12:36-27 “I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

 

Okay, so let’s put this new knowledge into practice. Let’s start with protection and blessing.

There is great power in proclaiming and speaking (out loud) our declarations of protection as well as blessings upon ourselves, our situations, our homes and upon others.

Here are some examples of speaking protection that I use all the time:

  • It says in Colossians 3 that we are hidden with Christ in God. So in the name of Jesus, I declare myself, my children, my spouse are hidden with Christ in God. The enemy cannot find us, hear us, nor make any plans against us to harm us.
  • I claim that I am protected from harm as I drive today.
  • I am protected from all attacks of the enemy and no demonic power can operate in my home, business, my classroom, my children’s life, my husband’s job, etc…. In JESUS NAME.

I always speak these truths with belief and in the name of Jesus. And I often repeat scripture promises.

Okay, let’s take a look at how we can bless.

In the last year I’ve battled foot pain. It started with Plantar Fasciitis. While on my walk n pray I would say something like this.

I bless my feet in Jesus name. All inflammation and pain must leave right now. I declare my feet healed and whole in the powerful name of Jesus. 

Today my feet are finally pain free. I’m currently speaking a blessing over my vision and eye sight. I want to watch Jesus do a miracle and restore my vision to a perfect 20/20 even though my eyes are older. I BELIEVE and will speak His blessing into my life. AMEN! Thank you Jesus.

Other blessings:

  • Lord, as your child, I speak blessings over my children, their relationships, their futures and ask that they would love you with a full heart.
  • I say that my finances are blessed and abundant. In Jesus name.
  • I declare that my husband will encounter the love of Christ in a life-changing moment.
  • I bless my body it is healthy and immune from disease, bacteria, weakness and I will walk in perfect health.
  • I bless this city where I live. I ask that Your Kingdom stands preeminent in the lives of the people.

I could go on and on. I talk all day to the Lord about situations I face and I speak His love into my life, family and community, especially the SUMite family.

Okay, this week let’s practice and believe. As things begin to change in your world, PLEASE write me. I want to praise Jesus with you. And be patient. This is a life-long journey where we learn how to listen and then speak with the authority of Christ.

Quiet Time Study: (Take these questions to the Lord in your quiet time. Then listen.)

  • Today begin to speak protection and blessing into your world. Make a conscious effort to speak daily. (All day long over your situations)
  • Speak out loud a blessing over your children for their school day, their current struggles, for their protection, joy and hope. Watch their faces. Priceless!!!

Community Questions (answer in the comments):

  • It’s my turn to bless you with the following.

I say that my SUMite brothers/sisters are blessed among millions. We are the living children of the Most High God and will walk in love, power and authority to change our circumstances, our marriages, empower our families and bring hope to thousands with our humble voice of obedience. We will shake the very foundation of satans kingdom and free ourselves and others from depression, illness, anxiety, fear, financial stress and every other assignment of the enemy. We demolish every argument and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God. We will thrive in love and our testimony will bring great glory to our Lord Jesus Christ.

In Jesus name, AMEN 

  • In the comments share “I receive God’s promises”. Also, share with me a specific protection/blessing you are speaking into your life and I will stand with you in belief and prayer.

I love you, SUMite Nation. We are becoming a mighty nation with the love and authority of Christ. We are going to rise up and shatter the darkness and bring God’s goodness and glory to this earth. In Jesus name. AMEN

One more thing, what we are learning will transform your marriage. Hallelujah!!!

*Adapted from I Give You Authority by Charles Kraft.

image from www.spirituallyunequalmarriage.com


The Belt of Truth

Spiritual warfare Umbrella Statement

Okay, I feel better. Let's get going.....

image from www.spirituallyunequalmarriage.comDo you have a Buddha statue in your front yard? How about a stone idol that you worship in your front room?

Ahem, NO!

My friends, the enemy isn’t that obvious. Do you know how he goes about with his deceptions?

He asks a question.

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” —Genesis 3:1

He said to Eve, “Did God really say”……. And vwala, doubt rushes in.

Guess what this looks like today?

Unbelieving spouse says, “You don’t really believe all that stuff do ya? I mean really, the science is irrefutable.”

In an instant a seed of doubt is planted.

This is the main tactic the enemy uses to draw us out from under the umbrella. His most effective weapon is to attack our identity in Christ. Dineen’s posts on identity are spot on and truth. We must stand in our identity and BELIEVE.

We answer the questions of doubt with absolute truth. What is truth? It is an objective standard by which reality is measured. There is a reality that is unchangeable and its origin begins with God the creator. His Word is the truth. Period. The end. Anything that comes up against this fact is deception of the dark Kingdom. So, today, rest in the fact that their is a true reality and then believe. The origin of life, truth and our purpose is fully God. Science cannot explain away this fact. (Side note: Scientific discoveries of recent, are directly pointing to alternate realities, unseen universes and to intelligent design. But alas, that’s a topic for another day.)

Truth is more than a fact or information.

Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. —John 8:32  It’s freedom. Truth is a person, Jesus.

Take out your Bible and turn with me to 2 Corinthians 10:3-5.

SUMites, this is the battle ground. Our thoughts and emotions. We believe a lie (pretension or argument that set up against the knowledge (truth), of God.

Now here is the truth. When we believe a lie, in place of the truth, we have just given a demon permission to move in. And once in, kicking that thing out can become a battle for your very life.

With truth, however, we can take wrong beliefs and our thoughts captive to Christ. We MUST destroy speculations (our ideas) and lofty things (anything that blocks God’s point of view).

Let’s begin to dress in our armor, The Belt of Truth.

What I want to do now is share a video. The kids in it are children of a long-time SUMite. Each morning before school these kids dawn their wardrobe. And my friends, I believe we need to do the same. This became profoundly obvious to me through my recent studies. I came across a story of a pastor who was called to a home by frantic parents. Their teen son and friends were found in the dark in the backyard, cutting themselves and all manner of weirdness was going down.

The pastor arrived went out back and into the drainage ditch where these teens were. He came face to face with one of the teen boys. And out of this normal American kid’s mouth came a voice and accent that was of ancient Asian descent speaking all kinds of vulgar language and cursing. He looked right at this pastor and said, “I want to kill you but I can’t because you are always wearing your armor.”

Say what?

Let’s learn what this armor is and how to wear it every day. Listen in and practice the same this week.

Video is from Debra Alley and her kids. Thanks!!!

 

 

Quiet Time Study: (Take these questions to the Lord in your quiet time. Then listen.)

  • Today I want you to look up a truth that will empower you John 8:31-31. I want you to get paper and pen. Write it out and allow the truth to penetrate your mind and soul.

Community Questions (answer in the comments):

  • Okay, don’t look at the other comments below you just yet. I want you read this scripture and then personalize it in the comments. 

For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 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 Corinthians 10:3-5

 

On Monday we are going to look at other ways the devil creates strongholds, a spiritual thorn you can’t shake, in our lives. There are doors we open and the vermin will walk in. This is called legal permission. Stay tuned. And do not fear. You are a child of The Most High God. You are sheltered under his wing. (Psalm 91) Read it. It’s powerful.

image from www.spirituallyunequalmarriage.com

Also, for those who need an inspiring story, hop over to Lynndonovan.org where I share: I'm Ashamed That I Prayed So Small.


We are Righteous, Shielded and Unlimited!

6a00d83451ee9f69e201b8d15b17ab970c-320wiMy friends, I heard a speaker once explain that the belt was a crucial part of a Roman soldier’s armor, because it held the rest in place. I find that so symbolic in that it is the first piece of armor that Paul speaks of and because all that we are and do as believers is about who Jesus is and who He says we are. 

Let’s jump in today with our breastplate of righteousness and our shield of faith. These two pieces of our armor are so connected that I’ve had to truly sit and study these Scriptures to take it all in. Again, my goal is to show you how our identity in Christ is our armor. Take your time to study these Scriptures and ask the Holy Spirit to bring this truth home deeply to your heart and mind.

First, let’s look at righteousness. In the Greek translation, the word used is dikaiosynē, which means equity (of character or act); specially (Christian) justification:— righteousness. Further definition: in a broad sense: state of him who is as he ought to be, righteousness, the condition acceptable to God.

In other words, who we are supposed to be as His children. Take a look at these Scriptures. The first one is a “biggie.”

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. — 2 Cor. 5:21 

It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. — 1 Cor. 1:30

If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him. — 1 John 2:29

By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother. — 1 John 3:10

We are the righteousness of God in Christ, my friends. Say this out loud and truly hear it. Christ’s death made you righteous, and our righteousness from Jesus proves who we are. You don’t have to prove it, because He did it!

Now here’s where it gets really interesting. Our righteousness is necessary to our faith and our faith is necessary to our righteousness. They are inseparable.

For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.” — Romans 1:17

But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. — Romans 3:21-22

Just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” — Gal. 3:6

and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith — Phil. 3:9

Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ — 2 Pet. 1:1

Plus, our righteousness produces fruit, which includes our children and generations to come!

filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. — Phil. 1:11

He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. — 2 Cor. 9:10

And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.— James 3:18

Now go with me just a little further in this imagery of our armor. Jesus is our truth (our belt), and His truth says were are the righteousness of God (our breastplate) and it is by faith in Christ that we are the righteousness of God (our shield).

Do you see how this all builds upon each other? Do you see how the belt of truth (Jesus) is the starting place? And soon we’ll see He’s our ending place. He is the beginning (Alpha) and the end (Omega) (Rev. 22:13) and our middle (the belt!) that hold us together (Col. 1:17).

It’s a mystery that is overwhelming in beauty, my friends, and boggles the mind. I’m still wrapping my brain around it all. 

Quiet Time Study:

If you’ve identified a fear and the lie behind it, find at least two Scriptures that speak truth. Renounce the lie, in the name of Jesus, and declare these truths out loud. Do this every day until you see your thoughts and your behavior now act according to the truth instead of the lie.

Community Question:

My friends, let’s dream a little here. Sometimes we feel like we could be so much more or do so much more if we were just a little freer. That’s actually another lie from the enemy to keep us ineffective. So, what is that one thing you’ve wanted so much to do that this lie (or any other lie) has kept you from going after it? We’re going to start living by our true identity and not by the lies the enemy has used to limit us. Amen? Amen!

Next week I'll finish up our armor/identity, and then I hope to share with you how I pray on my armor, which is also declaring who I am in Jesus, my identity. 

Lord, I declare today is freedom day for our SUMite community! We are ready to live by truth, righteousness and faith according to who You say we are. No longer will the lies of the world and the enemy dictate our choices, our thoughts, our faith, or our prayers! We are Your children, the righteous of God through Jesus Christ, filled with faith and truth! In the Mighty name of Jesus, amen!

Love you, SUMites! Have an amazing weekend filled with Jesus' peace and love.
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Lies, Fear and Armor. Oh my!

6a00d83451ee9f69e201b8d15b17ab970c-320wiOver my next couple posts (possibly more) I want to talk to you about our identity and our armor. I’ve felt the need the last few weeks to pray on my armor every day and as I’ve done so the Holy Spirit has shown me a stunning truth. Our identity in Christ and the Armor of God are the same.

Our identity in Christ is our armor.

My friends, I’m so enthralled by this revelation. Once I understood this truth, suddenly the Scriptures that support it came to life and that is what I’m excited to share with you. Some of it you may find challenging as it will require you to look inward to identify some lies that you may still be operating under, what we’re calling “umbrella crushers” for this series, but I promise you that once you identify a lie, sweet freedom rushes in are you will be changed and charged up!

So, let’s get started with our Belt of Truth (Eph 6:14). First let’s establish that Jesus is our belt. 

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” — John 14:6

He is truth, therefore He is the one who holds us, defines us and protects us.

For “‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, “‘For we are indeed his offspring.’” — Acts 17:28

And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. — Col. 1:17

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. — Ephesians 2:10

The thing is, if we are operating under some lies, we will step out of God’s protective umbrella more easily. For instance, if you don’t trust God to answer your prayer over a matter in which you need leading and grow impatient for the answer, you will be tempted (there’s the opening for the enemy to come in) to take matters into your own hand and wind up making a decision based upon that deception. The story of Abraham and Sarah is a good example of this (Gen. 16). 

And lies create fear. We will feel insecure and unprotected when we put what we fear in a higher place than our belief in God and His Word to help us overcome it. Then our human need for security will propel us to do things to create a sense of security (like taking control) in order to feel safe.

So how do we reveal a lie? First I will used myself as an example. I shared recently that the Holy Spirit showed me that I had believed the enemy’s ability to deceive me was greater than Jesus’ power to lead me (He is our Good Shepherd).

My first clue was that I realized I didn’t feel safe. Though I thought I had overcome my misconception from my youth that the enemy was more powerful than God, I still didn’t feel safe. My second clue was that I constantly prayed for the Holy Spirit to not let me be deceived. That’s when the Holy Spirit helped me identify the lie that I believed the enemy’s ability to deceive me was greater than Jesus’ power to lead me. This lie made me doubt whether I heard God’s voice correctly all the time and kept me from stepping into all that God has for me in many ways.

Truth (and confidence in Him) has since replaced the lie, and I’ve operated under the umbrella of God’s protection and free of fear in this area ever since. Plus I hear God even better!

Now I’m going to use a character from a story I’m working on right now to show you how we can walk through this process and identify a lie. (Yes, writers draw from real life to build our characters. What better way to make them believable, right?) 

I have a character who is operating under a lie. Selah gets her name from her parents who were a major force in the Christian music industry, and she is gifted by God to write anointed music that heals people. Yet she has no desire to work in that industry. 

Why not?

Because she doesn’t want to be like her parents and feels she has to prove herself in a different market. This need has driven her decisions through college and her career.

Why doesn’t she want to be like her parents?

She saw how much they gave to their ministry and God, and that it was while serving in this way that they were tragically killed. Thus serving God with her gift scares her.

Why does it scare her?

Because she blames God for taking her parents away from her and believes this is how God operates. She must overcome this lie with the truth that God is good, that God didn’t take her parents away from her, and that the dream she is pursuing is actually from God and He wants to make it come true, even better than she could imagine. Because where she sees the secular and Christian market as separate, God wants to use her to create a bridge to join them.

Now it’s your turn, my friends. I would not ask this of you had I not discerned that this is God’s heart for you right now. He wants you free of whatever lie you may be operating under so that you can walk in confidence with the Truth, with Jesus, girded around your waist holding you and keeping you safe.

Quiet Time Study:

Sit before God and ask yourself these questions. If you get stuck, then share in the comments (if your comfortable to do so) and let’s help each other find the freedom Jesus has for all of us. Or email me privately.

  • What scares you? Think about what have you been praying against.
  • Why does it scare you?
  • Where do you see God in this situation?
  • What is the truth? 

When you get down to the truth, find Scriptures that support your revelation, write them out and pray them out loud until you truly believe them as your truth. Any time your fear creeps back up, pray them again. My truths are now Psalm 32:7-8, Isa. 41:13, John 10:27-30 and several others about God’s protection.

Community Questions:

  • What lie has misdirected your faith and choices in the past (share as you feel comfortable)?
  • How do you walk in truth in this area now?

On Thursday I will talk about our Breastplate of Righteousness and the Shield of Faith. This is where it gets really interesting my friends. I’m stunned just by what I discovered about these two areas of our identity/armor. 

Holy Spirit, I pray for every SUMite reading this post today that You would come gently to them and reveal any lie they are operating under that hinders their intimacy with You and causes them to be fearful, depressed or anxious. In the name of Jesus, I ask that these lies be broken off them, removed and never allowed to return. Holy Spirit, lead them to the truth in God’s Word so that they can begin healing and living their faith in security and confidence in the truth of who they are in Jesus. Remind us to put on our belt of truth every day! In the truth-filled name of Jesus, amen!

Love and praying for you, my friends!
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Are You Stepping Out From Under The Umbrella of God's Protection?

Under the Umbrella series small 400 versionThe response to our series is overwhelmingly enthusiastic. It’s becoming crystal clear that God’s people are yearning to know the truth about whom we battle and how to win. I’m so encouraged by your eagerness and your commitment to the process.

We need to start with understanding the Theater of War of the Kingdom of God.

It’s earth baby!

We are intricately involved in war whether we want to be or not or whether we realize it or not. So it’s WAY past time to put on our armor and recognize that:

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 6:12

It’s war. —Move and Countermove

Move: God Created the angelic

Countermove: Lucifer sinned.

Move: God kicked him out of heaven to earth and created people to deal with and subdue the planet and the devil.

Countermove: The serpent deceived Adam and Eve and they forfeited their authority over earth.

Move: Jesus was born. The Godhead came to earth, fully human, to regain the authority for mankind.

Countermove: Satan temps Jesus

Move: Jesus rebukes satan. Satan flees.

Countermove: Satan kills Christ…….

NOW GET THIS!

Move of God: Jesus is resurrected from the dead. Descends to hell and returns with the keys to death and hell (Revelation 1:18) and with the following for all of His followers:

15 He (Jesus) said to them (His followers – US), “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.” —Mark 16:15-18

My friends, the resurrection of Christ was the final move. His perfect life sacrificed, broke the spiritual laws that kept people in bondage and returned authority to people through the blood and name of Jesus. We are protected under the umbrella of God’s love, authority and purposes. So you may ask, “Well then, why do I still struggle so much with sin? Why is there such upheaval and pain in my life if this is true?”

The simple answer?

Because most of us step out from under the umbrella of God’s love and protection and out of His Kingdom. We remain clueless as how to remain under His umbrella and we have no idea how to make Mark 16 a reality in our life.

BUT…… That is about to change. (Queue cheering crowd) Hallelujah Jesus!!!

It’s critical to learn first how to stay under the protection of God who is the ruler of the spiritual & physical realms. We also must learn there are spiritual laws in effect just as there are physical, unbreakable and unchangeable laws in effect such as the law of gravity. In all my research, the pundits aren’t able to explain why God set it up that way but He did. And we were created to live and navigate through both the physical and the spiritual.

Let’s start with the first rule of battle: #1 We must acknowledge that we live in two worlds. The visible and invisible.

Battle Rule #2: Everything that we deal with, all that we face, everything that happens to us is first orchestrated, manifest, and/or created in the spiritual realm before it is evident in the physical realm.

Battle Rule #3: We have everything we need to battle and win this war. It was accomplished at the cross. When Jesus said, “It is finished.” We attained everything we will ever need for abundant living. All was accomplished – Past tense, at the cross!  (John 19:30) (John 10:10)

Battle Rule #4: Fight from victory not for victory. Stay under the umbrella of God’s love and operate in the authority of Jesus and through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Quiet Time Study: (Take these questions to the Lord in your quiet time. Then listen.)

  • Lord, do I truly believe these Battle Rules? Help me to understand and believe.
  • Am I willing to do what it takes to live under the umbrella of God's protection and provision even if I don't know what "all it takes" means right now?
  • Pray: Lord, I ask you to give me supernatural courage and wisdom as I walk through this study. Look up Ephesians 1:17 and pray it every day. Look up and write down Ephesians 6:10-17.
  • If you are journalist or taking notes, the scripture verses in this post are crucial. Look them up and write them down. I've provided links to most of them.

Community Questions (answer in the comments):

  • So how do we stay under the umbrella my friends?
  • What can remove us from the protection of the umbrella? 

I’m going to shed more light on the last two questions Friday. SUMites that is when the hard work begins. But it’s so worth it to live continually under the umbrella and not out in the rain where every drop adds to the rust of our armor and to the pain and struggle of our life.

Step out of the rain. Dawn your armor and your wield your sword. IT’S OUR TURN TO DO SOME DAMAGE TO THE DEVIL AND HIS MINIONS. AMEN JESUS. AMEN!!!

Upcoming posts:

  • Umbrella crushers – The truth about our protection (umbrella)
  • The Devils game – Our identity
  • What is legal permission?
  • Authority
  • The Full Armor of God
  • Demonic structure
  • Defeating lies and restoring truth. Truth=freedom
  • Curses, vows, ancestral encroachment
  • And more…. Much more.

Hang on to your hats because it’s about to get real. Real dangerous for the dark king.

In Jesus name. AMEN

Jesus, as we leave today we ask that you would conceal us from the devil. In Colossians 3:3, you say we are hidden with Christ in God. Hide us and our family from all demonic plans and assignments. We ask to be continually under the umbrella, the wings, of the Most High (Psalm 91) Jesus walk with us and teach us how to live out your commands through your name and authority. We ask that you continually speak to us through the Holy Spirit. Be our hope, our peace and our security this day and forever more. In Your powerful name. AMEN

image from www.spirituallyunequalmarriage.com


Under The Umbrella - The Battle For My Life!

Under the Umbrella series small 400 version
Standing Under The Umbrella-

               The Battle For Our Life!

Ephesians 6 Series

Earlier this week I posted a question to our Facebook Reader page the following:

There is a need to write and study through the SUM blog about many practical needs for the spiritually mismatched such as tithing, friendships, sex, attending church alone, prayer at the dinner table, etc. Yet there is also a need to develop our spiritual life because out of that all the rest flows.

Currently I'm feeling the prompt of the Holy Spirit to write about our Spiritual Armor and preparing for spiritual warfare as we deal with these battles in our homes with our spouse, DAILY... So, I'm wondering what would you like to study? Both, at the same time? Tackle one subject on Monday the other on Friday? What other topics do we need to review for all the new readers who are just getting started on their mismatch journey and/or spiritual journey???

Well the response was strong for the Spiritual Warfare study but also we need to feed those who haven’t dealt with common marriage struggles. So after praying this is what I’m sensing from the Spirit.

BOTH.

Dineen and I have been writing since 2006. Our archives are filled with real-life and workable solutions to common challenges for the mismatched. Archives are often difficult to sift through and hard to find. So on Saturdays I’m going to repost some articles that address universal topics. If I think hard and blow up the cobwebs on my brain, I remember that there are really, really great messages, videos, questions and discussion that will help you with the daily and unique aspects in a mismatched marriage. So watch for those on the weekend.

I’m also convinced that NOW, more than ever, the Lord is leading His people into the truth about the spiritual realm and how much it truly impacts our physical and daily life. With that said, I plan to lead us through a study titled: Standing Under the Umbrella – The Fight For Our Life!

SO EXCITED!!!!

I’ve written spiritual warfare series before but this one is different. Why? Because I’ve walked the Biblical truth out in my own life. I’ve studied video series and articles for years and have read numerous books, titles I intend to share, because they will change your life. I have actually experienced praying for people and watching the demons flee. I’ve freed myself, my mother and my sister from ancestral curses and real freedom has come to our family. I’ve prayed for people for their cancer to leave and for depression to depart and Jesus healed those people. Our battles are deeply rooted in the spiritual realm and we must understand how that realm wreaks havoc upon our lives because once we “get” it, we will become free and so will others for whom we pray.

So THIS series will be unlike the priors.

Victory In Spiritual Warfare EvansWe will be referring to the unerring Word of God for this series. Primarily our text will come from Ephesians 6. I’m likely to also tie in the books I’ve studied from time to time. Watch for recommendations to pop up in the sidebar. And I find it fascinating that the current Bible study at my local church is: Victory In Spiritual Warfare by Tony Evans. I guess God wants us to really, REALLY get this message. So I will likely be using some of Pastor Evans information.

I also sensed from the Holy Spirit that at the end of each post I’m to ask 1-3 questions. These questions are for you to take to God. Print them out or write them down. Go into your quiet time and pray them. Ask God the questions and then listen and let the Holy Spirit speak into your heart about the answers.

Finally, before we launch into the teaching I WANT EVERY PERSON TO HEAR THIS: Do NOT be afraid. We are stronger than the dark Kingdom because of Jesus. The devil will do everything possible to keep you from reading this series. He will try to intimidate you and tell you that you aren’t strong enough that you won’t be able to understand or that you should be very afraid. LIES… LIES…. LIES..

The truth is: The devil is terrified right now that you are even reading this post.

Let him quake in his pointed boots because it’s time to kick butt and take names.

My SUMite family, are you ready for true freedom? Are you ready and wanting to understand what the Bible really says about our authority in Christ Jesus?

Let’s get started. Take your Bible and read Ephesians 6:10-19

Quiet Time Study: (Ask these questions of the Lord. Then listen.)

  • Am I equipped for battle in the spiritual realm?
  • Do I employ the tools in Ephesians 6 in my life?
  • Lord, will you walk with me through this and show me where I am allowing the enemy access?

Community Questions (answer in the comments):

  • On a scale of 1-10 what is your awareness of spiritual warfare?
  • Have you ever felt like you’ve engaged in the invisible realm?
  • Pray the following prayer and answer AMEN in the comments. I will pray your name for this series and for your understanding and breakthrough.

Jesus, I am tired of the enemy stealing my joy, my health, my marriage, my kids, my very life. I’m willing to do the hard work and study Your Word so that I will be empowered by your love and authority to discover the deceptions of the demonic realm. I will be brave because You are walking with me. I will absolutely stand for nothing less than full victory in my life and for the Kingdom of God. I am fully committed to battle from victory and not for victory because everything I need was accomplished at the cross.

Thank you Jesus that you are my Savior. Thank you that you love me and that you are opening the door to greatness and victory in Your Kingdom. I pledge my love, my life, my eternity to you. In Your powerful name, Jesus. AMEN

It’s a great season in the Kingdom of God. We are entering the season of amber, orange and red beauty. We have Rosh Hashanah promises this Fall. We are pursuing a life of holiness. So let’s trample of the Kingdom of darkness!

Woo Hoo!!! I can’t wait to see what a group of ordinary believers can bring about in this world!! I love you my friends. So very much. Hugs, Lynn

image from www.spirituallyunequalmarriage.com