Lifewords strength to strength series 35 of 35, The Sword of the Spirit

lifewords  strength to strength series 35/35  The Sword of the Spirit, which is The Word of God   The Command: Put on God's complete armor of a heavy armed soldier, so as to be able to successfully resist all the devil's methods of attack; to stand up to and keep your position against all the strategies, tactics, intrigues, cunning schemes, tricks and deceits of the Evil One (Eph. 6:11) Oh the strength we have in God's Armor as we clothe our selves daily! In addition to the Belt of Truth, the Breastplate of Righteousness, the Gospel Shoes of Peace, the Shield of Faith and the Helmet of Salvation, we are instructed to take up the "Sword of the Spirit" which is the Word of God. The Word of God is the believer's most powerful peace of weaponry, being both defensive and offensive. With God's inspired Word we protect ourselves in spiritual warfare and also defeat that which opposes Christ and push back the forces of evil. This is not the only time we see the Word in association with a Sword..... in Hebrews 4:12, the Word is described as "sharper than any two edged sword, to the dividing of soul and spirit" also in Revelations we see Jesus described in verse 1:16 with a "sharp two-edged Sword coming from His mouth." We must "take it up" daily and continually, meditating on it day and night (Psalm 1) "Taking up" the Sword means open it up, read it, meditate on it, study it, ponder it, speak it, pray it, handle it, use it, rely on it, practice it, become skilled in its use, declare it! Remember that it is the Sword of the Spirit, the Holy Spirit who dwells in us. He is the Teacher in all things concerning the Word. Here is a suggestion a guide, of how to "take up the Sword of the Spirit" daily in prayer. Lord, today I take up the Sword of the Spirit, Your living Word. Thank You for the Bible, I believe every chapter and verse of it! I have faith in Your Word and I believe that it is full of life and power in me today, cleansing me, sanctifying me, maturing me, and transforming me. Help me, by Your grace, to keep Your Word as the priority of my life, careful to hide it in my heart. Your Word is forever established and unchanging, I trust in it more than the temporary situations I can see with my natural eyes. Lord, you have defeated all the works of the evil one. I will use Your Word as a weapon to intentionally enforce that victory. I will follow your example in speaking to the storms, "Be still, in Jesus Name" and to the mountains, "Be removed, in Jesus Name," and to those things that are bound, "Be loosed, in Jesus Name." Jesus, You are the Head of the Church, I am the body You live in on  this Earth, teach me how to completely obey Your Word. Holy Spirit, You are my Teacher in all things concerning the Word and I yield to You. Lord I ask as Your child, that You would help me become skilled, strategic, wise and strong in the use of this Sword. Help me to pursue Your Word with relentless passion, speak Your Word with conviction and obey Your Word with resolve. Help me to live the moments of this day courageously lifting high the Sword that You have given to me.

Lifewords strength to strength series 34 of 35, The Helmet of Salvation

lifewords strength to strength series 34/35 The Helmet of Salvation   The Command: Put on God's complete armor of a heavy armed soldier, so as to be able to successfully resist all the devil's methods of attack; to stand up to and keep your position against all the strategies, tactics, intrigues, cunning schemes, tricks and deceits of the Evil One (Eph. 6:11) BELT OF TRUTH, BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, SHOES OF THE GOSPEL OF THE PREPARATION OF PEACE, SHIELD OF FAITH, THE HELMET OF SALVATION, THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT (WORD OF GOD), PRAYING WITH ALL MANNER OF PRAYER. According to Psalms 18:30, It is God who girds us with strength for the battle! He is a Shield to all who take refuge in Him! Paul, led by the Holy Spirit, writes to every believer in Ephesians 6, that in regard to the spiritual battle that rages around us daily, we are to STAND, having put on the "spiritual armor" and weaponry of our Lord. We understand that every soldier serving in our wonderful Armed Forces prepares for battle to protect himself or herself from enemy warfare, and every soldier is equipped with specific weaponry to be used against the enemy in order to win the fight. As believers we must spend time every day in spiritual preparation so that we will be protected and armed to be victorious against our enemy whose aim is to steal from, kill and destroy. It is a real war, fought with spiritual weaponry, for our battle is not against flesh and blood but against a demonic host. The good news is that the battle has already been won by our Commander in Chief, our Savior whose finished work on the Cross and Victory over every work of the enemy, including death itself, secured victory for all who believe. His is the Name above every name that is named! But we must enforce that victory and understand the battle that still rages against the people of God and God's purposes in the earth going forward. We must step into our place daily, not asleep, not unaware, and not self absorbed, but spiritually equipped to live in victory and set others free by the power of God's love. So the Helmet of Salvation speaks of two things. First, a helmet protects the head, the mind, our thought life. Second, Salvation speaks of life, redemption, rescued, wellness, wholeness, deliverance. The Helmet of Salvation is an essential piece of the Armor that we "put on", making a decision to take our thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ, transformed by the Truth of God's Word. Here is an example of one way to "put on" the helmet of salvation daily, out loud! Today I put on the Helmet of Salvation. I will renew my mind with God's Word, meditating on it day and night. I am committed to hiding the Word in my heart, so that I will have the mind of Christ, a spiritual mind that seeks to please God. Lord, help me to not be carnally minded or double minded, because your Word says that a double minded man or woman is unstable in all their ways. Help me to direct my thoughts according to Your Word. I refuse to worry or to be anxious today, but commit to pray about everything and take my thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ. I resist all fear, doubt and unbelief! I will cast down every vain imagination and lie that would attack my mind and, on purpose, I bring my thoughts and attitudes into agreement with the Word of Truth. Lord help me to see every circumstance in my life in light of the salvation that You have purchased for me. I will be disciplined to guard what comes into my mind, through my eyes and ears. Help me to think on things that are praise worthy. Lord, thank you that you are my Salvation, and You will keep my mind in perfect peace because it is fixed upon You.

Lifewords - strength in the difficult days

 

lifewords Strength for the difficult days  5.11.2012 Today, a dear friend and servant of the Lord has finished his course on this Earth and is, at this moment, rejoicing in the presence of His beloved Savior.  All my thoughts are of him and his precious  wife and family this morning.  My thoughts are of all the people the Lord touched through his life, for he was a person who was always investing in others.  Today there will be sadness, but no question that this friend is with Jesus, and so there will be joy.  Oh the hope we have in our risen Savior! He is the Resurrection and the Life and all who believe in Him will never die.  There will be countless thoughts of how this man of God lived his life to glorify God and very boldly point every person he knew,  and  didn't know,  toward living radically  for Jesus Christ.   On these days of life, when the "suddenlies" happen,  we  must rely on the STRENGTH of our Lord. He is a shield about us, He is our glory and the One who is the Lifter of our head.   (Psalm 3)  In our weakness He is strong.   On days that we wake up and a person that we have loved on Earth is now with Jesus in heaven,  it is hard to wrap our mind around it. It is surreal.  It is a part of life we all experience that is  very difficult. Our hearts grieve.  But, the precious Holy Spirit is closer than our breath, and He will comfort and reveal  truth  and  love us and lift us up a smidge above the circumstance so we can see clearly the truth of His promise of Life in Him.  We can draw near to Him and His promise is to draw near to us. He is the great Comforter and the Lover of our Soul. He brings beauty and life out of every hard thing. Weeping may endure for a night, but joy always comes in the morning.   Of my friend's  life, that I have observed for over 22 years, I can say that he truly lived  as Paul did, "forgetting those things which are behind, I press on for the mark of the prize of the high calling in Christ." This friend was a friend of God, passionate and unswerving in his relationship with Him and  in his stand for the Truth of the Gospel.  This man of God lived his life well. He loved the people in his life well.  And He finished his course well.  He will leave a legacy that many will carry on after him, especially his family.  His life was a life of sowing seeds that will continue to bear fruit, and will remain through eternity.  Those who have had the privilege of knowing him would all agree that  they have never known anyone like him, for he was truly unique and special. His boldness in loving God and in loving people was a clear, visible hallmark of his life.  He was a radical. He was revolutionary. When he walked into a room, he filled it up. He was a champion for the Truth of the Gospel and  carried the banner of  Christ with undeniable resolve. At the same time, he never took himself too seriously.  He really got it, that our life is not about us, it's about God's purposes, and God touching the lives of others  through us . I would often hear him tell people to get over themselves and I thought that was great advice.  And he didn't really say it that sweetly. His input along these lines  was never sugar coated, just direct, blunt, to the point. But with Love.  As intense as he was about living for God, he had an equally great sense of humor and  an unending love and compassion for people.  All who know him know that it was a regular occurrence to see him with tears in his eyes when hearing of God's goodness, His faithfulness, His working in a person's life.   I considered  my friend  a fellow soldier.  He reminds me of a courageous man, Shammah,  mentioned in 2nd Samuel 23:11 , who positioned himself in the middle of the field and defended it against the Philistines, when all others had fled in fear.  He stood, eyes and heart fixed on the living God, in that field against a massive, formidable enemy that he could not beat. It says that he not only stood there defending the field, but struck the Philistines.  He was not alone!  It says that God wrought or worked a great victory that day, because there was a man willing to position himself in the middle of the field. The enemy was defeated because of the courage of one man to take his stand in obedience to God right in the middle of the field in impossible circumstances.   Because this friend had the courage and daily conviction to position himself  "in the middle of the field" for the glory of Christ, God was able to bring great victory in many lives. I pray we will pick up that banner of Christ, and position ourselves, not on the sidelines, not hiding, not asleep, not unaware, not distracted, not afraid, but in the middle of the field of battle for our King.  We will see great victories for His glory, even in impossible circumstances, if we will trust and obey Him and cast off fear, unbelief and complacency.   A young American missionary who is very dear to my heart, William Borden, penned three of my favorite sentences in His Bible before his death in Africa  in the early 1900's at 26 years of age. These words have impacted my life greatly and this dear friend and I had many conversations about these words.  Of anyone I have known, my friend lived these words.  The six words are simple:  No reserves.  No retreats. No regrets.  Hold nothing back, leave everything on this field of life, and give all for Christ. Never go back; surrender is not an option, never give up. Finally, determine to live every day with no regrets of missing opportunities to love people radically. The Holy Spirit is our Helper to live a magnificent life for the glory of God.     Today I'm thankful for our Savior, I'm thankful for the precious people in my life who are gifts from the Lord,  I'm thankful for another day on this earth to serve the King of Kings  and live very moment in His presence.  I'm thankful  He lives in me and will live through me to demonstrate His love to this world. I'm thankful for the redeeming love and grace of God so clearly seen in and demonstrated through my friend's life.  He was truly a blessing to me and my family. O grave where is your victory?  O death where is your sting? Thanks be unto Jesus Christ who gives us the victory.  In all things.   I'm thankful for the great hope we have in Him for eternity. Our life is a breath. Let's live well, love well and finish well.

Lifewords strength to strength series 33 of 35, the Shield of Faith

 

lifewords  strength to strength series 33/35  The Shield of Faith   The Command: Put on God's complete armor of a heavy armed soldier, so as to be able to successfully resist all the devil's methods of attack; to stand up to and keep your position against all the strategies, tactics, intrigues, cunning schemes, tricks and deceits of the Evil One (Eph. 6:11)   BELT OF TRUTH, BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, SHOES OF THE GOSPEL OF THE PREPARATION OF PEACE, HELMET OF SALVATION, SHIELD OF FAITH, SWORD OF THE SPIRIT (WORD OF GOD), PRAYING WITH ALL MANNER OF PRAYER     Ephesians 6:16 says......"in addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one."  We must take it up, lift it up around us, knowing that our enemy is targeting flaming arrows at our lives daily. So, faith is like a protective shield. It has the power to render the evil one, the devil, powerless.  Here is a suggested daily prayer to add as you develop the habit of "putting on the whole armour of God". Best when said out loud!!!!!   Today I lift high my shield of faith, which extinguishes all the flaming arrows of the devil.  I look away from myself and unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of my faith.  Lord, help me to walk by faith, and not by the way things look or feel.  Inspired by Your great love, I will not quit or draw back in fear, but I will put my trust in You. I am  not discouraged by what I see with my natural vision,  but I am encouraged by what I know from the truth of Your Word. Your Word says that without faith it is impossible to please You, so I trust in You by faith today!  By Your almighty power and Your absolute integrity to Your Word, I am fully persuaded that  You are Greater than every attack or circumstance! Your Word says that faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. Today, I will make Your Word my priority so that my faith can grow and develop.  I believe that Your Name is the Name above all Names. You are Lord over all. Help me to speak words of life, love, faith, truth and blessing.  Lord help me to develop  the kind of faith that the men and women of Faith, who are our examples mentioned in Hebrews 11 possessed, and who accomplished impossible things for Your glory. Today I will  hold up faith like a shield.

Lifewords strength to strength series 32 of 35, The Shoes of the Gospel of Peace

 

Lifewords strength to strength series 32/35 The Shoes of the Gospel of Peace The Command: Put on God's complete armor of a heavy armed soldier, so as to be able to successfully resist all the devil's methods of attack; to stand up to and keep your position against all the strategies, tactics, intrigues, cunning schemes, tricks and deceits of the Evil One (Eph. 6:11)   BELT OF TRUTH, BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, SHOES OF THE GOSPEL OF THE PREPARATION OF PEACE, HELMET OF SALVATION, SHIELD OF FAITH, SWORD OF THE SPIRIT (WORD OF GOD), PRAYING WITH ALL MANNER OF PRAYER   Here is a suggestion for a daily prayer guide to verbally "put on"  the "shoes of the   Gospel of peace". Shoes indicate the piece of the armor necessary live our days walking in the manner and direction God desires. The Gospel is the Good News of Jesus Christ that we are to share with all. This part of the Armour refers to the Great Commission given to us by our Lord. He has commanded us to put on the Armor, not just as a religious exercise, but yielding to Him in obedience to His Word and trusting that He will help us and teach us. We must be serious about God's Armour if we are to be strong in Him. I "Put On" the Armour as a daily habit, out loud, with conviction, in a prayer like this one. Every sentence is based on Scripture. This daily practice has changed my life and fortifies me daily.    Today I put on the shoes of the Gospel of Peace, to walk as an ambassador between God and man, sharing with people everywhere the Good News of John 3:16, that "God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whosoever would believe in Him, would not perish but have everlasting life." Lord, ignite passion in me to share your love with those in darkness, who don't know You and are separated from You. I commit my life to obeying Your instructions in Mark 16:15 to "Go into all the World and proclaim the Gospel to everyone", and in Matthew 28:19 to "make disciples of all nations." Lord, help me to live out Your Word in Acts 1:8, understanding that the Holy Spirit gives me power to be a witness for You.  You have made me a minister of reconciliation to rescue people who are in darkness and hopelessness, without Christ. Help me to recognize every opportunity, for the night is far spent, the day is at hand. You have commissioned me to be "salt" and "light" to those around me, help me to live in this way. Holy Spirit, please help me to stay alert, ready to give an answer to every person for what I believe. Help me to never lose my sense of urgency in sharing Christ.  Give me boldness to open my mouth to lead people to new life in You. Today, I lift up my eyes to see the harvest fields and I commit to be a laborer in those fields. I will not be lazy, I will not be asleep, I will not be selfish.  Lord, consume me with Your love for people and the grace to follow your example to "seek and save that which was lost."

Lifewords strength to strength series 31 of 35, The Breastplate of Righteousness

lifewords strength to strength series 31/35 THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS The Command: Put on God's complete armor of a heavy armed soldier, so as to be able to successfully resist all the devil's methods of attack; to stand up to and keep your position against all the strategies, tactics, intrigues, cunning schemes, tricks and deceits of the Evil One (Eph. 6:11)   BELT OF TRUTH, BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, SHOES OF THE GOSPEL OF THE PREPARATION OF PEACE, HELMET OF SALVATION, SHEILD OF FAITH, SWORD OF THE SPIRIT (WORD OF GOD), PRAYING WITH ALL MANNER OF PRAYER   Here is a helpful daily guide to verbally "put on"  the righteousness that comes from the Lord like we would put on a breastplate of protections. Of course, the key is to live our days clothed in Righteousness, but I believe we are to "put on" the Armour by renewing our minds to the Word and speaking His Word out loud as a prayer to Him. He has commanded us to put on the Armor, not just as a religious exercise, but yielding to Him in obedience to His Word and trusting that He will help us and teach us. We must be serious about God's Armour if we are to be strong in Him. I "Put On" the armour as a daily habit, out loud, with conviction, in a prayer like this one. Every sentence is based on Scripture. This daily practice has changed my life and fortifies me daily.   Today I put on the righteousness that comes from Christ alone as a Breast Plate of protection. I humble myself and ask You, Lord, to reveal areas of sin, disobedience or unrighteousness in my life. I confess my sins to You now, knowing that through Christ's cleansing blood, I am washed from every transgression and made pure in Your sight. I trust in 1 John 1:9, that as I confess my sins to You, You forgive me and cleanse me of all unrighteousness. Through faith in Jesus Christ I receive forgiveness and cleansing from all sin. Not by any works of my own, but by faith in Your living Word and the power of Your Blood, I thank you that I have a right relationship with You. Help me to walk in obedience to Your Word. Because Your Word says that I am accepted in the Beloved, I now can enjoy freedom of fellowship with the Father, Son and precious Holy Spirit. Because You, Lord have clothed me with Your righteousness, like a robe, I will live free of all guilt and condemnation, free in my Father's Presence! I yield myself to the Holy Spirit, and ask You to fill me afresh with Your presence and empower me to live righteously. By faith I put off my fallen old sin nature, and I put on the new nature of a born again child of God. I hunger and thirst to be and do right, and am filled with all the fruits of right living-my life an honor to Your Name. I will not fear death or any other enemy, but will be as bold as a lion. Lord, thank you that I can stand in Your presence with no fear, forever free to serve my Lord Jesus. Thank you that You have clothed me with Your righteousness as a Breastplate, protecting my heart and life.