Pierce the Darkness

Psalm 18:17-18
17 He rescued me from my powerful enemy,
from my foes, who were too strong for me.
18 They confronted me in the day of my disaster,
but the LORD was my support.

Have you ever been overwhelmed by negativity? There have been days where everyone around me seemed so negative and I just wanted to avoid people because I don't want to get into a negative spirit also. Then I realize I'm not up against people... I'm up against principalities of darkness meaning Satan's demons are leeching onto people and causing them to be depressed or lack hope or even just plain grumps. Looking at it this way I recognize who the enemy is. I recognize now is the time to pray against those spirits and rebuke them off of people. We have been given the authority from God to rebuke demons.

When Christ resurrected from the dead and then transcended into Heaven not only did He overcome death itself but He provided the Holy Spirit for us to have in us so that we would have the authority to do great things as well. We have that authority over the demons of negativity that latch onto people. We can pray those demons off of them. Instead of avoiding negative situations I really should start speaking in tongues over them. I need to remember that even though I'm surrounded the Lord is my strength and my shield and I don't need to worry about conquering them all because they are already conquered with the name of Jesus. We just need to pray more.

I love Frank Peretti books because the angels in his books have no power unless the people of God pray. I really believe that is the way it is. God can put the angels to fight for us but we need to have faith and prayer in order for them to have the right ammunition. Prayer is a powerful thing. We need to do more of it. So the next time you are facing the darkness pierce it with prayer.

Ephesians 6:12
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

That's Deep!

Psalms 18:15-16
15 The valleys of the sea were exposed
and the foundations of the earth laid bare
at your rebuke, LORD,
at the blast of breath from your nostrils.
16 He reached down from on high and took hold of me;
he drew me out of deep waters.

I just find it so amazing that there are parts of the ocean that haven't even been discovered yet. There are places that no one has explored in the ocean because they are so deep. Perhaps that's why I love oceans so much because I can relate to them. No matter how deep into the waters I get I'm never deep enough for God to not notice me He sees all those places people have yet to discover. Just like He sees things in us that are pretty deep, things that people and perhaps even ourselves have yet to discover.

I also love how we are reminded that God casts our sins into the ocean. I always like to think of my sin floating way beyond anywhere anyone can see it and getting washed with the cleansing sand and healed with the salt water. I love to think of God being the only one who knows about that and who it even really matters to. God isn't a God who dwells in the depths of our past God dwells on our surface. He wants to bring light and life to us. We are called to need His breath to draw closer to Him. We need to get out of that deep water and start swimming to the surface and getting closer to the light.

If you've ever seen an underwater video or show on discovery channel you can the light gleaming on the water surface. That is exactly what I think of when I think of God. The deeper you go away from God or the surface of the water the darker it becomes. The father away you are the more dangerous it becomes. It's safe to snorkel close to the top and enjoy the beauty He has for us. However if we ever do go too deep we can always know and trust that God will bring us out of the depths and back to Him.

Micah 7:19
You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.

Stupid Cupid!

Psalm 18:13-14
13 The LORD thundered from heaven;
the voice of the Most High resounded.
14 He shot his arrows and scattered the enemy,
with great bolts of lightning he routed them.

I'm sure you are all getting tired of seeing Valentine's day things filling the shelves of the grocery store. If you are any of my single friend ladies who don't need to be reminded of how lonely and single you are right now you may want to read on. I don't know why but as I was reading this scripture today I got a visual of cupid... and I thought in my mind THANK GOD! that cupid does not pick who our future spouse will be. Thank God that He does! Imagine how messed up we'd be if we let our love life be decided by some mostly naked cherub with bad aim. Thank God He has great aim and can protect us from any deceptions of the Devil that come our way.

I don't know about you but when I was "desperate" for a guy to come into my life I went looking in "all" the wrong places... even in church. Somehow when you don't let God decide who He wants you can end up with the wrong person even if they are a Christian or you've met them in church. I remember those days that I cried miserably because of how lonely I was. I cried so much one time my parents felt so bad for me they bought me a huge stuffed monkey to say it was my boyfriend. How pathetic right?

While working out today I talked to my friend about God's plan in our lives. We both agreed it is much better when we wait for Him to move us forward. We need to not look back but know who we are in Him and keep trusting Him to lead us forward. Thank God we can trust Him and not some stupid cupid.

Psalm 37:4
4 Take delight in the LORD,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Predicting Storms Ahead!

Psalm 18:11-12
11 He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him—
the dark rain clouds of the sky.
12 Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced,
with hailstones and bolts of lightning.

When I was a little girl we took a family hiking trip with some friends. While we were on the trail dark clouds began to form in the sky and it appeared to be the start of a lightening storm. However, instead of turning back we decided to keep moving forward. When it finally starting down pouring and lightening we then decided to turn back.

Sometimes God tries to warn me about things and He allows for me to see an overcast. However, sometimes I deliberately avoid those warnings. Then when I progress forward in life ignoring the warnings and storms come my way I wonder why I didn't run for cover when we had the opportunity.

Have you ever had an overcast on you and God has told you to take cover? Has He told you to stand guarded in your heart... and then BAM that lightening struck and you weren't guarded? I think it's time we learn from those mistakes. I think it's time we start listening to that spiritual weather forecast and using more wisdom in our walks. Take time to notice when things around are getting shady and stay in the light. If you need any prayers you can always come to me. Let's stay safe together away from the storms.

Psalm 91:1
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

Rubber, Glue, and Prayers

Psalm 18:9-10
9 He parted the heavens and came down;
dark clouds were under his feet.
10 He mounted the cherubim and flew;
he soared on the wings of the wind.

So often when I am hurt I want to do anything but cry out to God for help. Sometimes when I am hurt I retaliate in my own fleshly way and just make matters worse. When God says fear not for He is with us it also means that He's going to protect us. Even if I am hurt on earth God knows about it in heaven and I can be guaranteed He will not let it go. God is a protective Father He even says in His word that if anyone hurts His little ones it's better for a millstone to be tied to their neck and them to be cast into the deepest ocean. Pretty wrathy stuff huh? I don't think I'd want to mess with God. But that's why it's so important for us not to hurt others as well. We want to be careful of our relationship with others because those people are God's children also.

It is very hard when I am hurt not to hurt others. I used to hide a lot of my feelings inside until I exploded on anyone and everyone. That was not healthy at all. Now I try to express how I feel to the people who hurt me without hurting them. However even that is not always easy. Sometimes I let things slip out and wind up hurting people I love. Thank God most of the people I love are very forgiving and understanding. I was talking about this last night. I was discussing how angry I felt toward someone for something that occurred toward some other people I love. Naturally we are protective of people we love just like God is protective of people He loves. However, we need to remember that God loves them all ... the victims as well as the people who are inflicting.

Nevertheless, we need to realize that God is in charge and not us. We need to realize that He has things in His hands and that's where they ought to be. I am not God only what I can do is pray for people. I can only pray for their healing. It doesn't do any good to retaliate toward them out of anger because it only hurts me. It doesn't do any good to talk bad about them behind their back because it only pollutes my heart, mind, and attitude.

You've heard the saying "I'm rubber you're glue whatever bounces off of me sticks onto you" well that's exactly what I'm getting at. We need to be careful of how we react to others when we are hurt because it will eventually stick to us and weigh us down. The best option I am learning is to just let it God and give it to God. Let's pray for each other and encourage each other when we are frustrated or angry to just give it to God.

Romans 12:14 AMP
Bless those who persecute you [who are cruel in their attitude toward you]; bless and do not curse them.

Matthew 5:44-45 AMP
44But I tell you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 To show that you are the children of your Father Who is in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the wicked and on the good, and makes the rain fall upon the upright and the wrongdoers [alike].

Mighter than Mountains

7 The earth trembled and quaked,
and the foundations of the mountains shook;
they trembled because he was angry.
8 Smoke rose from his nostrils;
consuming fire came from his mouth,
burning coals blazed out of it.

A while ago I was watching Pride and Prejudice when Elizabeth was quoting "what are men compared to mountains?" When I look at mountains I'm just overpowered with awe of how beautiful and majestic they are. The mountains are clothed with trees and all sorts of terrain. It seems that they are so much closer to God that I just wish I could sit on the top of one and look up and see Him. Imagine that they would shake when God gets angry. If only we ourselves would shake when God got angry. If only we even cared sometimes if God was angry. I look at this scripture and perhaps today we might ignore it and say well God is a loving God I don't see how He would ever have smoke coming from His nostrils. Right? Well, however you view God He is all powerful and mighty.

The bible says that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. Today I feel that people don't fear God as much as they ought. People don't even give God the authority He rightfully deserves. Sometimes I don't even praise Him enough. We really have to compare ourselves to those mountains the bible says if we stop praising God the trees and mountains will. Imagine if we feared God more how much it would move us. Mountains are powerful... but they don't contain the gifts of the spirit like we do. We should be moving mountains not letting mountains do all the moving.

Matthew 17:20
He replied, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."

For Crying out Loud!

Psalm 18:5-6
5 The cords of the grave coiled around me;
the snares of death confronted me.
6 In my distress I called to the LORD;
I cried to my God for help.
From his temple he heard my voice;
my cry came before him, into his ears.

Have you ever been in a tight spot? Maybe you felt like there was just no hope? A while ago I was getting slammed in college with confrontations about my GPA being so low. I really didn't want to take the courses that I wasn't good at because I knew they would just lower my GPA more. All I wanted to do was teach young children and I didn't see why I needed to take math and biology or things that were just not my strong subjects. When I got in the state of hopelessness I always felt like I needed to give up somehow. I remember thinking I need to quit college and my parent's threats of making me pay all my loans were about the only thing keeping me going sometimes. I also remember having to go to counseling because I said I didn't feel like living anymore. My counselor told me something smart he said that suicide is just a permanent solution to a "temporary" problem. I used to put all my eggs in one basket. If I wasn't going to graduate college my life wasn't worth living. Then God started showing me He had other plans. He was going to take care of it for me.

Oh there were lots of times when I was in college where I felt like I was facing death. I became very ill because I was stressed out and I didn't want to tell my parents so I went to class sick. When I got to the doctor after passing out in one of my classes and having to call my dad to bring me to get checked out, the doctor sent me to the emergency room right away. I had Pneumonia! I had it bad. All because I wasn't sleeping, taking care of myself, and was stressing way to much instead of putting things in God's hands. I quickly learned to cry out to God. Because of my health I had to learn not to get so stressed out. I had a compromised immune system and it did not help to get stressed out about things that God was capable of handling. However, in order to let God handle it I had to learn to trust Him. We can tell our friends to put things in God's hands but it's very hard to sometimes when you don't know how to trust. I had to re-examine my life and realize all the great things God has done for me. How He "really" has always been there for me even when I was too stressed out to realize it. Once I realized it though I felt more at peace. I was able to relax breathe and just cry out to God to release me from the suffering and stress of the world.

Stress is a serious thing. In my health classes we learned that stress is the #1 cause of death in the United States. Stress can increase your risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, basically anything bad that'll kill you. Even in my "secular" college health class they taught us that becoming spiritually healthy helps us relieve stress. Just try it! Try reading the bible... getting a closer walk with God. Try "crying" out to Him! and trust in Him that HE has everything under control!

Proverbs 3:5-6 AMP
5 Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding.
6 In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths.

Breaking the Chains

Psalm 18:3-4
3 I called to the LORD, who is worthy of praise,
and I have been saved from my enemies.
4 The cords of death entangled me;
the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.

My friend and I love to work out and while we work out we always talk about the most interesting things. I'd say the majority of our time is spent talking about our spiritual walks as well as things that we need encouragement on. What a better time to work off stress not only physically but spiritually? Well, yesterday we were talking about how interesting it was being in a spiritually filled church when that was something that we were not used to as young children. I grew up in a spiritually filled home but as a young child I didn't realize why they were laying hands on me or speaking in tongues. To be honest it's pretty scary to someone who is not familiar with the idea. The first time my friend came to one of my favorite spirit filled churches I encouraged her to go into a room to have prophecy spoke over her. Well let's just say when people start praying over you to be released from chains that are weighing you down spiritually and laying hands on you it can be a bit overwhelming, especially when you are not used to how things work with the Holy Spirit in present day.

So often people forget that the Holy Spirit still moves through us like It did in biblical times. We forget that we have the authority over the devil through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was what Jesus left us when He transcended into heaven after He conquered the grave. The Holy Spirit was given to us to be our comforter and protector and give us spiritual gifts to help us. Our spiritual gifts are not only meant to help us grow spiritually but they are meant for us to help others spiritually as well. Sometimes we might not know our spiritual gifts until we pray for God to open our eyes to His Holy Spirit more.

So what is the purpose of spiritual gifts like speaking in tongues or the laying of hands that weird sometimes weird people out? Well, let's go back to those chains... if you read the scripture from above sometimes the enemy (satan) tries to weigh us down so that we can't experience full joy and peace through Christ. Those chords of death are the guilt, shame, and condemnation that satan tricks us into believing although through Christ's blood we were released from these things and healed from any "sin" that was causing us to face death. Yes we will have to face physical death but because of Christ we will never have to face spiritual death. We have a home with Him in Heaven. Meanwhile we have a purpose here on earth and the Holy Spirit has given us gifts in order to fill this purpose. So if you feel those chains dragging you down start speaking in tongues out of faith and start claiming your God given authority over those chains. Remember Christ already conquered death!

John 10:17-18
17 The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.